Christmas Camp

by Karen Schaler

  As Jeff stepped outside he thought about how great it would be when he and his dad could come here together all the time. There was so much he wanted to do with him once he moved to the city. But first things first. First, he had to help his dad with this last Christmas Camp.

  THE NEXT MORNING, as Jeff pulled up to Holly Peak Inn, he looked around in awe. He couldn’t believe all the decorations his dad had put up outside. It seemed like every year they multiplied. But Jeff knew it really wasn’t the actual number of decorations that made everything so special; it was all the memories that came with them.

  He looked over at the life-size wire-framed deer sculptures covered in tiny white lights. He had been five years old when his mom brought the deer home, and when he first saw them, he had gotten so upset. He thought they were Santa’s reindeer, and when he couldn’t find his favorite, Rudolph, because none of them had a red nose, he had worried Rudolph was lost! That night, his mom had made a red nose, put it on one of the deer, and had brought him outside to see it. He still remembered being so relieved that he had run over and hugged Rudolph. Now, all these years later, he still felt that same joy and wonder when he spotted the deer with the red nose.

  “Son! You’re here!”

  Jeff turned around to see his dad, Ben, hurrying toward him. He looked like he had won the lottery. Jeff met him halfway, and they embraced in a big bear hug.

  “Dad, it’s so good to see you!”

  “I wasn’t expecting you for a few hours.” Ben beamed back at him.

  “I left early so I could avoid the traffic.” Jeff put his arm around his dad. “The place looks great!”

  Ben looked around proudly. “Wait until you see it at night. That’s when everything really comes to life. It’s magical.”

  “I bet. Did you buy more lights? I don’t remember all of those trees having lights before.”

  “They’re LED, the best kind.” Ben grinned back at him.

  Jeff laughed and shook his head. His dad never could resist buying more Christmas lights. It was one of his favorite traditions, going with the whole “the more the merrier” mentality.

  Ben adjusted a strand of lights on a tree. “Son, I’m really glad you’re here. We have a great group of guests for this Christmas Camp. I have a feeling this one is really going to be special, and now that you’re here, it’s perfect.” When his dad looked at him with so much love, Jeff felt a wave of emotion wash over him. He was so thankful to still have his dad in his life. His dad meant everything to him.

  Ever since his mom had passed away, Jeff had felt this overwhelming need to protect his dad. He knew Ben had been devastated when his mom was diagnosed with terminal cancer, but he had never let her see that. For her, his dad had always stayed positive and strong, always making the most of the time they had left together. But one night, when his dad thought everyone else was asleep, Jeff had come downstairs to find him standing in front of the fireplace looking at all the family pictures and crying silent tears. Seeing this had broken Jeff’s heart, but he had honored his dad’s privacy and given him that time to grieve alone.

  At that moment Jeff made a promise to himself that he would be strong for his dad and make him his number one priority. He broke up with the girl he was dating so he could spend any spare time he had with his dad. These last few months when things started getting really hectic at work, he’d have his dad come to Boston and stay with him.

  His entire life began to revolve around his work and his dad. He told all his friends that he broke up with his girlfriend and wasn’t dating right now because he didn’t have the time, but the truth was, he couldn’t even imagine loving someone as much as his dad had loved his mom and then losing them. He didn’t ever want to feel that kind of pain. He was happy with his life just the way it was. He had a successful career and a dad he was hoping to spend more time with. His life was good. But as much as he was looking forward to spending the next week at the inn, being back at Christmas, with all the memories, was hard.

  This was his mother’s favorite time of year, and everywhere he looked, he was reminded of her. He missed her every single day, but especially at Christmas. She was the one who had always loved Christmas and had taught him and his dad how special it could be. She had such a big heart and had always found ways to help people. The most important thing in her life was her family, and she made sure to let everyone in her life know how much she loved them.

  Sometimes Jeff missed her so much it was hard to breathe, and this was one of those times. He didn’t want his dad to see him struggling, so he concentrated on getting the pastry box out of the truck.

  When his dad saw the box, his face lit up. It lightened the moment and made Jeff smile, too.

  “Is that what I think it is?” Ben asked, rubbing his hands together in anticipation.

  For an answer, Jeff laughed and flipped open the box. Ben’s excitement was contagious. “Mike says Merry Christmas!”

  Ben peered into the box. “Best Christmas present ever!”

  “And I got your favorite. The amaretto.”

  But Ben was eyeing the pistachio. “What are these green ones?”

  “Oh, Mike threw a couple of those in. They’re pistachio, and he says they’re very popular at Christmas. I haven’t tried one yet . . .”

  Ben was already picking one up and taking a bite. His eyes lit up. “Yum! Pistachio, huh? These are good!” He gave an enthusiastic thumbs-up as he took another bite.

  Jeff laughed. He loved how his dad was always game to try something new. He would just jump right in, heart first. Jeff, on the other hand, was the cautious one. They made a great team.

  The cannoli taste testing was interrupted when Ben’s beloved golden retriever, Max, trotted over and barked. It was clear Max felt he should also be one of the taste testers.

  Jeff was as happy to see Max as Max was to see the cannolis. When he leaned down to pet him, Max put his nose into the pastry box and almost got a mouthful.

  Ben laughed. “You have to watch old Max. He’s quick.”

  “Apparently!” Jeff moved the box out of Max’s reach just in time.

  Max wagged his tail and barked. Jeff laughed.

  “Okay, I think that’s our cue that it’s time to get inside.” Ben smiled down at Max. “I want to go over this next week with you and make sure everything’s ready. Our Christmas Camp guests should start arriving any minute now. Wait until you see what I have planned for this week!”

  Jeff put his arm around his dad as they walked up to the inn. It was impossible not to get caught up in his enthusiasm. When they reached the front door, Jeff smiled at the life-size elf statue that grinned back at him. He remembered how his mom had found it at a garage sale, all faded and chipped, and how they had worked together to repaint it. He patted it on its pointy little head. “How are you doing, little guy?”

  Ben chuckled.

  As soon as they walked into the sitting room, a woman who looked like everyone’s favorite grandmother was waiting for them. She was holding a tray full of Santa mugs. A swirl of whipped cream with chocolate shavings peeked out from the rim of each mug, and there was a candy cane for a stir stick.

  Jeff’s face lit up when he saw her. “Laura!” He went over, took the tray from her, then set it down so he could give her a proper hug. “You look wonderful!”

  “And look at you, handsome as ever.” She hugged him back. “It’s been too long.”

  “I know. It’s been great having Dad come into the city, but that means I’ve missed seeing you, and I’ve also really missed your home-cooked meals. I’m always telling my dad how lucky he is to have you here as a chef. How is Geoff? Your family?”

  “Everyone’s great. They’d all love to see you. Can you believe Geoff and I will be celebrating our fortieth wedding anniversary?”

  “Congratulations! Forty years, that’s amazing,” Jeff said.

  Ben nodded. “What’s amazing is how fast the time goes by.” He walked over and handed each of them a Santa
mug. “Laura made our traditional Christmas Camp hot chocolate, so we can do our traditional toast.”

  They all held up their mugs.

  Jeff and Laura waited for Ben to make the toast.

  “To our family, friends, and community . . .” Ben turned to Jeff to continue the toast.

  Jeff looked honored.

  To the people we’ve lost but will never forget . . .” Jeff looked back at his dad to finish.

  “To love everlasting. Merry Christmas,” Ben said with a huge grin. “To Christmas Camp!”

  Chapter 4

  As Haley drove down a pretty, winding, two-lane mountain road, she smiled as she looked around at the picturesque winter landscape. She loved these cool, crisp, winter days when the sun came out and made the snow clinging to the treetops sparkle. She was thankful that most of the snow was on the trees and not on the ground, but when she saw the road curve ahead, she knew she’d better slow down and play it safe.

  The problem was taking things slow and playing it safe wasn’t Haley’s thing. On a scale of one to ten, she usually had only two speeds, one or ten. One, when she was sleeping, and ten, the rest of the time, when she was barreling through life full speed ahead. But there would be no barreling ahead this time, Haley quickly learned when her tires hit a slick spot and her car started sliding.

  “Oh no!” Haley’s heart raced. Her instincts kicked in. She took her foot off the gas and slightly turned into the slide just like her father had taught her when she was sixteen.

  It worked. Within seconds, the car had straightened out, and she was fine. She let out a long sigh of relief as she unclenched her fingers from the steering wheel. Her heart felt like it was about to jump out of her chest, but she continued driving. It would take a lot more than a patch of ice to stop Haley in her tracks when she was going after her dream.

  Still, she needed to arrive in one piece, so she slowed down. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d driven when there was snow and ice like this on the road. She didn’t drive much these days. She hadn’t owned a car since college. Living in Boston, where public transportation was so great, she didn’t need one. Plus, her company had a car service she could use for free for anything that was business related, and for Haley that pretty much covered everything.

  But for this trip she’d opted to rent a car so she’d have the ability to leave the inn as soon as she was done with all the Christmas Camp activities and not have to wait and call a car service to come pick her up during the busy holiday season.

  But now she was starting to wonder if renting a car was such a great idea after all. She wasn’t going to lie. She enjoyed being chauffeured around and not having to worry about driving in bad weather or struggling to find a parking place or paying for car insurance. She also was one of those multitaskers who could get a lot done when someone else was driving, and she was all about being efficient with her time. And right now she was running late. She frowned when she glanced over at her cell phone on the passenger seat and saw it was already four thirty. She wanted to get to the inn before it got dark. Check-in at the inn was at noon, and the first Christmas Camp activity started at six. When she tried to speed up a little, she felt one of her wheels spin, so she had to slow back down. Needing something to take her mind off what was feeling like an epically slow journey, she turned on the radio. The first song that came up was the song Tom was always playing in his office, “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” . . .

  “Are you kidding me?” Haley quickly changed the station, but when only a few had good reception and all were playing Christmas music, she ultimately settled on the song “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” . . .

  A HALF HOUR later, when she finally saw the sign for the Holly Peak Inn turnoff, she was more than a little relieved. Her eyes widened when she saw how elaborately the sign was decorated. It was emerald green with big bold crimson letters that were covered in gold glitter, and the entire sign was impressively outlined with holly and fir tree branches. Attached underneath was a smaller sign that said WELCOME TO CHRISTMAS CAMP.

  Haley shook her head. “Oh boy, here we go . . .”

  Her eyes only grew larger as she continued driving and got her first look at the Holly Peak Inn. It was quaint and charming and tucked away in the woods, surrounded by majestic pine and fir trees. It had more Christmas decorations than Haley had ever seen. The entire inn was outlined with twinkling white Christmas lights and all the surrounding trees were glowing with lights in red, green, silver, and gold. There were beautiful wreaths made with real tree branches, holly, and pinecones on all of the inn’s windows, with the largest one being on the front door. It was magical.

  But what really had Haley doing a double take were all the life-size reindeer decorations that were lit up with white lights and strategically placed around the inn, making them look like they had just stepped out of the forest. Her first thought was that it looked like they were just hanging out until Santa needed them for their next sleigh ride. When she spotted the reindeer with the red nose she couldn’t help but smile. “Rudolph, of course,” she said as she raced her car up to the front of the inn and came to an abrupt stop. “What have I gotten myself into?”

  Knowing she was running late, Haley quickly got out of the car, grabbed her suitcase out of the trunk, and slung her designer black leather bag over her shoulder. Her suitcase was equally chic and carry-on friendly. Since she traveled a lot to visit her clients, she took pride in the fact that she never checked any bags, going with the philosophy that there were two kinds of luggage, carry-on and lost. She held her suitcase up high so she wouldn’t get any snow on it as she made her way to the front door and quickly realized her designer boots with three-inch heels weren’t the best choice for this trip. Everywhere she looked there was snow . . . and lots of it.

  When a chilly gust of winter air hit her, she also realized her stylish black suede pants and sleek maroon leather jacket weren’t going to cut it in this cold, but figured she’d be spending most of her time indoors.

  As she got closer to the door, she saw the adorable life-size elf figurine smiling back at her. “Well, aren’t you a happy Christmas camper.” She laughed at her own Christmas Camp joke. Just as she was about to knock on the door, it opened, and Haley found Ben standing before her with a warm, welcoming smile.

  “You must be Miss Hanson. Welcome! Merry Christmas. I’m Ben, the owner of Holly Peak Inn. Please come in and get out of the cold.” He quickly took her suitcase and bags. Haley smiled at him as she followed him inside. “Thank you. I’m sorry I’m a little late. I’m not used to driving on snowy roads.”

  “We’re just glad you made it.” Ben smiled back at her. “The other guests are already settling in. You’ll get a chance to meet everyone soon.” Ben put down her bags and motioned for her to go into the sitting room, where Laura stood waiting for her with an adorable reindeer tray that held a colorful Santa mug with a huge swirl of whipped cream on top and a candy cane for a stir stick. Haley could already smell the hot chocolate.

  Ben took the Santa mug and handed it to her. “Haley, this is Laura, our chef, who has been with us from the start—she’s really more like one of the family—and this is our famous Christmas Camp hot chocolate. Everyone gets one when they arrive. The candy-cane stir sticks are my favorite,” he said with childlike excitement.

  Haley gave the Santa mug back to Ben and smiled at Laura. “Thank you. I’m sure it’s delicious, it’s just right now I’m doing this whole sugar detox thing.”

  Ben and Laura exchanged a surprised look.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t know that,” Laura said. “I didn’t think you’d put anything down about having any dietary restrictions . . .”

  “Oh, I didn’t see that on the form,” Haley said. “I went through it pretty quickly.”

  Ben laughed. “Giving up sugar at Christmas? That can’t be easy with all the Christmas parties and holiday meals . . .”

  Haley shrugged. “Honestly, I’m so busy w
orking, I’m not on the Christmas party circuit, and I take my parents to the Caribbean for Christmas, so we don’t really do the whole holiday meal thing. We usually just end up at a fish fry on the beach.”

  Laura smiled. “Well, we can do whatever you need, Haley. How about you and I go over the menu later tonight, and we’ll make sure you’re happy.”

  Haley looked touched. “Thank you, that’s really kind, but I don’t want to be any trouble. I can just work around whatever you have.”

  “It’s no trouble at all,” Ben said. “We want to make your experience here something you’ll always remember. So, you just let us know what we can do, and we’ll make it happen.”

  “Thank you. Thank you so much.” Haley gave Ben and Laura a grateful smile.

  When Laura walked out of the room, Haley had a chance to look around. She blinked twice. It was a lot to take in. There were Christmas decorations everywhere, in every corner, on every table. There were Christmas candles, snow globes, nutcrackers, Santa figurines, Nativity figures, the works. She shook her head in amazement. If she thought the outside of the Holly Peak Inn was decorated elaborately, it was nothing compared to the inside.

  The focal point of the sitting room was a magnificent natural stone fireplace, where a crackling fire was burning brightly, casting a golden glow throughout the room, giving it a warm and cozy feeling. Next to the fireplace was a big wicker basket filled with pinecones, and above the fireplace was a beautiful wreath made of fresh pine-tree branches, holly, and pinecones, topped off with an exquisite red velvet ribbon. The wreath matched the garland that was lovingly draped across the fireplace mantel and cascaded down the sides of the fireplace, almost touching the floor. Woven into both the wreath and garland were tiny white twinkle lights, adding to the magical setting. Also, on the mantel there were red and white candles next to family photographs, and hanging from the mantel was a row of charming red velvet Christmas stockings.