“No. I got here about twenty minutes ago. Why?”
“His stuff is gone.” My voice comes out raw. “The Captain’s Room is empty. Everything. His bags, his clothes, his books.”
Rose sets the container of oatmeal down and crosses the kitchen to me. She takes my shoulders with both hands. “Hey. Look at me. That doesn’t mean anything.”
“He left. His reservation ends today.”
“That doesn’t make sense. That man looks at you like you hung the moon. He’s not the type to disappear.” She squeezes my shoulders. “Don’t freak out. Not yet. Let’s take a deep breath together. Okay? In and out. A few times, just like we used to do when you were little, remember?”
I do what she said, breathing in deep and letting it out slow. My heart races, and I’m having a panic attack. The last time I had one of those was when Adam ended things.
She hands me a glass of ice water, and I drink it down, needing it to ground me to planet Earth. My body operates on autopilot when my mind shuts down.
Rose turns the stovetop off and walks me to the kitchen table. She walks me through it until my heart isn’t racing. I hear words; her voice is calm and doing the work my own brain won’t do.
The tears dry up, and my breathing evens out.
Rose rubs my back and tells me a story about her ex-husband and how some women are better off just dating.
“Falling in love is a privilege,” she tells me. “Some of us are lucky and get to experience it more than once.” Her voice softens. “No matter what happens from this point forward, you’ve had the summer of your life. We only get one chance to exist. Smile that it happened.”
I sniffle, sucking in a deep breath. “Thank you.”
She pats my hand. “If you need anything, I’ll be in the kitchen, okay? Drink the rest of that water.”
“Yes, ma’am,” I say.
“There you go,” she says, standing.
Once I empty the glass, I place it in the sink. She gives me a small smile. I walk to the front desk, and that’s when I see it.
The mermaid key chain sits beside my laptop on the counter.
I pick it up. The silver is cold and weighs almost nothing.
He checked out while I was sleeping. I’ve been blindsided.
The sob comes from somewhere deep, and I can’t stop it. I press the key chain against my chest, and my knees buckle. I grab the edge of the desk to stay upright because I promised myself I would never beg a man to be with me.
The front door opens, and my grandmother walks in, carrying a folder. She’s in a bright yellow T-shirt and blue jean shorts with daisies embroidered on them. Her reading glasses are pushed up on her head. When she sees my face and the key chain dangling in my finger, she sighs.
“Oh, sweetheart.”
She comes around the counter and wraps her arms around me. I fall apart again. I cry into her shoulder, letting out shaking sobs that take over my entire body. She holds me and doesn’t say a word because Gran has always known when to joke and when to be serious.
When the worst of it passes, she grabs my hand and leads me to the couch.
“I was going to tell him how I felt,” I say, sitting beside her. My voice is barely there. “That was my plan. I was going to bring him coffee on the balcony and tell him everything.”
“Sweetie, he knew,” she says. “He knew how you felt. Everyone does. You don’t have to say how you feel. Your actions give you away.”
“He left without saying goodbye.” The last word cracks. “I don’t understand it.”
“I’m sure there is a very good reason.” Gran squeezes my hands and patiently waits for the tears to stop.
I want to be alone, so I stand to walk away, and she pulls me back down to her.
“Wendy, I need to talk to you about some things,” she says. “I don’t know if the timing is right, but I think waiting would be worse.”
