Meet Me in Miami by Patricia J. Parsons

Author:Patricia J. Parsons
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: midlife romance, romantic comedy, later in life romance, women's fiction, humor, cruise romance, travel romance, literary fiction
Publisher: Moonlight Press
Published: 2025-01-28T00:00:00+00:00

PETER AND I FOUND SEATS on the top deck of the riverboat where we could at least have a fighting chance at catching a breeze in the stifling heat and humidity. As we sat down, without looking at me, Peter reached over and squeezed my hand. Neither of us turned our heads to look, but I was sure he felt the same electricity. Then he withdrew his hand, and the moment was over. I turned my attention to the guide, who had picked up a microphone at the bow of the boat and was starting his commentary as the boat pulled away from the dock.

In fact, the city of Manaus is located at the mouth of the River Negro, not on the shore of the Amazon itself. Our ship had turned slightly right and into the River Negro with its clear, black waters (clear except for the astonishing sight of garbage floating by every so often) before docking. Now, the riverboat chugged its way back toward the Amazon, but before we reached the point where the two rivers meet, we headed past what seemed like a never-ending line of container piers and industrial buildings spewing smoke into the already leaden air. I had not been expecting this. If this trip had taught me one thing, it would have been always to expect the unexpected.

The boat was heading toward Lake January, part of an ecological reserve where we would disembark and take motorized canoes that, in the words of the excursion brochure, would skim through the narrow channels within the rainforest. This whole thing was so out of context for a New Yorker who thought roughing it meant not getting a dinner reservation at our first-choice restaurant on a Saturday evening—or at least that’s what Izzy told us one time a few years ago. I smiled when I thought about what Izzy might say if she could see her mother now. Peter must have noticed the smile.

“I’m glad to see you smiling. Want to share? I could use a smile about now,” he said. “Although, I must say you look particularly fantastic today, and that makes me smile.”

I was astonished that he could say that so sincerely, given my nearly makeup-less visage. It did make me happy, though.

“I was just thinking about how different this trip is from my life,” I said.

I could feel Peter shrug almost imperceptibly. “And probably different from how you might have envisioned it when I asked you to come to the Amazon with me.”

Now, it was my turn to shrug, but I was doing it with a smile. “I’ve just remembered an important thing about life. Always expect the unexpected.”

“You’ve got that right.”

The guide was now telling us about what we could expect to see once we got into the ecological reserve. I listened with half an ear, and when he had finished, I tapped Peter on the leg. “Peter, when you asked me to come with you, you said that you’d always wanted to go to the Amazon, but you never said why.

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