Chapter 8 - Tropical Redemption
The afternoon in Key West was spent on a private boat,
the water a brilliant,
impossible turquoise.
Walter stood at the bow,
the wind whipping through his white hair,
a look of pure joy on his face.
He was holding a fishing rod,
something he hadn't done in years because he was too busy working.
"Look at this,
Nancy!"
he shouted as he reeled in a bright,
silver fish.
"I’m a fisherman now!"
Nancy laughed,
her face glowing with the first tan she had ever had.
She was sitting in a comfortable chair,
a book in her lap and a cold drink by her side.
Naomi watched them from the shade,
feeling a sense of profound peace.
This was what money was for.
Not for handbags.
Not for showing off on social media.
But for the freedom to watch your father smile.
"They look ten years younger,"
Lucas said,
sitting down next to her.
"I talked to the lawyer,"
he added,
his tone shifting.
"They’ve already frozen the Cayman account."
"My mother is going to be served with a lawsuit for embezzlement the moment she gets back to her apartment."
"If she can even afford the bus ride back,"
Naomi added.
"I don't want to think about her anymore,"
Lucas said,
taking Naomi’s hand.
"I want to think about us."
"And I want to think about how we’re going to spend the rest of this week."
They spent the evening eating fresh seafood on the deck,
the sky turning shades of purple and orange.
Walter told stories about his childhood,
stories Naomi had never heard because he was always too tired to tell them.
They laughed until their sides ached,
the sound of their voices carrying over the water.
There were no suitcases being kicked.
There were no insults being hurled.
There was only the sound of a family being whole.
As Naomi tucked her parents into their plush,
high-thread-count beds that night,
she realized that the lake villa wasn't a loss.
It was a filter.
It had filtered out the fake love to make room for the real.
And as she looked at her father’s old suitcase,
May you like
sitting proudly on a luggage rack in a five-star villa,
she knew it was the most beautiful thing in the room.
