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“Yeah, you delivered all right,” I say, pulling out of his grip on my arm and continuing on. “But the things you say—you shouldn’t. Because if you said them to the wrong woman, she’d get hurt. Not me, obviously. I know the score here and I’m more than happy with the rule of the game as-is. But some other, more sensitive woman would really get hurt.”
He catches up with me. “So, you’re just trying to give me life advice.”
“Exactly,” I tell him with a firm nod. “Pretty solid life advice too, if you don’t want to go around hurting people.”
“But I didn’t hurt you.”
“Not at all. You couldn’t. Because someone like me would never fall for someone like you.”
30
A Few Words Before You Go…
Ty
Someone like her could never fall for someone like me? What the hell is that supposed to mean? And why does it feel so shitty to hear that when I don’t want to be with her in the first place? I don’t have time to find out because we’ve arrived at a clearing in the jungle and everyone is here waiting for us. The sound of rushing water draws my attention to a waterfall coming from a cliff about fifty feet up from where I’m standing.
Gwen rushes ahead, clearly trying to get away from me, while I slow down. It takes me a second to realize the rain has stopped. A voice in the back of my mind tells me to take note of this moment because it’s important, and I’m not sure if it’s the somber look on Rohan’s face or the fact that my feelings are all stirred up, but I know without a doubt I’m going to remember this place. There’s a patch of blue sky and the sun is peeking out, shining on the misty air surrounding us. I’m soaked through but I’m not cold.
When I join the rest of the group, I see that Karen looks like she’s about to cry.
“What happened?” I ask.
Rohan offers me a sad smile. “This is where we leave Dr. Napper.”
His words are like a punch to the gut, even though this shouldn’t be a surprise. It’s the reason we’ve come all this way. “Here?”
He nods.
“But this is so sudden,” Gwen says.
“It’s how he wanted it,” Rohan answers.
I open my mouth to protest, to question the sanity of leaving the urn up here, but then I remember it’s Richard and he had a plan all along, so I unbuckle the Baby Bjorn and set it down on a large slab of rock.
“Are we scattering his ashes?” Niles asks.
“No,” Rohan answers. “The urn will be left nearby, but Dr. Napper only wanted Ty to take him there. The rest of us say goodbye here.” His voice cracks and I feel my nose tickle a little with emotion.
I take a few steps away from the urn, wanting to give people some privacy, but even more, wanting to avoid hearing what they have to say to him. The last thing I want today is some big emotional scene.
I stare up at the sky, feeling the sun on my face and doing my best not to overhear Savannah thanking him for taking a chance on someone like her, and for giving her meaningful employment for all these years. Niles wishes him a peaceful afterlife and says that he’ll always be on the lookout for him wherever he goes. “How about if our codeword is picarone? I’ll know it’s you.”
Huh, I had no desire to roll my eyes just now. That’s weird because normally I’d be laughing my ass off inside at that.
Gwen steps up and places both hands on the top of the urn and says, “It was a pleasure to meet you, sir. I’ll be forever grateful that you believed in us and you gave us a chance. I’m sorry we didn’t make contact while you were alive, but like you said to me, ‘it’ll happen. Maybe a hundred years from now, or maybe tomorrow.’ Thank you.”
When Rohan walks up, all I hear are some loud sobs, some whispering, then more sobs. A lump forms in my throat and I do my best to swallow it, but it won’t budge.
Thiago walks over to me. “Are you all right?”
“Fine,” I croak.
“This is hard. I get it,” he says, patting me on the shoulder. He hands me the iPad. “He has a last video, but it’s only for you. He said you’re to take this and the urn and walk along the ledge behind the waterfall until you reach his final resting place. You’ll know it when you see it.”
Rohan walks over, carrying the urn, his eyes red and swollen.
“Why don’t you come with me?” I ask. “You were the closest person to him these last few years.”
