Battle on The Home Front

As soon as I walked in the camp store, Mrs. Godfrey greeted me with an order to follow her to the office. The girls headed into the community room behind Mr. Godfrey to begin morning activities with their personal entertainment director. The girls adored Gordy and he felt the same about them. Today he would have them put together all the puzzles in the back room that had been tossed from their boxes.

"Thank you for sending Gordy to pick us up this morning. I'm afraid old Betsey the Bug will be sitting dead in your parking lot until I figure something out," I said to Mrs. Godfrey.

"Oh, don't worry, she's not in anyone's way. Our grandson Tyler knows a thing or two about cars if you want him to take a look at it. He'll be in later today to help Gordy with a compressor," she offered. "Now, the reason I wanted to speak with you is we have an older couple, the Morgans, who can't continue the camping life, so they want us to sell their camper."

"Oh, I can't afford a fancy RV!" I exclaimed.

"No, no. We'll sell it at the end of the season when the fishermen start coming in. They usually have more money to spend than the families we host in the Summer," she quickly added.

"Good. I'm saving money for a trailer down the road, and it's slow going as it is," I confessed.

"Yes, Janie told me. She also mentioned that your hours are inhumanly long and you are wearing yourself to a frazzle."

"I'm sorry. I didn't ask her to say anything. I mean, I never complained," I stuttered, turning shades of red. God, I hope she didn't think I wasn't grateful for the job.

"No, no. Don't worry. Janie has a sixth sense about these things and I trust her judgment with the employees. She's right. It is way too much for one person, now that we are in full swing. You need help, and fewer hours but we're strapped for cash right now too."

"Right, you're getting cameras on the grounds? I'm sorry. I hope this isn't my fault," I stammered.

"Heavens no! I'm glad you and the girls didn't get hurt and I'm glad you discovered the problem or we'd be hosting families all Summer unaware of a stalker spying on people."

"Okay. Good, I guess."

"So, instead of a raise, Janie and Linda will cover the three up-ground bathrooms and pool changing rooms for you, and we're offering you a free place to stay with the girls until the camper is sold. That way you can save money for your new place and you won't be working such long hours."

"Wow. I don't know what to say. That's very generous. What about the Peeping Tom, though?"

"We are getting security cameras and my grandson will be filling in at night as security for the rest of the Summer session. That ought to keep the prowlers away. You can move in as soon as you'd like. It's fully furnished too."

"I, I don't know what to say. You've been so good to the girls and me. Thank you."

"You're a hard worker, Karol. We feel blessed to have you and the girls are sweet. Gordy has a little more spring in his step this week, now that he has a task every day...that I don't supervise over his shoulder," she laughed.

Before I dragged the cleaning supplies out of the camp store, I stopped at the restaurant to tell Mike what was going on. "Hey, you were right. They offered me the RV for the Summer. No more rent or depending on old Bessie the Bug to get me to work."

"Hey, that's great! I can help you move your furniture when it's time."

"It's furnished, so I don't know what to do with my stuff."

"They have a storage shed in the back of the pump house. I'm sure they'll let you use it," he said.

"Well, that's great. Um, thanks for last night. The girls had a blast."

"See you."

A man of few words was beginning to open up. He wasn't as grumpy as I had originally thought. Nice. Today was looking like a winner!