Page 63 of Bumping into You

Chapter 26

Niall

Our group stays in the Knight’s Tavern as many of the other groups disperse to other areas of the ship. Given the time, many are probably heading off to bed.

Music is playing, and we take our drinks and move closer to the balcony that overlooks the Grand Promenade below to watch the singers and listen to the music. A group of people start to dance.

“Let’s go dance,” says Margot, pulling Gwen and Holly along with her. Neither are reluctant. The joy in Gwen’s eyes is evident. The girl’s wave to us as they leave, telling us they’ll be back soon.

Trent, Greg, and I stay up in the lounge, sipping our drinks, while relaxing and chatting.

“Thanks for inviting me,” I say to Greg.

“Of course, man, couldn’t get married without you and Trent here with me,” he says.

“I love my boats back at the marina, but I have to say, this boat tops those,” Trent laughs.

“I bet,” says Greg, “though I wouldn’t say this is just a boat.”

“What’s it like managing the marina now?” I ask Trent.

“Oh, you know, every day is something new. Some days I’m captain, other days a janitor. The elderly come to fish off the docks, and on those occasions, I multitask as a therapist and occasional fish whisperer all rolled into one. There’s this one elderly man who comes every morning at sunrise, like clockwork. He’s a sweet old man. His wife recently died, and I think he’s a bit lonely, but we have some of the bestconversations,” Trent answers genuinely.

“Sounds nice,” I say with sincere honesty. The memory of my mam hits me in the gut. I feel for the old man having no one around anymore. No one should be lonely.

After taking a sip of his drink, Trent adds, “Some days, I swear I’ve got more sunscreen on me than a lifeguard at spring break! But seriously, it’s a labor of love. I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I mean, where else can you fix a boat engine while belting out sea shanties and debating the horror that is pineapple on pizza?”

“Hey,” says Greg, “I happen to love pineapple on pizza.”

“Yeah, and dude, you’re weird,” Trent says. Then turning back to me, he adds, “But it has been nice having Greg here rehabilitate our website and social media presence. Nowadays, we have a party or event going on almost every weekend. It’s definitely revamped the sense of community that the town has in the marina, for which I will be eternally grateful.”

“Even if I like pineapple on pizza?” Greg asks.

“Well . . .” Trent says, “to be determined.” The two laugh with each other before Trent continues, “With all Greg’s done for the business, my parents finally feel like they can see retirement in their future because Greg and I have everything handled.”

“Sounds like you have acraicof a time,” I say. “I’m definitely going to have to come down for a visit soon. I hate that I feel like I’ve shut you all out recently with everything going on. I’m sorry about that.”

“Don’t worry about it, man,” says Greg.

“I’m going to be different moving forward,” I say. “More open. Being on this cruise has been good for me. It’s showed me that I’ve just been living each day on repeat. But I realize it’s time to move forward and process my mam’s death. I need to figure out what I’m going to do with her stuff; I can’t keep living like she’s going to walk back through the door any day.”

I haven’t thought about the house or about going through mymam’s things since I’ve been on the cruise. A certain spitfire of a woman has kept me occupied, and I’ve felt more like my old self these past few days.

Glancing down to the Grand Promenade, I see that beautiful auburn hair. Gwen and the girls are dancing. Gwen looks happy and carefree.

“We’ll always be here for you,” says Trent. “You shouldn’t ever feel like you can’t reach out. We’ve got your back. As for your mam’s house, you could sell it.”

“Or keep it and rent it out,” Greg adds. “You can move anywhere, do anything.”

“Oh yeah, dude,” says Trent, enthusiastically. “You could come to Chessie Valley. You’re a firefighter. Everywhere needs a firefighter! You don’t need to stay in Boston all by yourself. You can come be with us.”

“Trent,” laughs Greg, “you are always trying to get people to move back to Chessie Valley.”

“Maybe I just know what’s best for everyone,” says Trent as he sits up a little straighter.

It would be nice to be around Greg and Trent more. They’re like family to me, and they’re right too. What is holding me in Boston? A sense of duty to my brothers and sisters at the firehouse? But they’re the ones that encouraged me to move forward. Right now, Boston is full of reminders of the past, and Mam didn’t want me moping around by myself forever.

Mam would want me to continue to live my life. And I wasn’t truly living my life while I was taking care of her. I put everything on pause: friendships, dating, all of it. I was so focused on Mam and what she needed. Maybe it is time to start thinking about what’s best for me.

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