“Gracie,” Donnie said. “Would you like a slushy? My treat.”
“No, thanks,” Gracie said as she looked passed Donnie to the trail leading to the pool.
Donnie followed her gaze before looking back at Gracie. “Waiting for someone?”
“Yes.”
Donnie said, “Come on, you know I’m the best looking guy in this campground.”
“No arguing that,” Gracie said. She looked at his torso. He must have the lowest percentage of body fat allowed. His arms, chest, and abs rippled with muscles.
“Who you waiting for then?” he asked.
“A friend,” Gracie said, still staring out at the path.
“What does she look like?” Donnie asked. “I know all the eligible girls here.”
“That so? Okay hot shot, black hair, my height, amazing brown eyes and always looks like she’s pouting. It makes you want to cheer her up. So it’s kind of a cute pout. She’s eighteen.”
Donnie shook his head and laughed. “Well, if that’s not the most detailed description I have ever heard. Sounds like you’re looking for Not Interested.”
“What?”
Donnie laughed again, and his perfect smile flashed. “This chick was at the pool yesterday or the other day, and I introduced myself and the first thing she said was ‘Not Interested.’ So the guys and I call her Not Interested.”
“Sounds like her,” Gracie said as she smiled, thinking about the cold, rough way Tember probably responded to these boys.
Donnie leaned in and said, “I haven’t seen her around today. By the way, what’s her name?”
“Tember,” Gracie said.
He smiled. “Tember. I think I’m even more in love now. You sure you don’t want that slushy?”
“No, I’m good, thanks,” Gracie said.
Gracie watched Donnie walk away and appreciated his body. He was sculpted perfectly, and he had a gentle personality. Gracie would go for a guy like him if she were straight. So why hadn’t Tember fallen for him? Even her tough exterior couldn’t deny such an adorable guy unless she was into girls. Gracie’s heart quickened with the prospect of Tember actually being gay.
Gracie put her towel in her bag, slipped on her sandals, and walked to the edge of the pool where Donnie was sitting.
“Donnie, can you do me a favor?”
He stood and answered, “Sure, you want that slushy?”
“No, if Tember comes here, can you tell her that I went to find her at her site? If not, come to my site?”
“For a price,” Donnie said.
“What? I’m not kissing you or anything like that,” Gracie answered.
“No, I just want once dance at the dance tonight,” he said.
“Done.”
Gracie headed up the path leading to Tember’s campsite. Her step quickened, and her anticipation hurried her into a run. She reached Tember’s campsite, but nobody was around. A bunch of white fluff sat on the ground by a tent. Gracie climbed the RV steps and knocked on the door. There was no answer. She heard the air conditioner running.
“Hello,” Gracie called through the screen into the RV. Nobody answered. “Hello, I’m looking for Tember.” She waited a few awkward seconds and then knocked again. “Tember?”
Gracie walked down the steps and to the tent in the back.
“Tember?” Gracie shook the cloth of the tent, but no sound emitted. “It’s Gracie, you okay? I’m unzipping the tent in case you passed out or something or in case you’re naked. If you’re naked, don’t worry. I’m comfortable with it.”
10
Tember had fallen asleep in her grandmother’s chair when she heard her name. She woke and looked around, quickly remembering she was locked in the bedroom. She had dropped her backpack when her grandfather had swung at her, so she couldn’t read or write while imprisoned. At least the air conditioner was on, and there was plenty of water but no bathroom. She heard another knock and her name. Gracie. Tember felt relief and fear at the same moment. She didn’t want Gracie seeing her locked up like this. She heard Gracie walk down the RV’s steps. She looked out the window and saw Gracie walked toward her tent.
“Tember?” Gracie called as she shook the tent.
Tember giggled. “She’s so damn cute.”
“It’s Gracie, you okay? I’m unzipping the tent in case you passed out or something or in case you’re naked. If you’re naked, don’t worry. I’m comfortable with it.”
Tember watched as Gracie unzipped the tent and looked in; she then stood and looked around again. Gracie caught Tember looking out the window at her. Tember had the urge to duck, but her eyes were fixed on Gracie’s blue eyes. Gracie slowly walked toward the window. Tember’s head fell, but then she waved Gracie over to the window as she opened it.
“What...why are you hiding from me?” Gracie’s voice cracked as she asked it.
Tember shook her head and asked through the screen, “Can you come inside, please?”
“Why don’t you come out?” Gracie asked.
“I can’t. I’m stuck in here. Just come in, will you?” Tember pleaded.
“Okay.” Gracie walked away from the window and into the RV. Once inside, she called, “Tember?”
“In the bedroom.”
“What? It has a lock on the outside. What kind of sick, twisted–” Gracie asked.
“Long story. Can you go to the fridge? There is a bottle of horseradish sauce. A key should be taped to the bottom of it.”
“Magic word?” Gracie asked.
“Magic word? No, the fridge just opens,” Tember joked.
“Magic word from you to me,” Gracie said. “Or I can just go back to the pool and continue to get hit on by a gaggle of boys.”
“Please, give me a break,” Tember said. “I have to pee.”
“Okay, okay.” Gracie went to the fridge and looked under the horseradish sauce and then the mayonnaise and the other condiments. “Nothing here!”
“Oh crap! They must have moved it.”
“Is there another way out of there?” Gracie asked.
Tember answered sarcastically, “Oh yes, there’s another door. Why didn’t I think of it? No, there’s no other way unless I cut through the wall.”
“Window’s too small?”
“Yep and the roof hatch is water sealed. If I open that, it will leak in here when it rains,” Tember said.
“If we don’t get you out of there, you’ll leak in there.” Gracie laughed.
“Funny, funny. Are you going to help? Or are you going to go back to the pool with your boyfriends?” Tember asked with an edge to her voice.
“Easy, killer. I can just break the lock. I’ve done it a million times. Do you know how many times my dad has lost the key to our shed?”
“No, but grandparents will kill me. Another idea?”
“Do you have a tool box?” Gracie asked.
“Umm…yup…right next to me,” Tember answered. “Doesn’t do you any good in here, huh?”
“You can pass them out through the window,” Gracie said. “Pass me a hammer and a flat head screwdriver.”
Once Gracie was outside, Tember handed her the tools, and as she did so, Gracie gave Tember’s hand a little squeeze.
“Hurry up, please,” Tember said.
Once back inside, Gracie hit the hammer against metal. Within a few minutes, the door swung open. Gracie stood there with the hinge pins in her hand. Her smile was more beautiful than Tember remembered.
“You’re welcome! Well, come on. You’re free to go to the bathroom.”
Tember walked out holding a cup. She walked by Gracie and into the bathroom. She poured the contents of the cup in the toilet and washed her hands. “Don’t tell me you peed in that.”
“Couldn’t wait.” Tember laughed as she wiped her damp hands on the back of her shorts. She walked up to Gracie, who looked so cute with the hammer and pins in her hands. She leaned in and lightly kissed Gracie on her cheek. Tember whispered, “My knight in shining ar
mor.”
Before Gracie could gather her wits and kiss Tember back, Tember pulled away.
“Umm, should I put them back in?” Gracie asked as she held up the pins.
“Yeah, my stupid grandparents had this door installed to protect valuables, and I guess now to lock me in,” Tember said.
Tember held the door in place as Gracie hit the pins back in place. Tember leaned closer to Gracie than she needed to, and she could smell the sunscreen on Gracie’s arms. Then she remembered the pool date.
“Hey, I’m sorry I left you waiting,” Tember said.
“Umm, I think you had a great excuse,” Gracie said. “Being imprisoned is an okay excuse for being late to a date. What happened here, anyway?”
“It was a date?” Tember asked, avoiding the question.
“Yes,” Gracie said as she stopped hammering, “How about every time we’re supposed to hang out, we call it a date?” Gracie tapped the last pin once more and stepped away from the door.
“Deal,” Tember said. “You’re totally getting fifty points for saving me.”
“Only fifty?”
Tember laughed, picked her pack off the floor, and said, “It would have been more, but you didn’t get to me before I had to urinate in a cup. That lost you some points.”
“Okay, okay,” Gracie said. “I’ll take the deduction. So what happened here?”
Tember opened the fridge, took out a cold water bottle, and drank a few sips. She held it up to Gracie, but Gracie shook her head.
“Can we get out of here? Then I’ll tell you everything,” Tember said. “Within reason, I’ll tell you everything…within reason.”
“Let’s swing by my site and grab some stuff for lunch. I have the best place to talk. Trust me?”
“Of course,” Tember said. Tember surprised herself at how quickly she answered the question. She hadn’t trusted anyone since her parents.
The two went to Jeremy and Gracie’s campsite. Jeremy was on the couch sleeping and did not wake up when they entered the RV.
“He sleeps like a rock,” Gracie said. “You don’t have to worry about him.”
Tember whispered, “You sure?”
“Watch,” Gracie whispered and then she projected her voice, saying, “so then Kevin took off my bikini top. I was like okay, so this is happening.”
Tember looked at Jeremy, but he didn’t stir.
“See. He’s out.”
“So, if I said something like–” Tember started and then stopped. She couldn’t even flirt with Gracie. Just the thought of even talking about kissing or touching Gracie drove her wild.
“What?” Gracie whispered as she stepped toward Tember. “Something like what?”
“Nothing,” Tember said. “Can we just get our lunch and head out?”
“Sure,” Gracie said as she grabbed deli meat out of the fridge.
Tember started salivating at the sight of food.
“I thought we could go canoeing.”
Tember said, “That sounds good. I don’t have money...” She stopped when she remembered the five hundred dollars in the railing. She needed to get back there before her grandparents found it. She figured that she could go grab the money after canoeing.
“Don’t worry about the money,” Gracie said. “My treat for your birthday.”
“When’s your birthday?”
“January, why?” Gracie asked.
“I gotta remember so that I can pull out all the stops,” Tember said.
“Who says that, ‘pull out all the stops?’” Gracie teased.
Tember crossed her arms and leaned back against a bar stool. “Or if you keep being annoying, I might not know you by January.”
“I hope you do,” Gracie said.
“Me too,” Jeremy said as he sat up from the couch.
“I thought you said he was a heavy sleeper,” Tember said. “Good afternoon, Jeremy.”
“Hello, Tember. How are you on this fine day? What are you guys up to?” he asked in between yawns.
“We’re grabbing a lunch and then going canoeing,” Gracie said.
“Isn’t that kind of cliché? Kind of like The Notebook?” Jeremy asked.
“This coming from a guy who makes his daughter reenact Great Expectations,” Tember said as she pointed a thumb at Jeremy.
Gracie argued, “Besides, in The Notebook, it was a row boat, no lunch and birds and shit and rain.”
Jeremy laughed. “You’re right! I have to watch that again. Tonight on Netflix, you up for that chica? You can bring Tember.”
“Dad,” Gracie said.
Jeremy walked to the island where Gracie was making sandwiches and putting fruit and chips into plastic bags. He draped his arm over Tember’s shoulders and punched Gracie in the shoulder.
“So you guys a thing? Dating? Am I going to have another daughter? You guys sleep together yet? Did you see her hidden tattoo?” Jeremy asked.
“Dad! No!” Gracie replied. “You’re making her so uncomfortable. I swear the nursing home I’m sending you to looks more like a cardboard box!”
“Sweet!” he said. “Am I making you uncomfortable, Tember?”
“No, sir,” Tember answered. “I like you a lot. I take a lot of joy from seeing you tease Gracie. I think she’s the one you’re making feel uncomfortable.”
“In that case, you didn’t answer a question that both Gracie and I asked you. Are you gay? Do you like my daughter? What are your intentions?” Jeremy asked.
“Dad,” Gracie whispered.
“No, it’s okay, Gracie. You don’t have to protect me. Am I gay? I don’t know. I think Gracie is amazing. If I were gay, I wouldn’t see why I wouldn’t date Gracie. As far as my intentions, in anything I do, I’m a very reliable, caring, loyal, and sensitive person. There are too many dishonest people in the world. I don’t want to be one of them.”
“Sold! You want to marry my daughter, you have my blessing,” Jeremy said as he shoved out his hand and shook Tember’s hand.
“Dad!”
Tember giggled and almost folded over on the island.
“Beer?” he asked as he opened the fridge. Tember nodded.
“Tember, no, we are going canoeing. No drinking before canoeing. Dad, you’re a bad influence,” Gracie said as she sliced the sandwiches in half and shoved them into a plastic bag.
“You’re smushing them,” Jeremy squeaked.
Tember was noticing he had many octaves available to him.
“What’s the matter, Gracie? Do you not want to marry me?” Tember asked.
“No, I mean, yes. I mean, no. Can we just go?” Gracie asked.
“Bye, sweetie,” Jeremy said as he sat on the couch.
“Bye, Dad,” Gracie said and then she shoved Tember out the door. Gracie whispered to him, “You’re in so much trouble.”
“For what?” Jeremy laughed. “Have fun!”
Gracie and Tember walked through the campground. Gracie walked at a fast pace, and Tember had to jog a couple steps to keep up.
“Wow, wait up,” Tember said.
“Oh, sorry,” Gracie said as she turned to wait for Tember to fall in next to her. Her eyebrows were pointed down, and she was frowning.
“You’re mad.”
“No,” Gracie answered.
“You are. I’m sorry. I never get to joke around like that, and with your dad it’s easy. He’s a lot of fun and...I guess I should have stopped sooner,” Tember said. She grabbed Gracie’s shoulder, and they both stopped. Gracie’s blue eyes burned through Tember.
Gracie said, “No, it’s okay. He just gets too involved sometimes. I’ve lost some friends because of it.”
“Sorry,” Tember said. “You’re not losing me over this.”
The two went to the lake rental center and rented a canoe, two paddles, and two life jackets.
“You canoe?” Gracie asked.
Tember laughed and said, “Yeah, I learned the hard way. My grandfather and I found one on a hike, and he pushed me out
in it, and he then proceeded to fall asleep on the shore. I had to navigate ashore by myself. It must’ve taken me hours.”
“Oh, that’s horrible,” Gracie said as she stopped preparing the canoe to be pushed off. “Do you not want to do this? Is it too traumatic?”
“If I stopped doing things that were associated with trauma, I’d only be able to...” Tember said. “Well, I was going to say pee, but then this morning took that way. I want to do this. Let’s do it.”
Gracie asked, “How old were you when that happened?”
“Eleven or twelve,” Tember said.
“Well as I see it...all I need in life is a canoe,” Gracie said. “It’s my happy place. Whenever I’m upset, I picture myself in a canoe. What’s something you couldn’t do without?”
Tember answered honestly before she could stop herself. “Hope.”
The two paddled out across the lake. Tember sat at the bow and felt Gracie watching her as she paddled. Tember’s heartbeat quickened, and she thought about being alone in a canoe with Gracie. Gracie steered them to the cove where Tember had watched Gracie do her canoe trick from the day before. It was shielded from the shore, and at this time of the day, the trees and cliff above shaded the area. Gracie pulled out the lunches while Tember turned around in her seat to face Gracie.
“Ever have a floating lunch?” Gracie asked.
“Nope, this is the best birthday ever,” Tember said.
“Really?”
“Really. So is this your favorite, secret spot or something?” Tember asked, changing the subject.
“Why do you ask that?”
“Well, yesterday you did your balancing act here, and now today we’re here again,” Tember said.
“How did you know this is where I did that? I didn’t say where I was.”
“Umm, I was your cheering fairy. I was up there reading and then here you came. I couldn’t stop watching you. You had such determination,” Tember said. “I was going to tell you it was me, but you seemed adamant about not knowing who it was.”
“It’s okay,” Gracie said. “I bet you’ve exercised some determination. It doesn’t seem like you’ve had it so easy.”
Hope & a Canoe Page 5