Like Daughter Like Mother
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This continuation of Jason and Jill's love story (Olympian Laughs to Conquer) goes back in time and lays the groundwork for why Jason had mixed feelings about Tate and why, later at the swim lesson, he can let go of Tate so easily and embrace Jill. Although this story can be read without doing so, reading the earlier story gives more context.
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Hope you enjoy it!
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I met Tate when we were both 10 years old at Camp Rocky Mount in Swannanoa. We became fast childhood friends even though she lived in Falls Creek and I lived 4 hours east in Asheboro. We bonded at camp-one week every summer until age 14, then work crew, counselor-in-training (CIT) and promotion to other jobs. And any time our mothers and we were driving close to each other, we'd meet somewhere for lunch or dinner. Several winters we'd even met at Biltmore House to see their Christmas display.
Although occasionally we would be counselors if there was an exceptionally large number of campers, we were mainly placed at our usual jobs through college-me as assistant waterfront director and Tate as chief stable assistant.
But I had always recognized things were different with our families. For example, while my dad occasionally dropped me off or picked me up at camp, Tate's father never came; only her mother. Mrs. Fletcher seemed so carefree, but I had noticed that Tate had a tendency toward irritability. This perplexed me.
Until I learned more about her father.
One summer as CITs, we were in the counselor's lounge watching TV past 11 pm curfew. Ken, the camp director, walked by and saw us. He got very upset for this flagrant violation of CIT rules. We were 15, still children in his eyes.
"Turn the dang TV off and go to bed! NOW!!" He yelled at us, face flushed with anger.
We turned off the TV and I said to Tate:
"Wow, I have never seen Ken so angry!"
Tate was silent and pensive as we walked up the path to the cabins. Then she said:
"Angry about the TV, huh? Jason, you haven't seen true anger until you have seen my dad!" The cabin porch lights reflected off tears welling up in Tate's eyes.
Tears of rage.
"Once when I was 13, I kept watching TV upstairs after he asked me to start my homework. He heard it still 15 minutes later and stormed up the steps. His face was twisted with rage.
She choked back a sob while tears flooded her face.
"He ripped the electrical cord out of the TV, and whipped my bare legs with it forcing me into my room. Staying outside in the hall, he yanked the door shut leaving me inside and said: "Get used to your room. You're going to be in there every day except school time for the next 2 weeks. I know I was wrong to disobey him, but he was so harsh—almost cruel!"
She completely broke down and I held her as she nestled her face on my shoulder.
"He stormed off. He never mentioned the episode again. Never apologized. Never even explained why it sent him into furious orbit. I was wearing shorts. The whipping broke the skin and left lines of bruises."
In my college psych class I later could put a name to his personality: Narcissistic.
But there was more. He also probably had bipolar disorder with black moods punctuated, however infrequently, by elation. Tate never described psychotic behavior, just very high energy and mood.
"Each spring," she told me the semester I was taking introductory psych, "he would spend thousands of dollars and deliver gifts to every single adult over age 25 who lived on Falls Creek Road. Women received hams and men received moonshine."
"That sounds like a combo of seasonal affective disorder-depressed mood during the winter, better spring and summer-PLUS maybe what they call Bipolar II," I said. "It's like typical Bipolar disorder called "1" but without true mania. More like high energy," I opined, putting on my Psych 101 diagnostician hat.
"Well that totally fits, because every spring he does other bizarre stuff like write letters to the editor to every newspaper in the state he can look up on line-each about a different issue or angle of an issue. He will stay up all night for several nights to get those written and mail a new batch each day."
Our last summer together was camp between high school and college. We were both 18, the age that gave counselors more privileges-like having a car at camp; and being able to go off campus without staff.
The first week of camp, Tate pulled me aside during evening campfire and said, "Jason, I have something to show you!"
She pulled out her keys which included her car keys plus three or for others. Picking the bronze key, she said, "Here it is."
I looked at her puzzled. "You wanted to show me a key?" I asked.
"Yes, but a secret key!" she said.
"To what, the horse stable?" That's where Tate worked this summer.
"No, silly. Something way more exciting. You'll find out Sunday," she said.
It was Wednesday. Saturday afternoon was pick up day for parents to collect their exhausted but happy campers. And after campers left we had a staff meeting, received any new assignments for the next week, and finished cleaning up camp and getting ready for a new batch of kids. In some ways the next few days flew by—I remained extremely busy as assistant waterfront director. Whenever I saw Tate, she was much more touchy-feely, showing physical affection that was beyond the Platonic friendship we had shared the previous eight or nine summers together. Come Saturday afternoon, she was even more so, and I was definitely getting the hint that Tate wanted more than what our camp friendship had been to date.
The afternoon and evening crawled by. Although she sat (VERY close) next to me during staff meeting, we didn't see each other the rest of the night as she had chores at the stable and I had swimming and canoeing lessons to prepare for at the lake.
Sunday morning came and we were required to all pitch in and deep clean the dining hall, gym, snack bar and cabins. At 9:30, we were given our weekly day off.
Tate had finished her work at the stable early and found me at the lake.
"Hey, Jace!" she said, using the nickname she bestowed on me. "Look what I have!"
She held up the bronze key she showed me Wednesday night.
"The golden key the stable's manure pile?" I joked.
"No. I'll show you, but it means that you let me take you for a ride. We'll be gone until late this afternoon." We were required to be back at camp for dinner at 6 pm for last minute assignment changes and announcements about the coming week.
"Great! Lead the way!"
Tate took me over to her parked Mercedes Benz e350 coupe, popped the doors unlocked with her key fob, and drove me out to North Carolina highway 410 towards Franklinville.
"So, where are we going?" I asked.
"You'll see in about 40 minutes," she said.
On the outskirts of Franklinville, such as it was, Tate turned off onto a narrow country road that wound its way along a mountain stream then halfway up the slope. Turning into the graveled driveway of a gorgeous vacation cabin, she exclaimed, "We're here!"
I was stunned. The cabin was two stories with windows along its southern face looking out to a spectacular view of the Great Smoky Mountains. It was becoming clear to me just how wealthy her family must be.
"So this is your family's?" I asked—a question with an obvious answer given she had the key.
"Yep! My parents, really my dad, owns four cabins in the area three of which they rent year round. This one is the nicest, and we are the only ones who use it. Well, us, extended family and friends. My dad takes Wednesdays off, and my parents come here every Tuesday night and spend the next day. It's really incredible inside."
And it was incredible. A billiards room, wet bar, Jacuzzi under the southern balcony and another Jacuzzi in bath of the master bedroom. That bedroom itself was huge with space for a treadmill and stationary bike, walk in closet and business alcove for her father. The king bed was against the north wall offering a view out the windows which took up the whole south side. Did I say the view was spectacular?
Oddly—but for a purpose even I could surmise—there was a mirror on the ceiling above the bed. And on both the east and west walls there were wide, full length mirrors providing views of the whole bed.
As I looked around the room, Tate smiled widely regarding my stunned expression.