“Yeah,” I agree. “She’s been pining over him all year, so I’m pleased for her.”
“Same with Ritchie, though he’d never admit it,” Chris chuckles.
It’s been a week’s journey up to the Orkney Islands, and we might take even longer going back. I hope we do. Already, we’ve decided to let Jeanne show us Cardiff next summer—if Chris is still here, of course. Unlike Ritchie, he’s decided to stay in the Air Force and try his hand at becoming a proper pilot. Unfortunately, that means returning to America. It’s a shame, and I can’t help obsessing over what might have been, but in truth, I think we were always better off as just friends. At least I’ve gotten to know the real him; not a too-cool-for-school stereotype, but as someone who, deep down, is just as full of self-doubt as me.
The moon is rising, despite it not being dark yet. There are no cheers to accompany it, only silence, and a chill that’s making me glad I brought a jacket this time. It’s beautiful all the same, and I wish there were a camera capable of capturing it.
On the shore, Jeanne is dipping her feet in the water, holding her bunched-up skirts above her knees. Ritchie is standing beside her, as close to smiling as he ever gets. One by one, pinprick stars emerge in the wide, wild sky, and the stones encircling us fade to black silhouettes. The air smells like heather and salt, and with the steady sound of waves lapping the pebbled shoreline, I feel as though I’m in a dream. We’re the only souls around for miles, but it’s a good kind of lonely.
I take a deep breath and exhale, slowly. Chris copies me. And I think, even with adulthood lurking around the corner and reality remaining its ever-present self, I am happy.
Chris will leave, Jeanne and Ritchie’s relationship might pull them both away from me, and maybe, this is the farthest from home I’ll ever go.
But now, I am happy. And no matter what happens next, these memories will be mine to hold forever.
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