As I finally got up, dragging my unwilling feet, the chorus of birds chirping their dawn song followed me into town. A cool breeze brushed my forearms as I biked down the narrow, winding streets to the beach.

Tom was just opening Busy’s. “Morning!” he called out, turning the key in the lock.

I slowed down, coming to a stop. The bucket of tools hanging on my handlebars rattled. “Hey, Tom. Thought you were closing this morning for the sandcastle competition.”

“Just getting my coffee!” he said cheerfully. “Ready for the big showdown?” He grinned. “I’ve seen you and Levi practicing the last couple weeks. My money’s on you to take home the gold.”

“You’re betting on us?” I asked with a laugh.

Then I remembered there wasn’t really an us anymore.

It was just me.

“Friendly betting,” said Tom. I didn’t buy his innocent face for a minute.

Once he went inside, I clenched my handlebars and kicked off, heading for Levi’s house. It wasn’t about the competition; I just wanted to talk to him. To work things out. To tell him that whether he was here or there, I still wanted him.

His car wasn’t parked out front, but I hopped off my bike and made my way to the door anyway. I knocked twice. When he didn’t appear even after I counted to twenty, I tried again, this time with solid, loud knocks. Still nothing.

I stepped off the porch and called up to the bedroom window, “Levi?”

I waited to see if the curtain would flutter or if I could see his figure move. I didn’t even make it to twenty before I tried again. “Levi, can we talk? Please?”

At this point, I just had to face it. He either wasn’t there or he wasn’t answering the door. Of the two, I hoped it was the former. Dejected, I got back on my bike. There wasn’t much point in going to the sandcastle competition, but it beat skulking around his house like a gremlin.

I was the last participant to make it out to the beach. The parking lot was already packed with locals and tourists alike. Mr. and Mrs. Bishop waved to me from their car, where they were eating breakfast, and a few other regulars called out their support as I jogged across the sand. Penny and Chad were among them, too far away for me to talk to. Stunned, I watched as Chad laid out all his equipment and pointed to each piece in turn, presumably explaining their purpose. They said they weren’t back together, but maybe, just maybe, this was a step in that direction. I scanned the beach for Levi, dejected when I couldn’t find him.

There was only one other place he could be.

The lighthouse.