Chapter 39 #2
‘After that, I never seemed to meet anyone I was into. Shit happens, I guess.’
‘It does,’ he replies. ‘Just don’t let one bad relationship ruin your chances of having another.’
My second mimosa arrives. My hangover has almost dissipated enough to make me consider ordering something stronger.
My hand reaches for the olives. ‘Enough about me. Let’s talk more about you.’
‘Not much left to say,’ he replies. ‘I got married in my twenties. Had two kids. Now I’m on a cruise and having a better time than I thought I would.’
‘But you still – how did you put it? – have no desire to get involved with anyone ever again, in any capacity. There isn’t a part of you that thinks it’d be nice to have someone again?’
I dip my bread into a little bowl of oil. Almost instantly my mouth lights up.
‘Nope,’ he replies firmly. ‘For the most part my marriage was a happy one. I don’t need any more love. I’ve had enough love to last me a lifetime. Are you OK? Did you bite your tongue?’
‘Nope,’ I respond, my lips feeling like they’ve been stung by an entire wasps’ nest. ‘I think they put lava in the dipping oil.’
He dips his bread in too. No reaction. ‘You don’t like chilli oil?’
I hold my napkin up to my mouth. ‘My body rejects anything hotter than ice cream.’ I find myself breathing in and rapidly, hoping the warm afternoon air will somehow counter the burning. ‘Give me a few hours. It’ll pass.’
Ellis stands up and walks away. I assume he’s bolted and accept that I’ll be finding my way back to the ship alone. However, two minutes later he returns. He’s holding a bowl of ice and some lemon slices.
‘They didn’t have any milk but try these. Suck on some lemon, it’ll help tone it down. The ice will feel nice on your lips.’
I take the plate and start working my way through them. ‘I think this might be the nicest thing anyone’s ever done for me.’
He furrows his brow. ‘Well, that’s just sad.’
I nod in agreement while I run a rapidly melting ice cube over my lips. Eventually the burning begins to subside. I’ll laugh about this later but it’s not quite the end of the excursion I was hoping for.
We arrive back on the ship at 6 p.m. and all I want to do is lie face down on my bed. I ache in places I didn’t know existed. Ellis grabs me a Coke from the lobby bar while I collapse onto a chair.
‘I’m tapping out,’ I tell him. ‘Thanks for a fun day but if you ask me to leave this ship tomorrow, I won’t be responsible for my actions.’
‘Understood,’ he confirms. ‘But just one more thing before you vanish. It won’t take long.’
‘What now? Please don’t ask me to do anything that doesn’t involve lying down.’
He raises an eyebrow. ‘That’s a bit forward. We’ve only known each other for a few days.’
‘Shit, no. I didn’t mean . . . well, that. I just meant—’
‘I know! I’m kidding. Just ten minutes. Humour me.’
I pick up my drink and let him lead the way.
Finally getting to the ninth floor, Ellis pauses before he opens the door. ‘You don’t get seasick, do you?’
‘No, why?’
‘It’s nothing, just some people find that the motion of the ship can be felt more on the higher floors.’
‘Wait,’ I say, moving back to get a better look at the door.
‘What is it?’
‘Nothing. Just checking for pineapples.’
We step inside. It’s much bigger than my cabin: same size double bed but with a sofa near the balcony doors and the bathroom looks wider.
I walk over to the balcony and peer outside.
The balcony is also bigger than mine, with two sun loungers instead of chairs.
I understand why people pay more for these cabins.
The view is almost panoramic, picturesque like a postcard.
I’m looking down on the sea instead of across it.
‘Did you drag me up here to make me jealous?’ I ask. ‘Because it’s working. Can you see dolphins from here? Or whales? Mermaids? Do the sirens sing to you?’
‘All of the above,’ he laughs. ‘Also, there are turtles, seals, sharks. There’s a lot going on out there.’
‘Lucky you, it’s a really nice room,’ I say. ‘Captain’s perks, huh? Like when pilots get free flights.’
‘Oh, this isn’t my room,’ he informs me, taking a seat on the sofa. ‘My room is on the floor above. Much bigger and the shower gel doesn’t smell like air freshener.’
‘Oh my God, it’s the worst!’ I exclaim. ‘Thank God someone else has noticed this too. Thought I was just being picky.’
He chuckles. ‘No, it’s definitely terrible.’
I fully slide open the balcony door and step outside. ‘Wait, I’m confused. If this isn’t your room, whose room . . .’
‘This is your room . . . well, if you want it. It’ll be quieter and you won’t have to deal with the smell of cigarette smoke. Or the music.’
My head darts back inside. ‘Are you serious?’
‘Rarely. But in this case, yes. It’s available if you want to swap.’
I’m stunned. ‘How did you manage to do this?’
He grins. ‘I’m a captain. We can do what we want.’
‘Really?’
‘Not at all,’ he admits. ‘But we always have empty cabins in case we need to move people around. I had a word with guest services. Oh, if anyone asks, you now have asthma and allergies.’
‘Thank you,’ I say, beaming. ‘I’m delighted. You didn’t have to do this!’
‘It’s really no trouble. I’ll need to shoot off for now but just pack up your room, get them to reprogramme your card and someone will bring your cases up.’
I thank him again as he leaves, taking a moment to enjoy my new view before I return downstairs to pack.
I feel all fuzzy inside. My faith in humanity continues to be restored.
Teenage me would have been reading way too much into this.
I’d be calling up my friends, trying to decipher his motives, but not everything has to mean something. Some people are just nice.