Love and the Sea and Everything in Between

chapter fifty-two

In Gus' driver seat, I wait for Liz as she gathers the things she will need. My heart beats with anticipation for everything that is to come.

I vow to never forget this feeling. I vow to always remember the magic of new things, the good things. It is in the new that the old finds its purpose. And now I see it: the way every old thing – every moment of the last three months – comes together to form the here and now. This adventure, this moment, this is my becoming.

And I think I will quite like what's coming for me. For us.

I've never been one to be alone. I was a loner, sure, but it's not in my nature. I was a loner because I felt like I had no choice. I was a hurricane and maybe I still am, but love says, "You're the hurricane and I'm the wind."

I've always wanted to make waves, haven't I? I guess that means that even though I'm a hurricane, Liz is the wind that moves me and we're making waves together. Things are changing and we're changing things and we're living because it's the only thing we know to do. The sea is in our blood. It's who we are. And it doesn't matter if everything around us is okay because as long as we're together, venturing into the new, everything is beautiful.

As I sit in the van alone, waiting for Liz, somebody walks up beside the driver's door and I turn to see Oliver staring down at me.

"You're leaving," he says, his voice flat.

I nod, my lips half parted, but silent.

"I don't know if Liz told you any of what I said when you were in the hospital, but I figured it would be better if it came from me anyway."

I don't move or say anything. Liz said he came to visit me when I was in my coma and she told me some of what he said, but she had trouble remembering all of it. Given the circumstances, I'm not all that surprised.

"All I wanted to say was that... I'm sorry, Adam," he says and then he falls silent for a minute. "And I hope you find the life you deserve."

"Thank you," I whisper through the open window.

"Goodbye." Oliver turns and walks away.

"Goodbye," I whisper as I watch him walk away. Maybe things between us can finally be laid to rest.

Just as Oliver disappears into the dorms, Liz slides open the back door and throws her things inside. She closes it and hops into the passenger seat.

"So," she says. "Where to now?"

"The end of the world."

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