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Show Fair Forever 130 Captain looks at my mom and then looks at his boat. "I'll take forty," he says solemnly. "The old girl needs some work.", His eyes sweep the lines of his boat with affection. "Come by the jail tomorrow and I'll give you the key." "Mr. Callister, I insist you reconsider," Mom blusters. "That's far too little for a boat like yours. Even if it does need some work-" Captain holds up his hand, cutting her off. "I've made my deal and I'm sticking to it," he says. "I keep my word." Before Mom can argue, he reaches to the bottom of his boat, pulling up a new carving, large and gray. "I almost forgot," he announces. "I made this for Bradley." He hands the carving across the water and I take it in my hands. "The. lighthouse," I breathe. I look closely and see the bands that circle the light. The crashing surf. The small windows that spiral to the top. I even see a small skiff pulled up on shore. I say. "You carved Fair Forever, too. At the lighthouse." "For when you row there next year," he says with a smile. Then he opens his throttle and speeds away, waving. "Don't forget tomorrow!" he yells. "I'll have the key readv." That evening I arrange the Captain's carvings on my desk. They circle my conch. They tell a story, the three carvings and the shell, sitting there together. A story of two lives-mine and Amanda's. Maybe three if you count the Captain. Maybe four if you |