Vince sat on his balcony, watched the sun rise beyond where water touched sky, and felt miserable and empty. Stupid didn’t begin to describe his actions. He was man enough to admit that this separation from Ava was all his fault. She’d done her best, only to be shot down at every turn by his folks.
In the beginning of their relationship, he and Ava had talked for hours and hours about their dreams and hopes, and how that they wanted to travel to another country. Then his folks offered him a fortune to go into the family business—and he couldn’t say no to his mother. Ava had begged for time with him, but he’d kept telling her that they would have time to spend together later. His excuse was that he had to learn all he could about running a multibillion-dollar oil company.
He finished off the breakfast he’d ordered from room service, poured himself one more mimosa, and then stood up, opened the sliding glass doors into his private cabin, and went inside. He should have enjoyed the view of nothing but ocean and sky as the ship glided across the water, but all he could think about was that Ava could have been sitting across the little round table from him. What was she doing that morning back in Texas? Had she begun packing to leave him for good?
He dressed in khaki shorts and a red polo shirt and slipped his feet into a pair of sandals. He ran an electric razor over his face. Mother said a gentleman didn’t go out in public looking like a beggar, but since Ava moved out, he’d been rethinking listening to everything his mother told him.
Can you even see what kind of situation listening to Delores Cargill has caused?the pesky voice in his head asked.
“It’s not all on her,” he muttered. “I’m the cause of most of this trouble because I haven’t stood up to her but three times in my life. Once over my career, and she won that time in a sense. Two when I married Ava, and just this week when I decided to take a week off for this cruise to try to come up with a plan to talk Ava into giving me another chance.”
Sometimes it’s too late to do what you should’ve been doing all along.This time his grandfather’s voice was in his head.
“I hear you, Granddad.” He shoved his room key into his pocket and looked back at the bed that he and Ava should be sharing.
He snagged a cup of coffee in the dining room and carried it out to a deck where chaise lounges were lined up. He chose one at the very end of the row and leaned back to enjoy the view. In a few minutes, an elderly gentleman who reminded him of a skinny version of Sean Connery sat down beside him. He sported a graymustache like the actor had when he played in roles later in his life. His gray hair was feathered back perfectly. His size, posture, hair, and everything about him, other than that little mustache, reminded Vince of his own grandfather.
“Are you saving this for someone?” the guy asked.
“No, sir, and I’ll be glad to sit beside James Bond. Can I go get you a cup of coffee?”
“Just plain old Henry O’Dell, who recently sold his ranch in West Texas and decided to take a year’s vacation on cruise ships, and I’ve had enough coffee this morning,” the guy said. “And you are?”
“Vince Cargill. Pleased to meet you, Henry.”
“Likewise,” he nodded. “I see by that white mark on your ring finger that you aren’t attached, but you have been.”
“Yes, sir, that’s right,” Vince said with a nod. “I made a huge mistake.”
“Can you fix it?” Henry held up his hand. “My white line has gone. My sweet wife died ten years ago, but we had a good long and very happy marriage. Kids were grown and gone on their own paths of life when I lost her. I wanted one of my boys to take over the ranch, but neither of them wanted it, and my daughter couldn’t wait to get away from Texas. I gave them all a healthy little chunk of inheritance and decided to treat myself to an extended vacation.”
“That’s nice.” Vince sipped his coffee.
“First cruise I was on, I saw a lady by the name of Sookie Green, and boy, I’d just love to…” Henry chuckled. “I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’d love to spend time with her. I’m seventy-five years old and had prostate cancer a couple of years ago. The surgery to get rid of it ended the sex stuff, but it doesn’t end the want to have someone to cuddle with at night. And I wouldn’t feel like I was cheatin’ on my sweet wife if there wasn’t any real sex.” He lowered his voice. “I tell myself that she wouldn’t want me to be lonely, but truth is I figure she would scratch Sookie’s eyes out if I got serious about her.”
Vince drank the last of his coffee and started to get up, but then Henry pointed to his left. “There’s Sookie now. Looks like the old gals have taken a pretty little red-haired woman in with them. They do that on every cruise. Kind of reach out to help some lady who’s here all alone so she won’t be lonely.”
Vince recognized his wife and slumped back down into his chair. His heart skipped a beat and then raced ahead with a full head of steam. His hands were so clammy that he almost dropped the coffee mug. He figured she would have returned the tickets she had bought for a refund, but evidently not.
They hadn’t talked in two weeks, not since the night he had come home and found the note saying she was moving into a cheap hotel to have some space to think about their marriage. She had only sent him one short text since then saying that they needed to talk, but shewasn’t ready to do so yet. When and why had she decided to come on the cruise that was supposed to be her anniversary present to him—forthem? Seeing her across the distance made his heart ache and his chest tighten like it did the first time he laid eyes on her at a friend’s wedding reception.
“So, what happened that made you take off your wedding ring?” Henry asked.
“A lot of things, and nearly all of them have been my fault.” Vince looked down at his finger and remembered the night he’d taken it off in a fit of anger. Now he wished he had it back. He kept stealing glances at Ava. He hadn’t forgotten how beautiful she was—inside and out—but seeing her close enough to drink in her whole essence and yet not being able to even talk to her was painful. Only a complete idiot would have put anything ahead of her happiness, and he had the crown for being that fool.
“You wantin’ to get a second chance with her?” Henry asked.
“I’d love one, but I might have blown any hope of that.” Vince shifted his gaze toward the horizon where the water and sky met.
“Well, I’d guess that you ownin’ up to that would be a good start. You should call her when we have cell service here on the ship, or else figure out what stateroom she’s in and just call that room and pour your heart and soul out to her,” Henry said.
“It’s complicated,” Vince whispered.
“Love always is.” Henry chuckled. “Did your mother like your wife?”
Vince wondered if Henry was a mind reader. “Why would you ask that?”
“Because what problems me and my wife had was centered around my mother not liking her.” Henry chuckled. “There weren’t many women on earth that Mama thought was good enough for me. After all, I was born on one of the biggest ranches in West Texas, and I would be inheriting it from my daddy, who got it from his father, and so on and so forth, all the way back to the time before Texas became a state. According to my mother, I deserved a woman better than my Nellie, but the heart wants what the heart wants, and mine wanted Nellie.”
