Chapter 41
Chapter Forty-One
When I leave Killick Point on Sunday evening, I step over the crumbling concrete strewn across the path and turn back to look at it once more. That’s when I see something that causes me to stop in my tracks.
A notice.
Stapled to the front of the faded red door I just came out of.
I can’t make out what it says from here, but I see capitalized, bolded, black letters.
That’s never anything good. I run back to the door and turn on the flashlight on my phone.
As I read the paper, an icy chill runs down my spine, and I swear, for a moment, my heart stops beating.
Notice Of Condemnation And Demolition
This property has been condemned due to structural hazards and will be demolished by order of the Southern Nova Scotia Building Department.
All persons are prohibited from entering or occupying this structure.
Posted By: SNSBD
It’s the demolition date at the bottom that shocks me to my core.
Of all the days they could have chosen, they picked this one.
Demolition Scheduled: October 23, 2025
We’re officially out of time. It’s happening.
I whip open the door, entering back into 1993 with a familiar shock, and run up the stairs to find Dylan right where I left him, on the couch with a book in his lap.
“Luce.” He looks up at me, eyebrows knit together, clearly confused why I’m back and out of breath from getting to him so quickly.
“There’s a notice. On the door,” I blurt out in between gasps of air. He puts the book down and comes to a stand as I make it to him in the living room.
“Okay, babe. It’s okay, just breathe. What’s the notice?”
I try to steady myself to calm my racing heart. “They’re going to tear the lighthouse down, Dylan. On the twenty-third. It’s condemned.”
His eyes widen momentarily before they relax back down, and he pulls me into his arms, wrapping me in a tight hug. Here we are again, him calming me down rather than the other way around. “We’ve got our plan, Luce. Did they say when they were going to demolish it?”
I think back to the note, scanning it in my mind for everything it said. “No. There wasn’t a time on it. Only a date. I can try to find out, though. I’m sure there’s a number I can call or someone I can email to get more information.”
“Okay, let’s make that the first step. See if we can find out the time, and if we have to adjust our plan, we will.” He looks me square in the eyes. “This doesn’t change anything, Lucy. We’re going to make this work.”
“I love you,” is all I say as I revel in the feeling of his solid arms around me. I breathe in his fresh, citrusy scent once more before pulling away. “That’ll be my job this week. I’ll try my best.”
“That’s all we can do,” he says as he runs his thumb along the back of my hand. “Thanks for coming back to tell me. I’ll take any extra moments I can with you.”
We say our goodbyes for a second time, and then I make my way home in the dark, still baffled that of all the days to demolish this lighthouse, they chose the one that matters the most.
At least it wasn’t any earlier.
I shudder at the thought as I follow the winding road back home.
To say that I have stress-called the number for the SNSBD over twenty times would not be an exaggeration.
They have either clocked my number and are now refusing to pick up just to spite me, or they are far too busy to even hear their phone ring.
I was able to find their email and phone number online and have already reached out, trying to find out why they are doing this and what time the work is planned for.
So far, no one has gotten back to me.
It’s Tuesday, and I’m distracted during my shift at Pleasant Coffee. I have practically bitten my nails down to the quick, and almost every order that’s come my way, I’ve managed to mess up in some shape or form.
“What’s gotten into you?” Sarah asks me as she smooths out her French braid, ensuring no strands fall loose. “I’m ready to send you to the back for restocking.”
“Honestly, that might be best,” I cautiously admit, my head hanging low. “Sorry, Sarah. I’ve got some, um, family stuff going on, and I’m having trouble keeping my head straight.”
I swear, for the quickest of seconds, Sarah looks at me with empathy before curling her mouth down and pointing to the back door. “Restock the beans, and then come find me.” What a gift she’s just given me. With that, she turns on her heel and heads over to tidy up the front of the cafe.
“Thank god,” I mutter under my breath as I turn around and pop into the back, happy to be away from customers for the foreseeable future.
I finish up the rest of my shift back there, and then once I get home, I grab a bottle of red wine and make a bowl of popcorn, falling onto the couch and wrapping myself up in my soft quilt.
After I’ve scarfed down half the bowl, my phone vibrates with an incoming text, and I flip it over to see who it is.
Priya: Hey you!! come down and let me up
Lucy: What’s the password
Priya: I brought WINE!!
Lucy: Coming!
I open the door downstairs, and Priya is standing there, in hot pink loungewear with her hair pinned off her face with various butterfly and star barrettes. She’s holding a bottle of red and a bottle of white up in the air and gives me a wink.
“Come on in,” I say as she passes me the bottle of Pinot Noir and follows me inside.
When we get up to my apartment, I pour us each a full glass of wine, and we cozy up on the couch under the quilt. Turning to look at me, she tilts her head and asks, “What’s been going on, Lucy?”
She knows me so well. And honestly, I don’t think I can stomach lying to her anymore. “Pri,” I start as I take a hefty gulp of wine for courage. “What I’m about to tell you is going to sound unbelievable, but I need you to trust me, okay?”
“Of course,” she snaps back, face serious, ready for whatever it is she thinks I’m about to say.
She has no idea.
“So…” Another sip for good measure. “My boyfriend.”
“Yes, the sexy deep-sea fisherman who’s moving across the country,” she responds as she grabs the bowl of buttery popcorn and tosses some into her mouth.
“About that,” I start. “He’s not actually a deep-sea fisherman. I lied.”
She cocks an eyebrow, intrigue setting in. “Is he a fugitive? Oh my god, he’s a porn star!”
I almost spit popcorn out of my mouth at that remark. “No, Pri!” We both laugh, and it feels nice. “He’s neither of those. His name is Dylan, and he’s a… lighthouse keeper.”
“What? A lighthouse kee—”
“I’m not done. He’s a lighthouse keeper. From 1993.”
I lift my glass to my lips and finish what’s left in it. Priya just stares at me with wide eyes. Her mouth opens to speak, but she clamps it shut. I take that as my cue to continue.
“Do you remember that lighthouse I told you about? The one where I swore I met a lighthouse keeper?”
“Yeah, the abandoned one.”
“Yes, that one. Well, it turns out when I go inside…” I brace myself once more for this next comment. “I’m actually travelling back in time to 1993, when Dylan, the lighthouse keeper, was alive.”
“Oookay,” she says slowly as she takes another, rather large, sip from her glass. “Lucy, how much wine did you drink before I got here?”
“That’s beside the point! Trust me, it’s insane.
But please, believe me, Pri. Somehow, I can go back in time and be with him.
I don’t really understand how the magic works, but there was a bolt of lightning that came out of a clear sky—a bolt from the blue—and I think it somehow activated something that lets me travel to the past.”
“But… isn’t he the lighthouse keeper who died saving those two boys? That’s Killick Point, right?”
My face falls. “Yes. On October 23. We’re trying to see if there is a way to save him.
And bring him here to our time.” Her eyes widen once more, glass held still at her lips, silently pleading with me to continue.
I tell her everything, from how we got off on the wrong foot to discovering I was actually going back in time.
I tell her about Iris and how she went through something similar, only with a very unhappy ending.
How she said we can’t change the past, and how I’m so unbelievably in love with Dylan that the thought of not being with him is too much to bear.
“We have a plan, and I think it might work, but now to add to my ever-growing list of stressful things, they’re going to demolish the lighthouse the same day as the storm, and I can’t figure out when it’s happening. If they demolish it, then neither of us can make it out on the other side.”
She must hear the panic in my voice because she moves the popcorn bowl to the coffee table and pulls me in close, stroking my back to calm me down. “Shh, it’s okay. We’ll figure this out together.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, Pri. But it all sounds so unbelievable. I didn’t believe it myself at first. I’ve been carrying so much lately, and it’s so nice to let it out.”
“Lucy, you can always tell me things. As nutty as they sound, I believe you. Promise.” She wraps her pinky around mine in solidarity and winks, and I am so thankful to have a friend like her in my corner.
Someone who so easily chooses to believe and accept everything that I’ve told her, without question. That’s a best friend.
I rub my jaw and fiddle with the quilt before straightening myself out. “So that’s what’s been going on. That’s everything, I promise. I’m in love with Dylan Hart and am hell-bent on trying to save his life in less than two weeks.”
“Well, I’ll admit, this is a bit trickier than him moving across the country. Can you two communicate at all when you’re here and he’s there?”
I shake my head and explain how I can’t seem to bring in or out anything extra that might have the ability to change history. Notes, journals, even how my phone turns off when I’m there.
“He has sets of clothes for me ’cause I can’t even bring an overnight bag.” We both laugh as I tell her about the “loungewear” he bought for me.
“Sweet boy,” she says as she wipes a lone tear from her crinkling eye.
I tell her about the plan, and she nods along as she finishes her glass of wine. “I think it’s going to work,” she says when I’m done talking. “I think you guys can do it. Is there anything I can do to help? Do you want me to travel back with you?”
I twirl my glass in my hand as I think everything through. “I love you for asking, but I don’t think it’s a good idea. I don’t know how the magic works, and the last thing I would want to happen is for you to get stuck in the past. It’s better for you if you stay here. But thank you.”
“Okay, but you say the word, and I’ll be there. I’ve got your back.” Leaning forward, she studies me a bit before asking, “What’s going on in your head right now? You look like you’re running through a mental checklist or something.”
“Ha,” I chuckle as I fall back deeper into the couch. “That’s because I am.”
“What’s next on your list?”
“I’m trying to figure out when the demolition is going to start. I know it’s happening on the twenty-third, but I have no idea what time yet.”
“Let me take that load off you, okay?” She places a reassuring hand on my arm. “I can be very persuasive when trying to get answers. Give me the info, and I’ll find out the time.”
The weight that is lifted off my shoulders from that offer is indescribable. I pull her in for another hug, sniffling back any tears that are threatening to fall. “Pri, that’s too much. Thank you!”
“That’s what friends are for.”
We end up staying up far too late for the time our shift starts in the morning, but it’s nice to laugh with her. I hope and pray that one day soon, I can introduce Dylan to my best friend in the world.