Ronan steps forward. “We can wait until the tide comes in and push her back to sea.”

“Well, Ronan, that’s the right idea, but we’ll need a bunch of help. If we try to move it ourselves and get an unexpected surge, someone could end up a permanent part of my boat,” Henry says, chuckling. When times are toughest, he finds reasons to laugh. He takes out his phone and moves a few steps away while he talks.

“So,” Ronan begins, “that was your grandpa’s boat?”

“Yeah. The Reel of Fortune, for fishing and because Grammy loves game shows.”

“Huh. That’s funny. Why is it all different colors?”

“Papa Joseph painted it a different color every year, knowing that it would chip and reveal different colors underneath. He said it was a good reminder that everyone carries a lot of history with them. He thought chips and dents made a person more interesting.”

I expect Ronan to give me some wise guy answer, but instead he looks me in the eye and says, “I wish I’d met your papa.”

Henry returns. “So I’ve got some lads with boats coming. We’ll get the Reel back on the water.” Henry puts his hand on Ronan’s shoulder. “But as Ronan points out, we’ll have to wait until the tide comes in.”

Ronan stands taller.

“Yep,” Henry says. “We’ll just wait for nature. She put us in this predicament and will help get us out. No use shouting at the rain. No one was hurt.” He reaches over and rubs my back. “The Reel is tipped on the beach here, but I don’t see any damage. And Captain Ahab is here to live another day of the eight lives he’s got left.”

Chapter 26

A BIT OF DRAMA

Ronan and I are talking about our strategies when it comes to Monopoly. We both believe in buy everything you can. But I leave the utilities behind because you can’t build houses and hotels on them and I like to build houses and hotels. Lots of them.

“Delsie!” I hear a familiar voice I have missed. It’s Aimee. And Michael is with her. They’re coming up the driveway.

“Who are they, again?” Ronan asks.

“Aimee and Michael. My friends who are in the Cape Playhouse play this summer.”

“Oh,” he says, biting his nail.

I jump up and run to them, giving them both hugs. It feels good to have my old friends back. “What are you doing here?”

Aimee is staring at Ronan and then looking at me. I know her well enough to understand that she is questioning why he is here. After that day of watching him at Sundae School.

“Are you the kid from Sundae School?” Michael asks.

“From Sundae School? I don’t live there, if that’s what you mean.”

“No, of course not. You were there that day.”

Ronan gets squinty-eyed in a nervous kind of way. “What day?”

I interrupt. “We were all there one day when you were, but we didn’t really know you yet. We only knew that you and your dad had just moved here.”