“Well, she’s in the brig. But hm, I wonder what they will charge her with,” Jeff said. “It will be hard for prosecutors to prove that she wasn’t just trying to be nice and that she didn’t know there were nuts in the chocolate and Sally was deathly allergic to them.”
Bryan cleared his throat. “Well, one way or the other, the woman is in the brig! And we need to decide on pizza and drinks!”
“And the day did turn out great!” Darlene assured Edward and Sally. “Chloe made me partner with Wes and, man, when it comes to diving and the water, truly, he is the best!”
“You were fine. We weren’t that deep,” Wes said. “And you were calm—that’s the most important thing.”
“Thanks!” Darlene said. “And we were, thankfully, at the end of the dive and like Celia said, it was so cool! I’d never been to a wreck before. And, of course!” she said, smiling over at Celia, “we know for our next experience that when you’re warned about ragged wood and metal, pay attention!”
“We learned!” Celia agreed, laughing. “And onward! To pizza—with absolutely no nuts!” she said.
Their waiter arrived. They ordered breadsticks with marinara dip, mozzarella sticks and four different extra-large pizzas.
And, finally, they got off the topic of Sally’s allergies and the events that had taken place on the wreck.
The rest of the group at the table listened to the waiter for the best wines to accompany their different pizzas.
They didn’t order their nonalcoholic beers.
When asked, Chloe said, “Hm, not for me. I would love to have iced tea. I hate to admit it, but after the dive I’m starving, and wine would hit my stomach like a splash of pure acid right now. I’m a lightweight.”
“Wes?” Edward asked.
“I’ll go iced tea, too,” Wes said.
Broderick laughed. “You are a good husband!” he said.
“Yeah, yeah, always! As she wishes it!” he said lightly. “Naw, tonight I’m just really wiped out. A lightweight in my own way!”
Their drinks arrived almost immediately and soon after their appetizers, then the pizzas.
They talked about the next day.
Yes, there were going to be classes.
“And I will honestly explain about Amelia,” Edward said, “and, of course, apologize about it being my invitation that brought her on the ship—”
“Wait! Should you?” Broderick asked him. “I can only imagine that some people are doubtful that anything was planned. I mean, well, she’ll be tried in America. Innocent until proven guilty.”
“True!”
The merits of the system along with possible detriments went around the table.
And yet...
Wes felt that he knew, knew for certain, that Amelia had meant to harm Sally—if not kill her.
And he knew that Edward felt exactly the same way.
Still, he listened.
Finally, cannoli desserts arrived along with various coffees. And as they finished dessert, he noted that Chloe excused herself after a well-executed yawn.
“Whoa, that’s it for me! Thank you, everyone. That wasa great dinner with new friends!” she said, smiling broadly. “But...
“Time to head to the cabin for a bit,” Wes said.
“You do realize it’s dinnertime, right?” Daniel asked, grinning.
