She got to the room to find Denise finished with her packing, in her pajamas and lying in bed with a book, a romance by Melinda Curtis, one of her favorite authors.
“You sure closed down the lounge,” she greeted Catherine with a grin. Then she squinted at Catherine and frowned. “You look like you’ve been crying.”
Catherine shrugged and turned to pull her suitcase from the closet.
“Okay, what happened?” Denise demanded, her voice filled with concern.
“I told him.”
She didn’t have to explain what she told Rudy. Denise sat up and frowned. “And?”
“And we said goodbye.”
“Goodbye?” Denise echoed in disgust. “What does that mean?”
Catherine fell onto her bed. “It means this was a wonderful cruise and I’ll never forget it.”
“Or him?”
“Or him.”
“Catherine,” Denise said sternly, “did you sabotage this relationship?”
“No, of course not. I just was truthful. Rudy’s had enough heartbreak.”
“Oh, honestly,” Denise said in disgust. “You have got a martyr complex.”
“I do not,” Catherine insisted. “Anyway, he didn’t exactly push to see me when we get back.”
“And here I thought he was such a noble specimen of manhood,” Denise said in disgust.
“I don’t blame him. Why would he risk more unhappiness? My future is too uncertain.”
“Everyone’s future is uncertain,” Denise snapped. “Nobody has any guarantees.”
“You’re right. All we have is right now. Thank you for making mine so good.”
“You’re going to have a lot more good right-nows,” Denise insisted.
“I hope so.” Catherine looked at the cheap little ornament in her hand. She would wrap it with extra care. It was priceless.
16
Athena had enjoyed hanging out with her new friends in the lounge. Well, all except Arnold, who she decided didn’t qualify for friendship. The old coot had actually hit on her when Denise wasn’t looking and she’d opted out of exchanging contact information with him. If there was a slightly older version of Trevor walking around she’d sure happily latch onto him. Trevor gave men a good name.
So did her dad. He deserved to be happy. He was probably not going to be very happy by the time this night was over. When Athena had left the lounge, he and Catherine had been on the dance floor, totally wrapped up in each other. Seeing them, she’d felt like she was watching some tragic movie and waiting for the awful final scene.
Athena was finished with her packing and she was done reading the mystery on her e-reader, but not finished wondering what was going on with those two. Had Catherine told him what was waiting for her in the new year? Were they still in the lounge?
They could be. It was open for another hour.
If they were still talking she didn’t want to interrupt, but if they were done, if all was not well... She decided to go poke her head in and see.
No one was left in there but her dad, who was sitting at the bar, hunched over a drink. Athena felt her heart turning in her chest, heavy like the wheel she’d seen in that windmill. Catherine had told him.
Ironic how she hadn’t wanted Catherine and her dad to get together, and now here she was, wishing they could. If only things had been different.
She slipped into the chair next to her father.
“What can I get you?” the bartender asked her.
A double order of happiness for my father. “Nothing,” she said.
“I thought you’d be in bed,” Daddy said.
“I thought you would be, too. Are you all right?” Of course he wasn’t, but she could hardly start their conversation off saying, “I knew Catherine was going to dump you.” Not dump, that wasn’t the right word. Catherine was simply trying to spare them both from heartache.
“I’m half wishing I hadn’t taken this cruise,” he said. He swirled the whiskey around in his glass, then took a drink.
“What about the other half?” she asked.
He made a face. “The other thinks it’s the best thing I’ve done since losing your mother.”
Catherine was responsible for that. Sweet, unassuming Catherine. She’d won both their hearts, and now look at them. Athena wanted to slap her.
“Did Catherine tell you she’s going to be doing chemotherapy in the new year?” Daddy asked.
Athena wished she was a better liar. She should have ordered a drink. She could have stalled by taking a sip. Her silence said it all.
“I guess she did.” He took another swig. “She’s a lovely woman—humble and unassuming. She seemed a little lost when we first met her, didn’t she?”
“Yes, she did,” Athena agreed. Unsure of her future, in need of someone who really cared. Maybe her kids did, but if you asked Athena they had a funny way of showing it.
“I wanted nothing more than to help her find herself. Now... God, what kind of man does it make me that I’m put off by the fact that she’s had cancer?”
“The human kind? You went through so much with Mom, and then you lost her.”
“I never thought I’d find anyone who could hold a candle to your mother. Nicole was sure a mistake. But Catherine.” He rubbed his forehead. “I could have told her I wouldn’t let what she was dealing with scare me away, but I didn’t. I think your old man has become a coward,” he said.
“No, you’re not. You’re the bravest man I know.” So be brave. Take a chance.
She couldn’t say that, of course. What if she did urge him to pursue what he’d started with Catherine and things went all wrong?
But things had already gone wrong. Her father had come on this cruise, met someone wonderful and built up his hopes only to have them crushed. So much for her resolve to protect him. How could you protect someone from falling in love?
He grunted, shook his head, finished his drink. Then he looked at his watch. “I guess we should turn in.”
She stood up with him. “I guess so.”
They left the lounge and walked down the hallway to their rooms in silence, her arm linked through his. “Try not to feel bad, Daddy,” she said when they reached his door.
He smiled a sad smile for her. “You’re a good daughter, Athena. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“Me, either,” she said, hoping to inspire a smile.
She didn’t. He kissed the top of her head, wished her pleasant dreams and went into his room.
You got what you wished, she thought as she went into her own room. She hadn’t wanted her father to get entangled with anyone. He was definitely unentangled now. And miserable. So was she. What a mess.
* * *
Catherine slept fitfully. Her dreams were a mishmash of horrible tableaux. In one she was back at Heidelberg Castle, standing on the stone wall and looking down at the city below. Rudy was with her, begging her to come down from where she stood.
“I’m scared,” she said. Then she lost her balance and fell. She could hear him calling her name. “Help me!” she cried. But she was out of reach.
She awoke before she hit, but her soul felt broken. She finally fell back asleep again, only to find herself in a hospital, wandering up and down the halls in her hospital gown, looking for her doctor.
“You won’t find him,” said the nurse who suddenly appeared at her side. “It’s too late.”
Too late. Catherine awoke a second time, with the words ringing in her ears. It was seven o’clock in the morning, time to get up.
Denise was already up and dressed, wearing a black sweater and winter-white slacks, a gold chain around her neck and matching hoop earrings. “You look like you hardly slept,” she said to Catherine.
“I feel like I hardly slept,” Catherine admitted.
�
�Hurry up and get dressed. We’ll get some breakfast and maybe that will help you feel better.” She frowned. “Oh, what am I saying? As if an omelet can cure a broken heart. I’m sorry, Cath. I wish things had worked out for you and Rudy.”
“It’s all for the best. I need to focus on getting well.”
“You will,” Denise assured her. “You’re going to come out of this just fine.”
Maybe she would. Maybe she shouldn’t have burned her bridges, telling Rudy about the cancer and what lay ahead. But there would have been no hiding it. He’d want to come visit. When he did, he’d see her bald, with a scarf around her head, or wearing a wig, and would know instantly. Then he’d resent the fact that she hadn’t been up front with him.
She’d been right to warn him off. She was a bad risk. Even after all the treatments the cancer could still come back. The doctor would be monitoring her every three months, then every six and after that every year until she reached the five-year mark safely. That wasn’t exactly finishing treatment with a clean bill of health. Five years of anxiety, it was too much to put a man through. She didn’t even want to go through it.
“I’m not going to think about the future,” she vowed. “I’m going to focus on being grateful for the present.”
“An excellent idea,” Denise approved.
Catherine only hoped the present wouldn’t include seeing Rudy one last time.
Liar. Of course you want to see him.
It would be best for both of them if they didn’t meet, though. Would he be at breakfast?
Denise was still talking. What had she said?
“I’m sorry. What did you say?” Catherine asked.
“I said maybe don’t think about the near future, but think about what you’re going to do to reward yourself once you’re through all of this. Like maybe another cruise. Have I got you hooked now? It’s nice to have someone to split the bill with.”
“I think you do.”
“Then my work here is done. Let’s do one to celebrate once you’re done.”
“The way Charlie was talking last night I suspect you’ll have someone new to cruise with,” Catherine said.
“I think we’re going to be buddies.”
“What about Arnold? Did you give him the heave-ho?”
Denise shrugged. “He dropped out of the competition. Just as well. I think he’s a belt notch cruiser, out to see how many women he can collect. The male equivalent of me,” she added with a wink. “But I don’t think I could collect anything better than Charlie. He’s a sweetheart.”
“Yes, he is,” Catherine agreed. So was Rudy.
They’d had such a short time together. Catherine thought of her friend Lisa, who she’d worked with in the school office. Lisa always signed her emails, Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened. Good advice. She showered, dressed, then put on her makeup. And a smile.
But the smile faltered when she and Denise arrived in the dining room and saw only Athena and Sierra taking seats at their usual table. She scanned the dining room, looking to see if Rudy was anywhere there. Perhaps standing at another table, visiting with someone? Or in line for an omelet. She didn’t see him anywhere.
It was all for the best. He probably knew that. He’d been smart to stay away. Catherine wished she had.
Athena greeted her with the same kind of wan smile she was wearing. “Daddy isn’t feeling too well,” she said, “but I wanted to see you all one more time.”
“It’s gone by too fast,” Catherine said politely.
“But we’ll all stay in touch,” Sierra insisted, and Athena looked at Catherine almost hopefully.
Did she want to stay in touch? “Of course we will,” Catherine said. Then, “I think I’ll enjoy one last omelet. Anyone want to join me?”
“Sure,” said Denise.
“Come on, Sierra,” said Athena, “we may as well live it up while we can.”
“I guess,” Sierra said.
She hardly looked like a woman wanting to live it up. Catherine suspected all she wanted to do was get home and begin sorting out her life. Even if that sorting turned out to be painful it would probably be better to know where she stood.
Charlie came up to the table just as the women were about to go in search of eggs. “Here we are,” he said, “the beginning of a new day and new adventures when we all get home.”
Sierra and Athena didn’t appear to be cheered by his words. Catherine wasn’t, either. The last thing she wanted was to think about the new adventures waiting for her.
She left Charlie and Denise at the pastry table and followed the other two women to the omelet stand.
“I hope things work out for you when you get home,” Catherine said to Sierra, who wound up standing in front of her.
“Me, too,” she said.
“Even if they don’t, I know you’ll be all right.”
The expression on Sierra’s face showed what she thought of Catherine’s prediction.
“Life does go on after the bad parts.”
“You’re right. Yours has.”
Catherine was hardly the poster child for happy endings. “Look at Denise,” she said, nodding to where she stood with Charlie, hovering over a basket of crusty rolls.
That did bring a slight smile. “She seems to be enjoying herself.”
“She is. Now. She was crazy about her husband and was beside herself when he died. She swore she’d never meet anyone like him. And then she met a dance host on a transatlantic crossing and fell madly in love.”
“What happened to him?”
“He died, too. But they had ten wonderful years together before she lost him,” Catherine added. “Now it looks like she’s found another soul mate. There are plenty of wonderful people in this world to love, Sierra. I hope, if things don’t work out with your husband, that you’ll remember that.”
“I’ll try. And thanks again for being a listening ear.”
“Anytime,” Catherine said. “Stay in touch.”
“I will.”
People always promised to stay in touch in situations like these but then got drawn back into their lives. Sierra and her sister had their own parents, their own family. They didn’t need any more family members. Catherine wished they did, because she sure wouldn’t mind adopting those two.
Sophie and Trevor joined them, chatting and grinning like a couple of lottery winners. When it came right down to it they were. They’d won the love lottery, which was the best one of all.
Once Catherine was back at the table she found she didn’t have much appetite. Seeing the empty chair where Rudy had sat stole it from her. Athena didn’t look all that joyful herself, and left her omelet uneaten, settling instead for yogurt.
“I guess I’d better go find Daddy,” she finally said, and stood. She looked at everyone. “It’s been great.”
Sierra stood, too. “Don’t forget to text me,” she said as the two women hugged.
“I won’t,” Athena assured her. Then she surprised Catherine by coming around to her side of the table, bending over and hugging her. “I hope everything goes well,” she whispered. “You deserve to be happy.”
Her words brought tears to Catherine’s eyes and she could barely murmur her thanks.
Later, as people were disembarking, she saw Athena and her father, already off the boat and walking toward one of the buses waiting to drive people to the airport.
“You haven’t seen the last of them,” Denise predicted.
Catherine just shook her head. Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.
* * *
Trevor was on the same flight back to SeaTac airport as Sophie and Sierra, which meant they were all at the same gate in the Basel airport. They’d been bused straight there, so all they’d seen of Switzerland had been from the bus windows. And much of w
hat they’d seen had looked a lot like Germany.
He decided he’d have to come back, check out Zurich, Geneva and Lake Lucerne. Maybe Sophie would like to join him.
“You owe me big-time for making you come,” Kurt teased as they went in search of coffee.
“Yeah, I do,” Trevor said, opting out of a smart-ass answer. He was going home with presents for his mom and aunts and a cool stein for Kurt’s collection. Best of all, he was going home with a very special woman.
They returned to where the sisters were sitting and he handed over the eggnog lattes he’d bought them.
“One of the good things in life,” Sierra said after thanking him. “Right up there with sisters and men who make chocolate.”
He couldn’t help admiring how she was trying not to look like she wanted to jump from the plane once they were airborne. A strong woman. She’d be fine.
Speaking of fine, he thought, looking at Sophie. She was the whole package—cute, enthusiastic, kindhearted. She was happy to be with Trevor, but she wasn’t letting that happiness blind her to her sister’s misery, and she kept trying her best to distract Sierra with talk of the presents they’d bought.
“Drew’s going to love that beer stein, and I think Dad will love those smoked nuts,” she said, and Sierra nodded.
Sophie searched her phone, then turned it so her sister could see. “Look, here’s a recipe for Lebkuchen. We should try to make it. Dad would like that, too.”
“It’s a lot like gingerbread cookies,” Sierra said. “Those were Mark’s favorites. Are,” she corrected herself. Her lower lip began to wobble and she took a quick sip of her drink.
Sophie turned to Trevor, probably hoping to rope another person into the conversation and distract her sister. “What’s your favorite cookie?”
“Those frosted sugar cookies, hands down,” he said. “And mint chocolate chip.”
“Chocolate, of course,” she said, and smiled at him. Then she turned back to her sister. “Let’s have a baking day tomorrow.”
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