“There are so many hurdles. Where would we live? What if our kids don’t like each other, or us?”
“I know it won’t be easy. We’ll take care of any issues one at a time. We’ll figure it out together. We can do this. Look how much we’ve accomplished in one summer.”
“You’ve put a lot of thought into this.”
“It’s all I think about.”
“When you’re holding me, my world is perfect. But when I’m alone, everything becomes more . . . complicated.”
“That’s okay because my plan is to never let go of you.”
I kissed him with all my heart, and he returned it with an urgency that made almost all other thoughts vanish.
Teddy skillfully paddled us back to the camp side of the lake. It was late afternoon, and the sun’s golden rays made everything seem to glow. One of those things was Teddy’s rugged tan face. I looked into his piercing green eyes and thought,Yeah, I could look into them for the rest of my life.
He had on his impish grin as he stood and shouted, “I love you!”
His voice echoed on the water.
Laughing, I said, “Stop. Someone will hear you.”
He cupped his hand around his mouth and yelled louder, “I love Lori Kramer!”
I tried pulling him onto the seat but he somehow managed to get me up and toss me into the water, jumping in after me. We laughed and kissed, gasping for air.
44No More Bug Juice
Gilda and I walked into the dining hall for the end of summer celebration dinner and stopped to take a glass of wine from the tray by the door. “No bug juice tonight.” She tapped her glass against mine and said, “Cheers to making it to the last night of camp.”
We joined our friends. Teddy was walking toward us. We had already set into motion our commitment to a work relationship. But just a few hours ago, he’d told me he wanted more, that he was willing to do whatever it took for us to be together, including uprooting his son and moving across an ocean to be with me and blend our lives, our families.
However our relationship evolved, I’d always be grateful to Teddy for helping me rediscover what I had slowly lost over the past fifteen years—my true identity, swallowed up while focusing on being a wife and mother. But more than that—my ego had gotten a huge lift. With Teddy’s encouragement, the best of me had surfaced once again.
Owning the camp would fill a void, a hole I hadn’t known was there. I was excited about the prospect of sharing everything with Teddy, as partners, as equals. I already knew he was a great collaborator, and together we would make Woodlands the best it could be for the campers and the staff.
I contemplated what a future with Teddy would look like. I knew for sure that we would always respect each other.
Gilda was watching me closely.
“What’s going on between you and Ted?” she asked.
I put my arm around her. “I promise you’ll find out before the night’s over.”
“What do you think the odds are that Marilyn and Jack join us for dinner?” Bethany asked.
“I’d say four to one for a no show, but the smart money’s on those who don’t give a rat’s ass,” Bob said.
Gilda took a sip of wine. “No betting necessary. Chip drove Jack out of here in his Range Rover hours ago. Marilyn followed in the Porsche.”
Teddy mimed washing hands. “Good riddance.”
Platters laden with catered food had been placed on the lazy Susans. While I ate, I decided that after dinner would be the best time to announce the plans for next summer. I was surprised I wasn’t nervous walking to the center of the room.
“May I have your attention please?”
No one responded. Teddy stood, put two fingers in his mouth, and let out an ear-piercing whistle that stopped the room. He beamed at me, waiting to hear what I was going to say.
“We all witnessed Jack’s outburst in front of the entire Woodlands community.” I waited for the jeers and hisses to subside. “You’re probably wondering what damage was done to Woodlands’ reputation, and what that might mean for all of us next summer.” I had everyone’s attention. “I want to introduce you to the new leadership of Woodlands.”
