Christmas Camp

by Karen Schaler

  Jeff looked up at the ceiling and just shook his head.

  Seeing his disapproval, she rushed on. “My boss has been here with his family and said it was amazing, so he wanted me to come and do all the activities here to help me find my Christmas spirit.”

  Jeff went over to her bed, picked up the stocking he had brought her, and pulled out a scroll that was tied with a pretty red velvet ribbon. He handed it to her.

  “What’s this?” She eyed the scroll.

  “It’s your schedule of activities.”

  When she undid the ribbon, the scroll of activities unrolled almost to the floor. Her mouth dropped open. It looked like it would take a lifetime to complete all these activities. “This can’t be right?”

  Jeff smiled, but it was a smile that held a challenge. “You can see we have a pretty busy week scheduled, and it all starts in a half hour downstairs. If you’re still up for it.”

  Speechless, Haley looked from the scroll to Jeff, and when she saw the challenge in his eyes, she stood up straighter. She assumed the position, her power hero position. She would never back down from a challenge, especially one that could affect her entire career. Her eyes sparkled with determination as she locked eyes with him.

  “Oh, I’m up for it,” she said. “I can’t wait.”

  For a moment they just stared at each other. Neither one was backing down. Haley felt a sense of victory when Jeff looked away first.

  “Then I’ll see you downstairs.” His expression was impossible to read. “And don’t forget to bring your stocking.” When he left, Max looked up at her then ran out the door.

  “I won’t!” Haley called out, determined to get the last word. She then held up her stocking and looked at the angel. “Game on!”

  Chapter 6

  A half hour later, exactly on time, Haley was about to enter the sitting room but hesitated when she saw all the people who had already gathered. Everyone was talking and laughing. There was Christmas music playing. It was all very festive and that had Haley feeling completely out of her element. She quickly sent a text to Kathy that said 911 call me in 10 minutes! When she looked up, Max trotted over to her and gave her a look like he knew what she’d just done.

  “What?” she whispered down at him. “Stop judging.” Haley then saw Jeff putting another log on the fire, and when she made eye contact with him, she held up her stocking with a smug smile. But when he didn’t react, her smile faded. She looked down at her phone and couldn’t believe only one minute had gone by since her text. She already felt like she’d been here forever. She was seriously thinking about trying to escape when she saw Ben heading toward her. He was smiling like a kid at Christmas, and Haley couldn’t help but smile back at him.

  “There you are. I hope you had time to rest?” Ben asked.

  Haley thought about how she’d been frantically rearranging her room, but instead answered, “I did, thank you.”

  “Great, then come on in and meet everyone. We’re about to get started.”

  As she tentatively entered the room, she couldn’t help but look around in awe. Now that the sun had set, the sitting room had come alive with glittering Christmas lights, glowing candles, and a roaring fire. Even Haley couldn’t deny it was cozy and magical all at the same time and that made her feel even more out of place. As she took the chair closest to the door, she concentrated on her phone, checking emails. After a couple of seconds, she peeked up to scan the group.

  The first person she saw was a pleasant-looking woman in her fifties who was sitting alone. She was wearing a pretty pink sweater with pearl buttons and black pants. When the woman shyly smiled at her, Haley smiled back. Her attention then shifted to a young couple in their early twenties. They were sitting together on the couch holding hands and whispering quietly to each other. They looked very much in love.

  Haley checked another email on her phone then peeked up again so she could study two teenagers who had their noses glued to their own phones, and what looked to be their dad, somewhere in his forties, sitting next to them.

  Before she could look back to her phone, she caught Jeff watching her. She met his stare, and when she saw the challenge was still in his eyes, she sat up straighter, lifted her chin a little, and smiled back at him. There was no way, she thought, that she was going to let him see how out of place she felt. She knew it was crazy. She had traveled the world and worked on multimillion-dollar accounts, but being here at Christmas Camp made her feel inadequate somehow, like she couldn’t live up to her surroundings.

  As if sensing her nerves, Ben walked over. “Are you ready?” he asked her gently. When Haley looked up at him, she saw his eyes were filled with kindness. She gave him a grateful smile. He understood, she thought, and she nodded. “I’m ready.”

  He patted her on the shoulder. “You’ll be fine. You just need to believe.”

  Haley laughed. “In Santa Claus.” It was a statement, not a question.

  Ben smiled back at her. “In yourself.”

  Before she could question what he meant, he walked into the middle of the room and addressed the group. “Hello, everyone. Welcome to Christmas Camp!” Ben had everyone’s full attention, even the teenagers’. “I believe I’ve met everyone and that you’ve all met my son, Jeff, and Laura, our chef, who has been a part of our Christmas Camp family from the beginning.”

  Max barked and went over to sit at Ben’s feet.

  Everyone laughed.

  “And, of course, this is Max.” As Ben petted him, Max wagged his tail. “He’s been part of our family since we got him as a rescue dog, and the truth is, these last two years, he’s really rescued me.” He looked at Max with gratitude and love. “You’re a good boy, aren’t you, Max?”

  When Max barked again, even Haley laughed.

  “We’re all truly honored that you’ve chosen to spend this very special time of year with us,” Ben said. “This Christmas Camp was my wife and Jeff’s mom’s dream . . .” When his voice cracked with emotion, Jeff walked over and put his arm around him and continued for him.

  “We lost my mom a few years ago,” he said. For a moment his eyes filled with pain but then he continued. “It was really important to her that we carried on this Christmas Camp tradition. We do this to honor her and because of what it means to all of us . . .”

  Ben nodded.

  “My mom wanted to help people remember what really matters most at Christmas—spending time with your family and friends and doing what you can to give back to your community.”

  Ben joined in. “She knew how important it was to be grateful for all of our many blessings and to help others whenever we can. So, during this next week, we’ll be doing a lot of different things to embrace and help you reconnect with your own Christmas spirit.”

  “Okay, sure,” Haley said.

  “In addition to honoring a lot of our Christmas traditions, we’ll also be doing a lot of new Christmas activities, so you can create some new traditions of your own,” Ben said.

  The cute twentysomething guy jumped in. “That’s why we’re here. We need some help figuring out our own traditions.”

  Ben smiled as he walked over to the couple. “Then let’s start with you two, Ian and Susie. I was going to have everyone go around and quickly introduce themselves.”

  Susie glowed when she held up her left hand and flashed a pretty, sparkly diamond ring. “We’re newlyweds! I’m Susie, and this is my husband, Ian . . .” Susie laughed, looking at Ian. “I’m still getting used to saying that. My husband . . .” When she adoringly kissed Ian’s cheek, he put his arm around her.

  It surprised Haley how much it made her own heart ache seeing the love between the newlyweds.

  Ian looked at Susie. “Susie thought it would be a good idea to come here because we could use some help in figuring out how to combine both of our family traditions at Christmas.”

  Susie nodded enthusiastically. “I have a large family in Maine, and we go all out at Christmas and do all the traditional
stuff.”

  Ian laughed. “And my family’s small. We do Christmas in Arizona, where our tradition is not doing any winter traditions, but enjoying the sunny, warm, beautiful desert . . .”

  Haley laughed and then quickly covered her mouth. “Sorry, I can relate to that.”

  “So, you can see,” Susie continued, “we have a lot to figure out. We want to combine both our families this year and really have a special first Christmas together.”

  “And we can help you do that,” Ben said. “That’s what Christmas Camp is all about. You’ve come to the perfect place.”

  Susie and Ian both looked relieved.

  Ben turned his attention to the man with the two teenagers. The teens’ focus was still on their phones. “John, do you want to introduce your family to us?” Ben asked.

  “Sure.” John stood up and motioned to his kids, looking like a proud parent. “This is Blake, my son, he’s sixteen, and Madison, my daughter, she’s fourteen, and I’m John.”

  “And he’s a doctor,” Madison chimed in. She never looked up from her phone and the way she’d said “doctor” wasn’t exactly positive.

  John, unfazed, like he was used to her attitude, continued. “This is our first Christmas together, just the three of us . . .”

  “Since the divorce,” Madison added. She was still on her phone.

  John took a deep breath. “Since the divorce, I wanted to make this Christmas special, for all of us, so here we are.”

  “We wanted a ski trip,” Blake said. He was playing a video game on his phone that kept making noises.

  Madison, still texting someone, nodded in agreement.

  Ian and Susie exchanged a look like they were rethinking having kids.

  “But we’re going to have a great time here, too,” John said. He tried to look and sound optimistic, but it was an obvious struggle. When he gave Ben an apologetic look, Ben returned a smile.

  Ben then turned his attention to the woman sitting alone. She was nervously adjusting a button on her pink sweater. Haley could see her hands were shaking.

  “Everyone, this is Gail,” Ben said. “Gail, please introduce yourself, and tell us why you’re here.”

  Gail smiled and seemed to pick her words carefully. “Hi, I’m Gail, and I’m here because my son, Ryan, is in the military, and this is my first Christmas without him . . .” When her eyes started to well up with tears, she took a deep breath before continuing. “I’m so proud of the work he’s doing to help protect our country and our freedom . . . I just really miss him, especially at this time of year. Ryan’s dad passed when he was ten, and it has just been the two of us, but we always have a special time during the holidays. It was actually Ryan’s idea that I come here and—”

  Haley’s phone rang loudly, interrupting the emotional moment. The sound of the ring tone, “Bad to the Bone,” was extra jarring. Haley looked just as surprised as everyone else. She’d forgotten she’d told Kathy to call her. She jumped up and looked at Gail. “I’m sorry.” The sad look on Gail’s face made Haley’s stomach hurt. Her eyes flew to Jeff. He crossed his arms and looked disapproving and disappointed. “I’m really sorry. I have to get this,” she said, and ran out of the room.

  INSIDE HER BEDROOM, Haley felt like a caged animal, pacing back and forth talking to Kathy on FaceTime. “You should see this place, Kathy. I feel like I’m trapped in a Christmas snow globe. It’s like Christmas-palooza! Everywhere you look . . . it’s Christmas!”

  Kathy laughed. “Oh, come on. It can’t be that bad. Christmas decorations are great. How can anyone have too much Christmas?”

  Haley marched over to her dresser, opened a drawer, and pointed her phone so Kathy could see all the angels piled up on top of each other. “Easy, check this out.”

  Kathy’s eyes grew huge. “Whoa! Are those . . .”

  “Angels, Christmas angels, that’s right, and they’re all over the place. I’m in the Christmas angel room.”

  Kathy doubled over with laughter. “So, let me get this straight,” she said. “They gave you, of all people, the angel room, and you’ve put all the angels—”

  “In the dresser, in the nightstands, under the bed, anywhere I could find to put them.” Haley shoved the drawer closed. “And the owner’s son, Jeff, caught me . . .”

  “What do you mean, caught you?” Kathy was still laughing.

  “He was dropping off my Christmas stocking that, by the way, has an—”

  “Angel on it,” Kathy finished for her.

  “Exactly, and he saw one of the angels sticking out of a drawer, and now he’s like the Christmas police. He’s watching everything I do. You wouldn’t believe this guy!” Haley was talking faster and faster, practically walking in circles now.

  Kathy gave her a questioning look. “You don’t usually let people get to you like this. What’s going on? What aren’t you telling me?” Her eyes lit up. “Wait, this guy . . . he’s hot, isn’t he?!”

  Haley glared at her phone. “That has nothing to do with it!”

  “So, he is hot!” Kathy shot back. “You like this guy!”

  “What?!” Haley sputtered. “I don’t even . . . I don’t even know him!”

  Kathy just shook her head, smiling.

  “What?” Haley demanded.

  “I think it’s great. It’s about time you found someone.”

  Haley looked at her friend like she was nuts. “I haven’t found someone. What’s wrong with you? What I’ve found is a crazy Christmas Camp, and I’m a hostage until I get that certificate Larry wants so he’ll let me pitch the Tyler Toys account.”

  “But the guy, admit it. You like him, right?” Kathy asked, clearly not letting it go.

  “I’ll admit you’re insane. I don’t even know this guy. I only talked to him for two minutes, and trust me, he wants nothing to do with me. He thinks I’m the Grinch that’s going to steal his dad’s Christmas Camp fun.”

  “Then why are you getting so upset?”

  “I’m not upset!” Haley yelled, then snapped her mouth shut.

  Kathy laughed. “Whatever you say, Grinchy, but remember you need to play nice, do whatever you need to do to get that certificate and get back here. Tom is already putting together his pitch for Larry. You need to find your Christmas spirit fast . . .”

  Emotionally exhausted, Haley stopped pacing and flopped down onto the bed. She let out a deep breath. “I know. Thanks for letting me vent. I just need to stay focused on what matters the most . . .”

  “Christmas,” Kathy said. It was a statement, not a question.

  Haley shook her head. “No, my promotion, but if getting it means being the best Christmas Camper they’ve ever seen, I’m on it and—” A knock on the door interrupted her.

  “I gotta go, someone’s at the door . . .”

  “Maybe it’s Santa Claus,” Kathy teased.

  “Don’t joke . . . it could be.”

  Another knock, louder this time.

  “Coming.”

  “Good luck,” Kathy said.

  Haley headed for the door. “Thanks, I’m gonna need it!”

  Chapter 7

  Haley opened the door and found Jeff standing there. The fact that her heart instantly started beating faster both confused and annoyed her. When she looked up at him, she found his expression impossible to read.

  “My dad sent me to check on you,” he said. “Everyone’s waiting downstairs.”

  Haley held up her phone. “Sorry, it was work calling. I had to get it.”

  There was an awkward silence when Jeff didn’t say a word.

  “But I’m ready now,” Haley said.

  “Okay, great.” He pointed to the computer on her bed. “Grab your laptop, and let’s go.”

  “My laptop, why?”

  But Jeff was already walking away. She grabbed her computer and hurried to catch up to him. “Why do I need my laptop?” she asked.

  “My dad will explain.”

  As Haley continued to follow him, she notic
ed the way he walked, without any hesitation, with a sense of purpose, like a man who knew where he was going in his life. She couldn’t help but admire that about him. She also couldn’t help but admire the way he looked in a pair of jeans. Stop it! she scolded herself, but as she tore her eyes away from him, she could still hear Kathy’s voice in her head saying, He’s hot, isn’t he?

  “Focus!” she commanded.

  When Jeff abruptly stopped and turned around, she was horrified to realize she’d said the word out loud. She really must be losing it. She could feel her face burning with embarrassment.

  “Were you talking to me?” he asked.

  “No! I mean, yes. I mean, I was saying ‘focus,’ like what’s the focus of our first activity?”

  Jeff looked even more confused as he stared at her.

  Haley scooted past him, so she was in front of him now, and started walking away fast. “Come on. I don’t want to hold anyone up.”

  Jeff threw up his hands and laughed. “Now you’re worried about everyone?”

  When she practically ran back into the sitting room, she found out Jeff wasn’t kidding. Everyone was waiting for her, and they all looked up as she entered. “I’m really sorry about before,” she said, and meant it. She looked directly at Gail. “I didn’t know my phone’s ring tone was on. I usually turn it to silent.” She held up the phone. “It’s on silent right now, so I promise there won’t be any more interruptions.”

  Gail smiled back at her. “It’s okay. I understand . . .”

  Ben also smiled as he walked over to Haley. “And you’re right, you won’t have to worry about any more interruptions.”

  Haley looked relieved to be forgiven so quickly until Ben held out his hand, palm up.

  “Your phone,” he said.

  Haley smiled back at him. “I really did turn it off.”

  “Thank you, but I’ll take it now.”

  Haley’s smile instantly faded. She instinctively clutched her phone to her heart, already fearing where this conversation was headed. “Why do you need my phone?”