She looked at old knick-knacks, decorations, and pieces of furniture that she hadn’t seen for almost a decade, brought down from their parents’ ho...es in Alaska, where she and the Equals had grown up. She took a deep sigh, and grinned. She was experiencing memories of happy times with them, but this time, without the dread of knowing what would be waiting for her at home when the feeling ended.“Helena!” Julie called out to her, breaking her out of the reverie of the past that comprised their. It had happened the second day at the lake.Sam pitched a tent in the skeletal framework of the unfinished lake cabin. The joke was he would be the first family member to sleep in the cabin.Jamie and John had shared liqueur he picked up in town. It was sold in a store run by the Misty Valley Commune. The Commune was notorious for the potency of the drink and their polyamorous life style. Unbeknownst to them, the drink was a blend of wine and distilled cannabis. They had shared the potent liqueur. They pulled apart as there was a knock on the door before it opened to reveal Danny and Jessica. ‘We thought you’d be hungry,’ Jessica said softly, setting a basket of food on the desk by the door. ‘Thanks Jess, but I don’t know if I can keep anything down,’ Caitlin murmured. ‘Where’s Kylie?’ Jake asked. Jessica grinned and turned slightly so that Jake could see the baby in her sling on Jessica’s back. ‘Danny, can you go check on Will and take him to dinner? I’ll be there in a minute, I have. Iwhispered hello and walked into the darkened room, shutting thedoor behind me and sat down on a large pillow in front of thetelevision. Once my eyesight adjusted to the dark, the view wassomething to behold.There were seven people in the room, watching some lithe andwell-tanned actors on the television gently manipulating eachothers genitals in every possible way. The three couples in theroom were doing their level-best to keep up with the action onthe screen, while my wife–sitting.