Page 8 of Daddy's Little Camping Trip
“Sure. It’s part of the fun of camping.” He broke into laughter. “Seriously, it’s probably the only great part. I’m not much of a camper.”
“You either?” I accepted a Tupperware container of hot dogs and jabbed one. “I thought it was just me.”
Quill fitted two hot dogs on his forked stick. “I really prefer a nice hotel room to a tent.”
“We have that in common.” I wanted to say more, but just then who should show up but Ms. Lily from Chained, wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with Little Summer Camp.
“Good evening, everyone!” she called then waited while the chatter died off. “Ready to have a great time?”
A lot of applause and a few cheers showed that most of those here were far more enthusiastic campers in the group, includingmost of our friends. When Ms. Lily announced the trip, I’d just let it go by, wondering why a nightclub would sponsor a camping trip. But to judge from the excitement of those gathered around the fire, my opinion was in the minority.
“Okay, you can toast your hot dogs while I explain the rules of the game. You each have a number taped to your chair, and I’m going to pass around this box. It is filled with rubber duckies, each of which has a number on it. When you have your ducks, you can match it with the person sitting in that numbered chair and introduce us to them.”
Everyone looked around, puzzled expressions probably matching mine.
“Ms. Lily?” asked a little I didn’t know by name. “How is introducing someone a game? And what if we don’t know them?”
“Oh, did I forget that part? Your introduction has to be a tall tale.”
“A lie?” asked another little.
“No, a tall tale. You can include elements of truth if you know them, but make it as big and unlikely as you can.” She grabbed the hand of a man who was piling more logs for the fire nearby. “Like this. I don’t know this person at all, do I?”
“No,” the puzzled camp employee said. “I’ve never had the honor.”
“Then let me tell you all about this gentleman, whose name is…”
“Juan,” he put in helpfully.
“Juan is the head zookeeper at the North Pole. He helps Santa with all the little creatures who want to live there and…” She went on while the poor confused employee stood and listened then drifted off to other tasks. This was not a “little” evening, but everyone still enjoyed the tales, and they served the purpose of making sure we all had one another’s names. Manypeople already knew one another from the club but not all, and as Ms. Lily and the campground employees passed out graham crackers, chocolate bars, and marshmallows, we wound up the evening in a cheerful mood.
Quill and I chatted some throughout it all and agreed to meet for breakfast before we returned to our own accommodations.
Chapter Seven
Quill
As bad as I thought sleeping in the tent would be, it was four million times worse. Every single twig that snapped and leaf that fell and footsteps that walked by… I was sure it was a tiger or something that couldn’t even possibly live here, but my imagination ran wild.
I hadn’t been as smart as my tentmate who brought a lantern, so all I had to light the way was my cell phone, and even that was starting to die. So I lay in the dark, listening to my roommate’s soft snoring, knowing he was in some blissful dreamland while we were about to get murdered by raccoons or clawed to death by bears or electrocuted by lightning or something even more awful.
To add to all my hyper imagination was the fact that the ground was not comfortable, and this sleeping bag was meant for a sleepover on a nice cushy carpet or maybe a cot, not the solid earth.
And there was a fly. I thought they slept at night. Apparently, they didn’t. Every time I thought I could get a little peace and quiet, they’d buzz past my ear. My tentmate did get up and head to the bathroom several times, leaving the tent open to add biting mosquitos to the fun. An expert camper should have known better.
Morning could not come quick enough for me. And sure, part of that was because I was excited…excited that I would see G again. We were going to have breakfast together.
I did finally doze off, only to wake up as something scurried across my hand. Or maybe it was my imagination. But, in any case, I sat up and screamed in panic.
I was so grateful my roommate was already up and out because the last thing I wanted to do was wake them up too.
Time to get cleaned up for the day. I dug out my toiletries and headed to the only sanctuary of this place—the bathroom, with the running water and, in theory, showers. But I’d checked them out, and they were worse than the high school gym locker room showers back when I was a teen. I wasn’t overly comfortable with using them. Maybe once I got to know people and was sure the bathrooms remained an animal-free zone, I’d feel a little more comfortable, but my shower was going to have to wait.
I brushed my teeth, washed my face, and looked in the mirror at my new luggage—bags under my eyes. I wished that I had brought some concealer or a magic spell to make my dark circles go away, but I was looking as good as I was going to.
When I got back to the tent, Winter was there. Happy, happy, happy. Whistling away. And apparently unaffected by all the mosquitos who had snacked on me all night.
“Do something fun this morning?” I asked.
