The shopping trip was enjoyable. Reine picked out a small gift for Seb and bought herself a new swimsuit and a couple of dresses. She changed into the black one before they headed to the amusement park. Reine had a great time with AJ on the teacups. She then went with Viv and Seb into the haunted house.

As she waited in line at the carousel, Yasmin came to join her. “I thought I’d come with you.”

Reine smiled, “the more, the merrier.” She could see the dark circles under Yasmin’s eyes. “Are you alright, hon?”

Yasmin smiled, “Yea, I need to need to relax. I’ve been so busy lately.”

Reine pulled her into a hug. “I can tell you aren’t ready to talk about it yet, but I’m here for you when you are.”

“Thanks,” Yasmin said as they got onto the horses.

They rode in silence for a few minutes before Yasmin turned to her. “You’ve been having a rough time, too, from what I heard.”

Reine smiled, “It will blow over.”

Yasmin looked at her in surprise. “Are you OK with that?”

“I have to be. It’s not like I can make people stop forming opinions or talking.” She answered. “but I can decide how I want to handle it, and I choose to live my life.”

Yasmin seemed to brighten up. “You’re right. And your words don’t have to be just for your situation. You’ve helped me a lot, Reine. Thanks.” The ride stopped, so Reine and Yasmin went to join the others.

Reine was waiting in line for the Ferris wheel when Ciaran walked up to her. “Mind if I ride with you, I’d like to have a chat?”

Reine shrugged, “Suit yourself.”

He clamored into the seat with her. The silence as they ascended grew awkward. “You wanted to talk to me about something?” she prompted.

“Yea, I don’t think we should throw our relationship away over a fight.” He said.

Reine shook her head and sighed. “I’m going to be blunt. It’s too little, too late. I don’t care for you that way anymore. I got tired of trying, and I want to be happy. Considering I waited weeks for you to make a move and you didn’t, I moved on with my life.”

“You could have called me.” he retorted.

“I could have, but I decided that if you weren’t willing to fight for us. Why should I?” She replied. The impact of her words hit him, and he started to tear up. “You need to realize that when you choose not to decide. You’ve still decided. You yield all influence, and life lives you, rather than you living your life. I’m choosing to live my life. I’m sorry if my decision hurts you. I have to be true to myself. The one thing that your leaving gave me was the clarity to realize what I want.” She smiled sadly, “Thank you for that.”

Reine and Ciaran split ways after the Ferris wheel. The Islanders had gone back to the boat and changed for dinner. She stood around the deck with other islanders paying no attention to them. She hadn’t seen Ciaran since she told him how she felt. On the one hand, she did feel bad for hurting him, but on the other, she knew she could never go back.

Her attention was brought back into the conversation by Elladine. “Reine, I’m afraid your blowing was weak, your sculptures limp, and your dreams shattered. You will not blast off this time. Goodbye.”

Reine grinned inwardly. This distraction was just what she needed. She stood up suddenly, throwing her arms around. “This is an outrage.” Reine mimicked, knocking a vase over. “Whatever this is! It’s ridiculous. You can’t fire me! I quit!” She stomped a few steps away as the others applauded.

Rafi chuckled, “Well done.” Reine couldn’t help but giggle.

“Did anyone ever react like that?” Nicky asked.

“No, thank goodness,” Elladine breathed through her giggles. “I couldn’t have handled that.”

“Who knew that glassblowing would be so cool?” Nicky said.

“I did,” Elladine answered.

Reine laughed. “I watched a documentary on Glassblowing, and it was pretty cool.”

“Only Reine would think a documentary is cool,” Iona teased.

“Smart is sexy,” Bill said, winking at Reine.

Reine winked back. “Agreed.”

“We should head to the restaurant now,” Elladine announced.

“This place I supposed to be amazing,” Nicky said.

Everyone else started walking away, leaving Seb and Reine. “Hey, I picked you up a little something today when I was shopping,” Reine said.

“Aw, you didn’t have to do that,” Seb said as he tore at the wrapped object. “You found me a pair of sunglasses. They’re perfect! I love them.”

“Well, After Viv told me what happened to yours…” Reine said. “Besides, I thought you’d like them, and I’m glad my intuition was right.”

Seb looked annoyed, “Tai said he saw a dolphin.”

Reine chuckled, “That sounds like Tai.”