The gray skies were starting to clear as Billy expertly piloted the boat to rest alongside the dock. Cutting the engine, he quickly tossed lines to Toby and Ali. They pulled the boat in against the dock and tied it to the waiting cleats. The bumpers Billy had put out squeaked as the low waves in the harbor gently lifted and lowered the sailboat, their home for the next week, up and down. His parents had graciously offered to let them borrow it for the trip, a vacation for the group of the childhood friends, reuniting after another year away at different colleges.
Ali and Toby had arrived on the island on the same ferry the day before. They met up at the terminal and spent the whole crossing talking non stop about what we’d been up to for the past year and their upcoming adventure. The conversation was just starting to slow when the ferry docked and they disembarked, walking off with their bags and scanning the waiting crowd for Billy. He waved them down and greeted them warmly then led them to the car. On the way to his parent’s vacation house they stopped in the little town to get dinner and supplies, Billy leading them to all the best shops and avoiding the tourist traps. Ali and Toby followed along, remembering some of them from previous visits.