Christmas Camp

by Karen Schaler

“Of course,” Kathy agreed, still laughing.

  Max barked. He was sitting on the floor next to Haley’s bed, looking up at her.

  “What was that?” Kathy asked. “A dog?”

  Haley sat back up and held out her phone so Kathy could see Max. “That’s Max. The Christmas Camp mascot.”

  “Oh my God, is he wearing a Christmas sweater, too? And are those . . . cats?!”

  “Yup, they’re cats. Everyone had to wear a sweater, even poor Max.”

  “But wait, you don’t even like dogs . . .”

  “It’s not that I don’t like them . . . I just don’t like hanging around them.”

  Kathy laughed louder.

  “You know what I mean,” Haley said. “I’m just not used to them, that’s all.”

  “So why is this one in your room, then?”

  “He followed me and wouldn’t leave.”

  Kathy’s eyes grew huge, and she covered her mouth with her hand. Clearly, she was laughing again. “Wow, this place is really getting to you. A Christmas sweater, a dog, what next?”

  Haley rolled her eyes. “I don’t even want to think about it. Update me on what’s happening at work.”

  “Well,” Kathy started, but then stopped when someone walked up to her. Haley could see it was Tom. He looked into the phone.

  “Hey, Haley, Merry Christmas. We’re missing you here at the Christmas party.”

  “I bet,” Haley grumbled.

  “What was that?” Tom leaned closer to the phone. “I couldn’t hear you.”

  “I said . . . I bet it’s a great party.”

  Tom nodded. “Oh, it’s a great party. I even found some Christmas carolers to perform. Larry loves them.”

  Haley forced a smile. “Well, don’t let me keep you from having fun. Enjoy the party.”

  “Good night.” Tom waved before he took off.

  Kathy brought the phone closer to her face and whispered, “Sorry about that, he just walked over, but that’s why I’ve been trying to call you. Tom’s going all out with Christmas twenty-four/seven! He volunteered to help with the Christmas party, and I have to say, it really is the best party we’ve ever had.”

  “Uh, not helping,” Haley said. She gave Kathy an annoyed look.

  “Sorry. Okay, I didn’t just call because Tom’s killing it at this party. I called because he’s also killing it with his Tyler Toys pitch.”

  Haley jumped up and started pacing around her room. “What do you mean? I’ve only been gone a day, how much could he have done?”

  “Well, you know how Tyler Toys wants a traditional campaign but also something unique and special?”

  “Yes, I know. Why do you think I’m here at this Christmas Camp, where Christmas tradition was born?”

  “Well, Tom got ahold of a bunch of Tyler Toys’ old Christmas campaigns over the years, and he’s using them to create this whole vintage Christmas theme. It’s pretty brilliant, I have to say. It checks off all the boxes. It’s nostalgic and heartwarming and honors Tyler Toys’ past and—”

  “Enough, I get it.” All of Haley’s confidence and bravado was starting to slip away. Her shoulders drooped, and her head hung low. “This isn’t good.”

  “I know, that’s why I wanted to give you a heads-up, but I know you can come up with something even better! You’re Haley Hanson; you got this!”

  But Haley didn’t feel like she had anything. Earlier, downstairs, she’d thought maybe for her Tyler Toys pitch she could do something with Christmas games, like Christmas charades, but now she knew she really needed to up her game if she was going to outdo Tom’s vintage theme. When it came to tradition, she thought, how could she beat vintage? Deflated, she sat back down on the bed. “Kathy, I gotta go. Have fun at the party.”

  Kathy peered into the phone. “You okay? You don’t look so great.”

  Haley didn’t feel so great, but she summoned a halfhearted smile. “I’ll be fine. I just need to get to work and come up with something better than Tom’s genius vintage idea.”

  “I know you can do it!” Kathy gave her a thumbs-up. “I mean, you’re at Christmas Camp. If you can’t find some Christmas inspiration there, you can’t find it anywhere, right?”

  Haley nodded. “Sure, if only it were that easy. Go have fun. Keep an eye on Tom for me, and I’ll check in tomorrow.” She watched as someone came up and wrapped a sparkling silver garland around Kathy’s neck.

  Kathy laughed. “Okay! Will do! Have fun at Christmas Camp!”

  When Haley hung up, having fun was the furthest thing from her mind. What she felt was scared as she worried about losing the Tyler Toys pitch and her promotion. When Max came over, put his head on her lap, and looked up at her with his big brown eyes, she would have sworn he looked sympathetic. It made her feel better, less alone, and as she stared off into space, lost in thought, she didn’t even realize she had started petting him.

  A few minutes later Max ran over to her door and barked.

  Haley sighed. “So now you want to go, Max? You really should make up your mind.” When she got up and opened the door, he ran out. As soon as she closed the door she yanked off her crazy Christmas sweater, went to the closet, and grabbed her favorite baby-blue cashmere hoodie. She snuggled up inside it and immediately felt better. Some people had comfort food, she had comfort clothes. She went back over to her bed, sat down with her computer, and brought up a file titled Tyler Toys Campaign Ideas. The page was blank. She stared at the screen for several seconds. She had nothing. Feeling a crushing sense of defeat, she dropped her head into her hands. “What am I going to do?”

  Max answered her. He barked twice outside her door.

  “Are you kidding me? That’s it. I’m telling Ben to come and get you. Enough is enough.” Haley marched over to her door, yanked it open, and found Max sitting there holding his leash in his mouth. It was a red leash with green fringe—Christmas themed, of course.

  Max dropped the leash at her feet.

  As much as she wanted to be angry, it was pretty hard when she looked at Max and saw him wagging his tail. She looked over at her laptop on the bed and thought maybe some fresh air would help clear her mind. At this point, it certainly couldn’t hurt, and she was willing to try anything. “Okay, a short walk, but that’s it. I have to get back to work.” When Max barked his approval, Haley grabbed her coat.

  IT WAS ONE of those cold and clear winter nights when the sky was filled with more stars than you could ever count. But Haley had her eyes focused on the ground not the sky. She was watching where she was walking in her high-heeled boots, trying to make sure she didn’t fall as she carefully followed Max around to the back of the inn.

  “It’s a beautiful night, isn’t it?”

  Haley’s eyes shot up as she rounded a corner and saw Jeff. She shivered, but not just from the cold. It was seeing Jeff that was messing with her senses again. She was almost annoyed as she watched him walk toward her, because somehow he managed to look handsome even all bundled up in his winter coat, hat, and scarf.

  “Is it?” Haley laughed a little as she ran her hand back and forth along the sleeve of her lightweight leather coat trying to warm up. “All I noticed was the cold.”

  Jeff gave Max a surprised look. “I didn’t think you were a dog person.”

  “I’m not,” Haley said, also looking down at Max. “I’m not really sure how this happened. He just showed up at my door with his leash . . .”

  “That’s his favorite trick.” Jeff laughed.

  “Oh, really?” When Haley gave Max an accusing look, he just wagged his tail.

  “You might not like dogs, but old Max here seems to like you,” Jeff said.

  Haley looked from Max to Jeff. “It’s not that I don’t like them. I’ve just never really been around them. I always wondered what it would be like to have a dog, but I travel too much. It wouldn’t be fair to them. I don’t even have any plants, unless you count a cactus. I haven’t watered it for a year, but I think it’s still alive.”
When Max tugged on his leash, Haley continued walking, and Jeff joined her.

  “So, no pets, or plants, or anything else?” Jeff asked.

  She shook her head. “Nope, it’s just me. There’s no husband or kids . . . much to my parents’ distress. They want grandchildren.”

  “And you want?” Jeff asked.

  When Haley answered quickly, there was no doubt in her voice. “A career I can count on, so I can have a safe and solid future.”

  “Can you ever really guarantee that you’re safe? I mean, things happen, life changes . . .”

  “And that’s why it’s so important to have a plan and make the right choices to protect yourself as much as possible.”

  They walked a few more steps in silence.

  “What about you?” Haley asked, looking up at him. “Wife, kids, dog, picket fence, the whole nine?”

  He smiled back at her. “My dad would love that . . .”

  “But?”

  “But, unfortunately, no to all of the above. I guess in a way I’m like you. My job keeps me busy, and any spare time I have I spend with my dad. He asks me every week if I’ve met anyone special. He’s a hopeless romantic. But right now he’s my number one priority, making sure he’s okay.”

  Haley looked up at him, seeing the pain in his eyes. “I’m really sorry about your mom.”

  “Thank you.” Jeff took a deep breath. “I know my dad misses her so much. He tries to act strong for me, but I know.”

  “And I’m sure he knows how much you miss her, too.”

  When Jeff looked up to the sky, she could see his sadness. It made her heart hurt for him.

  She wished she could say something helpful, but she’d never experienced that kind of loss and couldn’t even imagine that kind of pain. When she shivered again, Jeff wrapped his scarf around her neck. “Here, we can’t have you freezing on your very first night.”

  Surprised and touched, Haley looked into his eyes. She was so close to him she could feel his breath on her cheek. She touched his hand as he finished adjusting the scarf. “Thank you.”

  He smiled back at her. “You’re welcome.”

  When Max barked up at them, they both quickly looked away.

  “It looks like someone is impatient for his walk,” Jeff said. He smiled down at Max.

  Haley handed Jeff Max’s leash. “Do you mind taking him? I’m afraid these boots aren’t going to take me very far, and I should really head in and get some work done.”

  “No problem.”

  Haley gave him a grateful look. “Thank you. Good night.”

  Max barked as she walked away.

  She laughed and looked over her shoulder. “Good night, Max.”

  Chapter 11

  When Jeff walked into the library, he was still trying to thaw out from his walk with Max. The temperature had dropped below ten degrees, and the wind had picked up, making it feel even colder. When he saw his dad in the corner moving around some big boxes that were marked as Christmas decorations, he hurried over to help.

  “Here, Dad, I got it.” Jeff took a box from Ben, accidentally brushing his hand.

  “Your hands are freezing,” Ben said.

  Jeff put the box down and began rubbing his hands together. “I know. I went outside for a minute but then ran into Haley. She was walking Max.”

  Ben chuckled. “So, Max is up to his old tricks?”

  “Apparently.”

  “He always knows how to pick a softie.”

  Jeff laughed. “I’m not so sure I’d call Haley a softie.”

  “Really. Why not?”

  Jeff shrugged. “I don’t know. She doesn’t strike me as someone who can be easily persuaded to do something she doesn’t want to do. You know she’s only here because her boss made her come.”

  Ben nodded. “I know.”

  Jeff looked surprised. “You do?”

  “Yes. Larry, Haley’s boss, talked to me about it. He’s a good man. He’s been up before with his family. He sent Haley here to try to help her—”

  “Yeah, to win some big toy account. Trust me, she takes the term ‘workaholic’ to a whole new level. Work is all she cares about.”

  “Sounds like you’re making a pretty big assumption about someone you hardly know,” Ben said as he picked up another box of decorations.

  “No, she told me herself. I’m not assuming anything,” Jeff said. “She said she was married to her job and seemed pretty happy about it.”

  “Well, you’re working all the time, too,” Ben said. “You’re always telling me you’re not dating because you don’t have any time. Does that mean you only care about work?”

  Jeff gave his dad a look. “No, of course not. You know I care about you. I care about a lot of things.”

  “Well, there you go. I’m sure Haley cares about a lot of other things, too. You shouldn’t be so quick to judge.” Ben walked over to the window and looked out. “The wind is really picking up. I’m going to go outside and check on the decorations and make sure they don’t blow over.”

  Jeff stopped his dad as he was heading toward the door. “Dad, I’ll go. Trust me. It’s brutal out there, and I already have my stuff out.”

  “Well, you need some better gloves.”

  “I’ll go grab some.” Jeff watched as his dad went back to the window. “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure everything’s fine.”

  “Hey, come look.” Ben waved Jeff over. “It’s snowing. There’s nothing better than having one of our Christmas Camps when it’s snowing.”

  Jeff joined his dad at the window. Ben smiled at him. “I love the snow.”

  “I know you do.”

  “Your mom used to always say that each snowflake was—”

  “A Christmas kiss,” Jeff finished for him. He smiled, remembering. “So, she always said that the more snow we had . . .”

  “The more love we had.” Ben put his arm around Jeff. “So, bring on the snow.”

  Jeff affectionately put his arm around his dad. “Bring on the snow.”

  As they stood side by side, father and son, watching the snow fall, the scene outside was magical. Delicate snowflakes danced in the wind, swirling around tree branches that were sparkling with snow, swaying back and forth like a winter wonderland orchestra being conducted by a maestro.

  “I miss her,” Ben said softly. He was still watching the snow.

  “I do, too,” Jeff said. When he watched his dad, he didn’t know what was harder: missing his mom or watching his dad miss his mom. It just all hurt. A lot. He turned away from the window, needing to think about something else, anything else. So, when he saw a pile of boxes in the corner, he walked over to get a closer look.

  “What are all these boxes for?” he asked.

  Ben turned around. “They’re all the decorations for the Christmas trees. I’m getting them ready for tomorrow. I know there are more, I just can’t remember where we put them. I thought they were in the attic, but I can’t find them.” He shook his head. “I don’t know what’s wrong with my memory these days . . .”

  “It’s probably because you’re exhausted from doing so much,” Jeff said. He looked worried. “After I check on the reindeer outside, I’ll go look for the other boxes. You just need to take a break. You’ve been going nonstop.”

  Ben was already walking toward the door. “Son, I’m fine. I’m going to look again right after I check in on Ian and Susie. One of the snowman lights in their room isn’t working.”

  Jeff met Ben at the door. “But I can do that, too, Dad. Really, please, let me help. That’s why I’m here.”

  Ben gave Jeff an affectionate pat on the back. “You’re here so we can spend time together. I have everything under control. Don’t you worry about a thing.”

  “But I do worry,” Jeff said. “You used to have Mom help you and now you’re trying to do everything alone. It’s too much. This is why you really need to move to Boston . . .”

  Ben’s smiled faded a little. “We agreed not to talk abou
t that right now.”

  “But, Dad . . .”

  Ben held up his hand to stop him, frustrating Jeff.

  “We have to talk about this sometime,” Jeff said. “You can’t avoid it forever.”

  “I didn’t say forever. I just said not right now.”

  Before Jeff could say anything more, Ben left the room.

  Discouraged, Jeff walked back over to the window and looked at the snow, missing his mom more than ever. After he walked back to the boxes of Christmas decorations, he opened one up and pulled out a beautiful string of silver stars. For a moment he shut his eyes, and he could see his mom and dad working together hanging the stars on their Christmas tree. He didn’t want to open his eyes. He wanted to keep living in that memory forever. If it hadn’t been for a gust of snow blowing up against the windowpane, he wasn’t sure how long he would have stood there remembering, but instead he headed out to do what he’d promised his dad. He needed to go check on the reindeer.

  Twenty minutes later, he carried one of the reindeer into the kitchen. “Don’t worry. I’ll fix you up in no time,” he said to the reindeer, who had a crooked leg. “The wind really did a number on you, but it’s nothing I can’t fix.”

  He disappeared, and when he returned a few minutes later, he had his toolbox with him. It took him only a few seconds to straighten out the reindeer’s leg. Standing the reindeer up on the counter, he made one more adjustment and stood back to admire his work. “Perfect.”

  Then he grabbed a screwdriver out of his toolbox and started going around checking cupboard doors until he found one that was a little loose. He went to work fixing it and was just putting the screwdriver back and reaching for the drill when Laura walked in.

  Her eyes grew wide when she saw him with the drill. “Do we have a problem here?”

  Jeff smiled back at her. “I just found some loose cupboard doors that needed tightening.” Before he could attack the door with the drill, Laura touched his arm gently.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  “Just fixing the door,” Jeff said as he powered up the drill again.

  Laura gave him a look. “The door is fine. You’re not. What is it? What’s wrong?”