Chapter 28
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Friday May 6th was Eve's 15th birthday. It was also 1171 days until impact. Eve had no real expectations for a big party this year. She'd planned to simply walk home from school to enjoy her weekend. But when school let out Zack and Kendall were there to pick her up. They had a suprise, they were taking Eve to Wildwood for the weekend. Eve was suddenly very excited for her birthday present. They assured her that Cujo would be taken care of until they came back on Sunday evening. The drive took over an hour. Eve did her homework during this ride. When they reached Wildwood Eve still had time for a quick swim in the ocean. Then the three of them had a picnic of pizza and soda on the beach. Kendall had been sober for three days, she promised not to drink during this family weekend. They all felt they needed this bonding time. On Saturday they spent time on the beach, swimming in the ocean. Normally Eve would read a book on the beach during this vacation. But they had neglected to bring books. At any rate this vacation was short, Eve wanted to cram as much fun into this weekend as she could. Late afternoon they went to the boardwalk. Eve went on all her favorite rides, particularly the scary "Castle Dracula." After the rides they went to "Snow White's" which featured posters of Disney movies. After dinner Eve went to the arcade, played a few videogames. She mostly played skeeball, still trying to get that elsive perfect game. She still didn't reach the magic 900 score, but still hoped to get this another day. At the end of the night Eve cashed in her points and bought some small prizes. As they walked back to the motel they came across a boardwalk chapel. Eve had passed this place before, but never taken much stock of it. Tonight a preacher was talking about getting saved by Christ. Tonight, Eve decided to stay and listen for a bit. The ocean had after all always given Eve a certain faith in a higher power. It seemed unlikely that something this beautiful could get created by accident. On Sunday the family went to a buffet for breakfast. They played miniature golf, and spent much of the day at the beach. Eve savored the ocean as much as she could. When it was time to go home Eve kept her car window down. She smelled the ocean until they were too far away. Eve tried to just savor the whole experience. But now, Eve feared she 'd experienced the ocean for the last time.