“Want to go inside and see just how much?” he asked.

Trent shook his head. “No offense, but I’ll pass for right now. I already think that you’ve made a big enough blunder. If I step inside and see it, I may be forced to have you committed. Oh, and by the way,” he added almost lazily, “this place is haunted, you know.”

Garrett turned and looked at Trent with a sense of amusement.

“And just how do you know that?” he asked.

“A guy I know is friends with the previous owners,” Trent answered. “To hear him tell it, they were always complaining about things that supposedly went bump in the night.”

“Oh yeah? Like what?”

Trent shrugged his shoulders.

“Sometimes things were found in different places, the owners would hear strange noises, plus various other kinds of disturbances. You know,” Trent added with a smile, “the usual sort of spooky stuff. No offense, but before you finish the renovation, you might want to think about calling Ghostbusters and having this place slimed.”

Garrett laughed a little and stood up.

“No offense taken,” he answered. “But now it’s time for the champagne.”

Garrett picked up one of the glistening bottles. After taking its neck in a firm grip, he strode over to the nearest porch column.

“Ready?” he asked Trent.

“I am if you are. But don’t blame me if the whole damned place comes tumbling down, just like when Samson destroyed the temple.”

Garrett raised the champagne bottle high over his right shoulder.

“I hereby christen thee ‘Seaside,’ ” he said loudly.

He then smashed it against the column, champagne and bits of glass flying everywhere. Happy with his success, Garrett unceremoniously dropped the broken bottleneck and went back to his lawn chair.

“Thee . . . ?” Trent asked. “I hereby christen thee . . . ? I know that you love the early eighteen hundreds, but are you sure you haven’t gone around the bend?”

Garrett leaned back in his chair and smiled.

“Yeah, I’m sure.”

He popped the cork on the second champagne bottle and filled the two Styrofoam cups. He handed one to Trent, and the two friends raised them high.

“Here’s to lunacy in all its forms,” Garrett said, knowing that Trent would agree.

Trent smiled back at him.

“Hear, hear!” he answered.

While sipping their champagne, the two friends settled back into their chairs. Garrett then reached down and opened the small box that Trent had brought to the porch, from which he produced two cigars, a cigar cutter, and a lighter. Among the many opinions and tastes that they shared, a good cigar rated near the top of the list. Garrett cut them both, handed one to Trent, then lit Trent’s cigar followed by his own.

Knowing that this was a time to be savored, the men remained quiet. Between sips of champagne and puffs of cigar smoke, they watched the Atlantic Ocean send her countless waves only to destroy themselves against the rocky shoreline. It was one of those New England evenings when the sky becomes a lovely sort of purple, just before night descends in full. Now more than ever, Garrett knew that he was home.

After a time, Trent looked at his watch.

“I should be going,” he said. “Are you still sure that you want me to take your Jeep?”

“It’s either that or you can stay with me, here among the ruins.”

“Not on your life! But you do have your cell phone in case you need anything?”

Garrett nodded.

“In that case, I’ll be going.”

“Let me walk you down to the car,” Garrett said. “There’s something I want you to take back.”

Garrett walked over to the FOR SALE BY FORECLOSURE sign embedded in the grass, pulled it from the ground, and dumped it in the back of the Jeep.

“Take that with you,” he told Trent. “I’ll drop it off at the Realtor’s office tomorrow.”

“Okay, boss,” Trent answered as he climbed into the Jeep and started the motor. “What time tomorrow?” he asked.

“Six A.M. sharp,” he said as he reached into the back of the Jeep, this time retrieving his sleeping bag, a small cooler, and an electric lantern. “And don’t be late. I need time at my condo to get ready for work, and we’ve got the Morris presentation at ten o’clock.”

Trent smiled and gunned the engine a bit.

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” he answered. “See you tomorrow at six.”

While the black Jeep bounced jauntily down the long driveway, Garrett smiled slightly as he watched it eventually disappear from view.

After again looking at the ocean for a time, Garrett began the walk back to the porch.