Page 47 of Mr. B

“And plan to stay that way. Miss Cassandra, do you have a husband at home?”

She glanced at Wes. “No. I’m afraid marriage didn’t really work out for me.”

“Sorry to hear that. His loss.”

“Hmm. We are much better off as slightly antagonistic exes passively aggressively raising our daughter together.”

“What does he do in Bridgeport?”

“He’s not in Bridgeport. He lives in Seattle.”

“Well, that makes things a little easier.”

“I suppose.”

Wes stood. “Excuse me. I’ve got to, ah…I’ll be right back.” Once outside, it was easier to breathe, and the tightness in his chest eased a little. Nick, Seattle, failed marriage? “Maybe you shouldn’t have married the bastard in the first place.” He took another breath. And maybe you should grow the hell up.

He took a few more minutes, then went back inside. The kids were finishing their dessert, taking their trays to the dish bins, and clearing them off. He went to the front of the room and moved the small lectern. When everyone had returned to their tables, he whistled.

The kids all stopped talking and turned to him. “Welcome.” He got various responses from the kids. “I’m going to make this short tonight because we’ve got a storm headed our way, and I want to spend some time at the fire pit before the rain starts.” He glanced at the table with Cassandra and Lester. “You all know Coach Porter.” The kids cheered. “And Dr. Jordan has joined us for the first time this year. I expect you all to make her feel welcome.” More cheering and clapping. “You’ve all met your cabin counselors, and you’ll get to know the others soon enough. Let’s have a great week. My door is always open. Although I’ll mostly be outside with you all day, just come talk to me if you have a problem.”

He stepped back, and Lester stepped up to the podium. “I have the dubious honor of being the disciplinarian. But I know you all will behave. Nonetheless, I will review the rules. We have only three. Respect your counselors and the other campers. Lights out at ten, no excuses. And no fighting. If you have an issue with someone, come to me, Dr. Jordan, or Mr. Buchanan. Any questions?”

One of the boys held up his hand. “How about…” He glanced at the boys at his table. “Spending quality time with someone special?” The boys all grinned.

“There will be no sneaking off with anyone, special or not.” He cleared his throat. “You know what I mean.”

The boy sat down.

“Your counselor’s job is to keep tabs on you. If we have to go looking for you, you’ll find yourself waiting for your parents to pick you up. Now, who wants to volunteer to help me get the fire pit ready?”

Several boys from the football team raised their hands.

“Thank you, men. The rest of you can go back to your cabins. We’ll all meet at the fire pit at seven.”

Wes had stayed on his feet while Lester talked to the students, but as everyone started dispersing, he walked over to Cassandra.

She stood up. “You two seem to have this handled. I’m not sure what my role is.”

“Search party.”

“What?”

He smiled. “If we need to go track down a couple of kids making out in the bushes. It helps to have an extra person.”

She nudged him. “Wow. I feel so needed.”

“You will have plenty to do.”

“What did Brian do?”

“Hmm. Not a lot. Brian was kind of useless.”

“Well, I will do my best not to be useless.”

“I would expect no less. Do you want to go haul wood to the fire pit?”

“Um…”