Page 28 of Lady and the Camp
“Youcan do whatever you want. You can watch videos on your phone. Right now. Do you have a phone? Can I see it?”
Her eyes pleaded with desperation for content. Digital content, hit after entertaining hit. I knew that look well. Too well.
“Sorry, just got this.” I pointed at the boxy two-way radio I’d begrudgingly accepted at the office. I hated the look of it, but it also reminded me of using a kid version of these radios with the neighbor girl whose yard backed up to mine. We thought we were so cool with our comms. When her stepdad bought her a cell phone, everything changed. She moved on tocool girl with cell phonestatus, while I remained phoneless another year. Little good that parental restriction did for me in the long run.
I was as addicted to online life as Amy. And here we were both stuck at this no WiFi camp.
Amy’s shoulders slumped. “It was worth trying.”
Her words repeated in my head.Worth trying.
I glanced ahead to Lucas. Three girls excitedly questioned him about a flowering bush along the path. He nodded, listening. He knelt beside the bush and summoned the group closer.
It was freaking adorable. Mr. Grump fully surrounded by chatty campers? I loved every second.
And funny. None of them seemed bothered by the lack of internet.
Maybe camp was more than a place to ride out my bad publicity. Maybe a phone-free existence was worth trying out.
As soon as the hike ended, the girls raced to their cabins with the counselors quick at their heels. I let out a sigh.
“They can drain you, huh?” Lucas said.
I’d let down my guard with my big sigh, not expecting he’d hear me. Or comment.
“They’re…energetic.” I smiled. “I’m—” I almost told him I wasn’t used to being around this many kids, but that seemed like a misstep given how quickly I’d been hired. For a job with children. “Just adjusting.”
“Thanks for your help with the caterpillar,” he said.
Which may have been the weirdest thing anyone had ever said to me. And I’d once been invited to a dog show for a make-up consultation.
“No problem. I’m trying to…find my place.”
He gave me a sidelong glance, which didn’t make me feel uncomfortable so much as defensive.
“Look,” I said before he could point out the obvious. “I know I’m not your first pick for the job. And I sense Twila colored outside the lines, so to speak, by getting me in the door so quickly. But I promise I’ll do my best. I need to be here, in a place like this. Away from…stuff.”
Instead of clapping back with a grouchy retort, he considered my words and nodded. “Sorry I came off harsh. I don’t know what you’re going through.”
Now I did feel uncomfortable. “Did Marcy talk to you?”
“Marcy? No. Just a text. So, yeah. I guess.”
Great. So he knew. Or did he? Marcy wouldn’t blab my personal business to any old someone. But Lucas was family. Family went by different rules. At least Marcy’s did—they were all so close.
Unlike my family. My older brother and sister worked in professional careers that could easily be named. They were each married with kids. I had nothing in common with them and they didn’t understand me. I was their adorable little social butterfly and could never escape the label. So much so, I’d labeled myself that way and centered all my branding around it.
Lucas and I stood side by side at the edge of the wood, the awkwardness inching forward like that pesky little caterpillar.
“Marcy said,” I started, when he said, “So, Marcy is your friend.”
We both laughed. Awkwardly. Ouch, was this painful. He rubbed at the back of his neck and shifted his weight around. But he wasn’t leaving.
I’d been in plenty of situations with socially uncomfortable people. My primary skill set involved shining in a social situation. Filling in conversational lulls and inviting quiet types to engage. I attempted another angle. “I imagine you’re close with Marcy and her brothers.”
“Oh, uh, yeah. We all lived down the street from each other like one big, messy Italian family. I’m the same age as her brother Matteo.”
I’d heard so much about the Russo clan over the years but couldn’t remember ever meeting Lucas. I would have remembered. “I wonder if we ever crossed paths? In college, Marcy and I hung out all the time—went to each other’s houses over breaks. I’ve only met her brothers a few times though since they were out of the house and in college too.” Wild. I should look through my old photos and try to find him. “There are four of us who were close in college. We sort of lost track of each other. Or, I did. Life stuff. But we’ve been back in touch and Marcy is the one who suggested I lay low—I mean, find a job here. Like a reset, of sorts.”
