CHAPTER 4 – ADAMS-FOSTER CAMPING TRIP PT. 3

"Wake up, let's go, let's go, let's go!" Stef shouted, waking up Jude and Connor. First, they didn't know where they were, but soon, they remembered where they were. They got up groggily, and zipped open the tent. They saw that Stef, Lena, Brandon and Jesus were already up and preparing breakfast, and Mariana and Callie had, just like them, just stuck their sleepy heads out of their tent to see what was going on. Stef said that everybody had to be out of their tents and ready for breakfast in 5 minutes, so Jude and Connor lied back for two more minutes.

"Do we really have to get up?" Connor asked.
"I'm afraid so," Jude responded.
"Hmmm, I'd much rather stay here and cuddle with you," Connor said.
"Me too, I could do this all day long," Jude said.
"Challenge accepted," Connor said, laughing.
"Come on, we have to get ready," Jude said.
Connor pouted, and Jude kissed him, much to Connor's approval. Connor kissed him back, and they changed their clothes again, taking fresh clothes from their bags and putting those on. When they zipped open their tent, Stef was just walking towards them.
"Ah, I was just going to drag you out of that tent," she said playfully.
"No need for that, mom," Jude said, laughing.
They asked if they could help with breakfast, and Lena said that the only thing left to do was to eat it, so Jude and Connor sat down at the table, waiting for the rest to come. Mariana and Callie did need to be dragged out of their tents, which Stef blissfully did. They sat down opposite of Jude and Connor, who were laughing about what had just happened.

Breakfast consisted of fresh bread (Lena had gone to the local bakery), scrambled eggs with bacon, two leftover sausages from the evening before, milk and orange juice. When everybody was done eating, they all cooperated doing the dishes, and everybody went to the bathrooms to take a shower and brush their teeth. Jude and Connor, fast as they always were, were done the first and so they walked back to their tents again. They held hands again, which got some stares from neighbouring campers, but nobody said anything about it. Jude felt free to show the world his love for Connor, and Connor was happy to finally be himself in public. Even on school, he wasn't out, afraid that somebody would tell his father, but here 528 miles from home, nobody could hurt him.

They got into their tent again, and put away their toothbrushes, towels, soaps and shampoos. They sat down opposite of each other and their hands were folded into one big ball of hands.
"I wish I could be myself more often," Connor began.
"Me too, it feels so good to hold your hand in public," Jude agreed, "But I understand why you don't want it back home".
"Thanks, I just hope that one day, I can be myself at home. No, we could be ourselves, because I feel like I'm holding you back from being yourself, which I'm really sorry for," Connor said.
"Don't be, it's okay. If you don't feel safe doing it, I'm willing to wait. I want you to feel safe," Jude reassured Connor.
"Thank you," Connor ended the conversation.
Jude leaned forward and laid his head on Connor's shoulder, his face touching Connor's neck. He loved sitting like this, smelling Connor and feeling so intimate with him. Connor softly kissed Jude's hair, before he lied back, gesturing for Jude to come lie next to him. This time, Jude spooned Connor, as Connor wanted to be held for a while. Connor enjoyed being held by someone he truly loved, because it gave him everything his father didn't. Jude gave him love, which Connor had almost forgotten about since his parents had divorced and his father had gotten custody over him. Jude felt at ease holding Connor, and felt asleep again.

He was woken by the sound of the rest coming back from the bathrooms, and he and Connor got out of their tent, curious to know what they'd do today. Stef said that she'd announce that in a minute, but she first had to finish getting ready for the day, as she was still walking around in her pyjamas. They sat down at the table, watching the others getting ready. It was an amusing sight, they thought, as Mariana and Callie were bickering about who would wear a certain shirt (it was Callie's shirt, but they basically shared their wardrobe), Brandon and Jesus were bickering over who would change clothes where, in the tent or at the bathrooms, and Stef and Lena were minding their own business and let the children fight out their problems. They watched in amusement as Brandon eventually took his clothes and decided to be 'the more mature person' and walked towards the bathrooms, as Jesus victoriously zipped the tent shut to get some privacy. Callie eventually won their fight about who should wear what, as Stef had enough of the fight an gave the final decision ("It is Callie's shirt, so if she wants to wear it, you can't").

When Brandon was back, Stef took a stand on a rock that was lying around and called everybody to stand near her. When everybody was there, she explained what the program for that day would be.
"Mama and I have arranged 4 canoes for today. We will take those canoes downstream and we will have to row our way up until we're here, at the lake. There we will get out of the canoe at the pier."
"So we have to row up against the current?" Mariana asked.
"That's right, young lady," Stef replied with a wink.
"But isn't that hard?" Callie asked.
"It is, but it's a good training for your muscles," Stef said, flexing her muscles to demonstrate.
"Is there a prize?" Jesus asked.
"Oh there surely is," Lena answered.
"What is it?" Brandon asked.
"It's a Mama Sandwich!" Stef said enthusiastically.
"What is a Mama Sandwich?" Connor whispered in Jude's ear.
"It's a thing they do when one of us is upset, afraid or doesn't feel good. It's basically you in the middle and our moms hugging you, one from the front and one from the back." Jude explained.
Connor, who never got any love or hugs at home was determined to win.
"We'll win this thing!" Connor whispered.
"The person in your team is the person you share a tent with!" Lena continued the explanation. Jude looked at Connor and saw Connor's muscular arms.
"We will win this thing, especially with your strong arms," Jude whispered, making Connor giggle and blush.

The group went to the boat rental and after a little conversation between Stef and the salesman, they took four canoes and let them float on the water. They got in their canoes, and rowed the boats downstream. Jude sat behind Connor, as Jude was the tallest of the two, whereas Connor was the strongest of the two, so he sat in the front, so he could steer the boat in case it needed to make a quick turn. After an hour, Stef and Lena, who were the first boat in line steered towards the bank and the others followed their example. Stef stepped out of the boat so that everybody could see her well, and explained one last rule.
"Everybody must stay behind me and mama. We will be the first to arrive. As we can't get a mama sandwich, we are out of the game, and we need to see who won to award the prize." Having said that, she threw six bottles of water at each boat, three for each person in the boats. "This will be sufficient water. Now, as soon as I'm back in our boat, mama and I will row away. You guys will wait ten minutes and follow us then." She climbed back in her boat and Stef and Lena rowed away.

"Are we really going to wait?" Connor whispered to Jude.
"Yes, we are. I know you want to win, but we have to play it by the rules." Jude replied.
"Alright, that's true," Connor admitted.
While they waited, they had a conversation with the other four.
"Pretty funny that a mama sandwich began as a way to cheer us up, but is now used as a prize," Mariana said.
"Well, I think you can safely say that a mama sandwich is not the real prize," Brandon said, laughing.
"Why not?" Connor asked.
"Because our mums like to hug us as much as possible, so if one group will get a mama sandwich, so will the others. I guarantee that," Callie responded.
Connor, relieved that he didn't have to race to get a loving hug, felt more at ease.
"Hey, I know that we'll get a mama sandwich anyway, but we're gonna try to win, aren't we?" He asked Jude.
"Oh yes, we are gonna try to win. In fact, we are gonna win, especially with your muscles," Jude said again, squeezing Connor's biceps. Connor liked that Jude liked his body. It made him a little more secure.

When ten minutes had passed, and everyone was ready to go, Brandon counted down.
"Three, Two, One, GO," he shouted. At go, every canoe came in motion and the children paddled as fast as they could. Connor paddled the fastest and the strongest, so soon, he and Jude were far in front of the others. Jesus, who had about the same amount of muscles in his arms, wasn't as determined to win as Connor. He'd had a lot of mama sandwiches already he didn't care for winning. Callie and Mariana hardly came forward, even though they did their best, so eventually they decided to give up on rowing and moved forward by placing the oars in the water so that they reached the ground and pushing the boat forwards.
It took the boys an hour and a half to reach the spot where Stef and Lena were already waiting. Upon seeing the two youngest boys, they shrieked in surprise that these two had won from the others. Ten minutes after the boys went ashore, Mariana and Callie were in sight, followed by Brandon and Jesus. Mariana and Callie were still using their technique of pushing the boat forwards, so when they came ashore and Brandon and Jesus were in a reasonable distance, they began their complaints.
"They cheated! They didn't even row all this way, they just pushed off!" Brandon shouted.
"We didn't say anything about having to row all the way, just about staying in your boat!" Lena shouted back.

When the boys had come ashore and accepted their defeat, Lena announced that Jude and Connor were the winners. Stef stood behind Connor and Lena stood behind Jude as they performed their mama sandwich. Jude and Connor were facing each other and had laid their heads on each other's shoulders. Jude held Connor and Stef, while Connor held Jude and Lena. For Connor, it was the best moment in a long time. He was in the middle of a hug, a loving hug, with his boyfriend and his two mothers. Nothing could make him feel bad today. After a few minutes, the mama sandwich was broken off, and Stef spoke again.
"The other teams have also performed very well, so they earn a mama sandwich as well!" Stef said, after which she and Lena first gave Mariana and Callie a mama sandwich, and then Brandon and Jesus. When they were done, Brandon shot Connor a look, which Connor interpreted as a look that said 'I told you this wasn't the real prize'.
"Well, the winners also get…" Lena began, then paused to create a dramatic effect.
"One huge sack of candy each!" Stef shouted enthusiastically, grabbing two enormous sacks of candy and handing these to both Jude and Connor. The boys looked amazed by how big these sacks of candy were, before Jude opened his and let everyone grab a few pieces of candy.
"Shall we share everything?" Connor whispered.
"I'd like that," Jude replied, smiling at his boyfriend, then giving him a quick peck on his cheek.
"Then I won't open mine, and we'll eat yours first, now yours is already opened," Connor said, and Jude agreed.

Authors note:
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The next chapter is called "Adams-Foster Camping Trip pt. 4".