Chapter 54

I slide behind the wheel and adjust the rear-view mirror so I can see the boardwalk in it. As Joey slams the door shut, I wave and start the car. I don’t mention a summer vacation, not yet—my mother would die of rapture right here in the street. We’ll see what the next few days bring, what Christmas brings, but if not Timothy, then someone. I want to be in love here, I decide. I want to share this place with someone not in my family, someone who’s never seen it before. Someone who will believe I created this magical place just to share it with him, who thinks the stars above shine only for us.

Maybe it’ll be Timothy. Maybe not. We’ll see.

We’ll see.