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I shrugged. "She's in a wheelchair on oxygen, but mostly, she can't afford it."
"I could put Candace's mom up in the same hotel as you," Luke replied. "I could pay her way to Manhattan from Portland."
"Really?" I poured us both a mug of coffee. "You'd do that?"
"I'll get her a wheelchair accessible suite and she can have her own bedroom," Luke offered. "She'd have room service covered too for food. All you'd have to do would be arrange for a taxi equipped for wheelchairs to the hospital and back."
I shook my head. "You are too good," I replied, wondering whether Mrs. Carter would accept. "I know that she's on a very tight budget."
"It would make me happy to be able to do it," Luke said. "You could stay at the same hotel. You could even have adjoining rooms if you want. I just wanted to make your stay as comfortable as possible."
"I know," I said and reached out across the table to take his hand, squeezing it. "I appreciate your generosity. I'll call the hotel and see if I can make arrangements for a suit with adjoining rooms. She should be there, just in case."
"She should."
"What about you? Are you okay that I'm leaving?"
"Of course," he said. "I'm just sad you'll miss seeing Brazil and the east coast with me."
"I'll go there next year with you," I said and dug into my breakfast of bacon and eggs. "We'll take a trip around South America to Tierra del Fuego and then to Machu Picchu."
"It's a plan," he said and leaned over the table to kiss me.
"It's a plan," I said and held out my hand. "Pinky swear?"
He grinned. "Pinky swear."
We hooked our pinky fingers together and smiled at each other.
We'd only been off the boat once when we flew back to civilization for Christmas with my parents. The rest of the time, we'd been on the cat, traveling around the world.
I wasn't sure I'd love sailing, but I did. When the wind was right and the seas were fair, we'd lie on the dual decks of the cat and catch the sun. The sky seemed endless out in the middle of the ocean.
For some reason, I wasn't afraid out there despite being so far from land.
It was paradise.
Even the bad weather didn't faze me. We'd been lucky to have mostly good seas while we made our way across the Pacific, but Luke expected some weather when we made the South Atlantic crossing and we had it.
I'd miss that part of the trip with him, but he'd have John and Greg as company.
My bestie needed me.
I called Mrs. Carter and offered her the chance to go to Manhattan so she could be with Candace. She protested at first, but then accepted.
"Can you get someone to help you get to the airport?"
"Yes," she said. "I have a home care nurse. She could make arrangements with the disabled taxi service."
"The airport personnel will be prepared for you," I said. "All you need to do is pack your bags and get to the airport. We'll take care of the rest."
"Tell Luke I can't repay him," she said, and I knew she felt guilty.
"It makes him happy to be able to help," I said and smiled.
"Thank you so much..."
I said good bye and turned to Luke, who was smiling softly.
