Page 28 of Camp Help Falling

“I don’t know if I’ll be here in August,” I say honestly, the tone of our conversation shifting instantly.

Sadie’s bright smile dims, but she keeps the corners of her lips upturned as she asks around another mouthful of ice cream, “Where will you be instead?”

It’s a practiced smile, one to mask her true feelings. I used that same smile as I was let go from my job and dumped by my ex-girlfriend.

“Back in Richmond. Hopefully starting a new job.” I try to dredge up a genuine smile for Sadie. We haven’t had a lot of time to talk about our lives outside of camp, but our long walk this morning gave me plenty of time to explain my situation to her.

“So you’re not planning on staying the whole summer?” Sadie’s voice is too casual. Too measured. I look over, and she looks down at her shake, finding scraping the bottom of her cup to be more interesting—or perhaps safer—than looking at me.

“I don’t know,” I answer honestly. Because she at least deserves that.

Tense silence fills the air between us as we finish the rest of our shakes.

“What about you? Where will you be at the end of the summer?” I turn the questions on her, hoping to find our way back to our easy conversation.

“I’ll be around. My parents live outside of Logan, so I’ll just be a hop, skip, and a jump away.”

Though her face and words are cheerful, the way she says them is tinged with sadness.

“But will you still be doing stuff with Camp Brower? Mom—Linda told me she has some plans for camp this fall.” I expect Sadie to perk up at that. After all, Camp Brower has only been a summer thing for so long, but she doesn’t show any emotion at my casual mention of something going on under the hood at camp. I’m not sure how much Mom has told her, or if I’m even allowed to talk to Sadie about their vision for Camp Brower, so I try to keep things vague and generic.

But Sadie shakes her head, finally looking away from me.

“No,” she says, her voice soft with that same sadness. “This is my last year with Camp Brower. I came on to pass the torch to Paul and Linda, but have some alternate career paths I’m pursuing.”

She doesn’t sound enthused by the idea of an “alternate career path,” so I press a little.

“Why?”

She shrugs, scooping out the dregs of her shake. “It’s time to move on.”

And that sounds like the biggest lie to ever come out of her mouth.

“I’m done with school. It’s about time I found something less seasonal and more permanent.” It sounds like she’s regurgitating something that’s been shoved down her throat, not something that she believes with all her heart. “I have some applications out right now. I’m hoping to hear back from some of them this week or next.”

“Anything exciting?” I infuse my voice with warmth, hoping to fan the spark between us that has gone dim with such serious conversation.

“Nothing too wild. One’s an event coordinator position with the city my friend Ava works for. She’s an athletic coordinator, working on some sports clinics with kids this summer. She’s the one who got me a spot in the Sunny House.”

A small smile blooms on Sadie’s face, and the tension in my body relaxes. She told me about her old college roommates this morning as she responded to their group text thread, explaining that they affectionately make fun of her every summer for being late to every conversation.

“I’m sure something will come through by the end of summer,” she says with a more genuine smile. “Now how about we get rid of these cups and purple like we’re running out of time?”

Sadie stands and reaches her hand out to me. It’s a silent plea to put our serious conversation behind us and move forward.

For Sadie? I’d do just about anything.

Chapter Seventeen

Sadie

It’s all fun and games until somebody gets sent home.

To be fair, I gave them both multiple warnings. Reminders about the rule and the consequences of breaking it. But catching two of my youth staff making out at the archery range during lunch was not on my bingo card for the Fourth of July.

Unfortunately for them, this wasn’t their first infraction, so I told them to pack their bags while I called their parents to let them know they’d be coming home early.

Even confiscating a handful of firecrackers and lighter would have been better than sending staff members home because of a rule that I am also knowingly breaking.

---