21. Autumn #2
“Then we could provide support. But the takeaway would be our campers getting a different experience and you getting the guaranteed business. And we were hoping, well, if you flip to page three, you’ll see—” The flipping sound distracted me for a moment.
“As you can see, sixty-seven percent of our campers have children. We were thinking that this would be an opportunity for you to showcase your camp to our campers and potentially gain business from their interactions as well.”
“I like this idea, I do, but I’m not sure how beneficial it will be toward your visitors. We mostly gear our camps toward children,” Joy observed.
“Most of our campers will probably have no experience on a ranch or with horses, and I think you’ll find that our adults are children at heart.
I know if I was visiting camp, I’d love the opportunity to ride a horse and participate in the activities you offer.
We want this to be beneficial to both parties, obviously.
” They were quiet for a moment, and I wondered if I’d lost their interest. “If you don’t mind my asking, how much do you make per day when kids attend camp? ”
Marty whipped out an old-school ink printing calculator and typed in some numbers. He ripped off the piece of paper and handed it to his wife.
“You’re not including staffing, Marty. But you can leave off food and beverage.”
Marty nodded and went through a few more numbers before handing it over again. Joy amended it with a red sharpie and slid it over to me facedown. I smiled at the theatrics.
I lifted the paper and nodded, relieved to see that this was under my budget. “We could work with this,” I said, tamping down my excitement.
Once the hard numbers were worked out, the couple agreed to come by Starlight to see our grounds and meet with Hazel, Leo, and me to iron out details.
Marty looked up from my document, his eyes sparkling. “This says you offer macrame? And they have pottery, Joy.”
Joy nodded, suddenly all business. “I think we can agree to your terms, but I’d like to add an addendum. A monthly date night at Starlight for the two of us. I think that could be valuable to our partnership.”
Two could play this game. I entered with the same tactics. Hazel and Leo would be so proud of me for negotiating other perks. “For a couple of jars of those pickled onions, something could be worked out.”
I made my way back to the office to let them know how things went and deliver a jar of Marty’s pickled onions.
The door opened with a small snick. We left it unlocked from sunup to bonfire so that counselors could pop by when they needed to check the schedule or ask a question.
I’d always loved their shared office space.
Leo’s area was bursting with color, little origami creatures and pictures everywhere.
Hazel’s had a much more minimal approach.
With the exception of a random paper airplane, her desk only displayed two photos: one of her and Leo the year they’d met at a summer camp when they were twelve years old, and the first group photo Jack, Hazel, Leo, and I took together.
The new Camp Starlight sign was displayed prominently, with the naked tree just in frame.
We’d been red-cheeked and giggly from drinking the night before we opened to the public, and we’d had no idea what we were in for.
Our smiles went from ear to ear, and you could see the excitement on our tired faces: dreams in our hearts, wide-open eyes, eager and ready for the adventure.
My hand was up on the whiteboard, writing my name in place of Felicia’s, when Hazel stepped inside, her gaze landing on me.
“It really is a lovely calendar.” I nodded at the giant whiteboard, lovingly referred to as our Command Center. We’d written the week’s schedule across it with counselors in the first column so anyone could see where each of us was at any given time.
Hazel joined me at the board. “What’s Felicia up to?”
“She has another date with that new librarian. They’re going to lunch.” The librarian in question was incredibly sweet, and nothing like Felicia’s usual type, and yet, he made her happier than I’d ever seen her.
“Really? I didn’t see that one coming.” Hazel looked deep in thought over the matter.
“Me neither, but you know who did?”
Hazel lovingly rolled her eyes. Of course, Leo had had a hand in their recent coupling.
It was a strange superpower, to say the least. What would he think of Jamie and me?
The thought lingered before I pushed it away.
This minor, very tiny obsession over Jamie Davis needed to stop.
Keeping it casual was one hundred percent the right decision, and I could do that.
I’d set things into motion, and I’d deal with any consequences later, but the more I thought about it, the more I considered.
What if there weren’t any consequences? Just ridiculously good sex with a good man. That didn’t sound so bad.
Hazel plopped down into her computer chair and faced me.
She was the picture of cool in ripped cutoffs and hot pink nineties plastic bow barrettes clipped in just above a fishtail braid.
She smelled like coconut and hibiscus and looked playful in the most summery way.
My friend pushed her ever-present aviators onto the top of her head. “How’d the meeting with Foxglove go?”
“I think they’re going to do it. With the number of horses they have and the number of campers we have, I figure we could have multiple sessions throughout the day and anyone who wanted to ride would be able to. They agreed.”
“Really? That’s great.”
“I told them our campers will probably like the same activities as the kids do, with a steeper learning curve. Ooh, and they teach lassoing.” I thought that through and realized one caveat. “We need to make sure no one is intoxicated when they go over there.”
“Agreed. And Leo isn’t allowed to go anywhere near me with one of those lassos.”
“You sure you don’t want to be caught, little darlin’?” I spoke in my best Western accent.
“What isn’t Leo allowed to do?” He barged into the office and practically flew into his chair, spinning 360 degrees before Hazel gave him another spin. They were such kids. I loved witnessing their unadulterated joy when they were together.
“Lassoing,” Hazel replied.
“Why not? I think I’d be great at it. I’m pretty sure I was a cowboy in another life.”
“You think you’d be able to handle livestock? You’re scared of squirrels, Leo.”
“That’s for a reason,” he said through gritted teeth. “You know what, I can’t let that go. You, me. We duel at dawn.”
“I’ll be there,” she said with an eye roll. “If it seems like I’m standing you up, I promise I’m not. I’m probably running late.”
“Something about that makes me not believe you, but whatever.” He moved on, turning toward me. “Did you already tell her the news?”
“I was waiting for you.” She shrugged, downplaying whatever had his seams about to burst.
“That’s my girl,” Leo said to castigating glares. “My woman?” he corrected. I snorted a laugh. “Fine, my patiently gorgeous genius.”
Hazel nodded in approval. He always got her smiling. That was Leo, flirty, fun, and a very poor secret keeper.
“You’re being so cryptic right now. What news?” I asked, matching both their silly grins. This was something good.
Leo spun his chair in my direction. “You’re never going to guess.”