Page 94 of An Irish Summer

“Same thing we’re all thinking, really. He wishes you wouldn’t leave. He can’t imagine the Wanderer without you.”

It was a good thing we had left the lobby, because I couldn’t keep the tears back for much longer. The end of my time here had come even sooner than I’d expected, and it was a lot to bear.

“Was this whole thing so selfish?” I asked. “Getting involved with him, knowing I was going to leave?”

“You wouldn’t be hurting this much if it was selfish,” she said. “And besides, he’s an adult. He knew what he was getting himself into and made the choice anyway. Though I don’t know how much of a choice it was for either of you, judging by how hard you tried to resist but ending up falling anyway.”

I was so embarrassed by how I’d acted when I’d first gotten here, I almost had to laugh. I had no intention of getting involved, or making connections, or doing anything beyond the job I was required to do. But everyone who came to work at the Wanderer left as part of the family, and I was the only one who couldn’t see it. I was the only one who had been determined to resist what everyone else knew was inevitable. And had I known then what I know now, about how special this family really is, how special Collin is, I never would have resisted it in the first place.

“How do you always know the right thing to say?”

“I’m Italian,tesoro.” Flo laughed. “We know about love. And I’ve seen enough people come through this place thinking they’re one thing and leaving another.”

I took a deep breath, but it didn’t make me feel any steadier. “I’d have been so lost without you this summer.”

“Oh, trust me, I know. You’re still lost even with me.”

I dropped my head again onto my folded arms. “You’ve been such a good friend since I’ve gotten here, and I’ve been such a basket case.”

She reached out and squeezed my arm. “Basket case or not, you’ve been equally good as a friend,” she said. “But I’m not sure why we’re talking in the past tense, like we aren’t going to be friends after you leave.”

“That would be a nightmare,” I said. “I’m not sure I could manage.”

“Which is why we’ll keep in touch,” she said. “You’re stuck with me now,cara.”

The idea of being stuck with anyone other than Ada was so foreign it made my heart ache. Flo and I had only known each other for two months, during most of which I was certifiably insane, and she didn’t want to get rid of me.

“It’s an honor,” I said.

“So, you’re really leaving, huh?”

“I was looking for the dream job, and I finally have a shot at it,” I said, trying hard to picture Hotel Blue and not the very place I was sitting. “And my time here is up, so, yeah, I suppose I am.”

She jumped off the table and threw her arms around me.

“I’m proud of you,” she said into my hair. “As long as you don’t forget about us and come back to visit, yes? Maybe for a long time, like, say, another summer?” She pulled away and wiggled her perfect brows, and I was grateful to be laughing instead of crying.

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” I said. “And don’t tell the others yet, will you?”

“My lips are sealed. Now get out of here. I also don’t want to cry this early in the morning, so I need to get back to work.”

I pushed through the swinging kitchen doors before either of us succumbed to the wave of emotion, returning to my desk only in body. My mind couldn’t have been farther away.

I’d been in such a daze, so different from the one I’d been in when I started the day, that it had taken me almost an hour to realize I’d gotten a text from Collin.

Last day off tomorrow. Reckon you’re finally ready for the Cliffs?

I nearly dropped my phone on the floor fumbling to answer.I thought that was up to you, I replied.

You’re right.

And I’ve made up my mind. You’re ready. Be ready tomorrow morning by 10.

With braids, he added in another message.It’s windy. And you know I quite like you in them.

I’d spent most of the morning trying to decide how I was going to tell Collin the news, only to decide I wouldn’t tell him right away. I didn’t want to ruin the Cliffs, or our last day together. If I was going to make it through the day without unraveling entirely, I would have to avoid all thoughts of my departure until then.

“There she is,” Collin said when I walked into the lobby at a quarter to ten. “Big day ahead of us, haven’t we?”

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