Enjoying nature

While reading on the chair and sunbathing, Lenny and the other four soon arrived.

"You are Gabriel, right?" the one I assumed to be Eric Lamonsoff asked curiously.

"Yes, I am. And you are Rob, Lamonsoff, Higgins, and McKenzie, right?" I asked the four, recalling the names Lenny had used.

"Yes, we are, boy. What are you reading there? Some porn?" Higgins asked with a chuckle.

"No, it's a book about different perspectives on AI. It mainly features famous creative people like composers and artists," I explained. I loved the introduction and had high expectations for the rest of the book.

"Interesting," Higgins said, though I could tell he didn't really understand what I was talking about.

The five guys all sat on chairs beside me and talked about various things.

Soon after, Lamonsoff's dog also came and started barking. It seemed like his vocal cords had been clipped from the way he sounded.

"Poor dog," I thought. I often sympathized with animals, and they seemed to like me too. It was a special trait of mine.

"Come here," I said, snapping my fingers and signaling the dog to sit on a chair beside me.

The dog lay down on the chair and stopped barking. I started stroking him while reading my book.

"Wow, Curly seems to really like you," Lamonsoff said.

I continued reading my book, sunbathing, stroking Curly, and quietly listening to the conversation beside me.

This lasted for about five minutes until gaming sounds started coming from the house. I recognized the sound; it was from the video game Greg and Keithie had been playing.

This disturbed Lenny and the others, who began discussing how the children were never outside, excluding me.

"What are you doing, Lenny?" McKenzie asked, astonished, seeing Lenny walking into the house. He probably guessed what Lenny was going to do.

I also stopped reading and looked at the entrance of the house.

A few seconds later, Lenny walked out with Keithie and Greg in his arms.

He put them down and started reprimanding them. "No technical devices for the rest of the afternoon. Enjoy nature!"

After that, Lamonsoff and McKenzie, who also had kids, stormed into the house and brought their children outside.

Soon, everyone was outside except the five wives and Rita. Becky joined us as well.

"What should we do out here? It's so boring," Keithie complained.

"We'll show you guys!" Lenny said and led everyone into the forest.

"Be careful, kids. There are ticks in the woods," Rob warned us.

I followed Lenny at the front.

"Look, guys. Do you see what I see?" Higgins exclaimed.

"What?" Becky asked curiously.

I looked around and soon saw a slope and a rope. With the slope and rope, you could easily jump into the lake. That was probably what they meant.

"I can't believe it," McKenzie said with exaggeration.

"You guys see a rope and a slope and aren't excited. I can't believe it," Lamonsoff continued dramatically.

"Is it used for hanging ourselves?" Charlotte joked.

"You guys really aren't excited. Let me show you!" Lamonsoff said and climbed on top of a rock. He grabbed the rope and let himself swing towards the lake.

"FUCK! I'M TOO HIGH UP! I CAN'T STOP!" Lamonsoff screamed as he didn't let go after passing over the lake, crashing into a tree with high velocity.

"Ouch. That must hurt," I said, seeing him fall.

"AHH! A BROKEN BONE!" Lamonsoff yelled, holding up a stick.

Everyone seemed scared and anxious, blinded by their emotions.

I originally wanted to reveal the truth, but Lamonsoff beat me to it.

"It's just a stick! HAHAHA," he said, laughing.

"CHIRP," I suddenly heard a small bird cry.

"You hurt a bird!" Becky, Charlotte, and I exclaimed simultaneously.

I immediately ran over to the bird to check on it.

Even though I wasn't a skilled doctor, I knew quite a bit about anatomy.

"Some of its bones are broken, but nothing life-threatening," I told the others.

Soon after, Lenny arrived with a box. We put the bird in the box and started to treat it.

That occupied most of the afternoon.

In the evening, we went to get dinner at a restaurant in town. Lamonsoff paid for everyone.

The dinner had just begun when something funny happened.

Higgins accidentally said "wasted," and the other kids wanted to know what it meant.

Lenny tried to let them think it meant that someone wanted ice cream. It worked, but suddenly all the kids screamed they wanted to get wasted.

The second joke came when Lamonsoff ordered 17 fries and hamburgers for himself, which was obviously a joke.

We all ordered what we wanted. I got a burger with fries and tap water.

While waiting for the food, we played some games. For example, Becky and I played against Greg and Keithie in table football. Becky and I demolished them.

Shortly before the food arrived, we heard a weird announcement.

"Rematch. I dare you." We all looked towards the kitchen, where the announcement had come from, but we only saw Lenny talking to a cook. We couldn't explain it and continued playing.

After that, we went to the table as the food arrived.

At the table, we finally learned what happened.

Someone who had lost to Lenny in a final 30 years ago had challenged him to a rematch.

With that mystery solved, we started eating. Everyone was hungry.

After finishing dinner, we drove back to the house.

All the kids went to the room and started sleeping.

I slept really well with the beautiful view.