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I giggled at that thought. They must have been pretty obnoxious for Josh to notice. Maybe I didn't want them over after all. But his comments only made me more curious, if I was being honest.
The game ended up going extra innings, dragging into the evening, and Josh asked if he should leave. I was fighting the drowsiness, but I didn't want him to leave. Not on my account. So he stayed.
And at some point, I must have drifted off because I woke up with a jolt, completely startled by what I'd just dreamed about—seeing a green flash for the very first time.
I sat upright, and my eyes caught Josh's before I studied the sky through my window. It looked like it was almost sunset, right before that magical time. And there wasn't a single cloud as far as I could see.
"What are you looking at?" Josh said, his eyes going back and forth between the window and my face.
"We supposedly have an ocean view, right?"
"Uh, kind of. Sort of. You have to stand on a chair or step stool and get just the right angle."
I threw the blanket off and stood up on my wobbly legs.
"What's going on?" Josh asked, his voice full of skepticism. "What are you doing?"
But I totally blew him off, ignoring his questions completely. This had to be some kind of sign, right? I needed to see the sunset tonight. I had to see the sunset tonight.
I went to the front closet and grabbed the step stool, dragging it out to the balcony, Josh and Magic both following me.
"Jessica, what on earth are you doing? Are you trying to see the ocean or something?"
"Exactly that," I said, unfolding the stool and holding onto the top as I stood on the first step.
Craning my neck, I searched and searched but couldn't see it. "Is this a good spot?" I asked a clearly bewildered Josh.
He scratched his head. "Uh, no. Move it closer to my balcony, right by the wall."
I did as he said and stepped up again, moving my body all around in my desperate search for the sea.
"Jesus, you're freaking the crap out of me right now," Josh said, grabbing onto my arm as I moved to the top step.
But again, I ignored him because straight ahead was the ocean. And I could see the sun barely grazing the surface of the sparkly water. So yeah, it was a fair distance away, but maybe I could still see a green flash from here.
And I knew it would happen. The dream had to be a premonition of some kind. It had to be.
Holding my breath, I waited, not letting myself stare directly at the sun so I wouldn't injure my eyes.
The only noise was my sniffling mixed in with the occasional annoyed sound from Josh. Even though he was confused and surely thought I was crazy, he held onto my arm tightly, supporting me, keeping me from falling in my mad quest.
But I was determined to not give up. I'd inherited a stubborn streak from my father, and someday, maybe, it'd come in handy.
The sun sank down, on its own magical timeframe, the big orange circle gradually disappearing into the ocean. I knew from what my dad had told me that the flash happened at the very end. And the whole sky didn't turn green or anything. It was more like a sizzle of green right at the top edge of the sun exactly when it vanished from sight.
We were halfway there, and I marveled at how quickly it seemed to fade into the sea. In the sky, it didn't appear to move that fast. But from this angle, I could almost feel the speed of the earth's rotation, making me even dizzier than I already was.
Josh's grip tightened on my arm. And now, I really held my breath, not daring to move, not daring to speak or even think.
The sun was almost gone. Only the top edge remained. This was it. This had to be it. Any second, I'd see that magical flash of green. Any second. Without even blinking now, I stared directly at the little sliver of sun left. My eyes went dry with the effort. But I couldn't miss it. I had to see it.
I gasped right when the sun completely left my line of vision, hoping that'd be it, that I'd spot that flash.
But damn it, nothing. Nothing!
Finally, I released a loud breath. I blinked my heavy eyes. Then I gave the ocean one final glance.
Screw you, ocean.
