“I know how hard it is to find out this way, but you were right where you were supposed to be. This was where she wanted you. If she could have been here, she would have, but I think that she was happy when she passed away, knowing that you were here.”
The numbness that came with the initial shock of the news was fading. I could feel my throat constricting, and my eyes heated with tears. The nurse, sensing that I was about to break down, stepped toward me and wrapped her arms around me in a tight hug. I didn’t realize how much I needed that hug until it was happening. I cried into her shoulder, into her hair, until the parking lot began to fill with other students and their families. It didn’t occur to me until later that I didn’t even know the nurse’s name.
ChapterTen
THE BAD LETTER
Naomi
“Idon’t think we’re supposed to have these on the beach.”
Anne looks at the bottle of spiked lemonade in her hand. “If we weren’t supposed to have these, then why would they sell them so close to the beach?”
I glance around. We’re surrounded by couples lounging on the sand, families playing in the waves, and kids building sandcastles. “No one else is drinking.”
Anne shrugs, then takes a sip of her drink. “I’m sure if we weren’t supposed to have these, someone would have stopped us after the first two.”
“You might have a point.” I finish off my bottle, then grab another.
“So,” Anne says. “Are you going to tell me about the picture Husky Eyes sent you?”
I shake my head, smiling. “He didn’t send me a picture.”
“Lame. You should send him one.”
“A sexy picture? I don’t think so.”
“Come on,” she says. “You can make it tasteful. Don’t you want to make sure he’s thinking about you?”
“He’s been texting me all day. Pretty sure he’s already thinking about me.”
Before I can stop her, she reaches over and snatches my phone off my towel.
“Hey! What are you doing?” I reach for my phone but she holds it away from me.
“Just doing what you’re too afraid to do.” She angles it toward me and snaps a photo. “Perfect.”
She shows me the screen. It’s an awkward photo of me wearing a bikini and reaching for the phone, a startled look on my face. It’s probably the worst photo I’ve ever seen of myself.
“Should I send this?” she asks, waving the phone just out of my reach.
“No way.”
“Are you sure? This will definitely get his mind racing.”
“The only thing that will be racing is his body as he runs away from me.” I stand up. “Take a better one.”
She smiles, her eyes lighting up. She stands up too, directing me to stand in front of the ocean. She takes a few photos, and then gives me my phone. I choose one of the photos, then send it to him, along with a text.
Naomi:You might have to come to San Diego to take me on that date.
Husky Eyes:I can probably be convinced.
Husky Eyes:You look beautiful.
His message sends a rush of warmth over me that has nothing to do with the temperature of the sun. I try to fight the smile I feel creeping across my lips, because I know that Anne is watching me. I sit back down on my towel, then lie back, soaking in the cool California sunshine. It’s a lot cooler here than it is back home in Miami. I could lie here for the rest of the day if Anne would let me. The thought makes me remember one of Luca’s earliest letters to me. I picture myself as a whale with a crowd of people around me, trying to push me back into the ocean.
“What are you smiling about?” Anne asks, interrupting the memory. “The picture worked, didn’t it? I told you he’d like it.”
