Hazel's Hitchhiker

38: Gone Camping

Joey

While in the car with Phillip and Amber, I found myself sitting in the backseat with Amber being the front passenger. Apparently, Phillip found a nice and empty field just outside of town where we wouldn't catch anyone's attention. We would be staying there for the night. On our way there, Phillip and Amber playfully touched and poked each other. At one point, my best buddy pinched Amber's nipple and she laughed. Guess that wasn't considered sexual harassment.

Interesting. Watching these two play with each other, my mind had a lot of questions that needed to be answered. How did Phillip get inside the jail and pose as a cop? How did Amber know where to find Hazel? Did he know that I was going to be in jail? What the hell was going on? Here's to hoping that these questions would be answered soon.

Once we reached the field, my eyes were impressed by what they saw. There was plenty of available land with lots of trees, plenty of grass, rocks, and a good amount of dirt. There would be definitely no way anybody including the apparent corrupt police force could find us. We soon began to set up camp. Amber had a tent big enough for two people and began setting it up while Phillip began gathering sticks to prepare to make a campfire.

"What the hell were you doing dressed as a cop?" I asked Phillip helping to gather sticks. "Were you in jail? I heard you got arrested for a DUI over the summer."

He began chuckling. "Dude calm down. Was I arrested for a DUI? Yes and no." With a confused look on my face, the man continued explaining. "So this is going to sound crazy, but Ryan's dad is in the mafia. After graduation, he joined his dad in the family business. He personally told me that Austin would put him in debt. Even though he had a scholarship, he couldn't risk getting into debt and thought that being in the mafia would make him super-rich."

Was I surprised to hear that? A little. "Is that why I saw him in Vegas with his dad? Shit, I actually played poker against his old man." The thought had me sitting down on a rock. "And damn, I actually beat his ass at poker." 

"Hold on, you guys actually ran into Ryan in Vegas?" This information led him to also sit on a rock next to me. "Guess he wasn't joking after all. He claimed that Vegas would be their throne. Anyways, I said something to Ryan that pissed him off a couple of days before graduation." Phillip sat there a moment to think about what he just said. "To be fair, I pissed him off a lot during high school. Made too many jokes about his mom being a whore. But during the beginning of the summer when I was fully sober in the morning, I decided to take a trip to New Mexico to take a look at the college Amber decided to go to. Once I reached Sheep City, an officer pulled me over and arrested my ass for a DUI. That damn officer was Ryan's dad himself. For most of the summer, I was locked up and never even saw a judge. It was just a few days ago that I was able to get out of jail. The old man in the jail was somehow able to get ahold of some keys. He was also able to get us out. Once I was out, I got ahold of a cop uniform."

Hazel

We came across a wide variety of marshmallows at Walmart. My sister didn't hesitate to take as many packs as she could.

"You know," I began while pushing the cart. "It's been a while since I've actually been camping. I'm kind of looking forward to doing this with the five of us."

"You remember the time we went camping as a family?" Hannah crossed out Marshmallows on her list.

"No, not really." Was Hannah joking or was she being serious? "We actually went camping together?"

"You were about three years old. And I was obviously a lot older. That's probably why I remember it so well. It's also probably the only good memory I have of dad."

It was a beautiful summer night. Mom and dad took all of us camping at a nearby camping sight for the week. It would be a week of fishing, swimming, and boat riding. At only three years old, I was learning how to make s'mores for the first time. In my own hands, held a stick with a marshmallow barely hanging on to the stick. Dad was making sure we all had the proper supplies needed to make a s'more. With my stick in the roaring heated fire, my marshmallow immediately fell into the fire. There was no way it would be able to be retrieved.

"Hey, don't worry about it," spoke my dad who sat next to me and took my stick. "When making a s'more, it's important to get that sucker all the way on the stick. He showed me how to get the white treat all the way on the stick. Once it was on the stick, it was handed back to me. "Alright, make sure to put that stick in the fire. Once the marshmallow looks burnt enough, get it out."

Proud of the fact that my stick had what it needed, my hand put it in the fire. Right before my eyes, was a burning treat that was becoming less white. My sight had never seen anything like it. My face couldn't help but grin at what was happening. Never would my young self have ever guessed that something like this was ever possible. With fire all over the treat, my dad patted me on the back and instructed me to get the stick out of the fire. Step by step, he showed me how to make the rest of the s'more. Moments later, the s' more was in my grip ready to be eaten. My entire family was excited to see me eat one of these delicious things for the first time.

"Come on Hazel, try it," encouraged Hannah who's lips had chocolate on them. "It's good."

It did look good. Surely, it had to be good. Closing my eyes unsure of what my taste buds were about to endure, my teeth took the first bite. My dad wasted no time in giving me a hug with lots of kisses on the cheek.  

"You know," I commented. "I think I actually might remember that. What the hell happened to our father to make him want to control our lives?"

"Right? Can we have our real father back?"

Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Thanks for sticking around. Don't forget to comment and vote!

Have you ever had a s'more?

Should Joey and Phillip be worried about Ryan?