The Loose Ends List(29)

The music starts and we all sing. Mark is behind me, belting it out. He has a really good voice. I guess multiple sclerosis doesn’t affect that. When the doors open, we’re on the sha-la-la part. Paige stands in yellow pajamas with her face frozen in an expression of total disbelief. Lane whispers something in her ear. She blows kisses at everyone and starts to twirl around the room.

I wonder if she would have done that before she was dying.

We serenade her as she spins around the room with Lane. Her mom and dad jump up and circle around Paige. Wes bounces baby Grace on his knee. She laughs with her two bottom teeth sticking out. Lane swoops down to pick her up, and he and Paige dance close with Grace between them. Sha la la la la la la la la la la dee dah.

The song ends, and Paige sits between Janie and me. The campfire karaoke continues with Vito belting out a Frank Sinatra song, despite the tubes hanging out of his nose.

The whole crowd sings Bob Marley’s “Three Little Birds” as a tribute to Tits and Mama, brandishing our marshmallow sticks at the chorus. We’re a loop of pajama-clad karaoke fools, hell-bent on making this Paige’s very best birthday.

“I didn’t realize we had a group of professional singers on the Wishwell,” Eddie says into the mike. He takes Paige by the hand and pulls her up.

“Paige, we understand you are a great fan of all things chocolate.” Paige nods enthusiastically. “Well, I hope you haven’t had too many s’mores, because the crew has prepared a special birthday surprise.”

The panel slides open. Behind it, the entire crew—nurses, doctors, everyone—is smiling in their pajamas. They’ve formed a semicircle around an enormous chocolate cake topped with sparklers in the shape of a thirty-three. As we sing “Happy Birthday,” tears stream down Paige’s face.

Janie pulls me into the crowd of people ogling the chocolate buffet, and I don’t even know where to begin. There’s a chocolate fountain, a donut tree, chocolate animal sculptures, and shot glasses of mousse. I’m thinking I might need to cut back on the endless calorie consumption now that I have the potential to be naked with a very hot guy in the very near future.

Tonight, I eat for Paige. Tomorrow, I run for Enzo.

Janie flicks me a few times. Do Me is coming toward us. I pretend I don’t see him and make a beeline for the strawberries. I set my heaping plate next to my brother’s and look for a tall glass of milk. I run into Vito near the bar.

“Vito, it’s like a chocolate Christmas, isn’t it?”

“It’s a dream. Now if only I had a lady to share all this good stuff.”

“What about your wife?” I look over at Vito’s wife by the chocolate fountain.

“Marie? God forbid. She’s my ex-wife. The woman is a nut.”

“So why is she here, then?” I blurt out.

“Good question.” He laughs. “We’re a family. She’s the mother of my children, and nana to my grandchildren. She needs to be here for them, you know, when I depart.”

“Wow. And I thought she was your wife all this time.”

Vito laughs. “We fight like husband and wife. Between you and me, I still love her. I know it’s sick. I guess I can’t live with her, can’t live without her. She is a nice-looking lady, isn’t she?” We look over at Marie, with her inflated hips and ten inches of teased black hair.

“Yes, Vito. She is,” I say. He stares at his ex-wife a few seconds, then pulls his oxygen tank to the coffee bar.

The chocolate hit the spot for the first twenty mouthfuls. Now I’m nauseated. Janie and Captain Do Me have gone missing. The rest of us are in sugar comas, lying on pillows and sofas around the smoldering bonfire. The stars form a blur of light as I squint my eyes the way I used to on Gram’s lap in front of the Christmas tree. Paige is lying on a blanket between Lane and me. She leans over and kisses Lane on the tip of his nose and rests her head next to Grace, who is asleep on his chest.

“Happy Birthday, P,” I whisper as I get up.

“Thank you, little sister,” she whispers back. “It’s been a really good day.”



I’ve been waiting all night to see Enzo. My stomach immediately reacts with nervous excitement when I get to his cabin. I take a deep breath and knock.

“Donut?” I hand him a chocolate-glazed in a napkin.

“Hey.” He looks groggy, like he’s been asleep for hours. He’s wearing a worn red T-shirt and plaid boxers. “Are you tired? Do you want to hang out tomorrow?”

“No, no way. Come in.” The TV is on, and two empty Red Stripe beer bottles wobble a little when the ship hits a bump. He shuts the door, and within five seconds, we’re kissing. I pull away. I’m obviously not going to admit that the massive quantities of chocolate are not digesting quietly. I need a little digestion space.

“Can we talk for a while? I don’t know why, I just feel like talking.”

“Let’s talk, then.” His hair is adorably messy. He takes my hand and pulls me out to the balcony, and we stretch out on matching lounge chairs.

I tell him about Paige’s party and how cute it was that Lane’s theme was “Paige’s favorite things.”

“So tell me your favorite things,” Enzo says, pulling a beer out of a bucket on the table between our chairs.

“You mean the real things or the things I’ll invent to impress you?”