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“Where’ve you been all night?”

“Uhhhh” This was about theI could conjure up “We’ll talk later, okay?”

I disconnected before she could ask more and turned off the phone

After taking a s, I started the car and headed back toward the highway The dark-blue eastern sky was striped with fiery orange and salmon pink I succu area near the boardwalk

Pulling into a spot and locking the car, I climbed the ramp to the boardwalk and crossed to the rail I leaned on the cold ainst me The horizon blazed in Technicolor shades of pink, yellow, and blue along with the hot reddish-orange ball of the sun Above the water, gulls circled and cried mournfully A lone bicyclist rolled down the boardwalk behind me

I shivered and crossedup on the sand see the shore, over and over

I stood alone and watched, a stranger in a strange land Feeling no more welcome than a visitor from an alien planet

After a good half hour watching the sun coether I wasn’t going to acco at the beach

“C’her spots than this Get going”

I turned andto the lot where the car was parked I unlocked the car, slid inside, inserted the key and turned it Nothing happened

“What the f-!”

If it had beenwas a purple piece of shit on wheels But this was Jaru to start

“Ohhh!” I could have wept I sat, staring straight ahead, and realized the hood looked slightly bent And not quite closed Like it had been jimmied open

“Fuck me!” I jumped out and ran to the front of the car I could easily see the daled the catch and opened the hood fully Wires had been pulled out all over A random act of vandalism