AllFreeNovel
Share Us
With a quiche baking in the oven, I checked traffic and saw that we should have an uneventful drive. That was more likely to be the case this time of year than when it got colder out. The oven began to beep about the time Georgia appeared in the doorway. “You’re just in time,” I told her, pulling the food out of the oven.
“That smells amazing,” she said, sniffing the air.
“I hope it tastes amazing,” I replied. “It’s been a while since I made a quiche, but it’s my mom’s recipe, so I’m pretty good at it—I think.” I opened the cabinet and pulled out a couple of plates. A few moments later, we settled at the table with plates of quiche and orange juice. I could tell Georgia was feeling a lot like I was, like she was sad this was all over but knew it was inevitable. We simply couldn’t continue this—whatever it was.
After breakfast, we caught a ride over to the bar to get in my truck and then started the long ride to Juneau where the cruise ship should be coming into port soon. The two of us chatted a bit, but for the most part, we were silent, a heaviness settling over us in the shade of sorrow.
Juneau traffic was a bit heavier than expected, but I still managed to get to the dock in plenty of time for Georgia to get back on board before the ship pulled away. I got out of the truck, planning to go open her door for her, but she was already out.
We met in the back of the truck. “I can walk you up,” I offered.
“Oh, that’s okay. I think I can manage this time since it’s clear the anchor’s still dropped.” She looked out at the ocean and then back at me, and I could see the sadness in her eyes. I felt it in my soul.
“Okay, well… I’ll wait here until the ship leaves to make sure that you got on all right.” I smiled at her, but I could feel it didn’t reach my eyes.
“You really don’t have to do that.”
All I could do was shrug. No more words would form at the moment. When she reached up and wrapped her arms around my neck, I encircled her waist, not wanting to let her go.
But I had to.
Georgia kissed my cheek quickly. “Thanks, Beau. For everything.”
Swallowing hard, I said, “Have a nice rest of your vacation, Georgia.”
With that, she took a few steps away, lifted a hand, waited for me to wave back, and then walked away.
I continued to follow her with my eyes until she disappeared from sight. Then, with a deep breath, I crawled back into the truck, just sitting there, watching the waves crash to shore as the boat filled with people returning from their excursion.
A little less than an hour after Georgia had walked away from me, the boat began to pull away from port. It felt like my heart was tied to the boat, the ship wrenching the organ from my body as it backed away.
When I could no longer see the ship, I turned on my truck and made the long, lonely drive back to Sitka.
Along the way, I told myself to snap out of it, that I was being stupid. Sure, I’d had a good time with Georgia. She was an amazing person, and I had been myself in ways I hadn’t been able to for years. But I’d known all along it wasn’t real, and it was stupid of me to feel like I’d lost something when Georgia had never been mine to begin with.
Back in Sitka, I found myself heading over to the bait shop, though I wasn’t sure why. Perhaps Ryan’s idiocy was calling to me. He knew how to make me laugh like practically no one else in the world, though Georgia had made me laugh for different reasons altogether. She was clever. Ryan was a dufus, but he was my best friend, and I needed to see his face.
Pulling into a spot, I got out of the truck and wandered inside, the crisp summer breeze cooling my cheeks. It was a warm day, but it wasn’t hot like it would be further south this time of year. The fresh air helped clear my mind, but it didn’t free me from my trouble.
This time, Ryan was standing behind the checkout counter, leaning his face up to the small fan that was meant to keep the air circulating in the room. Instead, he was talking in a deep, robotic voice saying, “Luke, I am your father.”
The laugh I’d been longing for locked in my throat as the sound of the bell above the door finally registered, and Ryan turned to face me. “Oh, hey. If it isn’t Yanni himself.”
“What’s that now?” I asked, confused.
“Yeah. I mean, if you’re going to make me play second fiddle to some cruise ship girl, I guess that makes you an expert fiddle player, right?” He shook his head at me, but I could tell he wasn’t really mad.
Shaking my head right back at him, I tried to decipher what he was trying to say. It didn’t really make sense, but I got it. He was upset that I hadn’t let him go fishing with me the day before. “Sorry,” I told him. “You don’t have to worry about Georgia anymore. I took her back to her ship a little while ago. She’s probably halfway across the ocean by now.”
“Damn. How fast is that cruise ship?” he asked, and I couldn’t tell if he knew I was exaggerating or if he really thought Georgia had boarded some sort of sonic cruise liner.
“Super fast,” I told him. “How’s business today?”
“Same as always. Slow,” he said, picking up a rubber band off the counter and flipping it across the room. “Sorry, man. It seems like you really hit it off with that girl.”
I wasn’t sure what to say, so I only shrugged.
The bell rang out again, which ended our conversation for now. One of the longtime residents of Sitka came in to buy bait. He grabbed what he needed, and Ryan rang him up, wishing him good luck with the salmon as he headed out.
