Run, Girl (If You Can)

Keeley had been having the time of her life on their belated anniversary cruise. They couldn't really swim on deck because it was too cold but the temperature was perfectly fine for sightseeing in all the places they stopped during their week at sea.

The food was fantastic, the historical and tourist sites they visited were breathtaking, and she had a lot of fun exploring with her best friend. Traveling with Aaron had become one of her favorite things now that the kids were grown.

He had taken her all over the world in the past twenty-six years together. They went to a new place every year for their anniversary. Exploring new cultures together was always fun.

Sometimes Aaron had been to those places before with his parents or on business trips but he said he always discovered something new having her there. When on business, he only focused on business rather than sightseeing.

Today they had stopped in Florence, Italy. It was their second to last destination before they would be heading back home and Keeley was determined to see as much as possible.

She put on a pair of sturdy walking shoes, her favorite windbreaker, and a Detroit Tigers baseball cap Kaleb had given her to keep the sun out of her face before they left the ship. Checking to make sure they had everything they would need, she grabbed Aaron's hand eagerly and dragged him behind her to the port.

"I never get tired of this," Keeley sighed contentedly as she breathed in the salty sea air.

He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer, leaning down to kiss her cheek. "Neither do I. Traveling with you is a hundred times more fun than doing it alone."

Keeley beamed at him and urged him forward. "Come on, we're only here for a day and there's lots to see! I fully expect you to direct me towards the best tasting Italian food too."

Aaron put on his most serious expression and saluted her. "Aye aye, captain."

She rolled her eyes at him before taking his hand again and swinging it as they walked. The novelty of walking around like this with her husband never seemed to wear off. Nobody here knew who they were or cared; they were like any other tourists in their matching windbreakers, hiking boots, and baseball caps.

Keeley insisted on taking pictures in front of everything noteworthy. The architecture. The art. Cute little shop signs out on the streets. Anything she could think of that was interesting.

Aaron was more interested in taking videos of his wife as she narrated their adventure walking through the streets of Florence. Sometimes she would be mid-sentence talking about what she was seeing and then turn and notice he was filming her.

He could be so ridiculous sometimes. What was he filming her talking for?

"You know there are a lot more interesting things to film than me," Keeley said dryly.

Aaron shrugged. "You know I like hearing your opinions about things. I want to remember your impressions later on."

There was no arguing with him. He had only become more sentimental as time went on. Ever since the twins were born he liked documenting random little moments from their lives as much as possible on film.

Most likely it was because of the lack of videos he managed to get in their first lives. She couldn't blame him for it so she let him be. Besides, it was fun for the kids to be able to go back and watch all those home videos later on. She enjoyed it too.

They needed to be back on the ship by 10 PM because they would set sail around 11 and go through the night to get to Rome, their final destination. It was a pity because there was so much more Keeley wanted to see.

Unfortunately, all of the museums closed much earlier than that. So the Hales had a late dinner around 8 PM, which was absolutely delicious, and made their way back to the ship around 9.

They were planning on heading up to the hot tub—it wasn't cold until you had to get out of it—when Keeley's phone rang. Violet. It was about 3:30 back in New York on a Saturday…what was she calling for?

At least there was still reception because they hadn't hit the open sea yet. She picked up cheerfully.

"Vi! So good to hear from you. What's going on?"

"You didn't see any of my missed calls?" Violet asked in a dull tone.

Missed calls? They didn't even register in her phone. Ah, lack of reception was so annoying.

"Sorry honey, I didn't. The reception out here is spotty at best but I have a little time before the ship leaves the port. Tell me what happened," Keeley encouraged.

Violet knew the reception wasn't good out here. When she and Aaron had gone on cruises in the past, their daughter had never even bothered trying to call. Something had to be going on for her to make the effort to contact her mother. She sounded terrible to boot.

She launched into a lengthy explanation of everything that had happened over the past day and a half, speaking rapidly and stumbling over her words. That wasn't like her. Normally she was so articulate.

Keeley listened patiently and tried to think of the best thing to say. Obviously she had known Noah was in love with her daughter but she didn't think he would suddenly blurt it out after keeping it a secret for so long. Or that she would break up with Jeremy over it.

Secretly, she was relieved. She hadn't thought Jeremy was a good match for her anyway. He was too much like Aaron was in their past lives. But it was clear as day that Violet was hurting over it so she couldn't be 100% relieved.

"Jeremy made me choose and I wasn't about to pick someone I hardly know over someone I've known my whole life," Violet finished with a sniffle. At some point in her monologue she had started crying.

"Of course you weren't," Keeley said soothingly. "You made the right choice. I never liked that guy anyway."

Her daughter let out a strangled sort of laugh. "Kaleb said the same thing. I guess I'm the only idiot who couldn't see what kind of person he really was."

"You aren't an idiot! Love is blind. Believe me, I would know. I felt like an idiot after going along with a relationship that wasn't any good for me when I was young too. It's going to be okay, Vi."

Violet snorted. "Is it really? Because I can't lose Noah; he's such a huge part of my life. But I'm not in love with him so I don't even know what to say now. The only thing I've said to him since he confessed was thanking him for contacting Kaleb for me."

Ah, Keeley really wasn't good at advice like this even after being a parent for so long. She needed to say the right thing to help her daughter as she was struggling.

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