The Reunion
WARNING: If it is illegal for you to be reading these stories or you find them disgusting or immoral, please refrain from reading further. Must be 18+ to read! Any characters, places, or people depicted in this story is entirely in the fantasy and imagination of the writer and are in no way meant to portray anyone in real life. Any people, places, or actions depicted in this story that reflect real life events or situations is entirely by accident or coincidence.
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The Reunion
Just like clockwork the rain started up last night. I wanted to cancel the trip but the women were having none of that talk; this could be the last reunion they'd be able to attend. So, with much trepidation, I went out in the rain at 6:30am and backed the truck up to hitch the travel trailer. I was glad we got the cargo light package but it still wasn't fun connecting the fifth wheel in the rain. We had already put our luggage inside the camper so all we had to do is help the old women up into the Ram 2500. Once they were settled, I climbed into the driver's seat, thoroughly soaked every place the rain poncho didn't cover. The diesel engine growled as the truck pulled into Atlanta traffic; I wondered which would be the worst part of the drive, here or in the mountains.
And just like that, we were on our way to the family reunion. It was to be held in Cataloochee, inside the Great Smoky Mountains National Park; inside Palmer Chapel to be more specific. Isaac's family, same as mine, came from those mountains. Generations of our ancestors had lived and died within the confines of that valley. My grandfather moved the family down to Atlanta when my dad was only about 14. Dad always wanted to move back to the mountains of his childhood, but mother was a born and bred Georgia peach and preferred the faster paced life of Atlanta. In all my 36 years I had never been to the old family lands which were now all a part of the national park system. Isaac tells me I'm getting ahead of myself, let me introduce us. My name is Asher Palmer. Isaac's grandmother was a descendant of the Caldwell family; Lanelle left the valley to be the first woman in the family to attend college. In Atlanta, love struck her and she ended up married to a man named Schwartz and she stayed and built a life there. There were four of us in all headed for a reunion with people Isaac and I didn't know. In the back seat were our reasons for attending this reunion; Isaac's mother Lanelle Caldwell Schwartz, and my great aunt Lizzy Hannah Reston; the two were some kind of distant cousins, though they had never satisfactorily explained the connection to us. The trip up from Atlanta would take 3 hours and 43 minutes according to Google, based on the route Isaac's mother insisted we take. It was uneventful and kind of tedious until we reached US 74. The feelings of déjà vu began about the time we got into Murphy, North Carolina.
At Andrews I pulled into the rest area. We could all use the bathroom by now and I knew from the old women's incessant chatter that the road up to the campground was going to be a beast. Isaac and I stood outside waiting for the girls, who had found a willing ear inside; it might be a while before they were done. We walked around and looked at the enormous peonies all around the grounds, and once hidden from view Ike took the opportunity to give me the kiss, I didn't get this morning due to seemingly ever-present septuagenarians. The women were well aware that we were `that way' as they would whisper, but they insisted that they not be reminded of it. Which is one reason I was happy we had bought a fifth wheel camper. One great features of fifth wheel campers are the separated master bedrooms. The sofa and dinette would convert into beds for the ladies but we had our own love nest upstairs and behind closed doors.
Fifteen minutes later, just as my pants were getting tight from making out behind the bushes, we heard the voices of the women as they made their way out to the parking lot. Lanelle saw us and asked me why my face was so flushed; Aunt Lizzy elbowed her and the subject was dropped. We helped them back into the truck and made our way back onto the road. The driving was a little more strenuous. In Waynesville we stopped and filled the truck up since I wasn't sure if there would be diesel close to the park or not. While the pump was running, I struck up a conversation with a man pulling a horse trailer about the length of our fifth wheel. I asked if he'd ever been up to Cataloochee.
"Just headed home from there" he said "we camped up there for a week." He hitched his thumb toward the next island where another truck with a Rockwood Ultra Lite almost the twin of ours was sitting.
"How hairy is the trip up, I've heard horror stories" I asked him.
"You got here at a good time, just take it slow. Lots of blind curves, but this time of day you shouldn't pass that many people coming out" he said. "If it comes to it, just remember that going up you have the right of way, make the other guy do the backing up."
The stuff he was saying really didn't make me feel much better, but we were committed; the space was rented for the week and we had to get there and claim it. When we first turned onto Cove Creek Road, I had another déjà vu flash of a gravel road and being in a buckboard loaded with supplies. I shook my head and it faded away. Almost immediately the road started climbing and the Cummins started growling. I was feeling less and less confident as we gained elevation. In a Corolla or some other subcompact car this might be a fun road, but with roughly 20 feet of truck and 28 feet of trailer it was in no way enjoyable. We plodded our way upward; my nerves were on edge. The never-ending chatter of the women, the tight curves, the steep climb and suddenly, after a switchback, I was met with gravel. The only good thing about it was after a short additional climb the road more or less levelled out for a little way. We passed a car coming out but thankfully it was in a straightaway that was plenty wide for passing. It took about 20 minutes to make it to the national park boundary and the road improved once we got onto the government-maintained portion. We met head-on with another truck pulling a horse trailer in a curve but he expertly backed to a wide spot so we could pass. I stopped even with his cab and told him thank you. In another 10-15 minutes we came to the pavement leading into Cataloochee; I flexed my white knuckled hands for the first time in about an hour. It was still kind of curvy, but it was two lane with a line in the middle.
When we pulled into the campground, I turned it over to Isaac. I'm still not great at backing this rig up so he put the camper into the spot. We got it unhitched and levelled and pulled out the awning so we could set up chairs and take a breather. Isaac went inside and came out with some sweet tea for the ladies. On the second trip he came out with two Styrofoam cups for us; I could smell the much-appreciated bourbon as soon as he got near. Halfway into the second Jack and coke, I was feeling much more relaxed.
Aunt Lizzy, even at the advanced age of 87 was still spry as most people in their fifties, and Lanelle at 86 was in good shape too. While me and my lover sat buzzed and just enjoying the sounds of nature around us the two octogenarians set out on a stroll around the campground to find other family members they knew. We could tell from their pace and their penchant for running their mouths that an opportunity had arisen. Ike set his drink in the cupholder an pulled me up into our bedroom in the camper.
We shut the door and made sure to turn on some music for cover noise just in case, then began unwrapping each other. There really wasn't a lot to the process; it was August and we only had on shorts and t-shirts. I pushed him back onto the bed and pulled his shorts down around his ankles and took his nearly seven inches all the way into my throat till my nose was buried in some very erotic smelling pubes. I stuck my tongue out and rolled it around underneath his sack, making his balls dance around. He paused me long enough to pull me into a 69 position so that he could do the same to me. I had about a half inch less to work with but it was also a fraction thicker than he was. Neither of us are cut; in fact, that's one way we got together. We found each other on one of those cellphone apps, we'd both been searching for other uncut men. Later on, we found out we might be distantly related. But, back to the present. Isaac's tongue was under my foreskin swirling around and I wasn't going to last long. We didn't really know how much time we had so neither of us was holding back anyway. I pulled back until I just had his head in my mouth and I worked him over hard and fast. I had both my hands gripping his ass like they had gripped the steering wheel earlier when I felt his cock get just that little bit more rigid and he began filling my mouth with his juices. He kept up his swirling action and I was about to pop when he shoved a finger into my hole and I exploded. He went all the way down on me and I could feel his throat constricting around my cock as he swallowed over and over. We grabbed a towel and wiped our faces as we got dressed and went back out to casually take our seats again.
As it turned out, we needn't have been in such a hurry; it was nearly another hour before Lizzy and Lanelle got back with several other oldsters in tow. The two men were supposedly cousins of ours, Edgar and Mose Woody; they had grown up with our little old ladies back in the day. Along with them was their grandson Benjamin (call me Benji) who appeared to be in his early twenties. Isaac offered our guests some iced tea, but Edgar looked into Isaac's cup and said he'd really prefer what we were having with a raised eyebrow toward Mose, who rapidly agreed. I got up and made drinks for the elders and Benji came in as I was about to pour some tea for him. He had on some red runner shorts that had a little bump sticking out a few inches under the waistband that was broadcasting some heavy duty gaydar. He quickly set me straight and assured me he was of legal age so I let him make himself a drink while I carried the cups out to the seniors at the picnic table.
"You boys and your liquor" Aunt Lizzy said, shaking her head in mock disgust. If I didn't know any better, I would have sworn she was flirting with the old men.
"Now that you've had your constitutional, I think us young folks will have a look around" I said in the direction of the ladies.
"Have fun honey" Aunt Lizzy said.
"Don't let the bears eat you" Isaac's mother chimed in.
Benji quickly downed his drink, not wanting to be left alone with the senior brigade. We walked out of the campground and down the road and I was struck with another weird waking dream. I saw a little boy in way too big overalls, the legs rolled up nearly to his knees, walking barefoot down the road we were on, only in the vision it wasn't a road – just a trail. A little way down the trail the boy turned left and crossed a foot bridge made from a huge split log. I was in the lead and I followed the steps of the boy in my vision and it led to a foot bridge. This bridge was obviously a more modern one, raised way above the water on sets of stone steps, but nevertheless in the same general area. I had a lot of thoughts rolling through my brain when they were knocked out by Benji proclaiming "I took my first dick bent over this foot bridge!" with a big smile. Me and Ike busted out into laughter, Benji shrugged and joined in.
"I knew you were my kind of guys" he said.
"I had my suspicions about you back at the camper" I said.
"How old were you when this event took place?" Isaac asked him.
"17, so it was about 4 years ago" Benji said. "It was a buddy of mine from the reservation, we all kid him and call him Elk Meat. But, let me tell you, it's not much of a joke. The dude is hung; I couldn't walk right for a day or so."
"How did you get to know the Cherokees?" I asked him.
"I am one of the Cherokees" he said, "I know, I'm one of the white-looking ones but I have full membership in the tribe."
Ike was more interested in the previous subject – "So, this Elk Meat, how old a guy is he?"
"He's three years older than me, so that'd make him 24 now" he said.
"Do y'all still get together?" Isaac asked.
"Occasionally, but he's more into the stinky pink these days" Benji said wistfully.
"Are you camping with the old guys?" I asked him.
"Yep, here all week as chauffer and gopher" he said.
"Well, maybe we can help you out some while we're here" I said.
"Damn skippy" Ike added.
"Cool. We can skip out tonight after the oldsters go to bed and you two might get to tap this in an historical house" Benji said.
"So, this log fuck, how exactly did y'all do it?" Ike just would not let it go.
Benji jumped up and straddled the log, laying on his stomach with his nicely rounded ass up in the air. "It was a little like this" he said, winking. I could see all the way up the leg of the red shorts to what was dangling down toward the log. The scene vanished for a minute as I blanked out into another of my `waking dreams'. I saw the same little boy as before except now he was standing on the other side of the bridge bent over holding onto a tree with the overalls around his ankles and an older boy was pounding his ass. For a boy his age he had a pretty big joystick poking out in front of him.
"Should I take a picture for you?" Ike was saying.
"What?" I asked, coming out of my daydream. I realized my gaze was fixed on the fine ass in front of me still, although I wasn't really seeing it. I proceeded to fill them in on the weird déjà vu and daydreams I kept having.
"Sounds like visions" Benji said. "Some of the guys in the tribe talk about being able to see the past, some even say they can see the future but not as many."
"The boy lived down that trail I think" I said.
"That's Caldwell fork, but it runs into the Boogerman Trail a little way in" Benji said.
"Boogerman" I said "is it haunted or something?"
"No...at least I don't think so" he answered. "It's named after Robert Palmer, no not that one, he lived here back in the 1800s. The story is a teacher asked Robert what he wanted to be when he grew up and he told her he wanted to be the boogerman. The nickname kind of stuck to him after that."
"My vision boy is not part of Boogerman's family" I said "but I think I was a Palmer."
"Do what?" Isaac asked, "you mean you think he was a Palmer?"
"Yeah...I guess, what did I say?" I asked.
"Never mind" he said. "We better get back and make some dinner for the widows."
I nodded and we started back down the road, it took a little walking before the bump in Benji's shorts calmed down. When they saw us coming back the elderly gentlemen stood up and called for Benji to come with them and get some grub going. We waved and said `see you later' knowing that we had evening plans.
"Benjamin's daddy is an Indian, did you boys know that?" Lanelle asked.
"Yes, grandma, he told us" Isaac said.
"Ain't that something, us knowing an Indian?" she mused.
"They're called Native Americans these days" Isaac told her, she nodded and went about her business, she couldn't care less about the modern world.
"What do y'all want for dinner?" I asked Aunt Lizzy.
"Does this thing have a kitchen?" she asked in return.
"Yes, ma'am" I said.
"I'll make us some chicken and dumplings then if you have the stuff" she said.
"Right now, we don't have the ingredients. We mostly have sandwich makings and some canned goods. You can check the cabinets if you want" I told her. She nodded and went inside, Lanelle followed her.
Ike and I finished the drinks we'd left earlier when we went on our walk with Benji. It was peaceful here in a way that seeped into your bones. I was about halfway asleep when the ladies called us in to dinner. With a couple of cans of cream of chicken soup and a package of canned biscuits they had managed to show me and come up with some makeshift chicken and dumplings (minus the actual chicken). As it started to get dark, we made out the beds for the two women and told them we were going to sit outside for a while longer before going to bed. It was only about 8 or 8:30 when they bedded down for the night. Around 9 Benji showed up with a flashlight and we set off for another adventure.
The rangers had already closed the main gates so we crossed the road in the dark and started toward the Palmer house before he turned the flashlight on. He didn't want the ranger stopping us. It was a longer walk than I was expecting but we got to the house and he showed us up to the second floor, such that it was. Moonlight was coming in the two big windows, painting the room with a silver light. Benji pulled off his backpack and pulled out a blanket, a bottle of lube and some condoms. I went hard almost instantly; he hadn't been bluffing.
There was enough light that when he started undressing, I could easily make out the long foreskin leading down to a nozzle point, where his dick lay over his sack. We couldn't stay in here all night, so I flipped a coin. Upside was me and down facing was Ike. When I lifted my hand I got heads, meaning Ike would get to plow the boy's ass. I'd have to make do with the mouth (this time, anyway). Well, I decided I was going to get my coin's worth and once I had lost my clothes, I slid under Benji who was up on his knees with my boyfriend's fingers in his ass. I grabbed hold of his hips and pulled myself up onto his dangling cock and seconds later I felt his hot mouth engulf mine. Isaac, in the meantime, had penetrated Benji's tight hole and every time he pushed in, it was causing Benji's cock to shove into my throat. Benji was moaning around my dick and it felt heavenly. As Ike got into a faster rhythm and plowed him harder, Benji dropped off his knees and onto my face but quickly rolled to the side and lifted his right leg so Ike would have easier access. I didn't miss a beat as I slobbered all over Benji's cock and balls and it felt like his throat had been designed as a holster for my peter. All this sweaty, moaning, writhing was coming to a pinnacle as Benji's dick was slammed into my throat by the final thrust from Isaac as he filled the rubber up inside Benji's ass. Seconds later Benji and I blasted into each other's mouths almost simultaneously. I turned myself around and he and I shared our offerings with each other then we both kissed Isaac, giving him a taste of what he had missed out on. We heard a vehicle outside. The ranger was making a patrol. We lay flat in the floor until we heard him turn around and head back for his quarters. We quickly got dressed and out of the house. After we took a quick piss together, we headed back to the campground. At the entrance, we split off and put out the lantern and made our way inside and into bed. I couldn't tell if the old women were asleep or not, but they didn't make any sounds.
In the bedroom Isaac whispered that it looked like I enjoyed being with Benji more than with him. I assured him that wild, crazy sex in the night was exciting in and of itself and didn't necessarily reflect any underlying feelings he thought I had for Benji.
"Therapist psychobabble bullshit" he whispered. I leaned over and kissed him and put my arm across his chest as he was falling asleep.
Noises. Smells – coffee and was that bacon? I struggled into consciousness. Where am I. Oh yeah, camping. The old women must be up. I untangled myself from Isaac and pulled on my shorts before walking into the bathroom to relieve my bladder. Afterwards, I started into the kitchen and was met with "We won't be having half naked men at the breakfast table". I turned around and went back in the bedroom to get a shirt and saw Ike sitting up, I guess all the activity had woken him.
"If you're coming to eat breakfast, put on a shirt, if not you'll get sent back" I said. He chuckled and flipped his dick at me as I backed out the door to try again.
"That's better" Aunt Lizzy said, offering me a mug of hot black coffee which I took to the counter and doctored up with milk and sugar. I saw the bedroom door open so I went ahead and poured Isaac a mug too. On the table, the ladies had made bacon and eggs and baked the other roll of canned biscuits. I guess there was no kitchen they couldn't conquer. I was glad they found the paper plates, that would only leave us a pan and a spatula to wash. While we were cleaning up the ladies took off to make a round through the campground again. This time we found them at Edgar and Mose's campsite. Benji sheepishly mumbled "G'mornin" when we walked up.
"What time do the festivities get going?" I asked.
"Usually around 11 o'clock" Edgar said. I looked at my watch, it was only 8:30. Benji said he wanted to show us something but we'd need to take the truck.
"Ok, let's go" I said.
"Just a second, let me grab a towel. You guys might want one too" he said.
We got in the truck and rode past the scene of our erotic adventure last night until we reached a bridge. There was plenty of room to park but there was a sign saying no parking so we had to back down the road and pull over on the shoulder. We left our shirts in the truck and walked back to the creek and waded into the water; it was icy cold but we all had a little funk going on. Benji actually smelled like sex on legs, it was a good thing his charges couldn't smell very well. We stood in the water and washed the odor off each other and again I slipped into a daydream. I was the boy from before, I looked around and saw my overalls laying on the rocks beside the creek, I was bare-ass naked in the creek. When I looked to my right there was no bridge, but the banks were rutted on both sides from wagon wheels where folks had forded the creek. I/the boy looked around to make sure nobody was nearby and once I was satisfied I/he started pulling on my peter. I sat down on a big rock sticking up out of the water and worked it until it was standing a proud stiff 4 inches with the skin rolled back behind the head. I splashed a little water on it and started fisting it rapidly; afraid to take too long in case somebody decided to come through. After a few minutes my legs went stiff and a few drops of thin milky looking stuff came out the end of my thing. I washed it off quick and finished cleaning up.
"Well, the cold water agrees with somebody" Isaac was saying as I zoned back into reality. I looked down and realized my dick was so hard it was pulling my shorts out from my waist.
"It's your turn, go ahead and wash the rest" they said. They blocked the view so I could take the shorts off and wash my ass and dick before quickly pulling them back on. After I finished, we headed back to the campground. It was still early for the actual reunion but we decided to ride up and look for elk before the folks started showing up. I must have taken 100 pictures before I stopped. It was a little after 10 so we rode back to the camper and got the dishes the ladies had prepared for the reunion and went back up to get a good parking spot. In an hour the old church was packed with all sorts of Palmers, Caldwells, Woodys, Messers, Hannahs; all either distant relatives or descendants of neighbors in the past. There were about twenty of the older ones; some of them probably wouldn't see another reunion. Our group were having the time of their lives talking to everybody and reminiscing with the ones they already knew. We had lunch and things started breaking up around 4 o'clock; a lot of the older folks were getting worn out and ready to go rest. Around 5 it was pretty much emptied out and we took the ladies back to the camper. Now that everything was over, they were a little down and decided to go in and take a rest. Isaac and I decided we could use some alone time so we took our bikes down and rode up to the big Caldwell house. There were still a few tourists around but it was mostly clearing out.
Inside the house we walked through the rooms just quietly looking around. Upstairs in the back of the house I looked out a window and went into another daydream. I saw the boy (who I'd grown to think of as myself) standing in the woods out of sight from the man on the ground who was beating another boy with a switch on his bare ass. The man was quietly telling the crying boy that he had to beat the sin out of him. It is an abomination unto God for a man to lie with another man. The boy cried and screamed and I cried standing on the other side of the bushes; both because I was afraid for my friend as well as afraid the man would tell my daddy since I was the other boy his son had been laying with. So far Zeke hadn't given the man my name but I didn't know if he could hold out. Isaac put his arm around my shoulders dragging me back to the present.
"Why are you crying?" he asked. I went through the latest episode in my dream/fantasy world. I was still standing at the edge of the window trying to stay hidden from the outside world.
"You have a name...Zeke, probably Ezekiel Caldwell, considering the house we're in. We'll see if that is a real person and take it from there" he said. I nodded, still shaken by the scene my mind had showed me.
The only other thing that happened during our time there was on a hike with Benji. We decided to walk the Boogerman Loop Trail. On the Caldwell Fork Trail that connected to the Boogerman, we found the old Shelton & Caldwell cemetery. We went in and walked around it. It was a little overgrown but you could see the delineation from cemetery to the surrounding woods. Out of the corner of my eye I could see a big white rock outside the cemetery under the trees. Another daydream came over me and I watched as the man from the beating carried the lifeless body of the boy through the cemetery we were standing in and threw it into a hole beyond the sacred grounds. He stood filling in the hole with tears running down his face, then packed the dirt and rolled a big rock on top of it. I came back to present time and walked over toward the rock and was engulfed in icy cold air. I had to get away. I ran back the way we'd come; no longer wanting to finish the hike. In my dream vision I was the mystery boy again, running from the place, barely able to see due to the tears running down my face. I was full of pain and anger; the bastard killed Zeke! Nothing would be done. He lied and told them Zeke fell off a cliff; it explained the bruises all over his body. But even so, the man wouldn't let the boy be buried on church grounds. The things Zeke and that other boy had done would keep them from ever getting into heaven and he couldn't be laid in consecrated ground so he was put in a cold hole in the woods.
When I got back to the camper, the ladies were up and in deep conversation. I walked in and sat down and Aunt Lizzy came over and sat by me.
"You've been living in the past this week" she said.
"Ma'am?" I acted like I didn't know what she was talking about, but it was clear she knew. She continued as if I hadn't tried to feign ignorance.
"That boy you keep seeing was named Asariah Palmer. You won't find him nor Ezekiel Caldwell in any of the genealogies. Back in the old days boys who liked boys the way of you and Isaac were outcasts. When Zeke fell to his death (at least that's what his father told folks), it wasn't a week before Asa leapt to his own death. I only know this as it was passed down in whispers from grandmothers to mothers to daughters over the years" she said. I looked at her dumbfounded until she continued.
"We have a confession to make. While we like a reunion as good as the next old fart, we brought you here under false pretenses. Your mother, God rest her soul, always had an ability to see the things that once were and I suspected you might be able to as well. There's one more place I want you to visit before we leave here tomorrow" she went on to give me directions to the Palmer Cemetery and what to look for there.
I didn't sleep much that night and first light I got up and left on my own to find the place Lizzy told me about, it was a long walk but once I got into the cemetery I walked to the back and just outside in the woods there was another big white rock. When I touched it, I was filled with grief and pain and sadness to the point I broke down sobbing. Through tearstained eyes I looked up and sitting on the rock was the boy I now knew was Asa Palmer. "It wasn't fair" he said to me. "Me and Zeke loved each other more than cousins or brothers or anything. All we wanted was to be together. You're my kin though separated by the ages, just as the man with you is Zeke's kin. Y'all can have what we couldn't ever have. Hold him tight and never let him go." My body was wracked with sobs of soul-shattering grief as he spoke. "One other thing Asher. Come home. You don't belong in that place where you are. Look for land close to the valley and we'll make it work out for you. Me and Zeke. Next to him I could see the other boy standing with his hands on Asa's shoulders. I got up and started to walk away, when I turned to look back, they were gone.
The trip down the mountain wasn't as scary as I expected to be. I was preoccupied so fear had no foothold in my brain. When we got back to Atlanta, I told Isaac every detail about what I'd seen and heard. By the time I was done he was crying. I spent every spare minute on websites looking for land for sale as close to Cataloochee as I could find. About two weeks later, just as I was about to give up, I found a new listing for land that abutted the national park, ten acres. The price was a little steep to put it mildly but by blind faith in a ghost I talked Isaac to going in with me and putting a down payment on it. We scraped by making payments on it for a year and when it was time for the annual reunion, we happily picked up the increasingly frail women and made our way back to the valley. On the way Aunt Lizzy bought a quick pick lottery ticket and tucked it inside her pocketbook and didn't think about it again.
At the campground, we met up with Benji who now had a boyfriend of his own. It seems that Elk Meat had a younger brother who had the same proclivities as Benji and once they met it was all over. He let us know that it was almost as big as Elk Meat's was. The sad thing was this time Edgar was alone, Mose had passed away around Christmas time. From the look of Edgar, this could well be his last reunion. I went all around and took Ike to the places I'd seen the visions of the past but no spirits showed up for me this time. It was with sadness when we went back to the bustling city I'd come to despise.
It was about a week later. We were back in Buckhead watching television when my cellphone rang; caller ID said it was Aunt Lizzy. The lottery ticket she bought had netted her one tenth of the big jackpot. The jackpot was $550 million dollars. That meant the ten winners were going to split $382 million dollars after taxes. Lizzy paid off our land and gave me enough for us to build a house on it. Asa said he and Zeke would make it work for us.
The last official thing we did in Atlanta was get married. We deeded one acre of our land with a building spot to Benji and Daniel. The next several years we would drive back to Atlanta and pick up our relatives for the reunion until they were no longer able to come. Then we went in their places. In April of 2020 Aunt Lizzy passed on due to Covid 19, or so they told me. I suspected it was just old age as she was 94 years old at the time. My surprise came when I found out she left the remainder of the lottery winnings to us which amounted to a little over $32 million dollars.
I hired a sandblaster to go into the woods at two mountain cemeteries and inscribe onto two big white rocks the names of Ezekiel Caldwell and Asariah Palmer with the inscription "Separated in this world, together in the next." I could feel the warmth flowing through me as the boys stood to the side and watched the man work.
At the reunion in 2020 we were told about a young Messer boy whose parents had put him out because of stuff he'd been caught doing all in whispered gossip. Isaac put feelers out to find out who this boy was and with friends pulling some strings, Micah Messer became our adopted son just before Christmas.
Lambodara 11/01/21
This is a one-part story, written in one day as I was wishing I was still on vacation in the Smokies.