Joy itched her shoulder. She stood in front of the mirror of one of the upstairs bathrooms of Delta Gamma Rho house and peeled back the Band-Aid a little. The wound was healing nicely and she probably didn’t even need the bandage.
“Joy, are you in there?” she heard her sister ask as she knocked.
“Yeah, you can come in,” Joy said. “I was just fixing my costume.”
It was the annual Hawaiian Islands mixer, and the twins were dressed in traditional Hawaiian outfits. Libby wore a long fitted Tahitian sarong, while Joy wore the traditional long fitted Hawaiian holoku.
“How’s your shoulder?” Libby asked, looking at it.
“Fine. It’s just a little itchy,” Joy said.
“Are you coming back out to the party? People keep asking about you,” Libby said.
“In a minute. I just got tired of all the questions,” she sighed. “It happened almost two weeks ago, why can’t people leave me alone?”
The Kappas had officially kicked Eric out and word had it the national organization was terminating his membership as well.
“Well, you can just dance or something. Have some punch,” Libby said.
“There you are!” Angel said as she passed the bathroom door on her crutches. “I was looking everywhere.”
“We’ll be down in a second,” Libby said.
“Is everything okay? Are you okay?” she asked Joy.
“I’m fine. You guys don’t have to worry about me. Let’s go down to the party okay?” Joy said, as she moved passed her sister and went down the hallway towards the stairs.
* * *
“I’m telling you, that was probably the most fun mixer this year. You guys did so great with decorations,” Angel said the next morning, as they sat in the cafeteria.
“Yeah, it was cool to try and make everything look authentic,” Libby said. “What about you Joy, did you have fun?”
“It was okay,” Joy said, as she pushed her cereal around in her bowl.
“Is something wrong?” Libby asked.
“Huh? No, I just didn’t sleep very well last night,” she said.
“Joy . . . ” Angel started to say. “Do you think maybe you should talk to someone about what happened?”
“Angel, I’m fine. I have you two to talk to. I know any of the DGR girls would help me if I needed it. But I’m okay. A little down maybe, but I’m fine,” Joy said.
“Great mixer, you guys,” Ryan said as he walked by with Tim and put his tray down nearby.
“Thanks! Glad you had fun,” Libby said.
“How are you feeling?” he asked Joy.
“Fine! God, why does everyone keep asking, it’s none of their business!” Joy exclaimed.
“Sorry, I just thought . . . ”
“What? That you’re the big hero, and I forgive you? Just because you stopped Eric doesn’t mean the slate is wiped clean you know,” Joy said.
Ryan shook his head as he turned towards his tray.
“Give him a break, Joy,” Tim said.
“Shut up, Tim, this has nothing to do with you,” Joy snapped.
Joy picked up the breakfast bar left on her tray and headed straight for the exit doors of the cafeteria.
“I’m really sorry,” Libby said. “Everyone’s been asking her questions, I think she’s just a little overwhelmed with the attention.”
“Right . . . ” Ryan said, rolling his eyes a little. “One day she’s nice and forgiving, and the next she bites my head off. She needs help.”
Libby just exchanged a look with Angel.
* * *
“I think she’s being pretty mean,” Angel said they walked back to their dorm.
“Yeah. It’s pretty ridiculous. I thought maybe after this she and Ryan would sort of bond. You always hear about people bonding with the ones that rescue them,” Libby said. “I guess Joy’s not buying into that.”
“I don’t know. He was right, she is decent to him one minute, then she just snaps at him. And Tim! Poor guy, he just got caught in the crossfire,” Angel said.
“No kidding. Well, break is in less than a week, hopefully Joy will get some time to relax and deal with things, and she and Ryan can be friends again,” Libby said.
“I don’t know . . . sometimes it seems like even knocking their heads together wouldn’t help,” Angel sighed.
* * *
Late Monday, the twins walked over to the Delta Gamma Rho house for dinner. Angel was already there, helping her big sis pack for their altered spring break.
Brookline University administration had decided to move spring break to coincide with Good Friday and the Easter long weekend that year.
The dining room at DGR was crowded, with some sisters eating dinner and others hanging around talking. More girls were in the living room studying.
“Hey guys!” Sage said. “Me and Birdie are just talking about Cancun.”
Some of the sisters were flying to Cancun for the break.
“We leave on the Monday. Want me to bring anything back for you?” Bridget asked.
“No, just have a good time and don’t drink the water,” Libby joked.
They both sat down with plates of food and ate and talked with the sisters until the loud chiming of the front door bell caught their attention.
“We’ve got brothers in the house,” they heard someone yell from the front of the house.
“Greetings, fellow Greeks!” Ryan said as he entered the room and snatched a piece of bread off Piper’s plate.
“Oh look, clown college grads,” Dayna said jokingly.
“We come in peace,” Ryan said.
“Yeah, we came to see how many of you are coming to the Zeta Disney World party. We need to make sure we’ll have enough cash for the trip,” Tim said.
“What exactly is the party about?” Vanessa asked.
“Well, everyone buys a ticket, they’re twenty-five dollars. All the money goes towards buying two round-trip tickets to Orlando and securing a hotel room at Disney World for a few nights. During the party, two names are drawn, a guy and a girl. The next morning they get on a plane and go to the Magic Kingdom,” Tim said. “Since our spring break goes the week of Good Friday and Easter, we don’t miss any classes.”
“That sounds amazing,” Libby said. “You can count me in!”
“Remind me to send another letter to the administration complaining about how they’ve set up spring break,” Vanessa said. “I wish it was in March like everyone else. That being said, you can count me in.”
Libby looked over at Joy expectantly.
“I guess you can count me in,” Joy said, sounding less than enthused. “As long as Ryan doesn’t use it as a stage to embarrass me.”
“I know you’ve been through a lot, but aren’t you getting sick of treating me like crap?” Ryan asked.
“Go to hell, Ryan,” Joy said. “You’re walking around like you’re some big hero, which you aren’t. If your head got any bigger you’d be a candidate for the Macy’s parade.”
“What, so you’d rather I hadn’t done anything?” he said. “He left because I was there!”
“You weren’t the only one that was there! Libby and Angel were, too! You don’t see them pulling all this attitude like they’re so great, they saved the poor defenseless girl.”
“Get off it, Joy. You’re just mad it was me. You’re just mad I helped you.”
“I don’t need any help from you!” she said standing up.
“Okay, that’s enough!” Bridget yelled over the two of them. “I’ve had enough of both of you. Out!”
“What?” Joy said.
“You heard me, I said out. Go outside right now, both of you. Take it into the streets, I don’t want to see it here,” Bridget said.
Joy looked at her for a minute, and seeing she was serious, she stalked out of the dining room and towards the front door. Sitting down on a bench out on the porch, she turned away as Ryan followed her.
“Happy now?” he asked.
“Oh, go home, Ryan.”
“You’re really sad you know that?” he said as he walked off into the night.
“No kidding,” Joy said, wiping tears from her eyes.
* * *
“My God, those two went at it,” Sage said.
“You missed the main event in the cafeteria yesterday. She even told me to shut up,” Tim said.
“They’re both making me sick,” Libby said.
“What happened?” Angel said as she rolled into the room.
“A Joy and Ryan fight,” Libby said simply.
“What, again?” Angel asked. “That’s it, I can’t take it.”
“Neither can I. Every mixer we have it’s like we have to make sure they aren’t near each other so they won’t start fighting. It’s stupid.”
“I feel bad for Joy. She’s been through so much, I can see why she’s angry. I think she’s taking it out on the wrong person though,” Sage sighed. “I wish we could just put them in a cage and let them fight it out.”
Libby laughed a little. “Our mom did that when we were about six. We were fighting all the time. Real knockout fights, too. Pulling hair, hitting. Finally she got fed up and said since we couldn’t be nice to each other we’d be punished. We thought we’d get in trouble, but what she made us do was share a bedroom.”
“Did you kill each other?”
“Almost,” Libby laughed. “We fought at first, but pretty soon we got used to living with each other and we haven’t fought like that since.”
“It’s too bad we can’t do that with them,” Tim said.
“Maybe we can,” Angel said. “The Disney party is Saturday right? Can you rig it somehow so the names that get picked are Ryan and Joy? They’ll have to spend three days together in the Happiest Place on Earth.”
“Oh my God, that’s brilliant!” Libby gasped.
“Can you do it?” Angel asked Tim.
“Yeah, I think I could,” he said slowly. “I’ll just volunteer to be in charge of the ballots. No biggie.”
“Tim, you’re the best!” Angel said.
“You really think this is going to work?” he asked Libby.
“If they don’t come out of it liking each other, they won’t come out at all.”
* * *
The week flew by quickly and by Saturday morning Libby was more excited than she could remember for a party.
“The Zeta party is going to be so much fun,” Libby said as she worked on her homework at her desk. Joy was on her bed reading.
“I don’t know if I’m going to go,” Joy said.
“What? You have to! It’s the beginning of spring break! Come on, everyone will be there, and just think, one of us might win a free trip to Florida,” Libby said.
“I don’t know,” Joy said.
“Please? It’ll get your mind off things,” Libby said. “For me?”
“I guess. But I better have fun,” she warned.
“Oh, you will,” Libby said.
* * *
That night the atmosphere at the Zeta Alpha Psi fraternity house was wild. People were dancing, drinking and having fun, eagerly awaiting the announcement of who was going to Disney World. The house was packed with hundreds of people, and Joy realized the party must have raised thousands of dollars.
It was just after midnight when Tim took the stage to draw the winners. He stuck his hand in the big barrel and pulled out the first name.
“For the guys, the winner is . . . Ryan Eckert!” he said. People cheered and whistled as Ryan jumped up onstage laughing.
“Now for the lucky lady . . . or poor girl, depending on your view of Ryan,” Tim said. “Joy Morrison!”
Joy looked around, stunned, as people looked in the crowd for her. Libby came over and pushed her up to the stage.
She did her best to smile for the crowd.
I can’t believe this, she thought. I can’t do this.
The noise died down and the music started again, and Joy headed towards the door.
“Congratulations!” Libby said smiling.
Joy walked past her and headed into the night and towards Salem Hall.
* * *
“I’m not going,” she said again.
“Joy, don’t be stupid,” Libby said, stuffing things in a bag for Joy.
“I’m not being stupid, I just think this is a terrible idea,” Joy said. “What about our birthday?”
Their birthday was on Wednesday, the eleventh, the day they’d get home from Disney World.
“Your flight gets in before noon, we’ll have plenty of time to celebrate,” Libby said.
“This is a bad idea.”
“It is not. It’s a free trip! Now come on or we’ll be late. Birdie’s driving us to the airport.”
Joy sat in silence almost the entire way to Logan International Airport and felt her dread building as they approached the terminal. It was fairly busy for a Sunday morning, with streams of college co-eds arriving and departing.
“There’s Ryan,” Bridget said, waving as she spotted Ryan over near the American Airlines check-in desk. They gathered Joy’s things and joined him.
“Hi,” he said.
“Hi,” she answered sullenly. They didn’t speak as they checked in, then prepared to go through the restricted security area towards the gates. Ryan left quickly, and Joy lingered behind to say goodbye to her sister.
“I think this is exactly what you two need,” Libby said as she hugged Joy.
“Right,” Joy said, near tears. “Me spending time alone with a guy a month after someone tried to rape me.”
Libby’s features softened a little. “Joy, he would never hurt you. He’d never let anyone hurt you. You’ll see, you’ll come out of this as friends.”
Joy stared at her sister for a minute. “You set this up, didn’t you? You and Tim?”
“That’s your boarding call, you better hurry,” Libby said as she hugged Joy quickly and pushed her towards the gate.
“Libby!”
“Have fun! Say hi to Mickey for me!” Libby smiled. Joy stepped through the doors, staring back at her sister.
I am so going to get her for this one day, Joy thought. If I get through this.
* * *
Joy found her seat on the plane was right next to Ryan. For some reason she let herself hope they might be seated away from each other. She was quiet as she got into the seat and did up her seat belt. Shortly after a perfect takeoff, the attendant came around with headphones. Joy bought a pair, plugged into the system and tilted her chair backwards. She slightly closed her eyes and noticed Ryan was staring at her. A minute later he shook his head and put headphones on himself.
The whole flight was silent for the both of them. When Joy started to feel the plane descend she looked over past Ryan to the window, trying to get a glimpse of Orlando. She had never been to Florida. It would also be her first time at a Disney park, and for a moment, Joy let herself forget she wasn’t here with her sister and actually felt excited.
Maybe this trip was a good idea, she thought. There’s no way I can get hurt at the Magic Kingdom.
* * *
“So where are we staying anyway?” Joy asked as Ryan hailed a cab at Orlando airport.
“One of the Disney hotels,” Ryan answered.
“Well, you could be more specific, isn’t there, like, fifty of them?” Joy said as a cab pulled up and she got in the back seat.
Ryan got in beside her and spoke to the driver.
“Magic Kingdom Resort area, please. Polynesia Resort.”
The driver nodded.
“Polynesian?” Joy asked.
“Yeah. It’s one of the theme resorts, it’s done up like Hawaii or something,” he said.
“I wonder if Libby rigged that up, too,” she said softly.
“What?” Ryan asked.
“Nothing,” she replied.
About a half hour later they pulled up to the Disney Polynesian Resort. People greeted them at the doors with fresh flower leis.
They went to check in, and Joy sat down in the main lobby, looking out the window at the perfect weather.
“Don’t freak out,” Ryan said.
“About what?” she replied suspiciously.
“There’s only one room,” he said.
Joy held her breath for a minute. “Where is it?”
“Well, there’s eleven longhouses of suites here. I’m not sure.”
“We better go check it out then,” Joy said, her mood soured.
* * *
They walked through palm tree lined pathways until they found the longhouse their suite was in. Joy walked in quickly and felt more relaxed when she noticed there were two big queen size beds in the room.
“So is this going to be okay?” Ryan said.
“Yeah sure. It has to be, there’s nowhere else to go right?” Joy said.
“Right. I just thought maybe you . . . ” Ryan trailed off.
“Maybe I what?” Joy asked.
“Maybe it would make you uncomfortable,” he finished.
“Ryan, I’m fine. You’re only the five billionth person to ask me that,” she said.
They spent a few minutes unpacking.
“So what do you want to do first? Rent a boat, sit on the beach, go to the park, swim? Hey, there’s a luau tonight,” he said.
“You mean we’re hanging out together?” Joy asked.
“Well, we don’t have to,” he said, sounding a little defeated. “I’m planning on going to the park though. The place is huge, Epcot’s pretty cool.”
Joy sat down on the bed and thought about what she would do while Ryan changed in the bathroom. She could go out alone. She’d be alone in Florida wearing skimpy clothes during her spring break. There was a time that would have thrilled her.
If I stay he’ll totally bug me about it, Joy thought. And I really don’t want to stay alone.
A minute later Ryan came out of the bathroom wearing some shorts and a T-shirt.
“Well, I guess I’ll see you at dinner for the luau,” he said.
“Wait!” Joy said, a little too loudly. “I mean, I think I’ll come. You’re right, there’s a lot to see and I’ve never been here before.”
She quickly changed into some shorts and a tank top and left the room with Ryan.
* * *
An hour later they had walked around Disney World looking at the attractions.
“What do you want to do first?” he asked.
“How about Big Thunder Mountain?” she suggested.
They made their way to Frontierland and stood in line for awhile before getting on the train cars. Joy had never ridden any kind of rollercoaster before, and despite Ryan’s insistence at the end of the ride it was tame, she had loved it.
They had wandered over to Pirates of the Caribbean next, and Joy realized with some dread she’d have to sit next to a stranger.
Oh God, Joy thought, panic stricken. She looked behind her to see a group of college-age guys.
“Joy, come on . . . ” Ryan said, gesturing to her to move up with the rest of their group. “Chicken?”
“I am not chicken!” she said, noting there was only one other girl in the group and she was already seated in the back with other people
“Yeah right . . . if you aren’t prove it. Sit in the front,” he said. Joy looked at him, then climbed into the long four seater, sliding to the far side, Ryan squeezing in next to her. She breathed a sigh of relief she didn’t have to sit next to a stranger.
The ride plunged into darkness, and Joy held onto the bars on the side, glad she didn’t have to hold onto anyone else.
Soon they were plummeting down the first little hill, and Joy held her hands up the entire way. She had fun during the ride and by the end of it had almost forgotten her fear.
“Where to now?” Ryan asked.
“How about the Haunted Mansion and the Jungle Cruise?” Joy suggested.
* * *
Hours later they were stumbling out of the park.
“So tomorrow we should go to Epcot,” Joy said.
“Three days isn’t enough at this place,” Ryan said.
“No kidding,” Joy joked.
They arrived back at their room, and Joy took some time to shower before the luau dinner show. There were singers and dancers, and the audience clapped and cheered when the fire dancers performed. Joy sat back in her chair smiling, remembering life on the islands. Before she knew what was going on, one of the dancers was pulling her up onstage and then backstage.
“What’s going on?” Joy asked.
“We usually take a few volunteers from the audience and teach them the hula,” the girl said smiling, holding out a long pink grass skirt. Joy smirked and put it on.
“Now we’ll all go out onstage and teach you a few hula moves,” she told everyone. Joy glanced around at the rest of the group and saw two guys, one a balding man in his forties, and the other a punky looking teenager.
They probably picked the most unlikely people to dance, Joy laughed to herself. I guess they never figured on a redhead knowing how to hula.
“Now, this is what it’s supposed to look like,” the girl said, quickly moving her hips to the drum music coming from the stage. “But don’t worry if you can’t keep up with this hula.”
“Tahitian otea,” Joy said, smiling when the girl looked at her with a surprised smile.
The drums signaled their entrance onstage before the girl could reply, and the three were paraded out on stage to the delight of the crowd. Joy rolled her eyes over at Ryan who was laughing and clapping.
They started slowly with the hip movements, and Joy kept right in time with the beats. The faster they went, the faster she went, and the audience was laughing at the attempts of the other two volunteers. Joy kept right up with the other dancers onstage.
“Ah, this young lady has had some practice!” the announcer said as he came over to her. “What’s your name and where are you from?”
“My name’s Joy, and I’m from Boston, but I lived in Hawaii until I was thirteen,” Joy said.
The crowd clapped and Joy went backstage to change.
“That was great,” Ryan asked when she sat down at the table again. “Where did you learn that?”
“Auntie Kama,” she said. “When our parents died, she took us in and raised us for three years until we moved to Seattle. She ran a hula halau, or studio, where we took lessons even before the accident. She taught us all kinds of Polynesian dances.”
“Why didn’t you do any of that at the Hawaiian Islands mixer?”
“I don’t know, I just didn’t feel like it,” she said.
When dinner was over they both walked back to the room quietly.
“I guess we better get some sleep so we can attack Epcot and MGM tomorrow,” Joy said.
“You go ahead, I’m going to watch a little TV.”
Joy changed into a pair of shorts and a tank top and got under the covers. The day hadn’t been that bad . . . maybe she wouldn’t kill Libby for setting her up after all.
* * *
The next day they traveled at breakneck speed around Epcot Center, trying to see as many attractions as they could. By nightfall they were both exhausted.
“We can eat dinner here, then head over to Pleasure Island for a bit,” Ryan said.
“What’s Pleasure Island?” Joy asked.
“It’s this island with tons of different clubs on it, from country to jazz and rock and each night they do a countdown to the new year. It’s kind of fun,” he said.
“How will you get in?” she asked.
“What do you mean, how will I get in? You’re a year younger than me!” he laughed.
“Yeah, but I carry fake ID,” Joy said.
“So do I. Check it out,” he said, whipping out his wallet and displaying an ID.
“William Nelson? Willie Nelson? You have got to be kidding,” Joy said as she looked at it. “Not a bad job, though.”
“People love it. Let’s see yours.”
She showed him her Jackie Hutton ID.
“Not bad,” he said. “But Jackie? Please.”
Hours later they were in a dance club on Pleasure Island. Joy sat at one of the side tables watching Ryan take a turn dancing with every single woman in the club.
“Is this seat taken?” a voice asked her.
She turned around to see a young man standing there holding two drinks.
“Um, yeah, my friend’s just dancing,” she said. He sat down and offered her the drink.
“So are you here for Spring Break?” he asked.
“Yeah,” she said, her eyes scanning the crowd for Ryan.
“Me too. I go to Penn State,” he said.
“Texas A&M,” she replied, not wanting to give any personal info out to a stranger.
“Why don’t we go dance?” he said, grabbing her hand. She pulled away.
“No!” she said, as loud as she could over the music.
“Come on, it’s just a dance!” he answered, grabbing her arm again.
“I said no!” Joy said, backing away.
Suddenly Ryan was pulling the guy away from her.
“She said no,” he said. The guy shook his head and left.
“Are you okay?” Ryan asked.
“I’m fine!” Joy shot back. “I was doing fine without your help!”
“I just thought that . . . ”
“Just thought what? That I can’t take care of myself? Screw you, Ryan,” she said, turning and pushing her way towards the exit.
* * *
She could sense Ryan following her all the way back to the hotel. It was a long walk. The wind had picked up, and Joy could hear the rumbles of a thunderstorm in the distance. She walked quickly, hoping to reach the hotel before the rain started.
“Joy, wait up!” Ryan said.
“Why, so you can protect me like the big hero you think you are?” she snapped.
“What’s the matter with you?” he asked.
“Nothing,” Joy said. “Just stop bugging me.”
A big raindrop fell on her head and Joy quickened her pace.
By the time she reached the hotel it was pouring rain. She dashed into the elevator just as it was closing and saw Ryan squeeze in right after her.
“I’m not the enemy,” Ryan said.
Suddenly they were plunged into complete darkness as the elevator lurched to a stop.
“Great,” Ryan sighed. “A power outage.”
Joy groped for the buttons, trying to determine which one was the alarm.
“The storm must have knocked the auxiliary power out. Usually there’s a backup generator in hotels that will put a light on in here and let the doors open,” Ryan said.
“Is there a phone?” Joy asked.
“Not that I can tell.”
“So we’re stuck here? Great,” Joy said.
* * *
It was dark. Joy was alone, the only sound was someone whispering words she couldn’t make out. She tried to move, but her limbs were paralyzed. She opened her mouth to scream, but all she could manage was a small moan. She closed her eyes and when she opened them the face was there, staring over at her. She could feel the cold metal knife blade on her skin.
She could feel hands on her and struggled to scream.
“Joy!” a voice said. “Joy, wake up, you’re having a nightmare.”
“No!” she cried as she woke up in the pitch darkness. “Let me go!”
“It’s me! It’s Ryan. It’s Ryan,” he said again. “You fell asleep.”
“Ryan?” she asked breathlessly. “It was just a bad dream?”
“Sounded like it,” he said quietly. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine!” she said tearfully. “Why does everyone keep asking me that?”
“We’re concerned about you. You’ve gone through an awful lot. It’s okay to be scared,” he said.
“I’m not scared!” she said.
“Then what was the dream about?”
She was quiet for a minute before she responded. “There’s all blackness around me. I hear whispering, and I can’t move. He’s there, but I can’t really see him. I feel his hands.”
She felt Ryan try to put his arms around her.
“Don’t touch me!” she said, pushing against his arms.
“Joy, it’s me! I would never hurt you,” he said.
Joy felt herself trembling and broke down crying.
“I know you wouldn’t,” she said. “I just don’t trust anyone anymore. I’m so scared. I dream every night he’s trying to kill me. I just want to forget about it, and I can’t!”
Ryan tentatively put one arm around her shoulders.
“You know, I think you need to talk to someone. You need help dealing with this, you can’t do it by yourself.”
“Everyone thinks I’m okay. I don’t want to disappoint them,” Joy whispered.
“They won’t be disappointed, no one expects you to do this by yourself,” he said. “We kind of noticed you aren’t doing so well.”
“It feels so weak,” she said.
“It’s not weak. It’s strong. It means you want to get better. I think that will be the best thing for you. Promise me you’ll go into see the counseling department when we get back? I’ll even go with you if you want,” he said.
“I promise. You don’t have to come, I can take Libby.”
“That’s just your polite way of saying I better not come,” he joked.
Joy laughed a little and wiped her face.
“Thanks. For everything,” she said. “I don’t think I’ve really been mad at you.”
“I know,” he said quietly. “It’s just you can’t get mad at him.”
She nodded, even though she knew he couldn’t see her in the dark.
“If you want to get some more sleep I can wake you up if I think you’re having a dream,” Ryan said.
“Thanks. It would be nice to get some real sleep,” she said yawning.
* * *
The power was restored at six o’clock in the morning, and the two of them walked out of the elevators tired and hot.
“Why don’t we just spend the day around the hotel for the day? They have this nice sandy beach we can lie down on and get some sun,” Ryan suggested. “Or we could go to Typhoon Lagoon?”
“That sounds good,” Joy said. “I feel like I need a nice long day of doing nothing.”
* * *
The next day their flight back to Boston was early in the morning and was a lot less antagonistic than the one to Florida.
“Look, I just want to apologize for the things I’ve said to you,” she said as they circled Logan International. “I wasn’t . . . it wasn’t personal.”
“I know,” he said. “It’s okay. I have something for you.”
“What?” Joy asked. “Why?”
“It’s your birthday, isn’t it?” he asked. “I bought one for Libby, too.”
Ryan handed her a Disney World sailor’s hat with her name stitched on the rim.
“Thanks,” she said. “Now we just need to have a mixer where I can dress as a sailor.”
* * *
Libby and Tim met them at the airport, and they left in separate cabs.
“So you guys obviously didn’t kill each other. Was it a good trip?” Libby asked.
“Yeah. But, there’s something I’ve got to do when we get back,” Joy said.
“What?”
“Go make an appointment with a counselor. I need to talk about what happened with Eric. I guess Ryan got sick of me taking it out on him,” she said.
“I’m glad you want to go. Angel and I talked the past few days and were trying to figure out how to convince you to go. You just seemed so angry lately.”
“Will you come with me?” Joy asked.
“Of course I will,” Libby said. “It’s not that bad. I did it in Seattle, remember?”
“Maybe you can get some therapy, too. Setting me up is getting to be a habit with you,” Joy laughed.
“Well, if you and Ryan are on better terms it was worth it. So are you?”
“I guess so. I mean, I’m not going to throw things at him when I see him. But we aren’t going to be buddy-buddy for awhile. Not until I sort everything out,” Joy said.
“Good for you,” Libby said. “It’s time you got back on your feet for good.”
“I second that motion,” Joy said.
“Just wait until we get back to Salem,” Libby said. “There’s cake.”
“Chocolate?” Joy asked hopefully.
Libby nodded.
Joy sat back against the seat in the cab and felt herself relaxing a little for the first time in a month.