She studies me for a moment, and I make myself meet her gaze without flinching.
"You're surprisingly easy to talk to," she says finally. “More laid back…simple. Normal.”
If she only knew how abnormal my actual life is. "I'll take that as a compliment."
"It is one." She turns back to the ocean, and we stand in comfortable silence for a moment. The ship's horn sounds—loud and long—signaling our departure. The deck erupts in cheers and applause from the other passengers.
Sabrina doesn't cheer. She just grips the railing again and watches as the port slowly begins to move away from us. Or we move away from it. The physics of it makes my head hurt.
"Are you okay?" I ask quietly.
She nods, but her eyes are bright with unshed tears. "I'm leaving my son for four days. I've never done that be
