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Derek was their favourite bartender. He knew their order by heart and had the cork popped out of a fresh bottle before she’d even made it to the bar.

The bubbles bit at her tongue, a welcome sensation she loved as much as she loved this tradition with Alex.

“So what’s new?” Alex asked, taking her own sip and closing her eyes in bliss. “Oh, that’s good. Extra crisp tonight.”

“Mhmm,” Sam hummed in agreement. “As for news…” She drummed her fingers on her chin in thought. “Oh, I found someone to finish off the wiring on Manny.”

“Nice. Shop regular or one of Matt’s friends?”

“Surprisingly not with Dad’s help this time; it’s actually that Taylor I told you about.”

“Coffee girl?”

“Yup. That’s the one. Turns out she conveniently knows a thing or two about boats. And caravans. She starts this Thursday,” Sam finished, taking another sip.

“You trust her work?” Alex questioned, her eyes narrowing slightly.

“She definitely seemed to know what she was talking about. I even saw her up the top of Larry’s mast the other day, and that’s no beginner’s job.”

“Good,” Alex said with a nod, seemingly satisfied with her answer. “That actually sounds great. You must feel good to be making progress again. Any more thoughts on the big trip?”

Alex was well-versed in Sam’s big plan to take off and sail away on Manny. She’d done a lot of travel herself and always had good ideas when it came to planning. Of the two of them, she was definitely the organiser in the friendship. They’d gone on a few trips together over the years, mainly local getaways to their favourite wine regions or up in the hills, but they’d never been overseas together. Alex usually did that by herself, preferring solo trips from Morocco to Johannesburg. Her tales were always so captivating, making her Sam’s most intriguing friend by a long shot. Sam sometimes felt a little boring in comparison, so it was refreshing to have a big exciting thing happening inherlife for once. Time to solidify those plans.

“Yes, actually. So you know how I was contemplating heading around Australia first?”

“Yeah.” Alex sat bright eyed, leaning forward, clearly loving the topic.

“Turns out Mum wanted to do the same thing with Dad before she got sick.”

“No way!”

“Yes way. So now I feel like it’s some sort of fate that I’m meant to do this trip. Except for?—”

“—your Dad. And the shop,” Alex finished for her. She knew the situation all too well, nodding along solemnly at the usual roadblock with this conversation.

“About that.” Sam paused. “I spoke to him.”

Alex’s eyebrows flew so high, they almost disappeared into her voluminous hair. “No!”

Sam laughed. “Yes! I know, I can’t believe I did it either; I’ve been complaining to you about it long enough.”

Alex flattened her hands on the table. “Tell me everything. What happened? What changed?”

“Well, you know I can overthink things…”

“Uh-huh…” Alex replied with a knowing smirk.

“I feel like it was getting to me more than usual lately, like it was constantly on my mind.” That, and it also felt like it was coming up in conversation more and more from her dad, until it all but felt inevitable.

“In the end, I randomly blabbed everything to Taylor while she was meant to be quoting my boat. For some reason, her response put things in perspective and there I was on Dad’s boat the next morning telling him my plans.”

“Wow, it must’ve been some conversation. How did he take the news?”

“Oh, it’s super awkward right now at work.” Sam laughed again before growing serious. “He took it about how I expected—quiet, disappointed, frustrated. It would’ve been a lot for him to take in, so I’m not surprised. And while it’s good he knows now, it doesn’t fix the issue yet. We still don’t have anyone to run the shop or take over from him.”

“You’ll sort it. I know you will. Taylor must have some magical powers though, getting you to act so quickly. Proud of you for finally telling him.”

“Thanks, Alex,” Sam said, giving Alex’s hand a quick squeeze. “I’m glad I opened up and took the chance, as scary as it was. Poor Dad was completely blindsided though. I really thought I was a bit more obvious and that he would’ve hopefully had an inkling or something, but he was shell-shocked.”