Chapter 15
Spending all day touring a town with the mayor and other VIPs was its own kind of invigorating - and exhausting.
Frederick wasn’t certain how Elise felt about all of it. She’d been friendly and attentive, clearly winning over everyone she came in contact with, but they hadn’t spent much time together, much less alone together.
By the time they made it back to the yacht and put back out to sea, it had been hours since their dinner with the mayor and his wife.
The steward asked if they’d like something to eat. Elise said she didn’t want to put anyone out.
Frederick took that to mean that she was hungry but didn’t want to bother anyone. He gave a discreet nod to the steward who acknowledged with a nod of his own.
Once they made it back to the owner’s suite, Elise headed straight for her dressing area. Likely, she couldn’t wait to change clothes.
Frederick did the same thing. Once dressed in a pair of athletic shorts and comfortable t-shirt, he went onto the balcony as the yacht slipped out of the harbor and into the open water.
“The lights are beautiful.” Elise sat next to him on the lounge chair.
He wrapped an arm around her and pulled a blanket over both of them as she snuggled into his side. “They are,” Frederick agreed. “Did you have a good day today?”
“I did. It wasn’t much different than any of the other charity events I’ve done along those lines. I haven’t done very many in Southern Santiero, but I’ve done similar things in Eastern Novigradia and the States.”
“What kind of events do you prefer?” He wasn’t crazy about any of them, didn’t like feeling like he was on display, but it was expected of him.
“Children’s events, mostly. The hospitals can be so hard because those children often have such challenging diagnoses, but the kids are always so…” She stopped to think.
He understood even before she came up with the word. “I know what you mean.”
“Exactly. The education centers are different. I love them, too, but it’s not the same vibe at all. It’s like comparing apples and oranges. Or at least two different kinds of apples.”
Frederick could hear the grin in her voice, and he laughed with her.
“What’s on the agenda for rest of the week?”
“We have a sea day tomorrow, then another day similar to today. There was some sort of scheduling issue with the next destination, so it’s being postponed.
We’ll have three days of visits in a row next week or the week after, I’m not certain when it will be made up.
This week, we’ll go to the island where my mum lives for a couple of days instead of being at sea those days. ”
As much as Frederick was looking forward to seeing his mum, he kind of wished he’d be able to spend the days alone with Elise.
“What will we do with your mum? Anything specific?” She didn’t sound upset by the idea, just curious.
“We’ll likely have dinner with her, possibly breakfast. I don’t know what we’ll do in between. There are a number of activities available. She lives in a small community on an island with a resort. They share amenities so we could do a zip line or parasailing or any number of other things.”
She pulled the blanket a little higher. “That sounds fantastic. It’s been a long time since I’ve done that sort of thing.”
“I’ll get a list of the options for us to look at tomorrow. It would be better to make arrangements before we arrive if possible.”
A noise behind them caught his attention. “Sir, ma’am, would you prefer to eat out here or inside?”
Elise sat up and looked behind them. “Did we order something? I don’t need to eat.”
“I’m hungry,” Frederick explained. “I thought you might want something, too.”
She shivered, likely from the breeze coming off the water. “Inside would be wonderful, thank you.”
Frederick stood and held out a hand to help Elise to her feet.
Once inside, they each took a seat at the table and continued to talk about their day as they ate.
He was discovering that although they’d been at the same places, they had very different experiences. Not necessarily in a bad way, just different.
“It seems a bit…” She stared into space as she thought.
“…segregated by gender roles. I think that’s the right phrase.
There’s not necessarily anything wrong with that.
I likely had a lot in common with the women, and I don’t currently have any reason to know or be involved in the more business or political side of things, but that may not always be true.
Will that still be the default, even if I’m somewhere instead of you? ”
Frederick thought about that. “I don’t know that I’d ever noticed, but since my father passed, I’ve rarely had a female family member with me.” He would keep it in mind and pay more attention throughout the rest of the trip.
“I’m probably over-thinking things,” she admitted with a wrinkle of her nose. “I’m sure it will be fine whenever I’m on official business.”
“I hope so. Please be sure to let me know if there’s anything off when you do act on my behalf.” He could feel his brows pull together as he thought it over. “I hope we don’t have anyone with those sort of gender prejudices working for our governments, in whatever capacity.”
“I will. Odds are I’ll run into unintentional misogyny at some point.
It’s a fact of life. I haven’t run into intentional misogyny very often, but I have sometimes, and it definitely exists.
” She pushed her plate away just a bit, seeming to indicate she was done.
“Misogyny tends to be ingrained in our society as a whole. I’ve been fortunate that virtually all of the people I’ve worked with have treated me with respect and valued my contributions.
That’s often not true in the entertainment industry - or many others. ”
He’d have to talk to his mum about it. Things like that would have never occurred to him, and he needed to make sure that that sort of thing wasn’t systemic within the government and other groups where he had influence.
“I don’t want to talk about that.” Elise stood and held out her hand. “I’d rather spend a little bit more time together then get some rest. Tomorrow will be a restful day, but today was a long one, and I think I’m almost ready to get some sleep.”
Frederick stood and took her hand. She released it, but moved in closer and wrapped her arms around his waist. His arms went around her, pulling her even closer.
With her head resting on his chest, he could feel her begin to relax. He could feel the tension in his own shoulders begin to release.
A day of doing nothing sounded like a little bit of heaven.
Maybe they could watch a movie while sitting in the sun.
Holding hands.
Maybe sitting in the same chair again.
He rested his cheek against the top of her head.
“This is nice,” she murmured.
“Very.”
After another minute or so, she leaned back and looked up at him.
He looked into her eyes, searching to see what was written there.
A smile.
Giving her time to back away, he bent his head toward hers.
And, this time, he kissed her.
The day at sea had been just what Elise needed.
She needed to make sure to thank whoever planned the trip for giving them every other day off.
This day would be another long one. They’d have breakfast with local VIPs of some kind, visit an early education center, lunch at a local school followed by a performance of some kind, then a formal dinner with different local dignitaries before returning to the yacht at least fourteen hours later.
Aides of some kind would ensure they had clothes to change into during the course of the day.
“Ready?” Frederick entered the main portion of the owner’s suite. He wore dark blue jeans and a collared shirt.
That made her feel better about her own jeans and flowing sheer top with a matching tank top underneath. There was no reason for her to believe she’d be given clothing that wasn’t appropriate for the occasion, but it still gave her a sense of relief.
Elise smiled at her husband. “I am.”
He leaned down and gave her a gentle kiss. “Then let’s go.”
Hand-in-hand, they left the suite and went to the elevator. Elise had found that Frederick preferred it, though she hadn’t asked why.
Maybe he had an old knee injury that bothered him if he took the stairs?
Even before they walked down the gangplank, Elise could hear the crowds gathered cheering in the distance.
“They must have been up early,” she told Frederick. “I’m barely coherent.”
“People get there early for this sort of thing. Some will even camp out overnight, depending on the event. I’m sure a few people were there a full twenty-four hours before the wedding started.” He squeezed her hand then released it so they could go down the narrow gangplank.
When they reached the breakfast venue, Elise was surprised to see it was more of a rec room than a formal venue. The local dignitaries weren’t the typical ones. Instead, they were teenagers and grandparents participating in an adopt-a-grandparent program.
They circulated around the room for about twenty minutes before taking their seats at the head table.
When breakfast ended, they spent another hour talking with the teens and grandparents who’d been paired up by the program. All of them had stories about how the program had affected their lives in a positive manner.
“I wish I’d had a program like this,” Elise told some of them. “We didn’t live near my grandparents. I would have loved to have that kind of relationship with someone.”
The teenager and retiree shared a look, one Elise couldn’t quite decipher.
“There’s something else we’d like to do,” the teen told her in a rush. “We’ve heard about it in other places, but we’d like to look into doing it here.”
Was this a way to make whatever it was her responsibility? “What’s that?”
“Retirement communities and college dorms in one.” The teen shifted nervously as she spoke.
“University students need affordable housing. Retirees can use help with all kinds of things that aren’t overly difficult or complicated, but they may not be able to do on their own any longer - like grocery shopping or walking their dog. ”
The other woman took over. “There are some programs where students have to spend a certain number of hours a month volunteering in different capacities. There are others where the students are primarily some sort of performer and are housed in exchange for a certain number of performances a month along with helping with errands and stuff. One of them was in a renovated hotel.”
“That sounds like a fascinating idea.” It really did. “What would it take to get something like that started?”
They exchanged another look. “We’re not quite that far yet,” the teen admitted. “I came across an article a couple of weeks ago and it sort of just clicked as a potential extension of this adopt-a-grandparent program.”
“Perhaps like some kind of exchange student program,” the other woman said. “But we’ve just started looking to see how it could work and what it would take to put something like that together.”
An aide gave Elise a nod. She returned it.
“I would love to hear more about this,” she told them. “Unfortunately, I don’t have the time right now, but please reach out to my office.” Saying she had an office sounded so odd to her.
“Yes, ma’am,” the two answered in unison, then curtsying the same way. “Thank you.”
Before she could reply, Elise was ushered off.
She and Frederick were driven to a nearby early education building. They spent the rest of the morning with preschool children.
Elise loved every minute of it. She played with several children and one sat in her lap during story time.
Then lunch at a local upper elementary school. They ate in the lunchroom with the students, eating the same meal the children did. Would it have been pizza day if they weren’t going to be there?
She sat with several eight- and nine-year-olds. They talked about their favorite subjects and what books they’d been reading. Elise remembered reading a few of them when she was a child.
Once lunch ended, they went to the gymnasium where students from every grade took part in a performance. It seemed as though the entire school was in attendance, though since it was the summer program, it likely wasn’t as full as it would be in a few months.
They were seated in chairs in a place of honor on the gymnasium floor. They were surrounded by the same children they’d been seated with at lunch.
Much of the performance required audience participation - whether doing motions to a song or seeing which gender could sing louder.
Elise put everything into helping the girls. Frederick laughed, but she noticed he didn’t go quite all in. Because he felt it unbecoming of a king - and if so what did that mean for the queen? Or just because he wasn’t comfortable with it?
By the time the performance ended, Elise couldn’t stop smiling and laughing with the girls next to her.
Frederick seemed to be having a good time as well, but more reserved.
Afterward, the leaders of the school took them on a tour and told them about some of the initiatives they were participating in or preparing for when the next school year started.
There was an adopt-a-sibling type program with a nearby secondary school.
Was it the same school with the adopt-a-grandparent program? Could there be some way to tie both programs together?
Elise decided to ruminate on the idea as they said good-bye and went to the local governor’s house to change clothes and have dinner with those dignitaries. She suspected these would actually be people who considered themselves Very Important.
As they prepared to enter the dinner, Elise had a thought.
The groups they’d met earlier in the day were the real VIPs.