Camp Lore - 15. Chapter 15

Like me, Brian had a long distance girlfriend. But Julie wasn’t in Europe, and he didn’t write her every night.

“We’re not sure how long we can last,” he admitted. “Like you and Katie.”

We’d swapped stories after he’d seen me writing each evening, and I learned more about Julie while helping Brian work on his car.

I really didn’t know much about cars, but I’m not sure anyone in my family did, so it wasn’t likely they’d teach me. I’d watched Mom and Dad check the oil, and the water, and the tire pressure, and, occasionally – when it was warm enough in the summer – one of them would bring out the bucket, hose, soap, old towels, and wax.

“But it’s really fairly cheap to have this done at the car wash, and they do it much better.”

Brian didn’t know a lot about engines, either. “But I can fix easy things like door handles and headlights. And I’m pretty sure I can put in the back seat and the roof when I find new ones – or good used ones.”

He’d made sure the car was sound when he bought it. “I had one of my teachers’ mechanics check it out. And the woman who owned it said all it really needed was a paint job – well, a little body work and a paint job.”

I was mainly helping with the body work, especially the sanding.

“I’ve done the rough stuff,” he said, “so what’s left is the finish work. And, boy, is that boring.”

When I wasn’t around to help – or when one of the other guys wasn’t – Brian listened to music. But he’d much rather talk. Though not – to the other guys – about Julie.

“They don’t understand things the way you do – I mean, we’re in the same position. A couple of them have girlfriends – or have had them, short term – but they’re not serious.”

By “serious,” Brian meant that he and Julie had been together for a couple of years, and they really didn’t know what would happen once college started. He said that a lot, maybe partly to remind himself. Still, they’d done almost everything they could to see if things could last.

“We both turned down better schools – slightly better – so it’s not like it was a huge sacrifice to go to the same college. For a while, we figured that if she took her top choice, and I took mine, and they weren’t too far apart, maybe we could manage. We could see each other on weekends, though that would mean finding places to stay. But we didn’t absolutely need to sleep together – just enough. That’s not what our relationship is built on.”

In his way, Brian talked as much as Nate, though he wasn’t asking questions. And he wasn’t always talking about himself – or about himself and Julie – because I probably told him as much about Katie and me.

“What finally made up our minds,” he said, “about going to the same school, was we were so used to seeing each other. I mean, obviously, there were vacations when we couldn’t – when she went home, and my sister and I were sent off to relatives if we couldn’t travel to our parents.”

He had an older sister who was already in college on the West Coast.

“But Julie and I ate together almost every day – lunch and dinner – she’s not much for breakfast. ‘You don’t understand,’ she’d say. ‘It takes a lot longer for me to get ready in the morning. You just have to make sure your clothes aren’t stinky.’ She thought that was funny.”

“And you have to remember,” he broke off to tell me, “this is a school with uniforms. And, yeah, there are two or three choices – maybe a couple more for the girls. But really, you can wear any shirt with any pair of pants and any tie or jacket or sweater, and all you really have to do is make sure your underwear’s clean. And it’s not like anyone checks that, either. So you could run around without it, and they’d never notice.”

I laughed at that. I could wear the same pair of jeans for a week – longer, if my parents didn’t catch me. “The knees are bagging on those,” Dad would say. “Throw them in the wash.” We did have to wear button-front shirts, every day but Fridays. But I had a couple dozen of those, and Mom always made sure five-or-six of them were clean.

“Your school’s stricter,” I told Brian.

“Yeah, but I couldn’t’ve eaten twice a day with Julie if we were living at home. In public school, we’d have lunch – maybe – five days a week. It’s not the same thing.”

“No.”

“And that’s what we want to continue in the fall. We’ve made sure we’re in the same dorm, so we’ll eat in the same dining hall. We have to live on campus the first year, and that’s fine ‘cause it’s one less new thing to manage. We couldn’t be suite mates – they don’t allow that – but it’s just as well. ‘A little distance,’ as Julie put it, and we’re used to that.”

“Wouldn’t you get distracted if you were living together?”

“We’re always together anyhow. After our classes, and clubs, and everything else.”

“Sounds like you made a good choice.”

“I hope so. But so many things’ll be different. Prep school’s such a little world. Where a university...”

When he didn’t finish, I tried for him. “Especially one in a city.”

“We wanted that to be away from farms – we’ve been surrounded by them. And they’re beautiful, but... And it’ll be exciting – exploring together. If we don’t find other people more interesting.”

“You think that could happen?”

“Isn’t that why you go to college?”

“Yeah – some.”

“And to start learning our jobs.”

“The same one?”

“Nah – but close. We’re both good at math. But she likes statistics, and I’m better at management.”

“Katie and I don’t even have that in common.”

He laughed. “If I had to give you odds, I’d say Julie and I have a better chance of staying together than you and Katie.”

“You seem to want it more.”

“Maybe ‘cause we’re scared.”

He stopped.

“Or maybe it’s been easy,” he soon went on. “Because there’s been no competition. But there’s so much more out there, and we know it.”

“Who do you think’ll crack first?”

“You or me?”

“You or Julie?”

“I don’t know. I sure hope it’s not me. I can see giving up – nicely – if it comes to that. But I don’t want to cause trouble. I’ve seen other guys and their girlfriends fight, and it’s dumb.”

“I’ve been through it. It’s a waste.”

“Been through it a lot?”

“A couple of times. With a couple of girls.”

I told him about the one I’d been seeing since grade school.

“Yeah, that sounds like me and Julie – except we got past the point that you couldn’t.” He laughed again. “Almost too easily. Everything just fit.”

“We’re kind of designed that way.”

“You deserve to be dumped.” he told me, throwing a nearby rag in my face. “I should write Katie.”

I knew he was kidding so just grinned. Then we went to clean up for lunch.