Tristan tucked away a smile at the fact that both his parents were more worried about each other than themselves. No surprise there. They were the most passionately-in-love parents an embarrassed kid could have. He and Toni used to roll their eyes at their constant displays of affection.
“I came right away. Soon as I heard. The doctor says they’re going to operate tomorrow.”
“Ja. Mit hjerte.” He spread a hand across his chest. “No more fishing for me, they said. I’ll have to be careful from now on.”
“Well, it’s a good thing you’re retired.”
“A fisherman never retires.” His eyelids lowered, as if he was having trouble staying awake. “He just catches fewer fish.”
Tristan found a chair and drew it close to the edge of the hospital bed. He kept quiet while his father drifted off to sleep. The hypnotic beeping of the monitor made him drowsy too. He’d barely slept on the long flight. He kept thinking about Lulu and what he’d texted her.
I promise.
He didn’t make promises. Not to anyone. Not anymore. He knew better. And yet he’d not only spoken one out loud—“This isn’t over. I promise”—but he’d written it into a text.
Where had that come from? It was probably just the heat of the moment, after all the drama they’d both been through. They’d connected in such an intense way, but maybe that was just the “crisis effect.” It would wear off, and he and Lulu would go back to being strangers to each other’s worlds.
After all, he knew exactly what happened when someone from another place tried to settle in Lost Harbor. He’d lived it. He couldn’t go through that again, and anyway, Lulu hadn’t given any hint of wanting to stick around town. She hadn’t even wanted to stay at Toni and Bash’s house. He had no idea what she was going to do.
His phone dinged. Oh good, international texts were going through.
It was Toni, checking on things. He answered her, taking care to remember each detail the doctor had told him. Blocked artery, surgery tomorrow, prognosis good. Mama wants me to stay for a while.
Can you do that?
For a while. Sure.
What about Lulu? She texted me that the truck is parked at my house. What are her plans?
Don’t know yet.
A short time after that, he sent Lulu the same information. Surgery, the need to stay longer.
When she texted him back, his heart leaped into his throat, almost as if she was right there in front of him, long legs and laughing eyes and all. You should absolutely stay. This time won’t come again.
He thought about that phrase often over the next few weeks, as things grew more and more difficult. The first heart surgery didn’t go as expected. They had to perform another surgery, this one even trickier. The doctors moved his father into the critical care unit. His mother cried herself to sleep at night; he could hear her from the sofa bed in the living room of their little high-rise condo.
He immersed himself in taking care of both of his parents. He cooked for his mother. He grilled the doctors. He sought out second opinions. He spent hours with his father at the hospital as he came in and out of consciousness.
Everything else faded away.
For a while he followed the news about Seb Antonov. With the help of Lulu and Raul’s statements, as well as information from the Northern Princess, the FBI arrested him and his accomplice as they tried to cross the border into Canada. They were extradited to Colombia, where charges of kidnapping and child trafficking were filed against him, and accessory charges against his helper.
After that, Tristan lost track of the news and sometimes forgot there was a world outside of the hospital and his parents’ condo.
Except for Lulu.
He didn’t forget her because she texted him often, and always just when he most needed her bright spirit. She sent him encouraging words, silly jokes, or a link to a song. Once she sent him a news article about Raul and his escape from the Northern Princess.
They spelled my name wrong, she complained. But I kind of like it, so you must now call me Fufu from now on.
Her texts were like beams of light in the forest. Whenever he had a spare moment, he sent her an update or a joke or a random snapshot of Chilean hospital food. He kept expecting her to leave Lost Harbor, especially after Antonov was arrested, but week after week, she didn’t. A sneaky sense of hope sparked in his heart that maybe she would still be there when he got home.
Toni called every day. “Should I come? I can get on a plane tomorrow. Bash can handle these kids. He could handle twice as many. Tell me the truth, Tris.”
“The valve replacement went well. The doctors don’t have that grim look about them anymore. They say Papa’s going to be fine, it’s just going to take a while.”
She sighed in relief. “Thank God. So should I come? You didn’t answer the question.”
“It’s up to you, but I don’t think we both need to be here. They’re hoping you’ll come next year for their fortieth anniversary.”
“I can’t believe they’ve been married that long. How do they do it?”
“I asked Papa that. He said it’s all about one word.”
“Love?”
“No. Paying attention.”
“That’s two words.”
“He’s in a hospital bed, what do you want me to do, correct him?”
She laughed. “You know, I’m kind of surprised you even got two words out of him. He doesn’t usually talk about stuff like that.”
“I know. He’s been pretty chatty. Maybe it’s the drugs.”
“Well, make the most of it. Maybe I can send you a list of questions for him. Like why didn’t he stand up for me when Mom made me wear all those girlie dresses I hated?”
At the other end of the hospital corridor, he spotted the nurse on duty heading into his dad’s room.
“I can answer that one myself. Because you stood up for yourself just fine. I gotta go, Toni. The nurse is here and I want to talk to him.”
“Keep me posted and let me know if anything changes.”
“You know I will. Wait. Before you go. How’s Lulu? She sounds good in her texts.”
“She’s really good. Lulu’s a busy girl. I barely see her. Seems like she’s having fun.”
He wanted to drill down on what kind of “fun” Lulu was having, but didn’t want to miss his opportunity to talk to the nurse. So he ended the call and hurried down the corridor. Was she having fun causing random disasters? Having fun meeting new people? Dating?
He and Lulu didn’t have any kind of official relationship. They’d never discussed such a thing, or even their feelings toward each other. They’d met, bonded, slept together, and gone their separate ways.
She probably was dating other people. A beautiful, fun, fascinating woman like her, dropped into the middle of a remote Alaska town filled with hard-working single men—shit, they could make a reality show out of that. Alaskan fishermen vie for the heart of a British royal-adjacent dancer. Streaming now on Netflix.
He should have spoken his piece before he left. He should have asked her to wait. Told her that he believed they really had something together. That he hadn’t experienced feelings this strong since Julie, and that it was a completely different kind of emotion. More mature, more real. Less fantasy.