“We had those lessons on safety,” I said. “They were in plastic pamphlets.”
Julian seemed to roll his eyes—or he got water in them. He rubbed a knuckle into his left one before adding, “Could always use more.”
“I think we need more trust.”
“In Etienne? I don’t know…”
“No, ourselves.” I repeated the words Etienne had said about masters and enemies, almost verbatim. “Sounds like something I could have used years ago, before all this nightmare started.”
Julian considered this for some time. “I wouldn’t have met Daniel if I had listened to that.”
“What do you mean?”
He didn’t hear me, or he didn’t want to answer, I was never sure. We paddled away into the water, practiced standing on our boards, and then our first lesson was done. We ate lunch at the hotel bar, a salad and something els
