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“Can we talk about it? Can I change your mind?”
“Do you even want to?”
“Of course I do. I don’t understand what I’ve done.”
“It’s more about what you haven’t done, honestly. Crisis always shows one’s true colors, and I’m realizing I don’t always want to come in second to your job. I don’t want to be the one rubbing sunscreen on our children while you sip your coffee and don’t notice me struggling.”
His eyes narrow, head tilted to the side as he tries to understand the reference. “What was that?”
“Nothing. Just forget it.” I try to move past him to grab a pair of shoes I missed, but he blocks my way, a hand held up in the air.
“Wait!Look, I know I work a lot, but I thought you liked that. When we first started dating, you told me you were impressed by my work ethic. You said you’d never dated anyone sogrown up.I’m still that guy. I didn’t change, Florence.Youdid. You’re changing the rules without giving me a new instruction manual.”
“Yes, I know. But everything is different now. I like that you work, yes, but when my best friend goes missing, I guess I just thought you might skip a conference call once or twice.”
He waves his hands in the air with exasperation. “So tell me that! You’ve completely shut me out of all of this. If you want my help, tell me.”
“I shouldn’t have to tell you!” I shout, then lower my voice, forcing myself to calm down. Reaching past him, I grab the shoes and shove them into my bag. “I’m sorry, I don’t have time for this.” I turn around, zip my suitcase and drop it to the floor.
“I think you’re just using this as an excuse.”
I spin back to face him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I think, for whatever reason, you’ve decided you don’t actually want to be with me and this is just a convenient excuse for you to dump me.”
“Convenient?” I cry. “You think my best friend’s disappearance is convenient?”
He lifts a hand in defense. “Bad choice of words. I’m sorry, I’m just…” He lets out a breath. “I really like you, Florence. This has all thrown me off. I’m sorry, I’m not sure how to act or what to do. I’ve never dealt with this before.”
“Funny, neither have I.” I start to walk past him, but he touches my arm.
“Can we please just talk about this?” His voice is desperate. Pleading. “Tell me what to do, and I’ll do it. Let me get you off the ship. Blake too, if you want. Let’s get off and fly home. It’ll be safer. Then we can get in touch with the police and try to get some real answers.” The thought brings tears to my eyes, which he misreads as me being grateful. “Come on. We can leave right now.”
“You don’t get it,” I say through my tears. “I can’t just leave the ship. This is where she was. Leaving now will be like abandoning her.”
“How? For all we know, she’s not on the ship. For all we know, she’s back in Cozumel, and every minute we’re here is a minute farther from her.”
I shake my head, swiping a finger under each eye. “I can’t leave. I just… I can’t. And anyway, Blake won’t leave either, and I can’t abandon him.”
“Did you ask him?”
“I don’t have to.”
He presses his lips together. “Then what can I do? Name it.”
I start to turn him down, but then a thought occurs to me. “Actually, maybe there is something. Can you look into a man named Zach Carter? Like, could your company find more than an internet search could? And fast, too? Like today?”
“Yeah, sure. It shouldn’t be a problem. What can you tell me about him? Who is he?”
“He was a friend of Mae’s and ended up on this cruise. They… He was the one I told you she danced with Tuesday night. He’s supposed to live in Tampa. His parents own a restaurant called Shoreline Grill.”
“Yeah, okay. I should be able to find out something. Is there anything specific I should be looking for? Background? Credit?”
“Just anything that might make him dangerous.”
His face goes serious like I’ve just given him a mission he’s ready to accept. “You think he had something to do with her disappearance?”
“I don’t know, really. He doesn’t seem like a bad guy. But he was the last one to see her before she disappeared, so if there’s anything shady about him, I want to know.”
