GOD LAUGHS LAST, pt. 1

Katie's swim lessons began today at Leisure Camp Honey Pot, which left poor Beanie with no one to watch her. She tagged along with me while I cleaned the campground bathrooms, cabins, and off-site cottages. I'd been working for the Godfreys at their camp all summer, nearing my goal of saving a down payment on the trailer down the road.

After Frank walked out on me and the girls in March, I had been working my butt off to keep a roof over our heads and food on the table. Until he was forced by the court to do so, he wasn't going to chip in a single dime to care for his seven and four-year-old girls, who still adored him. As much as it pissed me off, I tried not to poison their minds against him.

But, urrrgh.

Despite several disappointing romantic encounters and close calls with a peeping Tom, who seemed to be targeting us, the summer had been healing for me and the girls. They were shielded from adult worries and could participate in all the activities that campers were paying through the nose to enjoy.

I quickly became part of the Camp Honey Pot tribe and made close friends with the rest of the staff. The owners were good to the girls and me, always looking out for us. They had even provided us with a beautiful RV to spend the summer in.

Katie was a mature seven-year-old, so I wasn't worried about leaving her at camp. All the staff watched out for her and most of the day was filled with planned activities. Mike, my friend, and our RV neighbor, who ran the restaurant, would take care of her lunch. She had begged for a limited-use cell phone to keep in touch when I was off-site cleaning the cottages at the lakeshore. I also thrilled her by downloading a set of fun kids' games.

With Katie occupied and safe, Beanie and I set off in the camp van to the lakeshore cottages. Cottage #3 had unexpected renters coming in later in the day and needed a quick cleaning.

"Mommy, this is soooo boring," Beanie complained, rolling her eyes at me.

"I know, Baby. I'm almost finished. One more cottage to clean and we'll go back for a nice dinner," I promised. "Mike said he's cooking you mac and cheese tonight."

"O-kay, she replied gloomily."

"Beanie, keep your hands inside the van, please," I scolded, while she let the air swing her hand back and forth outside the window. Geesh. Trying to keep Beanie the Adventurer safe was a full-time job. Thank God, Katie had no trouble keeping up with her.

"Here we are, Kiddo. Will you help me carry the mop inside?"

"Can I ride it like the witch on the Oz Wizard?" she asked.

"Of course. Just don't drag it on the ground."

I lugged the cleaning tub over the gravel driveway and up the path to the front porch, littered with empty beer cans, that had attracted an entire tribe of alcoholic hornets. Wonderful. First, there were cocaine bears, and now, drunken bees.

"Beanie, hurry inside the cottage, so you don't get stung," I warned, unlocking the door and sliding the tub in after her.

I dug through my cleaning supplies and found the Wasp and Hornet Be-Gone spray, aiming the deadly stream at the lazily buzzing pests, standing behind the half-open screen door. By the time the cottage was cleaned, they should be dead and I would clean the porch thoroughly.

Beanie sat on the sofa in the living room swinging her legs and sighing loudly while I scurried around the rooms, scrubbing, sweeping, mopping, gathering trash, and cleaning windows.

"Mo-om! I'm bored. Can I go outside and play on the porch?"

"No. I just sprayed poison to kill the hornets. Give me a few minutes and I'll clean it off with the hose and then you can go out and play. I have your ponies and Barbies in the van."

"Can I sit in the van and play with them? I'll stay right there. I promise," she begged.

"All right. I'll be outside cleaning the porch watching you."

"Yay!"

I went out with her, noting the hornets had stopped partying and started dying. She jumped into the van with a grin when I opened the door.

"Don't get in the front seats. Promise?"

"Promise!" she said, pulling her Barbies and ponies from my beach bag.

I unrolled the van windows to keep a breeze flowing, then walked around to the back of the property for the hose. After cleaning the bugs and poison spray off the porch, I had Beans bring her toys to play with on the newly cleaned porch, so I could keep an eye on her, before going inside to make the beds and vacuum the upstairs bedrooms.

"Beans, help me open the door. I'm going to put the tub back in the van, sweetie," I called out, tugging the big plastic container to the back seats.

"Remember, don't leave the porch!" I reminded her one last time before finishing the cottage.

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