Julie Ortolon - Almost Perfect

"Camp Enchantment is more than just a place for kids to come to spend a few weeks in the out-of-doors," he continued. "It's a place steeped in tradition. Since it was founded in the early nineteen hundreds, the Bobcats and the Foxes have been racing canoes and competing on the archery range."

"Go, Bobcats!" Dana punched the air with her fist.

"Go, Foxes!" Sandy answered in kind.

This time Joe's smile made it to his eyes, a rarity that turned Maddy's insides to pure jelly. "Through teamwork and healthy competition we have helped kids gain the confidence to achieve their personal best. The Rangers taught me the importance of teamwork. In this case, the objective isn't to cap-ture a spit of land or defeat an enemy, but to live up to our motto."

" 'Building character and memories to last a lifetime,' " Mama quoted.

"Exactly." Joe nodded. "As we're working together over the next week, preparing for the annual invasion of five hundred campers, I'd like all of us to keep that objective in mind and look for ways to make this summer a positive experience for everyone.

"Knowing all of you, I'm sure you've been thinking about the summer as well, and what projects you'd like to do. So, I'd like to go around the table and have each of you share your goals. Carol, since you're always the queen of organization, we'll start with you."

"Okay." Carol opened a folder and started handing out papers. "I've made a schedule-"

Bobbi burst out laughing. "What?" Carol frowned.

"Nothing." Joe smoothed the smile from his face. "We all live for your schedules."

"As well you should." Carol nodded smartly and launched into what needed to be done by what day in order to ensure the efficient running of the camp office.

The others followed with their ideas for the summer and the plans they'd been working on. Listening to them, Joe found himself as impressed this year as he had been last with their ideas. Too bad their enthusiasm wasn't enough to distract him from the woman who sat catty-corner from him.

Maddy, he kept thinking, what are you doing here?

She looked unbearably appealing, naturally sexy, and completely out of place. He'd watched her dash across the game field with her skirt swirling about her calves and those ridiculously inappropri-ate shoes. Even with her feet tucked safely out of sight, his mind kept drifting to the bright orange sandals with long laces wrapped about her ankles- and how much he'd like to unwrap those laces.

Then there was the yellow top. Tank tops normally looked better on someone with tanner skin and more muscle definition. On her, though, it worked. God, it worked. The knit fabric cupped her breasts, showed a hint of cleavage, and filled his head with thoughts of running his hands up and down her arms.

Or simply holding her hand.

He'd forgotten the way they used to hold hands everywhere they went. Now the memory returned along with the memory of other little pleasures. It hadn't all been about sex. There had been genuine caring. At least on his end.

"Maddy," Carol said, jolting him with the mere sound of the name, "since this is your first time working at a summer camp, do you need help planning your activities?"

"Not too much, actually."

He felt her hesitate as she flicked a nervous glance his way. Then she straightened, as if coming to the same conclusion he had: that pretending to be strangers was the best way to get through this meeting.

"Mama sent lots of information from previous years, plus I found a bunch of books filled with craft projects. Here's a list of projects I'd like to do." She started her own stack of papers around the table. "I'm open for suggestions, though, since y'all have more experience working with the kids."

Taking one of the sheets, he saw that she was remarkably well prepared for the job. So much for being able to fire her on the grounds of incompe-tence. That would have been too neat and easy. And life, he'd learned, was rarely neat or easy.

Finally they finished dividing up the work detail for cleaning and prepping the camp.

"Okay," he said, glancing at his watch, ready to wrap things up. "I think that covers enough for now. We have an hour before dinner, which will be a hamburger cookout by the river."

"So we're free to go?" Dana asked.

"You're dismissed," Joe confirmed.

"Woo-hoo!" Dana jumped up and turned to Bobbi. "You know what that means."

"Badminton rematch," Bobbi answered. "Prepare to get trounced."

"In your dreams!" The two took off at a full run.

The other counselors followed at a more sedate pace. Joe had an uneasy moment when Maddy didn't immediately stand. Surely she wasn't going to sit there with nothing but his mother as a buffer between them. Luckily, Carol turned when she reached the edge of the patio. "Maddy, aren't you coming?"

"Oh." She straightened as if surprised they would include her. "Yes, of course." She grabbed -her enormous hippie purse and followed. Apparently her fondness for funky, out-of-date clothes hadn't faded.

Now that her back was to him, he watched her openly. The others quickly closed ranks around her, and she laughed at something one of them said. The sound sent him hurtling back to the first time he'd seen her. It was right after he'd moved from Albuquerque to Austin. He was walking down the hall of his new high school with his head down, his hands in his pocket, and a hitch in his step that let everyone know "Yeah, I'm bad." He heard a laugh, not a girly giggle but an all-out laugh.

He looked up and saw Maddy walking toward him with a pack of girls. The sight of her throwing back her head and laughing stopped him in his tracks. He stood there bug-eyed as she continued past him, sucker punched by something that went beyond the normal adolescent-hormones-gone-haywire. One thought rang in his brain: I want. The wanting filled him with an intensity he rarely allowed. Couldn't afford to allow. But with Maddy, he'd dared more than want. He'd dared to have.

And he'd relearned one of life's cruelest lessons, that having and keeping are not the same thing.

He turned to his mother, who sat calmly watching him.

"I have one question," he finally said.

"Yes?"

"What is she doing here?"

"Maddy?" His mother blinked her blue eyes as if the question confused her. Which he knew it didn't. Not for a minute. "She's here to work as our new A and C coordinator."

"But why? It's been bugging me all afternoon. Considering the way she dumped me, I have a hard time believing that she came out here hoping to take up where we left off. And if that was what she wanted, why the job? Why not just contact me?"

His mother pursed her lips, considering. "And if she had called, what would you have said?"

"Nothing. I would have hung up." Then promptly had heart failure.

"Exactly. It's a little harder to hang up when she's here in person."

"Conflicting emotions clamped about his chest.

"Are you saying she does want to get back together?"

"I didn't 'say' that."

"Okay-" He ran a hand over his hair and tried to think. "Let's say she does, which blows my mind to even think about. Why the job? Why not come out here on the pretext of visiting you? Why would a thirty-two-year-old woman travel hundreds of miles to take a job at a summer camp? It can't be for the money. The job doesn't pay that much. So what is she doing here?"

"Why don't you ask her?"

Because that would involve talking to her.

Leaning forward, she patted his hand. "Ask her, Joe. Otherwise you're just going to drive yourself crazy wondering."

He dropped his head forward in defeat. "I hate it when you're right."

"Yes, I know." She rose and kissed the top -of his head.

After she left, he sat a long time-driving himself crazy.

Maddy returned to her apartment after a miserably awkward evening and checked her e-mail. Christine had finally chimed in on her earlier exchange with Amy.

Message: Come on, Mad, how bad can it be? So the man was startled to see you. He'll recover and things will be fine.

Maddy: I don't think so. We just spent three hours together at a hamburger cookout where we managed to not exchange one single word.

Christine, who was apparently online, responded right away: I take it the man's a brooder.

Maddy: Try World-Class Brooder. And he seems to have matured a lot over the years, but apparently that hasn't changed.

Christine: So what did you do in the past when he brooded?

Maddy stared at the screen, remembering so many things. A bittersweet ache settled in her chest as she typed her reply: I'd find a way to make him laugh. I don't think that's an option anymore. I feel like such an idiot for coming here. How can I make the next twelve weeks bearable for both of us?

Christine: Okay, I'll ignore the obvious wisecrack about sex and try my hand at some serious advice. Reread that xchapter in Jane's book about getting along with men in the workplace. It pains me to say this (since I'm still pissed about her using us), but I actually agree with her there. And remember that's ALL you have to do-get along with this guy. He's not the main reason you're there. Patching things up and having wild sex were just a potential side benefit. Your real goal is to get your work in a gallery. Don't lose sight of that. And don't forget that Amy and I think you're wonderful, no matter what some brooding male thinks.

Maddy: Thanks, C.

Christine: You're welcome. Now you go get some sleep. I'm off to save lives.

Closing the laptop, Maddy glanced at the glossy self-help book sitting on the end table next to her. She picked it up with a sigh. If nothing else, maybe reading would help her sleep.

If you want to succeed in the business world, learn to leave your emotions at home.

– How to Have a Perfect Life

After a restless night, Maddy rose early enough the following morning to watch the sunrise. She stood on her balcony sipping coffee as the light show played before her, starting with a blush and building to a blaze, like a symphony of color. Dawn had always been her favorite time of day, which was something she and Amy had in common.

More than once they'd watched the sunrise together. For Maddy, the start of a new day held infinite promise and excitement. For Amy, it was a time when yesterday's troubles still lay sleeping.

She remembered one morning when Amy confided in a hushed voice that when she was a child, she believed that if she was very quiet and still, the bad things of the world would forget to wake up. The theory had intrigued Maddy. Too bad she could never be quiet or still long enough to test it. Who could, though, when the world held so many wonderful things to do and see and experience?

This morning was a perfect example. How could she hold back the thrill of watching a new day begin? The mountain air felt crisp as the smell of coffee rose from the warm cup cradled in her hands. The sun climbed higher, gilding the tops of the peaks while the valley remained cloaked in blue shadow.

The sight brought the never-ending urge to capture it with color on canvas.

If she was quiet and still, maybe the tension with Joe would forget to wake up, but then, maybe the opportunities that lay before her would do the same. Christine had been right about taking Jane's advice. She was here to go after something she'd always wanted. If that meant living with Joe's brooding animosity, she would do so calmly, professionally, and unemotionally.

With that in mind, she started to go back inside, but a movement along the road caught her eye. She peered into the long blue shadows that lay across the road and saw Joe running up the hill, charging toward her at a fast, steady clip. Her heart skipped a beat.

Was something wrong?

Her mind bounced from one possibility to the next: Mama was having a heart attack, one of the girls was hurt, there was a forest fire heading over the mountain and they needed to evacuate. Or some new anger had set Joe off and he wanted to yell at her.

She braced herself, preparing to dash for her robe before he made it up the stairs to pound on her door. Yet when he reached level ground, he veered toward the head of the trail back down the mountain, which would have him jogging right past her balcony. Jogging! She nearly smacked her fore-head. He wasn't coming to see her. He was out for a morning jog.

And gifting her with an inspiring sight.