I reckon that’s how teammates work. They lift each other up.”
“Thanks, Daddy. Thanks for lifting me up.”
“Thank you, Roo.”
He kissed her again, full of energy, of life. After reapplying sunscreen to her neck and shoulders, he leaned back in his chair, watching the waterline. Couples walked hand in hand. Naked babies sat in the shallows with their nearby parents. Children splashed one another and found smooth rocks that would be ultimately churned to sand. The weather was nearly perfect—not hot, but sunny, with a dry, gentle breeze that kept insects at bay.
As Ian watched the families, he was reminded of his day with Mattie, Holly, and Georgia at the pool. They had laughed so much. His sadness was at least temporarily forgotten. A simple game of Marco Polo had made him feel young again, had made him revel in Mattie’s joy. And he had felt close to another woman for the first time since Kate’s death. Georgia had captured him, even though he hadn’t known it. He’d seen the promise of her, seen how his family was made better by the presence of hers.
Thinking about what Kate had written to him, that he needed to find new memories, he unzipped his day pack and searched for the film canister that he’d placed within it earlier that morning. Finding and opening it, he pulled out the little scroll and unrolled it, skipping immediately to the end of the poem that Kate had written.
Love like ours never dissipates, never wavers.
We were one and we will always be one—
Pages within the same book.
But life is long and you should not walk alone.
Please don’t walk alone.
Find happiness again.
Find a version of us.
And within that version,
Celebrate what we were,
What we created,
The path that we took.
Only through happiness will you ever again smile at the memory of us.
And I want to watch your smiles from heaven.
I want to see you reborn,
Fashioned together with memories,
With joy,
And with hope.
Remember . . .
Love is a wilderness untamed,
A river uncrossed,
A promise unbroken.
I love you.
Ian closed his eyes, still holding the paper, repeating Kate’s words, amazed by her foresight and strength. His eyes grew moist and he wiped them, believing that the road to ultimate happiness might start with Georgia and Holly. We shouldn’t leave them, he thought. Not now, not when there seems to be such a lovely connection between us.
Ian took off his sunglasses and looked up into the cloudless sky. How did you know, my luv? he asked, thinking about how Kate, on her deathbed, had sent him toward another woman. And how did you do it? You’re so bloody strong and selfless. I wouldn’t have been stout enough, if things had been reversed. I couldn’t have survived the thought of you with another bloke, even if he would have brought you joy. I’m so sorry, but it’s true. I would have failed you.
He wiped his eyes again. I love you so much, he thought. You are, and always will be, the love of my life. As I’ve told you a heap of times, I don’t put much trust in God. To me, he’s been about as useful as an ashtray on a motorbike. But they say Moses parted these waters, and maybe he did, because someone brought you to me. Someone brought you to me, and that was the greatest gift of my life—because the crossing of our paths gave me you, and you gave me Mattie. And without the two of you, I’d be nothing.
“Daddy?”
Ian looked down, glanced to Mattie. “Yeah, Roo?”
“Are you crying?”
He shook his head. “No, luv. Just . . . a bit of sunscreen in the old eyes. Stings like the bite of a fire ant.”
“Maybe you should wash it off. In the Red Sea.”
“Will you go with me?”
“Sure.”
Ian picked up their masks and snorkels, took Mattie’s hand, and walked toward the water. It was cooler than he expected, contrasting with the fierce sun and nearby desert. Continuing to hold Mattie’s hand, he waded deeper into the water, small waves tumbling into his calves, then his thighs. He handed Mattie her mask and snorkel, glad that her freckled face still looked young.
She put on her equipment. “Where should we go, Daddy? Do you think they have a Shark Point here?”
“No, luv. I reckon not. But let’s . . . let’s find something beautiful. Something for Holly.”
“And we’ll mail it to her? Maybe something each for Holly and Rupee?”
He adjusted the top of her bikini, trying to cover more of her flesh. “How about