Secrets: The Truth is Slowly Revealed

Grandpa Isaac called Devin on Tuesday to fill us in about the final details of our upcoming trip to the reservation. 

“The shaman called me back earlier and I found out when we’ll have to leave and approximately how long we’ll be there,” he began, and then he gave us the details. 

“Thanks, at least now I know exactly what to tell my parents about how long I’ll be away.”

Now that I had this information, Devin and I each packed a duffle bag with the things we were taking with us on the trip back to my house.  Although it wasn’t our habit to leave on Friday after our classes had ended, we decided to do it this time because neither of us had a late afternoon class that day.  We figured that if we arrived at my house early it would give us the entire weekend to convince my parents to allow me do this, because I knew it wasn’t going to be easy to win them over. 

Devin let me drive first, because he said he was more experienced at driving after dark, in case we didn’t reach my house before the sun faded below the horizon.  Even though we were both hungry by the time we reached the diner, we agreed to keep going.  We merely pulled over long enough to change places, and then we took off again so we’d reach my house sooner.  The rest of the trip was fairly normal and we pulled into the driveway just as the final rays of sunlight were disappearing from the sky. 

After my parents greeted us, they explained they were going to take us out to eat, rather than having my mom try to whip something up.  After talking it over, we convinced them to take us to the Italian buffet for a couple of reasons.  First of all, it was casual dining so Devin and I wouldn’t have to take time to change, and since Devin and I had admitted we were both starving, we’d be able to eat as much as we wanted.

“I hope you know what you’re doing, because the food there won’t compare with what you’d get at Dominick’s,” my dad warned.  “I hope you don’t end up disappointed.”

“No, I’m sure it will be fine,” we both agreed, “as long as you and Mom don’t mind.”   

“No, we’ll be fine going there as well.”

As soon as we filled our plates and sat down at a table, my parents immediately wanted to know what it was that I wanted to discuss with them. 

“Let’s just enjoy our meal and unwind tonight, and then we’ll talk about it tomorrow.”

I had a feeling my parents wanted to press the issue, but they gave in and we discussed other topics as we ate. 

After we finished and arrived at the house, we found a movie to watch and then we all got comfortable and enjoyed it until we went to bed. 

My parents let us sleep late the next morning, and when we came downstairs my mom fixed a big breakfast for all of us.  When we finished eating, Devin and I cleared off the table and did the dishes, and once those things had been taken care of, we all gathered in the living room to chat. 

“Did I introduce you guys to Barry when you came to the campus for Homecoming and Family Weekend?” I began.  “He’s one of our friends, as well as an RA in our residence hall.”

“Yes, we met him when we were there,” my mom answered.  “Is something wrong with him?”

“No, but he’s actually the reason I came home to talk to you and dad.  You see, his birthday is in May, just before the second semester ends, and his grandfather is giving him a very special present.  He told Barry about it already so he’d have time to make plans, because his grandfather is going to send Barry and several of his friends on a camping and canoeing trip this summer as his present.  Barry has invited Devin and me to be part of this group since we’ve become really good friends since we’ve been there.”

“That’s very nice of him,” my dad responded, “but how much will this cost?”

“It won’t cost us a thing.  His grandfather is quite wealthy and he’s paying for everything.  He’s arranged for the outfitter to supply us with the canoes and paddles, as well as providing all of the supplies we’ll need, which includes the tents, sleeping bags, and food.  Barry’s grandfather is even giving us a Visa gift card that we can use to pay for the gas and to stay in a motel room on the way there and on the way back, because we’ll have to drive to the outfitters to meet up with the other guys.”  

“That’s very generous of his grandfather, but have you boys been canoeing before?”

“Yes!  Don’t you remember?  We did it while attending a special after school program just before we entered middle school.  We’ve also taken his dad’s canoe out on the lake at the cabin when I’ve spent time there.”

“I’m not sure if I knew about those things, but I guess it doesn’t matter now, since you have some experience.  Where will you be going on this camping and canoeing trip?”

“It will be in Minnesota.  The outfitter has mapped out the entire trip for us and Barry said we’ll be traveling in sort of a circular route over a bunch of the different lakes there, so we’ll start and end up at the same place.”

“And how long will you be doing this?” my mom followed.

“That’s the reason I came home to talk with both of you about this.  Barry said his grandfather asked the outfitter to plan a trip that will take up nearly all of our summer.  The outfitter has laid out a route for us to follow that will do just that, and he’s supposedly also planned extra time for bad weather, as well as the fact that we’ve all been canoeing before, but we aren’t exactly experts at it.” 

“So, you won’t be coming home at all this summer?”

“Barry said we’ll have a chance to return home for a short time before we have to meet up in Minnesota.  We’ll probably also get back early enough to spend some time with you before we have to go back to college as well, because we should only be there for most of June and July.”

“Devin, have you already discussed this with your parents?” my dad followed.

“Yes, I mentioned it to them when they called last weekend and they told me I was old enough to make my own decisions and they’d honor whatever I chose to do.  I also told them I’d try to get home for a couple of days over spring break, after I helped Mac explain this to you guys.”

“But we were planning on taking you boys on vacation with us this summer,” my mom added, sounding slightly upset. 

“Can’t we do that next summer instead?” I suggested.  “I remember that you and dad told Robert and Melanie they should try to make friends with a lot of different people while they were at college.  You said it was necessary so they’d be able to utilize those friends later, when they were networking for jobs.”

“Yes, that’s very true,” my dad confirmed.

“And it’s not everyday we get to go on a vacation that is being completely paid for by someone else, other than our parents.  I’ll make it up to you by coming home for Thanksgiving and spending all of Christmas break here next year as well.  In fact, Devin’s parents are also willing to join us for both of those holidays so we’ll all be together, if it’s ok with you.”

“Yes, it’s fine if Devin’s parents join us for those holidays, if they haven’t already made plans with their families,” my mom agreed.

“No, they’re looking forward to doing it,” Devin concurred.

“Dear,” my dad followed, “the boys will probably have a lot more fun going camping and canoeing on their summer vacation than anything we might plan to do with them.  We can save the money we would have spent on a vacation this year and then add it to next year’s vacation plans so it will be even better.”   

“And we’ll be making some really good friends while we’re doing this, because Barry’s grandfather is paying for Barry and seven of his friends to do it.  That means it will be Barry, Devin, me, and five more of Barry’s friends that we’ll get to know a lot better as well.” 

“Do you know these other boys already?” my mom asked.

“Not really well, but Barry introduced us to them when they showed up while we were hanging out with him.  But if we spend the entire summer with them, then we’ll get to know each of them a whole lot better and we’ll probably become friends for life.”

“I know Barry is older than you boys, but how old are the other boys?”

“A couple of them are a year older than Barry and the rest are the same age he is.  That means they’re all two or three years older than us.”

“Then I’m surprised he invited you boys to join them.”

“Like I said, we’ve become really good friends with Barry during the year and he obviously considers us to be among his best friends.”

“And it is important to make good friends while you’re at college,” my dad reiterated, “so you’ll be able to network with them when you are looking for jobs later.  If they’re older than you and Devin then they will probably be working already by the time you graduate and they’ll have contacts of their own that they can hook you up with.”

“Yes, and I’m sure they’ll help us anyway they can.  I’m certain we’ll all hit it off really well on this trip.”

“In that case, I don’t have a problem with you doing it.” 

“What about you, Mom?  Is it ok with you too?”

“Yes, as long as I get to see you for a short time this summer, as well as on Thanksgiving and over your Christmas break.”

“I promise you will, and I really appreciate this.  Thank you so much.  Oh, and do you want Devin’s mom and dad to join you for the Fourth of July this year, since we won’t be here and we were all going to celebrate the holiday together?  Even though Devin and I will be away, there’s no reason the rest of you can’t get together.” 

“Yes, that will be fine with us, since your father and I enjoy Aaron and Doris’ company.  Have you run this by them as well?”

“Not yet, but when Devin goes home for a couple of days this week, he’ll let them know about it as well.  He’ll tell you if they agree when he comes back to pick me up.”

“Ok, that will be fine.”

As soon as we thanked my parents again, Devin and I went up to my room so we could talk in private.  “I’m glad I told Grandpa Isaac to tell the shaman that we’d come to the reservation this summer to do this.  I’m getting really excited now.”

“It will work out great and I’ll make sure I get to go with you too.  I can hardly wait until you’re a skinwalker like me, because then we’ll be able to do a whole lot more together.”

“Yes, and you won’t have to go out and do things alone the next time something comes up, like when you went looking for the rapist.  Now, I’ll be able to go with you and help out.”

“And then next summer we can go looking for treasure with Grandpa Isaac and Grandpa Jacob.”

“As long as it doesn’t interfere with my parents vacation plans for us.”

“I’ll make sure my grandfathers arrange it for the month of June.  That way we’ll be able to spend a couple of weeks with our families first, and then we’ll be back in time to celebrate the Fourth of July with all of them as well.  You can tell your parents to plan on taking their vacation at the end of July or early August next year, just before we head back to campus.  That way we’ll also be able to spend a couple of weeks with my mom and dad at the cabin right after the Fourth of July.”

“Ok, I’ll make sure I tell them that when I get back.”

Now that this had been settled, the rest of spring break flew by faster than any of us wanted.  Devin left to spend time with his parents from Tuesday through Friday, and he was also planning to tell them about the cover story we’d told my parents about our summer plans.  He was doing this because we didn’t want to take the chance that they might accidentally say something wrong if they spent the Fourth of July with my mom and dad. 

Not only did we spend time with our parents, but we got some other things taken care of as well.  Devin managed to spend some time working on the projects that were coming due before classes ended in May, and he also got to catch up on his sleep.  While Devin was doing those things and while my parents were at work, I spent time working on a couple of papers that were coming due as well.  Since the April weather was somewhat mild, I did some of it outdoors or with the windows in my room wide open, and now there was just one more month to go before our summer vacation began. 

As typically happens at the end of every semester, the last month was difficult and there was quite a bit to do.  Devin actually had it worse than I did, because all of his courses required more than any of the math or computer science classes I was taking.  He typically had a project or a paper due in each course he was taking, where I only had to worry about that in a couple of my classes, but I was still busy. 

By the time finals week rolled around, we were both cramming for exams, since they’ll count for a third to half of our final grade, depending on the particular course.  It meant we couldn’t let up or screw off during this time, so nearly every free minute we had was spent studying for the finals and hardly any of it was spent with each other.  We’d remedy this problem after we finished taking our exams. 

As soon as our last exam ended, we raced back to the house to make love first, and then we continued celebrating by going out to Dominick’s for supper.  After we finished eating, we returned to the house and feasted on each other again as we made up for the long dry spell with a lengthy love-making session.  We weren’t merely satisfied when the session was over, we were completely exhausted.  In fact, it took what little strength we had left just to go through our nightly ritual and shower when we were done.  Then we returned to our bedroom and collapsed on the bed before cuddling while we fell asleep.

The next morning we had to go out for breakfast, since the dining halls were closed, so we hopped in the SUV to do that first.  After we ate, we drove over to the residence hall and loaded all of our things in the SUV as we prepared to leave for home.  As soon as we’d finished empting our room, we turned in our keys and signed out, and then we returned to the house to make sure it was clean, all the windows were shut, and everything was locked up tight.  We wanted the caretaker to tell Devin’s grandfathers that we had taken good care of the house, because we wanted to stay there for the next three years, instead of in a residence hall.  We certainly didn’t want his grandfathers to change their minds about allowing us to do this because they didn’t think we were responsible enough. 

As soon as that process had been completed, we started the long trip home.  Devin drove first, but he let me take over after we stopped for lunch.  This time we ate at the rail-car diner that we’d stopped at before, rather than waiting until we reached the other diner. 

We arrived at my house early enough so we had a little time to have some fun before my parents got home from work.  We even had enough time left over to unload my things from the SUV and carry them up to my room before my mom and dad finally arrived.

They greeted us warmly and quickly announced that they were taking us out to eat, rather than having my mom fix something for supper.  It also gave us a chance to chat with them while we were waiting for our meals to be delivered, as well as while we were eating, and we filled them in about what the second semester had been like.  We didn’t tell them about the rapist, though, because we didn’t want them to worry that the campus was unsafe, and after that my parents wanted to know more about our summer plans. 

“Do you know when you’ll have to leave here to meet up with your friends?” my mom asked. 

“Yes.  It’s currently the middle of May and we’ll have to leave early enough to join up with the rest of the guys on June 1^st.  We figure it will probably take us three to five days to get to the outfitters, even with us splitting the driving, so we’ll leave here early on May 27^th.” 

“Why will it take you so long to drive there?” my dad asked. 

“There are multiple reasons.  First, we’ll be dealing with Memorial Day traffic at some point, and since neither of us has ever been in any of the states we’ll be driving through, we’ve decided we might as well check out some of the sights along the way.  In addition to those things, the last part of the trip will be over very rural roads that we’re unfamiliar with, and due to those factors we felt it would be best to leave plenty of time so we’ll arrive on time.”

“Ok, as long as you stay safe getting there.”

“And, hopefully, we’ll be back by the end of July.”

“Ok, I think we’ll be able to live with that.  So Devin, when will you be heading home to spend time with your parents?”

“I’ll be leaving tomorrow, but I’ll return on May 26^th to pick up Mac.  I’ll spend the night here with you guys, and then Mac and I will leave early the next morning.”

“Can’t you stay with us until Monday before you go to see your mom and dad?   We have things planned to do with you boys this weekend and I’m certain Mickey won’t enjoy them nearly as much if you’re not here.”

“It will still give you a couple of weeks to spend with your parents,” my mom continued, “and like my husband just said, we know Mickey will enjoy the things we’ve planned to do more if you’re here with him.”

“Ok, I don’t think my parents will be upset if I don’t return home until Monday.”

“Thank you and maybe we can do something for you in return, in addition to making sure you have a good time this weekend,” my dad followed.  “We know you two are going to be living at your family’s home next year, so is there anything special you might need or want to use while you’re living there?  If there is, then we’ll be happy to get it for you.”

“Not that I can think of right now, but I’ll consider it and let you know if I happen to think of anything.” 

“Ok, that will be fine.  I take it you know where the outfitter is and where you’ll be starting from.” 

“Yes, the outfitter is in Ely, Minnesota, and that is less than twenty miles from the Canadian border.” 

Devin and I had looked up this information online before we returned home since I knew my parents might ask this question.  We weren’t worried about them checking up on us later, because there are nearly two dozen outfitters in Ely and I’ve never told them Barry’s surname or his grandfather’s name. 

“Will you be going into Canada as well?” my mom asked.

“No.  Barry said we’ll be going close but we won’t be crossing the border into Canada.”

“Ah, ok.”  

While we were waiting for the check, my dad asked another question.  “Would you boys like us to take you out to see a movie when we leave here?”

Devin and I glanced at each other quickly and then I answered.  “We’re really tired from all of the studying we did during the week for finals and we’d prefer to just go back to the house and relax.  We can all watch something together on TV, if you want.”

“Yes, that sounds like a good idea,” my mom concurred, “since we’re also tired from working all week.”

When we arrived at the house, we let my parents choose what we were going to watch and then we all got comfortable to enjoy it.  My parents sat on the sofa while Devin and I spread out on the floor and used a couple of throw pillows for our heads.  When the show ended, we all agreed we were ready to turn in. 

“Thank you for taking us out to eat,” Devin said before we all headed up to our rooms. 

“You’re very welcome, honey, and we were glad to do it,” my mom replied.  “It saved me from having to whip up something for us to eat and it looked as if we all enjoyed our meals as well.”

“I know Devin and I did,” I answered, and then we said goodnight to one another before heading up to our rooms.

Devin spent the night sleeping with me, but we didn’t make love, since we’d done it earlier.  We merely cuddled and got a good night’s rest, something we hadn’t been able to do during finals week.  

The next morning, we went downstairs to join my parents for breakfast.  They had waited until we joined them before my mom started fixing a big breakfast for all of us to enjoy.  I have to admit that Devin and I stuffed ourselves and we thanked my mom for the delicious meal.  We also helped her clear off the table, and we even offered to do the dishes, but she said it wasn’t necessary, so we went into the living room to chat with my dad. 

“What are we going to be doing today?” I wanted to know. 

“I normally wouldn’t tell you, but I want Devin to know what we have planned.  Your mother and I thought we’d take you boys bowling before lunch.”

“I’ve done it before, because you and mom took me bowling a few times after Devin moved away.”  In fact, it was one of the activities my parents had used to bring me out of the funky mood I was in. 

“Have you ever gone bowling before?” my dad asked Devin.  

“No, I’ve never done it.”

“Don’t worry, because I’ll help you,” I told him.  “I’ll help you find a good bowling ball to use and then I’ll show you what to do when we start.”

“Ok, I just hope it’s not too difficult, because I don’t want to end up looking like a fool.”

“Nah, I’m sure you’ll get the hang of it quickly.”

As soon as we got to the bowling alley, we went up to the counter with my parents to get a lane and rent our shoes, and then I showed Devin how to find a ball that would fit his fingers.  As soon as we’d both found a bowling ball to use, we put on our bowling shoes and I taught him how to take a four-step approach before releasing the bowling ball.  Once he had that down, we started bowling. 

It didn’t take Devin long to get the hang of it and he improved quite quickly, and we both enjoyed knocking down the wooden pins with   our bowling balls.  My parents kept score, because they’d never taught me how to do it, and then Devin and I did our best to beat each other’s score.  We’re both very competitive and bowling was no exception to the rule. 

Although I beat Devin in the first game, he beat me the next game, and then we talked my dad into bowling one more game so we could determine which one was the overall winner.  I don’t think he minded doing this, and he and mom seemed happy that we were enjoying this activity.  After the last pin had been knocked down, it turned out that I won the last game and was the victor. 

“Ok, you beat me, but you’ve done this before.”

“That’s true, but you did better than I did my first time bowling.”

“And I’ll beat you the next time we do this too.”

When we finished up there, my parents took us out for lunch next, and then they took us to play miniature golf.  This meant it gave us another chance to compete.  My parents suggested we could play as teams, and I believe they were thinking it would be Devin and me against the two of them, but we had a better idea.  We would each play with one of my parents, and then we could compete as a team and as individuals at the same time. 

Seeing I had beaten Devin at bowling, I let him have the choice of which of my parents he wanted to partner with.  Of course, he chose to play with my dad, and that was fine with me, so we got our putters and golf balls and headed toward the first hole.  

Devin and I were both surprised by how well my mother was doing.  We knew my dad had played golf before, but as far as we knew my mom had never played.  What we were unaware of was that when she was in high school she played in a miniature golf league with her friends.  They played twice a week each summer during those four years and she obviously hadn’t grown rusty in the interim.  Even so, Devin and my dad beat us as a team, basically because my dad did so well, but I beat Devin individually.  No matter who beat whom, though, we all had a great time. 

When we finished, my mom talked my dad into taking us out to supper again, because she didn’t feel like fixing anything.  We still had to go home to clean up and change first, and then my dad took us to a restaurant.   After we ordered, I asked a question. 

“What are we going to do tomorrow?”

“You’ll find out when we get there,” my dad replied.  

“You know how much I hate it when you do that to me,” I responded with a tinge of bitterness in my tone.

“Then why do you bother asking, since you know I won’t give you the answer you’re looking for?” he said as he smiled at me. 

“You told us that we were going bowling earlier,” I pointed out. 

“I only did that because I wanted to know if Devin had ever bowled before.  You have to learn patience and find a way to control your desire for instantaneous gratification, Mickey.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ve heard that since I was a little kid.”

“And you still haven’t learned.”

I decided to let the subject drop, because I knew I wasn’t going to win, and then we finished another wonderful meal.  As soon as my dad paid the bill, we loaded into the SUV and headed home. 

When we got there, Devin and I thanked my parents for everything they’d done for us today, and then we said goodnight and went up to my room to spend some time alone. 

“When do you think we’ll get our grades?” Devin asked. 

“I’m hoping we’ll have them before you come back to pick me up.  If not, I hope we get them before we reach the reservation, because if they don’t have phones service there, I doubt they’ll have the internet.  That would mean we’d have to wait until I finish my training before we find out how we did.”

“I hope we don’t have to wait that long.”

“Yeah, me neither.”  

We agreed to have oral sex before we went through our nightly rituals and showered, and once we’d finished doing all of those things, we cuddled together on my bed and fell asleep.