AllFreeNovel
Share Us
CHAPTER NINE
“Ahhh.” I smacked mylips, savoring the salt from the rim of my margarita. “Staying in Cozumel was a great idea. And dinner here out on the ocean, also a great idea.”
I gestured to the sandy beach surrounding us, lit with torches and scattered with tables throughout the sand. It was a fine dining restaurant right out on the shore.
“I thought you ladies would like this,” Alice answered. “I know we’ve been on a ship surrounded by ocean for over a week, but sitting on a beach is different. I’m really appreciating the feeling of land beneath me.”
“Me too,” Doris agreed. “I never truly found my sea legs. I mean, I loved the cruise, don’t get me wrong, but I think I prefer dry land.”
“I’m just happy anywhere I can get drinks this good.” Sylvie lifted her craft cocktail made with fresh jalapenos, grapefruit juice, and a bunch of other flouncy ingredients I couldn’t remember.
“And the hotel is beautiful. My room is fit for a queen,” Doris added. “Thank you for booking it, Alice. I slept like a fairytale princess last night.”
“Of course. If we’re staying somewhere, we’re staying in style.”
We’d stopped arguing and stopped feeling bad about Alice footing the bill for all the first-class travel. The other widows and I had enough money from life insurance, inheritances, and savings to live comfortably without working, but none of us could afford the luxury Alice demanded when she traveled. So, she upgraded us all so she didn’t have to slum it, and we got to enjoy a little taste of the rich and famous life she lived every day.
I took another sip of my Cadillac Margarita, smacking my lips again as I savored the upgraded ingredients from the ones at TGI Friday’s I was accustomed to. Roxie and I usually went there at least once a week, and we always split an extra-large one, drinking it with two straws like Lady and the Tramp.
Roxie.
I smiled at the thought of her, as I always did. It had been a year since I found her, yet every day still felt as exciting and new as the first time I’d seen her in that casino in Las Vegas. The day my life changed forever.
Our romance had been a whirlwind, and after going back to Wilder Lane for a few weeks to get my stuff, I’d flown back to Vegas to be with Roxie. It had been so easy moving in with her and starting our life together. Like we’d been an old, married couple for years. I loved every second I spent with her—the love of my life.
Roxiewasthe love of my life, but I still felt Percy was my soul mate, and I’d never regret the decades we’d spent married as best friends. Even though part of me wished I’d found Roxie sooner, I wouldn’t have traded a minute of my life with Percy. Instead, I only wished he’d been alive to meet her. He’d have loved her, and I knew he’d be happier for my newfound love than anyone. I only wished that he’d have gotten the same second chance I had and found a love like mine.
Alice flagged the server down by lifting her empty glass. Even though it seemed impossible she could drink any more than normal, since we’d gotten off the ship, she hadn’t gone a second without a drink in her hand. My tongue itched to tease her about it, but I held back because I knew she was hurting. We had no idea what had happened with Alejandro, but we all agreed Alice hadn’t been herself since she’d returned from her night with him. It pained me to see the light in her eyes had dimmed.
“Two olives, extra dry,” she said to the server when he arrived. He gave a slight bow and took her glass, moving across the sand back to the main restaurant just off the beach. She turned her attention back to us and then focused on me. “So, we need to discuss your wish.”
“Nothing to discuss. I made my wish. We’re going cage diving with sharks.”
The color in Doris’s face drained again when I said the word “sharks.”
“Cage diving, though?” Sylvie asked. “Isn’t that a bit extreme? We don’t even know how to scuba dive. Maybe we can just go to a shark park or something, and you can get in the water with them. There must be a shark petting zoo somewhere in the world.”
“Nope.” I crossed my arms. “Cage diving. In the ocean. That’s the wish.”
Doris whimpered.
“Marge,” Alice started. “We want to support your wish, but we just think it may be too extreme.”
“None of you pansies have to get in the water, you know. I can go in by myself.”
They sat silently for a moment, then Sylvie shook her head. “No. We’ve always done the wishes together. When one goes, we all go. And if cage diving with sharks is truly your wish, then you go, we go.”
Doris whimpered again.
“We’ll be okay, Doris,” Sylvie soothed. “I’m not exactly a fan of this either, but I did look today, and no one in history has ever died cage diving. That means it must be safer than it looks.”
“I hate sharks!” she cried, clutching her linen napkin tight. “I can’t do it!”
Alice pursed her lips. “We’ll do it. We won’t like it, but we’ll do it. We all will. I’ll just give us all some Xanax before we go in. We won’t be scared of a thing.”
“No Xanax for me.” I lifted my hand. “I want to feel every moment of the thrill.”
“Oh, I’ll take the Xanax.” Sylvie nodded. “Two Xanax.”
