Page 123 of Ten Years and Then…
Daniel guided her to a little stone ledge to sit down. “Daniel, I said I’m fine,” she protested.
There was a voice behind him—Belle. “I’m sorry, ma’am,” she said, walking past him to take a closer look at Leanne. “You’ll need to come to the office. We have a first aid kit there, and Jacques is trained.”
“I’m a nurse! I know what a serious wound looks like.” Leanne’s voice was raised; she was barely keeping it below a shout. He’d never seen her this upset. “This’ll stop bleeding in a minute, I’m completely fine.”
Belle wasn’t having it. “It’s regulations, ma’am. No one can go into the lagoon with an open wound. It’s unsafe for you, and also for the dolphins.”
Leanne’s face was redder than the blood on her leg. “No! They cancelled the snorkeling, and now I can’t swim here, either? It’s not fair!” He didn’t blame her; this was frustrating, even though he understood why they had the rule.
Maybe there was a way to salvage this. “What if we get her first aid right now, and then after they clean it up, could she go with the next group?”
Belle shook her head. She only seemed to have bad news. “There isn’t going to be a next group. Yours is the last one today. The weather report is unfavorable, and they are cancelling the rest of the sessions today.” She sighed. “Please don’t blame me, this comes from the management, they have to take special care with the dolphins.”
Leanne cursed under her breath, and Daniel’s eyes went wide. He hadn’t known she even knew that word. Belle pretended she hadn’t heard it.
“Daniel, you go. You swim. One of us ought to enjoy it,” Leanne said, forcing her voice into something close to her usual calm tone. But he couldn’t. She was injured, he had to go with her to first aid.
“Leanne …”
She grabbed his hand, squeezed it hard. “I mean it! This sucks, but I don’t need any moral support to have a cut cleaned and taped up. Please. Go and swim, and you can tell me all about it afterwards, so at least I’ll be able to enjoy it vicariously.”
She wasn’t going to change her mind—and he doubted he could change it, either. So he kissed her forehead, apologized to her, and went off to the changing room.
Nora, ten minutes later
The previous swimmers were out of the water, and now it was her turn. In just a minute or two, she’d be nose to nose with a dolphin.
The trainer, a tall, redheaded man who looked like he was barely out of high school, beckoned her group over.
“Right, I’m Mitch, I’ll be with you in the lagoon.” The Australian accent didn’t surprise her; after five days aboard a ship with crew from thirty different countries, she was used to it. “I hope you’re ready for the experience of a lifetime, but first, some very simple rules …”
He didn’t finish; Belle’s voice rang out from behind her. “I’ve got two more for you, Mitch! And then you’re done for the day.”
Nora turned to see the two new arrivals: a young woman in a red one-piece swimsuit, and …
Oh, God.
Daniel.
They had a plan! She left a note, exactly like he’d said! What was he doing here? He wasn’t supposed to be here! He was going to ruin everything!
And yet, in the midst of her panic, another thought rose up. It was clear and it was bright and it was the most true thing she’d ever known:
She was glad he was here.
Overjoyed.
If this was going to be the experience of a lifetime, she wanted to share it with the love of her life.
And that man wasn’t Greg.
She couldn’t pretend anymore. She couldn’t keep lying to herself.
It was—it had always been—it would always be Daniel.
Daniel, the same time
He said a quick prayer that Nora had already finished her swim, that she was already drying off in the changing room, anywhere but here.
