Chapter Text
Eddie sits at his dining room table and flips through the brochure in his hands. Christopher had just asked him about this summer camp, Woodcraft Creek, that a bunch of his friends were going to this summer.
“Are you sure? It’s two-weeks away from home, with no electronics. It looks like a lot, but if you’re sure…”
“Yes, I'm sure. Liam’s been going for 4 years now, he always talks about it and it seems so fun. Please can I go?” Christopher begs.
“Let me think about it okay?”
Christopher sighs, “Okay” he rises from the table and goes into his room.
Eddie sighs as he watches his son sulk to his room. He knows that this would be a great experience for him but he was just nervous. He pulls out his phone and texts Buck.
Eddie: Two-weeks at summer camp, you think he’s ready for it?
Buck: 2 weeks?! Isn’t he a little young for that? What happens if he gets homesick? It’s not like he can call home right? Aren't those places supposed to be off the grid?
Eddie: I mean ya, it’s out in the middle of nowhere. We can write. He loves getting mail. And there’s kids as young as 7 who go so it’s not like he’d be the baby. He really wants to go. I think I might let him. I’d be good for him right?
Buck: He is a tough kid. He should be fine. I’m sure it’ll be good for him to get out of the house for a while and have new experiences. When is it?
Eddie: Mid-June. It’s a nice time. Right in the middle of summer. Breaks it up a bit.
Buck: So what are you going to do while he’s away?
Eddie: Haven’t thought that far ahead aha. Just decided he could go five minutes ago. Probably take vacation time and sleep
Buck: You’re going to use your vacation time to sleep?
Eddie: Ya, I have like 27 days saved up, and it’s not like i’m going to go back to Texas or anything.
Buck: Go on a trip lol. Or do something other than sleep. That’s lame. There's lots of cool places in California you could go
Eddie: That’s true. What kind of cool places?
Buck: Lots of national parks, joshua tree, death valley, sequoia national park, kings canyon, yosemite, etc. Also there's a bunch of cool cities up north
Eddie: Damn, look at you. Are you going to come with?
Buck: Road trip?
Eddie: Road trip.
Buck: 🧍🏼♂️🧍🏻♂🚗🌲🪵☀️
Eddie laughs at the text and puts his phone down before standing from the table and walking towards Chris’ room. He knocks softly on the door before peeking his head inside.
“You want to come help me fill out the forms?”
Christopher’s eyes light up and he gets off his bed and hurries towards Eddie to give him a hug.
“Thank you so much Dad”
Eddie squeezes tighter as he looks down at his son, “Of course”
The two of them hug for a few more seconds before wandering out to the living room. They plop down on the couch together and begin to fill out all of the necessary forms together.
The camp countdown seems to fly by and before they know it, there's only four days left before camp. Eddie has the packing list in hand and the two of them are going through it line-by-line making sure Christopher has everything he’ll need. Shirts, shorts, underwear, socks, sheets and toiletries. All the essentials. They also make sure to pack some books and enough stationary so that Christopher can write home at least twice a day (Eddie knows he’ll be lucky if he gets two letters).
Eddie has been doing a lot of research on how to make sure your kids aren’t miserable at summer camp. One of the suggestions was to pack pictures of family and friends. The two of them sat together that evening and picked out pictures from Eddie’s phone to print. They picked out some pictures of the two of them, some with Christopher and his abuela, some with his school friends, some with Buck, some with Buck, Eddie and Christopher and other random pictures that remind him of home. Once they are printed Eddie puts them in a small album and tucks it away in his suitcase.
Buck stops by the next day to have one last hurrah before Chris leaves. It involves a trip to the skatepark and all the snacks Christopher knows only Buck gives him. Buck asks about the activities there are at camp and Christopher talks his ear off for a solid 25 minutes. Buck doesn’t mind. He loves seeing him so passionate. Later that night at dinner, Christopher asks his dad about his plans for the upcoming two-weeks. Eddie tells him about the road trip plans that he and Buck have. Christopher is sad that he can’t go with, but Buck assures him that they will find the best places and go again soon.
It’s the night before camp and Eddie is wide-awake in his bed. He is terrified to drop his son off tomorrow. Hopefully Christopher likes it. All he’s ever wanted to do is give Christopher the world. He pulls out his phone and texts Buck.
Eddie: This is a good decision right? Sending him away?
Buck: First of all, you're not “sending him away” he’s going to summer camp, not military school lol
And yes. He’s so excited. He’s going to have so much fun
Eddie: You’re right. I guess I'm just nervous since I don’t know what to expect.
Buck: Of course I'm right. Go to sleep, you can be an anxious empty-nester tomorrow once he leaves.
Eddie chuckles and sets his phone on the bedside table.
The next morning the two of them pile Chris’ bags into the back of the truck and head off to where the camp bus was picking everyone up. While in the car they talk about what Christopher is most excited and nervous for. He even mentions that technically, both him and his dad are going to be camping at the same time. Eddie chuckles as he pulls into the parking lot. They get out of the truck and Eddie grabs the bags from the back and walks with Chris over to where the other kids were waiting. Christopher sees some of his friends and runs off to say hi to them.
While waiting, Eddie is visibly nervous and is comforted by the other parents there. Most have been sending their kids for years. They reassure him that the nerves are normal and that Christopher will have a great time. As the bus pulls up, Eddie takes off Chris’ backpack from his back and slips the note he had written him into one of the pockets. He grabs the bags and follows the other parents and loads the bags on the bus. He wades through the crowd and finds Christopher. They have one last hug before Christopher heads off to the bus, but not before handing his dad a note. “Like father, like son” Eddie thinks to himself. He watches as Christopher boards the bus and sits with his friends. He’s having fun already. He waves to Christopher as the bus pulls away.
“Hope it’s a good summer at Woodcraft Creek.” Eddie says to himself as he walks back to his truck.