“Yeah,” the boy said, pointing behind us a few rows. “We’re heading to Universal Orlando tomorrow, I think.” He smiled, like he’d just shared some big secret.
“That’s cool. It’s one of my favorite places. Have a butterbeer for me.” Harry Potter World at Universal was one of my top five amusement park rides and I wished we were going there at least some point on this trip. If I knew my dad, he’d be prepping everything for the baseball camp he was in charge of and would totally forget about Santa and presents in a few days.
“Are you stopping here?” the boy asked. “I’m Isaac, by the way.” He reached out his hand and I took it lightly. This was more formal than I was used to. Then again, there weren’t many guys at my school who talked to me, unless they were a lab partner or hoping I’d help them with homework.
“Sara. Yeah, this is my stop. It’s my dad’s turn to have me for Christmas, so here we go.” I tried to force a smile, but it was always strange to celebrate my favorite holiday with my dad. Mostly because he would forget it was even that time of year, the tunnel vision of the baseball camp consuming every waking thought.
He’d been running the baseball clinic for the past ten years, the first year being right before my parents’ divorce, and every year seemed like it grew in notoriety. I was proud of him for getting all the college and professional scouts to come out that he did, but there were times I just wanted him to be my dad for a bit, so we could celebrate the holidays like normal people. It was probably for the best that I didn’t play softball either. He would probably go overboard with trainings to up my skills.
The line finally started moving and when I walked through the cabin door, the stale air in the cabin changed to the humid air of the outside. Not much different from Texas, but I’d wondered what it would be like to have Christmas where there was snow. Then again, I’d have to buy a coat for that.
“Nice to meet you, Isaac. I hope you enjoy your trip,” I said, leaving him as he stood off to the side to wait for his parents.
“Uh, you too. Have fun.” He waved and I turned around before he could say anything else. Not that I’d ever had a guy ask me for my number, but I’d probably fumble and botch the whole thing if he did that with all the passengers coming out of the plane, or worse, if his parents approached. Who was I kidding? He'd just been nice, trying to make conversation. There was no future there and my imagination needed to chill out.
He waved to me again at the baggage claim and I laughed, turning my focus back to the luggage turning around the carousel. His mom had glanced over, looking particularly curious and well, it was just better to avoid notice so my cheeks didn't turn the color of the sun.
I lifted my suitcase off the belt with ease. For ten days in Florida, I wouldn’t need much more than my swimsuit and a bunch of shorts. I walked out the door, a quick backward glance showed me Isaac was still looking in my direction. When I turned forward again, I jerked back, narrowly running into the door. I avoided turning around, knowing my face would be cherry red from the embarrassment. Of course, I can’t be cool around a cute guy. That would be too perfect.
My text message sounded and I smiled, seeing it was from my dad.
Circling around. Can’t wait to see you, girl.
At least he’d made it himself this time. When I’d spent Christmas with him two years ago, he’d sent one of his assistants to pick me up from the airport and I’d had to practically yell for the next week to hear myself because of the volume of the speakers in his little car.
My dad pulled up in his pickup truck, the same one he’d left packed full of stuff when he’d left Texas ten years ago. I was surprised the thing was still running, but then again, Dad didn’t like to throw anything away that wasn’t completely dead. And even then, somehow he was able to revive it.
I threw my bags into the pickup bed and climbed in, reaching over and leaning into his open arms.
“Hey, kiddo. How was the flight?” A horn behind us caused him to sit up, shifting the truck into drive.
“It was good. I read for most of it.”
He shook his head. “Why am I not surprised about that? You’ve always been my little bookworm.”
“I told you last week, Dad. I’m now what’s considered a book dragon. I basically devour the things, or set them on fire. Whichever one you want to say.” I chuckled and so did my dad, getting ready to merge into traffic.
“Book dragon. How do you keep your books from turning to ash?” he said, slapping the wheel at his own joke. I laughed not at his joke, but at him because he thought it was so funny.
“Are you all ready for the camp?” I asked, studying his profile. He was usually so talkative about it by this point that I wondered if something had gone wrong.
It took a few seconds for him to respond and he said, “Oh, uh, yeah. We’ve got it all taken care of. I hired an organizer this year and she's taking care of all the details. I just have to show up the day of the camp.” Now that he said that, he did seem a lot more relaxed.
I leaned back against the window, staring at my father. “Wait, what happened to the guy who refused to hire anyone more than necessary because it would cut into the profits?”
My dad laughed and shook his head. “That guy was an idiot. I should’ve done this years ago. I've And actually enjoyed the holidays this year. Remember those lights we bought like six years ago?” He paused and I nodded. “I put them up on the house.”
I sat back and feigned shock. "You? Mr. Scrooge? I need to thank this organizer."
My dad nodded and grinned. "She's like a miracle worker. I’ve actually made more money this year because she’s done all the advertising too.”
“She?” I asked, trying to keep my voice light. My mom had dated a few guys here and there since the divorce, but nothing that had sprung into a long-term relationship. My dad, on the other hand, had never even mentioned a woman, not regularly.
“Her name is Eliza Stone. She’s been working with sports camps for a long time and she contacted me last September. I’ve got more scouts coming this year because of her.” There was a fondness to his expression and I wondered if there was something more to it than just a work relationship.
“Is there anything going on between the two of you?” I asked. I’d never seen him light up like this.
He shot me a frown before turning back to the road. He had to swerve to miss a car as we’d drifted to the next lane. “What do you want to do while you’re here?” he asked, sidestepping my question.
That was some bait and switch maneuver. I’d have to ask him again later when my life didn’t depend on him driving safely to his house.
“I’m not sure. It might be fun to head to one of the amusement parks,” I said, thinking of Isaac and his cute smile. Shaking my head to get rid of his face in my thoughts, I said, “Or I’ve always wanted to do one of those whale watching cruises. That could be fun.”
“Okay, let’s do it.” My dad beamed at me and I was sure I’d gotten into the wrong truck. We usually didn’t have a ton of money for things like that. He's a physical education teacher at one of the high schools and the baseball coach for the community college. Most of his money went back into the programs he ran, but since he basically lived for working with youth, he didn't seem like he was missing out.
“Wait, you’re serious? We can actually go?” I wasn’t sure which part he’d agreed to, but any of the options would be better than sitting at his house, bored stiff, especially after I finished reading my book tonight.
“Yeah, let’s head out and have some fun for Christmas.”
I wasn’t sure what had happened the past few months since I’d flown out during the summer, but I wasn’t going to contest it. This would be an even better Christmas than I thought.
Chapter 3
Isaac
I’d been too chicken to ask Sara for her number. Yeah, I know. I’m supposed to be some tough baseball player who isn’t afraid of anything but sometimes, that’s just not me. And with a
girl like her, beautiful and kind, I wasn’t sure I’d make it through all the words that comprised the sentence.
“How was coach, cuz?” Nate asked, slapping me on the back as we walked out to get into the limo his dad had arranged to take the five of us to the house they’d rented for the break. Nate’s mom had come down a few days earlier with his older sister to do some shopping. An extra week to go shopping sounded like torture.
“Not bad. I met a girl named Sara. She was nice.”
Nate’s eyes went wide and he said, “Did you get her number?”
I feigned like I didn’t care and said, “It’s not all about numbers, Nate. Sometimes it’s nice to just have a good conversation.” Then again, we hadn’t really talked more than the simple facts of why we were traveling. He didn’t need to know that though.
“Right, Mr. Dates-a-Lot. You can’t tell me you’ve only talked with your past five girlfriends.”
I groaned. Of course, Nate, who’d never had a girlfriend because he annoyed most of the girls in his class, would make sure to keep track of my dating life. He was off by a few numbers though.
“I wasn’t official with all those girls, dork. I’m good friends with some of them.” I hadn’t dated anyone seriously this year and yet every time he saw me talking to a girl, he assumed we were going out.
Senior year felt different in so many ways. I didn’t want to get hung up on all the lasts, like my mom, but I was more worried about securing my future than anything. While many of the guys were going for the sophomores and juniors, I knew I needed to focus on baseball and hopefully get a scholarship somewhere. I didn’t have the best grades, mostly because I hadn’t cared until the past few months. There was a sudden urgency about being a senior and needing to make grown-up decisions that wouldn’t screw up my future life that had caused me to shape up a bit. Maybe that was the reason my parents had decided not to pay for college. I guess it worked.
“What was so great about this girl?” Nate asked, more serious than I’d seen him in a long time.
I thought about it and, not to be vain or anything, but it was refreshing that she hadn’t thrown herself at me like most of the girls at Rosemont did. Probably the biggest reason I hadn’t gone for them now that I thought about it. Big turn-off.
Don’t get the wrong idea. I don’t usually play into all that, but I liked that Sara was passionate about something other than guys. And it had seriously thrown off whatever game I had when she’d chosen to read her book versus talk to me.
“I don’t know. She was really into her book.” I smiled as I pictured her reading it. I pulled out my phone, opening a bookstore app and looked up the book. The one she’d been reading had only been released the day before. I scrolled to find the first book, buying it. I might as well find out what had her hooked.
“Books, man? Really? I didn’t think you usually went for the booknerd type.” Nate scoffed and I shook my head.
Glancing out the window and feeling awkward that my parents were silent, probably listening in to every word I said as they scrolled on their phones. I tried to think of a good response, grateful that it was true.
“I don’t really have a type.” Then wanting to add to his discomfort, I turned and asked, “What kind of girls do you usually go for, Nate?”
He squirmed in the seat next to me and frowned. “I like brunettes.”
“Good answer, son,” was the only response from the mayor near the front of the limo. Right after that, he pressed his phone to his ear and started talking again. If it was true you could get cancer from using your phone so much, he would be the perfect case study for it.
“You can be attracted to brunettes,” my mom began. She was sitting next to me and I saw her lips pinched together, not exactly happy about this line of questioning. “But you don’t want to discount anyone on looks alone. What if she can’t think for herself? Or will freak out at the first sign of trouble?”
Nate groaned and said, “I know, I know, Aunt Vera. But I’m only fifteen. I’m not ready to marry anyone.”
I laughed at that, having to stifle the sound with my hand over my mouth when my mom gave me a hard look.
“It doesn’t matter how old you are. It’s better to learn now how to treat girls like women, rather than change later.” She breathed out a sigh and turned her gaze to the passing landscape out the window.
I pulled out my phone to play a game, but I replayed my short conversation with Sara. And the way she’d glanced back at me before she walked out the door? Well, I probably wouldn’t forget that. Ever.
Chapter 4
Sara
I’d only been in Florida for all of two days and I don’t know if my dad could ever top this trip. We’d gone to Disney World one day and then to Universal Studios yesterday, making this officially my favorite vacation ever. My mom wasn’t good on all the rollercoasters but with my dad’s iron stomach, we’d gone from open to close, making sure we rode every ride several times.
We spent the day of Christmas opening the few presents we’d gotten each other and the rest of the day at the beach. Now, the day after, the ache of a sunburn I’d gotten when I forgot to reapply sunscreen in the afternoon made me wince after every movement.
The only reason I was up this early the day after the most magical holiday ever was that my dad needed my help at the clinic. The snack lady hadn’t been able to get back from a trip to see her grandkids up north as they’d been hit with a huge snowstorm, grounding the planes.
Not that I wanted to hang out with a bunch of stinky boys, especially when I thought about past clinics, but my dad had given me a gift card to my favorite bookstore app and I’d already used it up on all the books I’d been eyeing. This would be a good use of the downtime, since there would be plenty during the drills. And I’d get some spending money for when I got back to Texas. I’d probably make more in the week working there than a month working at the coffee shop back in Groveton.
I yawned as we walked out the door, taking a bagel and cream cheese I’d prepared only a few minutes before. My eyes were dry and heavy and the temptation to fall back asleep while in the truck was winning my inner debate.
“If we went straight to the complex right now, we would make it by five-thirty. So I’ve got time to stop off and grab more equipment from the college first.”
I groaned. What happened to Eliza having everything set up? I get that my dad was trying to avoid traffic, but even fifteen extra minutes to sleep would have been nice.
By the time we loaded everything up from his shed at the community college and drove down to the baseball complex near the beach, it was a little after six. The sun was barely rising and, from this view, the ocean was beautiful.
We lugged in bucket after bucket, along with two extra nets and several helmets. How my dad had fit it all in the back of his small pickup was amazing.
He checked his phone at ten minutes before seven and frowned. “Do you mind taking over the registration table for the first thirty minutes? Sophie got stuck in traffic and won’t be here until almost time to start the clinic.”
I shook my head, not believing all these people were cancelling at the last minute. I understood to a degree. It was still the holidays in everyone’s minds and having to get up that early for the first day of a seven-day camp was rough. But her main job was registration, meaning by the time she arrived, most of signing kids in would be over
“Sure. Where are the forms?” I knew the procedure since I’d had to do the same thing a couple years before. I gave him a joking grin and asked, “What would you do without me?”
My dad handed me the box filled with pens, papers and a notebook to mark down the attendees. “Probably try to do all this by myself and fail.” He chuckled a bit, his expression saying he was trying to picture it.
“We really need to automate this next year, Dad. I’m surprised you’ve gotten this far without having a system where people can register online.”
“We already have that,” a voice sai
d from behind me. I turned to find a woman in her mid-thirties, dressed in a tight running outfit.
I frowned, not sure who she was and why she was interfering in our conversation. Could have just been the early hour or the fact that she was looking at my father like he was a piece of meat that had my defenses raised for battle.
The woman reached out her hand and said, “Hi, I’m Eliza Stone. I helped your father put together everything, even getting plenty of reservations through the online sign-ups. But I like your thinking. I’m always open to more ideas to make things better for next year.” I gave her a light shake of the hand, the action reminding me of Isaac from the plane. I wondered what he’d be doing right now, and if he’d enjoyed his time at the amusement parks.
With a light nudge from my father as he walked over to take a bucket of balls to one of the stations, I turned to the woman and said, “Hi. I’m Sara, John’s daughter.” I pointed toward my dad and saw the woman’s expression change from shock to a sappy sweet smile within seconds.
“It’s so good to finally meet you. I’ve been working with your father since September to get this camp going. He talks about you all the time.” She grinned, and I could tell she was trying to overdo it.
I gave her a polite smile and was grateful when the doors opened and a few kids with bat bags and a couple of parents filed in.
“I need to get over to the registration table,” I said, dipping my head a bit and turning away.
“Oh, here’s the list of the people who’ve registered online. Then if there are any others who haven’t you can use this card reader to charge them if they have credit cards.” Eliza handed me a pack of stapled papers with names running down it, as well as a small black square. “Just plug it into your phone and download the app. All the login info is on the other side of the device.” She lifted her finger and pressed into her ear, turning away as she began rattling off numbers.
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