Chapter 2
Chapter Two
The sundries shop was packed with vacationers purchasing essentials—forgotten toothbrushes, travel-sized shampoos, and overpriced sunscreen. Ezra and I shouldered our way to the snack shelf, scanning for something Gilly could stomach.
“They’ve got peanut butter crackers, cheese ones, and crackers coated in every spice under the sun, but no saltines,” I complained, exasperated.
“What about some peppermints?” Ezra asked, plucking a bag from the display. “They’re good for nausea, right?”
“Definitely,” I said, more impressed than necessary.
He grinned. “Hey, I know stuff.”
I leaned in and nudged him with my shoulder. “Yes, you do.”
His green eyes danced with humor. “Which variety, though?”
“Better safe than sorry.” I grabbed spearmint, peppermint, and Wintermint, then made my way to the checkout.
As we stepped out of the shop, something caught my eye.
Through the glass storefront of Pompier, the duty-free perfume and beauty store, I spotted my balcony neighbor, Callie.
She stood inches from a tall, dark-haired man, smiling as she held a bottle of perfume in her hand.
He reached up and tucked a loose lock of hair behind her ear, his touch lingering.
“What are you smiling about?” Ezra asked as we passed by.
I gave a subtle nod toward the window. “Looks like our neighbors have made up.”
Ezra glanced inside, then chuckled. “That’s all it takes? A fancy bottle of perfume, and all’s forgiven?”
“Not hardly.” I snorted. “If you ever talk to me the way he spoke to her, you’ll be hitchhiking from a buoy back to the mainland.”
“Noted,” he said with a grin.
We stepped onto the elevator, joining a young couple who stood close, fingers intertwined.
The woman had the warm, tropical scent of coconut and pineapple clinging to her skin—sunscreen or body spray, I wasn’t sure.
The fragrance hit me like a slap as a vision sharpened around me, pulling me into a sun-drenched world.
A man and a woman lounge on a beach, golden light spilling over them.
Their faces remain blurred, like always.
The woman is lying on her back on a vibrant, oversized beach towel, her skin glistening with a sheen of sunscreen and her pale blonde hair spilling onto the sand.
The man with shoulder-length, light brown hair kneels beside her, his strong hands smoothing lotion over her legs slow and deliberate.
“God, you smell good enough to eat,” he murmurs, his voice thick with warmth.
She giggles, a soft, lilting sound that carries on the ocean breeze. “I knew you’d like it.”
He leans closer, inhaling deeply. “Pina coladas.”
“And getting caught in the rain,” she teases, turning her head just enough for me to catch the tilt of her smile.
But then, something shifts. The man hesitates, his hands pausing on her thighs. The playful energy dims, replaced by something heavier. “Do you think we can really do this?” he asks, his voice quieter now, uncertain.
She doesn’t hesitate. “We can.” She reaches for his hand, threading her fingers through his. “We have to.”
Lifting her other hand, she flashes a stunning pear-cut diamond ring. The sun catches on its facets, sending a shimmer of light across her tanned skin. “Only six more months.”
His grip tightens as he lifts her hand to his lips, pressing a kiss to her palm.
“Only six more months.” There’s something dark on his shoulder, and as he leans over his partner.
I can see it’s a shield. It’s familiar. A shield with a yellow top half and red and white stripes going vertical on the bottom.
Still, I can’t quite place where I’ve seen it before.
The woman turns over onto her stomach. “Do my back, please.” On her right shoulder is the twin of his tattoo.
The vision lingers a heartbeat longer before I’m yanked back to the present.
I sucked in a breath, lightheaded. Ezra’s arm brushed mine as he steadied me. His brow arched in a silent question.
I shook my head slightly, not wanting to explain in front of the strangers.
I had thought the vision belonged to the couple, but their hair was different.
Hair changes. No big deal. I glanced at the woman’s left hand.
She had a pear-shaped diamond engagement ring in front of her wedding band, but I couldn’t be certain it was the same one from the memory.
I looked at the man’s wrist for the tattoo, but it wasn’t there either.
The memory must’ve been for someone who had passed them in the hall and smelled the coconut-pineapple combo.
It wouldn’t be the first time a strong emotion clung to a scent after the originator was no longer around.
The elevator doors slid open, and the couple exited ahead of us. Ezra and I followed, only to realize we were all heading in the same direction down the long corridor. The pair stopped a few doors from ours at an interior room across the hall.
“See ya,” the woman said with a slight wave at us as they went inside.
I gave a slight wave back as Ezra opened the door to our room.
“So, what did you see,” he asked as we went inside.
I shrugged. “The usual,” I told him. “Just a slice of life. A couple on the beach somewhere warm and having a moment. Before marriage, if I had to guess, but maybe shortly after they were engaged.”
He narrowed his gaze at me. “Those slice-of-life visions don’t usually take it out of you.”
“This one packed a punch for sure.” I sighed. “The moment must have been really important to whoever they were.”
“You don’t think it was the couple in the elevator?”
I shrugged then shook my head. “Right builds, but everything else was wrong.”
“Hmm.”
“It happens.” But I couldn’t shake the intensity of the memory.
“Well, I’m happy it wasn’t something more nefarious.” Ezra put his arm around my shoulder and chuckled softly. “Usually, when you have an intense reaction to a vision, there’s a killer on the loose.”
I leaned against him. “Not this time,” I told him. “Just two people with big feelings for each other.”
He smiled, his green eyes softening as he met my gaze. “I understand that feeling.”
Out on the balcony, we beckoned Scott. “No crackers, but we got these.” I handed him the mints with an apologetic smile. “These are supposed to help with nausea, right?”
“Thanks,” he said, taking the bags and giving us a grateful smile. “It definitely won’t hurt. Pippa and Jordy beat you back,” Scott added. “They found both lemon-lime and ginger ale. Between the drinks, the mints, and the meclizine, hopefully, we’ll get our girl back in form.”
Gilly appeared in the doorway as if beckoned, wrapped in a light blanket, sipping a can of ginger ale through a straw. Some color had returned to her cheeks.
“You look a lot less green,” I observed. “That’s a good sign.”
“We’ll see,” she murmured, rubbing her temple before yawning. “I think the motion sickness pill has triggered my nap-reflex.” She crooked her head back, and the bones in her neck cracked. “The bed is calling me hard.”
“You should go lie down,” Scott suggested. “When you wake up, you’ll feel much better.”
“I hope you’re right.” She gave her husband a quick peck on the cheek, then turned to us, shooing with one hand. “You guys go, get ready, shower, have fun...whatever. I don’t want to be the party pooper.”
I smiled. “There’s no party you could ever poop.”
Pippa poked her head out of her sliding glass door, her eyes wide and eager. “We could properly explore the upper decks before dinner.”
“Good plan,” I agreed.
“I’m up for it,” Ezra said.
“Great!” Pippa clapped her hands. “Jordy and I will meet you guys out in the hall.”
“I can’t believe I’m on a cruise,” Jordy said as we walked along the rail of the Lido deck.
“I honestly never had it on my bucket list, but until a few years ago, my only bucket list item was to never get high again.” I knew he was only semi-joking.
The man worked hard on his sobriety. He even held NA meetings after hours in his coffee shop.
“I’ve always wanted to try one,” Ezra told him. “A cruise, not getting high.” He chuckled. “But I’ve never had a reason to do it.” He glanced at me. “Glad I have one now.”
Jordy grinned as his eyes lit up. “This is like a second honeymoon for us.
Pippa flashed him with a dazzling smile. “Every day with you is a honeymoon.”
He laughed. “Oh, yeah. I’m a real picnic.
” His long hair was up in a double-braided man bun.
It made him look like a Viking preparing for battle.
He had the height and the muscle to go with the hair.
Although I’d noticed since baby number two, Jordy had started to get a little bit of a dad bod.
Pippa had told me the extra girth made her husband even more handsome.
Pippa elbowed him. “I’m happy.”
He gave her a crooked smile. “That’s all I ever want.”
Ezra’s hand slipped into mine. “I’m happy, too.”
The wind whipped my hair into my face before I could respond, and a noise of surprise squeaked out of my throat at the powerful gust. Ezra tugged me against him and held me until my feet were steady beneath me. “Wow, that was something else.”
“Do you think a storm is blowing in?” Pippa asked.
“There’s a few dark clouds out,” Ezra said, pointing at the horizon. “Hopefully, it won’t amount to anything.”
“They weren’t calling for storms when we left port,” Jordy added. “We are moving fast through the ocean. I’m sure the wind kicks up everything now and then.”
“You’re probably right.” We continued on our way, weaving in and out of other passenger’s paths as we passed the pool area. I recognized a familiar face lounging on a deck chair. “Hey, that’s our neighbor, Callie.” I looked around and didn’t see her husband. “I guess Sebastian stayed in the room.”
“What are you talking about,” Pippa whispered. “That’s him right there in the deck chair next to her.”