Page 98 of Until Next Summer

I stifle a laugh. “I did, thanks to your first aid book.”

“Okay, I have one,” Hillary says. “It’s chocolate adjacent: would you rather swim in a pool of M&M’s or a pool of Skittles?”

“Skittles,” Zac immediately says. “Body heat would melt the M&M’s.”

“What kind of Skittles?” Dot asks.

“I love the sour ones,” I say.

Dot turns to me. “Ah, but you wouldn’t want to swim in those. They’re covered in powder. You’d breathe it in and develop a chemical pneumonitis.”

Cooper slides in next to Hillary—he’s always last to fill his plate—and says, “Would you rather keep talking about fictitious candy-related situations or our plan to approach Jack and Mary Valentine? They’re coming tomorrow.”

Everyone goes quiet. A heavy feeling of dread settles over the group.

“Sorry,” Cooper says, wincing.

“No, you’re right,” I say. “We have the money raised. We have a business plan. We just need to get Jack’s buy-in.”

“And they’re still planning on the dinner?” Hillary asks.

“Yep,” I say. “Cooper, do you have the menu set?”

“Just about. I’ll need to make a special trip to town for some ingredients.”

“And Zac and Zoey, the sailboat will be ready?” I ask. We’re taking the big forty-footer out on a sunset cruise for the dinner, giving Jack and Mary a view of the camp from the lake.

Zac gives a salute. “I found the perfect spot to drop anchor.”

“The financials are almost ready,” Hillary says. “I pulled comps in the area, so I know our offer is competitive, but we’ll need to cover any penalties the Valentines will accrue from backing out of the sale, too. I also gathered stats on theindividuals joining the co-op, so they can see our plan is viable.”

“Excellent,” I say. “And I’m working on my most persuasive, heartfelt speech.” Looking around at my staff, my heart glows with pride and gratitude. My summer family. “Let’s save our camp.”

—

When I head back to my cabin, there’s an envelope stuck in the doorjamb. It’s addressed to me, written in unfamiliar handwriting.

Jessie—

Congratulations on reaching your goal. I can’t say I’m surprised—you’ve always been the kind of person who achieves whatever she sets her mind to. Including getting me to apologize (insert self-deprecating smile from me). Even though you were the one who poured syrup on my head (insert eye roll from you).

So here you go: I’m sorry. You’re a perfect queen and I’m a dumb little dweeb. I’m a pathetic, pretentious prick. Whatever I have to say to get you to talk to me again. You are quite literally the only friend I have here. Which is my own fault for being antisocial, I know. But still. Come say hi.

—Luke

twenty-five

Hillary

Today is the day we save the camp—and the day I finally make up for turning my back on this place and Jessie a decade ago.

I’ve spent so many years feeling guilty for breaking my promise, but if I hadn’t, I never would’ve gained the skills and expertise I’m using right now to help save Camp Chickawah. It’s funny, I used to see my ability to separate my head from my heart as a strength when it came to business. But this project—and this summer—has shown me how powerful it can be when your head and your heart work together. It makes everything more meaningful, and it’ll make our victory tonight even sweeter.

And we are going to be victorious.

I’m alone in Jessie’s office—she and Dot are helping Zac and Zoey get the boat ready while I’m going over the final details of our offer. Usually, I’d have a PowerPoint presentation, each point displayed on a beautifully crafted slide. But we’re taking a more casual approach, discussing the deal over dinner and drinks, which we hope will warm Jack’s cold heart. Plus, there’s the added complication of being out in the middle of the lake. I suppose we could project the slides against the night sky…

I laugh at the mental image of Jessie and me gesturing toa pie chart dotted with stars and look over the numbers one last time before heading back to the Lodge. I’ve got just under an hour to rest and get ready for dinner. Thanks to my new sleeping arrangement with Cooper, I haven’t been getting much sleep. Not that I’m complaining.

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