Chapter 33

This was what she’d been missing all her summers. She loved it now as much as she had then.

Unlike the boardwalk at Virginia Beach, which she’d only visited once, the Wildwood boardwalk rose above the beach high enough to allow tourists to stroll beneath it. At one time, her parents had told her the ocean actually roiled beneath the boards, but each year the water retreated farther, until now it was a thin blue line at the horizon. Tara crossed to the boardwalk’s other side and leaned against the rail, but couldn’t see much of the surf or the people frolicking there. She knew the boardwalk stretched for two long miles, along the eastern edge of the island, and she’d read on Wikipedia that it was rumored to house more amusement park rides now than Disneyland.

As a kid, she’d loved Hunt’s Pier the best, so she couldn’t wait to see how much that pier had grown since she last saw it. So she’d head that way first, then circle around and come back, stopping whenever she wanted, to look at whatever caught her fancy.

Settling her crossover purse more firmly in front of her waist, she headed north, where she knew Hunt’s to be. The boardwalk was busy but not crowded—people came out in droves at night, when the rides were in full swing and lights beckoned from the midway. Now there were mostly moms with strollers, and teens hanging around the arcades, and couples holding hands or snuggling as they walked.

A lotof couples.

This would be the perfect place to bring a date,Tara thought, watching one couple canoodle at a small bistro table outside a pizzeria as they shared a root beer float.

But no. She wasn’t looking for romance. She didn’t want a summer fling, or even a one-night stand, and she sure as hell wasn’t interested in Marlene’s attempt to hook her up with what’s his name. This was her time. She didn’t need to share it with anyoneto enjoy it.

Just keep telling yourself that, a small voice inside her whispered.

She tamped it down, and refused to look at any more couples. My time, she thought again. In her mind, she pictured the words in bold and underlined, twice. This was an attempt to remember the joy of her childhood summers, before she became a responsible adult, before she had to work day in and day out, nine to five, paying bills and making ends meet. Before she’d ever kissed a girl and knew they could be anything more than friends.

She didn’t want anything complicating the few days she had. Not Amanda, not Marlene, not even herself.

Now, where was Hunt’s Pier, anyway?

* * * *

Apparently gone.

Tara walked as far as 26thAvenue, which marked the boundary between Wildwood and North Wildwood, then turned around and walked back, slower this time. It was somewhere around here. She saw a Surfside Pier, but that wasn’t it. But Hunt’s should’ve been close by…

Outside a bar and grill called Cap’n Jack’s, she stopped a waiter in full pirate garb. The guy was much younger than she was, but maybe he’d know. “Excuse me,” she said. “Can you tell me where Hunt’s Pier is? I’m a bit turned around.”

He nodded at the restaurant’s patio, beyond which stretched an empty expanse of pier. “That’s what’s left of it, I’m afraid,” he told her. “They shut it down back in the eighties. My dad said it was a real shame, too. They had the coolest rides. Some spookers, I hear.”

“Damn it.” Tara stared at the empty pier, unsure what to do or where to go now. So much of her childhood had been wrapped up in the rides on Hunt’s. So much of what Wildwood meant to her had been right here

And now it was gone. Damn

The waiter gave her a crooked grin. “Sorry. You might try Morey’s, though. They have some great rides. Or the new water park that just opened up.” His grin softened. “If you’re interested, I could show you around later. I get off work at six.”

Tara realized he was still talking to her and turned her attention back to him. “What? Oh, no, I’m not—I mean, thank you, but my cousin’s bachelorette party’s tonight. I’d love to, you seem really nice.”

If half my age,she added silently. Was there a word for young guys who ran after older women? She should see if she could find a rainbow necklace in one of the shops to ward off such advances. They didn’t happen often, but when they did, she always felt horrible turning them down.