“Was he mad?”

“Naw. He said I’d probably be a scientist one day. Save endangered species and stuff. He called me Dr. Gale all night. It was goofy. And cool.”

I’m happy that Ronan’s dad is nice to him.

“Ronan! Hey, Ronan!”

We turn around. His dad is yelling for him from the top of the stairs.

He breaks into that smile again. “Wait here. I’ll be right back!”

I watch as he talks to his dad. Ronan pumps his fist like he just made a soccer goal. He jumps a bit and then runs toward me. Faster than I have ever seen him run.

This time he lands in front of me after a long leap into the air, and I want to laugh. He still looks like he lost a battle with a sandcastle.

“Guess what,” he says, about to bust.

“What?” I ask, thinking I’m going to find out what the surprise is, hoping it’s a good one.

“My dad just bought a hot dog bun.”

I shake my head. “That’s your surprise? Man, Ronan, if you’re this excited about that, you must be having a bad week.”

He laughs. “Not just any hot dog bun. The one near the smooshed-up pickles and vinegar-soaked cucumbers.”

“Wait. What?”

His whole body laughs.

“Are you telling me . . . ?”

“Yup! We bought the abandoned house!”

Ronan and I jump up in the air like we’re little kids. We can’t stop laughing. I wonder how I could get so lucky. And I also think that there is such a thing as a good surprise.

Chapter 43

A LESSON FROM MOBY

The word Nantucket means “Faraway Land” in the Algonquian language. That makes sense—it feels like it takes forever to get there on Henry’s boat.

“There’s a lighthouse!” I yell over the motor as Henry, Ronan, and I cut through the water.

“Sure is! Brant Point Light!” Henry calls. “And on the other side of the island is my favorite—Sankaty Head Lighthouse. They’ve already moved that one back once because the bluffs are falling into the ocean at one to two feet a year. Scientists say Nantucket will disappear completely in about four hundred years. I’m going to leave in three hundred, as I don’t want to see that.”

Henry laughs louder than any of us. I’ve never known anyone who laughs so much at his own jokes.

We drop anchor at a place called Tuckernuck. There are a few other boats and a bunch of people in the water, so I ask Henry if I can go in, too. He looks around. Takes out binoculars. “Well, I don’t see any seals, which is good. Just stay between the boat and the land.”

When I dive into the water, I go from sweltering hot to nice and cool. I swim underwater until I can’t hold my breath anymore and rise to the surface.

Ronan stands on the side wall of Henry’s boat, looking out at me as I tread water. All of a sudden, his face is covered in fear as he stares past me.