Love Always (NG4)

34 - Camp

Rory woke early and felt the mingling of nervousness and excitement in her belly. It was the first day with the children. She returned to Virginia by herself two weeks before for training. Sam had flown to Texas to start his assignment. He planned to fly to Virginia to spend the weekend with her. It was strange staying in the house alone, but the independence was liberating. She could eat peanut butter for dinner and lounge naked in the hot tub in the backyard if she chose to. She hadn't, but she was certain Lana and Ryan did. All those things including the peanut butter would be more fun with Sam. She had already learned enough in the two-week training program to make giving up her summer on The Point worth it.

She parked her car in the lot and glanced in the mirror. Her uniform was a camp tee she could wear with shorts and her hair in a high ponytail. She applied double deodorant and sunscreen, and expected to be hot and sweaty. She didn't want to think about July and August. Thankfully camp was only half day in the morning.

Once the children arrived she was too busy to be nervous. She ran a craft area: stringing beads. As the children concentrated on beads, she talked with them. If they mention their parent, she listened. She felt better trained than her school counselors had been. The children's ages ranged from four to fourteen. The day before was a holiday. She missed the Plover Way party. The Tuesday/Thursday children were further into their grief than the three days a week group. The summer camp had been organized into four three-week sessions.

A thirteen-year-old girl tried to bully her. She glared at Rory. "What do you care? This is a summer job for you."

Rory looked at her trying to imagine she was her thirteen-year-old self. "I care and I wish there were people like me around when I was thirteen and crying for my mother all day."

She looked at Rory's face and must have decided she wasn't lying. She breathed when the girl started stringing beads. More than the help, it was the opportunity for the kids to form friendships with other children like themselves. Rory thought of Sam, four more days. After camp, she arrived home hot, tired and exhilarated.

Rory felt equally excited for her second day, even being at the bead table again. While she helped a little girl tie her necklace when a body plowed into her, she instantly thought of JP, but he wasn't there. She looked down to find Finn hugging her.

"Dad said you were in Maine for the summer."

Rory shook her head. "I'm spending my summer here with the boys and girls. Finn..." She could ask why he was there or if something happened to his mother. Instead, she tried the less direct approach. "Did you know when I was a few years older than you my mommy died?"

"Daddy said the angels took her." Rory nodded. "Because she was sick, her body stopped working. My body is working. Is my daddy's gonna to stop too?"

Rory shook her head. "Your dad isn't sick. Even if he gets a cold, it's different. Your mommy had a different kind of sickness. Do you want to sit with me and string beads?"

"Okay. My dad said I could go to McDonald's for lunch. Do you want to come?"

She summoned a thin smile. "I don't know. You and your dad need time together."

"Please."

His little face was hard to resist. He looked sadder than when they had pizza together. Had his mother died in the last five weeks?

"Tell you what, if your dad says yes."

How could she deny the boy? It hurt her heart that he had joined the motherless child club.

The three hours flew by. As she was cleaning the beads, she looked up to see Finn pulling Dan towards her.

He looked tired. "You're not in Maine?"