Fifty-Nine
Wednesday, December 22
Palapa Restaurant
Parrot Tree Marina
Mel invited everyone to a very late dinner at the Palapa to celebrate his and Romina’s engagement. After dinner, Axel set up a DJ stand, and the celebration party turned into a dance party. Tess and Nick joined them late, dancing with a sleeping baby Héctor, and even Leo came along; he seemed eager to dance with Soledad. But soon Thomas pulled Eva away from the dance floor for a walk on the moonlit beach.
They walked in silence around Parrot Tree’s lagoon and over the bridge to the embarcadero, then past a cluster of palm trees, the wind susurrating in the leaves. Above, Eva could see the belt of stars in the Milky Way.
She turned to Thomas. “Thomas, there’s something I need to tell you. You’ll probably want to si
