Christmas Camp

by Karen Schaler

  “It’s part of what we do here at Christmas Camp. It’s called disconnecting in order to reconnect with Christmas. I’ll need your computer, too.”

  “What? No!” Haley looked shocked. “I need my phone and computer for work . . .”

  “Don’t worry, you’ll get everything back at night, after all the activities are done.”

  Haley was now clutching both her phone and her computer to her heart.

  “We had to turn ours in, too,” Madison said. She did not look happy about it.

  Blake nodded. He looked equally upset.

  “We all did,” John added.

  Haley looked around the room, and everyone nodded. The last person she looked at was Jeff. He smiled at her. That same challenging smile that instantly got under her skin. She took a deep breath, and before she went ballistic, she willed herself to calm down. She thought about what Kathy had said, how Tom was already working on his Tyler Toys pitch and how she needed the certificate from this Christmas Camp so Larry would give her a shot at the account. She didn’t have a choice. Reluctantly, she handed both her computer and her phone to Ben. She watched as he put them into a big box that was wrapped up like a Christmas present.

  “You won’t regret this,” he said.

  Haley turned her back and walked away. “I already do,” she mumbled under her breath.

  Max, who was standing next to Ben, heard her and barked.

  She gave him a look that said, Give me a break.

  Ben picked up the box and gave it to Jeff then faced the group. “Okay, who’s ready for the first activity?”

  Susie’s hand shot up.

  “Perfect!” Ben beamed at her. “You can be my helper.”

  Haley looked over at the teenagers. They rolled their eyes. She knew how they felt.

  Seconds later, Susie was helping Ben hand out miniature scrolls that matched the bigger scrolls that had been in their stockings listing all their activities. Ben also passed out snowman pencils.

  Haley gave her pencil an incredulous look. She’d never seen a snowman pencil before.

  “Here’s what we’re going to do,” Ben said with excitement. He held up a scroll and a snowman pencil. “Before we head into dinner, I would like each of you to write down a Christmas wish and put it in your stocking.”

  “I wish I had my phone,” Blake muttered. Madison and Haley both heard him and nodded in agreement.

  Ben continued: “Don’t worry. No one will see your Christmas wish. This is just for you. So write down what you really wish for most.”

  Haley watched everyone start writing. She looked at her scroll and drew a complete blank. She didn’t have a Christmas wish. She didn’t make wishes at Christmas or ever. She believed in making things happen, not just wishing for things to happen.

  “What? You don’t have a Christmas wish?”

  Startled, Haley looked up to find Jeff standing over her. Before she hit him with a sarcastic comeback, she reminded herself that she needed him on her side if she was going to get that certificate. She needed to stop fighting him and find a way to get him on her side. So this time when she smiled at him, she really tried to make it look like she meant it.

  His eyes narrowed. He looked . . . suspicious.

  “You know,” she started, still smiling, “there are so many things to wish for that I just want to be sure to pick the right one . . .”

  “I’m surprised getting out of our Christmas Camp isn’t top on your wish list.”

  Haley wanted to agree with him but remembered her new strategy. “I think we got off on the wrong foot . . .”

  He looked surprised.

  “I think your Christmas Camp is great. I really do. Everyone here is going to have an amazing time.”

  “But just not you?” Jeff asked.

  Haley looked him in the eye. “Honestly, no. But please understand, it’s nothing against Christmas Camp. I’m just not here on vacation, I’m here to work, so I really need to do all the activities as fast as possible to make my deadline. My entire future is riding on this.”

  “Well, maybe you can do both, have fun and work,” Jeff said. “Trust me, I understand. I work a lot, too, but I also really look forward to doing this every year. Things get so crazy at work, and this gives me a chance to disconnect and spend some time with my dad. When I go back down to Boston I always feel better.”

  Haley knew she’d only feel better after she won her competition with Tom, and got her promotion. The problem was, she knew it wasn’t going to be easy; because Tom was such a brownnoser, she figured he was probably helping the intern put up the tree. Or worse, he’d gone out and bought his own real tree, knowing that’s what Larry really wanted. She knew the longer she spent at Christmas Camp the more time Tom would have to show Larry he was the better person for the Tyler Toys account.

  “Is everything okay?” Jeff asked. He was watching her closely.

  Haley realized she’d been staring off into space. “Sorry. I was just thinking about . . .”

  “Work?” Jeff finished for her.

  Haley laughed. “See, you already know me so well. Okay, enough about me. What about you? You said you work in Boston? What do you do?”

  “I’m an architect.”

  Haley looked impressed. “Do you design buildings or homes?”

  “Both, but I actually specialize in restoration projects. I’m doing a condo project right now down on the waterfront . . .”

  “The one at Crane’s Wharf?”

  “Yeah, you know it?” Now it was Jeff’s turn to look impressed.

  “I do. I also live in Boston and that’s where my parents’ favorite seafood restaurant was until it got torn down for the renovation.”

  “You mean the Crab Shack?”

  “Yes, that’s the one.” Haley smiled at him. “They’ve been going to it for years, and they were really bummed when it shut down . . .”

  “Well, you’ll have to tell them it’s only shut down temporarily. We’re restoring it, too. We’re planning to bring it back as soon as we reopen everything. It’s a Boston institution. We couldn’t get rid of the Crab Shack.”

  Haley nodded enthusiastically. “That’s what we’ve been hoping for! I can’t wait to tell them. They’re going to be so excited.” She automatically reached for her phone and then remembered it had been taken away. Her smile faded a little.

  “Don’t worry, you’ll get your phone back tonight,” Jeff said.

  Haley wiggled her empty fingers. “I know. It’s just so weird not having it. It’s like it’s become a part of me. I know that’s so wrong and sounds a little weird, but . . .”

  “That’s how you feel.”

  She nodded. “It is. I clearly need phone therapy.”

  Jeff laughed. “Well, you’re getting Christmas Camp therapy. I hear that’s the next best thing.”

  Haley squeezed her wiggling fingers together. “Okay, then, lucky for me, but as soon as I get my phone back, I’m calling my parents. They could use some good news right now.”

  “Is everything okay?” Jeff asked, looking concerned.

  “Oh, they’re okay, but the Money Pit isn’t.”

  “The Money Pit?”

  “Yeah, I call it the Money Pit, but my parents, the eternal optimists, call it”—she made air quotes—“a vintage Victorian.” She sighed. “It’s our family home. It was my grandmother’s and now it’s a family project. Or more like a never-ending renovation project that is trying to bankrupt us all.”

  Jeff nodded, understanding. “Renovations can get really expensive, but in the end, you’ll have a piece of family history that you’ve preserved. And that’s priceless.”

  “I don’t disagree with you, but running out of money before it’s done is a real concern. There’s so much red tape to make sure things are historically correct and that means more delays, and time is money. I know this is what you do full time, but for me it has been really frustrating.”

  “I guess I like the challenge. That and b
eing able to take something that has been forgotten and bring it back to life.”

  Haley looked surprised. “That’s what my parents say. I think they’d be much better off in a nice new condo, but they love the Money Pit.”

  “The vintage Victorian.”

  “The Money Pit.”

  Jeff laughed just as his dad walked up.

  “Haley, do you have your Christmas wish ready?” Ben asked.

  “She’s working on it,” Jeff answered for her.

  “Wonderful. Everyone else has done theirs, so whenever you’re ready . . .”

  Haley looked around and felt guilty when she saw the rest of the group waiting for her. Again. “Sorry. Just give me a sec.” Making sure Jeff and his dad couldn’t see her, she pretended to write something down then quickly rolled up the scroll before anyone could see that she hadn’t actually written anything on it. “Done,” she said as she proudly held up her scroll, and then followed everyone else and tucked her scroll into her stocking.

  “Okay, great,” Ben said. “Dinner is in an hour. In the meantime, relax and make yourself at home, and don’t forget to wear your Christmas sweaters to dinner.”

  Jeff gave Haley a questioning look. “If you need to borrow a sweater for tonight, we have a few extra around here.”

  Haley jumped up. “I’m good, but thank you. I’ve come prepared.”

  “Good to know,” Jeff said. He smiled when he looked into her eyes, and for a moment she was unable to look away. Why do you have to be so good-looking? she thought. She knew he was the kind of guy who could totally be a distraction, and right now she couldn’t afford to get sidetracked, by him or anyone else. She just had to figure out how to balance making sure she kept him as her ally while still keeping him at arm’s length.

  “I’ll see you later,” she said as she headed out.

  “I’ll look forward to seeing you—and your sweater,” Jeff answered.

  Haley was still smiling when she walked into her bedroom. When she caught one of the angels in a picture on the wall giving her a knowing look, she marched over to it. “Stop judging. I’m not going to let him distract me.” She took the picture down and put it in the closet. “I’m here to work. That’s my focus.” She felt better saying the words out loud. Looking at the other angel pictures still on the wall, she said, “You’re either with me or you’re not, and if you’re not, you’re in the closet.” She looked at each picture, one by one, and seemed satisfied. “Okay, then, let’s do this. Those of you who are left can be my cheering squad. Christmas Camp, here I come!”

  Chapter 8

  A couple minutes later, Haley was back downstairs. She was starving. Hoping to find a little snack before dinner, she peeked into the kitchen and saw Ben. He smiled at her.

  “Haley, hi. Come in.”

  “Hi, thanks.” Haley looked around the kitchen as she entered. It was a true chef’s kitchen with all the latest appliances and, of course, Christmas-themed objects everywhere. There was a collection of Santa Claus mugs hanging from a line of red hooks in the corner, and they matched the giant Santa Claus cookie jar. There were also pretty green glass jars filled with candy canes and gumdrops and red and green M&M’s. Even the reindeer fruit bowl followed the Christmas theme with shiny red and green apples. But it was the snowman platter of Christmas treats that really grabbed her attention and had her mouth watering. On the platter there was dark chocolate fudge, white chocolate-dipped pretzels, red and green Rice Krispies bars, and delightfully decorated sugar cookies. She couldn’t help herself. She walked over to the platter to get a closer look and saw there were sugar-cookie Christmas trees with emerald-green frosting and Red Hot candies for Christmas ornaments. There were stars with white frosting and silver sprinkles, and snowmen cookies with all white frosting that had faces carefully drawn on with black frosting and a tiny dab of orange frosting for the carrot nose. There was even a Christmas angel sugar cookie. Haley knew she shouldn’t be surprised. The angel was exquisite. It was also covered in all-white frosting and outlined in sparkling gold, making it almost too pretty to eat . . . almost . . .

  “You’re welcome to have one,” Ben said. He walked over to join her. “They’re really something, aren’t they? Laura does an amazing job.”

  “These look better than what I see in our bakery by my office. She’s really talented.” Haley’s fingers itched to take a cookie, but instead she clasped them tightly together.

  “Laura loves to bake. We’ve been really lucky to have her all these years. Here, please try one.”

  Haley sadly shook her head. “No, thank you. I’m trying to be good.”

  Ben picked up another tray of cookies. This time the cookies were on a Rudolph platter. He brought them over to her. These cookies were much simpler. They were round with white frosting, and they were covered with finely crushed candy canes.

  “If you’re cutting back, and you’re only going to allow yourself one thing, you need to try these,” Ben said. “You can’t come to Christmas Camp and not taste one of our famous sugar cookies.”

  Haley laughed. “Are you sure you’re not in sales? What makes them so special?”

  Ben picked one up and took a bite, shutting his eyes and savoring the taste. Haley’s stomach growled. “These are from my grandma’s famous secret sugar-cookie recipe. Now we call them Christmas Camp sugar cookies. Laura makes everything else, but I make these myself.”

  “Really?” Haley looked impressed.

  Ben nodded. “They’re simple to make, nothing fancy, but I promise you, you’ve never had a Christmas cookie this good. So, when you’re ready to splurge, this is what you want to splurge on. Are you sure you don’t want to try just one?” Ben held up the tray of cookies to her. They were so close she could smell the peppermint of the candy canes.

  Haley, not trusting herself, took a step back. “It’s a slippery slope. I’m a sugarholic, so once I have one, I won’t be able to stop, so I better not.” She eyed the fruit bowl but didn’t look too excited about it. “Maybe I can just have an apple.”

  Ben instantly picked up the bowl and brought it over to her. “Of course, you know what they say. An apple a day keeps the—”

  “Doctor away,” Haley finished for him.

  “No, the Grinch away.”

  Haley laughed. “Well, then I better have an apple for sure.” She picked up a shiny green apple and took a bite. It was tasty, crisp and tart, but now all she wanted were the sugar cookies. When she looked back at them longingly, she noticed the chalkboard Ben was getting ready to write on.

  On the top it said 14 DAYS TO CHRISTMAS.

  Haley shook her head in disbelief. “I can’t believe Christmas is only two weeks away. I still have so much work to do.”

  Ben stopped to look at her. “You know, Haley, the whole idea of being here for our Christmas Camp week is to take some time out to really celebrate the holiday and what matters most at Christmas.”

  “But what if work is what matters most to me?” she asked.

  “Then I would say I am very glad to have you with us at Christmas Camp,” Ben replied. He gave her a kind smile as he picked up a piece of chalk and wrote the word “merry” on the chalkboard. “Every day I’ll be putting up a new word as our theme for the day . . .”

  “So, today’s theme is merry?” Haley asked.

  “Exactly.”

  “Merry as in, whooo-hoo, it’s Christmas . . .” She held up her hands in celebration.

  Ben laughed. “Sure, it can mean that. ‘Merry’ means anything that brings you joy and happiness. ‘Merry’ is about doing things that make you laugh and smile so you just feel happy . . .”

  Haley nodded. Happy was good. She was about to take another bite of her apple when she spotted the box Ben had put all their phones and computers in. Her eyes lit up as she walked over to it and peered inside. When she saw her phone, it was like seeing an old friend. She reached in and picked it up. “You know what really makes me happy?” she asked as she smiled playfully a
t Ben. “My phone makes me very happy. You could even say it makes me feel merry.”

  Ben laughed.

  “So, does that mean I can use it?”

  Ben came over and gently took the phone from her. “Why don’t we work on finding some things that make you merry besides your cell phone.”

  “But my cell phone makes me so happy—I mean so merry!”

  When Ben laughed at her pleading look, she had to laugh with him.

  “Come back tonight after we’re done with the activities, and I’ll give everything back to you, same thing every night. Deal?”

  Haley hesitated. “Deal.”

  “Trust me, you will thank me for this.”

  Haley gave him a look like she wasn’t so sure, but she did love his optimism and enthusiasm. When Ben held out his hand she gave him her phone. He then gently guided her away from the box of temptation. She sighed as she looked at it over her shoulder, thinking, So near and yet so far.

  “You know we have some wonderful books in the library you might enjoy,” Ben said.

  Haley took the hint. “Okay, you win.”

  Ben gave her a fatherly pat on the back. “No, Haley, actually you win. You’ll see.”

  “Okay, I’m going to go before I break down and have one of those cookies.” She took another bite of her apple, but it didn’t even come close to satisfying her sugar craving. As she headed for the library, she remembered when she was little, making sugar cookies with her mom at Christmas and how they’d had matching snowman aprons. She must have been about five the first time her mom let her put all the ingredients into a big red bowl and taught her how to crack eggs. But her favorite part had been using the Christmas cookie cutters and frosting and decorating the cookies. She remembered her favorite cookie cutter was a Christmas angel and how she would decorate the angels with white frosting and gold sprinkles just like the ones Ben used. She laughed at the irony of it all. She hadn’t thought about making Christmas cookies for years.

  As she walked into the library, she was still smiling, remembering, but when she saw all the books, her jaw dropped. There were hundreds of them. It was one impressive library for such a quaint little inn. The room wasn’t that big, but the hand-carved wood bookshelves were floor to ceiling and took up every inch of the wall.