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“It’s okay.”
“We don’t have to go. We can stay here. I’ll figure it all out.”
“No. I don’t want that. It was a sweet gesture. I understand why you did it, and maybe you’re right. Maybe I need this. Besides, this isn’t like Danny.”
It’s not, but it is. And we both know it.
“He wasn’t happy,” she adds.
I nod. “I’m sorry.”
“But he trusts you to keep me safe.”
“I will,” I swear to her. “You know I will.”
“I know.”
“Was he mad?”
“Not mad, just…not happy,” she repeats. “I think he feels like we’re betraying the tradition a little bit. Forgetting why we do this.”
“Is that how you feel?”
She looks down, not answering. “He said we shouldn’t go. He made it clear he doesn’t want us to, but it’s not his decision.” She doesn’t mean it in a malicious way. She’s saying it more to herself, convincing herself it’s the truth.
“Everything’s going to be fine. He’ll see. We aren’t forgetting Danny. We’re honoring his life. I have to believe he’d want you to be happy. To live.”
She rests her head on my chest. “I know you’re right. It’s just…hard, I guess. I don’t want to talk about it anymore, okay? I’m tired. Let’s just go to bed.”
And so we do.
CHAPTERFOUR
MAE
We’re having breakfast in our room the next morning, slowly repacking our things as I wait for Florence to text to let us know they’ve woken up.
“Anything yet?” Blake asks, spying me checking my phone again.
“Nope.”
“They both had a lot more to drink than I did. They’ll probably sleep until fifteen minutes before we board,” he says with a laugh.
“As long as they make it to the ship. What do you think of Patton, by the way? We never got to talk about him when we got back last night.”
He stops in his tracks, hands loaded up with the travel soaps and mouthwash provided by the hotel. “He seems nice, I guess. Not really her type.”
“What’s that mean?”
“Well, he’s…” He pauses, searching for the right word. “Kind of nerdy, I guess, isn’t he?”
“Nerdy? Why do you say that?”
“He’s in IT. And, well, I mean, talking to him… He seemed really put together. Like, ‘smart’ is a better word for it.”
I laugh, caught off guard by his bluntness. “You’re saying her type isn’t smart guys?”
He eyes me, a glint of playfulness in his gaze. “You met her last boyfriend, didn’t you?”
