One Tomorrow At A Time

The funny thing about summer is that everyone knows it's temporary maybe that's why we try so hard to make every day unforgettable. Every June, my family packed the car until there wasn't an inch of space left, towels were stuffed in between EVERY single one of our suitcase. The beach chairs were on top of coolers and my little brother always insisted on bringing enough toys to build an entire city out of sand. Every June, we drove to the same beach town most people would probably call it forgettable. It had one grocery store, an old ice cream stand that somehow still was there EVERY summer and a wooden boardwalk that creaked beneath your feet no matter how carefully you walked across it, but to me, it was magic. The porch of our beach house still made those strange sounds exactly the way it had when I was seven. Some things never changed, I liked that, maybe that's why I came back every year or maybe I just liked believing that some places could stay exactly the same, even when everything else didn't.

The first two days passed exactly as I expected, I swam, I bought cookie dough ice cream from the stand on the boardwalk, even though I knew it would melt before I finished it. I watched the sunset from my favorite spot near the dunes, I started reading the same book I'd been trying to finish since spring, “Fake Skating”. Life was wonderfully, beautifully normal. On the morning of the third day, I spread my towel across the sand, opened my book and absentmindedly began singing to myself: "Look into your eyes and the sky's the limit". Then something rolled to a stop against my towel, I looked down. A small pouch dusted with white powder rested beside my foot, curious, I picked it up. Before I could decide what it was, a deep voice called from a few meters away. "Sorry!" a boy said, running toward me "I swear it wasn't trying to escape". I held up the little pouch.

"You know, most people keep track of their stuff". He laughed.

"I was actually going to blame the wind."

I looked around. "There isn't any."

He nodded thoughtfully. "Then I guess my excuse needs some work"

"It definitely does."

When he reached me, I handed him the pouch. "What's even in there?"

"Climbing chalk."

I frowned. "So you carry powdered rocks around?"

He placed a hand dramatically over his heart. "That is the least flattering description of my hobby I've ever heard"

"I try my best."

He smiled, and it immediately made me want to smile back. "I'm Rowan", he said.

I introduced myself, brushing the sand from my hands before shaking his. For a moment, neither of us said anything so without thinking, I looked back down at my book and quietly continued singing.

"I'm helpless"

"Look into your eyes, and the sky's the limit"

I looked up so quickly I nearly dropped my book. "You know Hamilton?"

He shrugged. "Only every word to every song"

"That's either really impressive or mildly concerning"

"I've been told it's both. My older sister has played that soundtrack so many times" he said. "At this point, I can recognize it from three notes."

"So you've basically been trained"

"Exactly"

I smiled. "That's a surprisingly useful talent."

"I've been waiting years for it to come in handy"

For the next few minutes, we talked about musicals, favorite songs, the conversation was easy. Too easy. Like we'd accidentally picked it up in the middle instead of starting at the beginning. Eventually, he looked toward a group of teenagers gathered near the climbing wall farther down the beach. "I should probably go before my friends decide I've been kidnapped"

"That would be unfortunate"

"I'd hate for my reputation to suffer."

"You have a reputation?"

He grinned. "I'd like to think so"

I laughed again.

"See you around?"

I looked toward the ocean. The tide was slowly pulling away from the shore, leaving tiny seashells in the wet sand.

"Yeah" I said. "See you around"

As he walked away, I opened my book again. I stared at the same sentence for nearly five minutes, not because it was confusing, because, somehow, I couldn't stop smiling. At the time, I told myself it was just another conversation, just another normal summer morning. I had no way of knowing that, years later, I wouldn't remember a single page of that book but I'd remember the boy who interrupted it.

The next morning, I wasn't looking for him at least, that's what I told myself. I opened my book and read exactly three lines before a familiar voice interrupted me.

"I've decided"

I looked up. He stood a few feet away, hands tucked into the pockets of his shorts, looking far too pleased with himself.

"Oh?"

"Your book is definitely just a beach accessory"

I laughed. "I've been reading it"

"You've been holding it."

"There's a difference?"

"A huge one"

I held the book against my chest dramatically. "You know, some people would apologize for accusing someone of literary crimes"

"Some people" he said "wouldn't leave the same bookmark in the same place for two days"

"You've been paying attention?"

"I notice things"

I wasn't sure why that made my heart beat a little faster. "That's slightly creepy"

"I prefer the word: observant"

"I prefer creepy"

"Agree to disagree"

From that day on, seeing him became part of my routine. Every morning we'd somehow end up in the same place, even though neither of us ever admitted we'd planned it. We swam until our hair dripped onto our shoulders, we argued over which ice cream flavor are underrated and overrated. We raced to the end of the pier, even though he always won.

"I run track" he'd remind me.

"I know" I'd groan. "You mention it every time."

"Because every time you challenge me."

"I'll beat you eventually."

He smiled: "Keep dreaming"

Some afternoons we wandered through the little bookstore on the boardwalk, pretending not to judge each other's choices.

"You've got questionable taste" I told him, holding up one of his books.

"Questionable?" he gasped. "This is a masterpiece"

"You haven't even read it."

"That's irrelevant"

"It literally isn't"

We laughed so much that the owner eventually started smiling whenever we walked through the door together. Other days, we'd sit at the edge of the pier with our feet dangling over the water, talking until the sky turned into shades of pink and yellow. Those conversations were my favorite. They started with things that didn't matter, favorite movies, favorite songs, the best kind of weather. Then somehow, they became the conversations that did. The dreams we were too embarrassed to tell anyone else, the places we wanted to see one day, the fears we laughed about just to make them seem smaller. Somewhere between those conversations, he stopped feeling like someone I'd met that summer, he started feeling like someone I'd known much longer.

One evening, while we watched the waves, he threw a shell across the water. It bounced twice before disappearing.

"You've gone quiet" he said.

"I was thinking"

"Dangerous"

I nudged his shoulder.

"I'm serious"

"So am I"

I smiled.

"I was just wondering how summer always goes by so fast"

He looked toward the horizon.

"Maybe it's because we're actually paying attention"

For a moment, neither of us spoke. I looked at him then. The sunlight caught his face and his eyes reflected the ocean so perfectly that I couldn't tell where one ended and the other began. I had spent years believing the ocean was the prettiest shade of blue I'd ever seen, then I met him.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Hm?"

"You're staring"

Heat rushed to my cheeks. "I was not"

"You absolutely were"

"I was looking at the water."

He looked behind him. "The water's over there"

I buried my face in my hands. "I can't believe you noticed"

"I notice things" he said with a grin.

"Right"

"I've mentioned that"

As the sky turned darker, we stood and brushed the sand from our clothes, he shoved his hands into his pockets.

"So...tomorrow?"

I don't know why one word suddenly made me smile so much, maybe because it wasn't really a question anymore, it was a promise.

"Tomorrow"

As I walked back toward the beach house, my phone rang. Unknown Number

The message said: You forgot your bookmark. I frowned. Then I realized, he'd slipped it into his pocket when I'd closed my book. Before I could reply, another message appeared:

Him: Figured I'd save your place since you never seem to get any farther.

Me: You're impossible.

Three dots appeared almost immediately.

Him: I've been told that before.

I smiled at my screen the entire walk home. That night, I never opened my book. Instead, I lay awake thinking about terrible jokes, musicals, sunsets, and a boy who somehow made normal days feel anything but normal. Maybe summer hadn't changed after all, maybe I had.

The strange thing about routines is that you never notice they've become traditions until they're about to end. Somewhere along the way "Tomorrow?" had become our goodbye. Every evening, as the sun disappeared, one of us would ask. "Tomorrow?" The answer was always the same. "Tomorrow." Until one afternoon, there were only three tomorrows left.

"My family's leaving on Saturday" I said quietly. For a moment, all I could hear was the tide pulling back into the ocean. He didn't answer. His fingers absentmindedly traced patterns through the sand between us. Finally, he looked up.

"So that's it?" I hated how small those words sounded.

"I guess". Neither of us spoke. "It's funny," I said, forcing a smile. "I spent months looking forward to summer"

"And now?"

"I don't want it to end" He let out a quiet laugh, though there wasn't anything funny about it.

"I don't think it's summer you're talking about."

I looked at him. He wasn't looking at the ocean, he was looking at me.

"I think I've been lying to myself."

".About what?"

"That I was coming to the beach because I liked the sunsets"

I smiled a little.

"You don't?"

"They're beautiful". He paused. "But I stopped coming for the sunsets a long time ago". My heart skipped. "I came because I knew you'd be here." Neither of us moved. "I kept telling myself it was just a summer friendship" he continued. "Then every morning I'd wake up hoping you'd already be on the beach."

I laughed quietly. "I thought I was the only one doing that."

"You weren't"

I looked down, suddenly fascinated by the sand beneath my feet. "I've been trying so hard not to like you", I said.

He blinked. "Why?"

"Because I knew summer would end."

"And?"

"And I figured it would hurt less."

"Did it?"

I shook my head. "No"

He smiled sadly. "I had a feeling. You know..."

"What?"

"I think I finally figured out why I kept telling such terrible jokes"

I laughed. "The really terrible ones?"

"The really terrible ones"

"Why?"

He took a small step closer. "Because every terrible joke was worth it if it meant seeing you smile".

I felt my face grow warm. He smiled, almost shyly.

"I never understood why sunsets were everyone's favorite part of summer", he continued. The breeze lifted a few strands of my hair as I looked at him.

"Personally" he said, "I thought your smile was prettier”

I couldn't help it. I smiled. "See?" he whispered.

"What?"

"There it is."

“And you, Rowan.No one's ever noticed me the way you do.

"For the first time since we'd met, he didn't have a joke, he simply reached for my hand.

"You know," he murmured, "I was going to wait until tomorrow"

I smiled. "There aren't many tomorrows left"

"No"

"So...don't."

He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.

"So this is really happening?" I asked, almost in disbelief. "I was starting to think you'd never kiss me."

He laughed, shaking his head. "I've been trying to work up the courage all summer"

"Good thing you finally did"

He closed the small distance between us and gently pressed his lips against mine, then it felt like the most natural thing in the world. When we finally pulled away, we couldn't stop smiling.

"You know" I teased, "for someone who's always prepared with terrible jokes"

He raised an eyebrow. "You were awfully quiet"

"I was busy"

"Doing what?"

He squeezed my hand. "Trying to remember this moment forever"

I looked at him, laughing through happy tears. "I don't think either of us is going to forget it"

Summer ended exactly the way it always did. The beach house was cleaned from top to bottom, all of the towels were folded away. Everything looked the same and yet, nothing felt the same. Before we left, I walked down to the beach one last time. He was already there.

"I had a feeling you'd come" he said.

"I had a feeling you'd be waiting"

"I guess this is goodbye" I said. He shook his head almost immediately.

"No"

"No?"

"It's just see you later."

I smiled. "I like that better"

He reached into the pocket of his sweatshirt and pulled out something I'd almost forgotten about, my bookmark. "I figured you might finally finish your book"

I laughed. "You know, I don't think I ever made it past chapter 3"

"I noticed"

"Of course you did."

"I notice things"

I looked down at the bookmark before slipping it between the pages of my book, then I looked back at him. "You know..." I said, "I never thanked you"

"For what?"

"For making this the best summer of my life"

His smile was small but somehow it said everything.

"I was going to say the same thing"

My mom called my name from the driveway, it was time. I wrapped my arms around him one last time, holding on for just a second longer than I meant to. When I finally stepped back, he smiled.

"Tomorrow?"

A laugh escaped me before I could stop it. "Tomorrow"

I climbed into the car, watching him grow smaller in the window as we drove away. I thought it would hurt more than it did maybe because I knew this wasn't really the end. That night, after hours of unpacking, my phone rang.

Him: Tomorrow?

I smiled so hard my cheeks hurt.

Me: Tomorrow.

Then another message appeared.

Him: And the day after that?

I laughed.

Me: The day after that, too.

Years from now, I know I won't remember every conversation we had. I'll forget which songs were playing at the ice cream stand or what page my bookmark was on but I'll always remember the feeling of that summer. Because I learned something. Summer always ends. But sometimes, if you're lucky enough, the people you meet during it don't and maybe that's the funny thing about summer. It was never unforgettable because it lasted forever, it was unforgettable because for one beautiful season, we chose each other, one tomorrow at a time.