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I smiled, hearing Russell a few rows over gently teasing Noah about McKenzie and Noah nervously denying his feelings for her.
“No, no, it’s not like that,” Noah swore.
“Yeah, definitely not like that at all. We’re just…really good friends.” McKenzie fumbled with her words.
I laughed to myself as Russell pressed them, refusing to accept their obviously fake denials. It was plain as day to everyone except themselves. Maybe the old man poking fun at them might help them finally figure it out.
From the sound of it, Noah and Russell had begun to heal the rift between them, and I hoped Noah would continue to give his grandfather a chance now that he understood everything so much more.
My mom turned around from her seat in front of me, reaching her hand back for me to take. I took her fingers in mine and squeezed.
“So are we telling Dad about any of this?” I raised an eyebrow.
My mom paused, visibly in thought as she turned her face to the window beside her. “I’ve put him through enough...” She blinked. “But maybe someday.”
“Maybe someday sounds good to me.” My mouth twitched into a smile. Maybe we’d find a way to explain it all one day in the future, or maybe not. Because all that mattered was that what started as a nightmare had ended as a dream. And the things once torn apart, now mended.
Epilogue
Milo
Ten years later…
The sun would be setting in an hour, but those two just couldn’t get their fill of the ocean. I watched from the beach as they picked up shells on the surf, throwing in the odd splash or two every now and then as the foaming tide rolled in. The beautiful barefoot woman and the starry-eyed child at her side who loved the sea as much as she did. My wife and son. My absolute greatest treasure.
“Katrina! Caspian!” I called from where I watched from the reeds by the boardwalk connecting our home to the beach. “The boat’s ready when you are!”
“Five more minutes!” Katrina laughed, the wind sending her hair flowing as she danced in the wet sand with our little boy just shy of two years.
Five more minutes, Starlight. I told her with a warm smile at the sound of their laughter mixed with the crash of waves.
We’d planned a night on the sailboat for stargazing just off the coast, the three of us. I hoped to show Caspian the stars and tell him the tale of the mermaid who loved a pirate, and how they crossed time to find each other. And how the pirate found his greatest wealth in the life he built here by the ocean, where he could be the man he’d wished his own father had been. And years from now, I’d pass down my compass to him, to help guide him when his own storms came.
I reached up and felt the scar over my blind eye, a permanent reminder of my path. But I didn’t need sight in both eyes to see I had everything I needed right in front of me here, in my final and most priceless life—one so much more than I deserved—as a port engineer married to a watercolor artist on the coasts of Cape Cod. Of course, we made sure to pay a visit to Constantine every couple of years to visit Noah and Russell, who owned a joint auto shop and boat repair shop, and where Katrina’s paintings lined the halls of the school she once feared wouldn’t accept her.
As Katrina approached with Caspian in tow, she smiled at me, and I was captivated by those deep brown eyes as much as every time before. I watched them walk back to the house, a trail of saltwater footprints, big and small. And I thought to myself that I’d cross oceans for a mere glimpse of this moment. But I didn’t have to. It was mine. Full sail to the days ahead. No more curses. No more pirates and sirens. Just she and I and a lifetime.
“Have you checked the mail today? I’m waiting for a postcard from McKenzie. Last I talked to her she said she’s loving London. She says she can’t wait to—oh! Everything okay? Are you coming?” Katrina turned around with a grin as she released the hand of a giggling boy who ran to me.
I snapped out of my reverie and went to meet them, lifting Caspian onto my shoulders and kissing Katrina on the way.
“Of course I am.” I smiled.
And I packed the Dr. Pepper. Just in case.
