One Summer

47

“Am I interrupting something?”

Jack turned to see Jenna standing there on the catwalk, a bottle of wine and two glasses in hand. She saw the letter in his hand but said nothing as he thrust it in his jeans pocket and quickly pulled his shirt on, his fingers struggling to button it up as fast as possible.

“What are you doing here?” he said a little harshly.

She took a step back. “I’m sorry if I snuck up on you.”

“Well, you did.”

“Look, I’ll just leave.”

She turned to go when he said, “No, it’s okay. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at you. I just wasn’t expecting anyone.”

She smiled. “I wonder why? It’s after midnight and you’re standing on your own property at the top of a lighthouse. I would’ve thought there’d have been hundreds of people through here by now.”

His anger faded, and a grin crept across Jack’s face. “Dozens maybe, but not hundreds.” He eyed the wine. “Coming from a party?”

She looked around and set the glasses on an old crate while she uncorked the wine. “No, hoping I was coming to one.”

“What?”

She poured out the wine and handed him a glass, then clinked hers against his. “Cheers.” She took a sip and let it go down slowly as she gazed out over the broad view. “God, it’s beautiful up here.”

“Yeah, it is.”

“So you finished the stairs, I see.”

“Still need to do some work, but the heavy lifting’s done.”

“I guess you’re wondering what the heck I’m doing here?”

“Honestly? Yeah, I am.”

She told him about Liam and Mikki entering the talent competition but withheld the reason why.

“Hey, that’s great. I bet they have a good chance to win.”

“They do, actually. I’m no expert, but I’d pay money to hear them.”

Jack swallowed some of his wine. “But why didn’t Mikki just come and tell me?”

“I’m not really sure. She asked me to, and I agreed. Maybe you should ask her.”

Jack slowly nodded. “I know I’ve gotten my priorities screwed up.”

“Well, realizing the problem is a good first step to fixing it. And like you said, you fix things.”

“Yeah, well, lighthouses are easier than relationships.”

“I would imagine anything is easier than that. But that doesn’t mean you can ignore it.”

“I’m starting to see that.”

“I know what you told me before, but why is this so important to you, Jack?”

He put his wineglass down. “This feels like the place I can be closest to her,” he said slowly. He glanced over to find Jenna staring at him with a concerned expression. “Look, I’m not losing touch with reality.”

“I didn’t think you were,” she said quickly.

“But it’s still crazy, right?”

“If you feel it, it’s not crazy, Jack. You’ve been through a lot.”

“The Miracle Man,” he said softly.

Jenna gazed at him but said nothing, waiting for him to speak.

“I wasn’t supposed to be here, Jenna. I mean living. I was just hanging on ’til Christmas, for the kids. For Lizzie.”

She touched his shoulder. “I shouldn’t have asked. You don’t owe me an explanation about anything.”

“No, it’s okay. I need to get this out.” He paused, drawing a long breath, seeming to marshal his thoughts. “I spent half our marriage in the army, most of it away from home.” He stopped, glanced at the dark sky. “I was crazy in love with my wife. I mean, they say absence makes the heart grow fonder? I could be in the next room and miss Lizzie, much less halfway around the world.”

A tear trickled from Jack’s right eye, and Jenna’s mouth quivered. She swallowed with difficulty.

“I always saw Lizzie and me as one person whose halves got separated somehow, but they found each other again. That’s how lucky I was.”

Jenna said quietly, “Most people never have that, Jack. You were truly blessed.”

“The last night we were together she told me she wanted to come back here for the summer. I could tell she wanted to believe that I would be alive to come with her. She even talked about me fixing up the place. This lighthouse. I never thought I’d have the chance.”

“So you’re fulfilling Lizzie’s last wish?”

“I guess.” He turned to look back out to sea. “Because she never got the chance to come back.”

Jenna said, “And then you got better?”

He glanced at her, his eyes red. “But do you know why I got better? Because Lizzie was right there with me every step of the way. She wouldn’t let me die.”

“Why are you telling me all this?”

“Because if I don’t tell someone, I think I’m going to... to... I don’t know. And you seemed like someone who would understand.”

A gentle rain began to fall as they stood there. Jenna put down her glass, gripped Jack’s shoulders, turned him to her, and put her arms around him.

As the rain continued to come down, they stood there in the darkness slowly swaying from side to side.

“I do understand, Jack. I really do.”