“Well, then Wes swept in and politely calmed the idiot down,” Jeff said.
“Truly the hero of the hour!” Amelia noted, staring at Wes.
He grimaced. “Hey, we’ve come to really like Edward and it wasn’t right for someone to follow you into the hospital area like that!”
“Edward was okay?” Amelia asked.
“Edward was good. Chloe was in with him,” Celia said.
“The guy was just—I think he just had a panic attack because he saw the news on his computer or something. Gee. Computers are so great! Every once in a while, though, the way they can give and give and give can be a pain,” Wesley added.
“It’s not the computer’s fault if someone chooses to watch the news,” Chloe pointed out.
“We’re on a ship! A cruise ship! No one should be watching the news on a cruise ship,” Amelia advised.
An older woman with beautiful silver-white hair and a friendly face came to the table, pulling out a chair and asking, “May I? Sally Brookins, all way down from Toronto to take a trip out of Miami.”
“Please, please, of course!” Chloe said. She introduced the group around the table.
“And you three are with the folks helping out Milestones,” Sally said, nodding toward Celia, Jeff and Amelia. “And you!” She beamed at Wes and Chloe. “You are the miraculous swimmers, divers! Who went down into the deep blue sea for Mr. Thompson!”
“Nice to meet you, Ms. Brookins,” Chloe said.
“Please, we’re on a cruise! I’m Sally. And I’m not going to talk your ears off during dinner about your classes, but I will tell you this! I booked this cruise the moment I heard about these classes, sessions, lectures—or whatever one may call them. Okay, I’m going to start by kissing your feet just a tad here! Sad to admit, but obvious, I’m afraid, I didn’t grow up in anything that resembled the computer age, and I am going to be so glad to put my grandchildren in their places because I am learning so, so much! Now, I don’t need to advertise any business because I retired seven years ago, but I am going to know how to post on social media, answer people on social media and torture my entire family with my absolute savvy! I am so grateful!”
“Sally, that’s wonderful and so much fun!” Celia told her.
“That is very fun!” Jeff told her. “You’ll know what’s going on with the younger crowd!”
She nodded, smiling. “That I will. When my kids were young and cell phones first came about, I thought that theywere a ridiculous extravagance. Then I discovered that you could find people that way when you were worried about them. I am all for moving into the future full speed! I just wish...” Her voice trailed.
“What is it?” Chloe murmured softly.
“Oh, that nice man, Mr. Thompson. I wish that he hadn’t fallen, that he was going to be out among us more! He really put this all together, didn’t he?” she asked.
“Well, there are a few of us he asked for help. But, yes, his company execs had the idea. He worked with the cruise line and then the captain and had a cruise director especially assigned to him,” Jeff explained.
“Edward is an invaluable human being!” Celia said enthusiastically. “Not just to his company but to all of us. He’s just ahead of the curve in so many things and, well, he does have one great job. When anything like this comes up, Edward is the man to call!”
The restaurant was getting busy. They all welcomed two other couples to the table, their orders were taken, and they were left to enjoy casual conversation as the waiter marched away. The talk turned to Jamaica, Sally telling them about a trip she had taken from Montego Bay to Ocho Rios and then over the Blue Mountains to Kingston when she had been young. “Back in those days, the mountains were just amazing! All the farmers up there had discovered what profit could be made in growing grass for tourists, and, well, you know, at that time of my life... Jamie and I were good kids, really. Young adults, I should say, just turned twenty-one and it was our last year in college when we made that trip, but the stuff was good—none of this fentanyl stuff that’s going around these days!” she assured him.
“We’re all going up the waterfall,” Jeff told her.
“Oh, how nice!” Sally told them.
It turned out the other couples at the table were only doing tours of Montego Bay and Sally said that she was just going to find a great place for lunch.
“I wonder if we should stay in Montego Bay,” Celia told Jeff. “I mean, if Edward is going to stay and have lunch, maybe we should keep him company.”
“Oh, I’ll be in Montego Bay!” Amelia reminded her.
“And I would love to keep that man company!” their new friend, Sally, assured them all.
“I don’t think that anyone needs to worry about Edward,” Wes said.
“He has George and the two of them have become fast friends!” Chloe added.
“That’s right. His nurse will be with him,” Celia said, looking at her husband.
