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“What?” Becky asked, finally catching him staring. Her hand came up to her necklace.

“Uh, nothing,” Will said, quickly averting his eyes.

“Do I have something on my neck?” Becky asked. She turned toward the register where she kept a handheld Hello Kitty mirror, and bent down to check.

“No, uh. I was just looking at your necklace. Sorry,” Will said.

“Oh,” but when Becky turned back, she was smiling. “Cool, right? I got it in SoCal.”

“SoCal?”

“Southern California. I went two summers ago to visit my aunt,” Becky lit up, the customer service flatness falling off her.

“Oh. Cool,” Will said. He hadn’t meant to start a conversation. Felt ill-equipped for it.

“You ever been to Cali?”

Will shook his head. He’d never even left Five Springs except maybe the local beach when he’d been a kid.

“Oh man, it’s awesome there. Like, they’re also a beach state, but it’s a totally different vibe. Big surfing culture. I’m actually planning on moving there, once I save enough money.”

That was surprising to him. Not a lot of people left Five Springs. “Oh?”

“Yeah. I learned how to surf when I was there and,” She sighed, eyes going far away. “It’s like… the coolest thing I’ve ever done. It’s actually why I got this,” she gestured at her necklace. “A little reminder when shit sucks, what I’m working toward.”

Will blinked at her, caught somewhere between impressed and envious. He’d had no idea she’d had ambitions of leaving, let alone a plan. He could almost see it now though, she’d always been strong-willed, selfish in a way that meant she might actually squeeze something worthwhile out of her life.

Will wished he had an ounce of that.

“You surf?” He asked.

“Badly, but yeah,” Becky beamed. Then she moved around the register and was suddenly next to him, lifting her skirt.

It was so bewildering, that for a second Will didn’t understand what was happening.

“Check this out. Hit a reef on my last week there. Fucking gnarly.” She’d lifted her skirt to reveal a huge gash on her thigh. It was long healed, now just a silvery scar.

“Oh, uh. Wow,” Will said, stunned both by the sharing and her proximity.

“Bled so much,” she chuckled. “But Aunt Julie says that’s initiation. You’re not a real surfer until you’ve had stitches.”

“Oh,” Will said again, like a broken record.

Becky put her skirt down and moved back behind the register. “Can’t wait to get outta this town. Especially if they’re going to be making it into one big fucking shopping mall. Eugh.” She rolled her eyes.

“You think they’re really going to go through with it?” Will asked.

They both turned to look out the window. There was more construction equipment out there today and men in suits holding court.

“I don’t know. Mr. Fred Walters sure is trying. I looked into him. He loves ripping rural areas apart to fatten his portfolio.”

“You looked into him?”

“Yeah,” Becky shrugged. “The librarians were awfully helpful,” she said with a sly smile. “Wanted to see if I could dig anything up since the DEP is supposed to come by today. Did you know there’s a whole section of laws about trees?”

“Uh, I didn’t.”

“Yeah, if you cut down certain trees in Florida, there’s like, wicked fines because they’re protected.”