Present Day
 

Yuri sped down the highway, the wind whipping at  her  hair  in  the  open  Jeep  as  she  left  Corpus Christi behind and headed over the causeway.  The island was where she normally went when she needed to think, when a design or a jingle eluded her, or when she just needed some alone time. Like now.

She turned onto the  state  park  road,  flashing  her  annual  pass  at  the  gate.  The attendant waved her through without looking.  They all knew her Jeep by now. It was a Wednesday in early May and  the  parking  lot  at  the  day use area was nearly empty.  She parked in her usual spot under one of the palm trees and got out, taking a water bottle with her as she walked.

She headed south, her bare feet cooled by the waves as they splashed on shore, then raced back again. Taking a deep breath of the salty, humid air, she let her mind wander where it may as she aimlessly walked, listening to the sounds of the gulls and shorebirds as they came to inspect her, hoping for a handout.

She  wasn’t  surprised  to  find  herself  chasing  around  memory  lane  again.  It  was  something she’d been doing ever since she got that damn invitation to her twentieth class reunion.  She didn’t know why it had affected her so.  When the invitation for her tenth reunion came, she’d looked at it, shrugged, and tossed it in the trash, not giving it another thought.  Of course, ten years ago she was enjoying the freedom of life in Austin,