“It is the season of surprises,” Easton replies, interlocking his fingers with mine, the slate tucked underneath his arm.
I glance back to where we did the work. “Oh, wait, I should clean up the evidence.”
I push the shards around so they’re hidden and nothing sharp can hurt us when we come back at night. Then I join him on the path, our fingers locking together again.
I hide the slate in my ever-growing pile in my cubby.
Luckily, the camp kitchen is empty. Everyone else must have scurried away to do secret things in this time of secrecy. Easton gives me another kiss.
“Okay, now, turn around. I’ll see you later,” Easton says.
“It’s fine. I’m going to the beach anyway,” I say, taking my notebook and heading for the sea. I plop down in the shade, my back resting against a rock.
One gift down, four to go. Now I just have to come up with four more good ideas. I’m... vibrating inside. I’m honestly happy. Maybe this Christmas won’t be so bad.
“Hey there, Chiefie!” Calvin’s working on the WaveRunner again.
I jump off the rock and tuck my notebook under my arm. “How’s it going? Did you get the carburetor back in?” I ask.
Calvin nods. “Yup. I think it might actually be time to see if it’s working.”
“You’re kidding. Really?”
“Nope. Let’s do it. You want to do the honors?” He closes the panel on the backside. “Well, no. Maybe you should stand over there. I don’t want you to get all mucky if it spurts things.”
I watch the tick in Calvin’s neck. I don’t think he really means “mucky”—I think he means if it explodes. But I nod and step to the side.
He turns the key once, and nothing happens. He tries again, and it sputters, starts, and then stops again. Calvin wrinkles his nose. He grabs a tool from the box, opens the panel, and fiddles with something. Then he steps back, turns the key, and this timethe engine turns over. He lets it run for a minute, then turns it off.
“I think we’re good to go. Want to take a spin with me and see how it works?”
I glance at the ocean, then back at Calvin.
“We haven’t taken the tender out in a long time... or at least, I haven’t been on it in a while,” I say, unsure if I want to go or not. “Shouldn’t we tell the others first?”
Calvin glances at the jungle. “I suppose we should. Let me see if I can find somebody. I’ll be right back.”
He runs off to the camp, and I sit down again, pondering while staring at my notebook, pen in hand, my lips twitching left and right. I’m coming up blank, and I don’t like it. I tap my pen on my pad, but no good ideas come to mind for the other guys.
By the time Calvin returns with life vests in hand, Zane is with him.
“Zane’s going to help,” Calvin says.
“Okay,” I reply. I tuck my notebook underneath the toolbox, then second-guess myself. “I’ll be right back.” I run it all the way to my cubby, and Dante’s there in the kitchen.
“What’s going on?” he asks.
I’m out of breath. This is exciting. I didn’t doubt that Calvin would get the WaveRunner fixed. The other guys? Yeah, not so much. Easton’s been calling it Calvin’s salvaged sculpture. “Calvin got the WaveRunner fixed. We’re gonna take it for a spin,” I say to Dante.
“Oh, I want to see!” Dante quickly covers up his lunch in progress and follows me out.
Calvin and Zane are hauling the WaveRunner to the water on a bamboo sled. Dante joins in to help while I hold the life jackets.
After a few minutes of fiddling, Calvin gets on it and starts it right up. He’s cautious and takes it only twenty feet out into the shallows. But it’s not spouting flames or even smoke anymore.He widens his loop from the shallows, taking it farther out before he carefully brings it back in, avoiding the rocks on the beach.
“Are you ready for that ride I promised, Haley?” Calvin asks.
I nod, handing him a life jacket. He begrudgingly puts it on, and I do as well.
