Chapter Text
Joseph Roberts was technically Jason’s Great Uncle, but that was too many syllables. Besides, everyone in the family, regardless of how they were related, called the man Uncle Joe, so that was what he was.
Jason had been close to the man growing up. As Jason had gotten older, some in the family had joked Jason was actually Joe’s long lost grandchild due to how similar they looked. Especially when comparing any old pictures of Joe with Jason now. However, those jokes had never been said in front of Uncle Joe’s face. It had confused Jason for a time. Especially as the joke hadn’t seemed cruel in any way. After asking his dad, he’d found out Joe had lost his wife and kid in an accident. An accident that had happened while he was overseas. The family joking about Jason being his long lost grandson was more a way to point out that they were glad Joe had a kid in the family he was close to and kind of got to raise. They just never said those exact words in front of Joe, not wanting to bring up bad memories or anything of the like.
It of course made Jason curious about Uncle Joe’s lost family, but as the family never talked about it, Jason ultimately never asked.
Through most of elementary school and all through middle school, Jason had spent summers at Uncle Joe’s place. To Jason, Joe’s place was the sprawling woods and the camps. The disused quarry and the massive house. The lodge and the lake.
However, Joe hadn’t always lived out there. Thanks to some distant relative passing away and Uncle Joe being the closest kin, he’d inherited the large acres before Jason had been born. With a lot of elbow grease and love, Uncle Joe had turned the large acres and various buildings into a business. There was a small general store out there, hiking trails, a few cabins and camp sites that could be rented out throughout the year. During the summer and for a few special weeks in the year, most of the cabins were used for a camp. It had apparently started off small with mainly the locals from the nearby town coming up. They’d been rightfully curious considering the original owner had been strict about trespassing. Even when the quarry hadn’t been active, no one had been allowed up there. With Uncle Joe taking over the place and turning it into a retreat though, there had been plenty of woods for the locals to explore. By the time Jason had been old enough to go to the summer camp, the place had been popular and really grown with kids all over the state coming to the camp.
Uncle Joe had of course hired various people over the years to help out. And he had a camp staff with a few even being pretty consistent as they worked in the nearby town. However, year round it was really all Joe keeping the place running. Even as he’d gotten up in years.
Those early years of Jason’s life had been the best. Both at summer camp and when he’d gotten to visit in the off season. During high school though, Jason had stopped visiting Uncle Joe altogether. It wasn’t that he’d reached the age limit or anything. Hell. Joe had told Jason he could be a camp counselor when he turned sixteen, even though that was two years younger than who Joe hired. At age eleven, when Joe had first promised that, Jason had been ecstatic about the idea. He’d promised Uncle Joe he’d be the best damn counselor he’d ever seen.
Only for high school to kind of just...just ruin everything.
Jason’s motivation had started to slip. Every fucking question Jason got asked made him feel like he was required to give a detailed, ten-year plan of his life. Only Jason had no idea what he wanted in the next ten years. He didn’t know what he wanted to do. He didn’t know if he wanted to go to college or what degree he’d even get at college. He didn’t know if he wanted to leave home or not. The few times he’d admitted any of those things, the response from the adults had all been the same.
Well, what are your interests? You have to have interests. Pick something you enjoy and go from there.
If someone had asked Jason as a kid what his interests were, he could have talked their ear off about all the things he wanted to be. In high school though? He didn’t know! He just didn’t know anymore. Yet "I don’t know" just wasn’t an accepted answer.
The only person who’d tried to help had been the school counselor. However, when the woman had suggested to Jason’s dad that he might be depressed, his father had shut that down immediately. Gone were the sessions with the school counselor. In all fairness to the counselor, she’d tried to still talk to Jason. She’d attempted to set up meetings during the lunch period or had even pointed him in directions to resources. But after getting yelled at by his dad, Jason had plastered on a fake smile and declined everything.
He’d lied through his teeth that he was better and fine and that he’d definitely known what he wanted out of his life.
By the end of senior year, Jason had no fucking idea what he wanted out of life.
He ended up taking a gap year. His excuse was he’d done it to save up money. His family was alright, but not rich by any standards. However, when it came time to apply for colleges again, Jason had admitted to his mother and father, “I don’t know. Might not do the whole college thing actually.”
That sentiment hadn’t lasted long though. His mother had cried and his father had yelled at him that he hadn’t been working so hard all these years just for Jason to decide he wasn’t going to go to college anymore.
So, Jason had eventually gone to a school of his dad’s choosing. He’d started in a general program, then switched to mechanical engineering because once again, when he couldn’t pick something, his dad had pretty much chosen for him.
At least Jason had picked which engineering subfield he wanted to focus on out of the two programs offered by the school. He’d always enjoyed working with his hands. At least mechanical engineering was kind of in line with that. More so than computer engineering. But again, he didn’t exactly know if he wanted to do that for the rest of his life.
Despite everyone saying how different college was to high school, it was really just high school 2.0 for Jason. In some ways, it was nice. He was about four hours away from his folks so they couldn’t bother him every day and not having his dad on his back every single fucking second had helped in some ways. But he still hadn’t had a proper support system. He’d gotten ‘friends’, but they’d really been friends only in name with nothing in common besides drinking and smoking. The only reason Jason didn’t completely fall off the wagon was the underlying fear of what his father would do. That fear had him keeping his grades relatively descent, but every other aspect of his life was suffering.
The only good thing to come out of college was Uncle Joe and that summer camp.
The counselor at his school had started pressing him to look for jobs or internships from the get go. His words of, “If you don’t do this now, you won’t have nothing on your resume when you leave here and no one is gonna hire you ‘cause you won’t have any experience,” had probably been meant to encourage Jason to act quickly. In reality, it had just reminded Jason he had no idea what he wanted to do and no one was allowing him the time to actually fucking figure that out. He ended up trying to apply to a few internships, but the job always went to someone else. Like they could tell how disinterested he was.
Right on the cusp of his first college, summer experience though, several things happened all at once.
The first thing was that his dad was let go, meaning Jason was going to have to find a full-time job to help pay for the remaining years of his college tuition. The money Jason had saved up in the gap year had mostly been used. If he wanted to avoid taking out a loan, he’d have to work full time. His father had at least promised to start helping again once he got a new job. There was just no telling when that would happen as his old man used up his college funds though.
The second thing to occur was that the realization Jason needed a job had all happened too late. He’d applied to a few places in town. However, he did it right at the start of summer. All the kids looking for summer jobs had already taken them. A few businesses had told Jason to come back during the fall semester if he needed a job. They’d probably be hiring again then. However, that hadn’t solved Jason’s problem in the moment.
The last thing to happen during all that had been a simple letter from Uncle Joe asking how he’d been and if he had plans that summer.
For the first time, things actually fell a bit into place.
It wasn’t like everything in Jason’s life was fixed immediately. In all honesty, he’d only answered Joe’s letter because his dad had recently yelled at him for not being a part of the family and answering when relatives called or wrote to him. Jason was pretty sure his dad had mainly been referring to himself and Jason’s mother, but at least that underlying, automatic fear had forced Jason to finally answer Uncle Joe.
The letter had said that a counselor had to pull out and with how many kids would be there that summer, he couldn’t forgo a camp counselor. Jason had used the pay phone at the front office of his apartments to call back right away. Lucky for him, Uncle Joe had answered.
They’d talked. Actually talked for the first time in years. After some quick back and forth, Uncle Joe had made the offer that he’d made in the letter. He’d asked if Jason wanted to be a camp counselor again.
That time, Jason had taken it.
Semesters continued to be a hazy, numbing experience with fear being the only reason Jason’s grades remained acceptable. He did find a job during the school year. Meaning when he wasn’t working he was studying and if he wasn’t studying he was working. And the rare times he got a moment to rest were usually spent getting so fucking crossfaded he could barely remember his own name.
The summers though? They became little havens.
Uncle Joe asked Jason once what he was planning to do with his degree.
But only once.
Joe had dropped the conversation and from then on, pretty much every conversation between Jason and his great uncle had been about current events or reminiscing on old memories. Joe’s place was about a seven hour drive from the college town so Jason didn’t get a chance to see his uncle during most of the year. The summer he spent all his time there though. He even went down early to help out, even though camp didn’t start until the first week of June.
Considering Jason could help out fixing things around the camp if needed, he could put the job on his resume as relevant job history. At least, that was what his school counselor had told him to do. It wasn’t a bad idea, but Jason was trying not to think of the future and school when at the camp so he always put off trying to properly put together a resume for later.
The first two summers, Jason acted as a camp counselor. The summer before his senior year, Uncle Joe promoted him to Support Staff. It meant less fun and more paperwork type things. Calling parents when needed, making sure the general store on the property stayed stocked, but Jason honestly didn’t mind it. If a camp counselor was sick or something, Jason could fill in for that cabin and Joe had him in charge of the shooting range too so that was fun.
After his senior year of college and getting his degree, the expectations came roaring back though. Jason got yelled at by his dad again when he said he’d be working as staff support at the summer camp again. His father hadn’t hidden how disappointed he was. That he thought it was time Jason apply to real jobs. The only reason his dad gave him a pass in the end was because Jason had already promised Joe and there wasn’t anyone to fill in for Jason’s job.
Once summer was over, Jason did find a job, but he instantly hated it. It wasn’t at all what he wanted to do. He put in his two weeks not long after that, and when Uncle Joe had called asking if Jason had any time to come up and help with repairs, Jason had jumped at the opportunity. Joe never asked, but Jason basically started working for Uncle Joe with continued maintenance and upkeep of the trails and camp sites. Uncle Joe was getting up in age after all and he’d been having to hire more and more people to do the things he had once done. With Jason there though, that became less of a concern. It was actually kind of nice. At least until his dad found out he’d quit his job to work for Uncle Joe.
His dad’s solution had been the military. If that conversation had just happened between Jason and his dad, then Jason probably would have caved. Just like he’d caved about going to college and the degree he’d picked. However, when the topic was brought up, it wasn’t just Jason and his dad. Uncle Joe had been there too.
Jason had known Joe was a vet. A lot of people in his family were. He’d never heard any stories from the man though whereas his own dad had constantly talked about his time in the military. Jason had never fully understood why Joe wouldn’t want to talk about that time. At least not until the fight happened.
No one in the family fought with Uncle Joe.
He was Great Uncle Joe! Sure, people were nice to him because he didn’t have his own immediate family and he’d had a hard life, but his extended family was also nice to him just because he was a great guy. Disagreements had happened, sure. But nothing like the explosion that Jason saw between the two men before Jason’s dad had quickly kicked him out of the room like he was four fucking years old or some shit.
Jason had listened in on the other side of the door though. For the first time in his life, he heard complete and utter despair coming out of his great uncle’s voice.
“It’s a noble profession! He don’t know what he wants, well the military will damn well whip him into shape! It did me just fine!” Jason’s dad yelled out.
“You didn’t serve!”
“How dare you—”
“You never saw combat! You were discharged within two years! We ain’t the fuckin’ same!”
Jason had already known about his father’s discharge. Early onset arthritis had ended his military career before it had even really begun, though his old man had always talked like he’d been in the service for years. It had been the norm for Jason. Something he’d been taught to be proud of. That it was good to tell people ‘my dad’s a vet’. But Uncle Joe was a vet and he’d never acted proud. He certainly hadn’t sounded proud in that moment.
“You really want to throw him into that?” Joe continued. “When he don’t even know himself?!”
“That’s my damn point! They’ll whip him into shape!”
“I lost everythin’! I went in thinking I’d get honor and glory and I’d be a goddamn hero serving my country only to lose every fuckin’ friend I made overseas and then to come home with no fuckin’ family!”
“The war didn’t kill your wife and kid—”
“But I would have been there!”
“You bein’ there don’t mean they would or wouldn’t have gotten in that fuckin’ accident. For all you know, they still could have died!”
“Don’t you think I know that! I ain’t talkin’ about that! I’m talkin’ about how I missed my son’s first birthday! How I missed my second and third anniversary with my wife! How I missed my son’s first steps and his first word and rollin’ a goddamn ball across the floor to him! I never got to hear him call me daddy!” Maybe they would have fuckin’ died if I’d stayed, but at least I’d have those memories! I’d have somethin’! I got nothin’ Richard! I don’t even have a photo of me and my son together cause I thought I’d have time to take one later! I lost what should have been the best years of my life joinin’ the military and I didn’t come home with honors and victory! I came home with fuckin’ nightmares and the ghosts of my friends followin’ me everywhere! Don’t talk to me like you fuckin’ know what it’s like to be a vet and don’t you ever come in here fuckin’ forcin’ your son to go into the military when all you have to sell him on it is fuckin’ patriotism and family pride and don’t have a god damn inkling of what actually servin’ can lead to! Now get out of my fuckin’ house and don’t come back!”
Jason had scrambled when he’d heard his dad stomping towards the door. He’d just barely hidden before his dad had left in a complete fury.
The silence that had been left had felt deafening, only for something worse to come out of it.
Sobbing.
Just like how Jason had never heard Uncle Joe get real angry like that, neither had Jason ever heard him sob. Jason had poked his head into Uncle Joe’s office. He’d seen him holding a photo. From the angle, Jason hadn’t been able to see who the photo was of. Jason had wanted to do something, but he hadn’t known what to say.
He’d let Uncle Joe be instead.
The events of that day were never brought up again. Not really. Joe told Jason to come to him if his dad ever tried to push that military idea at him again. Jason had asked at that point, “So it’s...not a good thing?”
Joe’s response had been a hard one and a little unclear. “People go into the service for a lot of different reasons. I ain’t knocking those reasons. For some, military is right for them. But you should know what you’re getting yourself into. And you should be goin’ into it for your own reasons. Not ‘cause someone is tryin’ to force you to or is tellin’ you it’s the only option.”
After that, Jason hadn’t asked again. His father had also dropped the topic, at least for a few months. His dad never came to visit Joe’s home during that time. After a time though, when Jason’s dad was calling him regularly, the military came up again and again. Despite promising Uncle Joe he’d tell him if his dad did that again, Jason hadn’t. He’d kept silent and every time his dad called to tell him how fucking disappointed he was, Jason got pushed just a little more towards ‘maybe the military was the only way’.
Rather than going into the military though, the summer after his failed, post-college year had led him into a role he never would have expected.
Camp Director.
The circumstances leading to that had been rather simple and unfortunate. Uncle Joe had fallen and broken his hip just before the summer was supposed to start.
Joe had ended up going to live with another set of relatives. They were close to the hospital where he’d have to have surgery and they had the resources and space necessary as he’d need physical therapy after the surgery. However, that also meant he wouldn’t be able to run the camp. Jason had figured he’d cut his losses and cancel everything, only for Uncle Joe to say, “Hell with that. I know the perfect camp director.”
Jason had just stared on, utterly confused until Joe had plainly said, “I’m talkin’ about you, you dolt.”
Jason had tried to decline, but to no avail. He’d only been working for Joe for a few years, but he’d been coming around the camp nearly all his life. He knew how it ran. He knew what to do, for the most part. And if he had any questions, Uncle Joe reminded him he was just a phone call away. That didn’t exactly alleviate Jason’s anxieties, but in the end, he just couldn’t say no.
Before the campers came, the counselors and the support staff that didn't live in town came a day early. They predictably hounded Jason about Joe’s absence, but no one really questioned Jason’s authority. After everything was explained, the regulars only told Jason to pass a message onto Joe that they all hoped he’d have a speedy recovery. There were a few new faces working that year like pretty much every year, but luckily Jason had a couple of friends he could rely on.
Nick Kay, like Jason, had gone to the camp as a kid, become a counselor, and then staff support. Jason hadn’t been friends with him as a kid though. They’d only really gotten to know each other when Jason first became a counselor. They were the same age with a few similar interests. Jason wasn’t sure if he would have become friends with the guy if he hadn’t been forced to interact with him. However, the last few summers had told Jason he could rely on the guy and Jason was thankful he was part of the staff support group this year.
The other person was Clarice Stokes. She was a couple years younger than him and Nick. Still a camp counselor and in college at the moment. Her straight forward attitude and teasing nature had helped her worm her way into Jason’s small circle of camp friends though. There were others Jason liked, but Nick and Clarice he definitely trusted the most. He’d actually gone out with Clarice two summers back, only for her to bluntly state information that Jason still hadn’t fully come to terms with, even now. He still shoved most of those feelings deep down, rarely bringing them out for anyone else to see.
Despite his own denial, Clarice was the only one he could trust to talk to about it though. The fact that her realization and subsequent breakup hadn’t really changed their friendship either meant Jason sometimes even trusted her more than Nick. He’d even gotten her home number and they’d occasionally called and wrote letters outside of the summer for the last few years. Nick was convinced it was because they were an on again, off again thing. Jason let him believe it. Thankfully, Clarice had never outright denied it either.
Though not as close, there was also Joey and Merwin. Joey was around Clarice’s age. He was still a counselor this year. He also worked part time in the med clinic. Merwin was the guy who’d been in charge of the general store for about the last five years and worked year round since he lived nearby. He was eight years older than Jason and Nick. Had actually served before one too many bullets to the gut had gotten him discharged. He was loud and crass and constantly danced that line between being amusing and annoying as hell. But at least with him around, Jason knew the general store would run smoothly. And he had a technical background. If something broke and Jason needed help or was busy, Merwin could fix it instead.
Besides those four, the rest were more just acquaintances along with the new faces. It looked like everyone was here because they actually wanted to be working here though. Jason was nervous enough as it was. He didn’t need lazy, bored counselors around who might not take the job seriously leading to a kid getting hurt or anything.
With the prep day done, questions answered, and the counselors and staff support settled, the first day of camp came. Only instead of Uncle Joe greeting the parents, it was Jason.
Jason always said he didn’t have a favorite camper. At best, it would have been rude to say such a thing. At worst, it could have really hurt one of the other camper’s feelings. However, Jason absolutely did have a favorite camper, and it was Zain Othman.
It had been Zain’s first year coming to the camp when Jason had first started as a camp counselor. Zain had also been the only new kid in Jason’s cabin and one of the youngest kids at the camp. Whereas all the other kids in the cabin had immediately started testing their new counselor to see what they could and couldn’t get away with, Zain was just trying to find his footing and not be the loner sitting at the picnic table all by himself.
Because of that, Jason had kind of taken Zain under his wing. The year when Jason had become staff support rather than a counselor, Zain had refused to get out of his dad’s car and his dad had come up to Jason instead. The man had been nice before and was nice that year too with a warm, inviting smile. Most of the parents were nice, at least on the surface, but the small interactions Jason had experienced with Salim Othman had always made it feel like the man’s kindness was genuine. Not just because he was following social protocol. On that summer, Salim had walked up to Jason alone.
Jason, who’d already noticed Zain’s tearstained face in the backseat of the car, had immediately asked, “He alright?”
“He saw that his assigned counselor was not one Jason Kolchek,” sighed Salim. He looked tired, like any parent would after dealing with a crying kid all car ride. However, unlike some parents, Salim managed to not sound even slightly irritated with his son. He hadn’t even said ‘sorry, he’s overreacting’ or anything like that. Instead, Salim had simply said, “I know it is a long shot, but I promised him if you were still here, I would ask if he could get moved.”
“Ah, about that. Not actually a counselor this year. Staff support.”
Salim chuckled. “I did not realize there was room for advancement in summer camps.”
“Neither did I until I started workin’ here,” Jason had responded.
“But you will still be around the camp?”
“Oh yeah. All day every day.”
“Then, I hate to impose, but would you speak to him? I have tried to tell him he will still have a good summer, but I think it might mean more coming from the first friend he made here.”
“I don’t mind at all!”
Jason had walked over. He’d knelt by the open door and talked to-at the time-twelve year old kid. He’d done his best to explain he couldn’t be Zain’s camp counselor that year, but he’d always be around if he ever needed him. And if his assigned counselor ever needed help or got sick, Jason would be able to step in.
Zain’s response of, “I hope my counselor gets really sick!” had caused a choked laugh out of his father before Salim had managed a more disapproving look. To be fair, it had been a hard thing not to laugh at. However, after a little more talking and reminding Zain of all the other friends he’d made in past summers that would be there that year, Zain had eventually been convinced to get out of the car. He’d wiped his face, said goodbye to his baba as he called Salim, and had rushed straight to his friends with a pep in his step again.
Salim had sighed in relief and thanked Jason. They’d ended up talking for a few more minutes before Salim had been forced to leave and that summer had gone on in full swing.
This year, with Jason as camp director, Zain was now fourteen. The kid had gotten even taller as Jason watched his favorite camper jump out of his dad’s car.
“Jason!”
Jason laughed as he was nearly knocked over with the hug. “Who the hell are you and what have you done with Zain? Last time I remember, you were no taller than my chin.”
“I know,” Salim sighed. He was close behind with Zain’s luggage in hand, minus the backpack that Zain already had on his shoulder. “How time flies.”
“That it does,” Jason agreed.
“Where’s Old Joe?” asked Zain. Jason wasn’t sure when the nickname had started up. At some point, people in the camp had started calling Uncle Joe, Old Joe, and it had just stuck.
“He’s stayin’ with relatives. He’s ok. Just, unfortunately had an accident that means he can’t be workin’ this summer.”
“I am sorry to hear that,” Salim said. “I wish him well.”
“Thanks.”
“Who’s camp director then?”
“Uh, me. Which I know is a change! And it’s last minute! But Uncle Joe is just a phone call away if I need help. Not that I need help! I’ve got everythin’ down and know exactly what I got to do and—”
“Jason.”
The voice and sudden hand on his shoulder had him calming down instantly. He swallowed and tried not to let his voice crack. “Yes?”
“You will do just fine.”
“You think so? I mean I will! I definitely will. Uh, thank you. For the uh, confidence. I guess.”
“Of course you’ll do great!” Zain piped up. “And now that I’m best friends with the camp director, that means I get special privileges. Oh! Hey Kate!”
“What? No! That’s not how it works!” Jason cried out. However, Zain was already gone, having bounded off to an old friend.
Salim shook his head. He dropped Zain’s stuff on the ground and yelled out, “I will not be dragging your luggage to the cabin! Good-bye Zain!”
Zain gave his dad a quick backwards wave as he fully engrossed himself with the other kids around his age.
“Teenagers, huh?” chuckled Jason.
“Teenagers indeed,” Salim said with a shake of his head. He smiled at Jason again. “Unfortunately, I need to get going, and I am sure you have other parents to talk to. Good luck. I will see you at the end of the summer.”
Jason smiled back. His own nerves and anxieties disappeared for just a second. “See ya then. Have a safe drive back.”
Salim said goodbye again. He walked back to his car and gave one last wave before pulling off. Jason watched him go—
And then the nerves came roaring back as Jason had to go around and tell every parent what was going on this summer. To be fair, he’d tried to contact as many as he could, but not all had answered their phones before the big day. Those that didn’t already know were mostly understanding. A few could have cared less and pretty much ended the conversation with, “Is camp cancelled?”
“Uh, no. As you can see it is not—”
“Then I don’t care.” Those parents had left quickly much to Jason’s annoyance.
A few parents had been a bit concerned, but had calmed down upon realizing Jason was related to Joe. Jason didn’t really get why that made them trust Jason more, but he’d take it. Only one parent got properly upset despite how he had tried to call her several times. She ended up dragging her crying kid back to the car. Handling the fall out of that and getting a refund would be a pain. Jason would probably have to call Uncle Joe to help him with that one, but at least it was only one parent and not the majority of them. Jason did feel bad for the kid though.
With parents informed, goodbyes given, and all the kids divided up into their groups for the summer, Jason instructed the counselors to guide their kids to their assigned cabins. That way they could get settled and set up their bunks. Then, everyone would meet in the mess hall for the first lunch of the summer. Jason went to the lodge right away just to double check everything in the kitchen was on time. Thankfully, he had nothing to worry about and about an hour later, the campers started to trail in. The first cabin to arrive was Clarice’s. She directed her kids towards the start of the cafeteria line before coming to sit by Jason at one of the two, large staff tables. Jason expected her to start talking about her campers or maybe go into some drama that had happened in the past few months that she hadn’t mentioned on the phone or in letters. Instead, she sat down with an absolutely smug grin.
“Look who has a crush.”
“I’m sorry. What?”
“Do I gotta spell it out for you like everything else?”
“Uh, yes. Cause I got no fuckin’ clue what you’re talkin’ about.”
Clarice let out an overexaggerated groan. She leaned in close. “I’m talking about tall, dark and handsome.”
“Who?”
“Urgh! Zain’s father you moron.”
“What? No. That wasn’t-also keep your voice down—”
Clarice grabbed his shoulder and pulled him in close. “I cannot believe you didn’t tell me. We’re best friends and you never mentioned you had a thing for dads.”
Jason could feel his cheeks going red. “I do not!”
“You literally melted when his hand touched you.”
“He was being nice. And I did not!”
“You spent a lot of time talking to him this morning.”
“I talked to all the parents the exact same amount!”
“You absolutely didn’t. I saw those smiles. And the way he smiled back? You know, Zain’s never mentioned his mom, so maybe—”
“Clarice, I have had a total of nine conversations with the man. You know how I know that? Because I have only ever talked to him when he’s dropped off or picked up Zain for summer camp!”
“So? You technically don’t even need to talk to someone to have a crush. Come on. This could be your summer. And all you need to do is to finally take that first step in being honest with yourself which can be as simple as saying ‘I have a crush on the hot, foreign dad’. Hell, you do that and maybe you could finally be out. You could even go and ask Joey out on a date.”
“Firstly, not happenin’. Secondly, not happenin’. Thirdly, definitely not askin’ Joey out even if I was out which I’m not out and there is nothing to be out about. Also, I’m camp director this year. It would be totally inappropriate.”
“God. I think you’re more in the closest than you were last year—and hang on! I thought you said Joey was cute last summer.”
“At the start of last summer. Which was before I realized him and Merwin somehow have the exact same taste in jokes which are obnoxious at best and downright terrible at worst,” groaned Jason. "Also, he may have a 'y' at the end of his name, but my great uncle has the same name. Remember? It would be just a little weird."
“Fair point there. Though now that I think about it, I don’t think Joey talked like that until he started helping around the general store. Hell, maybe you’re not the only one who has a thing for older guys and he’s just been trying to impress Merwin.”
“Ew!”
“What? They’re both adults and it’s just a ten year age gap. I’d guess that’s about the same age gap between you and mister hot dad.”
“Please shut up,” groaned Jason.
Clarice let out a little huff. He was sure she’d hound him about it later. She actually shut up now though as Nick came in. He sat down on Jason’s other side. “What are you two being so damn secretive about? Please tell me this is the summer you’re properly getting back together again and you’ve decided to stop this on again, off again thing.”
“Unfortunately, no,” sighed Clarice. She leaned off of Jason and put her hands behind her head. “I was just trying to tell Jason that Old J always made a speech on the first day of camp and there’s no way in hell he can get out of it now that he’s camp director.”
Jason groaned. His head hit the table. He’d completely forgotten about that.
“Ah, you’ll do fine man,” Nick laughed. “Lucky for you, seems like a few of the cabins are running behind. Should give you about five extra minutes to think of what you’re gonna say.”
Jason could only groan again as Clarice and Nick started to talk. His mind briefly forgot about Clarice’s words, the definitely not handsome face of Zain’s dad, and he did his best to remember Uncle Joe’s past speeches. He thought of the ones he'd heard as a kid and the ones in recent years. As the last camper came in, Jason let out a shaky breath. Clarice and Nick both patted him on the back. Jason waited until all the kids had their food and were seated. Most were eating already. A few who’d been campers for a few years looked up expectantly. Already waiting for that speech despite Uncle Joe not being around.
Jason walked over to where a bell for camp announcements was screwed into the post. Jason rung it just as his great uncle had. Most everyone grew quiet. The few that didn’t, mainly the first timers, were elbowed or told to hush. The ringing of the bell became quieter and quieter until only silence was left.
For a split second, Jason managed to push down all the anxieties he was feeling. He also noticed Zain and a few other campers he’d been a counselor for give him the thumbs up. That helped a small smile form on Jason’s lips. He was definitely pulling a bit of his uncle when he spoke, but he’d always been a good speaker when thrust right into the moment. The moments before and after were always pure nerves, but at least for a few seconds, he could manage to sound confident.
“I wanted to quickly say thank you to everyone again for wishin’ my uncle well. This is the first summer he’s missed since openin’ this place. As for me, I never grew up with any lofty aspirations to be a camp director—” A few chuckles occurred. “—but this place is in my blood. Literally. Lord knows how many times I skinned my knees running on some of them hikin’ trails as a kid.” More laughter along with a few faces pointedly looking at the more clumsy kids that could relate to that sentiment. “I know this will be just as fun as any of our past summers. For all the new comers, welcome, and if any of you campers need anything, you are always welcome to come to me or any of the staff. Once again, welcome, and here’s to the first day of camp.”
There was polite clapping, a few cheers from Zain, and then—
“Hey! We still doing surprise chili night?!” yelled one of the camp counselors. Everyone turned expectantly to Jason.
“Oh. That horrifyin’ tradition?” Joe had never told Jason how he’d come up with it, but on one of the nights in the latter half of the summer, surprise chili night always occurred where each cabin got to pick out a random ingredient to throw into the chili. It was as disgusting as it sounded and an old tradition. Jason grinned. “And let Old Joe down by sayin’ we skipped on his favorite night of summer camp? No way.”
The counselor, along with a few others, groaned, but pretty much everyone else gave loud cheers. Jason did one last round of introductions for all the staff members before telling them to enjoy his lunch. He went and sat back down. Everyone turned back to their friends and started talking. Jason let out a sigh of relief. Clarice punched him in the shoulder.
“See? Told you, you’d do fine hotshot.”
“I think I’m gonna puke,” groaned Jason.
The table laughed while a few others also congratulated Jason and told him he’d do just fine this summer. They quickly went over the plans for the day and that weekend, camp having started on a Friday. Today would involve the usual tour of the campgrounds and some of the trails, along with the counselors going over all rules with their kids. They’d have dinner tonight. Then the kids would be introduced to the special clubs provided by the camp. The kids were to choose three preferences before everyone got divided up. If they weren’t with their cabin, the kids would be doing special activities with one of the specialist counselors for their designated clubs. Some of the camp counselors were also specialist counselors, though a few specialist counselors were only hired to help run the activities for their given club. For example, Clarice had her cabin, but she also ran the astronomy club. Nick, besides being staff support, would also be the one in charge of the range and archery clubs this year.
Once everyone had finished eating, the cleaning roster was also given out. Each day, a cabin would be assigned to clean up in the mess hall of the lodge after all meals. Or if any large group activities happened there, they’d help clean up after that too. As Uncle Joe had always said, it was a good way to keep up a sense of community and to help each other out. And it never hurt to learn some good cleaning skills as well.
With that settled, everyone else departed and the cabin on the first roster started to clean up. Jason stayed behind to help. He was reintroduced to some of the kids while getting to know the one new face in this cabin’s group. Jason then picked another cabin at random to go on the tour with. Some of the kids new the camp like the back of their hand and found this part a little boring, but it was good for the new kids. Having everyone go on these also kept the new kids from feeling singled out. Any of the facilities specifically for the different clubs were also on the tour and gave the kids a nice peak at what they had to choose from. Like the boathouse for the rowing club, the Ampitheater for the drama kids, and the firing range for those interested in improving their hand eye coordination.
When everyone got back to their cabins to go over all the safety rules, Jason took a quick drive on one of the go-carts to the general store. He ran some things by Merwin, took note of some things that needed to be bought from town the next time someone went, and then headed back to the lodge to help prep for dinner.
Dinner was as uneventful as lunch. The specialist counselors all introduced themselves. For those with cabins, it was their second time at introducing themselves to the kids that day. Everyone wrote out their preferences on a piece of paper once all the clubs were introduced. It was near impossible to get everyone their first choice. There were always one or two clubs that were the chosen favorites. Hopefully everyone would end up happy in the end though. Jason had certainly gotten stuck in some clubs which he’d claimed to hate through and through as a kid. Only to at least enjoy the activity by the end of the summer. If not outright love it.
The only real announcement Jason had to make was in regards to the camp radio since he’d forgotten about it earlier. The camp counselor who’d been running it hadn’t come back this year. That meant it was open to anyone, a counselor or older kid, who wished to run it. Though that also meant upkeep and taking care of the equipment. No one immediately jumped at the opportunity. There was a chance no one would take it this year. It had happened in the past. But Jason would just have to wait and see.
After dinner, the assigned cabin helped clean up before leaving with the rest of the campers. There were two cabins in a separate clearing meant for staff who weren’t camp counselors. Most of the staff used them except for a handful that lived in the nearby town, Merwin being one of them.
Since Jason had basically been living with his Uncle Joe up until this point, he had all his belongings at Joe’s place. Jason had planned on living in one of the staff cabins for summer camp. It was way closer than the house that was way out in the woods and away from the camp. However, with Jason being camp director, Joe had told Jason to go ahead and use his private room in the lodge. It wasn’t used during most of the year. Joe had just used it because of the convenience of the lodge being near the campers’ cabins.
It felt weird going into Joe’s office without his great uncle being there. Jason took a second to survey the space that would be his own for the remainder of the summer. A large wall sat on one side. It had a bunch of different pictures of campers throughout the years. It was a tradition, taking a big photo at the end of camp. Uncle Joe had originally planned to put a photo of every year up on the wall. However, he probably hadn’t thought he’d be doing this for so long. Only a handful of the photos were carefully placed on the wall. The rest of the photos were in a giant, ever growing scrapbook that was placed in a drawer somewhere.
The photos on the walls probably seemed random to most. There was no clear order to the years. Jason knew Joe had put each one up for one special reason or another though. The summer where Jason had first come as a camper was displayed on the wall for example.
Along with the summer Jason had come back as a counselor.
Jason looked at each of the photos. One, a tiny, young kid with a missing tooth and a large grin. His great uncle’s hand rested on his head, hair tussled in a large mess. In the other photo, the spitting image of Joe at that age stood next to the man. Jason's great uncle had his arm thrown around Jason’s shoulders. There was a smile on Jason’s face in that photo too. Only...
The phone rang. Jason jolted at the noise. He wondered who it could be as he picked up the phone. He briefly imagined it might be the family that had left. He dreaded having to try and explain to a yelling mom why no, he couldn’t just immediately put the money back in her account. That wasn’t how it worked. At best, it would take a few days.
“Roberts’ Quarry, Summer Camp and Hiking. How may I—”
“Jason.”
Just one word. Just one. Yet that was all it took.
Jason suddenly wished it was that yelling, upset parent. He wasn’t a kid anymore. He was almost halfway to thirty. Yet he immediately sat and bowed his head like a kid sitting in front of a principal. He swallowed thickly, his father’s voice causing his entire body to shudder. “Yes sir?”
“How was the first day?”
“Good sir.”
“Your staff followin’ you? Listen to your orders? Anyone made any mistakes yet?”
Orders? Jason held his tongue. It was only until recently he’d seen just how ridiculous it was that his father had made the military his whole personality. Uncle Joe had served for years and he’d never talked like this about his staff. However, Jason simply said, “Yes sir.”
“I suppose bein’ in charge will do you some good. Make you take some responsibility for once. But I’m serious, Jason. After this, you’re done. You need to start thinkin’ seriously about your life. If not a good job, then the military. That understood?”
“Yes sir.”
“Good kid. Your mother says hi.”
“Hi—” Jason was cut off from the click on the receiver. Jason let the phone fall back into place. He really didn’t know what he was going to do come the end of summer.
It was easy for Uncle Joe to tell him to stick it to his father. He was the man’s actual uncle. Had known Jason’s dad since he was a baby, just like Jason. It was easy for Uncle Joe. It was harder when you’d grown up with the man and his word was law.
For the moment, there wasn’t much Jason could do though. He pushed himself to his feet and headed to the other door in the office. The space was small but comfortable and private. Joe’s clothes were in the closet. He’d put them up and made the bed in preparation for the summer. Just before the fall had happened. Jason had thrown some spare clothes in a bag and shoved them in the bottom of the closet. He’d need to remember to visit the house again to grab more. He could probably go ahead and put Uncle Joe’s clothes back in his main closet too. Maybe even send a few up to him. Just for a change of pace. He should probably call him tomorrow.
Jason went to the bathroom on the right. He took a quick rinse off and brushed his teeth. Then he headed past the closet and into the bedroom.
There was a photo of Joe’s wife and kid on the bedside table. Jason looked at the photo for a second. Of the great aunt and cousin once removed that he’d never had the chance to meet. Jason wondered if Uncle Joe really did see him as the surrogate son or grandson he’d missed out on. Jason was certainly closer to him than others in the family. Even if everyone cared about Uncle Joe and looked on him fondly. To be fair, that was probably because Jason had lived closer meaning he’d gotten to see more of Uncle Joe than the rest. Still, sometimes Jason wished Joe had been the one to raise him. Maybe nothing would have changed. Maybe Jason would have come to this point in his life and still would have felt just as lost. Still, it was a nice thought.
Jason rolled over only to have the light of a full moon hitting him in the face. He got up to adjust the curtains before collapsing back in bed. Though his nerves had been everywhere today, at least the first day of camp had gone off without a hitch. Jason fell asleep quickly while feeling just a little proud of himself. He hoped he’d done his great uncle proud.
The simplicity of that first day was quickly broken when Nick woke him up the next morning with panicked shouts of an animal attack and blood.