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The name really suits her for some reason, but I can’t put my finger on why.
“Where to, Claudette?” I ask.
She leads the way and opens the door right opposite my cabin. “We’re practically neighbors,” I tell her.
“Do come in,” she invites me, and I step inside her cabin. “Wow, this is easily twice the size of my shoebox. What do you do on the ship that they give you a bigger room?”
“All aisle rooms are bigger, probably to compensate for the lack of windows.” Oh, I hadn’t considered this. I indeed have a window. It’s not big, but at least I see the water and the sky.
“I’m the ship’s psychic,” Claudette tells me.
“Oh, I didn’t know there was one. Shouldn’t you have a better room than this?”
“It was the only room available. Apparently, they fully booked out. But that’s okay. I know I’m where I’m meant to be,” she says a little cryptically.
Right… she is a little weird but nice. I guess that’s to be expected in her profession. She studies me again, and I fidget uncomfortably. As I sway from foot to foot, my hand brushes a porcelain heart Claudette uses as a paperweight. It falls to the ground and breaks.
I’m mortified.
Way to go, Ella… umm, Ash.
I fall to my knees to pick up the pieces. It’s broken into three. Holding the parts in my hands, I stand up. “I’m so, so sorry, Claudette. Of course, I will replace this somehow.”
But Claudette doesn’t seem to hear me.
Her gaze is riveted on the heart pieces.
Is she trembling?
She closes her eyes.
Long seconds slowly tick by.
I’m frozen in place. The hairs on my neck are standing to end.
What the heck is going on?
I watch Claudette, unsure what to think or feel.
She lets out a long breath and opens her eyes and meets mine.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper again.
She ignores it and taps her finger against her lips. “Wow, you’ve waited for this. I’m not sure yet what it all means.”
I’ve waited for this? Is she talking to herself or to me?
Spooked by her words, I place the three heart pieces on the table, mumbling, “It made a clean break. I could try to glue the pieces back together.”
Claudette’s eyes once more shoot to mine and this time her smile is blinding. “Yes, you will.”
Okayyy.
This woman is weird.
I pick up the broken heart again, and turning on my heels, rush out of her cabin, calling over my shoulder, “I’ll fix it. See you around.”
Then I hightail it to the safety of my shoebox.
