Mental Games - 14. At the Lake

Sunday after lunch, Adam’s parents said goodbye to everyone and prepared to return home. They both had to work the following day, as did Mike’s parents, so they needed to get going. It was an emotional farewell for Rita, since she didn't want to be separated from Adam, but she understood she’d be seeing him again in a few weeks.

“So are we going on vacation this year?” Mike asked, just as soon as the Washburns had driven away.

“Yes, we are,” his father answered simply.

“Well where are we going? What are we going to do?” Mike persisted, since he was dying to know what his parents had planned.

“It’s a surprise,” his father replied while trying to stifle a grin.

“Oh, come on. Just tell me!” Mike blurted out, but Dave merely shook his head in response. Realizing his father wasn't about to give in, Mike hurriedly changed gears. “Ok, then when are we going? Or is that a secret too?”

“No, that’s not a secret,” Dave responded, while trying to keep from laughing out loud. “We’ll leave in two weeks.”

Although Mike was glad his father had shared this information, he still wasn’t happy that he hadn’t been told where they were going. Since he was slightly frustrated, he continued to frown and began shaking his head as he walked away. Even though he hadn't been given much information, at least he could plan for when this was going to happen.

Adam had been totally focused on Mike the entire time and was watching his reaction. He could tell Mike wasn’t satisfied with how that just went down, although the lack of information hadn’t bothered Adam as much as his boyfriend.

"Come on," Adam urged, as he grabbed Mike by the hand. "I've got something else for you to think about."

Adam then led Mike up to his bedroom, in an effort to keep Mike distracted until he got over his disappointment. Actually, it didn't take much effort on Adam's part, once Mike realized what his lover was up to, and soon the vacation plans were the last thing on Mike's mind. For the next hour, all Mike could think about were the pleasurable feelings he was giving and receiving, until the pair lay sweaty and exhausted on the bed.

After spending a little more time kissing and cuddling on the bed, Adam and Mike took a quick shower. As they were drying off, Adam looked over at Mike and spoke. "There's something else I'd like you to do for me."

Mike's eyebrows rose slightly, as he looked over at his partner. "Really? I thought we just did everything in the playbook. What do you have in mind now?"

“Not what you're thinking," Adam shot back, with a smirk. "This time it has to do with my ability and not your awesome power."

Mike snorted after hearing how Adam had phrased his response. He then continued looking at Adam until he explained what he meant.

"I was thinking that this year I’d like to expand the area I helped,” Adam announced, as he changed the subject. “Instead of just focusing on the campus, I want to open it up to all of Baltimore. I don’t think doing it will increase the number of requests I get by very much, so I’m willing to give it a try. I want to know what you think about the idea.”

"I think it's a great idea and I can help you with it," Mike volunteered, since he wanted to be involved. "I can create totally new accounts for you to use and label them @BaltMD. It will give me something to do while we're waiting to go on vacation. I just have one question though. What do you want to do with the @JHU files?"

"I'm not sure," Adam responded, since he hadn't thought about that yet.

"Well I can do a couple of different things with them," Mike offered. "I can attach a notice to those accounts to tell the sender they are no longer being used and then direct them to use the new accounts, or I can have everything automatically forwarded to the other account, or I can just leave them active as well."

After thinking about it for a couple of minutes, Adam made his choice. "Leave the JHU accounts active too," he stated. "That way the other students on campus won't think I don't want to help them any longer."

This was fine with Mike, because it would give him something to do and keep his mind occupied. If he didn’t have this to work on, then he’d probably just spend the entire time pestering his father about where they were headed and what they were going to do on vacation.

Since they now had something to work on, Mike and Adam kept quite busy for the next two weeks. Mike worked on the files for Adam, as Adam worked on making the list of the various groups they should hit up for donations for his parents. Before they realized so much time had passed, it was time to start packing for vacation. On Friday night before they left, they were still packing the types of things his parents had suggested when Mike decided to interrogate his father again.

"Ok, so where are we going and what are we going to do?" he pleaded, since he hoped his father would give him at least a few details about what they’d be doing now.

"You'll find out soon enough," Dave replied, while trying to suppress the grin that was trying to form on his lips.

"Come on! Just give me a hint," Mike whined when his father wouldn’t give in.

"You'll find out soon enough," his father responded, which made it obvious he wasn't about to tell his son anything else. Realizing this, Mike slunk away, totally perplexed, but at least he wouldn’t have too much longer to wait.

Mike immediately began to toss and turn after getting into bed later. He was having difficulty falling asleep because he was so excited, yet bewildered about what they were going to do on vacation. He felt like a little kid again, and even though he had no idea what his parents had planned, he was still excited, even if it was driving him crazy as well. In fact, he woke up quite early the following morning, well before Adam, and it soon became obvious that Adam had enjoyed a much better night’s rest, because Mike had to wake him to get ready.

Going downstairs, they found Judy in the kitchen taking things out of the refrigerator for breakfast. Seeing how much food she had set out on the counter and how many different items were there, the boys were more than a little puzzled.

“Isn’t that an awful lot for just the four of us?” Mike asked, when he saw the quantity of food she had on the counter before her.

“Well I know you boys have big appetites,” she replied, while giving them a wink, “but we’re also expecting company.”

This was something else the boys hadn’t anticipated and they began to wonder who was going to join them. They were just about to ask Mike's mother, but before they had a chance to say anything the doorbell rang. Judy immediately hurried out to the foyer to answer it, but the boys hung back for a few seconds first so they could talk to each other first, before they followed.

“You’re right on time. Come on in,” Judy greeted the newcomers.

Mike and Adam quickly peeked around the corner to see who was there and were surprised by what they saw.

“Mom. Dad. What are you doing here?” Adam gasped when he saw his parents.

“We’re joining you on this trip,” George answered, as they moved into the living room.

About that time, Mike's father came into the living room as well. After greeting George and Rita, he turned to Mike and Adam and gave them an explanation.

“We decided to split the cost and go on a joint vacation this year,” he announced. “We’ve rented a cabin on Lake Annabelle for a week and we’re going to stay there together.”

“Fantastic!” Adam shouted, nearly jumping around with joy.

“Neat surprise, Dad,” Mike added, as he finally realized why his dad had been so secretive. “I hope it’s a big cabin.”

“It has four bedrooms,” Judy stated. “One for each couple and one for each of you.”

Mike and Adam quickly looked at each other, as an expression of shock and disbelief covered each of their faces. They immediately began to wonder if the final two bedrooms were too small for them to share. When their parents noticed their reactions, they all started to laugh.

“She’s only joking,” Rita offered in between giggles.

Relieved, Adam and Mike laughed too and then chided Mike’s mother for playing such a cruel joke on them. Now, they looked forward to getting there and seeing what the place was like.

After chatting for a few minutes, the two women scurried out to the kitchen and began preparing a huge breakfast. Before long, the boys were drawn to that area by the enticing smell of the sausages and bacon, as well as the onions in the home fries. As they entered, they could also hear the various items sizzling in the pans and their fathers weren't far behind, but they had been attracted by the smell of freshly brewed coffee and were eager to get a cup. While they were doing that, the boys poured everyone a glass of juice, which they then carried into the dining room.

Once the eggs, pancakes, home fries, bacon and sausages were ready, Mike and Adam helped to carry everything into the dining room. After they were all seated, the women urged the men to take whatever they wanted and told the boys to make sure they filled up. They warned them it would be a long drive ahead and they wouldn’t be eating again for quite some time. The duo had no problems following this advice and eagerly filled their plates. Before long, the smell of the maple syrup they were putting on the pancakes joined in with the other wonderful aromas filling the house.

As soon as each of them was stuffed, the boys carried the dishes out to the kitchen and helped to clean up. Then, they raced off to Mike’s bedroom to grab their belongings. They had already packed their bags with all of the things they had been told to bring with them, even though they didn't have any idea where they were going at the time. The boys were also joking around with each other as they lugged it all downstairs and carried it out the front door. Once they were outside, they immediately spotted a passenger van parked in the driveway.

“Where did you get that?” Adam asked his father. George was standing next to the van, so Adam figured his dad must have driven it there.

“It’s a rental,” George answered. “I figured it would save wear and tear on our car, but it will also allow us to all ride together. Since using a van had worked out so well when we drove you home from the hospital, including all of your belongings, we thought this one would work just as well on this trip.”

Adam couldn’t disagree with the logic, so they loaded their gear into the very back. Then, he and Mike slid into the third row of seats. This left the middle section for Mike’s parents and Adam’s parents rode up front. George indicated he’d switch with the Bermans about halfway to the lake and let Dave take the wheel, since he didn’t want to do all of the driving.

About five hours later, George spotted a diner and pulled into the parking area. Before going inside, he tossed Dave the key and told him he was in charge the rest of the way. Dave merely nodded and then encouraged everyone to go inside.

The meal was good, there was plenty of it and the prices were very reasonable. Once they finished, they loaded back into the van and Dave fired up the engine.

When they eventually reached the small town close to their final destination, they made another quick stop. This time it was at a grocery store, where they would purchase a week’s worth of food and other necessities. They had decided to do it this way, because it would be difficult to keep the meat, milk, juice, eggs and other perishables cold during the entire trip. This was much easier and less of a hassle.

They all conferred about what they were going to buy and picked out items that everyone would enjoy. After cruising up and down every aisle, they checked out and loaded it all into the van. They then set out again, but made another quick stop a few minutes later. This time it was to pick up the key for the cabin.

The last leg of the trip was over narrow, winding country roads, because the cabin they would be staying at was on the far side of the lake and a little off the beaten path. It was a lovely location, with cottages dotting the landscape at uneven intervals along the shore. Once they spotted their cabin number on a roadside post, they pulled down the long, dirt driveway leading to it. After the van stopped, Judy got out and hurried to unlock the door, while the others grabbed the various items and began to lug them inside.

The boys headed toward the cabin without any idea about what they should expect. They didn’t know if this was a rustic hunting cabin or a nicer structure meant for long-term use. They quickly agreed the exterior looked decent and once they entered, they were pleasantly surprised with the interior as well. They could even smell the cleaning supplies that had been used to get it ready for their stay and the place actually seemed quite nice.

When the boys first walked through the door, they entered a large, open, furnished living area with a table big enough for them all to sit at. The kitchen was fairly nice too and the fridge had been turned on before they got there, so it was already cold. While their parents were busy loading the meats and other perishables into it, along with the drinks they wanted to keep refrigerated, the boys decided to check out the rest of the place.

During their impromptu investigation, Mike and Adam made some interesting discoveries. First, they located a rather large storage area that contained a stack of life jackets, a half-dozen canoe paddles, oars for a rowboat and some fishing gear. Among the latter items were several fishing poles of various sizes, some of which would be appropriate for adult use, while others were designed for children. There was also a tackle box that contained an assortment of hooks, lures, bobbers and extra fishing line, along with an assortment of tools.

Once they had checked out the storage area thoroughly, the boys discovered a cabinet on the wall next to the door leading into it. When they opened the cabinet, they found it contained an assortment of games. There were several older board games stacked on the shelves, but there were also some regular card decks and a couple of Uno decks in there as well. The owners must have put those things there for rainy days and late night activities.

While Mike and Adam had been busy looking around the cabin, their mothers had hurriedly checked out the four bedrooms and agreed which ones they would take. They then told their sons to choose from the other two. Once everyone knew which room they’d be using, they carried their luggage inside and began to unpack.

There were also two bathrooms, each one strategically placed between two of the bedrooms, so they would have to share. Each couple would use one of the bathrooms and Mike and Adam could use whichever one was unoccupied at the time. The facilities were very simple, yet adequate, with a small sink, toilet and a shower stall in each one. They were certainly sufficient to meet their needs during this limited stay.

After each person had settled in, they all agreed to go outside and look around. Since it was summer, it was still fairly light out, so they walked down to the lake to check it out. They quickly discovered that nearly every cabin had its own dock, which the family could also use as a diving platform when they went swimming.

The dock for this particular cabin also had a rowboat moored to it and there were two canoes lying upside down on the bank. Seeing this

explained why they had seen all the boating related necessities in the storage area. Dave then informed them that the watercraft was there for them to use, if they desired. The cabin’s owner had told Dave that the lake had recently been stocked with fish and there was some appropriate gear inside, if any of them wanted to do some fishing while they were there.

As the families were looking around, the boys spotted a trail that appeared to follow along the shore and might even run completely around the lake. They also noticed several other trails that led into the woods, so there were obviously plenty of opportunities to go hiking. This, along with the other activities available meant there would be more than enough to do while they were there. Mike and Adam figured they’d check out many of the trails during the week and would even talk their parents into joining them.

As the boys continued to look about, they noticed people outside of the cabins closest to them, including some children, so they weren’t alone. Maybe they’d even get to meet some of these people while they were there, so there would be other possibilities for something to do as well. If they weren't interested in any of those things, they could always spend their time swimming in the lake, taking the boats out for a spin or lying out on the grass, as they soaked up some rays and relaxed.

When it started to get dark, they all went inside for the rest of the night. After fixing a quick, simple meal, the boys suggested they could play a game. Mike and Adam quickly told the others about their earlier discovery, so their parents told them to choose one of the games and then they’d all play. After considering their options, the boys pulled out the game Racko. Since none of the adults were familiar with this game, the boys had to explain it to them.

“It’s a card game that four players can play, but it’s not what you might think,” Mike began. “Each card has a number on it, from 1 to 60 and you are given a rack to place your cards in.” Mike then showed them the deck of cards and one of the racks.

“As you can see, the rack has slots to hold the cards and you start by placing the first card you’re dealt in the first slot,” he continued. “You continue doing the same thing with each additional card until you’ve filled the last slot. Each person will get ten cards in all. Seeing you placed the cards into these slots in the order they were dealt, they probably won’t be in numerical order. The object of the game is to eventually arrange all of your cards from lowest number to highest. You do this by either picking up the card the person in front of you just discarded or selecting the next card from the ‘draw’ pile. You then swap that card with one of the cards in your rack. You continue to do this until you have arranged all of your cards in increasing numerical order. Do you have any questions?”

“Do the cards have to be in consecutive order, dear?” his mother wondered.

“No, as long as the one behind it has a higher number,” Mike replied. “This is a cutthroat game and you play against each other. The first person to get all of his cards arranged from lowest to highest number is to call out ‘Racko’. After it’s confirmed that the cards are truly in order, the person is awarded 75 points. The other players get 5 points for every card they've got in order, starting from the first one. You stop getting five points for each card when you reach a card that is lower than the card in front of it.

“Even though the cards don’t have to be in numerical sequence,” Mike added, “you can earn bonus points if they are. If you have 3 cards in consecutive order you get 50 bonus points, 4 cards in consecutive order is worth 100 points, 5 is worth 200 points and 6 gets you an additional 400 points. It may take up to several hands before someone reaches 500 points, because that how many points you need to win.”

“So if only four can play at a time, how are we going to do this?” George asked.

“Why don’t we start with the four of you playing against each other first,” Adam suggested, while indicating his and Mike’s parents. “Then, Mike and I will play the next game against our dads and the one after that against our moms. That should be enough games for one night. One of the non-players will deal and the other non-player will keep score. When there are no more cards in the pile to draw from, the dealer will leave the last discard face up, shuffle the other cards and put them back to draw from until there’s a winner.”

Everyone seemed happy with his suggestion, so they sat down to play. Mike had decided to have their parents play first because he knew there would be a learning curve, since none of them had ever played before. Once the game started, the adults really got into the strategy and seemed to be having a good time. Adam’s father won the first game, Mike won against the men and Adam won against Mike and both mothers.

“No fair! You’ve both played this before,” Rita complained when Adam won. “I want a rematch and this time I’m going to beat the pants off of you.”

“You might want to rephrase that, dear,” George suggested, with a grin. “I think Adam’s a little old to be going pantless in front of you now.” While everyone else was laughing, Rita was getting ready to respond.

“I diapered him as a baby and gave him baths until he was six or seven, so I’ve seen his little hoo-hah before,” she challenged. Adam rolled his eyes at his mother's comment and quickly responded.

“Jeez, Mom. That’s not an image I or anyone else wants in our minds,” he groaned. “And since I’m studying to be a doctor, I really appreciate that you’re using the correct anatomical names for things as well.” The others chuckled over this comment too.

“And I’m pretty sure it’s not so little any longer,” his father added with a smirk, which elicited a few smirks in return.

“Everyone quit talking and just agree to play us again,” Rita insisted, in an attempt to both change the topic and get her way.

Since they could tell Adam’s mother wasn’t going to give up until she got what she wanted, Adam and Mike gave in and agreed to give them a rematch. Once the game started, the boys began to silently communicate with each other. Using facial expressions and body language, the pair indicated to each other that they weren’t actually going to try to win this time. They did this in a way that the others wouldn’t notice, however, because the last thing they wanted was to go through another scene like the previous one.

“Racko!” Rita called out after they had played the first hand. She also gave the boys an evil grin.

After the score was calculated and written down, the next hand was dealt. This time it was Judy that got her cards arranged in order first and she even had four cards in consecutive order, so she got a 100-point bonus. The cards were then shuffled quickly and passed out again. A few minutes later, Mike called Racko. Adam immediately gave him a dirty look and Mike merely shrugged his shoulders. Either he had forgotten about their agreement or he was able to Racko without really trying.

Once the scores were written down and the next hand dealt, Adam gave Mike a stern glare. This was to let him know he wasn’t to win another hand. Mike nodded his understanding and the game got underway. This hand seemed to take longer than the other hands had for some reason, but eventually someone shouted Racko again. It was Adam’s mother and she was beaming as the others counted up their points.

“Whoa! My mom’s got five cards in sequence this time,” Mike announced, when he was checking her rack. “It means she gets a 200 point bonus.”

“In that case, the games over,” George announced. “With the points she earned for having her cards in order and then the bonus points were added in, she has a total of 515 points.”

Although Judy had actually won this game, it was enough to appease Rita and get her to agree to stop playing for the night. Adam and Mike hurriedly put everything away before anyone could change his or her mind, and then they said goodnight to their parents. It was time to head to their bedroom and call it a day.

The following morning, on their first full day at the cabin, Mike and Adam decided to see if they could walk completely around the lake. The boys tried to talk their parents into joining them, but the others didn’t seem interested.

“It’s just too far for us,” Rita explained. “We’re not used to doing that much walking, so we probably wouldn’t be able to make it the entire way. We’ll go with you some other time, when you aren’t going as far. Maybe we can take a nice leisurely stroll on one of those trails into the woods.”

Mike and Adam were slightly disappointed, but at least their parents would join them at another time. It was a gorgeous day as they started their walk. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping and a gentle breeze was blowing to cool them off. They were a little more than halfway around the lake when they heard someone shout. At first they weren’t sure if the person was yelling at them or someone else, until they realized what he was saying.

“Get back here right now!” the voice demanded. “I told you not to go out in the boat alone, so now you’re going to get it.”

When they looked up, Mike and Adam noticed a young boy out on the lake in a rowboat frantically rowing back to shore. Obviously he’d been told not to go out alone, so it appeared he was in trouble. When the boat finally reached the shore, his father dragged it out of the water, with the boy still sitting inside. He then grabbed the kid by the arm and roughly yanked him out of the boat, before he began wailing on the kid. Seeing this, Mike reacted.

“Stop it!” he shouted. “You shouldn’t hit him in the head like that. You also shouldn’t be treating him that way. Spank him on his butt if you have to, but you shouldn’t treat a kid like that.”

“Shut the fuck up and mind your own business!” the man hissed back, as he continued to smack the boy with both an open hand and closed fist.

“He said to stop!” Adam added next, which caused the man’s arm to come to a halt in midair. “How can you beat your son like that? You’re an adult and he’s what, eleven or twelve?”

“I’m t-t-ten,” the boy stuttered, before his father slapped him again.

“I said to stop it!” Adam yelled. “If he disobeyed, then there are other ways to punish him, but you shouldn’t be hitting him like that. If you ever do anything like this again, I’ll see to it that you’re arrested and your son is taken away by Social Services. Do I make myself clear?”

The man just stood there with his mouth hanging open, unable to respond. One arm was still drawn back, as if ready to deliver another blow, but it remained frozen in place. The boy wasn’t moving either and was hurriedly glancing between Adam and his father, unsure what he should do next. That’s when Adam decided to take him off the hook. He looked at the kid’s father and spoke.

“I want you to go back to your cabin and let me talk to your son,” Adam suggested. “And if you ever do anything like this again, I’ll see to it you’re arrested and sent to prison. You may not know it, but inmates despise people that harm children. If they were to find out what you did, they’d give you a beating far worse than what you just gave to your son. If they think that’s not enough, then they may do something even more despicable to you instead.”

That was enough to turn the man’s complexion pale. Like a puppy that had just been scolded, he slowly slunk away from them. As the boy’s father moved toward the cabin, Adam turned to speak with the son.

“You have to mind your parents and shouldn’t have disobeyed your father like that,” he offered. “He probably didn’t want you to go out in the boat alone, because he was afraid you’d have an accident and drown. I’m not surprised that you were going to be punished, but he shouldn’t have been beating you like that. If he ever does it again, and I don't mean just spank you, I want you to tell a policeman, a teacher, your principal or even your minister or priest and ask them for help. Promise me you’ll do that.”

"I pr-promise,” the boy stammered.

Adam then dried the kid’s eyes with his shirt and checked to make certain he wasn’t seriously injured. Once he was convinced the boy was all right, he sent him off to the cabin too. He watched until the kid went inside and then he turned toward Mike.

“I really wanted to beat that bastard myself,” he announced.

“I would have joined you,” Mike replied. “It wasn’t because he was punishing his son for disobeying him, but it was the way he was doing it. He was totally out of control and it looked more like a street brawl than a spanking.”

“I know and I hope my warning was enough to stop him from ever doing anything like that again,” Adam added before they resumed their travels.

“The kid was really lucky you were there,” Mike stated as they were walking away. “I’m not sure anyone else could have stopped his father, at least not without having to fight him as well.”

“You’re probably right and I’m glad we happened to be there at the time too,” Adam agreed.

The pair then walked the rest of the way around the lake until they arrived at the cabin they were staying at. They didn’t mention this incident to their parents, because neither one wanted to upset his mom and dad or ruin the vacation. They felt the situation had been handled, even though Adam still couldn’t put it behind him quite as easily as he would have liked.