Simone walks over to inspect my swimsuit. “Yikes, girl. I can try sewing this back up for you.”
“You think?” We walk over and take the spot where Mackenzie had been sitting in the shade. I shrug the towel down my back an inch so Simone can glance at the swimsuit.
“Never mind,” Simone says. “When you take this off, it’ll all unravel.”
“Great.” I take a deep breath.
“Do you have a spare suit? We can —— store tomorrow.”
“Yeah, we’re gonna need to. This is my only one.”
“No problem,” Simone says, noticing that I’m still looking in Isaac’s direction while wrapping myself tight in his towel. “Okay, lovebird. I guess I’m going to owe Bobby money, aren’t I?”
“Did you two seriously bet on this?” I laugh. “Maybe focus on your own relationship.”
“Aaah, don’t tell me that,” Simone says, flustered, but her eyes immediately dart to Bobby.
“Come on, it’s clear that he, like, loves you.”
“I know,” she whispers. “That’s the scary part. But then what? —— long distance and shit? I don’t know. I’m only nineteen. What if I just met him too early?”
“Whoa, okay, maybe you’re getting ahead of yourself here.” This is the first moment where it’s super clear that she’s equally into him. I do not feel qualified to give any relationship advice.
“Exactly. —— lose him as a friend, you know?”
“But you could just see where it goes,” I say.
Simone throws her towel at me. “How about you go get dressed?”
“Fine . . .”
When I return from the changing room with my hearing aids back in, Gary is pulling up to the pool in his golf cart. He walks inside the gated perimeter, leaving two unfamiliar passengers behind.
“How is everything?” he asks.
“We had a little bit of a situation,” I say, pointing to Cole, who is still in the time-out chair, then raising my torn swimsuit. “He got . . . very clingy.”
“Ah, sometimes kids get attached. It’s easy to get overly excited at camp. They may mean well, but they don’t understand how to respect boundaries or space. Especially here, you know.” Gary reaches out and pokes my arm. I shrug and nod. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not excusing this. In fact, I’m sorry you had to deal with that behavior.”
“Yeah, this job can sometimes be harder than I thought,” I say. I didn’t mean to admit that out loud, but the words pour out of my mouth.
“With any work, there are always good and bad days.” Gary nods reassuringly. “But if anything ever makes you uncomfortable, please come to Ethan or me. That’s what we’re here for. Got it?”
“Yeah.” I appreciate Gary’s response. It’s nice to know that counselors aren’t expected to tolerate this.
But now there’s something else that doesn’t sit well with me. Standing outside the tall chain-link fence surrounding the pool, staring into the swimming area, are two old dudes wearing golf attire. One points toward a few campers who noticed him and gives them a cheerful wave.
“Uh, who are they?” I point to the men, not even bothering to be discreet.
“I’m in the middle of a tour for potential donors,” Gary explains. “Showing them the property, but I wanted to stop here and check in for a minute. So”—he claps his hands once and steps away, but then calls back—“Lilah, you’re taking on responsibility as a junior counselor this summer, but camp is still supposed to be fun. Don’t forget that.”
“Right, thanks.”
He smiles. “It’s through the ups and downs that you bond with your fellow counselors.”
My eyes dart toward Isaac. That hug—it really happened, right?
It’s just been such a long day. I sit back down beside Simone. “You see them, too?”
“Yeah,” she says. “Maybe show them the pool when we’re not here. Kinda weird having old dudes stare at us in our bathing suits.”
“I mean, it doesn’t even have to be gross. I just don’t like having people around watching us.”
Isaac climbs out of the pool and walks over to me. I offer him back his towel, and my heart skips a beat as he dries his face and sits beside me on the same lawn chair. “It’s weird having people watch us.”
“That’s what I was saying,” I sign back. “He thinks the same,” I tell Simone.
“We still have that luncheon coming up soon,” she says.
“This feels old-school. Couldn’t there be a different way to raise money?” I say, then signing for Isaac, “Maybe a different way to raise money?”
“Yeah, so we don’t have to —— on people coming here.” He sees my head tilt and spells out, “D-e-p-e-n-d, depend.”
“Right.” I smile, grateful that he could tell exactly which word I needed clarification for. “Thank you.”
Chapter Twelve
I sat out of swimming all day today, since I’m still without proper attire after yesterday’s pool debacle. In the staff cabins after hours, I search for someone to go to the store with.
“Hey, Simone, do you still want to go to the store tonight?”
“Right, Lilah needs a new swimsuit,” Simone says, nudging Bobby, who’s sitting beside her. “Let’s go.”
“Um, we’re on duty tonight,” Bobby says.
“It’s not Monday again already.” She checks her phone. “Wait, how is that possible?”
“It pains me that you dread our time together that much,” Bobby jokes, but he genuinely smiles when Simone reaches out for his hand. “Is there someone else you can go with, Lilah?”
Natasha and Jaden are standing by the door, and Isaac walks over to me. “Did you need to go shopping? Come with us?”
“Yes, please,” I say and sign before turning back to Simone and Bobby. “Don’t worry, I’m tagging along with the others. Enjoy your evening. Remember to watch the campers.”
On the way to the parking lot, we run into Ethan, who needs to pick up some supplies for tomorrow’s activities. So all five of us pile into Natasha’s little car. Jaden claims the passenger seat. Isaac hops into the back, and Ethan tells me to take the middle, motioning for me to slide all the way over until I’m practically in Isaac’s lap.
Natasha turns to sign. “Food first?”
Everyone agrees, and she hits the ignition, music immediately blaring from the speakers. The car shakes the entire way to the Mackie’s across the street from the Super Mart.
Jaden opens the Notes app on his phone and types in his order, passing it around for the rest of us to enter ours. We pull up to the drive-through. Instead of stopping at the speakers, Natasha heads straight for the window. When she parks, she adds her order to the note as well.
We’re waiting, but no one is there. Natasha waves until an employee finally comes, but they don’t open the window.
“We’re Deaf,” Natasha signs, pointing to her ear and cochlear implant. She holds out the phone with the orders on it.