Blue’s father and grandparents died when he was a teenager, and their absence left him with few he trusted to turn to for advice, except his brother. Blue confided in Whitley more than in anyone else in his immediate family.
“It’s good to hear your mother is doing well,” Whitley said.
Blue appreciated that. “Thanks, but I think I’m in trouble.”
Whitley slowed his stride, giving him his full attention. “How so?”
“I missed my Yosemite trip with Jo. I felt so bad, I avoided calling her while I was gone. I didn’t know what to say.”
“Well, that sounds like you have a situation.” Whitley clasped his hands behind his back.
“It’s bad. I’d planned to propose on our trip.” Blue blew out a breath. He hadn’t told anyone, and saying the words out loud felt strange.
“Did she suspect that?”
“I don’t think so,” Blue replied. “But that’s why I planned it. I bought a ring, and I picked out a spot at Glacier Point. You can see Half Dome and the whole valley floor from up there. I thought that was the perfect place to ask her to spend the rest of her life with me. Like our lives were a wide vista before us.”
Whitley turned to look at him. “Sounds quite poetic.”
“I hoped it would be all she’d dreamed of.”
“Then your mother called,” Whitley said.
“And I went.” Blue shoved his hands into his pockets. “By the time I realized she was okay, it was too late to go back. So I stayed and hid from Jo, I suppose. We’re not in a good place anymore.”
“Does Jo think you chose Chicago over her?”
“She wouldn’t say it like that, but that’s how it feels.”
“I imagine she’s pretty upset.”
“You have no idea. I don’t know if I can dig myself out of this mess.”
They rounded the corner of the building, and the ocean spread out before them again. Sailboats cut through the waves.
“What a shame,” Whitley said. “Can you reschedule your trip?”
“I don’t have any vacation left and won’t have enough for several months.”
Whitley seemed to consider this. “Do you think she would have accepted your proposal?”
Blue slowed his pace, staring at the ocean. “I think she wants to. But Jo has been nervous about commitment because of her parents’ divorce. She swore she’d never end up in the same situation.”
“And you?”
Blue let out a breath. “I love her, but we’re awfully different. When I think about the future, I get this tightness in my chest, and I don’t know if it’s excitement or fear. In my line of work, we think about that. I don’t want to leave her alone with a couple of kids. You know what I mean.”
Whitley nodded. He didn’t seem surprised. “That must put a lot of pressure on you.”
They resumed walking, their shoes crunching on the gravel path through the gardens.
“I’ve never married,” Whitley said. “So I can’t speak to the institution from experience. But I’ve watched a great many couples pass through this hotel over the years. Honeymoons, anniversaries, the occasional reconciliation or breakup. And I’ve observed some things.”
“What’s that?”
“The couples who last might be very different, but they appear to value the same things in life.” Whitley paused to straighten a crooked garden stake, a reflex from decades of maintaining perfection.
He continued, “You might ask yourself some questions. Do you and Jo share common values? Will you support each other in working toward goals? And do you have a similar outlook on what really matters in life?”
