My Appalachian Alpha

6

Avery must know this land well because we are basically driving blind. He's weaving through the trees as if he has ever bump, hill, and ravine memorized.

"Where are you from?" Avery asks, not breaking his focus from what's ahead.

"Is it that obvious that I'm not a local?"

"Yeah."

"Im from Boston. I moved here six months ago."

"Why?"

"My mother died in a car accident and my father moved out here right after. He needed a fresh start I guess. When I graduated, I followed him."

"To the middle of nowhere?"

"To the mountains. To somewhere less cluttered."

"Well this is the right place for that."

The rest of the drive was silent and I let myself just take in the scenery. The sunlight filtered through the trees, dappling the forest floor.

"Your land is beautiful," I say, interrupting the silence.

"We're here. Ready to meet everyone?"

"Too late to turn back?"

Avery laughs and then smiles an easy smile. Hopefully everyone else is as friendly as Tom and Avery.

The trees around us thin out as we approach a large clearing. We turn the corner and I see a massive building on the shore of a lake that reflects the sky and mountains that surround the small valley. The building is too large to be a house but too beautiful to not be.

"What is this place?"

"Don't worry, I'm sure Eli will give you a tour," Avery says with a grin.

"Wait, Eli?" Although I had hoped he would be here, I'm suddenly nervous and embarrassed. I basically begged for an invitation to a private family gathering of some sort and honestly, I just don't know what to do with the fact that Eli is here. And why would he give me a tour? Why would he want anything to do with me at all? I can feel my checks blushing and turn away and look out the window.

As we continue to drive up, my nervousness is replaced with horror. This isn't a family barbecue. There are hundreds and maybe thousands of people here.

"Is this a church? Why are there so many people? I though this was a regular barbecue!?"

"It is. Think of it as a family reunion although the family all lives on this land."

"They are all your family?"

"Sort of." Avery grins again. He parks the Jeep in front of the huge building by the lake and then jumps out. "Come on, they won't bite."

I nervously follow as we walk around the building to the back. As we approach the crowd, every single person stops what they are doing and stares. I freeze, eyes wide, fully panicking.

Avery laughs at me, a deep hearty laugh. "Come on, they're waiting for us."

"Waiting for us? They're staring at us....At me."

"Yeah, we don't get many outsiders. And by many, I mean any."

"Why did you bring me here? I need to leave, Avery—"
Before I can even finish begging to leave, a man steps forward from the crowd and begins to walk toward us. It's Eli. He looks at me and our eyes lock briefly before he scans down and sees my mud covered lower half. A warm smile blooms on his face.

"Hi, Emma. I'm glad you could make it," Eli says. "I hope the drive up wasn't too difficult. Tom's directions can be a bit......well, turned around."

That's certainly the understatement of the year. At one point Tom's directions said to turn right at the boulder and left at the tree that looks like a fork. I blame myself completely though. I must have been under a brief bit of hysteria or desperation to even attempt this drive.

"I was bored with how easy the drive was so I opted for the scenic route. It did not disappoint," I say with a smile.

Eli looks at Avery and then back at me before both of them erupt in laughter.

"Come on, let's go join the fun," Eli says, still smiling. I take a deep breath and follow Eli and Avery toward the mass of family that are looking at me as if I'm an alien with three heads. I wanted to socialize and I definitely got what I asked for.