It’s always the husband.
That’s what they say anyway, isn’t it? I’ve probably said it once or twice myself while watching the news or reading a book. It’s clichéd, but the reality is it’s almost always true.
Almost always.
But not now.
Not this time.
You’ve already cast your judgment. I won’t waste my time trying to change your mind, but, for the record, you couldn’t be more wrong about me.
I didn’t do this.
I love her.
You can trust me.
Chapter Two
Mae
BEFORE
BEFORE
This place should feel like paradise, but for me, it will always be a reminder of heartbreak.
Even with years of better memories to replace that first visit—sun-soaked summers with my favorite people—I can’t let go of the past. Can’t forget what happened. What this beach bore witness to.
I died here, in a way. There’s the me before and the me after, and the two will never be the same.
Today, the sun warms my skin, and the salty breeze whips through my hair as sand collects in my sandals. It’s beautiful here. I can say that objectively. I get the appeal. Truly I do, but I can’t look at the sand or the ocean, hear the seagulls cawing overhead, or smell the fishy smell of the water without thinking of him.
Blake’s fingers lace with mine as the restaurant comes into view. “Is she here yet?”
I lift my phone with my opposite hand, staring at the screen. One of our wedding photos stares back at me, taking my breath away as much now as they did the day we received them. We look so happy…
It’s been almost a year, and somehow I’m still not quite used to the weight of the ring on my finger.
“I don’t think so. She hasn’t texted. I’ll let her know where they seat us when they do.”
“Sounds good. Hopefully they have space on the patio. It’s so nice out.” He releases my hand to let me up the wooden set of stairs to the boardwalk first.
As if to further prove his point, the wind picks up again, blowing the warm air around us. It’s the perfect temperature, before the heat of the summer completely arrives, but still warm enough to enjoy.
Inside the small restaurant, a dark-haired host greets us.
I glance at the nametag on their shirt, which reads Hayden (They/them).
“Hey guys, how many?”
“Four,” Blake says, holding up four fingers. “We’re waiting on two others.”
“Cool. Inside or patio?”
“Patio would be awesome.”
Hayden grabs a stack of menus. “You got it. Follow me.” They lead the way around through the small space and back out onto the patio, where two tables are occupied by an older couple and a woman around our age with a little boy. He’s scribbling away at a coloring page as we follow Hayden toward a table near the end of the space. The string lights above our heads sway in the wind as we take our seats.
“Destiny will be your waitress today. Can I get you started with some drinks, or would you like her to come over once the rest of your party has arrived?”
Blake checks with me, though I know he’s starving. “We can go ahead and order drinks if you want. They should be here any minute.”
He gestures for me to go first, so I order a ginger ale, hoping it will ease the nausea I still feel over our flight. Then he orders a beer. I do my best to withhold a bitter glance his way. I’d been okay with the drinks on the plane so early because I know he’s a nervous flier, but we’re on land now.
Hayden takes our menus, promising to be right back, and I watch as a bird hops around on a table next to us, picking french fries off a plate yet to be cleaned.
“So, what do we know about this one?” Blake asks, keeping his voice low. He’s not wrong to sound so pessimistic, but for Florence’s sake, I’m trying not to be.
“Um, not much. His name is Patton. He’s two years older than her and he runs some sort of tech startup. He jogs every morning and likes breakfast foods. I think that’s all she’s mentioned.”
“A tech startup, hmm? Well, that’s…impressive.”
“Yeah, I think so.” He’s quiet for a moment as I send Florence a text to let her know where we’re seated. “At least he has a job.” I place the phone down on the table. “She seems to really like this one. I’m glad he could come with us on this trip. For her sake. I know she always hates feeling like the third wheel.”
He runs a hand through his dark hair as Hayden reappears with our drinks. “I told Destiny you’re waiting for two others, so she’ll be over as soon as they get here. Let us know if you need anything in the meantime.”
“Thanks.” I tear the paper from my straw and tuck it under the metal napkin holder so it doesn’t blow away.
“Oh. There she is.” I turn in my seat at Blake’s words just as Florence appears on the stairs.
She’s alone. Her jet-black hair has been pulled back in a sleek ponytail, the ends of which brush her deeply tanned skin. I lift a hand, waving at her until I catch her eye and she waves back, smiling.
Within minutes, Hayden leads her to our table. She kisses my cheek briefly before easing into the empty seat next to me. “So good to see you guys. Sorry I’m late.”
“Where’s Patton?” I ask.
“Oh.” She waves a hand in the air nonchalantly, though she’s unable to hide the disappointment in her tone. “He got stuck on a work call but didn’t want to hold us up. He should be here later, but we don’t have to wait on him.” She looks over my head. “Have you ordered yet? I’m starving.”
“No, we were waiting. Are you sure he wants us to go ahead and order? Maybe we should just start with drinks and an appetizer or something,” I offer.
She pulls her phone from the royal-blue clutch resting on the table and taps the screen. “No, it’s fine. He could be a while.”
“Okay, I’ll go let Hayden know there’s been a change of plans,” Blake says, standing up.
Once he’s gone, I turn to Florence once again. “How are things? Did you guys get in okay?”
“Yep,” she says. “The flight was fine and our room is nice.” She pats the table expectantly. “How about you guys? Everything okay? How are you feeling?”
She knows the truth without me having to say it, but I do anyway. “I’m hanging in there. Every year gets a bit easier.” I pause. “It helps, having you guys here with me this year with…everything.” My voice catches in my throat. I can’t bring myself to finish the sentence.
She draws one side of her mouth in with a sympathetic nod. “Of course. We wouldn’t be anywhere else. We’ll keep the tradition alive even if… No matter what happens.” She sucks in a long breath, realizing she’s said too much, almost led herself down a path she didn’t mean to go. Blake saves us both by returning to the table and sliding into his chair.
“The waitress is on her way.”
Beside me, Florence is beaming suddenly, and Blake appears unamused. He gives her a devilishly suspicious look. “What? Did you tell her?”
She shakes her head. “No, but can we already? I’m dying here.”
Probably not the best choice of words, but I’d be a terrible person to point that out, so I don’t. Besides, my curiosity is piqued. “Tell me what? What’s going on?”
“There you are.” A voice behind us startles me, and I look over my shoulder, expecting to recognize the man standing there. I don’t. He’s average height, late twenties or early thirties, with thick brown hair, dark skin, and a chiseled jaw. He’s attractive in an in-your-face sort of way, with muscles for days and a prize-winning smile. My eyes jerk up to meet his, still trying to understand who he is and why he knows me, when Florence shoots up from her chair.
“There you are!” she shrieks, swatting his chest as he wraps an arm around her waist. She leans back as they both grin at us like a pair of Instagram models. They look so good together it’s painful. “You got here faster than I expected. Guys, this is Patton. Patton, this is my best friend in the whole world, Mae, and her husband, Blake.”
We each extend a hand and he shakes them one at a time. “Nice to meet you both. Sorry I’m late. I got stuck on a call with my office that ran over. I hope it won’t ruin your first impression of me.”
“No. No problem,” Blake says.
“It’s totally fine,” I say at the same time. “We get it.”
He kisses the side of her head near her temple and pulls away as the waitress approaches.
“You’re beside Blake,” Florence tells Patton, gesturing toward the empty seat. We return to the table as the waitress, whose name tag reads Destiny (She/her), reaches us.
She takes their drink orders while the two new arrivals read over their menus, and when she returns moments later, we place our orders and pass the menus back to her.
Once we’re alone again, I eye my husband. “So, what are you supposed to be telling me?”
His gaze falls to Florence, and they seem to have a silent conversation I’m not yet privy to.
“Okay. You guys are freaking me out. What’s going on?” I demand, trying to keep my tone light, though I feel quite the opposite.
Florence rests her hands flat on the table, turning her head to look at me slowly. She inhales. “We have a sort of…surprise for you.”
“A surprise?”
“Yes. Hopefully it’s a good one. We’re, uh, we’re going on a cruise!” She winces as she says it, though her face is lit up like she’s been bursting to tell me. And I guess she has been.
It takes me a few seconds to process what she’s said. “A cruise? What? When?”
This is my only week of vacation time, and I can’t afford to take any more time off. Blake knows this, so why does he look so happy?
“Tomorrow.” She beams at me, lips pinched together, all prim and proper. “For five days.”
Time stops for half a second. Tomorrow is impossible. This has to be a joke. “Tomorrow, tomorrow? How? Where? I didn’t bring my passport. We’re already checked into the hotel for the week. We’re supposed to be here.” I don’t mean to sound as angry as I do, but I hate last-minute changes in plans. Especially when I’m the only one who seems to not have been made aware of them.
“I packed your passport,” Blake speaks up. “And I only made the hotel reservation for the night.”
“What? Why?”
“We wanted to surprise you,” Florence says, her voice softer than it was when she last spoke. My reaction has thrown her off. “I, er, well, we thought… I knew you wanted to be here for the anniversary, but since it’s the first year that your parents couldn’t come with you… I just thought it might be nice to change it up a bit. Do something new.”
I don’t know what to say, but it’s obvious I need to say something. Florence’s confidence is waning by the minute, her smile fading like a time-lapse video. I can’t help feeling guilty.
“We thought you’d like it,” Blake says gently. “Was it a bad idea?”
“No.” I force myself to say it with a grin plastered on my face. “No, of course not. It’s really sweet. I just… I’m processing. So”—I let out a sigh—“we’re going on a cruise? And we leave tomorrow?”
“Yes. We’re going to Costa Maya and Cozumel.” Florence squeaks with excitement. “It’s going to be so much fun.”
“Wow. So, it’s real… It’s, like, real then? How long’ve you been planning this?”
The three of them exchange glances.
“Well…” Blake shifts his gaze back to me. “Florence asked me what I thought right after we found out your parents weren’t going to be able to make it this year. We wanted to do something to make the trip extra special for you but couldn’t decide what. We booked the cruise two weeks ago. It was all very last minute.”
“Patton’s company does some IT work for the cruise line, so he got us a stellar deal, which I know you’ll appreciate,” Florence teases, nudging me gently.
“I do love a good deal… How did you manage to keep it a secret?” I ask.
Blake chuckles. “Well, it wasn’t easy. I almost slipped up more than once. But I put it on my credit card so you wouldn’t notice the charges. That was the biggest thing.”
“And you planned…everything?”
“Well, Florence planned most of it. She just told me what to do.”
That sounds more believable. My husband is chronically allergic to planning, so this feels impossible.
“Are you mad?” Florence asks, sounding hurt. “We thought you’d be excited. I just knew this year, without your parents here, it might be harder than usual. I wanted to help…take your mind off of things, I guess.”
Taking my mind off of things seems rather counterproductive since the whole reason we come here every year is to think about what happened here, to remember what we lost. Who we lost.
I don’t say that.
Can’t.
“I’m not mad. Honestly, I’m just shocked, is all. I’ve never really thought about going on a cruise.” For good reason, though I don’t say that part out loud. My brother was killed in a boating accident. Are they trying to be insensitive, or am I just being overly sensitive? This week always brings out the worst in me.
“We know that too. It’ll be the first time for all of us. That’s why we’re doing this together.” She loops her arm through mine. “It’s going to be fun. Trust me. Have I ever steered you wrong?”
I eye her. We both know the answer to that question. Her judgment has, more than once, landed us stranded without a ride after a night of drinking or waking up in a house we didn’t recognize. But those days are long gone. The wild college days of Florence and Mae are just distant memories.
She grins, and I finally give in, leaning a head onto her shoulder. “Okay, fine.” I wink at Blake. “But just know I fully expect surprises like this for every holiday now.”
His shoulders drop with relief, and he gives me a playful look. “Yeah, we’ve set ourselves up for some major letdowns in the future, haven’t we?”
“You could never let me down.” I pull away, reaching for his hand across the table. “But if this is our last night on the shore, we’re going to need to do all the annual things tonight. Starting with an amazing dinner.” I point across the restaurant as I spot Destiny making her way toward us with a tray in her hands.
“Sounds like a plan. Here’s to an amazing vacation.” Blake lifts his glass toward me.
“To a week we’ll never forget,” Florence chimes in, lifting her own glass.
Patton and I join in, tapping all four glasses in a circle in the air above the table, then I take a sip.
To a week we’ll never forget.
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