Meet Me By The Dock

Epilogue

"Can I just point out that I totally predicted all of this?" Issac asks. I called him once I parked my bike at the only bike rack in the shade.

"No, you may not," I say, "A hundred people already told me they called it."

"Aww, you're getting tired of all the 'I told you so'?" He says it in a baby voice that makes me roll my eyes.

"Honestly, yes."

"I don't care, I told you so." I can hear his smug smile through the phone, "So tell me again how Emmaline threatened Mattie?"

"She said, 'if you hurt my girl, there isn't an alleyway you could hide in' but then she went on to say that if she ever found him in an alleyway for any reason it would go down."

He laughs, "I love your mom."

"Not as much as she loves herself." I reply. Even though the threat was embarrassing it was nice to have someone looking out for me. I start weaving through people trying to buy things last minute since all of the prices are really low. Watching all of these stands I've grown so familiar with pack up makes my chest hurt, but in a bittersweet kind of way.

"Okay, I have to go say goodbye to Jasmine." I tell him.

"Say hi from me," he says quickly, "Oh, before you hang up, I have one more question."

"What's up?"

"The whole boy next door thing really gets you going, huh?"

"Bye." I say loudly before I hit the red button to hang up.

This is the first day it hasn't been ridiculously hot in a long time. Last night my mom and I sat out on the patio and ate ice cream while she wrote out the email she is going to send to NYU. The air was cool, there was no humidity, and I even had to grab a sweatshirt once it got late enough for the fireflies.

The two stands I normally walk in between as a shortcut to Jasmine's are halfway packed up already. Which is weird because it's only 5 o'clock, I guess they're closing early because it's the last day. Which is a fact I refuse to dwell on. Maybe if I don't think about how this is the last market day, it wouldn't really be true.

I finally made it to Jasmine's stand, where she was handing a bag of apples to a middle aged woman, who thanked her and handed Jasmine her money. Once she turns around and sees me standing there, her lips stretch into a smile. "Lilah." She greets me the same way she always does.

"Hi, Jasmine." I respond.

"Come to say goodbye?" She asks and I nod. "Well come back here and give me a hug." She gestures for me to come over.

I slide through the gap in between two tables and wrap my arms around her. I think this year I'll miss her more than I ever have. There is something so comforting about knowing she's right around the corner if I ever need advice, or someone to talk to— if my mom isn't around, of course.

"Thank you, for everything." I say, referring to the advice she gave me about my father. Everything she said really had an effect on me.

"Oh please, I just said a few things, you got your light back by yourself." She pulls back and tucks my hair behind my ear. "You'll do good in school, I'm sure."

"About that..." I trail off, "Mom might get a new job, so I might be moving schools."

"Where?" Is all she asks.

"New York— Long Island." I say.

She nods, "You'll be back next summer, though?"

"I'll be back."