Lucas didn’t know much about adult hopes. All he knew was that the buffet had macaroni, the pool was big, and that he’d made a new friend—a little girl named Lucy who brought her dolls to the deck every afternoon. Her company was soft, quiet, and comforting.
They first met near the railing, Lucy spreading a tiny picnic blanket for her dolls. Lucas offered her a plastic dinosaur in return. She giggled. From that moment on, they were inseparable. While the Harrigans argued, the kids built little worlds of make-believe under the sun watched over by Lucy’s mom Daisy O’Hara who’d quietly read a book a few feet away.
By the third day on board, it had become a routine. Lucas would wait for the telltale signs of another squabble—raised voices, sighs, sharp silences—and slip away. Lucy would already be waiting with her toys, and together they’d escape the noise and bickering.
James and Kiara barely noticed. They were too busy revisiting old wounds with fresh fury. That Thursday morning, it was the breakfast menu that set them off. James wanted to try the chef’s tasting platter. Kiara rolled her eyes and called it pretentious. And the sparks flew again.