Chapter 43
Abby and I were in our rooms, chatting across the hall as we packed up the last remnants of our summer.
I’d accumulated a lot of stuff—taped to the mirror was a watercolor landscape of the camp that Jamie made for me.
On top of the dresser were neon-pink feather earrings from Hazel and a lopsided piece of pottery that was supposed to be a mug from Zelda.
A tall glass vase held the sunflowers from Teddy.
I thought back to what a nervous wreck I’d been when I met Abby, unsure of my responsibilities. Leaning on and commiserating with her and Maggie had made everything tolerable.
“I can’t believe we survived the entire summer,” Abby said.
“And that we’re still standing and . . .”
“Sane?” Abby finished my thought as she had since our first day.
“I know that some would question our sanity, but yeah, sane works.”
“What do you think’s going to happen with the camp next year? Are you coming back?” Abby asked. “I’m not sure if I will.”
I walked into her room. “It all happened quickly, and I’ve been dying to tell you, but I didn’t want to burden you with it.”
She stopped folding T-shirts. “What’s going on?”
“Chip asked me and Ted to be the interim directors next summer.” I decided not to add anything about purchasing the camp until my name was on the contract. “But you can’t say anything until it’s publicly announced.”
“You and Ted?” She looked at me suspiciously. “Do you really want all that responsibility?”
“Before I came to work here, I was looking for a job, and this opportunity fell into my lap.”
“Is it year-round?” she asked.
“Yes, and I can do it from home so it should fit into my life.”
“Hiring you as a director is the smartest thing anyone’s done this summer.”
I hugged her. “And yes, to answer your question. You’re definitely coming back. I can’t do this without you.”
The first thing I’d want to do would be rehiring all the senior staff.
I needed my allies by my side. I’d privately spoken with each Cub counselor after Carrie had told me they believed I didn’t think they were doing a good job.
Soon after that, I felt like we melded into a united team.
I would rehire each of them—even Jasmine.
It had taken almost half the summer, but once she fell into a routine it all came together for her.
I smiled. I guessed the same could be said of me.
We were interrupted by Marilyn. “I’ve come to inspect your rooms.”
Abby and I looked at each other.
“I hope you’re not wearing white gloves,” Abby said, “because I never had time to dust. Come to think of it, I barely had time to sleep.”
“Oh, it’s nothing like that. Just want to make sure things are in order.”
I panicked. I didn’t think I’d be within a hundred miles of the camp when my room was checked. I pushed my duffel bag over the stained piece of carpet. I glanced at the curtains. What if Marilyn noticed they weren’t her grandmother’s?
She went into Abby’s room first, clipboard out, scrutinizing—she even opened the closet.
I tried not to care, but my heart pounded.
The obedient girl my parents raised wouldn’t damage property, steal, lie, or worse, cheat.
My stomach flipped—who had I become this summer?
I’d completely turned my life upside down and inside out.
I hated doing the daily bunk inspections, even though they were necessary, but this inspection was degrading. I made a mental note, Never treat the staff as if they were children.
“Everything looks good in here. Can you sign this form?” Marilyn asked Abby.
“What am I signing?”
“That we both inspected your room, and everything was left the way it was found.”
Abby signed. “Here you go.”
“Thank you for all your hard work this summer.” Marilyn gave Abby an awkward hug.
“Okay, Lori, your turn.” Marilyn flipped a page and stopped to stare at the window above the bed, twirling her hair mindlessly around her index finger.
“These curtains . . . I forgot how pretty they were.”
When Marilyn left, I let out a gasp. I’d been holding my breath the entire time she was in my room.
I met up with Zelda and Hazel as they waited to board the bus home. Their cheeks had dried tearstains from saying goodbye to their friends. My stomach dropped, thinking about the conversations and tears that would ensue once the four of us were home together.
I’d spend the next week concentrating on my career. Once that was in place, I’d hopefully have a clearer picture of what I wanted my future to look like.
“You should have your dad take you for sushi tonight,” I said.
“I’ve already thought of that. We’ll miss you, Mom,” Zelda said.
“I’ll miss you too,”
They both threw their arms around me.
“Dad’s letting you stay?”
If it were the other way around, Zelda would never have asked that question.
“You know how sometimes we have plans, and your dad can’t make it because something came up at work? Well, this is like that.”
“But it won’t be any fun without you,” Hazel said.
“I had you all summer. Now Dad gets his turn to have alone time with you. It’ll be like when you guys go skiing, except now you’ll have Dad to yourselves, all day, every day.”
Thankfully, the bus driver turned on the engine.
I gave them one last hug and kiss and waved to them as they rode off. When the buses had gone, I looked up and saw Teddy smiling at me from across the road.
I asked, “Do you have time to go for a walk?”
“That’s the best offer I’ve had today . . . so far.”
We stopped at the wooden fence that overlooked the lake.
“I told Ronnie I was buying the camp.”
“How’d that go?”
“Not well.”
Teddy didn’t respond. We quietly stood next to each other. I started walking down the path, and he matched my pace.
“I don’t need to leave tomorrow morning,” I said.
“What changed?”
“I figured if I’m going to own a camp, I should start learning what that entails. Plus, I should see if I’m compatible with the person I’m buying the camp with.” I looked at him and saw that his smile matched mine. “I told Ronnie he should take the girls on vacation without me.”
We walked in silence for a bit. The kayaks, paddles, and life jackets that had hung on a wire between the trees were gone.
Teddy took my hand. We passed the ropes course; all the climbing apparatus was padlocked in the shed.
Teddy draped his arm around my shoulders.
The sails were detached from the sunfish and the boats were upside down on the pier.
Teddy’s arm dropped to my waist, pulling me close.
I wanted to tell him about Ronnie’s affair, but I enjoyed how his body gravitated to mine the further we walked toward the isolated edges of the camp. I didn’t want to say anything that might spoil the feeling.
When we arrived at the ski dock, we walked to the middle of the platform.
“Since the first time I kissed you, I knew I wanted to kiss you every day for the rest of my life,” Teddy said.
His long arms wrapped tightly around me, holding me like he would never let go. His kiss was as exciting as the first time, but now it was deeper, more meaningful. I returned his fervor, melting into his arms, forgetting about any existence beyond the sensation of his lips on mine.
There was one rowboat left in the water tethered to the dock.
“I have an idea,” Teddy said. “I’m going to row us over to the house.”
He helped me into the boat and oared us to the middle of the lake.
“This time next year, all this will be ours and we’ll have finished our first successful summer.” He beamed at me.
“How can you be so confident?”
“Because I have you in my corner.”
I couldn’t help smiling at him. “Are you trying to sweet talk your way into my shorts?”
“Those aren’t just words. It’s true. Together, we make a great team. But I do expect to be in your shorts . . . shortly.”
The boat drifted while we basked in the sun and each other. I began singing one of the campfire songs and making the accompanying hand gestures.
“A boy and a girl in a little canoe with thesun shining all around and as he paddled his paddle you couldn’t even hear a sound, so they talked, and they talked . . .”.
He listened indulgently to my off-key singing and reached over just as I sang the kissing part of the song, and the boat started to rock.
He tried balancing it, but that made things worse, and it tipped, sending both of us splashing into the lake.
Laughing, we held onto the boat, catching our breath.
“I know I’m tone deaf, but you could’ve just asked me to stop.”
With one arm draped over the hull, he glided me toward him. “You can serenade me anytime, anywhere.”
I gave him the kiss he desired.
After several ungraceful and unsuccessful attempts to get back in, we kicked the boat under the weeping willows, leaving it on the shore. We left our sneakers in the sun and stripped off our wet clothes, throwing them into the dryer.
He chased me up the stairs and grabbed me around the waist, throwing me over his shoulder and spinning us around the bedroom. We collapsed onto the bed laughing.
We were in my favorite place, in bed, with my head on Teddy’s chest.
“What are you thinking about?” he asked.
“I don’t want to say goodbye.”
“These past few weeks. You. Us. Today. Singing to me, falling into the lake and then into bed. Talking, sharing, laughing. I’ve never felt so alive, so happy. This is what life should be, what I want with you . . . every day. Lori, you’ve become everything to me.”
My heart stopped and every hair on my neck stood up. He had reached inside me and found my inner thoughts.
“What I’m saying, Lori, is that I’m in love with you.”
I looked into his eyes. “Teddy, I love you too.” We sealed our confessions with a kiss. “But what about the rule we made, when the summer was over, we were over?”
“I’ve already broken several of your rules and you didn’t throw me out of bed. Rules are meant to be broken, especially that one.”
“Throwing you out of bed would’ve been a colossal mistake.” I snuggled closer. “I need to tell you something.”
“I’m listening.”
“Ronnie’s been screwing his assistant.”
“Are you sure?”
“He took her to Greece.”
I could tell he was working through what I said. A wry smile appeared on his lips but was instantly gone.
“The audacity . . .”
“Said the man I’ve been having sex with all summer.”
“Don’t exaggerate, it’s only been half the summer.” He kissed the top of my head. “Have you confronted him?”
“No. I thought that was a face-to-face conversation.”
“I could kill him for hurting you if I weren’t so happy to hear that he’s been a scoundrel. The way I see it, he’s made it easier for us to be together.”
I tensed. I’d been fantasizing about this scenario, but now that it was becoming real, I was petrified.
He held me securely. “I hope your feelings mirror mine.”
“If it were just you and me, there’d be no question. But we have children. Are we willing to turn their lives upside down?”
“We have great kids. I already have a relationship with yours, and I know you and Max will adore each other. One thing I learned after my divorce is that children are resilient. We’ll help them navigate through it all.”
“There are so many hurdles. Where would we live? What if our kids don’t like each other, or us?”
“I know it won’t be easy. We’ll take care of any issues one at a time. We’ll figure it out together. We can do this. Look how much we’ve accomplished in one summer.”
“You’ve put a lot of thought into this.”
“It’s all I think about.”
“When you’re holding me, my world is perfect. But when I’m alone, everything becomes more . . . complicated.”
“That’s okay because my plan is to never let go of you.”
I kissed him with all my heart, and he returned it with an urgency that made almost all other thoughts vanish.
Teddy skillfully paddled us back to the camp side of the lake. It was late afternoon, and the sun’s golden rays made everything seem to glow. One of those things was Teddy’s rugged tan face. I looked into his piercing green eyes and thought, Yeah, I could look into them for the rest of my life.
He had on his impish grin as he stood and shouted, “I love you!”
His voice echoed on the water.
Laughing, I said, “Stop. Someone will hear you.”
He cupped his hand around his mouth and yelled louder, “I love Lori Kramer!”
I tried pulling him onto the seat but he somehow managed to get me up and toss me into the water, jumping in after me. We laughed and kissed, gasping for air.