Chapter Thirty-Three: Trust

Sneakers grabbed Race's shoulder and pulled him aside, as they walked up towards the cabin after lunch. "So, what's going on with Jack and David?" he asked.

"How would I know?" Race answered.

"You know everything that goes on," Sneakers reminded him. Racetrack shrugged, because that was basically true. "And there's a lot of talking going on in the counselor cabin, and none of it is good. So what's up?"

"Why, what have you heard?" Racetrack asked.

Sneakers glanced around to make sure no one else was listening; he was pretty sure the rest of the bunk could hear, but on the other hand, he was also pretty sure they'd heard about this already. It seemed like everyone had.

He leaned down and half-whispered to Race, "They were having sex in the stables."

Racetrack stopped walking and stared at him.

"What?" Sneakers demanded.

"That is the stupidest thing I've ever heard," Racetrack answered, rolling his eyes.

"Then what happened? Jack definitely had patrol last night, and you saw Denton come ask for David to—"

"Sneakers, can you honestly imagine David having sex with anyone?" Racetrack asked.

"Well... no, but—"

"Then there you go." Racetrack started walking again.

"Then what happened?"

"How should I know?"

"Race, come on."

Racetrack sighed. "I don't know what happened," he said, which was sort of true; he knew something had happened, if not what (though he was pretty sure he could safely assure Sneakers that no one had been having sex). "And even if I did, I'm pretty sure no one involved would want me to talk about it."

"So you do know."

"I didn't say that."

Sneakers shrugged. "Well, yeah, but you were lying when you said you didn't know, and we both know that. Anyway, I think you should tell me what's going on so I can get people to stop gossiping. I mean, the truth has got to be better than the borderline porn people are discussing."

Race rolled his eyes. "I'll look into it. No promises."

"Of course."

Racetrack stepped away from Sneakers so he could continue on the path, up to the infirmary. David hadn't been at lunch, and neither had Jack; presumably, they were both up in the infirmary or in the office. Which certainly didn't do anything to dispel the rumors.

Triage was giving out meds in the infirmary. She raised an eyebrow. "Can I help you, Racetrack?"

"Actually, I thought maybe I could help you." He shot her his best smile, the one that often kept him out of trouble with his mother. "I heard David was really sick, I thought maybe he'd need me to go pick up some clothes for him for the next few days."

"Oh." She frowned. "Well, uh, that won't be necessary."

"Really? Then what's going on? Is David okay?"

She sighed. Sometimes, Racetrack was impressed by just how good he was at reading people's emotions. Well, that and exploiting them; but that didn't sound nearly so noble.

"It's nothing you need to worry about, honey. Why don't you get on back to your cabin?"

"Okay," he said. "Tell David I say—"

"Anthony. Dear. Just who I wanted to see."

He swiveled to see his mother standing at the top of the staircase down to the office.

"That never bodes well for me," Racetrack answered.

"Not generally, no. Downstairs, Anthony Emilio Higgins."

"Full name? What did I do?" he demanded, shooting a desperate look at Triage, then following his mother downstairs. In the office, he took the chair in front of the desk, since his mother sat next to Denton behind it.

"Tony," Denton said, nodding a little.

"Hi, Mr. Denton. Um, did I do something? Because I'm pretty sure for a change I haven't."

"A change, indeed," Denton mumbled, then coughed guiltily. "No, Tony, you aren't in trouble, so far as we know."

"Though that could change, so think carefully before you speak," his mother added.

He raised an eyebrow. "Well. Okay. Should I call my lawyer?"

"Might not be a bad idea," Denton mused. He glanced at Mrs. Higgins. "Actually, we will need to call him, unfortunately."

"You don't know that for sure," Mrs. Higgins answered defensively.

"Maria..." He sighed. "Well, talk to the boy; you said he'd have answers."

"Answers?" Racetrack repeated. "Lawyers? Mom, what's going on?"

"You tell me," she answered. "It seems like you always know what's going on."

"You know, people keep telling me that. Maybe if you told me what you think I'm supposed to know, I could let you know what's going on."

She sighed. "What do you know about Jack and David?'

"Well, I've known Jack since I was about six, so I know a fair amount about him. David, on the other hand—"

"Don't be smart, Anthony," she snapped.

"I can't help it, that's the way you raised me." He grinned.

She didn't look amused.

He swallowed. Okay, enough joking. "I know they were good friends," he said. "And David was doing some pretty heavy questioning about, you know, things. I'm pretty sure Jack has a crush on him." He shrugged. "And I know that David snuck out last night. I don't know what happened, but according to Sneakers, the gossip among counselors is that they were having sex. Which I highly, highly doubt."

"Sex?" Denton repeated, and glanced at Mrs. Higgins. "Oh, dear."

"No one was having sex," she said firmly.

"Like I said. I didn't think so." Racetrack frowned. "So what's with the rumors? What happened?"

"We were hoping you'd know," Mrs. Higgins said. "Please, Tony, this is very important. You know how much I care about Jack, and I know you'd do anything to protect him. But you have to understand." She took a deep breath. "If there is anything inappropriate between Jack and David, we need to know, and we need to act. For our own protection, Tony. It would just be too dangerous to look the other way; you know I'd rather pretend this wasn't... wasn't a problem.

"But this... If David's parents—or anyone else's—find out even about the suspicions, let alone if they turn out to be true, it's... We could be slapped with a lawsuit. A bad one."

"How bad?" Racetrack asked.

Denton took a deep breath. "Hard to say. Like I said, we'll need to consult a lawyer to see how best to protect ourselves. But my guess would be... with the implications of a counselor taking advantage of a camper, and, as much as I hate to say this, the fact that he's gay makes it worse... We could be talking about a lot of money. Probably enough to shut down the camp."

"What?" Racetrack asked. "You're not... you can't be serious. I mean, that's insane."

Mrs. Higgins sighed. "Well, financially, we aren't the strongest we've ever been at the moment," she said quietly. "We aren't in debt, certainly; but let's just say the cost of putting the eight of you through college..."

"If we were sued, would we be able to pay?"

"That would depend on the lawsuit, the settlement, the legal fees...." Denton looked over at Mrs. Higgins.

"In the worst case scenario—which, unfortunately, is not unrealistic—we would sell the camp. This land is very valuable; it's undeveloped lakeside property. I've gotten many offers from developers through the years; it would be easy to build a small resort, or several summer homes, on the land we own. Presumably, it would be enough to cover any debts."

"But we'd lose the camp?" Racetrack asked. "I mean... Whoever you sold it to, they wouldn't keep it open?"

She shook her head no.

"But..." He groaned. "Oh, man. This sucks."

She nodded. "So we are taking this investigation very seriously. You know I adore Jack, and David... Though I'll deny it if asked, I'm fond of him as well. They're both good kids, and Jack in particular deserves some happiness. But..." She trailed off. "Anything you can tell us will be helpful, and important, Tony. I trust you."

He took a deep breath. Trust was such a tricky thing, and at that moment he'd have given anything to have never gained anyone's trust at all. To not have Jack's, and not know that Jack was gay, and that he'd kissed David; to not have David's, so he wouldn't know that David had fallen for Jack, and asked him out; to not have his mother's, and to not have their whole future on the line, so he could lie to protect his friends.

But he couldn't. He couldn't lie, not when there was so much at stake.

But he couldn't tell, either. He couldn't betray Jack and David's trust like that, not when he knew that, contract aside, nothing inappropriate had happened.

"So, uh," he finally said. "If something had happened... I mean, what would we do? To protect ourselves?"

"I would have to fire Jack," she said simply. "And alert the Jacobs family, offer them a refund for the summer—let them know that the problem is not one that will be repeated, that it had been dealt with."

"That's all? There wouldn't be any... any other solution?"

"I'm afraid not, Tony," Denton said.

Racetrack took a deep breath. "I don't know. I wish... This whole thing sucks. I don't know what happened last night, I really don't. Can I, um, have some time to think?"

She nodded. "Just let me know if anything occurs to you."

"Can I talk to Jack and David?" he asked.

She shook her head no.

"Okay," he said, and stood up. "Um, I'll... I mean, if I think of anything or hear anything..."

"Thank you, Tony. I'm sorry to get you involved in this at all. I truly am."

"Yeah." He nodded. "Okay, I'll just be in my cabin."

But back at the cabin, when he walked in, everyone went silent and stared.

"Well?" Sneakers asked. "Did you do your voodoo magic and find out what's going on?"

He shook his head. "You know, it's really... Nothing," he said. "Seriously."

No one said anything, but it wasn't the most convincing lie he had ever told.

*

Mush was frustrated.

Actually, that was an understatement. Mush was pretty sure that he was going to kill someone. The previous summer had been pretty bad, too, but it seemed like in the past year, the girls had actually gone insane.

He trudged to the theater after lunch, to begin rehearsals for the week's show, and he hoped that David and Jack's mysterious disappearance (and possible drug habits—he wasn't sure he believed that, but he'd heard they'd been caught smoking up in the stables) would be interesting enough that people would talk about that and leave him alone.

But no.

Or rather, not quite; Jack and David were the subject of a fair amount of gossip, and Mush, as David's bunkmate, was assumed to know what had happened. So instead of listening to people gossip and trying to sneak off by himself, he had Trixie grab on to his left arm and Mondie grab on to his right arm, and they were talking across him. He wasn't sure which was worse; when they got along and gossiped while trying to grope him, or when they where shrieking and screaming while trying to grope him.

Either way, he really didn't want to be groped.

"Mush?" Trixie asked. "What do you think?"

"What?" Mush asked tiredly, a firm tug on his arm bringing him back to reality.

"About Jack," Mondie explained, tugging on his other arm, not to be outdone. "I've always kind of thought he was gay."

"I don't think Jack is gay, and please stop pulling on my arms," he grumbled.

Mondie giggled like it was the cleverest thing anyone had ever said.

"Yeah, Mondie, stop it!" Trixie snapped, sticking out her tongue.

"You stop, too," Mush snapped back, yanking both of his arms free. "In fact, stop touching me. At all. Ever. Okay? Great. Thanks." He stood up and stalked off.

He was pretty sure that if they didn't leave him alone soon, he was going to do more than snap at them; he was going to snap. Period.

*

By that evening, it nothing had been decided. Hesitantly, David was allowed out to rejoin activities, after swearing he wouldn't say anything to anyone. Not that he would have anyway—not with Jack's reputation, and job, on the line. Though it wasn't easy, when everyone kept staring at him and murmuring things as soon as he'd walked by.

He ignored it, though, and figured out he was better off than Jack. Jack was, for all intents and purposes, being quarantined; no one was allowed to go in to talk to him (except for Denton and Mrs. Higgins, and Triage with his dinner), until the situation was worked out. It wasn't even that they thought someone might start passing messages, allowing Jack and David to work out a consistent story together—they already knew the stories were off, and someone was lying. The administrators just didn't know what to do.

After dinner, Mrs. Higgins, against Denton's warnings, stepped into the infirmary where Jack was staying to talk to him again. Jack, who had been lying on the bed, sat up when she walked in.

"'Evening," he mumbled.

"I imagine this has been a bad day for you," she said.

He shrugged. "Could be worse." He hesitated, then, "If you're gonna make it worse, just tell me; I can handle it."

"No," she said. "Not yet. I..." She sighed. "There's a lot at stake, here. I know you understand that. So, Jack, I need to know something. Tell me honestly. Why did you lie to me about not knowing David is gay?"

He swallowed hard. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"David told us himself that he is, and that you know. Please, explain to me why you were lying."

Jack stared at his hands, and took awhile to speak. She waited patiently, her presence almost gentle. Finally, he took a deep breath.

"It's hard, you know," he said. "That's why I didn't want to be out at camp. It's harder when you're not like Rob and Rich, when you don't... you don't have someone to make it worth while to tell the world. I didn't know Davey told you. I figured it was his business, if he didn't want to... It wasn't my place." He looked up. "His parents don't know, no one knows but me and Race. Honest truth."

"Do you know if he was gay before this summer?"

"I figure he was born that way. I know I was." Jack shrugged. "But nah, he hadn't... I mean, as far as I know, I was the first person to know. I think he's only been realizing it since he's been here."

"Hmm." Mrs. Higgins nodded. "Do you think David might have feelings for you?"

Jack froze, momentarily looking like a deer caught in headlights. Finally, he shrugged. "Maybe. I dunno. I kinda hoped so, but... I mean, you probably figured."

She nodded. She had figured.

"But we didn't..." Jack trailed off.

She nodded. "Jack... I just don't know what to think. I don't know who to believe. But I know you, and I know you are more responsible than this; and you're certainly too responsible to lie when it isn't just a matter of your job on the line, but the possibility of the camp getting shut down, should things go bad. So answer me again: did anything inappropriate happen between you and David?"

Jack took a deep breath.

Kissing, he thought vaguely, wasn't inappropriate for boyfriends. And the thought of spending an extra two weeks in with his dad in New York... David would never tell anyone, and so there could be no lawsuit. It would be fine.

"No, Mrs. Higgins," he said. "Nothing inappropriate. Just talking."

She nodded. "Good. Do you mind too much sleeping up here tonight? I have to talk to Bryan."

"Whatever's easiest for you," he said.

She nodded. "And Jack," she mused, "you know, in two weeks, David won't be a camper anymore." She waved a little bit and let herself out.

*

Racetrack realized quickly that catching Jack and David together the next day was going to be nearly impossible. Which was, really, probably for the best (though the longing, desperate looks they kept giving each other didn't help). The next morning, Jack reappeared at breakfast, recovered from the 'stomachache' that had kept him in the infirmary the whole previous day.

But still, Race needed to talk to both of them, preferably together. Jack, as he often did, wandered towards the counselor downtime cabin to smoke. Which made it relatively easy—he just grabbed David's arm and dragged.

"But," David protested, freeing his arm as he saw where they were heading, "that's the counselor cabin, and we aren't counselors. And also, me, Jack, you know... avoiding being alone together?"

"It's just for a few minutes." Race pushed David into the cabin, and Jack paused, mid-light. He coughed guiltily, dropped the lighter back into his pocket, and half-heartedly set the cigarette down.

"Uh, hey," he said.

"Hi," David said. "Race?"

"Yeah, yeah." Race took a deep breath. "I need you to both swear you won't do so much as hold hands for the rest of the summer, and David, I need you to promise, cross your heart, that you won't tell your parents about..." He waved his hand in Jack's general direction. "This."

"Uh..." David shrugged. "I kind of do have to eventually tell them," he said. "I mean, when I invite over Jack after camp and we, you know, are dating, they probably will get the hint."

"No," Race said. "Fine, tell them eventually, but since you two are so fond of hiding, just do it for awhile longer. So there's no way they'll figure out about you two getting together at camp. Swear it."

"Race, what's going on?" Jack asked.

"What's going on is my mother trusting me not to let you two get us sued," he said. "She really, really wants to believe you're innocent, Jack, but Denton doesn't; and if we get sued, we could have to sell the camp, and it would get shut down, and my family would have to move, and..." He took a deep breath. "We can't afford to get sued. For a lot of reasons."

"My parents wouldn't sue," David said. "No matter what, okay? They'd be happy for me."

"And do you think the camp could take the bad publicity if it got out that a counselor-camper relationship had been swept under the carpet? If anyone else finds out, we might not get sued, but it would still be bad. Like, really bad." Race looked at them seriously. "I'm sorry. You know I'm really, really happy for you two, I am. But..."

"Don't worry, Race," Jack said. "David and I kind of already figured that we couldn't... You know, be together for the rest of the summer."

"Yeah," David said. "I mean, it sucks. But we don't want to cause trouble. Race, I swear, my parents won't sue. And... I mean, Jack's going to come visit me after camp ends either way, but I guess... We just won't tell my parents we're together, and next time he visits, uh, we'll say we got together last time, after camp ended. Okay?" He looked over at Jack and Race.

Jack nodded. And finally, Race nodded. "Just don't be stupid, okay?"

"We won't," Jack promised. "I mean, I'm dumb, but Davey's real smart." He grinned over at David, who blushed a little and stared down at the floor.

"Oh, yeah, and stop looking at him like that, it makes things really obvious now that Mom knows what to look for."

"I'll try," Jack promised. "But really, you should be telling David not to be so cute all the time."

"Shut up," David said, the blush deepening.

"See? How am I not supposed to grin like an idiot at him when he's blushing like that?"

"Jack, shut up," David mumbled again.

"See, this is what I mean. Stop it!" Racetrack rolled his eyes, but also cracked a hint of a smile. "Okay, so just don't be stupid, and you're not being fired, and so it all works out. Great. We'd better go before, you know..."

"Yeah." Jack looked over at David and grinned one more time. "Have a good day."

"You, too."

"You should come to riding."

"Not going to happen." But David smiled back at him, until Racetrack grabbed his arm again and pulled him out of the cabin.

*

After lunch, Sneakers shot an apprehensive glance around at the crowd emptying out of the dining hall, and managed to pick out Dutchy, in his red floral Hawaiian shirt. Dutchy was heading off towards the counselor cabin; not too surprising, considering it was pretty well known that Dutchy, well... he didn't exactly dislike campers, but they did make him stressed out, and he preferred to spend as much time away from them as possible.

Though Sneakers was slightly surprised that Specs wasn't following him. The counselor cabin was along the path to the boat beach, and some of the things he'd heard about Dutchy, Specs, and the boat shed...

"Hey, Dutch," he said, catching up. "What's up?"

Dutchy shrugged amiably. "Chilling."

"You're off on Tuesday, right?"

"Yep."

"Can you do me a favor?"

Dutchy shrugged noncommittally.

"Uh, I need to change days off with someone. Tuesday would work for me. Could you... maybe...?"

Dutchy raised an eyebrow. "Nope."

"Oh."

"Nothing personal, though; Rich has the day off with me, we don't get much time alone. You know how that is." He cocked his head a little, considering. "Surprised you want to change, don't you and Paint have the day off together?"

"Uh, yeah. That's kind of why I need to change."

"Got in a fight?"

"No! No, nothing like that. I just need..." He trailed off. "It's kind of a secret."

"Oooookay."

"But if you can't help me, I understand."

Dutchy shrugged. "Sorry. You could ask Alec, maybe."

"Alec?"

"Bumlets. He doesn't have anyone he's terribly worried about seeing on his day off. Unlike us."

"Yeaaaah. Though... I gotta say, from what I hear, you don't wait for days off. That's what the boatshed is for, huh?"

"That and the arts'n'crafts cabin, I've heard." Dutchy smirked.

Sneakers almost choked. "Yeah, well, uh, thanks anyway, Dutch."

"No problem." Dutchy turned into the counselor cabin, and Sneakers back the way he'd come, now needing to track down Bumlets instead.

*

By the hour before dinner, things seemed almost normal. There was still a fair amount of gossip, and people giving Jack and David sideways looks; but on the other hand, Jack and David were going out of their way not to look at each other. Which, considering how close they were supposed to be as friends, seemed odd; but Mrs. Higgins didn't question it.

Of course, there were still questions to answer. And some of them she didn't want to think too closely about.

"Maria, I would just like to state again, I think this is a bad idea," Denton said, glancing over at Mr. Higgins, hoping again for some support.

"It isn't your home and your career on the line," she reminded him.

"It is part of my career; and that's not the point. You pay me to help look out for you, and I have your interests in mind. You know that."

"We both do," Mr. Higgins said. "But it's not a simple issue."

"I know you both care about Jack, but—"

"Jack and David's stories were very clear on what had happened. I see no reason to doubt them."

"Except they didn't match," Denton reminded her.

"A fact which Jack has explained to our satisfaction. I trust him."

Mr. Higgins nodded his agreement. "This is a sticky situation, and we did write down your objections when we documented this whole mess. Should something happen, you will be absolved of all responsibility."

"That's not the point," Denton said. "But it's your camp, and your decision. I just wanted to let you know that I think you're handling it wrong."

"And we appreciate that."

There was a knock on the office door, and Denton called that it was open. Oscar Delancey, looking somewhat annoyed, let himself in. "Have a seat," Denton sighed.

Oscar sat. "So what's going on?" he asked. "Is this about the... the Jack thing?"

"Unfortunately, yes," Denton said.

"Oscar, as we mentioned before, this is, for all intents and purposes, a case of your word against Jack's and David's. And Jack..."

"Don't tell me he wriggled his way out of this," Oscar muttered.

"It's not a case of wriggling, it's a case of trust, and a case of track records. Jack and David both deny your accusations."

"Of course they do."

"And that's as may be, but it was your track record that concerned us. You've demonstrated a dislike of Jack that's bored on malicious for several years now; behavior which was unacceptable for a counselor towards a camper, and which is no more acceptable now that Jack is also a counselor. I have looked the other way for both you and your brother several times, not wanting to believe your behavior was intentionally singling him out, but I can't look the other way for something this major."

"What do you mean?" Oscar asked.

Mr. Higgins took over. "What I'm saying is that you were very clear that you weren't mistaken in what you saw; and since we do not believe Jack and David were kissing, or anything of the sort, we have no choice but to believe that... well, you were lying."

"What?!" Oscar sputtered.

"And considering your record of past behavior, particularly where Jack is concerned, we have no choice but to let you go."

"You what?"

"Your behavior has proven you to be unreliable as a counselor; we have no choice but to let you go," Mrs. Higgins repeated.

"Wait, wait," Oscar said. "Jack Kelly gets to grope a camper, and you're firing me for telling you? I can not believe—that is bullshit!"

"Oscar, we don't want this to be difficult, we—"

"Oh, it's going to be difficult," Oscar snapped, standing up. "I was telling the truth, and if you don't want to believe me, fine. Maybe Jacobs's parents will. Maybe my lawyer will. But this ain't gonna be easy."

Mr. Higgins stood and stepped forward. "I'll accompany you back to your cabin so you can begin to pack. We'll book you a flight back to New Mexico."

"Fine. Do that." Oscar glowered. "You'll regret it, though."

He stormed out of the office, and Mr. Higgins followed him closely. Denton turned to Mrs. Higgins.

"Not that I like to say 'I told you so,' but, well..."

"It'll be fine," she said. "What can he do?"

"Everything he just said. Call David's family and tell them his side of the story; sue us for wrongfully firing him."

"We didn't wrongfully fire him."

"All we have is Jack's word on that." Denton sighed. "Shall I go call our lawyer now? Just to be careful, of course."

Mrs. Higgins took a deep breath, and finally she nodded.

[End Chapter Thirty-Three]
Chapter Thirty-Four: Saying Goodbye