Welcome to Camp Wannakukka! A special place for fathers and their sons. Camp Wannakukka provides a safe, relaxing environment for men who wish to bond with their young sons in a unique and permanent way. At Camp Wannakukka, we hope that the bonds forged here will last a lifetime.
The momentous occasion has arrived! It is time to begin the Campfire Wars. Charlie Smith could not be more excited. This is exactly the sort of father/son bonding experience that he came to Camp Wannakukka for.
Except, these games have some very strange rules. Fathers and sons aren’t necessarily paired up with one another. Some of the sons and dads on his team seem apprehensive. And why can’t Nick sit still in the other Daddy’s kayak?
Clueless Dad, Part Three is a 4,000-word short story and part three of a nine-part series.
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Excerpt
We were less than halfway across the lake when the first kayak tipped over. The pair were a father and son from Bunny Burrow and Hawk’s Nest respectively. It looked like they had lost their shirts at some point. Wisely, though, the two had kept their life vests on.
I was about to ask if they were all right. But then, I saw the father swim over to where the son was. He immediately wrapped both arms around the younger man from behind. They were too far away, but it looked like the son was having trouble staying up.
I turned away and kept on rowing. From what I saw, the son was in good hands. It looked like the older man had a good grip on him and was helping him stay above water. That was a relief!
Another kayak tipped shortly afterward. This one had a son from Bunny Burrow paired up with a father from Hawk’s Nest. The son made the mistake of panicking the moment they were in the water. Fortunately, the dad from Hawk’s Nest took control.
I watched as he seized hold of the son with both arms, pinning him so that they faced each other. This guy may have been a lifeguard, or had at least taken some lessons. He was certainly doing his damnedest to keep the younger man’s head way above water—a little higher than I thought was necessary, honestly.
The effort paid off, though. I noticed as we went past that the son had stopped resisting. He was muttering something now, but it looked like all the fight had gone out of him. He simply held on while the father bounced his smaller body up out of the water.
They too had taken off their shirts at some point. I saw them drift by as Parker and I paddled past. It looked like something else was in the water as well. I blinked, then focused my attention on pulling ahead.
For a second there, though, I could have sworn it was a pair of underwear.