I sat in my car watching the buses leave the parking lot, hearing the good natured taunts of Eva's friends as they teased her over our passionate goodbye in front of everyone. I learned later that her longtime friends were actually a combination of very happy and a little jealous from seeing her so obviously in love. It was all in fun and Eva told them our story during the ride up (just the high points, leaving out things that were very personal...I think).
After the buses left, I went to leave the parking lot, but I couldn't get out right away. I had to pull over; I was crying, already missing her. It took me a few minutes to get my composure. I didn't care if anyone saw me. The impact of not seeing Eva most of the summer was brutal and it hit me like a ton of bricks.
I had time before work so I went home for a half hour. Cammy was the only one there and I hugged her tight. Being my caring and adoring little sister, she knew what was eating me and she just held me like I had done for her many times over the years.
"I'm sorry, Jon, I know you're going to miss Eva; I'll miss her too, though it's not the same. But you'll see her soon and then you'll be together again. In the meantime, you have me to love. I've missed my me and you time, Jon." She pushed off enough to give me a big smile. Damn, she was turning into a woman as opposed to a kid, in her heart even more than her physical development. Just so you all know, to this day, more than 40 years later, we're very close friends as well as siblings. It's always been that way.
"Thanks, Cammy. That actually does make me feel better. We'll do something at least one night a week, a movie or a pizza. A Mets game. We can go next week when the Dodgers are in town." She grinned wide over that. And I did feel a little better. Not a lot, but a little.
So the summer started. I worked full time from that Thursday on and Sy and Marilyn were as good as they could be about giving me a day each week that would allow me to drive upstate to visit Eva. Eva gave me the days each Monday night, except the first time, when I spoke to her Sunday night, the day before camp actually started. That first week she didn't have a day off, a real killer for us both, so we had to wait to see each other until the following Tuesday. That was tough. The good news was they were letting her take two days off two weeks later so we could see the Grateful Dead concert on Monday and we could spend the night together and all day Tuesday.
That first day we had, Tuesday the 10th, I was up very early. I could barely sleep the night before. I hit the road at 7 and, even fighting traffic much of the way, I got there before 9, a little early, and I went into the office to wait for her.
I introduced myself to the person behind the desk, telling him whom I was there for. He shook my hand and said if I wanted, Eva could show me around. I said maybe another time and then Eva came in and it was all I could do to keep from scooping her in my arms and kiss her madly in front of the four or five people there.
"Hi honey" I did manage to say with choked voice before kissing her with less than one tenth the desire I had for her.
"Hi sweetheart" she said with her own gentle but loving kiss. We hugged, hugged hard, not caring who saw and what rumors they might spread after we left. It felt amazing to have her in my arms again after almost two weeks without.
"Ahem" Lenny (the guy at the desk) cleared his throat, with a smile. I'm sure he'd seen this before; I found out he was about 40 and had been working for the camp for almost 20 years, working his way up to assistant director.
"We're behaving, Lenny" Eva said with a big smile for me. "Did you eat breakfast, Jon?"
"Actually, no. I wanted to get here as soon as I could."
Eva spoke to Lenny and asked "Do you mind if I take Jon over to the dining hall and see what they still have left from breakfast?"
"Go ahead, Eva. At least there's cold cereal, if not something hot. Nice meeting you Jon. Eva, be sure to be back here by 9 tonight."
"I will. Thanks Lenny." She took my hand and led me outside behind the office, where we gave each other a real proper kiss in privacy. We shared a huge kiss, then another and another. "I can't believe you're here, Bear. I've missed you so incredibly much."
"I know. I've been counting the days. I don't know how much sleep I got last night, but it wasn't much. My Angel. I love you so much!"
"I love you too, my sweet Bear." Another couple of kisses. "Come on, lets get you something to eat. You're going to need your strength today!" We laughed together, a great sound. On the way to the dining hall we passed more than a dozen staff members walking with kids and Eva introduced me to everyone, not that I could remember their names. It was a beautiful setting, gentle hills and green everywhere you looked. The buildings were all white wood with dark green trimming. There was a swimming pool and of course a huge lake (Surprise Lake, right?) with row boats and canoes. A couple of baseball diamonds, tennis courts and basketball courts, even a small amphitheater by the lake for music and plays. It was idyllic. I could understand why Eva enjoyed working there every summer.
We got to the dining hall and Eva asked one of the cooks if he could make me some eggs and turkey bacon. The guy said sure, just to sit down and he'd bring it out in a few minutes. We sat at a table and talked as waiters moved about getting set up for lunch in a couple of hours. We couldn't stop smiling and laughing; it was wonderful just to have the time together. The cook brought me out a plate loaded with scrambled eggs and turkey bacon (Jewish camps keep Kosher for the most part) along with four slices of wheat toast. I was hungry enough to eat every bite.
While we were there, her group came in with her two assistant counselors, all the kids were about 12 like Cammy, and they all made a big deal over me, making sure to tell me how great Eva was and how grateful they were to me for letting her be their counselor for the summer. She was beet red with embarrassment, but I thought it was sweet how they wanted me to know how much fun they were having. And there was nothing fake about this; the girls were really attached to her, I knew it was the right thing, encouraging her to work there for the summer. She and I could have hopefully years or longer to be together. But Eva was making a difference for those kids and I was incredibly proud of her.
