Mom had a million questions, throwing in some she knew I’d want to know about too. Trinity fielded them like a champion.
“Can we see inside the kitchen?” Number one question.
“Absolutely,” Trinity agreed. “I just wanted to give you a general overview and layout of our camp area first.”
Mom nodded, then added, “I also want to see where she will bathe and eat and do her various activities. This is all very new to us.”
“I understand completely,” Trinity said, calm as calm could be. She must be used to worried moms! “I’ll show you everything—safety protocols, hiking regulations, our kitchen, the bathrooms—all of it.”
I could see Mom visibly relax. Maybe then she’d get rid of the gum she’d been chomping on for the past three hours!
The kitchen, well, I don’t actually know what I was expecting, but this place looked ready to feed an army. Next was the garden, which grew strawberries and raspberries and tomatoes. The bathrooms, which they called latrines, had safety rails everywhere, and even nonslip security flooring. Mom gave it all a thumbs-up.
As for me, I was starting to feel impressed. There was gonna be so much to see and do here. I did wonder if everything—like, what we did all day—was also gonna be totally organized or if we ever got a little freedom. I didn’t want to be monitored every single second like I was Penny.
“The stables are just a five-minute walk from here,” Trinity told us, pointing vaguely down the road.
“What can you tell me about the horses?” Mom asked.
“Well,” Trinity began, “horseback riding is one of our campers’ favorite activities! Every horse has been with us for many years, and they’ve been specially trained to understand our campers. You’re gonna love it, Melody!”
I wasn’t so sure. A horse weighed like twenty times more than me! Mom seemed satisfied, however, as she was about to forge ahead with her next question: “And could you tell me—”
That’s when Dad, putting Penny on his shoulders, jumped in. “So what kind of cell phone reception do you have here? Your location is rather remote.”
Trinity waved her hand in the air, like no problem. “No worries there—every parent asks. We’ve got a privately installed TQ/XP/Ten Thousand phone line—guaranteed to connect to the moon if we need to.”
“And counselors always have their phones with them?” Mom asked, her face both a frown and a question.
Trinity nodded with understanding. “We even sleep with them under our pillows. There is no moment we will not have a signal to reach you, or for you to reach us.” Then she handed both Mom and Dad a red card full of emergency contact information. Mom peered at it carefully, then tucked it into her purse.
Penny, who had her legs tucked around Dad’s neck, hollered out, “So what’s wrong with your leg, Trinity?”
Mom gasped. Dad’s eyes went wide. I stifled a giggle. I had wanted to ask that same question, but Mom had taught me to be polite. Penny must have slept through her lesson on tact!
But Trinity simply shrugged. “I was in a car accident several years ago. It doesn’t hurt, and it doesn’t slow me down. Actually,” she continued, winking at Penny, “I think it gives me superpowers!”
Penny’s eyes lit up. “Awesome!” she whispered.
As we continued on our tour, I was wondering when Mom would be done with her zillion questions when I got it. She didn’t want to leave me. And every question kept that from happening. Aw, Mom. I didn’t want her to go either. Or Dad. Or Penny. At the same time, I was itching for them to get out of here. What was that? Yep, I was a total mess.
When we circled back to the parking area, Trinity asked, “Are you ready for this adventure, my friend?”
Yeahhh, so far. I was definitely impressed. At the same time, I kept thinking all I had to do was reach over to touch a button on Elvira to tell them I wasn’t staying. I’m out of here! Yep, I’ve gotta go back home. Now!
But then, from the silence, a bird, redder than red—a cardinal, I think—landed on a branch right beside me. One solitary bird trilled a solo, so clear, so sure of itself. It seemed to sing just for me—an anthem of welcome? Perhaps a signal I should stay? And now I was wondering what other birds lived around here. We had robins and a few sparrows and crows where we lived. Lots of pigeons. I wouldn’t mind seeing other birds.
After signing another stack of paperwork, a final round of hugs from Mom and Dad, a few Mom tears, and—I couldn’t believe it—actual Dad sniffles, my parents headed back to the car with Penny. Trinity laid her hand on my shoulder as if in silent support. Here we go, I was thinking. The adventure begins now!
But as soon as Mom picked Penny up to get her loaded into the car seat, Penny cried out, “Where’s Dee-Dee?”
“Dee-Dee’s going to stay here for a couple of days, sweetie,” I heard Mom tell her.
“All by herself? In the forest?” Penny looked shocked.
“Yes, it’s a summer camp for big girls like Melody,” Dad told her. “She won’t be alone. We talked about this last night, remember?”
“But I didn’t know you were gonna leave her! There are wolves in the woods! And dragons!” Penny wailed. She wiggled and twisted in Mom’s arms, sobbing.
Mom looked at Dad. Dad looked at Mom. I sat there with this woman named Trinity who I did not know, feeling helpless, and guilty for causing Penny to be upset. Penny shimmied down from Mom’s arms, still wailing. Mom moved to catch her, but then Trinity asked, “May I?”
Mom’s eyes went wide, but she gave Trinity a nod.
Trinity walked over, took Penny’s hand, and led her back to me. And Penny? She sure was giving Trinity the stink eye! Still, she let Trinity place her on my lap. I hugged her as closely as my arms would bend.
Penny grabbed me around my neck. “I don’t want you to live in the forest, Dee-Dee.”