Cookies & Cream Ch. 34

"Hello! Welcome to Camp Hattawata! Billy Liberstat at your service! What can I do for you?"

"Hi, I'm Keith Campbell. I rented cabin 238 last summer."

"Oh yeah, I remember you! You're that actor from Toronto!"

The man in the car became modest. "Yeah, I'm an actor, but I don't want to brag about it. Is that cabin still available? I liked that cabin."

"It sure is! I'll give you the key."

"Thanks, buddy!" Keith took off his sunglasses and watched the women walking around the place. He grinned at them as they walked. He became stiff when their voices chattered and laughed. He knew the camp will be better than last year. When Billy gave the guest his key, he thanked the councilor and drove into the campground. Another car pulled over and started honking.

"Well!" Billy dashed over and saw a jeep waiting for him. "The summer officially begins!" He rushed over to the driver. "Hello! Welcome to Camp Hattawata!"

"Ha, nice!" The guy answered, his accent gave way where he was from. "So, this is the camp resort my pal gabbed about."

"Oh! So, your friend recommended this place to you? Swell! Tell me your name and I'll give you your key."

"It's Michael Bianchi."

Billy nodded and went into his desk, searching for a cabin key. "Hmm, that name sounds familiar. Where did I hear that name? Oh well, I'll figure it out when the business cools down. Cabin #323, perfect!"

After the jeep took off, Daniel came over all dressed for church. "Billy?"

"Yes, sugar bum?" Billy walked over to his boyfriend and gave him a smooch. "Anything exciting?"

"Yeah, you got a few messages. There is a Lorelei Cooks that will come here in a few minutes."

"Lorelei! I forgot she's coming! I have a key already for her! Cabin #148! I need to get it!"

Daniel followed his boyfriend and helped him search for the key. When they found the key, Daniel told him about a few more guests. Billy was excited and clapped his hands! "Oh, you know what that means? This place is going to be a hot spot! Man, this is going to the most awesome summer Camp Hattawata will ever receive!"

"You will be famous, Amor!" Daniel pulled Billy closer. When they were about to kiss, another vehicle beeped. They stopped and went over to the car. He did the usual welcome and noticed a familiar face. "Vincent?"

The man's chiseled body sparkled in his waxed Fiat. His magnificent teal eyes haunted Billy. He knew him! He was the senator's brother! "Well, Vincent! What a pleasant surprise!"

"Not too pleasant I'm afraid." The man looked at his watch. "I need to speak to my brother about the latest schedule."

"You heard about the Flasher and his habit of taking sex pictures, didn't you?"

The brother raised his eyebrow and his stand of ginger hair fell on his forehead. "I do now. Do you have cabin 500 available? It's the only cabin I remembered with a jacuzzi."

"Yeah, it's still available. I'll give you the key to it." Billy sighed about his gob when he spilled the beans. He kicked himself when the Fiat drove by. Daniel hugged him and pet his shoulder to comfort him. "It's okay, Billy. You didn't know about him not knowing. You are human. And it is time to go to church. I'll give you your best dress shirt."

"Okay. It's the one with the frill in the middle, darling. I'm pretty sure the others would be the congregation. I'll put up a sign for the church goers."

Yes, Billy has a sign for Samuel's church. It was red with gold letters with a cross at the bottom. It was big enough for all to see. On the sign it reads "Entrance for the Florida Baptist Church."

The church was a tent-like structure with sunlight at the center. There was a foundation next to the tent. The pastor told us later that it will be a permanent spot for the church. For now, his tent was his church, and all are welcome to hear him.

Before the sermon began, Wilbur talked to someone on the phone. "Yes, I know it's for our safety, but it's not necessary, Mother. No, dear, I haven't been doing anything with Mavis. She's a good girl." He gave his girl a wink. "Yes? Well, the Flasher will be caught soon now that the security cameras are online.

"No, Mother, it's not like that Scottish logger incident. He was one angry man which I repulsed. Now look, the sermon is about to start soon. I'll talk to you after the service. Okay, kisses! Ta-ta!"

Mavis held his hand. She knew Wilbur's mother worries about him so much. "Okay, baby, what did your mother say this time?"

"She found out about the Flasher by Facebook." Wilbur whispered to her. His girlfriend gasped. "I know! I can't believe she has an account there!"

"Facebook has been on for ages, Wilbur! Of course, she has an account!"

"I would assume she would pick something more...current. But reliability is greater than complicated I suppose."

"Oh, she's not coming over with her Beef Wellington, is she?"

"No! Don't be silly, Mavis!" He put his arm around her as some of the church goers started to sing. "She told our old co-workers and they are coming on her behalf!"

Mavis groaned and leaned down on their bench. She looked at the corner of her eye a man in his uniform walking to the front. He was young with an eye patch over his right eye. He sat down and read his Bible while waiting for the service. Patti, Betty and Hope entered the church and walked over to the gift shop owners. Hope moved to the pew and sat next to Mavis. "Hi! Mavis, you remember Betty?"

Mavis made a stifle scream. She squealed and lunged at Betty. Wilbur grinned over his girl's excitement. "Hello, gals! Where's Frank, Hope?"

"He's coming, Wilbur. He's talking to Pastor Sam." Hope sat down and looked over at the front. "My, my! Patti, look! Your crush is here!"

Patti shushed her friend up. Mavis and Betty's eyes raised with deep interest in this dirt. "Ooh! Spill, girl, spill!" Patti gave them a sigh and smiled with a gush of blush. "His name is Stephen McCoy. He went to Jordan to defend the people against a new terrorist group."

"Oh no." Betty rolled her eyes as Mavis slumped her head for a minute. "Okay, what is this new group called?"

"Well, you remember Blitz Krieg from WWII? Well, those people from Iran/Pakistan border developed the same tactic. They call themselves ' 'aswad albarq' or the Lightning Lions. That group."

The women reacted with understanding. Patti nodded and continued speaking. "Well, he defended Jordan from those lions when one of them shot him in the eye. The bastard thought he killed him! Nope! Stephen was one stubborn man. One shot! That was all Stephen needed to take the assassin down."

"You're talking about our hero, Patti?" Frank asked as he sat next to Hope. "I know that look! That sonova bitch came back with pride and honor. Anyway, Hope, I talked to Samuel. Guess who's coming to our neck of the woods?"

"Who??"

"Stephanie is coming??" Alice whispered to her husband. He calmed his frantic wife with his arm. "Don't fret, honey pie. She's only visiting. Besides, she and Kenneth are miserable since their kids are grown."

Theresa and Eleanor heard all that and turned to Emma. She knew who Steph and Ken were. She explained to them they were once children of the Grangers' neighbors. One set of neighbors had a son; the other set had a daughter. They grew up in the community and fell in love. Got married and moved to Barbados. They lived there for over twenty years until their two kids grew up and flew out of their nest. And now they decided to come back and live there.

"Oh wow!" Theresa said, hearing the choir singing another hymn. "That is fantastic!" She turned her head both sides and leaned closer to her friends. "I got a call from Charlotte."

"Your sorority sister from your college days?"

"Yep. I kept in touch with her. You'll like her, she's a fireball! She heard all about the Flasher and wants in on the fun."

Emma found that repulsive. "My God, Theresa! What sort of fun is she thinking?"

"Trapping the Flasher at his own game!" She giggled and stomped her feet on the ground. "She loves to take photos as a hobby. She'll bring it with her. When the Flasher strikes again, she'll go stealth mode and follow him."

"What will happen if she finds him?" Eleanor asked.

"She will wait until he's vulnerable. She's like a killer. She'll shoot at the right time."

"In her words?" Emma asked. Charles patted his wife's knees as they chatted. Theresa blushed. "Not exactly. She said she'll take a picture of him fapping."

I saw the reaction from both Eleanor and Emma. Their eyes boggled and their faces white as ghosts. The gape from their mouths showed disgust, shock and regret. I can't blame them if I hear of that low plan in a church! Oh man! If that isn't blasphemous, I don't know what is! When we saw Sam walking to his podium, we shut off our phones and started to listen.

The sermon was wonderful! Samuel was strong that day. He talked about wisdom and love. The story about Solomon and the judgement was pure magic. And nostalgic since it took me back. I loved hearing the tale of two mothers claiming one son. Solomon's decision to cut the baby in half shook me, but I knew he wouldn't do it! He knew the right mother would protect her child from death. Ah, the power of wisdom!

And the power of time worked as well. Soon, the sermon was over. And the congregation thanked the pastor for a magnificent service. The Hanen sisters made their way to shake the pastor's hand They loved it when he said "Gesundheit" to Sofia after she sneezed. Freda commented it made them feel at home. After their handshaking, Maria investigated her phone. Her eyes boggled over many texts.

"What's this?" She asked, looking at the person's name. In German, the person in question said he found out about the Flasher and would come over to Orlando by plane!

"Ha! Good luck with that!" Maria put her phone away as the sisters waited for her to come out of the church tent. "Hey girls! You want to hear something funny? Kamron texted me! He said he'll travel on a plane to stay with us!"

The other three sisters laughed and cackled over that. I wasn't sure why they laughed when I asked them about Kamron. Well, by the time they explained to me about Kamron, it made sense. Kamron was a classmate of Maria in University of Munich. He was handsome and full of charisma. Women flocked to him due to his sex appeal. His only downside was this classmate was dumb as a rock! So, when he said he would travel, Maria said to me he doesn't know the first thing how. Well, joke's on them! You'll know why.

"Daddy!" Abby said to Fred as he and Claudine exited the tent. "Daddy, Boomer left me a voicemail! He said he's coming back to help you out!"

"What? Boomer!" Fred went in all shock. Claudine looked at her lover. "Who is Boomer, Fred?"

"He's my son. I thought he was working in his own farm!"

"Apparently he doesn't!" Abby scratched her brown hair. "He might have gotten a place on his own and tried to settle. Last time I called him, he said he loves Jupiter. So, what gives?"

"That's what I want to know." Fred walked with his love and daughter, thinking about why Boomer would come back other than help them on the farm. Claudine had an idea. "You wouldn't think he's coming to help us capture the Flasher, would he?"

"Oh..." Fred sighed. He had a new ambition! "Soon as we get home, I'm going to find out how he knew about that Flasher!"

"Whoa!" Cassandra cried when she looked at the texts. "It's Ashley! She texted me in messenger!"

She and Lisa walked on the trail to the diner. Lisa grabbed Cassandra over to the grass so that she wouldn't create traffic. Cars drove on the gravel and started to exit the camp. And yes, I remember Ashley. She was one of the sisters at Rho! She was the one who teepeed our dorm during Greek week! However, despite she was in our opponent sorority, we Etas admired her! She was a prank LEGEND! Who else but Ashley to take a hated professor's exams and replaced them with random quizzes?

"Is she coming because of the Flasher?" Lisa asked Cassandra. Her sister shook her head. "No, she wants to see how we're doing, and she missed this cabin. The Flasher is a given bonus! She thought of a couple of ways to trap him!"

Lisa seethed and cringed. "Oh...goodie!"

"All right!" Dustin kicked off his shoes and ran to Kat, Julie and Anna. "Guess what, guys? My best bud Cody is coming here to be a lifeguard like me!"

The girls were happy about that. Kat knew that another lifeguard means opportunity to be "saved" in the lake. She giggled and cheered for Dusty. "That's so awesome, Dusty! I do hope he's cu-good at rescuing."

"He does this better than me, kid! Lifeguards for life!" He ran over to the others while Julie and Anna walked with stunned eyes. The cousins looked at each other with questionable faces.

"What just happened?" Julie asked. Anna's hair had a tuft. "I have no idea!"

Kachina ran past the bamboozled cousins and met up with her sisters. "Willa! Miel! Tabby! Dina!" She panted as she joined the gang. The twins came afterward, their pigtails drooped and dampened. Kachina caught her breath and calmed her heart. "Jaime texted me."

"WHAT??" The girls cried out. Zeta and Yolanda blushed and covered their faces. "He's that sexy foreign exchange student from Argentina!"

"I know! He's coming over here after I told him about the place!"

"About the Flasher?" Tabby asked. Kachina wiped her sweat off her cleavage. "Well, no, but I did mention about that beach orgy."

The girls batted Kachina as Miel stood there and blushed. The ones to battered her yelled a lot of explicit words and chased her down the trail. Miel blinked and held her Sunday dress. Her phone rang, scaring her. She turned it on and spoke.

"Si? Oh hi! How are you? What? Why are you anxious? For me? Wh...oh, no! You didn't see that, did you? Look we're taking care of the problem. We have extra security. I see. Kachina told you about that, did she? Of course, she did. Are you at the airport now? Well, okay. I guess we'll see you sometime this week. I wish you happy traveling. Okay, hon. Adios."

Debbie walked with her as Miel hung up the phone. "Hey Miel, why are the girls chasing Kachina all over the soccer field?"

"Two words...beach orgy."

"Really??" Debbie facepalmed. "Damn that Brazilian chick!"

"I know. Hey! Amor called me just now!"

"Oh, I was about to ask you who was on the other line. Is Amor okay in the Philippines?"

"He's rather anxious for us. So, he is taking the next flight to Orlando. And guess what? Kachina got to him too."

"Oh...goodie! First Winnie, now Amor! Who's next?"

"Trisha!" Claire answered her phone while walking with Becky and Jessica. "Welcome back to the US! How was Kiev? Uh-huh. What's that? Now how did you find out about it? Oh, come on, you're believing Facebook? Will you show me the post? Okay, because I need proof about the post. Okay, keep me updated. Will you tell me where you are when you reach the point? Okay. See you later then. Mhmm. Bye."

"Who was that?" Becky asked. Claire sighed as she put her phone away. "That was my best friend Trisha. She'll be at the camp this evening."

"She found out about the Flasher?" Jessica asked. Claire shook her head. "That isn't the real reason, although she read about that on Facebook. No, she wants to see a beach orgy."

"She sounds like a voyeur."

"No, Jessica, Trisha is a Russian born prude. She'd put her nose in the air when she sees something like that. She'd probably think it's repugnant."

Becky laughed at that. "Well, the way I think about prude people is like this. They are only jealous because they couldn't do such wild things."

Jessica jabbed her girlfriend in the rib. "Becky! That's so crude of you! What makes you think that?"

"I lived in a neighborhood full of conservative snobs. They fear something other than a vanilla life would decimate their pedigree. Closed minds beget the gap of humanity."

Jessica looked at Becky with awe. "I have no idea you'd be philosophical."

"I work near a college campus. I hear students study that stuff all the time. As a barista, I can observe more than coffee."

"She's a barista?" Claire asked Jessica. Jessica smiled. "Pretty shocking, isn't it?"

They entered the sat at one of the outside sitting areas where the settled talked some more. At another table, Eleanor had a surprising call. She was with Theresa and Sumie when she received it. Sumie's sister and her daughters soon joined them as she talked.

"No, no, sweetums, don't come over here to protect your favorite auntie! We got this! What do you mean there are certain manipulative tricks? Boy, you got a gutter mind! But...well, at least I get to see you. It's rare to spend quality time with family these days. Okay, I'll call you tonight to make sleeping arrangements. Yeah, bye."

"Family from Ohio troubles?" Sumie asked her friend. Emma grabbed her root beer float and chugged it down. "My nephew Gary! He found out about the Flasher by some post on Facebook!"

"And word travels fast." Theresa sipped her tea. "And so are do people who cares."

Nathaniel came over with their orders. "Okay, chicas, here are your seafood appetizer platter. Your food will be ready in another ten minutes or so, ladies." The young boy smiled at them.

"Thanks, Nate." The women chomped on their clam strips as Nathaniel turned back to the diner. The inside was packed with church goers. Emma took the orders and whip up ice cream flavors at the wave of the hat. She was so happy business was normal! And the cooks got the food already to go! Charles walked from the office and opened the sliding door.

"Oi! Nathaniel!" Charles waved at his son. The boy walked over to his father. "Ben called!"

"Ben!" He yelled. His classmate from uni called for him! "I never thought that bastard would call me. He told me he'd be traveling all over Europe this summer!"

"Eh." Charles shrugged. "One little adjustment can change anyone's plan. He's coming over to our resort."

"What for?"

"Em..." He looked at his wife who was mixing up the ice cream in the cow mixer. "Good, Emma's busy. Okay, he read a post on Facebook. According to him, the post was rather...graphic."

"Graphic?"

"Yeah, he should have text the post to you by now."

Nathaniel raised his brow before taking his smartphone from his pocket. He checked his texts and sure enough there was the Facebook post!

"Here it is! Let's see...It was posted yesterday morning. And here's the picture of a column of security vans."

"What does the post say, Son?"

"Um...'The Flasher took things too far. This is the result of a prank gone wrong. The flashes of the Beach Orgy were the straw that broke the community's back. With the Flasher at large, the security would be tight.'"

"And so would a good pussy."

"Dad!" Nathaniel took a step back. "Emma's right! You do have a dirt-track mind!"

Emma looked at Charles and squinted. "Baby, what did you tell Nate?"

"Something two sensible adults would understand."

"Uh-huh. We have three more orders at table seventeen."

"Right. Tony and I got this." The husband went back to the kitchen as Emma finished mixing. By that time, John and I were together again. We sat at the counter, making small chit chats when Emma came over.

"Hello, sugs! How is everything?"

John grinned and put his arm around me. "We're doing great! Kendra and I are discussing about checking out Arts & Crafts."

"Well, that sounds fun! Arts & Crafts are so amusing to me. One time I made a fan out of old newspapers and some duct tape. I'm still amazed about my effort! Oh, speaking of, since we're in this sticky situation, I decided to make something suitable."

She took out the blender cup and let the soft cream drizzle into their signature pint. It was chocolate with some soft white glops in the mix. She put the pint in front of us. "It's Chocolate Marshmallow. It's a classic favorite to me. I hope you enjoy it." And she gave us a wink.