❝The truth is, everyone is going to hurt you. You just got to find the ones worth suffering for.❞ -Bob Marley

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never in his life felt as confident as he did at that moment, chin turned up slightly and condescending gaze reflected back onto himself in the mirror, shattering the smoldering glare almost instantly as he laughed. Once more, he squared his shoulders, flattening the remaining creases in his pale lavender button-down, tucking the hem into his tan shorts. No one would ever recognize the shabby, head-in-the-clouds fruit seller beneath the new Land's End persona he had adopted as part of the cruise ship staff.

Rubbing the ridges of his muscles as a final dose of energy, he let out a short breath and walked out onto the deck, heading directly for the nearby smoothie bar suspended beneath a tiki-themed grass roof which bore an array of flauntingly carved Easter Island heads on the countertop. Just as he stepped into the shack, the phone in his pocket began to vibrate with an incoming call. A quick glance at the screen identified the caller, and he abruptly locked eyes with his curly-haired coworker Zack over the counter. A slight roll of the eyes preceded Zack's eventual nod of halfhearted permission before he returned his focus to the drink he was crafting.

Nicholas stepped out of the tiki hut, phone pressed to his ear. "Hey," he managed, closing his eyes briefly as Aria's comfortingly familiar voice rang out from the device.

"What, no 'this is the Fine Apple Market' blah-blah-intro-whatever?" she demanded. Her voice was teasing, trying too hard to sound annoyed while failing to mask the edge of excitement that spilled through.

He smiled. Nothing could keep it back. The conversation flowed effortlessly between them, the corny jokes on his end and her exaggerated impatience on the other until he found himself blushing ridiculously. Zack, having lost patience, presently shoved a paper scrawled with a customer's order into his hands, and Nicholas was forced to shift his attention briefly.

Kiwi Raspberry. Blended to medium-slushie texture. Add milk.

His hands found the ingredients instinctively, fingers brushing the kiwis with discernment, selecting one of average tenderness, with just enough cushion to be called ripe yet not so much that it would collapse when squeezed. The raspberries were fresh, chopped to perfection. He sliced the fruit, stripping it of its unflattering sections before sifting it into the blender along with the milk and crushed ice, closing his eyes and just listening as the blender worked its magic, swirling the disparate items into one beautiful, exuberant flurry of color and patterns.

Meanwhile, in his ear, Aria chattered in her sweet, adorable tone, telling him all about hers and Lyndsey's vacation and the five-day cruise they were on.

He felt his limbs stall, hesitate. The icy condensation radiating from the handle of the blender beaded coolly onto his skin.

Five-day cruise.

And then he was turning away, biting his lip with annoyance. It's too much, Nicholas. You just want to see her too badly.

But he did want to see her, and this desire burned relentlessly. The familiar voice in his ears demanded to be accompanied by a face. The phantom face that lived in his imagination ached to be confirmed in the flesh.

He sighed. The smoothie had reached its prime state by now, the remaining details in the colorful blend still retaining enough textured thickness to qualify as a "medium-slushie." He tipped the funnel, watching as the jade green mixture traveled up the inside of the glass.

"Table 19," Zack stated, halting his own drink-making only long enough to hand Nicholas a twisty straw.

He found the customer right away, setting the tall glass down in front of a middle-aged woman who looked thoroughly pleased. With a final smile, he turned and sauntered the length of the pavilioned section of the deck, past a series of white-topped tables, most of which were empty. The vast majority of the ship's passengers had retreated to their rooms in the hazy late afternoon.

he murmured into his phone, unable to keep his gaze from wandering around the luxurious surroundings of the cruise ship.

"Yeah, about that; I forgot to ask," Aria was saying, "but where do you live now?"

And then he was wrapped in deja vu, because her voice sounded somehow louder and closer than it ever had over the phone line, and somehow he felt that this detail was not due simply to the quality of his brand-new smartphone.

"Just in case you ever wanted to m--" Her voice was cut off as Lyndsey interrupted--only Lyndsey's voice wasn't coming through the phone. She was much closer than that. She was--

"Why is he on the phone?" the blonde girl at the table asked in a tone that appeared critical, yet at its core stirred with pure bewilderment in a way that was both entertaining and amusing. Nicholas felt his heart skip a sudden beat, cold sweat beading on his hands where the drink had been.

"Hi," he breathed.

She didn'trealize it was the waiter who had spoken until she looked up in mild confusion and their eyes locked, blue on brown, with momentary stillness. A slightly muffled yet familiar version of his tone echoed through the phone while a fuller, breathier voice echoed the same word in front of her. The familiarity of the voice was still there, yet now it was being relayed to her in richer, more vibrant colors than she had ever been made aware of before, and she felt her own breath leave her in a gasp.

"Hey," she replied, almost whispering.

The face was new, yet somehow familiar; the soft brown eyes sparkled with an innocent curiosity which resembled that of a child while surrounded by the most breathtakingly gorgeous face she could ever have imagined. Soft, effortless waves of light blonde hair, bleached by the sun, descended into a darker shadow of brown at the roots, crowning a smooth, suntanned face that was bright and lively, creased only by the smile which carved it--a particular smile that was tinged with delight and a hint of mischief.

She felt her own heart dissolve somewhere inside her and glanced desperately over at Lyndsey, who was sitting back in her chair, a self-satisfied expression on her face as she gazed over at the boy without a hint of surprise.

"I told you he was cute," Lyndsey said, smirking mischievously at Aria.

"And I told you to back off," Aria murmured softly. "He isn't allowed to have too many admirers."

"Gosh, do we need to put up a 'don't flirt with the staff' sign on your menus or something?" Nicholas grinned with a shy innocence Aria was unused to sensing about him as he adjusted the hem of his pastel button-down somewhat awkwardly, his hands unpracticed with the new attire.

"Too late," Aria mumbled, letting her eyes drop to the crisp white tablecloth below her, fidgeting nervously with her own fingernails.

Nicholas frowned, looking mildly offended.

"It's four p.m., Nicholas," Lyndsey reprimanded him, sounding somewhat annoyed. "Or do lazy bums like you sleep so late that midafternoon is considered morning?"

Nicholas bit his lip uncomfortably.

"I'll have a tall glass..." Aria hesitated. "Of water." Her eyes landed on Nicholas, and he blushed again, this time deeper, the corners of his mouth turning up unintentionally.

"I'm the smoothie barista here," he reminded her, his lip quivering slightly as though restraining itself against a threatening smile.

"You shouldn't have encouraged him to work here," Aria commented, glancing at Lyndsey. "It's jacked up his ego too much."

Nicholas blushed for what might have been the third time--each time reddening slightly deeper than the last--and finally Aria's eyes softened and she shoved back her chair, stepping to her feet and taking an uncertain step forward before

She almost couldn't hear Lyndsey hissing from behind, "This is the part where you both start running toward each other in perfect synchronization and collapse in an embrace that blows away the rest of the world."

Nicholas caught his breath, taking in Aria's full beauty for the first time ever, hardly able to believe that the most far-fetched dream he ever could have managed during his short, humble, high school failure fruit seller life was somehow standing less than a surfboard's length away from his arms. Soft waves of collarbone-length blonde hair streaked with light brown cascaded to her shoulders, which were covered in a loose, breezy peasant blouse, the starched white only interrupted by a heavy stone pendant which glowed the same sparkling blue reflected in her clear eyes. Soft, light freckles sprinkled her cheeks.

It was incredibly hard to believe that the stunning blonde beauty now standing in front of him was somehow the frazzled, absent-minded workaholic who had called him so frantically so many months ago--yet the longer he found himself staring at her, the more clearly he could see the deeper aspects of Aria Leedman that he knew from the other end of the phone line emerging visibly in the breathtakingly beautiful girl before him. The agitated way her fingernails--painted a soft peach color--plucked at each other with the need to stay busy. The flawless way her hair--combed with perfectionism--fell in controlled chaos. The soft sparkle of intelligence in her analytical eyes. He lingered a little longer on her eyes, suddenly aware that they were trained on him.

"Is this real?" she asked quietly, still locked in his gaze. "This doesn't feel real."

"It's real," Lyndsey stated, rolling her eyes ever so slightly with a mild exasperation that didn't escape Nicholas's attention.

"I can't believe this--that you're here," Aria stated finally, dropping her eyes to stare down at her flip-flops. She shook her head. "How are you here... this is your new job?"

Nicholas replied, smiling slightly down at the stack of menus in his hand.

Lyndsey groaned. "I didn't painstakingly plan this reunion so you could just brag, honestly, Nicholas. Be a real man and admit humility."

He wasn't listening to her. Neither of them were. Suddenly the surroundings had dropped out of existence along with any sort of sound, dropping them into a white void where each only saw the other.

She held out her hand, brushing it against his; then the miracle expanded as he took it, curling his fingers around hers. There was a pause, each processing the existence of the other. Each knowing the other was there. For the first time ever, the two of them breathed the same air.

"I guess you aren't a stalker creepzoid guy in his seventies after all," Aria managed.

"Sorry I didn't live up to your expectations," Nicholas snorted, but the smile on his face was permanent, the dimples in his cheeks evident, the playful glow in his eyes exactly as Aria had imagined it.

"Aria Leedman," Nicholas breathed, unaware of the source of his voice.

"Millions?" Even now, her tone was playfully skeptical.

"Well, maybe a little less, but it doesn't matter anymore because... because..." He hesitated, at a loss for words. ecause you're the finest apple of them all."

When had he decided to revert to cheesy pick-up lines? After mentally punching himself, he looked up, expecting to see the eye roll he expected from her; however, Aria's hand suddenly brushed against his, and finally the two of them were face to face with only inches of separation, and then those few inches were abandoned and they were embracing, Aria's head pressed against his shoulder and his cheek against her hair, each experiencing deeper comfort and ease than they had previously been aware could ever exist. Nicholas's arms were stiff at first as they closed around her, so unaccustomed to the concept of hugging girls at all--and so mystified that the girl he had known for so long over a mere phone line and miles of distance was now the gorgeous figure clasped tenderly in his arms.

"Don't let me go," she whispered, and it was true. All the days--weeks, even--she'd spent pining after him, picking up her phone to voices that did not belong to Tinkerbell, missing--always missing the sweet, easy feeling he brought to life--it all dissolved here in his arms, as it always did; yet this time the sensation was fuller. Nicholas was more than a surfer's drawl at the other end of a phone. Nicholas was here, his arms wrapped around her, keeping her safe.

"But I have to get back to work," he whispered back with the slightest laugh of pure innocence, and Aria pulled back just enough to stare up into his eyes and shake her head in amazement.

"You've changed," she said simply. She did not need to elaborate on her point; Nicholas's forehead softened with understanding, and for a moment few words were all that was necessary.

he replied softly.

She didn't say anything else; she merely stood there, gazing up at him in awe, amazed that she had actually made a positive impact in someone's life for once and unable to vocalize any further doubts on the matter. All that remained was a soft smile, a gentle nod, and Nicholas.

Nicholas muttered. "And... there it is," he added with satisfaction as Lyndsey's phone promptly released the opening strains of an old reggae song.

"Don't worry about a thing," Bob Marley crooned out onto the deck, drawing the eyes of a few boys a few tables away, and Aria rolled her eyes. "Are we seriously--"

"'Cause every little thing gonna be alright..." Nicholas reached out, seizing her hand and drawing her to him and soon she found herself being dragged along to the steady, traditional beat of the music.

"I don't like dancing--"

He mumbled an impatient "shhh" to her almost instantly and she groaned in frustration, nevertheless allowing herself to be pulled along as she could see no easy way out.

"Rise up this mornin'... smiled with the risin' sun..." Aria bit her lip, looking everywhere but at Nicholas. "Three little birds, pitch by my doorstep--"

"You like it, don't you?" he teased, and it was at that moment that she realized she'd been swaying along instinctively to the music. She blushed, but Nicholas didn't wait for an answer, seizing both her arms and twirling her emphatically.

"Oh my gosh--you drive me insane, Tinkerbell," she snapped in frustration. Nicholas smiled innocently in response, and she groaned again.

She stuck out her tongue in a painfully childish way, and he laughed, the two of them continuing to sway along the deck, Nicholas' moves flamboyant and Aria's somewhat stiffer; yet each was upbeat, each intentional until gradually the two integrated themselves more closely, matching the other's moves with a newfound comfort and confidence.

Singin' sweet songs

Of melodies pure and true

Saying', this is my message to you--Singing' don't worry 'bout a thing

'Cause every little thing gonna be alright

Singing' don't worry, don't worry, 'bout a thing

'Cause every little thing gonna be alright...

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Back on Kasika Beach, an antique porcelain phone washed ashore, its white paint chipping and its copper finish tarnished heavily with green. It was the sort of object someone could look at and think, How the heck did this end up here? It was the sort of object that brought to mind old Victorian-style mansions in the early twentieth century. Unless someone on the Titanic had been carrying one, what cause could a phone like this have for floating around the ocean without a cause?

He knew why. But it was she who then persuaded him to keep it, to clean the seaweed from its exterior, to repaint it white with a hint of cream, to tend to all the little bits of the ocean from barnacles to entire shellfish that had taken refuge inside. She persuaded him to set it back on a shelf in the little fruit market as a testimony to what had brought them together. She reminded him that although the rest of the store had been upgraded--a full bamboo counter had been installed, a grass roof constructed, and a special new smoothie bar implemented in lieu of Nicholas's new calling--some things could stay the same.

All in all, Nicholas thought, the discovery of the old phone he had thrown away was an interesting conclusion to their love story--a love story which had turned out quite differently than he could have imagined.

Yet maybe it was possible that the phone's return was a promise of newness, that a story beginning with an absent-minded girl begging an apathetic boy for help to find a missing phone could somehow end with the same boy, now with a new resolve, finding the old phone and reinventing himself along with it.

For so he did.

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cliche, yes. but would you have had me write the final chapter to nicholas and aria's story any other way? on a new note, holy pineapples we're done! there will be a formal afterword following this; i'll post it sometime in the next week. before then--

if you have questions-- questions about me, the book, the characters, upcoming books, or legitimately anything else, ask away . i will post answers in the afterword!

adios!

p.s. i wrote the opening song lyrics in the chapter without italics because Aria's words are usually italicized and i didn't want to create confusion. hopefully that didn't cause any problems.

p.p.s. threw in a random reference to the film table 19 in the story because why not? it's a great movie.