The Harper Generations: Country Roads

Smokey Mountain rain

Misty

Tuesday brought an unexpected rainstorm, leaving us housebound for the day. Since we couldn't go outside, we played cards around the kitchen table. It reminds me of when my dad taught me different card games.

We played West Virginia rummy to show everyone how to play the game. Now, this is where it gets interesting. Val was an excellent card player and could win any hand, but my dad taught me how to win.

Dad shuffled the cards before handing them to everyone. I picked up my cards and moved them around. Someone would pick up a card and set down three cards if they had a suit in order. As people discarded their cards, I collected them until I discarded them all at once.

Everyone stared at me in confusion as Val cocked his head at me.

"What?" I asked.

"You can't hold cards in rummy," Val said.

"Actually, you can." I smiled.

Val narrowed his eyes as Pat shuffled the cards and dealt them. We gathered our cards and played. Val and I got into a heated battle with our cards. We were neck and neck with points. When we reached the final hand, I beat Val by ten points.

I stood up and did a victory dance while my dad sat back and laughed. Val shook his head but conceded to me.

We played Old Maid next. Every time someone got the old biddy, they got rid of the bitch quickly or stuck Nixon with Old Maid. Nixon threatened to beat Nathan's ass for that stunt. Pat and Romeo had to wrangle Nixon from succeeding.

You might wonder where our mothers were. They were taking a breather and left us with our dads.

I made popcorn for everyone while Tino tossed bags of Doritos on the table. My dad grabbed pop for everyone. It kept raining outside, and it was not letting up anytime soon.

*******
Valentino

It sucked that it was raining outside, but we kept ourselves entertained with games. I didn't realize Misty was an excellent card player until she beat Dad. And no one could beat my dad in cards.

Eventually, I exited the table and headed outside to sit on the porch. When the screen door opened and closed, I sat on a porch swing hanging from the awning with chains. Misty walked toward me and handed me an iced tea before sitting beside me. I took it from her and took a sip.

"How come you're sitting out here by your lonesome?" She asked.

"I needed a break from bonding time."

Misty snickered.

I set my glass on a table beside the swing. "I can't believe we've been here almost a month. It doesn't seem that long."

"It's because time slows down here. Life is so much different here than it is back home."

"The mountain air is great for sleeping."

"That's because there's no air pollution here." Misty grinned.

I chuckled because it was true.

A truck came down the winding driveway, pulled to the house, and stopped. The truck door opened and slammed shut as Raymond stormed the steps into the house. We exchanged glances and busted our asses to get inside so we didn't miss the fireworks.

******
West

We were in the middle of a poker game when the screen door slammed shut, getting our attention.

Raymond stood before the door, heaving a breath while water dripped from his wet hair. "West, I swear I will kill him!"

I set my cards down, got up from my seat, and walked toward Raymond. "Who?"