Until the red banner comes into view, the two words scrawled across it in giant white letters.
FINISH LINE
This is it.
Go time.
Landon and I both lock in, leaving the banter and jabs behind us in the dust.
I break into a full-out sprint.
Landon’s right beside me, open-mouth breathing as he tries to keep up.
We’re neck and neck, neither of us willing to give in.
I dig deep, dipping into my reserves. My legs will be sore tomorrow, but I don’t’ care.
Fletcher is going down.
I fling myself over the finish line, and slow to a gradual stop. I bend forward, bracing my hands on my knees, gasping for air.
Landon doesn’t cross over until a good thirty seconds after me. He collapses onto the boardwalk, flat on his back, his arms and legs sprawled out like a starfish.
His grin matches mine.
“Look.” I point down the way we came, my lungs burning as I try to talk. “Look how far back everyone is.”
Landon laughs, and clutches his chest. “Don’t make me laugh. I’m gonna need an oxygen mask.”
“You’re outta shape, dude.” I walk in a circle around him, hands on my hips. “You knew there was no way I was letting you win.”
“Yeah, I did.” He pushes off the boardwalk and sits up, leaning forward to reach for his toes. “Got you to smile though.”
I’m thankful for the flush in my cheeks from the run, otherwise he might get the impression that his words affect me.
Why do they?
As friends and students make their way across the finish line, we gather in a big huddle.
“Thank you for coming out today to support this cause,” I say. “It means a lot, and I know it would mean a lot to my dad if he were still here. Now, let’s eat.”
Everyone cheers, and then breaks off into smaller groups as they decide what they’re in the mood for.
I let Ivori know where I’m going, and walk toward the beach. In the off-season, there are no lifeguards on duty and you don’t have to pay to get on. I pull off my sneakers and socks, letting my toes touch the cool sand. Finding a spot away from the kidsrunning around chasing the waves, I drop down and rest my forearms on my knees, gazing out at the water.
Seagulls squawk overhead. The sun peaks out from behind a cloud for a moment until another one covers it up again. Foam bubbles on the sand as the wave retreats before the next one rushes up.
Only when I’m here does it hit me that I’m truly alone in this world. No parents, no family connecting me to something bigger. The vastness of the ocean makes me feel small. Maybe that’s why I love team sports so much; it’s like having a family unit you can count on.
I miss my parents.
I don’t have too many memories of my mother since she passed when I was so young. But I remember the comfort I felt in her embrace. I used to want a family of my own when I was growing up. But everything changed after I lost my father. Ivori isn’t wrong; I did isolate myself and keep men at arm’s length.
What’s the point of getting close to people when they can be gone in an instant?
It’s lonely, sure. But I’ll take the loneliness over grief any day.
A white T-shirt and black shorts come into view in my peripheral, lowering to the sand beside me.
