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.
In the aftermath of the party, Charlie seeks professional help to understand his feelings. New clues make him wonder if there could be more to the resort than meets the eye. A visit to Bunny Burrow brings him and Parker closer together. And a trip to the showers reveals things about himself that Charlie would never have guessed.
Clueless Dad, Part Seven is a 7,800-word short story and part seven of a nine-part series.
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Excerpt
I wanted to experience being young and carefree with my son. I needed to show him how important that was. Most of all, I wanted to bond with him before he left home.
This place was giving us that. Nicky was happier than I had seen him in years. He felt safe enough to come out to me here. We had been having so much fun together. I never wanted it to end.
And yet, I was uneasy.
I couldn’t quite put my finger down on why exactly. It wasn’t something I had brought up with Dr. Kenneth—a list that was growing the more I thought about it. I wasn’t sure when it had started either.
It was like an itch begging to be scratched, or a drawing in my gut. I almost felt like I had forgotten something. The longer I dwelled on it, the more I became convinced that something was wrong.
That was absurd, of course.
At least, that was what I kept telling myself. I had read somewhere that feelings of anxiety and paranoia can develop whether or not there is a cause for them. Chances were that I was feeling anxious because everything was going so well. My mind was convinced things would eventually go south, so it was gearing up to handle the incoming pressure. But because there wasn’t any, I was jumping at things that weren’t there.
To prove the point to myself, I slowed my pace and looked around. There were quite a few dads and sons out today. I noticed that most of them were wearing camp T-shirts signifying which area they were from.
One pair made me smile. There was nothing extraordinary happening. The dad was simply walking along with one arm around his son’s shoulders.
The son wasn’t trying to get away. In fact, he was leaning into his dad’s side as they walked. The son looked up at his father and I could see that the young man was positively beaming.
If anything, it looked like the son was head over heels in love.
My stomach fluttered. Hastily, I turned away as though I had just witnessed something I shouldn’t have. My eyes caught sight of another dad and son.
They were fishing together. Each had their legs hanging over the edge of the docks, dangling them so that their feet brushed the surface of the water. Dad had one hand resting on his son’s knee.
Slowly, the son leaned into his dad. It was a maneuver similar to the one I had just witnessed. The dad was moving his hand as well. Their backs were to me and the two were so close together that I couldn’t tell where the dad was touching his son.
I could see a portion of the dad’s upper arm, however. He was moving it back and forth. The son had moved his own arm as well. He was stroking up and down along his dad’s back.
I stood there for a moment and watched the two set their fishing poles aside. It looked like they were done for the day. I didn’t see any fresh catches or full buckets near them.
And yet, the two didn’t stand up and leave. They remained where they were, watching the lake while sitting so close to one another. If I didn’t know they were father and son, I’d have said they were cuddling.
And their hands kept moving. The son rubbed his father’s back slowly, caressing it. The dad’s arm continued to stroke a part of his son that I couldn’t see.