Tom Martin just poured his first coffee of the day, when his wife Beth said; "you can sure tell it's close to the end of the school year. As happens every year, we get all these e-mails and flyers Like, we can't wait for someone to get us involved in something which will screw up our summer vacation......Emails and fliers all over the place.
Beth took her coffee and turned on her computer. "I'll take a look at the offers to use up our free time. She looked through the email, most of which were of little interest, and some of which were a scam, just looking for money. There was one email that looked interesting though.
"Hey Tom, this is interesting. They're looking for volunteers for a summer camp, run by a church, and located in a remote area of Tennessee. Since you went into school administration, when was the last time you coached basketball, or any other sport. I didn't go into teaching to sit in an office, do paperwork, and go to meeting, but since I took over as department head, that's all I seem to do.
"We could devote 6 weeks to a worthy cause, and still have time for a little travel before school starts. It's a small camp, and two of the things they're looking for are people with experience in teaching music and in coaching. If it's alright with you, I think I'll answer the email, and get a little more information." Tom didn't object, just took another sip of the hot coffee. "Let me know what you find out."
They got an almost immediate reply. The camp was for early teens, and the volunteer teachers would sign up for two sessions, each lasting three weeks. Each three-week session would be the same program, but with a new group of teens. They would have no disciplinary responsibilities; that would be handled by camp management. Their job would be only to teach classes, with a lot of free time to enjoy the beautiful Tennessee Valley. Their living quarters would be a small cabin, designed for a married couple, and there were also cabins for singles, if only one of them decided to volunteer.
After talking it over, they made a few phone calls to make sure the camp was legitimate. They decided it would be an experience neither had been through, and getting out of the city would be nice. ..... "why not, let's do it!"
Tom had a budget conference with counterparts and state officials right after the camp, but timing fit nicely.
Both Tom and Beth had been in the teaching profession their entire careers. Both had progressed in their jobs through the years, and Tom was now a superintendent; while Beth was a department head, with some additional responsibilities for the entire school district.
Tom looks like a coach should look, 44 years old, ruggedly handsome, 6'1", 200 lbs. and lots of muscle. Beth is the same age, but looks 10 years younger, 5'7", 130 lbs. and a very pretty blond.
They have a son, Tom Jr. and daughter, Nancy, both now on their own. Their son is married, with no children yet, and the daughter is engaged, with plans to be wed in another year. When they talked to their children about summer plans, both kids thought their parents were nuts, talking about volunteering at a summer camp. They should spend their summer relaxing, and a little travel.
Three weeks later they'd packed the van and were on their way. As they approached Chattanooga, both had a smile on their face. It was so beautiful. Driving through the mountains and valleys, they saw cliffs with waterfalls, and what seemed like zillions of trees, of all different varieties. Following GPS, they arrived at the quaint little outpost that would be their home for the next 6 weeks.
The first person to greet them when they drove into the camp was Mary Scott, a very pleasant lady in her mid-sixties, and manager of the camp. Mary was the person they had earlier communication with, and was exactly what they expected; a person of deep faith, and commitment, who wouldn't take crap from anybody. Mary couldn't thank the couple enough for being volunteer teachers for her camp. With their arrival, all but two of the volunteer teachers were in camp, and they were waiting for a man from Colorado and a woman from Kansas.
There were also additional workers, and church members, most of whom would be commuting. The first group of teens would be arriving in two days.
Mary showed Tom and Beth to their cabin, and the two started unpacking and settling in. The first thing after getting settled in their very rustic cabin, was to take a walk around the camp, and explore the beautiful woods and trails. It seemed they could explore for the entire 6 weeks and not see it all.
After dinner, which was prepared by church members, a large campfire served as the evening's entertainment. For Tom and Beth, being from the city, this was a whole new experience, and the scenic setting was amazing.
The next day the last two volunteer teachers showed up; Kay Bradley, mid-fifties, physical ed teacher from Kansas, and Gerald Walters, a social studies teacher from Colorado.
Beth, Tom and most of the other teachers were on hand to meet the newcomers.
As everyone was introduced, Beth couldn't keep her eyes off of newcomer, Gerald Walters, from Colorado. She felt an attraction that she couldn't explain, and hadn't experienced, maybe ever. She couldn't put it into words, but there was something there, something magnetic, charismatic, who knows, but something. Oh well, Beth thought, I'm a married woman, here with my husband; so, she tried to put it out of her mind. Tom and Beth were the only married couple living in the camp, and Beth was without question the prettiest woman in camp.
The women volunteers, including Beth were all impressed with the newcomer Gerald's physical appearance. Beth overheard some of the women talking. They said Gerald was divorced, 45 years old, and father of three grown children. She knew from her own observation that he was about 6' 175 lbs. and in good shape. This attraction kept bothering her, and she hoped it wasn't apparent to others, especially to Tom.
Camp started and the first few days went very well. Beth had two music classes each day, each lasting two hours, and she really enjoyed the students, and their desire to learn. No meetings, boring seminars, meetings with other faculty, personnel problems, parent problems, etc. just what she had chosen a teaching career for... teaching.
Tom was also enjoying the camp. He had one basketball session, and one soccer session, each for two hours, and also, though not part of the original agreement, volunteered to teach a one-hour pickleball class. In the spring, the camp had added a couple of pickleball courts, but none of the volunteer teachers had ever played the game, so Mary Scott begged Tom to coach the class. Tom had never played the sport either, but had seen it played, so Mary declared, that was close enough, and Tom was designated the camps first ever pickleball coach.
One thing Tom promised himself, was to spend long hours fishing. He brought his fishing equipment, and hoped Mary Scott, in one of their previous phone conversations, was right about how fabulous the fishing was. There were small lakes and streams all over, with actual fish in them, not like around the city, where what you caught was small, and probably filled with fertilizer run off. These fish you could actually eat.
Beth had finished her classes in the early afternoon, and Tom had one to go, so she decided to check out one of the hiking trails. She'd been on several of the trails in the two weeks of camp, but this was a new one. She loved to walk, and it was such a beautiful trail she lost track of time.
Heading back, she came to a point where two trails crossed, and Gerald Walters was returning to camp on the second trail. They almost ran into each other. The two continued back together, and had a long conversation about how each happened to be at camp. Beth was sure she came across as a teenage girl, with a crush on a very handsome teacher, which was all true except for the teenage girl part.
After dinner the camp fire was blazing, and Tom was in their cabin, deeply involved in a book. Beth noticed that Gerald was sitting by the fire alone, so she went out and joined him. They continued their chat from the afternoon, and Gerald mentioned that after classes tomorrow, he was going back out on the same trail he was on today. It was so pretty, he had to go back. He mentioned he would be starting his hike about 2:00, and said to Beth, "why don't you join me." She sat quietly for a few seconds, then said, "my husband said he has some plans for us tomorrow, but we'll see."
Just the thought of being with Gerald made her all tingly. What's wrong with me, she thought. My husband, who isn't 30 yards away, in our cabin, and who I love very much, wouldn't like what I'm thinking, but I can't help thinking it.
Just at that time Kay Bradley came out of her cabin and sat on the other side of the big fire. Beth and Kay had become quite friendly over the short time together, and Kays arrival at the fire gave Beth an excuse to move away from Gerald, while her panties were still relatively dry.
"Kay, I wanted to ask you about something," Beth lied, as she got up and walked to Kay. The first thing Kay jokingly said when Beth sat next to her is, "gorgeous isn't he." Beth turned red, and playfully stuck her tongue out at Kay, but she knew she'd been caught. The two women knew, what every woman in the camp knew, including teacher volunteers, church volunteers, commuting workers. Gerald was an attractive man.
All that night Beth hardly slept. She kept thinking about Gerald's invitation for a hike at 2:00 tomorrow. She thought, it's just a hike, he's probably been hiking with other people since we got here. It's a good way to get to know your fellow volunteers.
Beth had a decision to make. Her husband had mentioned he wanted to take Beth to a beautiful little lake tomorrow, to catch their dinner, but Beth couldn't get Gerald out of her mind, and knew she'd end up on that trail with him tomorrow. However, it would mean lying to her husband, for the first time in the 22 years they'd been married.
The next morning while they were having breakfast Tom said, "hey hon, are we still on for a little fishing after our classes today. You're going to be amazed at the size of these babies, and how quickly they bite. You've seen what I've brought back recently, and there are bigger ones in there.
"Oh Tom, I'm sorry, a group of the girls in my class asked me to help them put together a musical group today. Can we fish tomorrow."