Inspire (5 page)

I left my long hair down in loose curls, and decided on my little off the shoulder purple tee dress for my BBQ attire. Since it was still bright out, I put my sunglasses in my hair just in case and then chose to wear my white-knotted thong sandals. I figured too much make-up would seem like I was over doing it, so I kept it simple with just a little mascara and some shimmery lip-gloss. Hopefully, it wouldn’t be too much. This was going to be my first campground event and I had no idea what was appropriate.

“You ready sweetie?” Mom asked, peeking her head in the screen door.

“Yep. Let’s go have some BBQ!” I sarcastically cheered because my nerves were getting the best of me.

“You look gorgeous, don’t worry. I’m sure everyone will be kind and welcoming. After all, aren’t they all tree huggers?” My mom’s attempt at a joke elicited a slight giggle but I still anticipated the worst based on the glares I had received on the river earlier.

When we got up to the main deck where the barbecue was being held, it looked to be in full swing. Everyone was there mingling, the grills were smoking and some country music was playing over the loudspeakers. Of course, I immediately realized that I was overdressed for the occasion because everyone else was in jean shorts and t-shirts.
So much for maintaining a low profile tonight
, I thought as I made my way up to the crowd with my parents.

Right away, a tall, older gentleman came over and greeted us. “Hey! You all must be the Rice family. It’s good to meet you; I’m Barney Medler,” he said, shaking my dad’s hand.

“Yes we are, and it’s nice to finally meet you too. This is my wife Maxine and my daughter Pixie, I mean Paige,” my dad gave the introductions and of course, had to let my nickname slip.

“It’s nice to meet you Maxine,” Barney said, shaking my mom’s hand, “and you Pixie!” he chuckled and then gave me a wink.

Just then, Travis came over to where we were standing. “Hey Dad! The Connors are asking if you have another propane tank. Grill two seems to be running dry,” Travis gave the message and then turned to greet us.

“Okay, I’ll take care of it. This is Mr. and Mrs. Rice and their daughter Pixie, I mean Paige,” Barney said, making the same slip that my dad had.
Geez thanks Daddy!
I mentally snarked. “Paige here is your age, maybe you could introduce her around to everyone. They are going to be with us the entire summer. If you’d excuse me, I need to go fix a grill,” Barney said before turning and making his way back through the crowd.

“Well, please help yourself to some food. All the sides and toppings are over there on that table, and you can grab a dog or burger from any of the grills,” Travis said, pointing my parents in the right direction. “Paige, do you want to come and meet everyone first?” Travis asked, being polite and following his Dad’s instructions.

“Uh, sure,” I said with hesitation, not wanting to be a burden nor wanting to face the firing squad.

“Go meet everyone Pix, we’ll grab you some food if you want,” my Dad encouraged, nudging me towards Travis.

“I’ll get food in a bit,” I said and then followed Travis through the crowd.

“Okay, well over here is the “big kids” table.” Travis chuckled at his joke. “This is the gang you saw earlier on the river,” he said, leading the way to a picnic table in the far left corner. I couldn’t help but check out Travis from behind as he walked. His jeans were hanging low on his hips and his rear was very sexy. The dark navy t-shirt clung to his biceps and exposed his tattoos. It gave me a good chance to see that it was a picture of water swirling around the different symbols. Wow, it was kind of beautiful, if you can say that about a tattoo. I looked ahead as we approached the table to see everyone laughing and eating. Once they became aware of us though, or I should say me, they immediately grew silent.

“Hey guys! I want you to meet Paige. Her family is camping with us this season, and she’s going off to college in the fall too,” Travis said and then turned and started making his way around the table giving introductions. “Paige, this is Scott. He’s from Burlington like me but is a total doofus,” he teased, which earned him a punch in the arm. “Then that’s Kevin from Maine, Maggie and Amber from New Hampshire, Todd from Maine, Britney from Rhode Island, and Ashley is from Massachusetts,” he said, resting his hands on her shoulders as he stood behind her. The gesture hinted that they might be a couple, so I realized she must be his girlfriend.

The boys greeted me and smiled as Travis spoke, but the girls barely mustered up a nod or a smirk. I ignored the girls’ lack of hospitality and tried to break the ice with small talk. “Wow, so everyone is from New England. That’s great. Have you all been coming up here for awhile?” I asked, trying to keep my attention on the girls so that they wouldn’t persecute me.

“Yes, most of us have been coming every summer for the last ten years,” Ashley spoke, sounding rather curt.

“So, where are you from Paige?” Scott asked with a sweeter tone and genuinely sounded interested.

“From East Hampton, New York,” I answered, hoping that all eyes wouldn’t roll at that fact.

“Is this your first time camping?” Kevin chimed in.

“Yes, it is,” I replied then heard Ashley comment, “You can tell.” Without letting her tone faze me, I simply responded. “Yeah, it’s obvious.” I knew that it must be pretty apparent from the shiny new RV, temporary license plate and the fact that we had absolutely no clue what we were doing so I couldn’t blame any of them for noticing.

“Well, you are in a dress,” she snipped, bringing all attention to my attire. My cheeks reddened on the spot and I was surprised by how blatantly rude Ashley was being. Well, I guess I shouldn’t really be surprised. After all, they had already formed their opinion of me earlier.

“Yeah, I guess I am overdressed,” I said, looking down at my dress and trying to play off her remark.

“Don’t listen to her, you look hot!” Scott said, giving me a wink. I didn’t know how to respond and I immediately saw the girls’ irritated looks so I found myself fidgeting with my bracelet.

“Do you want to grab some food while there is still some left?” Travis asked with an apologetic look on his face that relieved some of my tension. At least he saved me from the awkward moment and gave me an out.

“Sure. I’ll go get something. Well, it’s nice to meet you all,” I said before turning and making my way back towards my parents by the grill.
Phew! Wow, that went worse than I expected.

“Hey sweetie! Did you meet the other kids?” mom asked when I came to her side.

“Yep. Let’s just say they aren’t huggers, at least the girls aren’t,” I teased, referencing her earlier joke and shrugging off my disappointment.

“No, the problem is you’re not a tree! They are just jealous of your curves. Well, come and get something to eat with us,” she suggested, accepting my decision to stay in their company. So I made myself a plate, and then joined my parents at the picnic table.

As I ate my food and chatted with my folks, I discreetly took the opportunity to observe the “Big Kids.” From what I could piece together, it seemed as though Maggie and Todd were a couple. They kept smooching and he sat with his arm around her the entire time. Kevin clearly had a thing for Amber, if they weren’t already a couple, because he kept finding reasons to touch her and there was some obvious flirting going on. Scott and Travis seemed to be really close friends and were laughing and joking around with each other, which then left Britney and Ashley alone to converse. I couldn’t hear what the two girls were saying from our table, but I got the impression it was about me from the looks they kept sending my way as they whispered.

Both of the girls were really pretty, so I couldn’t understand why they were acting like they were intimidated by me. Britney had short dark hair which she wore in a stylish haircut, brown eyes and, although she wasn’t super skinny, was definitely cute. Ashley’s hair and eyes were really dark and beautiful, and she had a cute figure too. Neither of them had anything to be insecure about, so I didn’t know why they were intent on making ME feel insecure. I know that Britney’s boyfriend “Skeevy Corey” might have embarrassed her a little this afternoon but did that warrant all of the animosity? After all, she wasn’t even around to witness all of the undressing he had been doing with his eyes. Thank goodness for that, or things might be a lot worse. I might be waking up with toothpaste in my hair or to find our RV covered in toilet paper.

Barney and his wife Lucille, the owners, came over to sit with us for a bit. My parents and them were getting acquainted, the men delighting in the fact they were in similar medical fields. Lucille and my mom instantly hit it off as well, and she filled my mom in on all of the upcoming happenings. There apparently was a bridge league, spa days in town, wine tastings, and all kinds of surprising things that I didn’t expect to be planned at a campground. Well, I guess my mom will be preoccupied soon. Lucille also informed her of tomorrow’s planned event for the adults which was touring a cider mill. My mom eagerly agreed to join them, and they made plans to carpool together.

“Paige, there are lots of things going on with the kids too. I mean with the young adults. I still see Travis as a kid, but he hates when I call him that. Anyway, tomorrow there will be a pool party/ice cream social at two p.m. So I hope you can make it. We have a really great bunch of kids here and I know they will welcome you with open arms. Did you have a chance to meet them all yet?” Lucille had obviously spent her summers watching everyone grow up and had formed a different opinion of them. Clearly she had overestimated their friendliness, but I wasn’t about to alter her view.

“Yes, I did. Thanks. Everyone seems very sweet, I’ll definitely try and make it to the pool party,” I answered politely but had already mentally determined that there was no way in HELL I was going.

“Good. I hope you make it,” Travis’s voice startled me from behind. He came around the table and sat straddling the bench next to his mom.

“Hi sweetie, is everything under control?” she asked, referring to the management of the barbeque.

“Yep, we are good. There’s a bunch of food left and people are still eating,” he informed her and then turned his attention towards me. “Did you get enough to eat Paige?”

“Yes, thanks. It was delicious!” I answered with a smile, and felt the nerves reappearing in my stomach.

“Good. A bunch of us are headed out to see “Mission: Impossible 3. Do you want to join us?” he asked, genuinely sounding hopeful that I might come. I was thankful that I had already seen the movie because I wouldn’t have been able to turn down the offer otherwise. I really didn’t want to be subjected to any more of Ashley today, and staying behind with my parents to read in the trailer would have been a lame excuse.

“Thanks for the invite, but I literally just saw it a few nights ago. It’s good. You all should like it,” I said regretfully, declining the offer.

“When are you all leaving hun?” Travis’s mom asked.

“Not for a while. We’re going to hang out here for a bit, and then go. I’ll make sure we get everything cleaned up first and I’ll have the guys help me stack the tables back up.”

Although he was covered in tattoos, Travis really came across as a responsible guy. It wasn’t what I expected, but so far there were no red flags other than the fact that he might have poor taste when it came to his choice in girlfriends. That is if he was actually dating Ashley, which I still wasn’t certain of.

“Okay, thanks,” his mom said, reaching around to give him a squeeze. He reciprocated the hug and then stood to leave.

“Back to work. Well, I’ll see you tomorrow Paige. Unless you want to see the movie again?” he asked in one last attempt to get me to come.

“Thanks, but I’ll probably crash early. Tubing zapped me today,” I replied sweetly to his kind offer.

“Okay, see you tomorrow then.” He gave me the most adorable smile before turning to make his way back to the group. Butterflies fluttered a little as I realized how charming Travis was, but instantly dissipated when I glanced over and saw Ashley giving me the evil eye again.

“So you all went tubing today?” Lucille asked, interrupting my thoughts.

“Yes, it was a lot of fun,” my mom answered.

“It is. Travis mentioned that they all had gone today as well. It was a beautiful day for it.”

“It was indeed,” my mom agreed.

Just then, Ashley walked by the table. She tried to disguise her interest in our conversation but I noticed her attention right away. “Ashley sweetie, have you met Paige?” Lucille asked, motioning her over to the table.

“Yes, Mrs. Medler,” Ashley stated without acknowledging me.

“You girls show her around tomorrow and make her feel at home, okay?” Lucille asked, still trying to be the gracious host.

“We’re all going out tomorrow, but the pool party’s at two p.m. She can come to that,” Ashley addressed Lucille once again instead of me when she spoke and then left. She purposefully had made no attempts to include me in their plans, but I wasn’t surprised. However, it was a little shocking that she didn’t put on any pretense in front of my mom or Lucille though. If the girl wanted to be with Travis, you would think she would at least pretend in front of his mother. Thankfully, Lucille did not call her back to press her further and spared me any additional embarrassment.

“Don’t mind Ashley, Paige,” Lucille spoke softly. “I’ve noticed that she has been in a bad mood these past couple of days, but Travis won’t tell me what’s going on with her. Boys don’t tell their mothers anything,” she admitted, shaking her head remorsefully. I bet I knew the cause of Ashley’s bad mood, and I’m pretty sure it has everything to do with me. “I hope you and your mom have an open line of communication,” Lucille added and my mom and I both nodded in response.

“Anyway, Ashley really can be a sweetheart when she wants to be. Unfortunately, her mother and father divorced two years ago, so Janice no longer comes for the summers. Her dad, Richard, the man in the Red Sox shirt and jeans standing over by the grill, remarried a year and a half ago. His new wife Brianna, is the one in the red tank top and white crop pants standing next to him.”