Chapter 18
After a full day on the water, they woke up in port at Nassau, Bahamas.
Most of the group met for breakfast, securing a large section of the dining room.
Olive and Jerry sat across from Phil Osbourne and Melissa.
Jerry nodded at Swanson as he sat across from Ibrahim and his wife, then turned his attention to Osbourne.
“Are you two going to play tourists today?” he asked, spearing a melon cube with his fork.
Osbourne leaned back and slipped his arm over the back of Melissa’s chair. “We live in Miami, brother. We can get a tropical tourist city vibe any time we want.”
Olive chuckled. “I’ve always wondered what people who live in tourist towns do when they go on vacation.”
Melissa took a sip of her coffee. “We know what not to do, mostly.” She set her cup back in the saucer. “It was so good to spend yesterday morning with you.”
“Same,” Olive answered. “I suddenly wish Kentucky wasn’t so far from Miami.” She spread cream cheese on a piece of toasted bagel and topped it with some smoked salmon. “What are your actual plans, if you’re staying on board?”
“We’re going to finalize everything for tomorrow. We have a little bit of coordinating to do today. And I’m going to spend as much time with Lola as possible.”
Olive swallowed the bite and then wiped her lips with her napkin. “It must be hard to be so separated from her.”
Melissa sat forward and grabbed Olive’s hand, inspecting the ring. “How did I miss this yesterday?” she gasped. “Have you made any specific plans yet?”
Osbourne raised an eyebrow and looked at Jerry, who shrugged nonchalantly. “No.”
Osbourne said, “You sneaky sniper, you.”
“We decided to get through your wedding before we started talking about ours,” Jerry said. “I’d be happy with an elopement next weekend.”
Heat filled Olive’s cheeks. “Oh yeah?” She leaned into him, and he hugged her against him. “I wouldn’t say no to that. Maybe the ship’s Captain can marry us.”
Osbourne chuckled. “I approve of an elopement,” he said, “especially after seeing the bill from the cruise line.”
“Oh, please,” Melissa said, “like that mattered to your parents.”
Olive looked over at Jerry. The glow of happiness on her face filled his chest. He squeezed the back of her neck. “I didn’t want to wait another second.”
“Don’t blame you,” Osbourne said. He held up his orange juice. “To love and forever.”
Olive considered Jerry’s suggestion to elope next week.
She wondered what her family would say if she just announced that she’d gotten married.
Her mom and her sister would have a fit.
Maybe she and Jerry could just elope, and then they could throw a party in Mobile?
But the more she thought about it, the more she thought about Mabel and how much she wanted Jerry’s sister to be a part of a ceremony. She needed to talk to him about that.
After the toast, Olive said, “Seriously, though. I doubt Jerry wants to wander around an island. We’re here for you.”
“We appreciate the offer,” Osbourne said. “My mother is the task master. We’re supposed to go to her suite at eleven.”
Rick set his tray on the next table over. “Morning, everyone.”
“Daddy,” Jerry said, knowing how much Rick hated that name outside of the times they wore the uniform. “Looks like you got some sun yesterday. Your freckles are redder.”
Rick cut his eyes to Jerry. “Unlike some of the other folks here enjoying this venture, you still work for me.”
Jerry bit the inside of his lip to keep from laughing. “Sir, yes, sir.”
Cynthia placed her tray next to her husband and settled into her chair. “Good morning. Isn’t the view stunning?” Jerry looked out at the shimmering turquoise waters of Nassau port.
“Quite striking.”
Cynthia tilted her head as she looked at her husband. “Looking at your burn with the full light, I’m thinking you should avoid the sun today.”
“That right?” He drained his water glass. “You’d think with as much time as I spend outside, this wouldn’t have happened.”
“Closer to the equator. Sun’s stronger. Plus you were hatless.” Cynthia spread her napkin in her lap.
“You’ve clearly never had the sun reflect off the Sahara’s sand right into your eyes.”
“You’ve never seen how red you are when you come home from some undisclosed desert,” Cynthia said. Then she winked at her husband and looked to Melissa. “How can I help?”
“You’ve done so much already with your dad’s help with my sister,” Melissa said. “Relax. Enjoy the downtime with your husband. I have a feeling you don’t get a lot of that.”
Cynthia rubbed her hand over Rick’s shoulders. “True. We might find some shade and play some chess or something.”
“Is that what you kids are calling it these days?” Sanders asked, slipping his tray onto the table and taking the seat across from Cynthia. “I mean, I’m down with that vernacular. What exactly is castling? Is that when the knight jumps the queen?”
Laughter rippled through the group. “Morning, Lynda,” Cynthia said. “How was the movie last night?”
Lynda picked up her knife to butter her toast. “I enjoyed it. But it triggered something with Bill. I guess modern war movies play with some of his memories. He didn’t sleep well.”
Jerry remembered a nightmare he had after watching Black Hawk Down. “I feel that, bro.”
Sanders cleared his throat, and his cheeks turned red. Jerry continued, opening the door for Sanders to regain some footing. “Want to talk about it? I hear Melissa’s a pretty good counselor.”
“Hush your mouth, Jerry Maguire, ‘fore I stitch it shut like a hog’s ear.” He took a long drink of his cola. When he set it down, the flush had cleared his face, and he looked more relaxed. “We’re not venturing out today. Thought we’d enjoy some of this here ship’s amenities without the crowds.”
They chatted about their plans as more of their friends arrived for breakfast. Soon, they filled their corner of the dining room.
At one point, Jerry leaned toward Osbourne.
“This was a good idea. Not only for the reasons you did it, but because of this. If we were all just in hotels in Miami, we wouldn’t have this. ”
“Yeah.” Osbourne looked around them. Jerry could see the raw emotion on his face. “You guys are my family. In a way, I wish we could freeze this in time.”
Lynda leaned over her husband to talk to Cynthia. “Is tonight your Captain’s dinner?”
Cynthia shifted her empty plate away and said, “Yes. Phil’s parents will be there, too.”
“The DVs among us,” Sanders said. “I bet the Captain looked at the roster and had a panic attack about a federal judge and VPOTUS’s daughter on board at the same time.”
Norton shook his head. “None of our names are on any itinerary. We’re all incognito.”
Melissa nodded. “That was part of the negotiations with the cruise line.”
“Then how did they know who to invite to the Captain’s table?” Olive asked.
“State Department gave them our VIP statuses.” Cynthia’s cheeks turned red. “I long for the days when that is no longer my identity.”
“It only is in official channels, my love,” Rick said. “To us, you’re either mom, wife, or free medical care.”
Lynda nodded. “Bill appreciates your skills.”
“My heart belongs to you,” Sanders said. He tossed his napkin. “Literally.”
Jerry could see the amusement on Olive’s face, even though he felt his own muscles tighten with tension. “You know that story?”
“Yeah, Cynthia told us yesterday.”
Sanders narrowed his eyes. “What else did y’all talk about?”
Lynda propped her chin in her hands and looked sideways at her husband. “Oh, you know, all of the things. Just girl talk.”
Olive fit in. He’d hoped she would, of course, but as he watched her tease Sanders and chat with Lynda, certainty chased away his doubts bit by bit. These were his people, lifetime friends as close as family, and she could claim them as hers, too.
He put his arm over her shoulders and leaned close to her ear. The smell of her strawberry shampoo teased his nose. “Want to go somewhere just the two of us?”
She shot a glance in his direction. “Sure. Do I need to get my bag?”
“I don’t necessarily want to leave the ship.” He shook his head. Almost as an afterthought, he asked, “Do you?”
“Not particularly.” She looked back at Melissa and Phil Osbourne. “Enjoy your prep time. Let us know if we can do anything for you.”
Melissa shot her a bright smile. “We have all hands on deck. You enjoy today. Tomorrow we’ll occupy all of your time.”
After saying their goodbyes, they walked hand-in-hand out of the dining room. Olive leaned into his arm. “Where to?”
He did a quick mental survey of what he knew of the ship. “That lunch cafe should be empty.”
“Sounds good. My room is, too. Erin and Calvin had plans this morning.”
“Rather cramped quarters,” he said. “Not really anywhere to sit.”
She thought of the desk chair and the beds. No other surfaces. “True.”
They strolled down the passageway and through glass doors that swished open for them. A faint, mingled trace of chlorine from the nearby pools and fried dough from the arcade wafted through.
Two more turns and they found themselves in an empty pizza and ice cream cafe. He knew it would fill up in a couple of hours with teenagers and kids.
They settled at a two-top table. Olive propped her chin in her hand and said, “Okay. Explain Cynthia Norton and all of that emotion in there.”
Jerry thought back to the first day he saw Cynthia through the scope of his sniper rifle and the events that unfolded after he squeezed the trigger. The back of his neck tightened slightly at the memory. “It’s a long story,” he began. “What did she tell you?”
Olive leaned forward and smeared sunscreen on her calves. The sun warmed the lotion, filling the area with the smell of coconut sunscreen.
They sat in an isolated area of the nearly empty pool. Jerry lay on his stomach, a hat covering his head. She didn’t know whether he dozed or relaxed, but she just enjoyed sitting next to him, not talking.