Page 38 of Delivery After Dark
“Move to Gansett Island and start a business doing what you love?”
“What about my plush retirement?”
“Eh, you’ll figure it out.”
“Said the guy with the built-in government pension.”
“Life is too short to be working in a job that doesn’t make you happy.”
“That’s very true.”
Her entire disposition had gone sober, which had him wondering what had caused that. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, of course. Do you know what brought Ollie and Dara to the island?”
“Yes, I heard about what happened to their son. It’s so tragic.”
“When I tell you it was the worst thing I’ve ever been through… That doesn’t do it justice. That little guy was the light of all our lives. For a time, I didn’t think they’d survive it, and I wasn’t sure I would either. At the same time, my marriage was beginning to fall apart.”
“That’s rough. I’m sorry you went through such a hard time.”
“Losing Lewis was horrible. By the time I split with my husband, it was a huge relief, although I was surprised by feelings of failure and other fun things I never saw coming until I found out he was cheating on me with a twenty-three-year-old he worked with. Anyway… That was a long time ago now, but I agree that life is short, and we need to be happy for the time we have here.”
“Dancing makes you happy, Monique.”
“Yes, I’m aware of that, Linc.”
“I’m just saying.”
“Devil.”
He laughed, which was something he did a lot when she was around. Out at the bluffs, he pulled into a parking space and cut the engine, leaving the music playing in the background.
“Is this where the teenagers go to fool around?” she asked.
“I wouldn’t know. I was never a teenager out here.”
“Where’d you grow up again? I know you told me once.”
“In Connecticut. Westport area. Went to the Coast Guard Academy in New London, and here we are, fifteen years later.”
“So that makes you…”
“Thirty-seven.”
She winced. “Ouch.”
“What?”
“I’m almost thirty-eight.”
“That’s not exactly cougar territory.”
“Maybe not, but getting closer all the time.”
“Far be it from me to correct you, but I would’ve guessed you were thirty or thirty-one at the most.”
“You’re too kind.”
