“Grandpa,” Shawn whispered confidentially, leaning over the backpack that was lying on the station wagon seat between them. “I hate camping.”

Grandpa smiled and leaned back over, shielding his mouth so Henry couldn’t hear him from the front seat.

“Me, too, Kiddo.” He whispered.

“Then why are you coming?” Shawn asked.

“Same reason you are. Your dad’s making me.”

“Then why doesn’t mom have to come?”

“Because she’s smarter than us.”

Shawn stifled a giggle, glancing up nervously at the rear view mirror. But Henry’s eyes were fixed on the road ahead. He wasn’t the least bit interested in what was going on in the back seat.

“If he gets eaten by a bear, can we go home early?” Shawn asked, trying not to laugh out loud.

“Shawn.” Grandpa returned sternly.

“Sorry.” Shawn sighed.

“A mountain lion is much more likely.”

This time, Shawn couldn’t contain his laughter anymore. It erupted out of him like a volcano, until he was rocking back and forth in his seat and stomach hurt from laughing so hard.

Henry was suddenly interested. His eyes met Shawn’s in the rearview mirror.

“What’s going on back there?” He demanded.

“Nothing.” Shawn answered once he could speak again. Grandpa winked at him, which nearly set Shawn off again, but the laughter died in his throat when he saw his father’s firm eyes still watching him.

“How many right turns have I made, Shawn?” Henry asked.

“In your entire life?”

“Shawn.”

“Five,” Shawn sighed.

Henry nodded and turned his attention back to the road.

“He still does the random pop quiz thing?” Grandpa muttered to Shawn a moment later, once he was sure his son wasn’t listening anymore.

Shawn nodded.

“Yeah.”

“What happens if you miss one?”

Shawn considered for a moment, his forehead wrinkling as if the thought had never occurred to him before.

“I don’t miss.”

The rest of the car trip was quiet and uneventful, until Henry finally came to a stop at the base of a mountain.

“We’re here,” he announced, stepping out and stretching his back. “Now it’s just two miles up to the cabin.”

“Two miles?” Shawn groaned, struggling to get his heavy backpack on. “We have to hike two miles up a mountain?”

“It’s not that far, Shawn.”

“Shouldn’t someone stay with the car?” Shawn asked hopefully. “If we just leave it here all weekend, someone might steal it.”

“Why do you think we took your mom’s car?” Henry returned with a shrug. “No one’s going to steal a station wagon.”

“Besides,” Grandpa added, rapping the top of Shawn’s head with his knuckles as he put on his own backpack. “If anyone gets to stay behind, it’s me.”

“Why you?” Shawn shot back, grinning as he swatted his grandfather’s hand away.

“Because I’m old!”

“Dad!” Henry growled. “No one is staying behind with the car! And you’re not helping!”

“You want help, Conan the Barbarian?” Grandpa snorted, undaunted by his son’s glare. “Next time, let us go camping at a hotel with a swimming pool and mini bar.”

“Yeah!” Shawn agreed, but quickly shut up when his father’s glower was turned on him.

“Come on, guys,” Henry ordered, starting the trek up the mountain. “We’re wasting sunlight. Get a move on. We want to get there and get set-up before dark.”

“You know, Dad…they have these things now…called electric lights…” Shawn mumbled, casting one last forlorn glance back at civilization before reluctantly following his father.

Fortunately for him, Henry was too far ahead on the trail to hear to the quip.

They continued to plod along the winding, steadily-uphill path for a half-hour before Henry finally stopped to take a break.

“See, Kid.” He grinned, dropping his backpack on the ground and digging inside for his water bottle. “It’s not so bad.”

“Yeah,” Shawn sighed, collapsing onto a giant rock. “But I still haven’t seen a single mountain lion…”