LENNY WAS GONE. I MISSED HIM TERRIBLY, BUT AT LEAST I had getting ready for the country to keep me busy. Before I knew it, it was Saturday, and I was saying goodbye to my parents and to New York City. Then I was on the bus, heading for New Hampshire and my summer job at the Grandview Hotel.
I owed this job to Roz Buttons, who had been one of my very best friends for years and years. The two of us were to run the preschool camp group for children of the guests at the Grandview, and we were to be roommates as well. Roz had been the one to find out about the job, and she convinced me to come along by promising the work would be easy, the place would be beautiful, and we would have a terrific summer.
I wasn’t sure about how the summer would go, but Roz was right about the place being beautiful. The New Hampshire mountains were gorgeous, the countryside dotted with majestic forests and quaint little villages and farms. And the Grandview was lovely, three large white clapboard buildings with big porches, surrounded by grassy fields, woodlands, and mountains.
“Linda! I’m so glad you’re here!” Already tanned and looking bouncy and pretty with her honey-colored hair swept back from her face, Roz was there to greet me as I got off the bus. She had come to the country several days earlier with her parents, who were spending a week’s vacation at the hotel. “Let’s take your things to our room and dump them. Then I’ll fill you in on everything!”
I followed Roz into one of the white buildings and up three flights of stairs. “This floor is just for staff,” she said when we finally reached the top. “Our room’s at the end of the hall.”
Our room was small, with nothing more in it than a bed, chair, and dresser for each of us, but the view of the mountains from the window near my bed was spectacular. How I wished Lenny could be there to see it with me. If only he had had a normal life and gone to college instead of the navy, he could have gotten a summer job at the Grandview, too, and we could have had a fabulously romantic summer together.
“Dump your stuff on the bed for now—you can unpack later,” Roz interrupted my thoughts. “I want time to show you around and set up for the start of camp before dinner.”
As we walked outside Roz told me I was one of the last staff members to arrive. “The kids that work here come mostly from New York or from Boston. The girls seem nice, and there are some guys that are positively gorgeous! I’ve got my eye on this waiter named Mel. He’s got the sexiest eyes I’ve ever seen, so just control yourself when you meet him. You can have your pick of the rest, though,” she said with a laugh.
“Roz! You know I’m not interested in any other boys! Lenny and I have an agreement to be loyal to each other. We consider ourselves to be practically engaged.”
“Oh, come off it, Linda. ‘Practically engaged’ means nothing. Until there’s a ring sitting on the fourth finger of your left hand, you’re still a free agent, open to any boy who comes along. You know how I feel about your relationship with Lenny—it’s crazy for you to be tied down at age seventeen. This summer is a wonderful opportunity to live a little and open yourself to meeting someone else and seeing what you’re missing!”
“Okay, Roz, we’ve taken this subject far enough,” I sighed. Ever since she had broken up with her first boyfriend, Sheldon, and started dating others, Roz had been pressuring me to break up with Lenny and do the same. She couldn’t understand the concept of loving someone so much you really didn’t want to go out with anyone else. Roz and I had had similar discussions in the past, and they hadn’t led anywhere. I didn’t want to get into it again. “Why don’t you fill me in on what’s what around here?” I said.
Roz took me out and showed me the tennis courts, the lake, and the main building where meals were served. Then she cut across the field next to the swimming pool. “This is the pool,” she stated. “And the guy standing near it is Dave. Let’s go over and I’ll introduce you. He’s really cute.”
Roz headed to the pool, and I had no choice but to follow her. The sun was shining in my eyes as I approached him, and it was only by squinting that I could make out his short but bronzed and muscular body, clad only in a white bathing suit, his dark hair and eyes, his rugged, even features. I shifted my angle so I could see him better. Roz was right, he was really cute.
“Dave Balen, I want you to meet my friend, Linda Berman, who’s going to help me run the kiddy camp group,” Roz said. “Dave’s the social and athletic director here this summer, Linda.”
“What exactly does that mean?” I was surprised to hear the shakiness in my voice as I asked the question.
“It means I plan the activities to make sure the guests have a good time.” He smiled, showing teeth that were white and even. “Exciting stuff like dance lessons and parties around the pool, Ping-Pong and tennis tournaments, dart-throwing contests.”
He had this cute tang to his voice I wasn’t used to hearing. “Wow! I didn’t know it was possible for life to be that exciting. Are your activities only for the guests, or can we staff members participate, too?”
“We’re allowed to do whatever we want when we’re off duty,” Dave answered. “Swim, go boating, dance. There’s a great band that plays every night in the rec hall. Do you like to dance?”
“I love to.”
“Great! Then I’ll meet you in the rec hall tonight, and we’ll dance until the band quits playing.”
Before I could answer that I didn’t think it would be right for me to meet him because I had this boyfriend I was committed to in the city, we were interrupted by the arrival of another boy in a bathing suit. He was dark with curly hair, and, in contrast to Dave, he was huge—well over six feet tall and solidly built. He reminded me of an enormous grizzly bear.
“Have you met our lifeguard, Perry Sutowski, Linda?” Dave asked. “He’s from New York, too.”
“No. I just got off the bus from the city, and you guys are the first people I’ve laid eyes on.”
“Well, now that you’ve met us, there’s no one else you need to know.” Perry grinned. “We’ll be seeing lots of each other, especially since Dave and I share the room down the hall from you and Roz.”
“Oh. That’s—uh—nice.” My eyes met Dave’s, and I found him looking at me intently. He didn’t break his gaze until Perry put his arm on him and pulled him away.
“Come on, Dave. You’ve got to help me set up the pool.”
“Oh. Sure, Perry. See you tonight then, Linda.”
Again I wanted to tell him that I really couldn’t because I already had a boyfriend, but now it was Roz who interfered. “We’ll be there. But right now we’ve got some setting up of our own to do. We’ve got tons to do before kiddy camp starts tomorrow. Come on, Linda. See you later, guys!”
I barely had time to wave goodbye before Roz was dragging me down the path that led to the kiddy camp building. Right before we disappeared into the woods I turned around and found that Dave was still staring after me.
* * *
Tucked into a clearing and surrounded by a playground complete with the usual swings, slide, sandbox, and assorted climbing devices, the kiddy camp building was a cute little cottage set up like a nursery school. The guests at the Grandview could send all children aged three to six to kiddy camp, where Roz and I would keep them busy while the parents lounged around the pool or took part in Dave’s social and athletic activities.
I had worked at camps before, and I had plenty of experience baby-sitting for and tutoring kids, but this was the first time I was responsible for a group of my own. I wanted to plan out and structure a schedule for the entire day before the kids arrived. Roz thought we should wait to see what the kids were like first and take it from there. We compromised by having a few planned activities, such as swimming, an arts and crafts project each day, and a music and story-telling period; the rest of the time we would have the kids choose activities on their own. Having come to this agreement, Roz and I got busy unpacking crayons, paints, books, puzzles, and clay, and placing them on the shelves in preparation for start of camp.
“So what did you think of Dave?” Roz asked as we worked. “Cute, isn’t he? From the moment I first met him I knew he’d be perfect for you. And he liked you, too—I could see it in the way he stared into your big baby-blues! It really was a riot to observe the whole scene!”
“What ‘whole scene’ are you talking about, Roz?” I asked irritably. “Dave happens to be cute, but so what? Might I remind you one more time that I am going with Lenny and not interested in any other boy?”
“Okay, okay. Forget I even mentioned that you and Dave would make a very attractive couple,” Roz said. Then I guess she noticed the dirty look I was giving her, because she changed the subject. “How about if we put out some crayons and paper for the kids to color when they first come in?”
“Good idea. I’ll put some puzzles out, too.” As I was sorting through the puzzles, trying to decide which might be appropriate for the kids that were scheduled to arrive, a loud knocking was heard on the door.
“Go away! Camp doesn’t start until tomorrow!” Roz called out.
“But I want to come today!” said this high-pitched voice. The door opened, and Dave peered in. He squatted down to kid height and waddled over to the table. He grabbed a puzzle and started to put it together, then pretended to be having trouble. He looked up at me and, in the same falsetto, pleaded, “Help me, help me. This is so hard, counselor—uh, what did you say your name was?”
I couldn’t help laughing. “Linda. And it’s only hard because you picked something far too difficult for your age and intelligence. Here, try this.” I handed him a puzzle with only four pieces: triangle, circle, square, and rectangle, each in different colors.
“That’s too hard, too.” Dave pushed it away, then grabbed my hand and pulled me closer to him. He stared at me and, with his voice back to normal, said, “The only puzzle I want to figure out now is you.”
“Me?” I laughed nervously and pulled my hand away. “I’m no puzzle. What do you want to know about me?”
“Oh ... everything.” He smiled his dazzling smile. “I’m finished helping Perry, so I figured this would be a good time to get to know you better. So start at the day you were born and fill me in on every detail until the moment I saw you standing by the pool.”
Somewhat overwhelmed by this, I looked over to Roz for assistance. She was no help at all. “This is a story I’ve heard already, so if you don’t mind, I’ll go arrange stuff out in the playground while you two get to know each other,” she said laughingly.
“But—” Before I could get out my planned words of protest, Roz was already out the door. Defeated, I sank down in the chair next to Dave. He really seemed interested, and I didn’t suppose there was any harm in relating the kinds of things he wanted to know.
I told Dave that I had grown up in Washington Heights, a neighborhood of concrete and brick apartment buildings in the upper Manhattan part of New York City. I told him about my pain-in-the-neck brothers, Ira and Joey. I told him that I was looking forward to starting Barnard College in September. I was about to tell him about Lenny when he broke in.
“So you’re going to Barnard. Good school, but it’s right in the city, isn’t it? I’m a firm believer that everyone should go away to school. I do, myself, even though there are plenty of good schools in Boston, where I come from. I’m a history major—prelaw, actually. I’m a junior at U. Mass.—that’s the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Great school. Great social life. I live in a fraternity house, and there are swinging parties every weekend.”
“Massachusetts, huh? I guess that explains your accent. I never heard anyone say ‘BAHnahd College’ before,” I giggled.
“Accent! You think I have an accent? Why, I knew you were from New York from the moment you opened your mouth!”
“Oh, yeah? Well, then why did you bother asking me questions about myself, since you already knew all the answers?”
He reached out and unexpectedly grabbed my hand again. “I don’t think I could ever know enough about you. Tell me more.”
He gazed into my eyes when he said that and leaned over so that his face was right near mine. I was so overwhelmed by the nearness of him that it took me a while to come to my senses and pull away. I knew I had to tell him about Lenny immediately.
“Well, the thing that’s most important for you to know is that I have a boyfriend back home,” I said quickly. “His name is Lenny, and we’ve been going together for three years now, and we’re very serious.”
“Oh, is that so? And is he coming up here to the Grandview this summer?”
“No, I don’t see how he can. He’s in the navy and probably won’t be getting any more leave for some time.”
“Good. Then we won’t have to do much worrying about him, will we?” Dave took my hand again and grinned.
“Hey! Cut it out!” I jerked away from him. Then I felt foolish at my overreaction. After all, I didn’t want Dave to think I disliked him or anything. “I mean I just wanted to make sure you understand I’m already spoken for. We could still be good friends,” I told him, smiling to make sure he knew there was nothing personal in my rejection.
“Sure, I understand,” he said. But I could tell by the way he looked at me that those words didn’t mean anything to him at all.