Lighting the Flames (8 page)

“
I
’
m hanging on your every word.
”

She jabbed him in the ribs with her fist.

“
Ow.
Go back to your room, wench,
”
he muttered, rubbing his
side.

“
Listen. What if we did something so spectacular each day
for the rest of the week, Winter Camp is the only thing everyone
will talk about when they get home?
”

“
It
’
ll get people excited for summer.
”
He began to
understand what she was getting at, though logical thought was
nearly impossible with her hip pressing against
his.

“
We
don
’
t have a lot of supplies, or time, and we
’
d have to do one
shopping trip on a serious budget
—
on our own dime, I
bet. And
…
yeah, Scott would never go for it.
”
Gen stopped, her
shoulders slumping.

“
No,
the two of us can pull something off. We
’
ve done it
before.
”

“
Can
we get away with a trip to the Super Mart?
”

“
Maybe. But we have plenty of supplies
here,
”
Jeremy said.
“
I just did inventory for this
week.
”

“
When did you have time to do that?
”

Jeremy shrugged, but
he didn
’
t answer.

“
So
what can we do? Talent shows and stuff like that are already on the
schedule. We need something bigger.
”
His eyes fully
adjusted to the darkness in his room, and he could see the
available light sliding over her skin. She gave him crap for
wearing short sleeves but then slept in a tank top? So not
fair.

“
We
need something that makes people look forward to summer but is
totally unique to this week. If they start talking about next
year
…”
Jeremy trailed off, mentally thinking through every
all-camp activity he
’
d ever witnessed or run.

Suddenly he leaned up on one elbow again. When the
bedsprings rudely announced his movement, he froze, then dropped
his voice to a bare whisper.

“
Gen, a third of the board is here. If
they
’
re thinking of shutting down or selling
camp
…
if we make this week a success, even if
it
’
s
not a profitable one, it might give them other options to
consider.
”

“
Exactly.
”

“
I
bet Scott projected this first Winter Camp would be a marginal
profit at best, maybe even a loss. But as a vehicle to drive summer
enrollment, the risk would be worth it. If they
’
re facing attrition
problems, and fewer campers are coming for this summer, then they
need new ways to attract campers back as well as bringing in new
ones.
”

“
Winter Camp isn
’
t a bad place to
start,
”
Gen replied.

Jeremy lay back down,
looking up at the ceiling, barely visible in the darkness.
“
Agreed. If
we do something so awesome the campers here talk their friends into
coming next summer, that
’
s a successful
campaign based on less than a week of activities.
”

“
Exactly. That
’
s why we need something bigger. I mean, the idea
of winter camp is great, but Scott
’
s planned activities
aren
’
t that special. I don
’
t think the current
schedule is going to get people talking at all, except about how
cold it is. We need something bigger.
”

“
Yeah. The question is, what
will
get them talking
and make camp and Scott and this summer look really, really
spectacular?
”

The room was silent
for a moment, their breathing the only sound. Jeremy closed his
eyes to make the darkness complete, berating himself for staring at
Genevieve. They
’
d spent most summers together for years; it
wasn
’
t as if he didn
’
t know what she
looked like in a tank top. He barely wore a shirt half the
summer.

Suddenly, Gen sat up
straight, then leaned over and grabbed his arm. He felt her touch
everywhere, not just where she made contact.
“
I
’
ve got
it.
”

“
What?
”

“
Color war.
”

Jeremy stared at her.

“
Tomorrow morning, we interrupt Scott, and we break color
war.
Winter
color war.
”

He sat up. Her hand
fell away from his skin.
“
You, my friend, are a
fucking genius.
”

“
I
know.
”

“
Modest, too.
”

“
Of
course.
”

“
Let
’
s go, then.
”
Jeremy reached down over her legs to where
he
’
d
tossed his T-shirt.
“
We
’
ve got work to do. Let
’
s get it
on.
”

*

They worked until
nearly two in the morning, facing one another on her sleeping bag
with paper spread out around them. Jeremy came up with
competitions, games, and team challenges while Gen developed the
events schedule. Since his bed squeaked if they so much as breathed
funny, they huddled together on her thin camping mattress, even
though it wasn
’
t as comfortable. Her room was farther from Scott and
Rebecca
’
s, so they were less likely to disturb them, but with both
space heaters running, the noise they made was muffled. And he
understood why she slept in a tank top, because with both heaters,
it was plenty toasty.

Of course, Gen was
always cold, so after an hour, she put his hooded sweatshirt on
over her tank top. She had to roll the sleeves three or four times
to keep them from sliding down over her hands, but he was willing
to hide every other warm garment she
’
d brought if it meant
she kept wearing his. His work progress was a little slower than
normal, because he kept getting distracted by the curve of her neck
when the hood slid sideways over her shoulder, and he wondered what
it would be like to kiss her there. But he wouldn
’
t trade the time he
lost while staring at her. It had been so long since
they
’
d spent hours whispering plans to one another, he
didn
’
t want the sun to rise.

A little after two, they sneaked out to get an
enrollment list from the office. Running through the trees in the
darkness with Genevieve felt like summer, and yet it was completely
different. Gen could barely keep from laughing and kept covering
her mouth with her gloves, which made him crack up. Her laughter
was contagious.

More snow had started falling, coming down in fat,
puffy flakes that covered their tracks within a few minutes. It was
cold and scary dark, but he was as happy as he would be on a warm,
starry night in mid-July. They were running around at night
together, up to no good, as usual.

Jeremy lifted Gen through a window they knew from
experience was impossible to lock, and she had the Winter Camp
enrollment list in her hand in minutes. They shut the window, hid
their footprints with a few stray pine branches and more snow, and
headed back to the staff cabin.

“
We
might need a shopping list. The Super Mart opens at six. We can
head out at five if we have to and be there when it
opens,
”
Jeremy said, lifting his knees to march through the
snow.

“
How
are we going to start a car without waking
anyone?
”

“
I
can get Scott
’
s truck keys from the kitchen. It
’
s parked over by the
garbage pickup. No one will hear.
”

“
You
scurvy dog.
”

“
We
are so doing this, and it will be epic.
”

Gen jumped in front of
his path and threw her arms around him, pinning his hands to his
sides.
“
Stop.
”

“
What?
”
He jerked once, then went still in her embrace.
She
’
d pressed her body against his, her arms holding tight. She
was uphill, so her face was inches from his, her smile wide and
bright like a full moon.

“
I
know you. You
’
re about to throw your arms in the air and
holler
‘
epic
!
’
and wake everyone up and knock snow on my head. Not
happening.
”

“
You
don
’
t know jack.
”
She was right, but he
’
d never admit
it.

“
I
know you, Jack, and you be quiet. Save the hollering for tomorrow
morning.
”

“
Okay. But I know one more thing we
’
re going to
need,
”
he said, not moving to break her hold. She stepped away,
but he slid an arm around her to bring her near him again and
guided her back to the house.

“
Caffeine. A boatload of it.
”

Chapter Three

Thursday, December
18, 2014
—
26 Kislev 5775

The last words of the morning prayers rose up into
the rafters in plumes of white, their collected voices visible in
the frigid air. Each person was layered in more down, Gore-tex, and
fleece than seemed possible. It was still and sparkling and
beautiful in the synagogue pavilion, but it was painfully cold.

“
This is nuts,
”
Gen whispered to Jeremy. He watched
her out of the corner of his eye. She was huddled in six layers of
clothing and was stomping her feet to keep herself
warm.

“
This was your idea.
”

“
I
know,
”
she murmured under a huge yawn.
“
Why
didn
’
t you
—”

“
Hush
—
almost time. It
’
s going to be
epic
.
”
He pantomimed raising his arms above his head and yelling.
She shook her head.

From their spot on the
end of the front row, Jeremy watched Scott climb up onto the stage
next to the rabbi. Scott was so bundled in layers he almost tilted
side to side as he walked. His arms didn
’
t bend much, either.
He had to try twice before he could reach around himself to get
into his own pocket.

“
Today
’
s schedule is full of activities, so
let
’
s get started, shall we?
”

The families all sat down amid the shushing sound of
nylon against nylon, underscored by the muffled creak of many boots
on fresh snow.

“
The
morning activities are going to start in the
—”

Jeremy and Gen unzipped their coats slowly when
Scott started droning through his schedule. Then they looked at
each other.

He winked at her. Gen smiled back.

“
Epic,
”
she whispered.

They drew deep breaths
and threw off their winter parkas, revealing shorts, tank tops, and
bandannas on their heads. Gen
’
s arms were painted
in blue and white stripes. Jeremy ripped his shirt off and pressed
a button on the remote hidden in his pocket. Trumpets, drums, and
cheering flooded out of the speakers mounted on poles behind them.
Everyone in the room flinched back and looked around, including
Genevieve. He hadn
’
t told her about the music.