It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Scott just knew it was his calling. After all, he loved Camp Evergreen and he was already its caretaker. He knew the camp grounds like the back of his hand. He didn't particularly relish having the kids there, but it was how they paid the bills and in fact it was good to see familiar faces playing, singing, and praying from dawn till dusk.
Scott loved to be in nature, especially when he was in Camp Evergreen. Tending to the trees and flora led to countless encounters with wild creatures and the rhythm of life there. He knew the lakes and the wooded hills by name, even many of the names Earl had given to certain trees, cliffs, and bears. As with family, there were many moments of joy, such as viewing the blossoms of spring or finding birds with hatchlings in a snag. There were disappointments too. He was saddened whenever he found that an old tree had been stricken by lightning or disease, saddened most of all when Earl died. Through the ups and downs, the one thing that was missing was that he had no one there with him to share in witnessing these events. Earl had left an indelible impression on him for sure, but he was resting in peace. What Scott truly craved a loving and lovely female companion.
Scott was divorced, and it was all behind him. The storms had passed, and bright sunny days had come. He certainly didn't want Gabrielle back, nor had they any children. At first she loved their surroundings ("in Creation" she called it), but she came to decide it wasn't enough for their kids. As the years passed, he promised her that things would get better, but his job at camp never really paid much.
She was fair and pretty, he played guitar and was admired the church folk for his faith and honesty. In bed, his gifts were unmistakable. She felt that material things would come in time, but as time wore on she began to question her early optimism. She couldn't imagine choosing to go through her life poor, nor driving hours upon hours each week in her decrepit car to travel between family and Scott.
Gabrielle tried to bolster their income and savings by taking up work back in town. She landed a high paying job, and was soon in the company of many successful men who were attracted to her. Things deteriorated from there. As their marriage crumbled, she took her disappointment out on him rather than try to work things out. She had tried to be the center of his world, but he would not adjust to that focus. As she left him, his orbit remained ever around camp and nature.
That was six years ago. He had never found a girl to be with since. While the yearning for sex was intense, he shied from the prospect of a meaningless encounter.
Camp Evergreen
Every summer, the serene quiet of camp was subsumed by a wave of joyous kids and young adults that flooded in from the local parish. It was Scott's job to fell and haul and mend and trim so that there was plenty of nature, but things were also tidy and safe for play. To the kids, he was just a fellow church member, one whose job involved attending camp and playing guitar. The older ones knew that camp was his home.
Kids loved the camp. It was a beautiful place nestled in a forest of tall, healthy trees, with plenty of cooling shade for the summer heat. The kids got along well, with a minimum of teasing and fighting. They loved and trusted Scott. The kids ardently looked forward to camp each year.
Summer camp was great for parents too. Many had attended before having children of their own. For a reasonable price, their kids put down their video game controllers for a solid three weeks to play and grow with all of their best friends. Parents would get a respite from all the laundry, dirty socks and messy rooms, knowing their kids were doing everything worthwhile with their vacation, from archery to zoology. Camp was a no brainer, a must for parents.
Up to then, the assumption had been that "inner city kids" (really, any minorities except Earl) would alter the camp's harmonious culture. This in turn would drive away families and ultimately not help their bottom line. It was a market both Steve and Carol would rather eschew, and she still felt strongly about it. If the congregation stood with her, they would not send their kids to camp that year. Carol suspected he had gone deeply into debt to finance his purchase, she was determined to see him fail. After all, the church could easily buy up the camp once he was forced to sell.
Scott was aware of Carol's intentions, having heard enough from his mother who had attended church regularly for some time. He was fully committed so there was nothing to do but welcome the parish and advertise for new attendees. Still, he recognized the fact that deep down, he had always despised Carol and now he loathed her.
Carol had started to badmouth him whenever the opportunity arose, campaigning against him. She said he was crazy and unstable, even to those who would be his counselors. It troubled him because he wanted badly to succeed. Also, he was sweet on several of the women counselors, and thought that maybe one of those women might some day fill the hole in his life left by Gabrielle. He hoped that if he made a little more money or had more power, that some of the women in the church might think better of him.
Although he barely made the trip to church bi-monthly, he took one Sunday morning off to confront Carol and defend his actions right there in the main chapel after service. He sat through the sermon. When he rose to make his announcement, he said very little, and basically encouraged everyone to come. Few seemed to outwardly sympathize, and although the situation frustrated Scott he knew he needed to maintain a peaceful facade. Women don't like angry men and the opinion of the congregation would turn on mothers and daughters. It always did.
Three weeks passed, with very little results from his advertising. A few church members signed up their kids, despite the boycott. The following week, a flood of applications came in. Hannah, a young newlywed whose husband had deployed to Afghanistan, had told the congregation in plain terms that nothing was going to change and everyone who needed to send their kids to camp should sign them up, same as last year. She added that she was going to be a counselor there.
To Scott's great fortune, Carol's boycott imploded. As the checks came in, Scott realized that there was still some confusion about the new arrangement. There was no other explanation for it, as most checks were still made out to the church itself. Frustrated, he placed all of the checks in an envelope. He would soldier on with camp, and issue invoices instead.
One of his administrative duties was to appoint his counselors -- a cadre of paying attendees who would herd their troupes around, lead groups in the day's scheduled activities, and so on. Camp counselors were critical to the camp's success, and for legal reasons he insisted that none of them be a minor. Some die-hard attendees were as old as twenty-six. It was a testament to how much a part of the church Camp Evergreen was. As the counselor slots filled up, Scott began to think that indeed, camp was going to proceed more or less as usual.
Two days before camp started, Scott was busy repairing a screen door that had slammed itself ajar during a wind storm. The screws had worked the hinge loose from the frame. It was a common problem after a nor'easter. Naturally, he used a technique to fix it he had learned from Earl. For Scott, the camp was full of signs of Earl's handy work, and when he found Earl's work it always brought back memories of the unassuming autodidact.
Earl had decided to drop out of school at the age of fifteen, but he was unusually wise and consistent. Somehow he had never touched a computer or smart phone. He read a few papers and was troubled by the course of human events. Earl had been a journeyman craftsman, master forester, and a student of philosophy. To Scott, he was more of a father than his old man ever was. With camp about to start and Scott now fully in charge, he dared to imagine that Earl might be looking down on him from heaven and smiling with pride.
Scott finished the repairs and looked at his watch. The day was nearly done. He had set the enrollment deadline for today, but he would wait until the stroke of midnight. He went to his room in the back of the welcome lodge and reviewed his enrollment roster. On the one hand, he could understand why Carol had always insisted on setting the deadline a full week in advance. There was a lot of work to do with schedules and group rosters. Then again, the boycott had forced him to be as accommodating as possible. As luck would have it, one more parent announced her child's enrollment via email. Scott did a little math and discovered that he almost had a shortage of counselors. He felt he could squeak by, assuming none of the counselors left early. Midnight seemed like ages away. He ate supper and caught a quick nap.
His alarm went off at midnight, and Scott dragged himself back to his laptop to finalize some of the details on his spreadsheets. He was beginning to hate Carol's job. At 2 am he finally saved what he had, knowing there would be more to do, and crashed into bed.
In the morning he remembered that he hadn't showered the night before and soaped himself rather thoroughly. Then, slinging on his tool belt, he headed to the docks to take care of an urgent albeit easy repair.
Scott had asked the counselors to come to camp the day before the official start. This would give him a chance to give them a tour and go over the rules. They did not need to come until mid-afternoon, but Scott still hoped to finish the repair soon, so that he had the rest of the day open to whatever unexpected challenges might arise.
Aster
It was still early when Aster arrived. She had been a counselor the previous year, and was a veteran attendee besides. She left her bags by the welcome lodge and went looking for Scott. The early morning cool had given way to a breezy, warm summer day. It wasn't long at all before she found the camp's keeper down by the swimming docks.
"Hi Scott!" she called, skipping and bounding down the dirt road.
Scott waved, and took in the sight of the surefooted blonde for a moment. Thinking it was still early, he glanced at his watch. It was barely half past nine.
