In Chapter 3, eight-year-old Jason recalls something his teenage friend Bobby told him during the first season on the boardwalk. Since then, Bobby has mysteriously disappeared.
“You look out as far as you can, and you see to infinity,” [Bobby] said, pointing at the horizon. “As far as you can see to the left and right: Infinity.” We stared at the horizon. “Boardwalk people—all day long we can see to infinity. Who else does that? Nobody. Except for sailors. And maybe cowboys, depending.”
And now, as I lay in bed, I wondered: Was Bobby gazing at infinity on the shore of another ocean? Was he waiting tables in Miami? Standing in line to visit the Gypsy King? “Jason, man, when you get older I'll teach you about girls,” he'd promised me.
Jason goes on to wonder who's going to teach him about girls now that Bobby has gone. And it turns out that, on that subject, Jason has a whole lot to learn . . .
“You look out as far as you can, and you see to infinity,” [Bobby] said, pointing at the horizon. “As far as you can see to the left and right: Infinity.” We stared at the horizon. “Boardwalk people—all day long we can see to infinity. Who else does that? Nobody. Except for sailors. And maybe cowboys, depending.”
And now, as I lay in bed, I wondered: Was Bobby gazing at infinity on the shore of another ocean? Was he waiting tables in Miami? Standing in line to visit the Gypsy King? “Jason, man, when you get older I'll teach you about girls,” he'd promised me.
Jason goes on to wonder who's going to teach him about girls now that Bobby has gone. And it turns out that, on that subject, Jason has a whole lot to learn . . .
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