It took half an hour from the inner-city hotel to the docks on the shore.
Erin spoke to the driver while Roanna and the others got out of the car, and so she missed the look that spread over Brianna’s face.
“Brianna!” someone called out from nearer the dock.
Roanna’s eyes went to the source of the sound and furrowed for a split second before she recalled Brianna’s ex-stepmother.
“Diane!” Brianna grinned even wider, dropped her bag and started running toward the woman, who embraced her warmly.
Diane, Brianna had called her, was a tall woman with ice-blonde hair that feathered down the middle of her neck, leaving her timeless face open to see. She was tan, but not the kind that comes out of a bottle. It was comforting to Roanna, that she wasn’t so much of a city person.
She seemed to have the timeless elegance that was lost in the forties, although she couldn’t have been past sixty-five.
“Your stepmother?” Erin asked Jack as they stepped closer, leaving Erin’s bag on the ground.
“Ex,” Jack said with a wide smile as he took his turn hugging the woman.
“Jack,” Diane said warmly, hugging him firmly.
Roanna watched them, eyes guarded behind the sunglasses, and pushed her emotions away at the obvious affection between the three.
After a heartfelt moment between the three, Jack turned to Roanna, Erin and Claude.
“Roanna, Erin, this is my ex-stepmother, Diane Calloway, the woman I’ve always thought of as my second mother,” Brianna said with a grin as she stood next to Diane proudly.
Diane stepped forward and surprised Erin with an arm-grip and a warm smile.
“It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Calloway,” Erin said.
“Please, call me Diane,” she said.
When she turned, Roanna wasn’t sure if she was going to be as warm to her or not, so she stood still.
“Ms. Davencourt,” Diane said coolly, extending a hand.
Roanna was disappointed at the pain shooting through her heart. She was usually so guarded against people that when these things happened it didn’t bother her.
“Mrs. Calloway,” Roanna said, matching her cool tone as she accepted her hand.
“So you are in charge of this… trip, Ms. Davencourt?” she asked.
“Yes, Mrs. Calloway, I am,” she said, her chin tipped up against the frigidness of the woman.
They had a stare down for a moment, before Diane gave a brief nod, and turned her back on Roanna.
“Shall we go?” Diane asked her once-stepchildren, her voice again warm and loving.
Roanna closed her eyes to force away those ridiculous tears, and when she opened them, Jack’s eyes were on hers, saying he was sorry.
“Our boat is The Amazonia,” Roanna said; all business as they marched down the dock.
When they reached the end of the dock, Roanna grinned widely at the sight before her.
The boat was large, with two decks and the top deck left uncovered except for the part where the captain’s cabin sat.
The whole boat was painted white, except for the bold-blue letters outlined in black “The Amazonia”.
