Page 19

Darcy

The following June

“Mr. Kyler! Mr. Kyler!” I shouted as I ran up to him. I was so excited to be at Pride Summer Camp again and see all my friends. Plus, show my monkey off too.

“Little girl, wait for your mommy.”

“Sorry, Mommy,” I hollered back but kept running.

“Vivienne, Darcy, it’s so great to see you again,” Mr. Kyler said as he hugged us both. “How has the year been since I last saw you, little one?”

“Wonderful! Me and Mommy got married and we went to San Diego then we went to Vegas. Daddy Jack and Vale got married with us. We go to Whidbey Island all the time so I can play with my monkey, that’s where they live.

Wait, where’s my monkey?” Shoot, he was right beside me when we got out of the car.

“Is that your monkey up there?” Mr. Kyler pointed to the playground and there he was. Vale was at the very tippy top of the new climbing thingy.

“Yes. Silly monkey,” I shook my head. Vale landed a perfect dismount in the sandbox which was now twice the size it was last year. That’s a whole lot of sand. The littles and pets clapped while the mommies and daddies each held up ten fingers.

“Vale, it’s nice to meet the monkey Darcy has said many good things about.” Mr. Kyler was so nice, and his boy Roen was super sweet.

“Nice to meet you too,” he shook Mr. Kyler’s hand. “This is my daddy and handler Jack.”

“Jack wonderful to meet you. This is my little, Roen.” Roen smiled and waved.

“Roen is amazing. He and Mark have added much since the last time you were here. In fact, Vivienne, you and Jack will be sharing what was our old apartment above the office. We have a new house behind it that Mark and Roen and some of their construction team built for us.”

“Squee!” Everyone stopped and stared at me. “Sorry but is that a ball pit?”

“It is,” Roen smiled. “Daddy Mark helped me build it.”

“I saw a ferret somewhere, he’s gonna love it. Can we go find him mommy? Please?”

“Sweet girl, what if the ferret doesn’t want to play in the ball pit?”

“Oh, sorry ferret.” He only had a ferret mask on, but it was so stinking cute.

“It’s okay,” I jumped, didn’t know he was so close. “If Daddy says it’s okay then me and my kitty, Mouse, would love to play in it.”

“You have a kitty, and I have a monkey. How fun is that?”

“Sweetheart, they’re in a poly relationship. You and Vale aren’t.”

“Oh.” Blink-blink. “My bad. Vale’s my bestie.”

“No worries, little one, you didn’t know. My boys are special to me. Mouse, would you like to jump in the ball bit with Cas?” Their daddy asked them. Mouse’s head bobbed up and down. “Well then, have at it.”

“Yay!” the rest of us hollered and took off after them. This was gonna be so fun.

“Little girl, you and Vale stay here while Mommy and Daddy Jack check us in and take our bags to the room. Understood.”

“Yes, Mommy.”

“She replied but she’s not paying attention. Come on, Jack. They’ll be fine and if not, they can miss tomorrow’s festivities. I think Mr. Kyler had something about a scavenger hunt with prizes on the schedule.”

“I promise-promise, Mommy. I heard you. I’ll be good. I don’t want to miss any of the fun stuff.”

“Me too, Daddy,” Vale promised too.

The kitty and the ferret played for so long their daddy had to come and get them. Then it became a free for all. Too many people for me.

“That’s a lot of bodies in there,” Roen shook his head. “Hopefully it holds up. Wait, didn’t Daddy post the rules?”

“I did and that is well over the body limit.” Daddy Kyler wasn’t happy. There were gonna be a lot of punished butts.

Mommies and daddies came and got their littles and pets, each making them read the posted sign as they left. Daddy Jack chased Vale back over to the jungle gym.

“Let’s go for a walk, Princess.”

“It’s so pretty here, Mommy.” We started with the shortest trail that went around the campsite itself. “Look at Mr. Kyler’s new house.”

“The views must be amazing.”

We turned at the sound of footsteps and saw Roen smiling at us. “Do you want to see my gnome garden?”

“Yes, please. Gnomes are so cute.” Roen led me around the outside of their new house, Mommy and Daddy Kyler followed behind us.

“Roen’s been so excited for everyone to arrive so he could show them all the new additions,” Mr. Kyler told Mommy.

“You’ve been busy, the place looks great.” While Mommy and Mr. Kyler talked, I followed Roen up the hill to his garden.

“This is so cool!” It had gnomes of all sizes and mushrooms with big red tops and white dots on them. “Is that big one a real gnome house? Do the doors open and everything?”

“Yes, Daddy found all this for me. It’s so cool.” Roen opened the doors and there were tiny gnomes inside.

“They’re so tiny. Look at all the pretty flowers.” Flowers of every color of the rainbow were in his cute garden all framed in with a little white picket fence. “Do you play with them?”

“Not these but my playroom is full of gnomie gnomies too. Daddy went a little crazy when he made it for me.”

“That’s cause you were away visiting family and your Daddy missed you terribly.” Roen beamed up at his daddy. “And now Roen’s family lives here too in the house that’s just beyond the parking lot.”

“I’m a lucky boy. Everyone I love is here. Well, except for some of Daddy’s family but they come up a few times a year to visit us.”

“Yes they do, sweet boy.”

Mommy and I were lucky like that too with our found family.

“Is Chase coming with his friend David this year?” He told us his bestie had a boy but that he wasn’t a little, but he’d make us special little food if he came cause he was a chef.

“He is. They can only stay a couple of days though because they’re leaving on a summer tour next week.” Mr. Kyler was so nice. “I heard you mention the view from our new house, Vivienne. Would you like to see it?”

“If it’s not an inconvenience, I’d love to.”

“Then I can show Darcy my playroom, Daddy.”

“Yes, sweet boy, you can. Follow us, ladies.”

“Wow.” The view from their wrap around porch was insane. You could see the campsite, the mountain and down the side of the cliff. “This is amazing.”

“You should see it at sunset. On the other side we get a perfect view of it.” Daddy Kyler smiled.

“Many a night my boy and I have taken it in. Every day I question, how is this even my life. I have everything I ever could’ve wanted.

A flourishing business, a gorgeous home, and above all the love of my life. ”

“I know that feeling very well, Kyler,” Mommy said. “I think those very words to myself each day.”

“Come on, Darcy, come see my playroom. While Mommy and Mr. Kyler talked, Roen and I played.”

“I had no idea there were this many gnomes out there.” Curtains, his comforter, the walls—it was a gnome explosion. “I like these squishy floor tiles.”

“Me too. Do you like my room?”

Roen was so nice. “Yes, it’s super fun. Do we have time to play, or do we have to go back down with the rest of the group?”

“We probably have to check on them. I think it’s almost time for dinner. I’m hungry.”

“Me too.”

“Ready to join your friends, little ones?” Mr. Kyler asked us.

“We’re hungry, Daddy.”

“Well now, we can’t have that. Vivienne, should we feed our littles?”

“I think that’s a wonderful idea. Come, Princess, let’s say high to all your old friends.”

“’Kay, Mommy.”

When we got to the mess hall it was packed full and all my friends were there. I couldn’t wait to spend the week with them and do all the wonderful things Mr. Kyler had planned. Pride Camp changed my life forever, for the better and as long as Mr. Kyler had it I’d beg my Mommy to come.

Maybe what momma Sarah said about good things and good people was true.

I always did my best to be happy and kind to everyone even though my younger years weren’t so great.

But now as I look around at all my friends, laughing and having a great time at Pride Camp it hit me just how wonderful life was.

My life was filled to overflowing with friends, family, and love and I was one lucky girl.