One Stupid Thing

1:7:27

We arrived at The Wreck and Carrera's were surprisingly hospitable. Was it because Sarah and I were there? Probably, but we weren't going to deny the treatment. It's a quaint restaurant. Known all over the island for it's charm. Typically, it would be crazy busy on a day like this, but with everyone still recovering from Hurricane Agatha, they were closed.

We are seated at a small table in the corner of the dining room. I stare out at the marsh and sigh, louder and more dramatic then I intended.

"Look, he'll come around, all right?" John B assures me. "It's j—he's doing a JJ thing."

"You think he'll go home?" Kiara asks simply.

Pope is the type of person that can't sit still when he knows there is work he should be doing. He stands leaning on the glass window and observing the docks. "There's about a zero percent chance that JJ goes home," he says.

"You okay?" John B asks his girlfriend. Sarah nods slowly, but I can tell she is emotionally exhausted from this hectic day. We all are.

"Yeah. Are you?" she says.

"I mean, I'm in once piece, so...." He gives her a warm smile and she returns it. Then she looks to me, places a gentle hand on my shoulder, and rubs it comfortingly.

"It'll be okay, Stell. Don't stress," she advises me. My sister and I may be very different in most ways, but she knows me like the back of her hand and for once I'm grateful for that. I didn't even have to say anything and yet she knows exactly what, or even better who, I'm thinking about.

"I know," I reply. I rub my forehead one more time and then sit up.

Pope lets out a loud sigh, which captures all of our attentions. "Okay. It's too dangerous to pawn this thing off piecemeal. So our best bet is to go down there and get the rest of it," he explains. "Bring it all up at once. Put it in—in a safe or a vault or something. I-I don't know. Just until we can find someone who won't rip us off. I can figure it out tonight, get it done, and we can be out there as early as tomorrow morning."

"All right, let's do it." John B doesn't even hesitate to agree to the plan.

"Easy," Pope continues.

"Let's go."

"What about that thing with my dad?" Sarah asks. I turn to her in confusion.

"Shit," John B curses.

"What thing?" Pope asks.

"I have to go fishing with Ward," he explains. Clearly my dad figured going out on the Druthers tomorrow morning would be a splendid opportunity to interrogate his daughter's new boyfriend. Pope leans on the table and sighs in both defeat and annoyance.

"You can't get 400 mil 'cause you're gonna go kill fish?" Kiara asks him in utter disbelief.

"Look, I have to go," John B protests. I wish my dad wasn't so damn intimidating, because I know that John B realizes that the gold is more important, but also knows that he would never live it down if he didn't go.

"Blow it off," Pope suggests, as if it's that simple. "It's 400 million in gold!"

"Make something up!" Kie recommends.

Yet, even though his friends are against it, John B stays strong. "Look, I—I have to, okay? He... he saved me, all right? If it weren't for Ward, I'd be in foster care. So... I have to go. Plus, it'll be better to do it at night. Right?"

Kie rolls her eyes and Pope drops his head, but they both know that John B isn't going to budge, and admit defeat. "Fine," Pope says. "Fine, go fishing."