Page 129 of Ten Years and Then…
Nora stepped onto the white sand, expecting to see Daniel at any moment. There’d been nothing from “Diane” on the note board last night, or this morning. But Greg wanted a quiet day on the beach, and there was no logical argument she could make against it, so all she could do was keep her eyes open, her wits about her, and hope for the best.
It was strange, though. Beyond strange.
Daniel had never, ever failed to do what he said he would. Unless something had happened to him. He could be sick, stuck in his room or even down in the sickbay. There was no other explanation.
And if that was true, then she didn’t have anything to worry about. Except for finding a pair of unoccupied beach chairs; it looked like half the passengers aboard ship had the same idea Greg did.
“Over there,” he said, pointing down closer to the beach, where there were two free chairs—next to one that was folded out and occupied by a blonde woman laying out on her stomach. Nora had seen the back of that blonde head before.
In the hot tub, with Daniel. And the next day, in Charleston.
But Greg was already heading her way, and there was nothing she could do except follow him.
He got within a couple of steps, and his shadow fell over her. She didn’t turn over, she just said, barely below a shout, “I told you, my boyfriend is coming back in a minute! Do I need to get security?”
Nora understood the situation instantly. She wasn’t actually waiting for Daniel; there’d be a towel on the chair next to her if she was. But she didn’t want a single guy to claim the chair and spend an hour hitting on her, and a dozen single guys had probably already tried that this morning. She must have thought—totally reasonably—that Greg was just another one.
“No, I didn’t mean anything!” Greg sounded almost panicked. She would have to step in.
“He didn’t. He’s my boyfriend. We were just looking for two empty chairs together,” Nora said, in her calmest voice.
“Oh! I’m so sorry,” the woman said—Leanne, there was no doubt once she sat up to face them. “I had no idea there were so many sleazy guys on this cruise. But I’m not really waiting for my boyfriend, he’s back on the ship. He’s not feeling well, but he insisted I enjoy the beach without him.”
Of course Daniel would.
She reached out a hand. What else could Nora do but shake it? “I’m Nora. And this is Greg. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Leanne. It really is too bad Daniel’s not here. We haven’t made any couple friends on the cruise. My parents always end up meeting other couples when they go, and they try to keep in touch afterwards.”
“I know what you mean,” Greg said, sitting down on the chair farther away from Leanne. “We haven’t met any other couples, either. Maybe on the next cruise.”
Nora couldn’t find her voice. What could she possibly say, anyway?
She felt her stomach churning, and a throbbing behind her temples.
Was meeting Leanne like this God’s way of rubbing her nose in what she and Daniel were doing, the way that some people did to their dog when it pooped on the carpet?
Daniel, four hours later
After a few hours of sleep, and reapplying the skin lotion twice, Daniel was finally starting to feel a little better when the door opened and Leanne walked in.
She’d gotten plenty of sun, and she was smiling—almost giggling to herself. “I didn’t go snorkeling, it was too crowded, so I just went to the beach, and swam for, I don’t know, an hour? And I met the nicest couple. You would have loved them. From Boston. She’s a writer for a science magazine, he’s—something to do with physics, he got talking and he lost me right away with all the jargon. But they were so sweet. Maybe we’ll run into them again before the cruise is over.”
So much for feeling better. He wanted to go into the bathroom and vomit, and it had nothing to do with his sunburn.
It had to be Nora and Greg that she’d met.
It was his own fault for getting himself in such a bad state yesterday. Even if he could have gotten to the note board this morning, it wouldn’t have mattered, because how could he have told Leanne what to do or not do on her own?
And now she’d met Nora—and Leanne had no idea that she was talking to the woman his heart truly belonged to.
The woman he’d be breaking up with her over.
He couldn’t wait any longer. This couldn’t continue for three more nights.
He could sleep in the solarium until the end of the cruise. She could smash the window and throw all his clothes into the sea; it was no less than he deserved. But he couldn’t lie to her anymore. He had to tell her now.
“Leanne.”
