Then life reached in.
***
Daniel stepped toward the bed.
“Cancel the tickets. Keep the money for an emergency. Listen to me, Mom.”
I turned to him.
“Whose emergency, Daniel? For when you need money?”
“Mom, that’s not what I meant.”
“It’s what everyone always means.”
“Cancel the tickets.”
Mikayla placed the final sweater inside.
“Dad wanted her to go, Dan. If Mom is strong enough to go, let her go.”
Daniel looked away.
“Dad wanted things he didn’t live long enough to explain.”
“The tickets sat in my kitchen drawer for three months until Mikayla put them in front of me.”
“Dad would’ve wanted you to see it,” she’d said.
“If Mom is strong enough to go, let her go.”
“I buried my husband,” I told Daniel. “I didn’t bury every plan I made with him. For thirty-two years, someone else’s emergency came first.”
“That’s not fair, Mom.”
“No, it wasn’t.”
“Mom, you’re grieving.”
“So are you. I haven’t tried to lock you inside your house.”
“That’s not fair, Mom.”
Mikayla pressed down on the suitcase.
“She’s going.”
Daniel looked at her. “Stay out of it.”
“Both of you stay out of it,” I said, locking the suitcase.
Daniel left without saying goodbye.
***
Two days later, Mikayla drove me to the airport for my flight to the cruise port.
“Stay out of it.”
At the entrance, she hugged me hard.
“Text when you can.”
“I know how phones work.”
“Text anyway.”
She laughed, and I carried the sound with me when I boarded.
“Text when you can.”
***
My cabin had a balcony facing the water.
Frank had chosen it because he wanted us to drink coffee outside every morning.
On the table sat a bottle of red wine, two glasses, and a white envelope.
“For Pam.”
I recognized his handwriting before I touched it.
Inside was a card.
Frank had chosen it.
“Open this on your first night. Love, Frank.”
For a moment, warmth spread through me.
Then anger followed it.
“You couldn’t let me do one thing without planning it, could you?”
I placed the bottle inside the closet and shut the door.
I didn’t open it.
Then anger followed.
***
The next morning, I ordered two coffees at breakfast.
The mistake slipped out before I could stop it.
The server placed two cups down.
Steam curled above Frank’s empty chair.
An older couple nearby noticed.
The woman smiled.
