A Picnic

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"A Picnic" is the twenty-seventh chapter of Into the Forest. It is the third and final chapter to be narrated by Isandòrno.

## Summary

The chapter opens up on Saturday, June 7, 2014 at 03:51:04 in Mexico City, Mexico. The Mayor invites Isandòrno to have breakfast earlier than usual. When they sit down to eat, The Mayor orders his servants to bring him eggs. He does not touch them when they arrive. He orders blackberries and slices of blood oranges, but does not touch those either. He dabs butter on a piece of toast but never eats it. He might take a sip of coffee but that's all he has. He insists Isandòrno eat, which he does. Isandòrno samples each piece of food given to him but never finishes anything.

The incident that occurred in Los Angeles is still problematic. The Mayor has lost too much money and too large a number of pink balloons. The Mayor is upset and he knows that Teyo is equally as upset. Isandòrno thinks Teyo cannot be as upset because he does not know César Miguel Orozco Hernandez. As the text states, "The Mayor had watched César Miguel grow up. The Mayor owned the fast cars but César Miguel confirmed how fast they could go. From an early age, he had looked like a celebrity. The Mayor loved to tease him for failing to learn how to sing or kick a football, but more than a few musicians, at at least one professional athlete, had disappointed The Mayor. César Miguel knew how to get along with The Mayor."

The Mayor's staff all stop bringing him food and instead they hand him his rifle. The Mayor likes a powerful rifle with an even more powerful scope, rather than a normal handgun. His rifle is a .50 caliber assault rifle. A US M107. He and Isandòrno step out onto the terrace and a zookeeper walks in front of them from the front lawn. He leaves behind an animal and moves out of The Mayor's way. Isandòrno recognizes the animal and remembers that it is the same baby chimpanzee The Mayor refused to give a tangerine and a pear to. The Mayor aims at the chimpanzee and it begins to run around. He sends Isandòrno down with a piece of fruit. When Isandòrno steps onto the front lawn, he throws the fruit to lure the chimp over. The chimp takes the bait and Isandòrno returns to The Mayor. The Mayor has put away his rifle and reminds Isandòrno that someone else is paying them €27,810 to shoot the animal.

Lunchtime goes the same way as breakfast. The Mayor considers eating different options of food but he never actually eats anything. He receives a phone call from Teyo, and The Mayor tells Isandòrno again that Teyo is just as upset as he is. Shortly after, The Mayor tells Isandòrno that they will be going on a picnic. They have never gone on a picnic before. Isandòrno sees a van loaded up with folding tables, party hats, and a deep fryer with an oil capacity of one hundred pounds. They go to a place The Mayor refers to as McRanch.

At McRanch, they are greeted by a man named Cutberto Bruno Villegas. He is always happy to see The Mayor. The Mayor even attended his wedding last year. He sent Isandòrno to deliver flowers and silver to Cutberto when his baby was born three months ago. After Cutberto greets everyone, he gives Isandòrno a hug. Cutberto works for The Mayor as an accountant. Though he is good with numbers, he is not told how the numbers arrive or how they go. He just knows to make them add up.

The Mayor tells Cutberto that they have come to throw a picnic. Cutberto asks if it is for his son and The Mayor tells him that it is for the whole family. As they talk, The Mayor's men unload the contents of the van and set everything up. The Mayor turns on the deep fryer so the oil can heat up. Cutberto is enjoying the whole event, saying that he loves surprises. He runs into his house so he can wake up his wife. His men follow him inside, and The Mayor's men follow them all inside. Cutberto returns with his wife and son. His son begins crying so The Mayor takes him into his arms and is able to make the him stop crying. The Mayor claims that the child needs to eat. More of The Mayor's men follow Cutberto's wife when she goes back inside of the house to retrieve a bottle of formula. Isandòrno notices that Cutberto's men never returned.

Cutberto tells The Mayor that his wife has been diagnosed with cancer and is in treatment. She has four more sessions to go. She soon returns with the bottle. One of The Mayor's men tells him that the oil is hot now. Cutberto wonders what they will be eating and if anybody else will be attending this picnic. The Mayor tells Cutberto that he wants to have a talk with him regarding the work he does. Cutberto's wife asks if she can have her son back but The Mayor does not want to disturb the child. He allows the child to sleep as he holds him. The Mayor mentions César Miguel, saying that the thoughts of him are troubling his appetite. Cutberto is confused and asks The Mayor to elaborate. When The Mayor asks if Cutberto has ever heard of César Miguel, Cutberto admits he has not. The Mayor asks him about the recent trouble in Los Angeles. Cutberto starts to become uneasy and says that he does know about that much. The Mayor says that the "numbers were terrible."

One of Cutberto's men stumbles out of the house. Blood is dripping down from his hairline to his nose. He walks over to the group and tries to say something but what he says makes no sense to them. Two of The Mayor's men grab an arm of the man. Isandòrno taps nine fingers and stands up. The Mayor then shouts, "if they can't handle this, you handle them." The bleeding man is dragged back into the house. Both Isandòrno and The Mayor can tell that the man is one of Cutberto's friends. The Mayor hands the child back to Cutberto's wife, and then he and Cutberto walk deeper into the yard. Isandòrno knows they are talking about numbers and locations. Cutberto only knows the numbers but not the locations. After a while, they return to the group.

Cutberto's wife tries to stand up, but the thought of what she might find inside of the house keeps her still. The Mayor asks if they have any wine. Cutberto tells him that they do. He runs inside of the house to grab a bottle. The Mayor then asks Cutberto's wife if she is hungry. She is, but she is feeling weak so she lies down in the grass. The Mayor takes the baby again and holds him up. Cutberto emerges from the house again, holding his finest bottle of wine. The Mayor shouts, "let's eat!" and drops the baby into the deep fryer.

The chapter ends on Saturday, June 7, 2014 at 16:43:59.