That was all.
It was not an invitation or forgiveness. It was Ellie seeing both parts of me without asking either one to become smaller.
Rachel appeared in the doorway.
“Your car is ready.”
“Where am I going?”
“To the hotel.”
“And tomorrow?”
She lifted her tablet.
Five blank days waited on the calendar.
“That is no longer my problem.”
The empty space still made me nervous.
This time, it also looked like mine.
Twenty Three
Ellie
By nine the next morning, three people had congratulated me for something I had not done.
The first was a woman buying reef-safe sunscreen.
The second was a man booked on the morning snorkel trip, who seemed disappointed when I explained that Savannah Brooks would not be joining him.
The third was Dennis, the delivery driver, who handed me a box of replacement regulators and said, “Good for you both,” before returning to his truck.
I carried the box inside.
Hank was behind the counter, removing Captain Pancake’sNO COMMENTbandana. The dog had spent the previous ten minutes attempting to pull it over his eyes.
“What did you do?” Hank asked.
“Apparently, I participated in a national radio interview without leaving my kitchen.”
“Efficient.”
“Dennis congratulated me.”
“Dennis supports love.”
“Dennis describes marriage as a complicated tax event.”
“He contains nuance.”
Captain Pancake pushed his nose into the regulator box.
I moved it before he could expand into equipment inspection.
The sign on the front door remained, although Hank had crossed out the list of prohibited subjects and written:
