"Morning, everyone," Tessa said as she led the way into the office with Brian behind her. As she walked to the desk and signed in, Brian took in his surroundings. The place certainly was kid-friendly with toys everywhere and bright colors on the wall.
"Morning, Tess. Who’s your friend?" the blonde woman behind the desk asked.
Brian smiled and stuck out his hand. "I’m Brian, and I’ll be playing the role of counselor today," he joked.
The woman shook his hand. "Oh, really?" She raised an eyebrow and returned his smile. "I’m Diane, and I run this place."
"Is it alright that I brought him?" Tessa asked, a little concerned.
"Sure. Since I fired Trisha, and we haven’t been able to find a replacement, you’re going to need all the help you can get. Remember, if you need Karen, she’s right down the hall. And, besides, Brian’s cute," Diane stated. She was obviously rather up front about things.
Brian looked at Tessa and noticed that she was turning red. She was so cute when she turned red. For some strange reason, that was one of the most appealing things about her.
"Come on, Brian. There are probably a couple of kids here already," Tessa said, still embarrassed.
"Okay." Brian then turned back to Diane. "It was nice meeting you."
"Oh, quite the gentleman. You take care of our little Tessa, alright?"
"Diane!" Tessa groaned, her face changing to a deeper red.
Brian smiled. "Will do," he said.
At that point, Tessa grabbed him by the arm and led him to the large back room where the summer day camp was. When they walked through the door, Brian saw a couple of kids running around with a frustrated girl chasing after them. The girl looked up, and her face lit up.
"Tess! Thank goodness you’re here! Amber’s at it again," she said gesturing towards the blonde little girl running around with a pack of balloons in her hand.
"Oh, not again," Tessa groaned as she set her stuff down on the counter. She then ran after the little girl. "Amber!"
The other counselor turned to Brian, and her eyes grew as big as saucers. She approached him. "Hi," she said cautiously. "You wouldn’t mind telling me your name, would you? Because you look like somebody I’ve seen before."
"Not at all. I’m Brian," he said with a smile.
She took in a sharp breath. "You’re probably going to think that this is a stupid question, but your last name wouldn’t happen to be Littrell, would it?"
Brian adjusted his Kentucky cap and shifted nervously. He had been enjoying his anonymity, but he couldn’t very well lie to the girl. He looked past her to see if Tessa was still busy with Amber. She was. If he could help it, he didn’t want her to know about the Backstreet Boys until he could get to know her better. He really liked her, and he didn’t want to ruin it.
"Yes, it is," he answered slowly.
"Oh, my God," she whispered. Quickly, she tried to compose herself. "I’m Sharon Brooks, one of the junior counselors. Does Tessa know who you are? I just love your music, and I’m going to the concert on Saturday. How did you get here? How did you neet Tessa? Can I have your autograph? Why didn’t she ever tell me? Why…" It all seemed to roll out in one breath.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Slow down, please," Brian laughed. Sharon took a deep breath and seemed to calm down. "Now, no, Tessa doesn’t know, and please don’t tell her. I want her to get to know me first. My truck broke down, and Tessa was at the same service station. I lent her five dollars. Of course, you can have my autograph, and Tess didn’t tell you because we just met yesterday."
Sharon still looked rather starstruck, but she seemed to have relaxed a little more. "Don’t worry; I won’t tell her. Tessa’s a great person, and she deserves a great guy like you," she smiled.
"Thanks," Brian responded, both to the compliment and the promise.
"What are you two conspiring over here? You’re not planning my birthday party, are you?" Tessa asked as she walked up to them. She was triumphantly holding the bag of balloons.
"No, I was just welcoming him to Friday’s Child’s Summer Day Camp," Sharon grinned with her eyes still on Brian.
"Oh, okay. You don’t have to tell me or anything," Tessa said. Her look seemed to say that she didn’t believe them.
Together, the three of them walked over to the lunch area and sat down at one of the tables. Brian watched as Sharon and Tessa looked around to make sure they knew where their kids were.
Just then, a small bundle of energy dressed in a werewolf costume burst through the door and headed straight for Tessa. He hopped in her lap, saw Brian, and growled. His mother sauntered in after him.
"Ethan, what’s with the costume? I thought you were suppose to be Superman," Tessa said, looking at the little boy with pretty blue eyes. He mumbled his answer because his werewolf teeth filled his mouth.
"Take your teeth out, so I can understand you," Tessa said.
Ethan did as he was told. "My sister made it for me. She said it makes me look like her favorite Backstreet Boy," he answered proudly.
Sharon caught Brian’s eye and smiled. In response, he returned the smile and pulled his cap down a little lower over his eyes.
"He watched Becca’s Backstreet Boys video with her last night, and he liked the werewolf. So, he talked her into making a werewolf costume for him. Last week it was Superman; this week it’s a werewolf," Ethan’s mother smiled.
Tessa returned her smile. "Well, Mrs. Boles, at least it’s a change from the cape."
"Very true," Mrs. Boles answered. She then proceeded to tell Tessa and Sharon what time she’d be back. She kissed Ethan on the top of the head and left.
Ethan waved goodbye to his mother, then turned his attention to Brian. "Who are you?" he asked.
"I’m Brian. Who are you?"
"Ethan. I’m seven years old. How old are you?"
"I’m 24."
"You’re old."
"Yeah."
The little boy then became shy and buried his face in Tessa’s shirt.
"Do you like werewolves, too?" Brian asked with a smile. Ethan nodded. "Do you know how to howl like one?" The little boy nodded again, then sat up and howled for Brian. It was a small howl.
"That’s not a howl," Brian laughed.
"Is, too," Ethan argued.
"Is not."
"Is, too."
"You want me to show you how to howl like a big werewolf?" Brian asked. Ethan nodded, interested. The older guy took off his cap, threw his head back, and let out a big howl. Ethan’s eyes widened. Tessa and Sharon laughed. All the other kids ran to the table. Brian looked over at Ethan and smiled.
"Okay, now it’s your turn. Take a deep breath, throw your head back, and howl. Remember, it comes from your tummy," Brian said as he patted Ethan’s little stomach.
Smiling, Ethan took a deep breath, threw his head back, and howled. Everyone applauded.
"That was good. You make a great werewolf," Brian praised.
"Really?" Ethan asked, his smile widening. He then slid off Tessa’s lap and crawled into Brian’s.
"Yes, really," Brian said, returning the little boy’s smile. He liked Ethan. Ethan reminded him a lot of himself when he was younger.
Ethan cuddled up to Brian, and Brian laughed. He looked over at Tessa to see her smiling and her eyes shining. Finally, she broke the small pause. She looked around at the five kids gathered around the table and at the three that had just walked in.
"Does everyone want to play a game?" she questioned.
A chorus of "yeah’s" filled the room. "Alright," she continued as she turned to Brian. "Do you remember how to play Duck, Duck, Goose?"
"Sure, as long as I get to be It first," he said. Everyone stood up and moved to the carpeted area. They formed a circle, sat down, and Brian started walking around it. He bopped each person on the head as he said, "Duck, duck, duck."
After going around once, he landed on Tessa. "Goose!" he cried. She stood up and chased him around the circle, but he was too quick for her. He slid into her spot, and she was It.
"Alright, who are you?" Kristin demanded when she saw Brian standing in the middle of the room. She strolled in at 10 am, and there was no "hello," no "how are you," just her abrupt question.
"I’m Brian. I would shake your hand, but…" he said. He stood there with one little girl named Kristina wrapped around his leg and Amber in his arms.
Kristin’s stern look faded away into a smile as she took in the scene. Brian was completely surrounded by kids, and he appeared to love it. She shifted her gaze from Brian to Tessa, who was standing next to him.
"Tess, can I speak to you for a minute?" she asked.
"Okay," Tessa said, then turned to Brian and Amber. "I’ll be right back."
The two women walked out the door and into the hallway. "When did we hire a new guy?" Kristin asked as soon as the door closed.
"We didn’t," Tessa answered. "He came with me."
"Okay, when did you get a new boyfriend? I know I can sometimes be a little out of the loop, but damn!"
"He’s not my boyfriend. I met him yesterday at the service station. He was nice enough to pay for my gas when I didn’t have any cash."
Kristin’s joking manner turned serious. "So, why is he here?" she asked.
"I invited him. His truck broke down yesterday, and it’s supposed to be fixed today. That means he’ll leave today. I really like him….a lot. I just wanted to spend some more time with him," Tessa explained.
"Teeesssaaa! You barely know this guy. Where did he come from? Where is he going? You don’t know these things."
"Yes, I do," she paused for a minute. "He, uh, came from Kentucky, and, uh, I have no idea where he’s going," she finished meekly.
Kristin just sighed and dropped her head into her hands. "Tessa, what am I going to do with you?"
Tessa smiled sheepishly. "Well, I just saw him, and it felt so right. It’s like love at first sight, but not, you know?"
Kristin looked at her. "Tessa, you know that kind of stuff can’t happen in real life," she said, then she smiled. "Well, I hope, for your sake, that he turns out to be Mr. Right. Come on, let’s ship half of these kids off to the pool." With that, the two women walked back into the room.
As they opened the door, they saw kids throwing toys everywhere while Sharon and Brian were trying to keep everything under control. Kristin drew herself up to her full 5’2" height and yelled. Everyone stopped.
"Alright, those who are going to the pool, line up here!" she commanded pointing to the door. All the older kids lined up, but the process was very slow. Several nine-, ten-, and eleven-year-old girls were still getting hugs and sheets of paper from Brian. Finally, everyone was in a fairly straight line.
"Okay," Kristin said, "we go!" She opened the door, and the line marched out to the van with Sharon bringing up the rear. When the door closed, Tessa turned around to see Brian smiling at her and the younger kids playing in the play area.
Brian had caused quite a commotion among the older girls that morning, and Tessa couldn’t figure out why. First, the waitress, and now that. There was definitely something strange about this guy, but whatever it was, he wasn’t telling. She decided to shrug it off.
"So, what do we do now?" Brian asked.
Tessa calmly walked behind the counter, grabbed a basketball, and tossed it to him. "Do you know how to play ball?" she answered.