Ollie sighed up at the ceiling. “I didn’t want to say anything ’til tomorrow, but Neen got it out of me.”
“Got what out of you?” I looked between Ollie and Nina, but neither met my gaze. Ollie wrung his hands in his lap, and my stomach plummeted with fear. Was he sick? Had someone died?
“I’ve got a job at a restaurant in Miami. Il Gabbiano.” A smile touched his lips but disappeared as soon as Nina started crying again. “Tomorrow’s my last shift on theSerendipity.”
“You’re leaving,” I said.
“I am.”
I leaned against the door, relieved. A sob escaped Nina, and I tried to see things from her point of view. Ollie leaving wasn’t exactly a tragedy. No one in yachting expected to work with the same crew forever, and Il Gabbiano was one of the best restaurants in Miami. It was a big step up for Ollie. But it was also the end of an era. Other than Captain Xav and RJ, Ollie and Nina were the only ones who’d been on theSerendipitylonger than I had, having started on the same charter season eight years ago. No wonder she was so upset. Not only was I certain the two of them were in love with each other, but the relationship between chief stewardess and chef was one of the most important on the boat. The guests’ happiness depended on them understanding each other.
I’d met Ollie and Nina when I snuck onto theSerendipityin the middle of the night five years ago. I’d moved to Florida two years before and had found myself adrift and friendless. Old Gary, who lived two doors down from me, had a friend who owned a yacht in the marina. I’d known this because it was all he’d talk about whenever I ran into him at the pool or the shuffleboard court. It was allSerendipitythis andSerendipitythat. After a particularly bad night bartending, which had ended with a patron barfing down my shirt, I’d decided to cheer myself up by stealing a bottle of champagne and setting off for the marina, ready to sneakaboard theSerendipityand pretend I was someone else. Someone who didn’t get barfed on in a bar.
Finding the yacht hadn’t been hard. Sneaking onto it was easy. The trouble began when I couldn’t pop the cork. Cursing myself, I’d snuck into the galley and grabbed a knife from the counter. But when I’d run the blade over the cork, it went flying, erupting in a bubbly mess on the floor. As soon as it had happened, Nina and Ollie burst into the galley, and I froze, not realizing anyone had been on the boat. They’d caught me standing over the sink, a champagne bottle cradled in my hands, the galley floor soaked.
“The fuck?” Ollie had said, bursting into laughter. Nina hadn’t laughed. She’d narrowed her eyes at me, her expression searing. Not knowing what to do, I’d snapped up a damp towel from the counter and started wiping the floor without a word to either of them.
Eventually, I’d fessed up to why I was there and explained my connection to Old Gary, who they knew as Mr. Simmons; my shit day; and my trouble with the cork. Nina must’ve seen something in me—desperation, a good arm for cleaning up spills, or maybe she thought I’d be entertaining—because she told me they needed a new stewardess and wondered if I’d be interested, since I liked being on yachts so much. It turned out they’d needed someone to start that day, so I tugged on a spare polo and was trained well enough for my first shift under Nina’s watchful gaze. A week later, I completed my required basic safety training. And the three of us had been friends ever since.
But now, Ollie was leaving.
“It’s true, Jo. Time for bigger and better things,” he said.
“You’re an asshole,” Nina said.
She stood, and I jumped out of her way, wincing when she raced from the bathroom and slammed the door shut behind her.
“Shit,” I said. “You’ve broken her heart.”
Ollie looked down at his shoes. “Let’s hope the new fella’s a charmer.”But I could tell he was heartbroken too. “I’m gonna head on,” he said. “You’ll take care of her?”
“You know I will.” I squeezed Ollie’s hand, and he strode out of sight, leaving me to wade through the crowd alone and find Nina.
My eyes darted back to where the three of us had been sitting by the bar. I hoped to catch a glimpse of Alex, wondering what he’d been about to say before Nina’s outburst.You are...what? But he wasn’t there, and so I shrugged it off. It wasn’t as if I’d been planning to get his number. Our kiss was an item off the list and a bright spot in a long day, nothing else.
I wandered the bar in search of Nina, thinking about how I’d write about tonight as a blog entry. Focus on the excitement, the energy of the patrons, the music. Devote most of it to Alex, of course, since kissing him was the entire point of item number five. Write about that smile. His eyes. The flirty banter. The way I’d wanted to lean in and kiss him again as soon as we pulled apart. Leave out my numbing sadness, Nina and Ollie’s outburst.
I found Nina at our usual table. When I took the seat across from her, she touched the photo of us with Ollie on the wall. “Still here.”
“He’s only going to Miami,” I said. “We’ll still see him.”
“It won’t be the same.”
I grabbed Nina’s hands in mine. “You’re right, it won’t.”
Nina nodded, then her eyes darted around the room. “Your kiss! Hot Guy! Where did he go?”
“I think I might have scared him off,” I said.
Nina sighed. “That was probably me.”
“Probably. I was just trying to spare your feelings.”
“Sorry, Jo.”
“What do I care? It’s not like I was going to fall in love with the guy. I’m done with romance, remember?”
Nina rolled her eyes. “Which is idiotic. I can’t believe you let that douchebag turn you off men forever. I might not believe in relationships, but you’re practically a doe-eyed Disney princess.”
