Page 9 of Footprints in the Sand
“Are you going?” Theo asked. “I’m thinking about it.”
It was the strangest conversation jump in the world, but one Eva was grateful for. Their mother blinked at Theo with confusion and asked, “Are you reading romance novels these days?”
Theo shrugged. “A guy can love, can’t he?”
“I suppose so,” Meghan said, still perplexed.
“Maybe that’s why I keep going through these epic breakups,” Theo suggested, wagging his eyebrows. “I’m looking for the one, and I can’t stand when it doesn’t live up to the movies and books!”
Meghan laughed and looked at Eva. “Your brother is something else.”
Eva’s heart felt squeezed with sorrow. She was going to miss her brother to death.
Could she do Greece without him?
When Finn fully moved out of the house and left the island for Boston, he texted Eva to tell her it was all clear and ready for her. Via a system Eva eventually agreed upon, he transferred some money into her account, while keeping their joint account open as well. What she had was enough for now, but it was also painfully low in a way that didn’t recognize the difficult work Eva had done over the years, nor the painful days she’d spent asking for raises and budgeting. It was hard to believe she had to start over in this way, as well as the romantic way.
FINN: I know you can never forgive me for what I’ve done. I’m going to do everything in my power to pay you back one day.
Eva wanted to text back that she wasn’t holding her breath, but she kept it in.
Without Finn’s belongings at the house, it felt big and vacuous and strange. Theo suggested that they throw a little house party, but Eva still didn’t want too many people to know about the breakup before it was necessary. She decided to invite her best friend Rainey, telling her they were having a movie night because Finn was out of town.
Rainey arrived with heaps of snacks: chocolate bars and Twizzlers and bottles of wine. She scooped Eva and Theo into hugs and then blinked around the living room, furrowing her brow.
“Something’s different. Are you redecorating?” she asked.
It was then that Eva burst into tears. For the next half hour, Rainey and Theo poured her wine and listened to the details of what she was feeling, how she so desperately wanted to forgive Finn and invite him back, and how, despite that, she wasn’t sure if she could ever see his face again.
“He disrespected you in the worst way imaginable!” Rainey kept saying. “He doesn’t deserve to kiss the ground you walk on!”
Theo shook his head and sipped his wine angrily. Outside, dark clouds spat rain. They put on a film calledAlmost Famousand sat cozied up, watching it. Halfway through, Eva paused it and told Rainey her other news, the news she kept forgetting—about her big summer in Greece. Rainey’s jaw dropped. “That isn’t what you need right now,” she said. “You need to besurrounded by people who love you! You need to be on the island! You need to be here!”
But Eva had already made up her mind.
“Does your mom know?” Rainey asked, her eyes buggy.
“My mom doesn’t know anything yet,” Eva admitted. “I’m waiting for the perfect time to tell her.”
Theo snorted. “There’s no perfect time. She’s going to hate it, and you’re going to have to go through with it anyway.”
Eva knew he was right.
Chapter Six
Somewhere Over the Aegean Sea - June 2025
Eva had never been on such a massive boat before. The Blue Star Ferry from Athens to Paros was nine stories high, featuring three restaurants, enormous garages for cars, sleeping cabins, and numerous small shops that sold snacks, bottled water, and small gadgets for bored children. She’d never been on a cruise, but she imagined it was like this, sort of. Kind of. At the coffee shop, she bought an iced cappuccino called a “Freddo Cappuccino” and immediately spilled it on her thigh. Cursing herself, she sped to the bathroom to try to clean herself up. But the problem was, she’d opted for a light yellow dress, and the stain was prominent and somehow getting worse as she scrubbed it. Exhausted after the ten-plus-hour flight, Eva squatted in front of her backpack and searched for a ratty T-shirt and a pair of shorts, which she changed into, not wanting to go down to the lower luggage hold to get anything better out of her suitcase. Her life had fallen apart, and shelooked like it. Dimitra’s sister would probably try to ship her off on the next boat.
Out the window, it didn’t look like a glittering Greek postcard-worthy day. Storms frothed over the water, and the boat began to teeter strangely, making her stomach churn. The last thing Eva needed was to get seasick. Hurrying to the on-board pharmacy, she bought a Dramamine equivalent and hunkered up in the corner, willing the four hours to pass.
But suddenly, her phone began to explode with messages from her mother.
MOM: I know you think you have to be brave right now, but nobody is forcing you to do this. If you want to come back to the Vineyard in a week, your dad and I would be happy to host you while that woman is at your place.
MOM: I’m worried, you know. It isn’t like you to be so rash. I know that what Finn did was absolutely atrocious, and I know it’s knocked you off your feet. But that doesn’t mean you have to run away from your life.
MOM: We want to be there for you during this time! We want to help you! I wish you would let us.
