“Be back by eleven thirty.”
Evie’s mouth hung loose with surprise. Eleven thirty?
Amanda rolled her eyes. “God! I hate being twelve!”
Evie hugged her mom and dad, not sure what had just happened. They must have had pity on her, or maybe the fact that she was hopelessly in love was so obvious it was ridiculous. But she didn’t care why her usually uncool parents had just been totally chill and given her a whole hour! She was taking it!
“Remember, we’re leaving on the morning ferry, so you need to get your rest.”
She nodded at her mom. How could she forget? As of tomorrow morning, the dream would be over. The best week of her life would be history.
Evie met Clancy at the public marina. He was so relieved and excited to see her that he picked her up and swung her around like they did in the movies, and Evie’s legs flew in a circle around them.
Most of their time together was spent in silence. Neither of them seemed to know what to say as they took their last nighttime stroll along the beach, water tickling their feet. Clancy had his arm tight around Evie’s waist, and she rested her head on his shoulder.
“Do you think you’ll grow any taller?”
That surprised Evie—what a strange question for the kind of important moment they were sharing. “Probably not much. Why?”
“Because.” Clancy tilted his head so that his temple touched her hair. “I’d like to be a couple inches taller than you eventually, you know, in a few years. I always pictured myself with a girl who was just a little shorter than me.”
Evie raised her face. Clancy smiled shyly, gazing down on her. They stopped walking.
“What are you saying, Clancy?”
“I’m saying that I love you. I know kids our age aren’t supposed to fall in love—except maybe for Romeo and Juliet—but it happened. And I really don’t think one week is going to be the end for us.”
Her bones weakened and her heart slammed in her ears. This was it—the most important moment of her life. He just said he loved her!
“Oh, Clancy. I love you, too. Don’t ever forget it.”
He grabbed her face in his hands and they kissed ferociously. Evie felt Clancy’s tears on her own cheeks and it made her cry, too, and this was after she’d successfully avoided crying the whole night long.
Clancy held her hand in his all the way back to the motel. He got her there right on time. “I’ll be at the dock in the morning to see you off.”
He kissed her one last time, with so much tenderness and love. Then she slipped inside the motel door.
Evie had never been so sad in her life. She told her parents she was fine, just tired and a little sunburned, but her mom knew better. Evie cried while she washed her face and brushed her teeth, and she cried herself to sleep as silently as she could, wishing the morning would never come.
Chapter Fourteen
Evelyn eased from the guest room bed. Exhausted from their beach day, Chrissy had fallen into a deep sleep. Now Evelyn tiptoed across the room, shut the door, and slipped into the hallway. Silently, she disappeared into the bathroom.
The reflection she saw in the mirror startled her, but trying to do something with her hair was pointless. Maybe one day she could grow it out again, let it return to its natural brown. But for now, this was it. No matter what her hair looked like or what she wore or how frazzled she was, Clancy was in the living room waiting for her. The moment she’d thought about for her entire adult life had finally arrived, and it was nothing like she’d pictured.