twenty-two
Jamie
DearMom,
It’s crazy writing this to you from summer camp. It still doesn’t feel like a thirty-year-old man belongs at a summer camp, but what I’ve learned from this experience is that those things that I loved as a kid can be just as enjoyable as an adult.
I reread the words and shook my head. No matter what I did, it sounded like it was in the voice of a twelve-year-old. I’d never seen myself doing this in my life, but it was going to make her day. In the end, that was what mattered.
It was hard to get my mind off everything I’d been through in the past few days. I wanted to write my mother a reasonable but gushing letter after her kind care package, but there was a lot to put down on paper.
It’s been kind of crazy how things have panned out. I’ve been spending a lot more time with Ren. We haven’t been able to have this much fun probably ever. You were right in your letter. This has been really good for our friendship.
I was always honest with my parents. Our family didn’t shy away from talking about our emotions and the things that mattered. It was a breath of fresh air compared to what I was used to dealing with in Seattle: shallow how-are-yous, guarded answers, and professionalism.
Other than that, I guess I have something kind of unexpected to tell you…
I stared at the words and scratched them out.
Remember the reason you had to fly down and pick my ass up off the floor my freshman year of college? She’s here.
I scratched that out too. Oh god. How did you even broach this topic when you didn’t know what it meant?
I think I have feelings for Autumn. Again.
I scratched the final line, staring at the disappointing sheet and crumpling it up before rewriting everything and changing the last line:
You’ll never believe who’s here.
That was it. I rushed through the part involving Autumn. Overthinking would get me nowhere. It worked. By the end of the hour, I had a letter that was ready to be mailed. I put a handmade bookmark made with dried flowers inside, hoping she would use it in her next favorite read, and rushed it out before the final mail call. More than likely, it wouldn’t get to her before the end of camp, not that it mattered, but we weren’t all that far from Portland, so there was a good chance.
I found Hazel carrying a beige mailbag, Santa style. She held it open for me and closed the bag when I was done. I nodded my thanks before she handed the bag to Lamar, who ran it toward the camp gate.
“Hey, Jamie, before you go—would you mind stopping by the office for a quick chat?” There was an excitement to Hazel’s tone, which was the only reason I wasn’t filled with anxiety over herquestion. It wasn’t quite “we need to talk,” but it was still slightly nerve-racking.
“Sure.” I followed her into the main office.
“Hey, Zel!” Leo bounced excitedly as we slipped inside the doors. “Look who just sent us a birth announcement.”
Hazel pulled the cardstock card from his hand, and her eyes crinkled from her warm smile. I’d only caught smirks and grins from her, never full-fledged smiles. She showed me the back of the announcement and then the front, running her fingers over the embossed words. I kind of loved being included, even though I had no idea who these people were. On one side was a happy couple holding a small bundle in a yellow blanket. On the other was a baby sleeping in a basket. It had been a long time since I’d gotten one of these in the mail. It just reminded me that my niece and nephew had been growing up faster and faster. It felt like every time I saw them a new milestone had been hit.
Autumn hung up a phone, making her presence known. She wrote something down on a slip of paper as she talked to Leo. “The winery has our order, but they can’t get it to us in time.”
He shook his head. “We can run over there and get it, but—”
“Who’s going to do that?” Hazel interjected.
“I’ve got a couple of hours,” Autumn started, and I wanted to offer to go with her, but that would look out of place. Plus, I had no idea why I was here. “I need to go get my purse. Hey, Jamie.” She smiled at me as if she’d just realized I was there.
Leo opened a safe and grabbed a credit card out of its depths. They discussed the list, and she rushed out, not making any more overtures to me or Hazel. She was busy, but she was probably also trying not to draw attention to us, which was good. I had no idea what the implications were for her dating—no,sleepingwith—a camper, but they couldn’t have been good. Although they did seem pretty cool…
Hazel pulled out a seat for me before going to her desk. “So the reason you’re here... We were thinking… I mean, you can say no if you want to…”
Leo cupped her shoulder. “This isn’t something to be nervous over.”
“I know, but he’s here to have fun. And he’s paying for it.” Technically, that wasn’t true. Ren had paid for our stay. And after he dropped a water balloon over my head, I would probably wait to pay him just to be an asshole.
“I'm right here, you know.”