Jo openly scoffed into her drink. Waiting forever wasn't plausible, not for people like them that lived for the constant freedom of travel. Being forced to endure the horrors of courting, stealing whatever stolen moments they could for nothing was a surefire way to fall out of love. Jo had broken enough entanglements to know when an affair had lost its luster, when the thrill of the chase was diminished by the effort required. A lifetime of this would kill any spark they had.

"You have to do something," she insisted. Elope was the most obvious, but also apparently off the table because of Reasons. "Go to her like Romeo, sneak her a hidden note to meet you on a ship for a night. Something to tell you this won't be forever. That you'll figure out a way because this-" she gestured to the two of them drinking at the table "-isn't going to make you happy."