Lighting the Flames (15 page)

Gen explained quickly
how the hunt worked and handed out the clue sheets, which mixed
straightforward GPS coordinates with camp trivia to find plastic
flags that would give the teams additional sets of coordinates. As
she
’
d predicted, Scott had been thrilled with the idea of
showing off the new equipment and highlighting the programming that
would use the same devices during the summer. But she
hadn
’
t expected the parental excitement to exceed
Scott
’
s. Both teams were eager to go stomping through the forest
for hours, digging through the snow for mugs and bits of arts and
crafts, and could barely hold still as she explained how the
devices worked.

All the kids,
especially the youngest campers, were bundled up and showed no
signs of feeling cold, or of growing tired of their outdoor
activities. That morning, Jeremy had taken the youngest campers on
a long snow hike through the woods so the parents could have some
time to relax. The campers who hadn
’
t wanted to go hiking
were allowed to visit the art shack or do whatever they wanted, as
long as they stayed within the camp boundaries. It had been a quiet
morning, except for Gen and Jeremy, who were putting the final
touches on the scavenger hunt.

Now that it was time for snow adventures, the fields
that marked the starting line and the finish line for the hunt were
filled with voices echoing off the trees, laughter and squeals from
those hit by snowballs, and the excited and friendly arguments as
each team discussed the best route to take to find as many objects
as possible for the most number of points.

Gen stood back for a
moment and watched. The building teams had started collecting snow
to build their sculptures, and the campers teased one another as
they rolled bigger and bigger snowballs, eventually making boulders
so large that adults had to help push them into position. Jeremy
drew a line down the middle of the field by shuffling this boots,
marking the areas that would provide snow for each team. When two
members of the white team came over to her, she gave them the
clothing they
’
d asked for
—
her scarf, a pair of
mittens, and one of her running shirts. After scrambling through
camp late the night before and again early that morning, standing
still was a luxury.

Gen took some pictures
with the camp camera of each team as they got started building in
the snow, and of the hunting groups as they plotted their route and
then ran to get started. When she looked up from the viewfinder,
she saw Jeremy looking at her scarf in Ella
’
s hand.

“
What?
”

He shrugged and
grinned at her.
“
Nothing.
”

Then Glenn came to
stand beside her. Gen was surprised he
’
d stayed behind. He
seemed the type to want to do and experience as much as possible at
Meira, especially since he
’
d only been the
executive director for two years, and was still very much the new
guy.

“
Not
doing the scavenger hunt?
”

“
Nope, not me.
”
He shook his head with a big and
genuine smile, not the one Gen had seen him give other members of
the board.
“
Got a bad knee from too much snowboarding out west, so more
tromping through the snow would bring too much agony. It does sound
like a lot of fun, though.
”

“
I
hope so. The clues should take them all over
camp.
”

“
You
know, Genevieve, you
’
ve done a great job with Winter Camp color war.
I
’
ve
seen you and Jeremy running everything, and we
’
re all having a
really good time this week. I hope you
’
re coming back to
Meira next summer.
”

Gen looked at him,
trying to keep her expression and her tone of voice as neutral as
possible.
“
I hope so, too. If Scott will hire me
back.
”
And if Meira is open next summer.

Scott, who was talking
to Michael, Kelly and Seth
’
s father, overheard
and came over to them. Michael, a new member of the board who had
gone to Meira himself as a camper and as a counselor, followed
Scott. He seemed, in Gen
’
s estimation, to be
eager to have any kind of Important Conversation, especially with
the camp director and the JCC executive director.

“
I
hope you
’
ll consider Genevieve for staff this
summer,
”
Glenn was saying, still with a genuine smile.
Scott
’
s was equally authentic, but Michael
’
s never reached his
eyes.
“
I was just telling her she
’
s done a fantastic
job with Winter Camp color war.
”

“
It
was Jeremy, too,
”
Gen was quick to point out.
“
There
’
s no way I could do this by myself.
It
’
s
as much Jeremy
’
s work as it is mine.
”

“
Yeah, but we both know who does the real work when
Jeremy
’
s involved. You need pranks or someone to goof off with,
he
’
s
perfect. Something like this, we know who really gives the
orders.
”
Michael
’
s smile was as slimy as his tone of voice, and Gen
wanted to hit him with the GPS she held in her
hand.

Scott and Glenn turned
to him with shocked expressions. Then Scott spoke in a measured
voice.
“
Jeremy? He might have been when he was younger, but
he
’
s
a dedicated and valuable staff member now.
”

Gen had no idea what
to say. She knew Michael had been Jeremy
’
s counselor for a
summer when they were teenagers, and she knew they
hadn
’
t gotten along all that well, but she
’
d never expected him,
or anyone, to trash Jeremy
’
s dedication to the
camp, or the work he did as a staff member. She was trying to find
the words to defend Jeremy without losing her temper and making a
GPS-sized dent in Michael
’
s head when Glenn
said with a laugh,
“
I remember at my summer camp, out in California,
I got up to all sorts of trouble. One time we took all the spray
cans of room deodorizer that the director ordered and replaced them
with spray bait, like hunters use.
”

Scott
’
s expression was somewhere between horror and
amusement.

“
So
he went to make the office smell like violet springtime or whatever
it was, and boom. Everything smelled like rotten
shrimp.
”

Gen had no shame about
laughing, but she watched Scott out the corner of her eye.
“
Don
’
t worry, Scott. No one would ever do anything like that to
you.
”

“
No,
you just park golf carts on my roof,
”
he replied, shaking
his head.

Glenn turned to
Genevieve, wide-eyed.
“
How
’
d you do
that?
”

“
Trade secrets, sir. Sorry.
”

“
Just tell me this, did you steal the
keys?
”

“
Steal? Oh, no. We hot-wired it.
”

“
I
do not want to hear this,
”
Scott said, drawing Michael away from
the conversation and steering him toward the snow sculptures that
were already beginning to look a little like Genevieve and
Jeremy.

When Scott and Michael
were out of earshot, Gen took a deep breath and said to
Glenn,
“
He
’
s wrong about Jeremy. I mean, it
’
s not my place to say
this at all, but camp is as important to Jeremy as it is to me, and
he
’
s
not here to make trouble or cause problems.
”

“
Can
’
t hot-wire a golf cart in the snow?
”

“
We
can
’
t even drive it in the snow. Believe me, if we could, we
would have.
”
They started walking down the hill toward the staff
cabin and the dining hall.
“
I think we hiked ten
miles last night setting up the hunt. A golf cart would have helped
a lot.
”

“
Or
a snowmobile.
”

“
Yeah. If Scott makes Winter Camp an annual thing, expect a
proposal for snowmobiles. From me! I
’
m
tired.
”

“
I
imagine you both are. But your hard work has not gone unnoticed,
and I want to make sure you know that.
”

Gen looked up at
Glenn, whom she didn
’
t know that well at all, and realized he meant
everything he said. She knew Ella, his daughter, from last year at
camp, but she hadn
’
t had more than a few conversations with Glenn
since he
’
d arrived to take the job. One of those conversations had
been at her parents
’
funeral, so she barely remembered it.

“
Thank you.
”

“
And
I mean that for both of you, both you and Jeremy.
”
Glenn paused,
pursing his lips, nodding slightly, like he was weighing which
words to use.
“
I know if I went back to my summer camp, half the
people there would remember me for the shrimp spray, never mind
that it was years ago and I have kids of my own
now.
”

Gen stopped where the path split off toward the
staff cabin and looked up at him.

“
Sometimes, and I hope I
’
m not being
insensitive, it
’
s easier to be with people who haven
’
t known you all your
life than it is to be around people who
’
ve watched you grow
up and screw up. I
’
m still the new guy, so I
’
ve only met you both
as adults. And since I like to think my opinion
matters,
”
he said with a laugh,
“
I say
you
’
re both outstanding, and I
’
m so impressed with
what you
’
ve done this week.
”

Gen could feel the
heat of pride and embarrassment spreading across her face. It
didn
’
t seem fair that they were both going to turn her face red.
Pride should be a different color. Like purple or green or
something. Instantly she pictured Jeremy, laughing himself silly at
the idea of people turning purple when they were proud.

“
Thanks. I really appreciate that.
”
Gen shuffled her
boots in the snow, unsure of what to do with herself now that she
was blushing under the weight of some of the best compliments
she
’
d ever received.

When she returned to
the staff cabin a few minutes later, the silence was disorienting,
not to mention the fact that she was inside during daylight hours.
Gen hadn
’
t paid attention to where Jeremy had gone off to, but he
wasn
’
t with her. She had just enough time to get what she needed
from the pit closet.

After opening the
door, Gen climbed up the shelves on the side of the supply closet,
then leaned up to reach the higher shelf above the door. There was
a box of old camp T-shirts up there, and she needed them. With one
foot on a side shelf and one hand holding onto the wall for
balance, she managed to reach the edge of the box. Her plan was to
nudge it toward the edge and knock it over onto the floor behind
her. She didn
’
t have any extra limbs to lift the box, so shoving it
was her best option.