Page 28 of The Sailor in Polynesia
Elayna interrupted my thoughts. “The pearls were lovely. You did not want to buy one?”
I looked at her out of the corner of my eye. “No, they are too expensive for my taste.”
“They were expensive,” Lila agreed. “I only bought a few small, imperfect ones to take home with me. But the jewelry was lovely.”
“What will you do for money, Mia? Since you will not be making videos anymore?” Elayna pried.
“I didn’t say I wasn’t going to make videos anymore. I said I didn’t know what I was going to do. I haven’t figured it out yet.”
“Ah yes, that is right. Well, I’m sure you will think of something.”
Jonas and Eivind rejoined our table and Elayna dropped the conversation.
After lunch, we climbed back into the dinghy and veered off toward the boats. Jonas dropped me off first.
As I unloaded my backpack, I heard the sounds of a dinghy approaching my boat again. Did I forget something?
Jonas pulled alongsideWelina, and I leaned over to ask what was going on.
He grinned at me. “I am on a secret mission. Come with me.”
“Do I need my backpack?”
“No.”
I hopped in with Jonas again and we drove off toward land, the engine drowning out any words I might have said.
Once we were tied up again and on dry land, I turned to Jonas. “What is going on?”
Jonas ambled off back toward the oyster farm. “Lila had a favorite piece of jewelry at the shop. I am on a mission to help my brother by buying the ring while she’s distracted.”
“That’s a nice gift for Eivind to give her,” I said.
“Ah no, not just a gift. He is proposing.”
“He’s proposing to Lila?”
Jonas’s smile was wide. “Ja, it is exciting, no?”
“Well, yes.” I shook my head. “Sorry, yes, it is exciting. I guess I’m still a little... burned by the marriage thing. And you are happy about that? Even...” I hesitated.
“Even though my marriage failed?” He sobered and thought about it. “Yes, I am happy for them. I know that there are many reasons a marriage goes wrong, but Lila and Eivind have withstood a lot already. The cruising life is hard on couples, but they work together well.” He nodded decisively. “It is a good match.”
“That’s great,” I said. It was good to know that while cruising could tank a marriage, it could start one too. As we approached the oyster farm, I thought about the consequences of jumping into a relationship headfirst. I’d known Liam for two years before we got engaged, but clearly, I didn’t know him well at all. On the other hand, cruising and the sailing lifestyle had exacerbated the cracks. If Eivind and Lila had already been together for a while, in such conditions, who was I to say whether they would make it or not?
We reached the store and Jonas talked to the shopkeeper. The ring she produced was a beautiful black pearl with silver waves around either side.
Jonas paid and we walked back. “Do you think you’ll get married again someday?” I asked. “It sounds like you still believe in marriage.”
He looked at me for a moment before answering. “Yes, I hope someday I can be a better husband than I was before.”
I cocked my head. “Why do you say that?”
Jonas sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. It was down and loose, curling around his ears and glistening like silver in the sun.
“It is tough not to think the worst of yourself when you do not really know why your marriage failed.”
“You don’t know?”
