When Zachary Madison took a shower the next morning, it was fortuitous that it was a Saturday. Because he counted as ‘Jon Madison’ for the purposes of the wish. And just like the day before, complete chaos was going to follow.
When Zach turned off the shower, he was in a daze and left the Madison house. And just like Jon Madison he made his way to one of the worst possible places to with a curse like this. No, not a thrift store. This option was possibly even worse.
A campground hosting a family reunion with several generations, with only one laundry facility.
Whether they are from Lake Pointe or not, they were all in range of the Wishing Stone.
So in an unconscious state, Zachary wandered the campground looking for clothes to wear. He found them in the laundry facility where a bored teenage girl was tapping on her phone, now and then looking at the only dryer in the campground. Industrial size, of course, expecting everyone to just politely sort their things. Selena Merlin desperately wished the organizers of the reunion had checked to see what facilities were at the campground, but isn’t too surprised they didn’t.
Grandparents.
Now a normal teenager using their phone, even one put to task, is going to have difficulty paying attention to anything. So even without the magical haze around Zach, Selena was not going to notice him. “Huh?” Selena looked up as the sudden banging of the dryer turning off did get her attention. “Now how the hell did you open?” Selena got off her chair and tried to close the door, unknowingly stopped by the (to her) invisible person rifling through the dryer. “Great, now I have to tell everyone the dryer is busted!” She pocketed her phone in frustration and left the laundry room.
Zach, meanwhile, began pulling clothes to wear out of the dryer. Boxers with the label ‘SUPER XL LONG’, bedazzled skinny jeans, small white ankle socks, a yellow t-shirt, and a red plaid button down over shirt.
First came the boxers, and the branding did not lie. Zach’s penis almost shot down the boxer’s middle part to fill with an obscene girth. Meanwhile, Oliver Merlin was fucking his trophy wife, Alexis, in their trailer. “Oh yes. Yes. Yes! YES! YEEES!” Alexis cried at the end. “Oh baby tha- What?” Alexis’ train of thought stalled as Oliver removed himself from her. “Shit… I sure hope the people I ended up double booked with didn’t hear that.” In her mind, she was alone on vacation and was accidentally grouped with the Merlin family reunion.
“I’m telling you, we have to call about the dryer!” Selena tried to explain. “It’s bad enough we all have to share because NO ONE THOUGHT TO RENT TRAILERS WITH LAUNDRY MACHINES!” She shouted to the whole campsite, which received of agreement. “But if it’s busted, we can’t really rely on air drying.” Selena finished with a smirk that immediately dropped from her face as she joined Oliver in leaving the campsite in a daze, as Zach had just put on her skinny jeans.
Great Grandma Elizabeth, who was confined to a motorized wheelchair with an oxygen tank, was barely cognizant at the best of times according to the Merlin family. So if they could see her remove her oxygen tubing and climb out of her chair, or be able to realize it was happening because a teenager was wearing her socks, they would have been amazed that she was not only moving of her own free will but at a pace not reserved for tortoises.
The owner of the yellow t-shirt was Selena’s father, Marcus. “You know honey? I do think I heard a bang from around the laundry room earlier. I’m going to check it out.”
“Okay dear.” His wife Helen said as she worked the grill to make breakfast for their family.
Marcus walked away, his stride never breaking as he fell into the wish guided haze in search of a life. He was soon joined by Jerome, his brother-in-law by way of his sister Christine. Jerome was a muscular, black construction worker from New Jersey who believed he lucked out with his wife and two children.
Zach meanwhile felt off. ‘Where are the rest of my clothes?’ He unconsciously asked himself and wandered deeper into the campsite. He plucked a pair of glasses off the bald head of William Merlin, a Boy Scout belt from the hands of William Merlin Jr., and pink cowboy boots from the feet of baby Jackie Merlin lying in her crib.
As man, teen, and infant wandered away from the campsite, Zachary Merlin stood up on a stump near the center. “Okay everyone, gather round. Gather round.” He gestured for everyone to sit on park tables and camp chairs. “We all know why we are here in Lake Pointe. It’s because it might be the only place that will acknowledge how we feel.”
The adults of crowd looked on in slight confusion before nodding at the man’s words. There was a reason their family trusted this son of their line. Zachary Merlin was metrosexual, this is true, but he had a keen mind. Working both the blue collar work of a construction man, and the white collar work of a CPA. Eagle Scout, a natural born leader. The only thing this black All-American Boy hadn’t done was join the military.
Alexis, Helen, Christine, and Daisy all came up to stand next to him. Zachary smiled at the ladies, then focused on the crowd. “Lake Pointe is the most liberal city in America. So it is here I say we can begin making out community. One where no matter who you love, it is okay.” He stepped down from the stump and encircled the four women.
“My aunt.” He kissed Daisy’s head. “My sister.” Christine’s head. “My mother.” Helen’s. “And my wife.” Finally, he kissed Alexis’ head. “We all love each other. And it is here that will begin to change the world!” The crowd began to cheer, though the children were merely copying their parents. Though the rapidly darkening children of Zachary did scoot to sit closer to each other. “Together we bought out this campground and will make it the first community of truly free love!”
The Merlin’s cheered in celebration at their patriarchs’ announcement, and Zachary received a tongue filled kiss from all four of his lovers as they made their way to a large tent to celebrate.
The now identity-less people once part of the Merlin clan passed a sign at the campground’s entrance, not them or any car passing by noticing a ‘Closed’ and ‘Under New Management’ sign appearing on it as if by an invisible paper roller. Those walking made their way into Lake Pointe proper, some part of their soul begging to find a new life.
