Page 58 of Escape To Paradise
Kathleen changed the topic. “So, Harper, what’s your plan? Are you renewing your contract, or are you going to go back to the U.S.?”
It was a good thing Kathleen reminded me. My contract renewal was due soon, but I had already decided to renew, I just hadn’t told anyone yet.
“I’m going to renew for another three to six months. How about you?”
“I’m going to renew for three more months, then take a break. I may even work for another ship,” Kathleen revealed. “How about you, Zofia.”
Zofia was sitting by the dining table. “I’m going to renew but will take a break after the next charter. I’m going back home for a few weeks. Paul will be joining me.”
I gasped in surprise. “Zofia, you and Paul are getting serious. Congratulations.”
Kathleen stopped peeling the vegetables and said, “Yeah, I’ve been the third wheel for a while. It’s not fair.”
“It just happened.”
“He’s a really nice guy.” I was genuinely happy for Zofia and Paul.
“How about you, Kathleen?” I didn’t like to ask personal questions, but it seemed like it was the right time to ask something like this.
Kathleen hesitated but finally confessed, “I do have a long-distance relationship. We had a fight a few months ago, but we got back together. He might visit me here, or I’ll visit him.”
“Where is he?” I asked.
“He’s based in the UK for now. He’s a nurse.”
“Good for you. How long have you guys been dating?”
“Three years. But it’s been on and off.”
“You’ve been keeping a secret from us,” I told her.
Zofia said, “She had told me this a few weeks ago, but I had to press her for answers.”
“Secretive girl. Anyway, let’s focus on the task. We’re still cooking dinner.” I said.
As usual, we ate together. Captain John wasn’t religious so he didn’t lead the prayer before dinner. I wanted to keep Captain Youssef’s tradition alive, so I volunteered to pray over the food. After dinner, the crew hung out. There was dancing and laughing.
Before I went to bed, I had read an email from my lawyer. The email said that Benoit wanted to see me in person to discuss some details of the business split. I replied that I was overseas and would not be able to discuss it in person.
This new development had upset me. I might have to take a few days or weeks off to get this sorted out. I could only hope it wouldn’t take too much of my time. We went to work as usual, but I couldn’t shake off the thought of returning home to see Benoit again.
During the rest of the charter week, I tried calling Julian, but he wouldn’t pick up his phone, which concerned me. I had sent him several text messages but gotten no response. This was unlike him. What if he got ill? Or worse, what if he got hurt? I still tried to focus on my work, but it was proving to be hard.
As soon as the charter ended, and we went back to Grenada, I called Viktor’s cousin, Barry. He picked me at the dock and dropped me off at Julian’s driveway; I was still wondering if Julian was okay. I told Barry to wait for me.
I went inside using the key Julian had given me. I could hear his voice and an unknown woman’s voice. My heart started pounding. I walked to the kitchen, and there they were—Julian and a woman standing beside him. They were cooking something. The woman was chopping vegetables, and Julian was heating up the pan. He was wearing only his boxers, and the woman was wearing one of Julian’s shirts. I could tell it was his because I’ve seen Julian wear it before. The woman was tall and had a shimmering, waist-long red hair.
They heard me walk in and both turned around. Julian’s face went pale.
“Who’s this, Julian?” The woman had a questioning look on her face.
“Oh, a prospective client,” Julian stammered.
“Oh, okay.” The woman turned back around.
“Can you take over cooking for now? I have to talk to this woman.”
“Okay.”
