The Unstoppable Zuri

One Super Summer

I smiled at my dad as he took some pictures of me with my suitcase in the front of the house. Today was the beginning of July. I was nine and a half weeks pregnant, but thankfully my camp t-shirt was pretty baggy on me, not like I had much of a bump anyways.

    Each year, I went to Camp Shooting Stars for three weeks. Our motto was "a special camp for special kids." I've gone every year since I was five. A couple years ago, Tricia even went with me. That was the most wild three weeks of my life. We got into a lot of trouble.

    But this year was different. Now that I was sixteen, I was going to be a camp counselor. At the end of these three weeks, I'd be walking away with about eight-hundred dollars in cold, hard cash. Or a check. Or did I set up a direct deposit? I couldn't remember, and I didn't know if it was just pure excitement or pregnancy brain.

Anyway, it could be fun money, baby money, or all those kinds of things. I really, really hoped I'd be able to use it for a nice crib, along with the mattress and sheet sets. I'd been doing a lot of browsing. Tricia, now that she was home with her family for the summer and had access to a computer, was constantly sending me links to things.

"Okay, into the car we go," my dad said.

We got into his car and started our beautiful, two-hour drive into the Adirondacks. I tried to just take everything in. Life was good. Or at least, as good as it could be.

Elliot finished his time at the hospital, and I ended up blocking both him and Kathleen's numbers, at least for now. Custody was something that could wait until after camp. Leaving Elliot was a big deal, and I just had to take it a little bit at a time.

I always saw in movies and TV shows where after a breakup, the girl goes through and tosses all the guys stuff in a trash bag or throws it on a fire. Elliot and I just had so many memories. So many things that were part of our lives together. I even had spare clothes for him in the bottom drawer of my dresser for when he stayed over.

I tried to just throw things out a little at a time. A card here, a photo there, a gift somewhere. My bedroom that was a treasure trove of all our memories started to become something totally new as I filled it with new things, things that Elliot had no part in, or at least, that he wasn't going to.

My bottom dresser drawer became full of maternity sweaters for the fall. The spot on my bookshelf where we kept the silly space novels we read together was now full of all my baby and parenting books. My bulletin board became less pictures of us, and more pictures of my little one.

Doctor Andrews recommended monthly ultrasounds, so I'd already gotten a second one a week ago. My baby turned from a dot into a kidney bean with little stumpy arms and legs. I couldn't wait to see what they'd look like when I got back. I was mostly excited for the baby to go from "they" to "he or she."

As we got higher and higher into the mountains, my mind just kept flashing to Elliot. What was he thinking about right now? Did he know I was thinking of him? Did he regret what he did? Was he okay? Did he realize what he lost? I wondered about these things constantly.

    "Hey, I know you're thinking of him," my dad said.

    I turned towards him. "How did you know?"

    "You get a certain look on your face. I know it's difficult, but you will get through this. Just enjoy the time you have as a single woman before the baby comes. Have fun. Do what you want now, because when you have a baby, the only thing you want to do is sleep because you're so tired."

    I chuckled. "Okay, Papa. I know."

We were high enough in the mountains where the clouds started to be the same height as us. That's how I knew we were close. We went over the bridge near camp, which was deep in the forest. The car drove under the Shooting Stars camp sign and pulled into the long driveway of the main campground. My heart fluttered with what I hoped was excitement and not the start of heartburn.

My dad pulled off into the area where the rest of the cars were. Today was three days before the campers arrived. I'd be going through an intensive counselor training session, starting in a little over an hour.

"Zuri? Is that you?"

I turned and saw a minivan across the way. The door of it was opened and a powered ramp was unfolding. When it settled on the ground, I saw a girl in a power wheelchair come into view and started coming down the ramp. I squealed when I saw her.

"Danielle! Danielle!" I said, getting over to her as fast as my legs would take me.

"Don't rush! I'm coming!" she said.

When we met, I bent down to give her a quick hug.

"Well, here we are again," she said. "You ready for this training? I couldn't believe how hard it was when I did it for the first time last year."

"I'm just glad to see you in person and not just Facetime," I said, chuckling. "We gotta make these couple of weeks count, because I know I won't be back next year."

"Hey, never say never," Danielle said.

I watched as my dad pulled my big purple suitcase out of the car and started pulling it over towards us. Danielle's parents were walking over with her bags, too. We all went together towards the registration table, where we were given special counselor t-shirts and lanyards.

After that, we walked towards the cabin for the feminine-identifying counselors. Danielle and I both needed bottom bunks, so we made sure to get ones that were right next to each other. Our parents helped us unload our suitcases by putting our cute sheets on the beds, then getting our clothes into the little dressers next to our beds.

Once we were all settled into our cabin, they made an announcement that all counselors were due in the rec hall for our first round of training in just twenty minutes. That meant it was time to say goodbye to my dad.

I walked with him out to his car. I could tell he was doing his best to try and pull himself together. He did this every year.

"I usually tell you how much I'll miss you, and do not mistake me, I will. Very much," he said. "But this summer is different, and it's different in a special way, because you won't be coming to camp anymore. You'll have a baby to take care of."

"I know, Papa."

"So this summer at camp, I'm going to ask you to make me a promise."

I groaned. "I know to be careful because I'm pregnant. I'll watch out for ticks and use sunscreen."

"Well, that too, but this promise is different," he said. "I want you to promise me that this year at camp, you'll have the best time. You'll have the best summer of your whole life."

I didn't hesitate. I just hugged him.

"I will, Papa. I promise."

***

8/28/22: Thank you all for 150 reads!