Chapter Fifteen Chapter FifteenAre you sure you can fix it?” Lena hovered over the photocopier while Sam knelt down in front of it on Wednesday afternoon. He wasn’t sure himself, but he’d learned a thing or two from helping Uncle Pete and Grandpa fix equipment.
“I think we can take this panel off.” Sam pressed a recessed latch, and sure enough, off it came. He set it aside and then pulled off another panel and peered in. “Here’s the problem.” He reached in and carefully tugged out two crumpled-up papers. “It was just jammed.”
“Bless you, boy,” Lena said with a heavy sigh. “You just saved me from having to call the technician. Again.”
“It’s not a big deal.” Sam couldn’t believe no one could figure out how to unjam the copier. “It’s not that hard.” He snapped the panels back in place and pressed the power button. The copier whirred to life and then spat out the copies Lena had been waiting for.
“Amazing. I think we’ll keep you around, mister,” she said with a grin. “Now you make sure you don’t stay so long tonight. You’re too young to be hanging around the office after hours.”
“I just wanted to make sure I got everything done.”
She smiled at him. “You’re a capable worker, Sam.” Then she patted him on the shoulder and walked back to her desk.
Sam walked back to the file room, feeling pretty good about himself. He hadn’t made any major mistakes today. Even Mrs. Pictou couldn’t find fault with his work—a small miracle in itself. He glanced around the orderly file room with a feeling of satisfaction. He stopped by the coffee room to make sure everything was ready in case Uncle Bill or his partner still wanted another cup of coffee.
Check and double-check.
He tugged off his tie as he headed toward his car, whistling a tune. Things were looking up. Even better, he and Arielle were finally going out tonight.
He got in his car and waited until he was out of River Bend before he called her on his cell phone.
“Hey, what’s up?” he asked when she answered. “We still on for tonight?”
“Tonight?”
“Yeah. We talked about it the other day, remember?”
Her pause wasn’t encouraging. “I thought it was up in the air.”
“I thought you said we’d go if you didn’t have to work.” Sam felt a beat of frustration. “Are you working tonight?”
“No. I’m not.”
“So what should we do?” He tapped his fingers on the steering wheel.
His question was followed by another pause, which only increased his uneasiness.
“Well, here’s the thing. I … uh … made other plans.”
Sam frowned. “With who?”
“Some friends.”
Sam tried not to squeeze his cell phone too tight. “We haven’t seen each other for a while.”
“You don’t need to snap at me.”
Sam pressed his lips together, counted to three, and took a breath. “I’m sorry. I thought that if you weren’t working, then ipso facto, we’d be going out.” He took a breath to calm himself. “That’s a legal term I picked up hanging around the lawyers at the office,” he said in a lame attempt at a joke.
Her feeble chuckle told him how flat his joke had landed.
“I wasn’t sure how serious you were,” she said. “I thought it was just a maybe. You know?”
“No. I don’t know.” Though he had tried to hold his anger back he couldn’t keep the bitterness out of his voice. “Ever since you started working at Jenny’s, I’ve been trying to find time to go out with you. You’re either tired, or working, or you’re sick or something.” He glanced down at the speedometer and eased his foot off the gas. A speeding ticket from Arielle’s father would put the icing on the cake right now. “I’ve been pretty serious about trying to go out with my own girlfriend.”
Arielle’s sigh gave him a lurch of dread.
“We need to talk about that, Sam.”
“About what?”
“About this boyfriend-girlfriend thing,” she said.
Sam frowned and eased his foot off the accelerator again. “Explain what you mean.”
“Well … you’re going to be attending one college, and I’m going to a different college, and we won’t be seeing much of each other once that happens.” She gave a light sigh. “So I’m just wondering how that would work for us.”
Sam was speeding again. He slowed down, spied a side road, and pulled onto it. Then he stopped the car. “I think it would mean we phone each other, e-mail, text, Skype, chat, Facebook. There’s all kinds of ways to keep in touch.”
“I’m not sure that’s what I want.”
“What do you want, Arielle? Why don’t you just tell me, and we’ll see what we can do about it?”
Sam leaned his head back against the headrest of his car. He shoved his hand through his hair, wishing he could think of something to say to change the direction of this conversation. Because, right now, he had a bad feeling about where it was headed.
“I think … I think I want us to break up.”
He let out a pent-up breath. He was right. He didn’t like this at all.
“You think you want us to break up?”
“I guess … I know.”
Sam closed his eyes and counted to ten. Then again.
“Sam?”
“Yeah, I’m still here.” He released a bitter laugh. “And I can’t believe you want to break up with me over the phone.”
The car was suddenly too small. He shoved the door open and jumped out, needing to be outside where there was space for what was happening.
“Well, it’s been hard to see each other.”
“And whose fault is that?” Sam walked away from his car, trying to keep his anger under control. “You can’t put that on my shoulders.”
“I know, Sam. I guess, I just knew for a while now …”
“Why did you get back together with me, if you were going to break up with me anyway?”
“I’m sorry, Sam.” He heard a sniff on the other end. Great. Now Arielle was crying. “I have to go. Please don’t come to see me.”
“Why not? Don’t you want to talk about this?”
“There’s nothing to talk about, Sam. I won’t … I can’t change my mind. I’m sorry.”
And then she hung up.
Sam held the phone to his ear a moment longer, disbelief coursing through him. One small part of him still hoped she would click through again and say it was all a mistake.
But nothing.
He closed his phone and shook his head. He still couldn’t believe it. He tried to call her home number again.
And got the answering machine.
Sam slapped the phone shut, striding back and forth in front of his car. She had just broken up with him over the phone. Like he wasn’t even important enough to talk to face-to-face.
He stopped, glared at his phone, and then swung his hand back and pitched the phone through the air.
Then he dove into his car, slapped the gearshift into drive, and spun out onto the road.
He didn’t know where he was going, and it didn’t matter. No way he was going back to the farm or any place in Bedford.
Dark sky lay ahead of him. Behind him the sun eased below the horizon. Still early evening. Now what?
Sam drove past the road leading home. And then drove on. Half an hour later, without any conscious decision on his part, he found himself heading down the road along the lake. Heading toward the Vances’ cabin.
A few minutes later, he turned down the driveway to the cabin and was greeted by a blaze of light. Every room in the cabin was lit up.
As he got out of the car, he heard music thumping out of speakers set out on the deck. Laughter drifted back to him from the lake as did the snap and crackle of a fire on the beach.
He stood by his car a moment, second thoughts chasing his anger through his mind.
He should just go home. This was not where he belonged.
Then, just as he was about to get back into his car to drive away, a female voice squealed out his name.
“Hey, Sam! Good to see you.” Sarah, a girl he had met the last time he was here, ran down the steps of the house straight to him. The words on her T-shirt, BORN TO PARTY, glittered in the glow of light from the house. Her long, black hair hung loose to her waist.
“I was hoping you’d show.” She grinned, her dark eyes glinting up at him. “You coming to the beach?” Sarah asked him, giving his arm a tug. “We’ve got a fire going. I can roast you a hot dog.”
Sam’s stomach rumbled, reminding him he hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast. “I could have something to eat.”
“We’ve got pizza too if you don’t like hot dogs. And chips and pop and cookies.” She giggled. “I made them.”
“In that case …” Sam let Sarah pull him toward the fire. He would stay only a while, he told himself. Just a while.
“You just sit down. I’ll get a hot dog bun ready for you,” Sarah said.
“Sit over here, Sam,” Artie called out, moving aside. With a grin, Sam sat down on an empty stump by the fire.
Wilson slipped a cold can in his hand. “You look thirsty,” he said. “Drink up.” Wilson dropped onto a lawn chair beside him. “Glad you came. I was hoping you’d get here.” He tipped his can toward Sarah, who stood by the picnic table fixing Sam’s hot dog. “Sarah was really hoping you’d come.”
Sam glanced toward where she stood. Sarah flashed him a smile that made him feel a bit better.
He looked away, taking a quick sip of the pop.
Only it wasn’t pop. It was beer.
Wilson elbowed him. “Pretty good stuff, eh?”
Sam glanced from his friend to the can sprinkled with condensation. Then he thought, why not? He hadn’t had the best of days.
Besides, he was among people who liked him. He was going to eat something. Finish this can of beer. Have a bit of fun with his new friends. What was the harm in that?
“SO, AS WE GET READY to sing the last song of the evening, I just want all of you to remember that God listens and that he cares.”
The worship leader, Colette, looked around the auditorium, and for a moment Emily felt as if she were talking specifically to her.
The week and a half had been a mix of fun, challenges, and things she’d never heard before. She’d seen people cry, laugh, sing, and pray. She’d experienced community and adventure.
It had been fun and interesting.
“And now, our worship team will lead us in the song we’ve spent the last few days learning. I want to hear all of you sing it with your voice and with your heart.” Colette put the microphone in the mic stand and then walked away as Mike and his group took over.
“OK. You heard her. Let’s sing!” Mike yelled into the microphone.
The first chords of the song blasted out of the speakers. Emily jumped, but then as the band started singing the now-familiar words, she sang along, clapping along with everyone else.
A feeling unlike anything else she’d ever experienced flowed through her as she sang; suddenly she knew for sure that God was real and that he cared about her.
She glanced at Ashley, who was wiping tears from her eyes, and she realized Ashley felt the same.
When the last chord of the song sounded, Emily gave in to an urge and hugged her friend with one arm. “That song is so good,” she whispered in Ashley’s ear.
Ashley grinned back at Emily and returned the hug with enthusiasm.
In that moment, Emily sensed she and Ashley had connected on another level. It felt like their friendship had deepened and flourished.
They stood together for a moment longer, and then the movement of the people around them made them pull apart. People were dispersing, and the chatter around them was rising up. Their fellow campers were ready to move on to the next thing.
“Are you going to campfire?” Ashley asked, slipping on her jacket.
“I think so.”
Ashley glanced from Emily to Mike, who was kneeling down on the stage, putting his guitar away. “I should let you know, Nicole’s been talking about you two again,” Ashley said, leaning closer to Emily and lowering her voice.
“I guessed as much.” Emily wondered if Nicole had followed through on her veiled threat to phone Troy.
“Like I told you, she’s just jealous.”
“Maybe.” Then guilt grabbed at Emily. “I guess I shouldn’t judge her, should I?”
Ashley squeezed Emily’s arm. “You’re such a cool friend. I’m proud to know you.”
They made it outside, and the group split up. The younger campers went back to their cabins, and the older ones drifted over to the campfire.
Emily settled down on what she now considered her stump, thankful for the cooling breeze coming off the lake. The evening was still warm, and sitting in the auditorium for an hour had been a bit stifling.
“What are all of you going to do when you get back to the real world?” one of the counselors asked the group. “Let’s hear your plans—and I want you to use the word two in your answers.”
“Take a two-hour bath,” someone called out.
“Watch television for two days.”
“Sleep for two weeks.”
Emily laughed; the thought made her yawn. Ashley elbowed her. “Looks like you’ll be doing that too,” she said.
“I didn’t think I could get by with only four hours of sleep,” Emily said, yawning again.
“The way you’ve been avoiding me, I thought you’d be getting way more sleep than that.”
Mike dropped into the sand on the other side of Emily, wrapping his arms around his knees.
Emily glanced down at him, and her cheeks flushed. “Not really avoiding you. Just …” She hesitated, not sure what to say.
“Just not sure your boyfriend at home would approve?”
The burden on Emily’s heart shifted. “I guess.”
“Hey, I know how it goes. But we’re friends, right?” His smile made her feel good.
“Right. Friends.” She grinned. Then she yawned again, her jaw almost cracking. “Oh, boy. I really have to get to bed on time tonight.”
Ashley laughed out loud.
“On the last night of camp?” Ashley’s tone was mocking. “No one goes to bed at all on the last night of camp, girl.”
“If you try to sleep, I’m sure someone will make sure you don’t,” Mike added.
“You’re kidding, right?”
Ashley and Mike just laughed again. Which gave Emily her answer. Not.
The leader called out another question, and another round of answers followed.
The conversation grew lower, quieter as the evening wore on; in spite of being interested in what people were saying, Emily’s eyes grew heavier and heavier.
“Hey. You can’t go to sleep.” Mike elbowed her and handed her a can of pop. “Slug this down. It will get you going again.”
Emily took the chilled can and got to her feet. “I think I need to go for a walk.”
“Don’t even think about heading back to the cabin,” Ashley warned.
“I’ll chaperone her.” Mike got to his feet. Emily’s heart lifted at the thought of being alone with Mike once again even though she still worried others might get the wrong impression.
She cracked open her pop and took a couple of sips, the cold drink waking her up.
Silently, she and Mike headed back to the dock, the first place they had bonded.
They were quiet as they walked over the wooden planks, the light of the moon illuminating the way. It was a perfect night, Emily thought, shoving her free hand into the pocket of her oversize sweater.
She looked at the light of the moon glimmering over the water and wished Troy were here. The thought of him gave her a chill. What if Nicole had called him? What if Nicole was watching her even now?
She glanced over her shoulder, shivering although the air was warm. What was she doing here with Mike?
Spending time with a friend, she reminded herself.
“Tomorrow we go back,” Mike said, his voice quiet in the soft darkness.
“Yeah. I’m looking forward to seeing my family again.” Emily smiled, thinking of the letter she’d received yesterday from Christopher telling her how much he missed having her around. “I’ve never been away from them this long before.” She sat down on the dock, looking out over the lake.
“You’re pretty lucky to have family,” Mike said.
“I guess I am.” Emily usually thought of her family as people who were just always there. “Are you looking forward to going home?”
Mike just shrugged, and Emily realized that for him, home meant a place without his mother.
She took another sip of pop and then touched his arm. “Like I told you before, it gets a little better. The sadness. It takes time and a bunch of tears, but it does ease off.”
Mike gave a short laugh and then sighed. “I guess I can trust you. You would know.”
“Yeah. I would.” Emily took another sip of the pop. She swung her legs back and forth as the cool air brushed her face.
Mike sat down beside her, his elbows resting on his knees as he stared out over the water, saying nothing.
“I want to thank you again,” Emily said after a moment of quiet.
Mike angled her a quick smile. “For what?”
“For rescuing me last week. I didn’t get a chance to thank you properly.”
“Yeah. I noticed you were kind of avoiding me.”
“Well, this girl from home has been watching me; she’s trying to make trouble between me and my boyfriend. I’m glad I had this chance to thank you for saving my life.”
“Don’t get dramatic.” He turned away and released a short laugh. “I just pulled you out of the water. Nothing more.”
Emily frowned at his curt reply. “Why are you angry?”
Mike didn’t respond, and in the silence a startling revelation came to Emily. She put her hand on his arm and gently squeezed. “Are you thinking about your mom?”
Mike just stared ahead. Then he sighed. “Yeah. How did you know?”
“Good guess.”
“She shouldn’t have drowned. She shouldn’t have. It’s all my fault.” His angry words were like a stain on the perfect night.
Emily frowned. “How do you figure that?”
Mike closed his eyes and shook his head back and forth. “I should have gone in the boat with her. I could have saved her.”
“How can you possibly think it’s your fault?”
“Maybe if I had been a bit faster, swum a bit harder …” His voice broke off, and to Emily’s surprise she saw the glistening track of a tear on his cheek.
The sight melted her heart, and she slipped her arm over his shoulders. “That seems like a lot to put on yourself.”
He didn’t reply, but Emily saw the lines around his mouth soften. “It’s hard not to. I keep replaying things in my mind.”
Emily caught herself, remembering her own feelings when her mother died. How she had blamed herself. Blamed other people.
“Well, you saved me. If you hadn’t been there, I would have drowned the other day. You saved me, and I’m so thankful you did.”
Mike drew a long breath and then turned to her. “You mean that?”
“I know it.”
To her relief, he smiled. His eyes, dark and shining, held hers, and it seemed as if everything slowed down.
He touched her arm, and as if it were the most natural thing in the world, they leaned closer and then he kissed her on the cheek.
Emily jerked back at the same time Mike did.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I shouldn’t have done that.”
“No. It’s OK …” But was it? Emily wasn’t sure what to make of his kiss. And of her reaction to it.
“What are you two doing out here in the dark?”
Emily’s heart stuttered in her chest as she recognized the voice behind them.
Of course it would be Nicole. And of course she would be the one to see what had just happened.
But Mike kept his hand on Emily’s arm and glanced back. “We’re saying good-bye,” he said, his voice even and quiet. “And I don’t think we need your commentary.”
“That looked like a lot more than saying good-bye,” Nicole snapped.
Mike shrugged and shot Emily a grin. It was as if he was telling her to play along. “That’s because you don’t know the situation.” He turned, looking back at her. “Do you?”
Nicole looked down on them, her arms crossed over her chest. Even in the half-light Emily saw her tight lips, the glint of anger in her eyes.
“I know what I see,” she shot back.
“No. You don’t.” Mike let go of Emily and got to his feet to face Nicole. He towered over her. “Emily has a boyfriend, and I have a girlfriend. We’re just good friends who share a sadness I hope you never have to feel.”
Relief flowed through Emily as she heard what Mike was saying. As he spoke, she knew he was right. The moment had been intense, but it had had a different feeling than what she had with Troy.
“Well …,” was all Nicole could muster. She spun around and stomped off the dock.
Emily started to get up, and Mike caught her by the arm, helping her to her feet. “Are you OK?” he asked.
“Yeah. I’m fine.” She gave him a quick smile. “Thanks for that. Nicole is a … I don’t know. She has never liked me very much. Not sure why.”
“I am.” Mike grinned, his teeth white in the dark. Emily was relieved to see him smiling again. “She’s jealous.”
Emily frowned. Ashley had said the same thing. “Why would she be?”
“Because you’re fun. You’re self-confident. You’re a trendsetter.”
“I am not.”
“Did you see what she was wearing?”
Emily shrugged. “Not really.”
“Exactly the same thing you are. Scarf. A dress over skinny jeans. Lace-up boots. She’s missing the chunky sweater and the hair band though.”
“Since when do you notice what a girl wears?”
“Trained well by my girlfriend.” Mike grinned again. “I think she’d like your style as well.”
“That’s just a coincidence,” Emily said, still unable to absorb the fact the Nicole was jealous of her.
“I think it’s deliberate,” Mike said with a grin, easing away any discomfort Emily might have felt at his kiss a few moments ago.
Emily still didn’t want to believe him, but her mind skipped back to other times when Nicole had seemed a little too aware of what Emily was wearing. Could he be right?
She shrugged. “If she is, that seems a bit weird.”
“Anyway, she looked mad. So we should probably get back before she has a chance to spread any rumors around.”
Which made Emily think about Nicole’s cell phone and her threat.
Please, Lord, she prayed, don’t let her have done anything. Please don’t let her call Troy before I have a chance to talk to him myself.
They walked away from the dock, the noise from the group around the fire growing with each step. It didn’t sound like people would settle down for some time.
“Do people really stay up all night the last night of camp?” Emily asked, her previous sleepiness returning.
“Oh, yeah. And so will you because if you even try to go to your cabin, you might end up dunked in the lake.”
Emily shuddered. “I don’t want to go in there again.”
Mike laughed. “I’ll protect you.”
Emily laughed as well as they rejoined the group around the fire and soon were drawn into a midnight scavenger hunt.
Emily and Mike were separated in the melee, and that was OK with her.
Though as the night wore on, the memory of his kiss hovered on the edges of her consciousness. She wasn’t sure what to do with it.