The hidden pond left much to be desired. Interior inlet, or sunken area in the middle of the island described it better in my mind. A yellow piece of fabric tied around a skinny pine marked my destination. With great care, I stepped through the underbrush.
Once again, the paper scrawled in Jasmine’s textbook elementary handwriting read Take a photo and receive your next set of instructions.
I snapped a photo, sent it into the ether, and repeated the careful stepping process back to my golf cart. My phone vibrated. Find the island’s highest point. From there, me you shall see.
I took off for the lighthouse. We’d used the highest sight line in more than one of our games. In order to enter, you had to make a donation to the lighthouse conservation fund. Joni, the lighthouse volunteer extraordinaire, waved me through when I stepped up to the cash register inside the tiny museum next to the stone structure. “He’s already donated for you.”
“That means I’ve really got to walk up all those stairs this time?” I asked, and she smiled and pointed the way. She got a kick out of our trail map games.
The inside of the centuries-old lighthouse held a dusty smell. Remnant spiderwebs coated crevices as the stairs to the top became steeper and narrower. A faint layer of perspiration rose as my heartrate increased.
At the tip top, the stairs transitioned into more of a ladder, and I crawled into the six-foot round space. Deep windows let light in. There was a sign propped against one of the windows. “Look through the window and see through my eyes.”
The thick, ancient glass didn’t provide the best view, but all around the tower, the ocean could be seen. The mainland, not so far away, appeared as green trees. The marsh line could be seen in closer proximity, up until the ocean laid claim. I searched every angle along the three-hundred-and-sixty-degree circumference, but I didn’t see.
My phone vibrated. Marina side.
Treetops and buildings blocked the view of the bulk of the marina. The sun set against the mainland’s horizon, casting rose and golden hues over the line of trees. Closer by, near Jules, lights twinkled over the outside deck. Farther out, in the marina, a sailboat with an oversized flag hung between the sailboat and a nearby post. It read, “Come Sail Away.”
He’d done it. Tate had gone and bought the small sailboat.
I texted back OTW then took the stairs two by two, jumping down as I went. I found my cart and floored it to the marina. Jasmine beamed as she saw me approaching and scrambled onto the deck, running toward me.
“It’s the Luna! Or, he hasn’t decided what he’s going to name it. He might name her the Jasmine Luna. Or the Jasmine Moon. Or Sweet Moon. He’s brainstorming. He wanted you to have a say.” As predicted, she’d become fluent and now could speed talk and text like any other teen. Her accent gave her what I thought of as a sophisticated advantage.
“I see.”
Along the opposite side of the boardwalk, Poppy approached. She carried an ice bucket in one hand and a champagne bottle in the other. She leaned off the dock, and Tate reached over and took both items from her.
“Ah, fun. Are you coming out for her maiden voyage?”
“Oh, no, lady. Jasmine and I have a girls’ night planned. Movies and all.”
Jasmine bounced on the back of her heels and clapped her hands.
Gabe shouted out from the deck of the Will o’ the Wisp, a tiny restaurant overlooking the marina. “Love the boat, man.”
Poppy wrapped an arm around Jasmine’s shoulders. “Jasmine, it’s time for ladies’ night to commence.” She smiled at Gabe and waved to him.
Gabe waved back then picked up his beer and returned to his bar seat overlooking the marina. He appeared to be in deep conversation with Logan.
Tate held the boat close to the dock for me to board. As I stretched over the water gap, I pointed an index finger Gabe’s way. “Is everything okay with those two?”
“Gabe and Logan?”
“No. Gabe and Poppy.”
“How would I know?”
“Didn’t you go surfing with him this morning?” I’d missed out on dawn patrol because Jasmine and I went for a run. She was considering joining the school’s cross-country team, and we’d started building up her endurance, although she’d need to start running with Tate soon. Like most things, she approached running with a singular focus, and she improved rapidly.
“The waves were decent this morning. Not much talking.”
“Ah.”
A white tablecloth lay over the small table on the back of the boat. Champagne glasses rested in the ice bucket, and a cooler was below the table.
“Look at all this. Is there an occasion, or is this the sailboat life?”
“Welcome aboard. I thought we’d take a romantic sunset cruise.”
“That’s so sweet. But you didn’t want to include Jasmine?” She had to be excited about us getting a new boat.
“You don’t know what today is, do you?”
I shook my head. End of summer. No birthdays…
“One year ago, you zoomed by in a golf cart. You didn’t know it, but you reeled me in. Jasmine helped me with the surprise. When Carter decided to sell me his old sailboat, it all fell into place.”
“I’m impressed you remember the date.”
He wrapped an arm around me as the boat tilted and we fell against the side. “It’s also the day I arrived on the island.” The corners of his lips skewed up, creating his signature tease of a smile. “And I remember this young girl, gliding by, so carefree.”
I leaned up and kissed him, pressing against him until that deep moan of his mixed in with the shrill cries of the sea gulls.
He pressed his forehead against mine. “I’m crazy in love with you, you know that?”
“Ditto.”
There were a lot of unknowns in my life. I decided to extend my contract with the conservancy for one more year while I finished my master’s remotely. I still wasn’t
