"Well, this'll fill the place up a bit more, I think," she said.
"For sure," Jason agreed. "Hey, I'm kind of hungry. How does pizza sound?"
"Perfect."
"Great, I'll go out and pick it up."
He gave Veronica a quick kiss before heading back out the door. Veronica walked into the living room and saw the novel she had been reading before. She'd picked away at it a bit while Greg was recovering from the fight, but had forgotten about it since then. Turning to her page, she sat down and finished the story.
~~~
The Lady Violet looked out over the sweeping blue waves, the smell of salt in the air, the fine spray hitting her sun-kissed skin. She turned back to look at her husband, Emmanuel, currently gripping the wheel. He was piloting their personal vessel to the opposite coast, where a new life and home awaited them.
"Emmanuel!" Violet called out. He looked down at her, squinting in the sun.
"Yes, my dear?"
"Isn't it beautiful?" she asked, looking back out at the waves. "But, of course, so many years spent on the waters … I suppose that, for you, at some point the beauty fades away."
Emmanuel smiled.
"Come here, my dear," he said, and Violet walked back along the deck to meet him. She stood by his side and he wrapped an arm around her waist, leaving one hand to steer the ship. "My dearest love, no matter how many times I see these waters, and no matter how many times I feel the wind on my face, I am always glad to have it in my life. And being here, with you now, gives me greater joy than I can have scarcely imagined before. For I know, now, that my greatest journey is lying just up ahead. With us. And," he cupped a hand over her belly, "with him."
"Or her," she said. His smile grew deeper.
"Or her. I love you so much, my dear. And yes, to answer your question, it is beautiful."
The two turned to look out at the white-crested waves together, bluest blue beneath, as they sailed on for their wonderful new destiny together.