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charming.”
    “Randy seemed to think so.”
    It slipped out before I could catch myself. In the awkward silence, she ran a hand through her hair.
    “Randy seems like a nice young man,” she remarked after a bit, “but I don’t know him that well. I don’t really know most of the people in the house all that well, except for Tim and Susan.” She waved a mosquito away. “You’ll meet Tim later. He’s a great guy. You’ll like him. Everybody does.”
    “And you’re all down here on vacation for a week?”
    “A month, actually—but no, it’s not really a vacation. We’re volunteering. You’ve heard of Habitat for Humanity, right? We’re down here to help build a couple of houses. My family’s been involved with it for years.”
    Over her shoulder, the house seemed to be coming to life in the darkness. More people had materialized, the music had been turned up, and every now and then I could hear laughter. Brad, Susan, and Randy were already surrounded by a group of coeds drinking beer and looking less like do-gooders than college kids trolling for a good time and a chance to hook up with someone of the opposite sex. She must have noticed my expression and followed my gaze.
    “We don’t start until Monday. They’ll find out soon enough that it’s not all fun and games.”
    “I didn’t say anything. . . .”
    “You didn’t have to. But you’re right. For most of them, it’s their first time working with Habitat, and they’re just doing it so they have something different to put on their résumé when they graduate. They have no idea how much work is actually involved. In the end, though, all that matters is that the houses get built, and they will. They always do.”
    “You’ve done this before?”
    “Every summer since I was sixteen. I used to do it with our church, but when I went off to Chapel Hill, we started a group there. Well, actually, Tim started it. He’s from Lenoir, too. He just graduated and he’ll start on his master’s degree this fall. I’ve known him forever. Instead of spending the summer working odd jobs at home or doing internships, we thought we could offer students a chance to make a difference. Everyone chips in for the house and pays their own expenses for the month, and we don’t charge anything for the labor we do on the houses. That’s why it was so important that I get my bag back. I wouldn’t have been able to eat all month.”
    “I’m sure they wouldn’t have let you starve.”
    “I know, but it wouldn’t be fair. They’re already doing something worthy, and that’s more than enough.”
    I could feel my feet slipping in the sand.
    “Why Wilmington?” I asked. “I mean, why come here to build houses, instead of somewhere like Lenoir or Raleigh?”
    “Because of the beach. You know how people are. It’s hard enough to get students to volunteer their time for a month, but it’s easier if it’s in a place like this. And the more people you have, the more you can do. Thirty people signed up this year.”
    I nodded, conscious of how close together we were walking. “And you graduated, too?”
    “No, I’ll be a senior. And I’m majoring in special education, if that’s your next question.”
    “It was.”
    “I figured. When you’re in college, that’s what everyone asks you.”
    “Everyone asks me if I like being in the army.”
    “Do you?”
    “I don’t know.”
    She laughed, and the sound was so melodic that I knew I wanted to hear it again.
    We reached the end of the pier, and I grabbed my board. I tossed the empty beer bottle into the garbage can, hearing it clank to the bottom. Stars were coming out overhead, and the lights from the houses outlined along the dunes reminded me of bright jack-o’-lanterns.
    “Do you mind if I ask what led you to join the army? Given that you don’t know whether you like it, I mean.”
    It took me a second to figure out how to answer that, and I shifted my surfboard to my other arm. “I think it’s