Page 25 of Every Beautiful Mile

“Crab!” is all I can make my 2AM mouth shout.

Dickey makes the rounds to the three of us, eyeing what we find in calm silence.

“What’s it mean?” Finn asks with a squint.

“Well, boy,” Dickey pauses with a smile. “It means we havin’ ourselves de first jubilee of de season.”

Finn pumps a fist through the air with a shout, and my throat clogs at the simple beauty of it.

Dickey stands calmly before giving us directions.

“We got a little time to get ready before de rest of dem come in. Lil’ Miss?” Dickey nods toward Marin. “I need ya to go ring de bell to let the folks know that we havin’ ourselves a jubilee. Go eat some food or get some coffee, and we’ll meet back at de wagon to take it all down to de beach.”

The three of us take off running like chickens with our heads cut off while Dickey and his golden retriever walk slowly and take a seat in a rocking chair on the front porch of the office. His silence only breaks occasionally when he whistles a few notes.

Once Marin rings the bell, the campground lights up. People in pajamas—some in less than—fling doors open and start yelling. The out-of-towners wonder what the hell is going on, while the experienced locals know exactly what the hell is going on.

I scramble around the camper to make coffee as all the excitement hums outside the window. Marin and Finn stumble into each other as they make a fast breakfast and scream about what might happen. As tired as I am, I can’t imagine not being part of this.

I leave first, wandering over to the office and the old man who sits outside of it.

“Hey, Dickey. I wanted to thank you so much for doing this. For my son, Finn, this is as exciting as Christmas morning for him.”

He smiles as I sit in a rocking chair next to him, watching the excitement unfold around us.

“I shood be thankin’ y’all. Ain’t nobody gonna be lookin’ for a jubilee fer anotha’ coupla’ weeks. Your son’s feedin’ us all today.” He takes a sip of his coffee. “Now tell me, whatcha’ll doin’ down here gettin’ fish wid an old man in de middle of de night.”

It is the definition of a loaded question.

“Hmm. Well, we fixed up an old camper and decided to take the summer to see the country. We’re from Florida, so we’re used to fishing, just not quite like this under such magical circumstances.”

I take another sip of my coffee and click my tongue at the bitter flavor.

“What makes ya call it magic?” he asks.

Even in the dark, I can see a twinkle in his eye.

“Well, the way my son explains it, this is a very precise set of circumstances that has come together to make this rare event happen. I can’t even really believe it. Things like this don’t just happen everywhere, ya know?”

I drop my head back on my chair.

“Well, accordin’ to yer words, maybe der’s a lot more magic in dis world den we give credit to,” he says. “Dem kids o’ yours? Perfect timin’. I don’t pretend to be a smart man, but what if ya had ’em a little lata or soona? Reckin’ we don’t know if dey’d be de same folks. Magical, as you call it. Birds migrate. Certain flowers grow only in certain areas. Sometimes we see rainbows paint de sky after a storm. Ya boy told me y’all just got to see sponges from de floor of de Gulf. Sounds special from where I’m sittin’. Jubilees happen all ’round us if we know where to look.”

He pats the dog on the head and takes another sip of his coffee as his eyes look out into the darkness of the early morning.

I soak his words up like the desert sand in a rainstorm, letting their meaning seep into every part of me.

“How’d ya husband die?” he asks nonchalantly as he takes another sip of coffee.

“How do you… why would…”

I reach instinctively to spin the ring on my finger before remembering it isn’t there.

“Women don’t keep weddin’ bands if dey’s divorced.”

His eyes drop to the chain hanging around my neck.

“Eitha way. Life, death, light, darkness… it’s all magic. Timing and perfect circumstances spontaneously comin’ togetha for a phenomenon of one type or anotha. Funny ting about it, dough, we forget it’s all temporary. It has a season. No jubilee lasts forever—hell, we lucky if it lasts til de day breaks. Dat’s why it’s fun,” he says with a small chuckle. “If we skipped everytin’ we wanted to cause we knew it was gonna come to an end, dat’d be a damn shame if ya ask me.”

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