“Let’s have something to eat and then we’ll go.”
“Could we go now?”
She couldn’t eat. She needed to go home. So much for goodbye.
The air whipped through her hair, and unlike on the first speedboat ride, Presley didn’t feel scared. Ollie snuggled up to her side, chattering over the sound of the engine and the water. The choppiness was oddly soothing, like Ollie’s voice.
Gramps met them at the dock, offered his hand to Presley. “How you doing?”
“I’ve had better days, Gramps,” she said quietly, surprising herself with her own honesty.
His sun-weathered face showed understanding. “The good thing about that is you know they exist.”
Presley bit the inside of her cheek.
“How’s my Ollie-girl?” Gramps lifted Ollie up in the air, making her laugh with the kind of carefree abandon people grow out of.
“I’m good. Except Presley’s going home and we’re going to miss her.”
If she bit the inside of her cheek any harder, she’d draw blood. She switched sides.
“Is she going somewhere without internet?”
Presley grinned as Jill smoothed out her hair. “I’m not.”
“In my day, I had to mail letters, and we could only do it once a week when a boat came over from the mainland for pickup and drop-off. You kids have all the gadgets to make it feel like there’s no distance between you.”
“That’s very true. Just because someone has to go doesn’t mean they’re gone,” Jill said, leaning into Presley.
“We will definitely keep in touch,” Presley agreed, the words like marbles in her mouth. It wasn’t the same. But it was something.
“I know where the bus is, so you guys can say goodbye here.” Presley held her arms out. Ollie rushed into them.
“The bus. Don’t be silly. You’re one of us now whether you live here or not. Anderson is waiting to drive you. They’ll take the ferry over with you and drive you to the airport.”
She hadn’t met Anderson officially. “I can’t ask that.”
“You didn’t ask. It’s been arranged. We’re going to miss you, Presley.” Jill wrapped her in a hug while Ollie kept her head against Presley’s waist, her arms too short to wrap around Presley’s body.
Tears pushed. Presley pushed back harder. “Okay. I’ll let you know when I’m home. Thank you for so much more than I can say.”
Jill nodded against her shoulder, pulled back, brought Ollie with her. Unshed tears shone in her eyes, but Ollie didn’t hold back. The silent tears the little girl cried threatened to completely unravel Presley.
How could she feel so much for so many people in such a short amount of time?
Because you knew it wouldn’t last. Everything is more intense. It’ll fade when you go.
“Come on. I’ll walk you up to the parking lot,” Gramps said, taking her bag.
Presley and Anderson didn’t speak much during the ferry ride over, but once they were back in Mackinaw City, Anderson chatted in a soothingly monotone voice about the history of Smile. By the time she arrived at the airport, Presley knew she’d left a little bit of her heart in Smile. The weird thing about that was, somehow, the wobbly organ in her chest felt fuller going than it had coming.
Thirty-Four
Beckett stared at the daylight view of what he’d shown Presley the night before. He’d actually been able to see the speedboat leave. At least he thought that’s what that speck heading away from the lodge had been.
Picking up a handful of rocks which was mostly just dirt, he tossed it over the cliff. He wished he could do the same thing with the ball of emotions eating him up from the inside out. What the hell had happened to him this week?
You fell in love, you fucking idiot.Yeah. He was an idiot. But not for falling in love. He was an idiot for not telling her, for not spending every single last second that he could with her, but he truly didn’t know if he had the ability to say goodbye to her.
