Prologue: Realization

They don't realize the moment it happens, and Kirsten wonders if she is broken, if that parental spidey sense that she should have honed and primed, that tells her when her babies have a fever, when the boys are in trouble, is defunct or skipped two rather than one generation of Nichols.

In their defense, Sandy says, Seth has never pulled a stunt like this. And sometimes he has gotten lost in the moment when sailing. The Cohen in him, Sandy keeps saying as he paces, no different than when he is surfing and is tempted to stay out just a little longer. But the Nichol in him, they both refuse to say it. The Nichol in him would grow uneasy at the thought of nightfall and not coming home.

Sandy is the one making phone calls: Jimmy, Marissa, Summer, and he stops short of calling Caleb Nichol. Caleb wouldn't know where his grandson was if his picture was on the front cover of Riviera with a full color map.

"Mr. Cohen…" It is when he's on the phone with Summer that he catches a break, and Summer in tears. It is then that he realizes before the girl finishes. This is more than just staying out on the beach late. "He left a note...he...he's…"

"Sandy…" He looks up to see his wife in tears holding a note. "He... took the boat..."

Sandy nearly rips the note out of his wife's grasp. His eyes move lightning fast over the words, and he reads between the lines. It says he will call when he is settled to let them know he is alive and semi well. And it is then Sandy knows, his son is a Cohen through and through. Hadn't he made the same decision, as his son? Leaving home, leaving his family. What sort of example had he set for Seth? His sixteen year old self hadn't even met his son, but have story will travel, and it had...right into the ears of Seth. Goddammit.

"Sandy…"

"He says he'll call." He's working on autopilot. "All we can do is wait." He doesn't want to wait. He doesn't. He wants to call the coast guard and make sure his son isn't below the waves, but he knows this mindset. He is sixteen years old again and out the door trying to find space, trying to find peace of mind. And he knows Seth. His son will call.

"That's it?" Kirsten is incredulous, no she's numb. "We're just going to wait?"

"No." Sandy moves in search of the phone, takes a beat, realizes it is in his hand. "No we're not." And he dials the number his foster son gave him.