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“Come with me! We can sail down to South America or to the Bahamas and look for buried treasure!”
“I can’t do that! I have stuff I have to do here. I have other clients lined up and I can’t turn down the business right now. Besides, you’re not exactly ready to be diving on your own like that and you need a lot of equipment to excavate ships like that.”
My spirits fall but curiously it’s not at the part where she said I wasn’t ready. I’m more upset that she can’t come with me. I like Andie. She balances me out and she doesn’t think I’m a total mess just because I bump into stuff sometimes.
We finish dinner in silence and I pay the bill even though she tries to argue with me. I tell her she can buy me ice cream some other time and she sighs but lets it go. We leave the restaurant and head back toward the marina. I remember the way she let me hold her hand on the way here and before I can second guess myself, I reach over and take her hand in mine. Hers is smaller and rougher and I run my thumb over a callous on her palm, smiling when her fingers jerk and tighten around mine.
We walk slower on the way back and Andie stops and points some of the best spots around town. She’s been here for a few years and she tells me about working in the dive and bait shop down by the marina and where the best fishing spots are.
She steers me closer to the wall as we walk along the dock back to the boat and I smile at how protective she is of me. We never talked about me staying on the boat again and I notice that she doesn’t say anything as she leads me over to her boat.
I have to let go of her hand then as we step on board and then head down below deck. The bed is still unmade from this morning and I notice my pillow is still on the ground beside the bed. It hadn’t felt right to sleep on the bed with her last night, not when she had invited me to do so.
“We can share the bed tonight. I know the floor must have been uncomfortable,” she says as she pulls out some pajamas.
I follow suit and grab my own pajamas, changing in the bedroom while she goes into the bathroom. She leads me back up top once we’re changed and we sit on the deck, watching as the sun sets over the water.
8
Andie
I lay awake,staring at the ceiling as Owen sleeps peacefully next to me. I can’t get what he said today out of my head. He’s so passionate, so excited for life, and I can’t remember the last time I felt like that. When was the last time that I was excited about the future? About any plans that I had?
When I first bought my boat, I realize. That was years ago. The last few years, since mom passed and dad moved away, have become a grey, boring, blur. How did I let that happen?
I think that Owen and I both know how important time is. Hasn’t our parents’ deaths taught us that we need to live life now because we never know when our time could be over.
When I was younger, I used to dream about living on some beach in some tropical paradise but as I’ve gotten older, I’ve kept pushing it off. It’s just a silly dream and I need to stay here for my business, but is that really true? I can teach people how to scuba dive from anywhere. Why did I give up on that dream?
I roll over onto my side, studying Owen’s face. He’s sleeping next to me, curled up on his side and he looks so happy. Even in his sleep he has a smile and I feel my own lips tip up. His blond curls are hanging over his eyes, his hair its usual mess but it just makes him look charming to me.
We’re polar opposites him and I. He’s light, with his curly hair and goofy smile. He stumbles through life with a smile on his face, willing to take a leap of faith, and just happy to be along for the ride. I’m dark, with my black hair and serious eyes. I always like to have a plan, to know where I’m going, but look where that’s gotten me.
I’m stuck, in a rut, bored with life. I wish I had his courage. I wish that I could take chances like he does and follow my own dreams.
What’s stopping you?My mind whispers and I stare back at the swaying ceiling. What is stopping me? Sure, I have clients here but I could teach in any beach town. Why can’t I be on some island in the Bahamas like Owen said. I could get a little house on the beach and teach classes to tourists. I’d probably get even more clients there than I do in Virginia. Sure, I’d be further away from my dad, but he’s close to retiring. Maybe he would join me and we could teach classes together.
I sit up in bed, excitement causing me to bounce slightly on the mattress and Owen wakes up, rolling over in bed and almost off the side. I grab his arm, dragging him back before he can fall and he blinks sleepily up at me.
“Is it morning?” He asks, his eyes drifting shut again and I grin at how cute he is.
“I’m in.”
“In what?” He asks. His arm wraps around my waist and he buries his face in my shoulder as he pulls me back down to the bed.
“Let’s go find treasure.”
That gets his attention and he jerks up in bed. The boat rocks and he tips back but I grab his shirt and keep him on the mattress. One things for sure, life with Owen is never going to be boring. I’ll have to stay on my toes if I want to keep him alive.
“Really? Like really really?”
“For a writer, you don’t seem to know that many words.”
“Andie!” He shouts, making me laugh.
“Yeah, I’m really in. Let’s go to the Bahamas. I can teach you more diving on the way.”
Owen lets out a shout, throwing his arms over his head and I laugh, grinning at him as he stands and starts bouncing on the bed. After he almost hits his head on the ceiling, he sits back down, grinning at me.
