Then I noticed that I was waiting for certainty.
Certainty had never been one of the available options.
Me:You could come to Pelican Key.
I sent it before I could revise the sentence into something less honest.
The typing indicator appeared immediately, then vanished.
Thirty seconds passed.
Then a full minute.
Annie:Are you sure?
I appreciated the question.
I also wanted to throw my phone into the water.
Me:No.
A pause.
Me:That is why this is an invitation, not a declaration.
Annie:What exactly are you inviting me to?
Reasonable.
Annoying, but reasonable.
Me:Two days. Quietly. No press. No team unless someone genuinely needs to come. No surprise arrival, no dramatic transportation, and no assumption that anything is fixed.
Her answer took longer this time.
Annie:Understood.
Then:
Annie:Rachel says she does not need to come, but she would like reassurance that you will not abandon me at sea.
Me:I cannot guarantee appropriate behavior aboard vessels.
Annie:She finds that acceptable.
Me:Commercial flight.
Annie:I did not propose anything else.
Me:You once wrote “Do not offer transportation” on a legal pad.
Annie:That list was private.
Me:It was visible during a video call.
Annie:Technology continues to violate me.
The warmth in my chest felt dangerous.
