This is it This moment My favorite moment of the entire year I'm sitting in one of the movie theater like seats on the ferry On the top level of course I watch the mainland disappear behind me and then all I see is ocean Ocean and ocean and Ocean And it feels like forever until I ll get there Hurry up I think But then I change my mind Don't hurry up Let me enjoy this Enjoy the almost there But then little by little I start to see it bits and pieces of Seagate Island I see the lighthouse and then the bright orange cottage that sits right on the shoreline And I get closer Closer and closer And I see more things take shape My heart is flopping with excitement like a caught fish that's about to get back into the water My mom is on one side of me my dad on the other Marilyn Monroe is on my lap The whole summer is spread out in front
of me like a big picnic blanket on the sand And this summer isn't like any other summer This is Seagate's centennial summer One hundred years since the first person came to Seagate One hundred years of pink sunsets and Sundae Best’s overflowing ice cream cups One hundred years of flip flops click clacking on the boardwalk One hundred years of Ping Pong tournaments and summertime friends SOme of the best friends in the world There's going to be a huge party Seagate Island's birthday party for everyone to celebrate together Carnival rides A photo booth A talent show Mrs Pursuit volunteered to be in charge of the celebration committee They've been planning it since last summer I just got a text from Vivian My mom taps my knee They took the earlier ferry I nod Oh Okay Vivian Newhouse is Bennett’s mom and one of my mom s best friends They've known each other since Bennett and I were newborn babies That's when Bennett and I met too although obviously I can't remember that meeting He's one of those people who's always been there There's never been a time when I didn't know Bennett Newhouse Bennett had texted me that they were taking the noon ferry just like us I looked for him everywhere but couldn't find him Now I know why I wonder if Bennett will be waiting when we get there standing at the ferry terminal looking for us as we come off the boat I haven't seen him in a whole year and when I think about
