Surprises like a birthday party Bun asks I don’t hear the answer Losing my phone is surprise enough for me As Grandpa leads us across the campground I whisper to Bunny There’s a problem What about he whispers back I lost my phone Where did you last see it In your hand But where was that Right there Bun points At my hand I know where my hand is Bun Man But where was I when you saw my phone He thinks about this as Grandpa points out how far we can go Ice cream Bunny says We just had some Bernard Grandpa says over his shoulder I feel a cool scoop of hope They’re both right we stopped at an ice-cream place just outside the park gates I remember getting out my phone when Grandpa hit the washroom Bun and I were sitting at a picnic table and I shoved the phone under my leg when Grandpa came back sooner 4 ted staunton
than I expected Then Bun and I went to the Jeep while he got extra napkins for the cones Now Grandpa is saying True gen boys watch for poison ivy The old P I will get you every time and the woods will be full of it Another reason not to wear dumb shorts I think Grandpa’s not wearing shorts He calls his tan pants chinos Whatever I’m not going there again now There’s something else I have to do As Grandpa ducks into his tent for a snooze I grab Bunny I’m going back to get my phone I’ll be fast If Grandpa wakes up don’t tell him okay Tell him I’ve gone exploring He’ll like that See you later Bun Man I take off for the road we came in on 5 speed
TwO The gates are farther away than I thought It doesn’t matter Remembering how I argued with Deb and Jer about bringing my phone keeps me going Jer had said If you lost it in the woods you’d never find it Then Deb said Remember the rule Lose it and you’re not getting another That thing cost a fortune You don’t need a phone in a campground Oh yes you do The only thing more boring than camping is tv golf I need the games on my phone to survive Games are the most important part of a good phone except for a place to charge it 6
which I will find somewhere in this stupid park after I get my phone I didn’t say that though because Grandpa had chimed in with Camping is about escaping cell phones Spencer But what if there’s an emergency That’s what grandpas are for I’ll have mine in the Jeep Turned off Case closed said Deb Well this is one emergency Grandpa can’t deal with What makes it worse is I was really truly only going to play games at bedtime or when Grandpa was napping for a reward like I figured I’d deserve it See Jer had given me a pep talk This trip means a lot to your Grandpa D He wants to take each of his grandsons somewhere bond with you Bernie would love to do the same thing Bernie is Jer’s dad my other grandpa He and Estelle live out west on Salt Spring Island Grandpa D is Deb’s dad David McLean It’s just a weekend Jer went on Promise to try to be a happy camper okay Just go with the flow give it a chance and 7 speed
