stood with Charlie, hovering over a basket of crusty rolls.
That did bring a slight smile. “She seems to be enjoying herself.”
“She is. Now. She was crazy about her husband and was beside herself when he died. She swore she’d never meet anyone like him. And then she met a dance host on a transatlantic crossing and fell madly in love.”
“What happened to him?”
“He died, too. But they had ten wonderful years together before she lost him,” Catherine added. “Now it looks like she’s found another soul mate. There are plenty of wonderful people in this world to love, Sierra. I hope, if things don’t work out with your husband, that you’ll remember that.”
“I’ll try. And thanks again for being a listening ear.”
“Anytime,” Catherine said. “Stay in touch.”
“I will.”
People always promised to stay in touch in situations like these but then got drawn back into their lives. Sierra and her sister had their own parents, their own family. They didn’t need any more family members. Catherine wished they did, because she sure wouldn’t mind adopting those two.
Sophie and Trevor joined them, chatting and grinning like a couple of lottery winners. When it came right down to it they were. They’d won the love lottery, which was the best one of all.
Once Catherine was back at the table she found she didn’t have much appetite. Seeing the empty chair where Rudy had sat stole it from her. Athena didn’t look all that joyful herself, and left her omelet uneaten, settling instead for yogurt.
“I guess I’d better go find Daddy,” she finally said, and stood. She looked at everyone. “It’s been great.”
Sierra stood, too. “Don’t forget to text me,” she said as the two women hugged.
“I won’t,” Athena assured her. Then she surprised Catherine by coming around to her side of the table, bending over and hugging her. “I hope everything goes well,” she whispered. “You deserve to be happy.”
Her words brought tears to Catherine’s eyes and she could barely murmur her thanks.
Later, as people were disembarking, she saw Athena and her father, already off the boat and walking toward one of the buses waiting to drive people to the airport.
“You haven’t seen the last of them,” Denise predicted.
Catherine just shook her head. Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.
* * *
Trevor was on the same flight back to SeaTac airport as Sophie and Sierra, which meant they were all at the same gate in the Basel airport. They’d been bused straight there, so all they’d seen of Switzerland had been from the bus windows. And much of what they’d seen had looked a lot like Germany.
He decided he’d have to come back, check out Zurich, Geneva and Lake Lucerne. Maybe Sophie would like to join him.
“You owe me big-time for making you come,” Kurt teased as they went in search of coffee.
“Yeah, I do,” Trevor said, opting out of a smart-ass answer. He was going home with presents for his mom and aunts and a cool stein for Kurt’s collection. Best of all, he was going home with a very special woman.
They returned to where the sisters were sitting and he handed over the eggnog lattes he’d bought them.
“One of the good things in life,” Sierra said after thanking him. “Right up there with sisters and men who make chocolate.”
He couldn’t help admiring how she was trying not to look like she wanted to jump from the plane once they were airborne. A strong woman. She’d be fine.
Speaking of fine, he thought, looking at Sophie. She was the whole package—cute, enthusiastic, kindhearted. She was happy to be with Trevor, but she wasn’t letting that happiness blind her to her sister’s misery, and she kept trying her best to distract Sierra with talk of the presents they’d bought.
“Drew’s going to love that beer stein, and I think Dad will love those smoked nuts,” she said, and Sierra nodded.
Sophie searched her phone, then turned it so her sister could see. “Look, here’s a recipe for Lebkuchen. We should try to make it. Dad would like that, too.”
“It’s a lot like gingerbread cookies,” Sierra said. “Those were Mark’s favorites. Are,” she corrected herself. Her lower lip began to wobble and she took a quick sip of her drink.
Sophie turned to Trevor, probably hoping to rope another person into the conversation and distract her sister. “What’s your favorite cookie?”
“Those frosted sugar cookies, hands down,” he said. “And mint chocolate chip.”
“Chocolate, of course,” she said, and smiled at him. Then she turned back to her