I nod.
“The only reason why I'm saying any of this is that you really have to figure out what you want to do. Maybe this place is the right place for you, maybe it's not.
Whatever you decide, make sure that it's something that makes you feel alive. There's too much in this life that requires sacrifice and the abandoning of your dreams.
I've lived a lot of years and I sometimes look back and say, ‘why the hell did I do all of that? Why the hell did I stay married for so long to a woman I did not love?
Why the hell did I spend so much time building a business that didn't really give me that much passion?’ Think about it. I know that you're the right person to run the Elliott Marina and Hotel, but that doesn't mean that it's the right thing for you.”
When I hang up, I don't know exactly where to go from here. If the judge has sided with the sons about his competence to make this decision, I know that I don't have much of a case.
I haven't owned the place for very long and I haven't invested much into it either. There's a big likelihood that the judge is going to overturn it and give the marina back to them.
I can fight it, but now that Isabelle is back in my life, is it still something that I really want to do?
When she was here, she mentioned taking the boat out to some warm waters. The Caribbean. Hawaii.
Why not do that?
Why not just have the adventure of a lifetime? Once the hotel decision is reversed, the money will be returned to me and that's a lot more than you ever need to live on a boat.
Who is to say that we can't just take a year to do that?
To get to know each other, to spend as much time together as possible?
Away from the rest of the world?
God knows that we have both been through so much and are due for some quiet time and relaxation.
The sun peeks over the horizon and a new day is just beginning. I rub my hand over the empty spot next to me and I know that the one thing that I want most in this world is to be with her.
Every day, every night, all the time. I want to know what she's thinking.
I want to know what makes her laugh. I want to stop her from crying. I want to make the world a better place for her.
I want to create our own little space in the universe where no one can hurt us and no one can reach us.
I know that she's taking a chance being with me, an escaped convict on the run. I know the authorities will always be looking for me and that we will always have to be on guard.
People like me are found twenty, thirty years later and are brought to court and shackled with gray hair and long white beards.
I don't intend on being one of those guys. I don't intend on watching my wife cry as they haul me off to prison for the rest of my days.
That's why I have to continue to be careful, extremely careful, and that's why I have to make other plans with other possibilities.
I've been thinking about this for a while. The authorities will keep looking for me unless something changes. There is evidence that was not there and I have an alibi that I haven't used.
There must be other evidence as well. Perhaps DNA evidence that they haven't tested? I could spend some of the money I would get back from the hotel on making my case. In proving that I’m innocent.
On finding evidence and then creating enough public awareness for them to reopen the case or at least consider an appeal in my absence. I don't know about any of the exact legal ramifications of this and what is and what isn't possible.
That's another thing that I have to look into, but if I don't want to keep looking over my shoulder for the rest of my life, especially if I were to start a new one with the woman who I love most in this world, I have to do this.
I have to prove my innocence.
10
Isabelle
Over the next few days, Tyler and I spent a lot of time talking to each other and texting. He stays busy with the hotel even though it feels pretty futile.
With Mr. Elliott in Paris and officially declared incompetent, there's a slim chance that he's going to keep the place.
Still, he continues to work.
I stay busy as well. I find a few more clients and give free introductory sessions and consultations with them and their parents.
Three more sign-up and if I get a few more clients, I can probably afford to rent a space and actually start working in an office instead of driving to everyone’s homes.
There are benefits to both. I charge more if I drive. But I can see more clients if I get an office. But then I’d have a lease. But if I had a lease, I could hire other therapists and actually give myself some time off.
I feel like I'm in a state of limbo though. There are so many unknowns that it’s difficult to make any decision one way or another.
Partly, I need to know what's going to happen with Tyler and his marina.
The last time we spoke, while we talked on my drive to Monroeville, Tyler had mentioned something that piqued my interest.
“What if we take a break from life? What if we just get on the sailboat and take off?” he asked.
“To go where?”
“Anywhere. Everywhere. Somewhere warm, tropical, where you can have drinks at a swim up bar and then go snorkeling in a turquoise ocean.”
“I like that,” I said.
After he mentioned this, we didn't have much time to expand on the idea because I had my appointment. We haven't talked about it since then, but my thoughts keep coming back to it.
What if we did that?
It sounds like a dream, a fantasy even, but when I looked up sailing around the Caribbean and living full-time on a sailboat, a bunch of YouTube videos appeared of people doing that exact thing.
I had watched about twenty of them that night and my dreams were filled with burying my feet in the sand, watching my hair flying around us, standing at the helm of the boat, and wearing nothing but tank tops and shorts all while walking around picturesque Caribbean towns.
“Were you just kidding about what you mentioned earlier?” I ask when we FaceTime later that evening.
Tyler has had a long day at work probably driving the housekeepers mad.
“What are you talking about?” he asks, propping his head up with his hand and leaning closer to the computer screen.
I take a bite of my salad.
The arugula and the kale drizzled in olive oil excite my taste buds and after chewing a bit, I say, “About sailing around. About just taking some time off and heading out into the world, with no particular destination in mind.”
“I get the feeling that you're not that into going anywhere north,” he says with a smile at the corner of his lips.
“But I am into going somewhere south and maybe east, closer to the equator.”
“It was something that I was thinking about for sure. What if we just used the time to get to know each other better. Have some fun. Go on an extended honeymoon.”
I nod, taking another bite.
“What do you think about that?”
“I’d love to,” I say, looking up straight into his eyes.
His whole face lights up.
A warm smile spreads over his mouth and he shakes his head in disbelief.
“Really?” he asks and a few loose strands of hair fall into his face, making him even more sexy than he already was.