Date: Mon, 10 Dec 2012 19:51:39 -0800 (PST) From: Brian Roberson Subject: Apeldoorn act 3 "Apeldoorn" Act 3 Prologue The Apeldoorn Naturist Gathering started in 1946 with a group of six veterans of the Dutch Resistance and their wives. One of the ex-soldiers was Jan Van Werden , who's family owned a farm right outside of Apeldoorn. Van Werden's father Hans had died of a heart attack while baling hay in 1945. Hans had worked the farm tirelessly almost by himself throughout the war. During the Hongerwinter of 1944, by himself, he had provided potatoes, sugar beets, apples, milk, and cabbages that were smuggled past the Nazi occupiers into the city, where many were saved from complete starvation by his labors. When Jan returned from the war, he discovered that he had the farm, and it's debts, all to himself. Jan had no help on the farm. His fiancé and her entire family, who were Jewish, had died in a Belgian concentration camp. All of his cousins and his brother had died in the war, but he was determined to make the farm viable again, and to pay off all the debts. Several of his comrades from the war had all come to his aid, and had gathered at the farm to help him get his crops in. The six men and five women worked around the clock to get the farm going. One day, after a particularly hot and grueling marathon of toil, the entire group decided to go skinny dipping in the river. Soon the group began to go naked while they would work the fields and tend to the animals. After the crops had all been planted, they would all sit naked around the house and drink good beer, eat goat cheese, reminisce about the war, and contemplate how lucky they were to have survived it. The next year the same six soldiers returned with their wives to help Jan with the farm. This time, they brought along some other soldiers, who brought their wives, girlfriends, and young families with them. A couple of the soldiers also brought a few friends with them. One of these friends was Irene Smit, a 19 year old girl who lived in Apeldoorn. She and Jan fell madly and hopelessly in love. They would marry the following spring. Every year the soldiers would return and bring their growing families with them. Jan and Irene started having their own kids. Everybody would go naked while they wandered around the farm sampling whatever crops were in season, petting the animals, and swimming in the river. At night they would sit around campfires and sing songs. As the decades went by, the kids started having kids of their own, and they would bring them. More and more people would come every year. The gathering kept growing and growing, although never too much, as the event was not publicized. One of the original six soldiers who attended the gathering was an ex- corporal named Edvard Van Koning. He and his wife Amber would go there every year until they both died within a month of each other in late 1985. Their son Torsten and daughter Sara also attended every year with them, ever since they were born. Torsten had met his future wife Josien Visser at the river one day back in 1977. They eventually married, and had a son that they named Koenraad, who was born in 1981. They didn't take Koenraad to the gathering until he was two years old. When they first took him there, they stripped his clothes off of him, and watched delighted as he ran around naked in the sun. After that, they attended as a family every year... ************************************************************************************ "Koenraad! Where have you been? You have been gone for hours1" Mother said loudly to me as I reappeared at the camper. `Sorry Mother. I was at the river and I saw Klaas and we played a football game and I went to the petting zoo. I didn't mean to be gone so long." "Koenraad, are you all right?" Father asked as he came out of the camper with his guitar. "You haven't been yourself since we got here. You have been sneaking off and acting mysteriously. You've never done these things before." "I'm sorry, Father." "You haven't participated in any of the games and activities yet. You've always participated before." "I know, Father. Hey, by the way, I saw Klaas earlier and they are having a big barbecue in a couple of hours that we are invited to. " "We know." Mother said. "Nelleke was here earlier. She told us about it." "Did she tell you about what's happening with her parents?" "Yes. I know that Lotte won't be there. Don't you be mentioning that or bringing that up to anybody. If they want to tell you, I guess that's fine. But it isn't your affair to be telling others about, or to bring up in conversation with anybody." Mother said as she folded up a table cloth. "Yes Mother." Father was sitting on a lawn chair tuning his guitar. "Koenraad, will you sing for me? We haven't sung yet since we got here." I smiled. "Sure Father." I said as I sat Indian style on the ground facing him. Father then started picking out some familiar notes, and when it was time for me to do so, I started singing "t Visserke". Mother was swooning side to side with her eyes closed as she clutched the folded up table cloth in front of her, and a long haired man at one of the nearby cars started playing along with a harmonica. As I sang I looked down at the ground and clutched my right foot with my left hand. When it ended, I heard applause, looked up, and saw that a small group had gathered and were all clapping. I smiled at them, and Father then started playing again. He went into "I've Just Seen A Face" by the Beatles. I sang the songs harmony part in the chorus with him, and some in the crowd were singing along too. The long haired man was now banging two cans together and some other people were dancing. I got up and sat on Father's left leg and we then went into "Stilte Voor De Storm", which I harmonized along with him. Mother also sang on this one. We then closed with "Tulpen Uit Amsterdam", which everyone sang along with. Mother stood behind us with her hands on our shoulders as she sang along, and we all swooned from side to side in the rhythm of the song. The long haired man was going to all the ladies and waltzing briefly with them one by one while we all sang. After it ended everyone burst into applause. I got up off of Fathers leg and he put his guitar down and stood up. A middle aged woman with big, saggy breasts who looked sort of familiar came over to me and put her hands on the sides my face. "Oh you are such a wonderful singer! " Father came and out his hand on my shoulder. "We have tried to get him into a choir, but he won't have it. Now he's close to when his voice will start to change. So I guess we will only be able to have enjoyed it at home, and when we come here." Father was right. They had always been trying to get me into boys choirs and different things, but it just wasn't something I wanted to do. I was always happy just singing with Father in our living room while he played his guitar. "Well I think that was wonderful!" She said as she clutched my shoulders. She then waved and walked off among the dispersing crowd. "I guess we should start getting ready to go to Sander's thing." Father said. Sander was Klaas's father. "Mother, I'm hungry, can I have something to eat before we go?" "You mean you haven't eaten yet? You shouldn't have run off right before breakfast was ready!" Mother made me a ham sandwich, which I scarfed down in less than two minutes. After a little while, we all started walking to the cookout. Father had his guitar and a shoulder bag and Mother had her big beach bag with her. We all immediately noticed that the place was way more crowded than we had ever seen it. We could see in the distance that cars were parked and tents had been set up along the road outside of the farm. The place was absolutely packed. We were frequently passing people that we were acquainted with, and we would say hi to them or wave as we walked past, but there was just as many people, if not more, that we had never seen. "Torsten, I've never seen it this crowded." Mother said to Father as we walked. "I think that there are a lot of Eastern Europeans here." Father said. This was 1992, and the Iron Curtain had just recently fallen. Apparently many Poles, Russians, and other citizens of former communist countries were present. I started looking at the license plates and noticed many that were unfamiliar. We soon arrived at the campsite where Klaas's father's Winnebago camper was parked . Klaas, Arjan, and Ton were all kicking a football around, and I ran to join them while the adults all greeted each other. There was already a good sized crowd of adults all sitting around, and Grateful Dead music was playing on a portable stereo. There was already a big fire going, and a whole pig was roasting over it on a spit that people were taking turns spinning. There was a second spit that had several whole geese and whole chickens cooking on it, as well as a big drum barbecue that had smoke pouring out of the chimney. Klaas paused to go over to greet my parents. Ton waved to them and we started kicking the ball back and forth in a triangle. "Did you see that pig and those geese that they have put on the fire now? I also hear that there is a ham and that they`re going to be cooking sausage and chicken on the grills!" Arjan said as he kicked the ball to me. "I can't wait. That pig already smells good." I said as I kicked the ball to Ton. "I don't know if I want any of that pig. It looks kind of gross, like a dead pig just hanging there." Ton said. Ton would wind up a vegetarian in a couple of years, and he remains one to this day. "Good! That's more for us!" Arjan said as Ton kicked the ball to him. "I'll have some." I said as I glanced down at Arjan's flopping penis. It really was huge, and I was wanting to put my hand around it. Arjan then kicked the ball to me. "I'll eat the feet and the nose and the brains!" He said. I then laughed as I kicked the ball to Ton. "I'll eat the eyes and the ears and the tail!" Ton kicked the ball hard to Arjan so that Arjan had to go running after it. "That's disgusting." Ton said. Arjan retrieved the ball and kicked it up high. It wound up going to Ton. Ton kicked it to me and we started going in the opposite direction. After a couple of minutes Klaas suddenly came running in with a yell and took possession of the ball. He began kicking it between us and the three of us formed a spontaneous defensive team against him, which he threaded right through and scored a "goal" between two parked cars. "You can't beat Zico!" Klaas said with a laugh as we all laughed and giggled. We then resumed kicking the ball around in a big circle. Arjan's penis was really distracting me. I was also looking at Klaas more and more, which I never used to do. The adults were to my right and I could hear them all talking and laughing. One woman was opening up a bottle of wine and all of them were drinking beer. I could also smell cannabis, which is a smell I was quite familiar with because Father smoked it at home. I then felt a pair of hands grab my shoulders. I turned around and Klaas's father was standing there. "Hi Mr. De Groot!" I smiled. "Hello Koenraad!" He said as we shook hands. "It's always good to see you again! Hello Ton!" "Hello Mr. De Groot! " Ton said as he shook his hand. Apparently Ton and his parents had gotten there about a minute before we did. "If you're hungry come on over. We have lots of sodas. The pig is still hours away but there should be plenty of other things to eat in the meantime." "Really?" Arjan said wide eyed. "Uh oh! I think we just lost our fullback!" I said while I rolled my eyes. Everyone laughed at that. "Guys, I'm going to go see what food they have!" Arjan said. "We know! Save some for us!" I said with a laugh. "Maybe!" Arjan smiled, and he and Mr. De Groot walked towards the barbecue pit and the grills. "We won't be seeing Arjan for a while!" Klaas laughed. The three of us then went back to kicking the ball around. I thought that with Arjan being gone I would not be so distracted anymore, but now it was Klaas who was distracting me. I couldn't help but stare at his big, floppy penis and the thick triangle of hair that grew over it and tapered up to just under his belly button. I wanted to kiss his penis and rub my hands through the hair, and I shut my eyes and shook my head trying to get these thoughts to leave. Eventually Ton said he was thirsty and ran off to the gathering. I was standing throwing the soccer ball up and down while I was staring at Klaas. Klaas then walked over and took the ball from me. "Come on Koenraad, we need to have a talk." He said as he put his arm around my shoulder. We then walked over towards the petting zoo and eventually stopped at the fence. We both leaned onto the fence and stared at the farm equipment and stacks of hay that were beyond. "Koenraad, you know that you can tell me anything, right?" "Sure, Klaas. I know that." "I can't help but notice that you are staring at my penis a lot. You never really used to do that as much. Is there something wrong with it or something?" I blushed beet red, and I could feel my ears burning with embarrassment. "Uh, no Klaas. I'm sorry. It's fine...I mean...I'm sorry I stared at it. It just has more hair than it used to." "That's all right. Please don't be embarrassed. It's normal for a boy to want to see another boys penis. Especially one that is more developed." "Yes, but is it normal to stare and drool and get butterflies in your stomach and to think about how it feels in your hand and on your tongue?" I thought to myself. "All right." I said. "I guess I'll be more careful about looking. Sorry about that." I said. "You don't have to apologize." Klaas said. "If anyone should apologize to anybody, it should be Mother apologizing for leaving us." "I'm sorry about that, Klaas. I feel bad about that." I said. "It was just so unexpected. They never really got into any big fights or anything. Of course they didn't really talk much at all." "I hope my parents never get divorced. I worry about that sometimes." "How come?" "Because they sometimes, I really don't know how to say it, they sometimes just seem like they don't really love each other as much as you see others do. They always kind of complain to each other and get into squabbles about really little things. I just worry about them sometimes." "That's how it was with my parents. I hope your parents don't do what mine did." Klaas said. "So how did you find out?" "We came back from school and Mother wasn't home. When Father came back from work he told us that Mother had left us that morning." "So what did you do?" "I asked Father how he could have still gone to work even after that happened. He said that we have to all keep going as we were." "I'm sorry that happened." "I'm glad that I have someone like you that I can talk to about these things. Someone that I can trust and who understands." Klaas said. "Mother told me not to bring it up with anybody." I said. "They were friends, I'm sure it was upsetting to her as well." "Yeah, I hadn't really thought about that. I guess she didn't know. It must be sad for her too." I said. We then stared at the big rusted tractor that was beyond the fence in silence. "Well thanks for listening to me talk about it. I haven't really said much about it to anyone, except for my family. I'm really glad that I know someone like you that I can talk to." Klaas said after a minute or so. "I wish you were my brother." I said. "I am your brother. We might be from different families, but we are brothers to each other , Koenraad." Klaas then put his hand on my back. I turned and looked up in his face. I then looked down at his penis. I admired it's tanned color and the little pucker of skin at the end. I don't know if it as the combination of the feeling of his hand on me and the sight of his penis or what happened, but my penis all of a sudden shot up into an erection. It did so in seconds. I was shocked and couldn't believe that had just happened. "Shit! No! NO!" I cried out in embarrassment as I turned away from Klaas. "Oh, Koenraad..." I heard Klaas say. I started pinching it painfully and madly trying to get it to go down. "Koenraad, don't, you'll hurt yourself!" I heard Klaas say. I then burst into tears as my erection deflated on it's own. I was absolutely mortified. "Klaas! I'm sorry I'm sorry! Please don't hate me! I can't help it! Please don't hate me!" I wept. "Koenraad! Don't worry about it! Shhh! Don't worry about it! It's all right! Don't worry! I won't say anything to anyone! I promise!" Eventually I got my composure back, and we walked back to the campsite in silence. I couldn't believe that had happened in front of Klaas, of all people. I was totally worried that I had lost his friendship forever. I was also worried about what I was turning into. It wasn't just that I got the erection in front of Klaas, but it was the thoughts I was having. I was wanting to do the things with Klaas that I had been doing with Arturo. I was wanting to do the things with Arjan that I was doing with Arturo. I was wanting to do the things with Hendrikus and Hilbert that I had been doing with Arturo. I was looking at the men and having the same thoughts. I couldn't understand why I was having these feelings. They didn't make sense, and they made nothing else make any sense. I felt like I was at war with my own body and mind, and that I could no longer trust myself. As soon as we got back to the campsite, Klaas and I went to where several men were digging a second fire pit. Hilbert was there with them. Klaas and I both started helping them dig the second pit. After about a half hour or so, the pit was ready, and we all started piling wood in (Klaas's father had an enclosed trailer that was full of wood). The whole time I wouldn't look at Klaas. I was so ashamed. I was also afraid that if I did look at him he would be looking at me funny, or that I would start looking at his body and he would see. I had never felt more shame in my life. The second fire pit that was dug soon had a big fire going in it. Father was strumming his guitar and leading a sing along at the other pit. I sat on a lawn chair and watched the fire while Klaas, Arjan, Hilbert, and Ton kicked around the football in the field beyond. Klaas had not said a word to me whatsoever since we were at the fence, and I was starting to think that he hated me. People were milling around everywhere. As I sat, some of the men began placing various lawn chairs and a long bench around the fire, and the second fire pit wound up being for all of us kids. As I sat watching the boys all kicking around the football, a light blond little girl with her hair in pigtails, who looked about nine or ten came, walking shyly over and sat on one of the chairs near me. I recognized her from the larger group, where apparently she had been with her parents. She looked about nine or ten. "Hi." She said to me with a small wave after she sat. "Hi." I smiled back at her. "I am Olga." She said. She spoke Dutch in a heavy accent. "I am Koenraad." I smiled. "I am from Ukraine." She said. "Oh, I see." I said. "I am from Meppel. That is here in the Netherlands." I said. Olga just stared at me, and I realized that she didn't speak much Dutch. "How much Dutch do you speak?" I asked. "Little bit." She said with an ashamed look as she stared down at the ground. She then looked up and I noticed that she was staring at my penis. I looked down at her vagina, and I noticed that it looked like it was spread open. I thought it looked kind of gross like that and I looked away. A couple of older teenaged girls came over, sat on the bench and started talking. I didn't want to be around all these girls so I got up and walked away. The truth be told, I didn't really like girls very much then. I thought they were boring and stupid and some of them could be really mean. I got up and started walking over towards where the boys were playing football. Olga got up and followed me over a few steps behind. The boys were all kicking the ball around. "Hey! Our goalie has arrived!" Klaas yelled when he saw me. I smiled and realized that things apparently were still good between us. I then played goalie while the other three took turns kicking the balls towards me. I was able to block well over half of the shots that came towards me (I often play goalie on my school team). Olga stood in the background and watched us while we played. Eventually we all took a break. The other three boys came walking over while I tossed the ball up and down. "So who's she?" Hilbert smiled. "Koenraad's got a girlfriend!" Arjan laughed. I looked over at Klaas when Arjan said that and Klaas smiled and looked at the ground. "This is Olga. She says she's from Ukraine or somewhere like that. She doesn't speak Dutch very well." I said. Hilbert's smile vanished. "She's one of these Communists then!" He said angrily. "Careful, Hilbert! He parents are right over there!" I said with a scowl as I pointed over to the gathering. "I don't care! They should all leave and go back to Russia or wherever!" Hilbert said. Olga turned around and started walking back towards where we had been sitting. Klaas then smacked Hilbert on the back of his head. "Ow!" Hilbert exclaimed. "That was mean!" Klaas said. "I don't care! These people are invading us! Look how many there are! It`s too crowded!" "So? It's more people to look at!" Arjan said with a big smile. I looked down at his penis and noticed that it was sticking out a little. "God, it is so big" I thought to myself. "If too many people start coming, then we won't be able to have this anymore!" Hilbert said just before he stalked off. I then noticed that Ton had walked off and was sitting next to Olga over at the second fire pit where they were talking. "Uh oh. It looks like Ton is about to steal your girlfriend!" Arjan smiled at me. "I only just met her." I said as I stared at the ground and blushed. Arjan turned to Klaas. "Do you have a girlfriend?" "Yes I do, at home. Her name is Kim." Klaas said. "So why didn't you bring her here?" Arjan asked. "I wanted to, but her family wouldn't allow it." "Well I don't like girls. I'm not interested in them." Arjan said. "You say that now, but you'll start noticing them when you get older." Klaas said. "Maybe I will, maybe I won't." Arjan said. "Well you're just a stupid kid and you don't know!" Klaas laughed. "I guess. Come on, let's go see if anything has come off the grills." Arjan said. "But you just ate!" I laughed. "Yes, but that was a full hour ago!" Arjan said as he rolled his eyes. We then all laughed and walked back to the gathering. We got there in time for some lamb shiskabobs with green peppers and onions. There were now five different grills going, plus all the food cooking over the fire. People were sitting and standing everywhere and mingling. Kids were running around and adults were passing around bottles of wine and vodka and pipes full of hashish. Klaas, Arjan , and myself stood off to the side and ate our kabobs while we observed the crowd and the scene all around us. Father was strumming his guitar and several other people had instruments, or were banging on empty bottles. I was starting to wonder where Arturo was. All of a sudden we heard a playful yell behind us. We all turned around, and saw Hendrikus giggling and riding piggyback on his father's back while his father made an airplane noise. They came right up to us and Hendrikus slipped down to the ground. "Hi Jeroen!" I said to Hendrikus' father with a big smile as I dropped my kabob to the ground and ran over and hugged him. I absolutely loved Hendrikus' father, and thought he was the coolest ever. I could feel his chest hair rubbing the side of my face. I liked Jeroen because he was young (he had been only eighteen when he had Hendrikus), he talked to us like we were adults, and he didn't treat us like we were stupid kids. "Koenraad! So good to see you!" Jeroen said. He then rubbed his hands through my hair and over my face. "Oh Koenraad, you are growing up so. Soon, you won't be little Koenraad anymore, you'll be big Koenraad!" He said with tears in his eyes. I smiled and gave him another hug and he kissed me on the top of his head. He then shook hands with Klaas. "Klaas, I need to speak to you in private." Jeroen said as he clapped him on the back, and he and Klaas walked off to try to find a halfway quiet place to talk. "I wonder what Jeroen wants to talk to Klaas about?" I said, a little bit hurt that Jeroen didn't want to talk to me. "Probably about Klaas's parents splitting up. Sander called Father and told him all about it when it happened, and he had been saying that he wanted to make sure the kids were not taking it so hard." Hendrikus said in his quiet voice. "That's why your father is so terrific. He always cares about us kids." I said. "He is. I love Father." Hendrikus said. I was always jealous of Hendrikus for having Jeroen for a father. I looked at Hendrikus and smiled and Hendrikus smiled back. I felt a little tug in my chest when Hendrikus smiled at me. He had always been this little kid that I would run around with before. Now he looked lean and sexy, and I liked the way his face looked. "Hey Hendrkus!" I heard Arjan say as he came walking up. He had slipped away to use one of the nearby portable toilets after he had devoured his kabob. "Hi Arjan!" Hendrikus smiled. Hendrikus was the first kid that Arjan had made friends with here, so they were sort of best friends. They shook hands and Arjan stood next to Hendrikus while I looked over both of their bodies. Hendrikus and I were both staring at Arjan's penis. Arjan was picking his nose and checking out the crowd around the fire. "Hey guys! How about instead of staring at my ding dong you both go with me to see what that woman over there just took off of that grill?" Arjan laughed. We both sheepishly looked up at him and he was grinning and looking at our penises too. "But you just ate! I can't believe you!" I laughed. We all laughed and giggled as we walked over to the grill and sampled the smoked salmon that was being cut up and served. We had it on a piece of dark bread with a slice of smoked gouda over it. It was unbelievably yummy. I looked around again and wondered why Arturo wasn't here and missing all of this fun. Arjan then volunteered to turn the pig on the spit a little bit, and he did with ravenous look on his face, like he might grab it and run off with it. Father was starting to perform one of the songs that I usually sang with him, and I quickly walked off because I didn't want to sing in front of all of those people. Hendrikus followed. We walked a few car rows away and found a couple parked than didn't have anybody around them, we both slipped in between them and leaned against the two cars facing each other. Two tents were blocking the view of us from anyone walking by on either side. We both had big smiles on our faces. Hendrikus looked around quickly to make sure no one was listening to us nearby. "So what do you think of Arjan's penis?" Hendrikus said in a half whisper with a grin on his face as he looked down at the ground embarrassed. "It's huge!" I said. "I thought it was big last year but it's even bigger this year. He has some hair growing over it now too." "It's so big. I like seeing it flapping around when he walks." Hendrikus said. "I do too. I've been looking at it a lot." I said with an embarrassed grin. "Really?" Hendrikus said as he looked up at my face. "Yes. I have." I said with a big smile. "Wow. We've never talked like this before, Koenraad." "I know." "I was thinking. Maybe , tonight, if you want to, you, me, Arjan and that Spanish kid can all sleep in my tent. I have the big tent this year. " "Oh cool!" I said. Hendrikus had this big tent that he sometimes brought here. It was big enough to stand up in. I always slept in it at least once when he brought it here. "Maybe Arjan will let us touch his penis." Hendrikus panted. By now we both had erections. "Yes, I want to." I said as I rubbed my hands slowly up and down my own butt cheeks. "I'll touch yours too, if you want." Hendrikus mumbled almost inaudibly. "You can. I'll touch you too if you want me to." "Do you want to right here?" Hendrikus grinned. "No. We had better wait. Someone might see us here." I said as I looked around. "Do you ever get an erection from seeing Arjan?" "I try not to." I said. "I've been having a difficult time not getting one all the time this year." Hendrikus said as he looked down at my penis. "Me too." "Actually, and I hope you don't get mad at this, Koenraad, but you sort of give me erections too." I was now breathing heavily. "Me?" I said as I pointed wide eyed to myself. "Yeah. I can't figure out why, but you do. I'm sorry. You didn`t used to, but you do now." "Don't be sorry. You give me one too, Hendrikus. I have one right now after all! See?" I laughed as I thumped it with my middle finger and made it spring up against me. "Boing!" I said. "I like the way yours looks, the way it sticks up and curves to the right a little bit and the skin all tight on the top." Hendrikus said. "I think yours looks neat too." I grinned as I stared. "We have to get rid of these before someone sees us!" Hendrikus laughed. We then squatted down and started pinching them until they went down enough. We then giggled as we looked at each others dangling penises. We walked back out into the field, and were immediately startled to see Olga standing there. Apparently she had followed me and had stood right behind the car where I was, just out of sight. I wondered how much of what we had been talking about she had heard, and how much she had understood. "Olga!" I said crossly. "What are you doing here!?" "Hello Koenraad." She said in her thick accent. "Who is this?" Hendrikus asked. "This is Olga and she's from Russia and is apparently a spy!" I yelled. "Olga! How much of what we were saying did you hear!" "I just wait..." Olga said, looking like she was about to cry. "Koenraad! Don't be mean to her!" Hendrikus said. "Hello Olga. I am Hendrikus." He smiled, and Olga smiled back at him. Hendrikus was always really nice to everyone no matter what they did. We all walked back to the gathering. Klaas, his sisters, and some other girls I had never seen before were sitting around the second fire. Arjan and Ton were taking turns turning the pig over at the other pit. "Hey guys!" Klaas said to us as he waved us over. "This pit has been designated for us kids! Come have a seat!" Hendrikus, Olga, and I all sat on a big log by the fire. We all talked and roasted sausages and marshmallows over the fire as the sun sank low in the sky and washed a red light over everything. Our parents came and went in different combinations as we all sat and sang songs and laughed and chatted around the fire. "I asked Arjan about sleeping in my tent tonight." Hendrikus whispered in my ear. "He said yes. I'm not going to ask Ton because he might get in the way. Same with Hilbert because Rinus will have to be there too and he`ll get in the way of things. I haven't seen that Spanish boy. Do you know why he hasn't come yet?" "No I don't. I'm going to find out. I'll be back." I said as I got up and slipped away from the crowd to go to Arturo's tent and bring him over. I was hoping that I would find him there alone, and that we could have a quick "session" before returning. I smiled to myself as I threaded my way through the crowds of people walking around and sitting in groups. People were grilling, throwing around Frisbees, wandering around checking out the scene, playing fetch with dogs, and having gatherings. My conversation with Hendrikus earlier had my head spinning and swimming. I couldn't believe that he was having the same thoughts and feelings that I was. Maybe I wasn't such a weirdo after all. I got to where Arturo's tent had been, but to my shock and confusion, his car and his tent were both gone. I stood there dumbfounded and turned my head back and forth. "If you're looking for that guy and his kid in the orange tent, they're gone." I heard a man say behind me. I turned around and a group of older adults whom I knew from past gatherings, were sitting in lawn chairs while drinking beer and smoking cigarettes. "Really? When did they leave? They were expected at the party." I said numbly. "A few hours ago. The kid was protesting but the guy said he wanted to get out of here and couldn't stand it anymore." The man said. "That man was rude! I'm glad he left!" An old woman with a bald spot who was sitting with them snarled just before she took a big swig of beer, her saggy breasts weakly jiggling as she did so. I turned and started slowly walking back to the gathering while I tried desperately not to burst into tears. End of Act 3