“You’re blind,” he said matter-of-factly. “It wasn’t actually that hard to get away with!” And then he let out his biggest honk of a laugh and slapped me on the back.

When the others had drifted away, Rob and I sat in the sand with our feet in the chilly water and our backs against a steep hillock of sand. “I’ve been meaning to tell you something, Big E,” Rob said. My heart jumped, remembering when he’d first told me about his cancer diagnosis. I braced myself for more bad news.

“I don’t talk about this much,” he said, “but the last few years have been hard ones. I pride myself on being a problem solver, being able to always find a solution. But I’m faced now with an overwhelming situation. There’s no clear way forward.

“But I look at you, the way you deal with your own setbacks, whether it’s the death of your mom and your brother, or going blind, or the challenges in your family. Instead of getting beaten down or mired in depression, you’ve done the absolute opposite. It’s like there’s a storm in front of you, and you turn into it, instead of away from it.”

“A big part of why I’m able to do these things,” I said, “is because of you and the team.” I waved my hand toward the camp.

“I know how appreciative you are,” he replied, “and you know I’ve enjoyed helping you learn to kayak. I kind of thrive on it. But I’ve gotten just as much in return. I try every day to adopt that approach: not to let the darkness seep in. I say to myself, ‘Okay, this is the situation. This is your choice.’ I can either be pissed off and bitter and let circumstances drag me down, or I can say, ‘Okay, I have less time than I may have thought. Let’s see how much fun, how much excitement, how much joy we can pack in right to the end!’”

“We’ve definitely packed a lot in,” I said, smiling, reflecting on all our shared experiences.

“I’ve been your guide on a lot of adventures,” he resumed, “but you’re guiding me as well.” He paused, clasped my hand, and cleared his throat. “Thank you, Big E.”

I didn’t know what to say, but fortunately, I didn’t have to, because Rob continued, “And there are some others who want to thank you as well.” As if on cue, Skyler came over, sat down, and laid three letters in my hands. “They’re from your fam,” he said. “They’ve been stashed away in my dry box.”