“I wanted to be able to come here and tell you I’d move to Boston for you,” he says quietly, stroking my hair. “Like Gabe did for Lucy. Give up everything, move to the East Coast. And if that’s what it took, I would, I swear, but because of Justin, I felt like I had to ask you if you’d move to Rush Creek.”

“Apparently you didn’t have to ask me,” I say.

And tell him my story. About how nothing felt good or right (let alone perfect) in the weeks since I’d been back. About how much I missed Rush Creek, Amanda, Lucy, Hanna, Connor, my parents—Brody’s brothers, even. About how much I missed the groups of women on the boat, and their unexpected frankness, the way something that was silly and fun and sexy could unlock changes in lives.

“And I felt like you and I weren’t done,” I say.

“We’re not.” Brody ducks his head and kisses me. “We’re definitely not done. We’re just getting started.”

That makes me smile.

“So I decided I would just walk up to the edge and jump. See what happened.”

“And this happened.”

“Yeah,” I say happily. “This happened.”

39

Brody

The sweet spot between a plan and no plan is what Rachel and I do next.

First, we help her abuelita, Caridad, pack up her Washington Heights apartment, get her belongings loaded on a moving truck, and drive her to the airport. Rachel’s mom will meet her on the other end.

While we’re doing that, Caridad plies us with endless Cuban cooking. She speaks to Rachel mostly in Spanish. Sometimes Rachel sends me apology eyes since I understand about twenty percent of what they’re saying, but the thing is, I kind of love it. I especially love it in the evening when they watch telenovelas together and talk back to the characters while I tie flies at the coffee table. From time to time, I catch myself just watching Rachel smiling and laughing.

Once Caridad’s things are packed and we get her on a plane, Rachel and I rent an RV and drive back across the country.

First, of course, I recruit Kane to run Brody’s Boat for a couple of weeks. I promise him I’ll make it up to him by helping him plan the winter festival, Tinsel and Tatas Gala & Games, this winter.

I check in with Gabe to make sure he can do without me for those two weeks. He tells me to check in occasionally and to keep an eye out for some trip ideas to assuage Lucy’s unending hunger for new concepts. (I’m getting the feeling Gabe’s sexual fortunes rise and fall depending on whether he can satisfy that hunger of Lucy’s. Though I don’t think he minds, as long as he’s satisfying Lucy somehow or other.)