803 Wishing Lane by Shaw Hart

Three

Caroline

“Hurry, Aunt Caroline!”Charlotte cries, racing out to my car.

“I’m coming, I’m coming,” I assure her as I drag the last of the camping supplies out and cram it into the small trunk of my car.

Charlotte has been begging to go camping ever since her best friend Monica went a few weeks ago. I don’t know the first thing about camping, but how hard could it really be?

I ended up borrowing some sleeping bags, a tent, and some other supplies from Monica’s parents. I didn’t want to face Heath.

I take one last look around the yard before I close the trunk and head over to the rear passenger door, making sure that Charlotte is all buckled up. We asked Gracie, my best friend in town, if she would stop by and check on the dogs, maybe walk them if she had time while we’re gone, and she was more than happy to help. She promised that she would stop by after work tonight, so we should be all set here. It still feels like I’m forgetting something, and I can’t shake the feeling as I climb behind the wheel.

“This is going to be so much fun,” Charlotte says happily and I can’t help but smile and laugh at her obvious excitement.

Growing up in New York, I’ve never been much of the outdoorsy type, but even I have to admit it’s beautiful up here in the Wild Ridge Mountains.

We drive past the Wildflower Falls and then turn and head past the Wild Ridge Fire Ranger Station. I start to worry that we got lost, but then I spot the small yellow sign for the Wild Canyon Camp Sites.

We’re immediately swallowed up by the forest and I sigh, trying to figure where to turn. Charlotte is busy telling me about all of the s’mores that she’s going to make, and she seems to get more excited the farther into the forest that we drive.

I finally spot the front office and we park outside. Charlotte skips up to the front door, her eyes darting around as she tries to take it all in. It only takes us a few minutes to check in and get our campsite number, and then we’re back on our way.

We wind through the campground to our spot in the very back of the acreage. I get turned around at first and end up halfway up the mountain before I realize that we’re not in the right location. A lot of these roads aren’t labeled clearly and we head back down, finally finding the right spot. We’re half hidden in the forest, right at the base of the mountain, and I notice that I can’t really see any other tents or campers. It’s kind of peaceful, but I still wish that we had neighbors in case I need help with the tent or campfire.

“We’re here, bunny!” I say and she bounces excitedly in her car seat.

Her face is practically smashed up against the glass as we turn into our camping site and park. We’re one of the only cars out here, and I wonder if we’re lucky to have the privacy or if everyone else knows something that I don’t.

It’s already late afternoon and I know that we’re going to need to hurry to set everything up before it gets dark, so I unbuckle Charlotte from her car seat and pop the trunk, dragging out the tent and a chair for her to sit in.

Charlotte immediately starts to wander around the small clearing and I remind her to stay close as I get to work assembling the tent.

It takes me about thirty seconds to realize it’s more complicated to put together than I originally thought. I try reading the small instruction pamphlet but it doesn’t seem to help.

The sky starts to darken and I chew on my bottom lip. Would it still be considered camping if we just slept on the ground? Or in my car?

I’ve got one side of the tent up when the first crack of thunder sounds and Charlotte and I both jump. The sky opens up a second later and I abandon the pitiful tent, grab Charlotte and race back to the car.

We’re both soaked when we climb in and I start the car, turning the heat all the way up to help dry us off.

“Does this mean that we can’t go camping this weekend?” Charlotte asks and I shake my head.

“Not today anyway, bunny. We’ll have to try again a different day.”

She pouts and I tell her to sit tight as I race back outside and grab up the chair and tent poles. The tent is flapping in the wind and I grab it and wrestle it into the backseat, too. We’ll have to take it home and let it dry out before we give it back to Monica’s parents.

Now I know why we were the only people out here camping today, I think as I get Charlotte buckled up in her car seat and put the car in reverse. I want to get back on pavement ASAP so that we don’t get stuck in the mud somewhere.

The main road leading up here is gravel, which isn’t great, but it’s better than the soft campground dirt. I have my hazard lights on and my windshield wipers going at their highest speed, and I can still barely see where I’m going.

“You alright, bunny?” I ask and she nods, looking nervous.

None of my surroundings look familiar and I wonder if it’s because I can’t see anything or if maybe I took a wrong turn somewhere. I don’t have any cell reception, so I can’t look up directions.

I slow when I see a house light and decide to pull over and ask for directions. Maybe it will be someone friendly and we can wait out a bit of the storm with them.

I pull into the drive and twist around to look at Charlotte.

“I’m going to go up there and ask for directions, okay? I’ll be right back.”

She nods, clutching her stuffed bunny to her chest. She must have grabbed it from her backpack when I was collecting the tent.

“Be right back,” I promise her as I climb out and race through the storm to the front porch.

I’m sure that I look like a drowned rat by the time that I make it to the front door, and I sigh as I knock. Then I wait. When no one answers, I wonder if they can hear me over the storm, so I knock again.

I’m just about to turn and head back to the car when the door opens and my mouth drops open.

“Yeah, of course this is your place,” I grumble as I push the dripping wet hair out of my face and stare up at Heath Winters.