Camp Mansfield - Chapter Ten

The crackle of small rocks knocking against each other as the pressure of tires beat against the country road echoes in the valley of the wooded camp.  The gentle cool breeze shifts the ember, scarlet, and hazel hue leaves across the front window pane of the truck slightly frosted from the morning dew  

Breathing in as much as her lungs can capture in that moment, Faith wishes to remember this precise event forever.  She feels at peace and happy.  She softly shivers  while tightening the knitted aqua scarf around her neck to keep her warm.  She instinctively claps her covered gloved hands and lets out a light sigh of a mixture  between enjoyment and pleasure.  "This is going to be a good day" she whispers to herself confirming her mantra for life. 

As the gears contradict this statement of affirmation by letting out an argumentative roar, she speaks out load as if the truck needs to hear some encouraging words of hope, "Come on Bessie, you can work. It will be all right, just stay in gear a little longer".  She nervously attempts to stubbornly move the gear forward into its natural place.  It clicks. Faith exhales and relaxes back into the well worn leather seat of the truck grateful that Bessie is working for yet another day.

While approaching the long gravel driveway to the Bertrams caretakers home, she notices an unfamiliar dark blue luxury car parked in front of the garage.  Faith can feel her heart drop into her stomach as her body unwillingly responds to this dire event.  Looking down into her lap in hopes of gaining some missing confidence, she reminds herself that it has been years since she was last around the Crawfords, "Everyone grows up at some time, right?" stating out loud to comfort herself.   She pulls down the visor in front of her and looks into her own reflection, stating as a matter of fact "You're being silly.  You're both adults now.  Life has entirely moved on.  She's probably a wonderful person now.  You were just kids then".  Satisfied, she smiles as if confirming this hopeful piece of knowledge and firmly flips the visor back into place.

Sliding out of the driver's door, she plants her feet solidly on the ground, then removes the momentarily visible dust from her faded patched jeans.  She straightens the purple knitted beanie that she is wearing to keep her head warm. Placing her gloves in the pocket of her parka, Faith heads towards the front door to greet her old friends, or in a more truthful statement, unintentional rivals.

After ringing the door bell, Tom  who is Ted's older brother, wistfully greets her at the door, "Faithless!  We've been waiting for you.  We have so many good stories that the Crawfords have been reminding us of when we were younger. Faith you were the best.  You were a natural comedienne.  We've been laughing all morning of your tales of adventure that Mary Crawford has been sharing with us."

Feeling the color rise in her cheeks, Faith only nods hoping that this day will improve in the very near future.  She wonders just how good Mary's memory is since it was such a long time ago.  While chuckling with a hidden smirk, Tom wraps his arm around Faith's shoulder and squeezes tightly pushing her towards the living room where her past is gathered together again.

Sitting next to the fire where he has saved a place for Faith, Ted is suddenly aware that his older brother is moving Faith towards the sofa where there appears to be an empty spot reserved for her.  Not wanting his brother to win the unspoken challenge, he yells out "Hey Faith, you can sit over here!  You look cold, the fire will warm you up."

Shyly Faith nods her head and obediently moves towards the fire place.  Tom tilts his head and makes eye contact with Ted minutely shaking his head in defeat.   Noticing the interaction and not one to ignore the opportunity to be the center of attention, Mary Crawford jumps to her feet and grabs each of Faith's hands into her own.  "I can't believe it's you!  It's been so long!  You haven't changed one bit.  You look the same as always as if you've never left being on a farm.  Even your clothes are the same!" while looking back over her shoulder at Tom and flirtatiously winking as if also participating on the same team.

"I thought that you weren't coming until the end of the week" quietly returns Faith internally wishing that had been the case to give her more time with Ted on her own.

"I talked to Henry and we both couldn't wait any longer to see our old friends.  When we heard that both Ted and Tom were here, we just HAD to come right now"  tossing her shoulders up and down for special affect while shining a bright friendly smile to Ted and Tom each in turn making sure to catch a second of eye contact with both.  Resting her hand on Tom's arm, "We wouldn't have wanted to miss seeing you again!"

Raising her eyebrows, Faith grins and nods in acknowledgement of their rational for arriving early.  Henry smoothly takes a sip of his coffee while focusing his gaze on Faith before speaking.  "So Faith, how long has it been?  It looks like the country air has been good for you.  You've always been the outdoorsy type that I remember."

"I guess it has been  about ten years" reservedly answers Faith still determining what changes in Henry have occurred during that time.  "It looks like you and Mary seem to be doing well.  It's been awhile."

Uncrossing his legs, Henry takes a moment before speaking to make sure that he has Faith's full attention and everyone else in the room as well, "Yes, things have been quite good for us.  I don't know how much Ted has told you, but we are renting his parents retirement home about a mile up the road for the summer.  I do a lot of consulting with my management firm and it's the perfect place to form a new PR project for my team."

Looking over at Mary who has now moved into her former spot next to Ted, Faith politely asks as a experienced hostess "What about you, Mary?  What kind of things have you been doing?"

"Well, I've been doing so much that I don't even know where to start.  I've traveled all over the world.  I currently have a tenure now at the university where I lecture. I have more than enough time on my hands that I just don't know what to do with so I thought that the camp would be a wonderful place for some downtime to recover with such handsome friends too" turning towards Ted and placing her hand on his knee for a second but definitely longer than necessary to make an impression.  In turn, Ted's cheeks change into a temporary pinkish glow and fade as his eyes follow the smile flirtatiously reflecting back at him.

Nervously, Faith nibbles on her lower lip feeling subconscious and out of place. "I'd like to hear about your travels.  I've traveled some but not anywhere near as much as you have.  I hope to see different places in the future when I get a chance."

"You just have to take the opportunity Faith when it is available" encourages Mary while flipping the edges of her raven hair over her shoulder. "You've never been one to take risks, so I will be your self-appointed mentor and help you discover yourself.  Won't this be fun?  You can be my pet project!  I need something to do while I am here, and you are my answer."

Surprised and confused about how to politely respond to being described as a Pygmalion project, Faith finds herself responding "Uhhh .... okay...." with the remnants of a grimace of a smile.

"I think Faith can figure out things on her own.  She's one of the smartest people I know" counters Ted observing Faith's discomfort of the prospective game plan.

"Well, she can come to me anytime that she wants.  It doesn't look like she's had much of a chance to leave camp. I could teach her a lot from my own experiences" defiantly adds Mary as if Faith is no longer part of the conversation but rather an art project instead. "What do you think Henry?  Maybe I could give Faith an entire makeover.  Wardrobe, hair, just some updating here and there ... you know this would be quite easy for me."

Enjoying the opportunity to share his opinion, Henry advocates "I think Mary could tremendously help Faith.  It doesn't appear that Faith has changed much.  She's always been the shy one.  Mary knows her stuff.  Faith could be her model of her talented artistic ability."

"Strategy would be more like it" confirms Tom wanting to join the conversation taking a few moments break from answering emails on his phone. "She'll make Faith good enough to be the runner-up, you know Mary must come in first no matter what game she is playing."

"Touche Tom!" smirks Mary walking over to him and placing her hand on Tom's shoulder and looking cunningly sideways "You are quite apt at playing games too."

Standing up as if to be an equal competitor but offering truce, Tom asks "Would you like another cup of coffee?  I'm heading to the kitchen."

"Yes, that would be great" giggling Mary ethusiastically replies stroking his arm as he starts to walk away "You know I'm just joking with you.  Each of us know the rules of the game and how to play it well."

A little confused by the conversation, Ted looks towards Faith for a silent explanation that she does not visibly offer. Faith is relieved that conversation has changed from being centered around herself to someone else.

"What time are your sisters arriving?" excitedly asks Henry "There were plenty of good time with Mariah and Julia.  Does Mariah still sing?  Or has she finally given it up for a better cause?"

"Of course I still sing" confidently answers Mariah walking into the room as if she is a star entering into the world of her fandom.  "I'm the best there is."

"Mariah!" while immediately jumping up and giving her a huge hug, Henry holds her a foot away and then they hug again "It's so good to see you!"

Mariah brushes some sticky foam hair away from her face before replying, "You can never keep a hair in place with the wind outside.  It's good to see you too Henry!  It's been such a long time.  I can't believe it.  You must be use to everyone admiring you.  I think you could be on the cover of GQ."

In response Henry poses for a second as he replies "Well, you look good too Mariah.  Time is ageless with you."

"Oh I didn't see you in the corner.  You have always been quiet like a mouse.  You're name should have been Minnie instead of Faith.  Get it?" Mariah giggles hoping others will join in her own sense of humor,  "I don't think you ever spoke much but you always are scampering place to place with your tiny feet for food, work, or whatever."

Unsure of how to respond to the unaccustomed childlike teasing, Faith stares at her as if pretending not to hear and then looks down at her hot chocolate simmering in the cup before replying. "It's nice to see you again too, Mariah."

"Let me tell you about myself, Henry, because I don't know if you have heard or not yet" informs Mariah moving in as close as she can on the sofa while squeezing between her brother and Henry.  Accidentally falling into him as she sits down, Mariah leans over and grabs Henry's arm for support "These heels.  I don't know why I wear them.  At $500 a pair that should be able to float, right?"

For a moment Faith lets her imagination wander and dreams of being able to float out of the room to back into the comfort of her own living room.  She sighs confirming her own inner thoughts  and subconsciously states out loud, "Maybe one day I'll need to do that".

"What are you thinking about Faith?  You seem a little lost in thought" asks Ted interrupting her thoughts, "Maybe floating shoes?"

Feeling as if she has been caught, Faith raises her eyebrows and smiles back at Ted  feeling as if he can read her mind, "Just for a moment ..."

"You use to daydream a lot.  You were always getting in trouble for not paying attention" remembers Mariah, "I thought it was so funny when Captain Johnson was leading the chorus at camp and you were dreaming in your own world as usual while the guys went over their parts, and I told you that the Captain needed you to stand up and sing the first line of the song when he really had just paused to pray.  You stood up and sang it for us all.  It was the funniest thing ever.  Do you remember Henry?"  Grabbing his shoulder to confirm his participation in their secret prank.

"Yes, I do.  Do you want to sing it for us now Faith?  I'm sure that I can remember the words" laughs Tom remembering the absurd moment of time.  "You sang it very well."

Blushing Faith adds "yeah, sometimes ... I just don't know"  agreeing that even as an adult she still continues to have those type of public moments on occasion.

"You did sing it well.  But I could have sung it better I'm sure.  I was just never given the opportunity.  They always let you sing.  You must have begged them for the solos Faith.  I wish that I could have brown-nosed as much as you" snidely remarks Mariah as if they were fifteen again competing with each other for a prize.

"I never asked to sing a solo, it just happened" honestly replies Faith not wanting to hurt Mariah for memories that cannot be replaced but are no longer relevant.

"Whatever"  retorts Mariah still feeling as if she was erroneously replaced as the star "it's doesn't matter. I have my own fan club online."

Feeling mutual support Tom and Henry share a quick glance between each other wondering how these supposed tone-deaf fans came into existence.

"That's very interesting Mariah" curiously assesses Mary guarding the temperature of the emotions in the room "When and where do you perform?  The next time, let me know and I will go see you."

"You can listen to me as much as you would like.  I  regularly post to my youtube channel once a week.  I find Karoake songs and share them with my fans. I'm quite popular" confidently assures Mariah "I already have 23 views this month for one of my songs."

Unable to hold it in any longer, Ted starts to chuckle and chokes grabbing the cup of coffee next to him to defer his reaction.

Squinting her eyes as if daring Ted to challenge her, Mariah defiantly exclaims "Some people just don't appreciate the amazing talent that is in front of them. What do brothers know anyway?"

Just at that moment, a loud knock at the door can be heard throughout the living room, a few seconds later Julia barges into the room.  "I'm here!  Why didn't anyone tell me you were all already here.  I guess I'm just always fashionably late ...."

Walking over to her, Henry gives Julia a nice welcoming hug which Julia more than politely responds to and impulsively gushes "Wow Henry. You're so good looking now! Long time no see!"

Then after a long awkward pause of staring at Henry, Julia looks around "Oh hi Mary!  That dress is to die for!  Where did you get it?  It's perfect on you!"

Julia finds a spot on the carpet in front of where Henry is sitting and leans back against the sofa.  Faith offers "Hi Julia.  How are you doing?"

"Faith I didn't even notice you" honestly replies Julia taking out her cosmetic case and checking her lipstick in the mirror. "I'm doing well, thanks.  Hey Henry, what are you doing tomorrow night?"

"Tomorrow?  I hadn't thought about it" looking around to the group Henry asks "Do you have any plans for tomorrow?  Would you like to do something together?"

"Yes, that sounds wonderful!" exclaims Mariah,"I don't have any plans at all!"

"You do to!" argues Julia "Rush is coming into town.  You're picking him up at the airport. Remember him? The walking piece of celery with absolutely no personality whatsoever.  The guy you're practically engaged to!"

"That's not fair Julia", snaps Mariah but inwardly agreeing without malice, "Rush will be here tomorrow and he can join all of us."

When Faith thinks of Rush by contrast she doesn't recall him not having a personality but only sometimes saying the wrong things at the wrong moment which unfortunately he seemed to have a talent at doing.  She looks over at Mariah and wonders how they got together other than the fact he probably adores her and Mariah would appreciate the attention of anyone adoring her.

"How did you two end up dating?" inquires Henry trying to piece a timeline in his mind of when he broke up with Mariah and when the relationship started with Rush.  The last he remembered was that Rush had dated Faith, or at least that is what Rush use to tell everyone although he can't recall them ever being together as a couple.

"We started going out the day we broke up our first year of college.  Faith tried to steal him from me, but I was no competition for her" explains Mariah projecting her focus directly at Faith to ensure that she is aware that she lost.

Crunching her brows together, Faith can't recall ever keeping Rush from noticing Mariah, let alone dating her, but allows Mariah space for her ego.

"Rush thought I was absolutely the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.  According to him, it only took him minutes to realize that I was the only one for him" shares Mariah embellishing the reality of things where she actually was waiting three months for him to ask her out on their first date after much conniving and consternation.  "Faith didn't have a chance once I walked into the room."

Sipping on her hot chocolate, Faith nods her head in agreement feeling that she was glad that fish swam on by.   She can only recall him following her around class to class, asking people to move so he could sit next to her, purposely arranging to be in the same study groups, and thinking the entire time that he did not know the definition of a boundary or space.

"Rush was so sweet to me" challenges Mary with an air of superiority "I often received tiny presents in my mail box or a gift by my door from him.  I'm sure he was my secret admirer. I had so many though.  But he was definitely one of them.  Isn't it funny what you remember so many years later? I wonder if Rush will still remember his crush on me when I see him?"

"I think all the guys liked you, Sis.  How could they not?" encourages Henry feeling proud of his sister's popularity among his friends.  "I also remember you created a sibling rivalry between Ted and Tom over the years."

"It wasn't quite like that" intercedes Tom acknowledging his interest in Mary while looking directly at her across the room  "My heart was definitely hers but Ted was good about keeping that secret to himself. But we all have moved on, haven't we?"

"So, where are we going tomorrow?" asks Ted wanting to change the subject to avoid any unwanted public confessions "I heard there is an Autumn Festival  with the Northern Staff Band visiting in the area if anyone would like to attend."

"I haven't been to a band concert in awhile, it sounds good to me" offers Faith hoping to spend more time with Ted.

"Yeah, I would like to hear some excellent Euphonium playing.  I haven't played in a few years so it would be good to catch up with some old friends" suggests Tom helping Mary put her coat on.

"I guess it's a plan then.  Let's meet at the corps at 7 pm so that we can sit together for the concert" Mary decides for the group moving next to Henry by the door "We'll see you tomorrow!  Maybe Rush will join us too."

After the Crawfords leave for the evening, Ted turns towards Faith "Hold on a minute, I'll take you back".

"It's okay, I brought the truck over" reminds Faith wishing that she had not drove but walked that night.

"I need to take a look at the truck tomorrow in the daylight.  Let me drive you back to your cottage.  It's dark and cold out right now.  I think the temperature has dropped quite a few degrees" offers Ted wanting to talk with her for awhile without his family around to participate.

"Thank you for looking at the truck.  It is in dire need of a tune-up" replies Faith feeling relieved to have a legitimate excuse to spend a few more minutes with Ted.

"Let me get the door for you" politely offers Ted opening the passenger car door allowing Faith to get in before shutting it again. Faith smiles at him feeling sweetly flattered that he would treat her in such a gentlemanly way.

"Thank you for taking me home" gratefully Faith replies while tightening her scarf again and checking to see that her gloves are all the way on. Ted looks at her feeling slightly disappointed that they won't have much time left together.

"I hope you didn't listen too much to the nonsense of my sisters.   I don't remember you ever competing with them for attention, it was just the way things turned out" offers Ted  feeling  uncomfortably jealous "Henry hasn't changed much.  He's always been a player.  I'm surprised he could keep track of who he was dating."

Not entirely sure how to respond, Faith nods her head in agreement.  Feeling cautious she asks "What did you think of Mary?  She seemed very happy to see you."

"Mary has always been aware of her beauty" honestly replies Ted without thinking how his answer might affect Faith "She's easily the center of attention. I remember all the guys wanted to date her in college. A handful of my friends use to carry pictures of her in their wallets."

"Oh" is all that Faith can say.  Her heart sinks as she watches Ted respond to her question.

"Are you all right? You seem pretty quiet tonight" notices Ted turning up the heat "Are you warm enough?"

"Yes I'm fine" politely responds Faith finding her purse lodged in the floor of the car under the seat as Ted parks the car in her driveway.  Jumping out of the car before the conversation can continue, Faith waves back halfway up the driveway dashing for her front door "Thank you for the ride home.  See you tomorrow".