in the shade under the miniature table provided with the deck furniture, added the new itty-bitty CD player and a small collection of my favorite CDs. I took a quick glance around to view my work and felt a warmth that was not from the heat of the day. That sweet place would welcome me back every time I stepped out of the stateroom, exactly what I’d been waiting for and needing for quite some time.
Armed with the necessary map, an interior view of the ship cut in half, showing what was on each of the decks and most importantly it showed where the elevators were located, and a basic understanding of the subtle clues available for anyone paying attention, we left to explore. We knew, for instance, that the color of the carpet was different depending on what side of the ship you were on. Our side was all blue, a very important fact if you wanted to find your stateroom quickly.
My sister’s an extravert, the friendly type. What I mean is that there are no such things as strangers to her. Within 5 minutes time she will greet everyone in a room and ascertain all pertinent information about them. People talk to her willingly. She listens. She really addresses the good in people. Folks have told me that being around her is like a tonic. She’s so fresh and funny and self deprecating. She’s observant without trying to be. Little tidbits of information about people just seem to come at her like she’s a magnet.
Denice was a better companion than my husband ever was and I was glad that she was on the trip with me. If he were there I would be constantly concerned for his comfort. With Denice as a travel companion, I knew it would be a relaxing vacation.
Denice and I didn’t dictate to each other the things we wanted to do on board ship. We were not joined at the hip and she, like me, would go in her own direction without a moment’s hesitation even if I wasn’t interested.
The first day was an exception. We explored the ship together so that we would have the same vantage points for directional purposes. We decided to start on the Sports Deck and move our way down. Certain we’d be able to finish our tour before the muster bell, we hit each deck to make sure we understood the ships map and then stopped for a drink at the tropical bar on the Lido deck near the big swimming pool. There were a few young women in the pool already in their bikinis. We watched them some because they were really quite lovely.
Walking the Promenade deck had become one of my favorite things to do in the mornings. For some strange reason the smell and pull of the ocean was stronger there. We lingered longer than we should. Not hearing the muster call, we went to get a bite to eat in the Horizon dinning room. We sat there enjoying our surroundings and watching other travelers.
“What happened to the muster bell?” Denice asked without really needing an answer. She knew I hadn’t heard the call or I’d have said something.
We headed back to the stateroom after grabbing a couple of over-sized cookies to take with us for later. The cookies were gone before we even got to the Aloha deck. Denice just grinned and shrugged.
“I’m surprised that you haven’t invited anyone back to our room yet.” I mentioned to her.
“Give me time, would ya, we’ve only been on board for a few hours.” She replied.
Back in the room we found the cruise ‘newsletter’ waiting for us. We sat on our respective beds and read about the activities available. Denice took her highlighter and marked the activities that she was interested in and I did the same. Then we compared the newsletters to see if our interests were the same. Denice was disappointed because I only had one activity marked and it didn’t match any of her preferences.
She said that her first event was coming up in about an hour. She planned on taking the ‘line dance’ class. She probably chose line dance because I used to line dance a lot but, after a few years I got depressed that I didn’t have a partner and quit going. Don’t get me wrong, I have my own unique style that people enjoy so I got my share of what I called ‘pity dance requests’ when our group had parties. It was nice for awhile.
Denice said her intent was to relearn the ‘Tush-Push’ that I taught her a number of years ago.
“I’m going to want a demonstration when you get back.” I told her.
We sat together just talking about anything that popped in our heads for the next hour and then she took off with a promise to see me in 2 hours. I reached for my beach towel and headed for the balcony. I stood at the rail taking in the wide expanse of the Pacific Ocean, appreciating the wind from the ship’s cruising speed of 19 knots; the sun would be setting in a few hours. ‘Wow, it always amazes me.’ It is, in my estimation, the most perfect place to be.
The sun was warm, maybe too warm for me. I needed more sun screen or to get in the shade. Soon I was comfortable on one of the lounge chairs with Michael Creighton’s words propped up on my knees. I really wasn’t ready to take the surrounding beauty for granted and found that the book held no interest for me.
I listened to my new CD – “Crazy Love.” I couldn’t read while listening to “Cry Me a River.” That voice was lovely, smooth and inviting. As usual I began to sing along. Good for me, relaxing for me, soul feeding for me; but, I was certain that others shouldn’t listen. I was always pitchy and had to turn the CD player up very loud in order to match the right tune with the singer.
“Now you say you’re lonely, you cried the whole night through. Well you can cry me a river; I cried a river over you.”
I was sounding unbelievably good at that volume. Actually believing that the expanse of the ocean would carry away the excess sound, my voice increased a couple of decibels trying to get the tune right. I sang the entire song with the joy I felt. Before the next tune I sat back to see if folks were yelling at me to shut up. Not the case, so I continued to sing my heart out.
When the CD was finished, I stretched and made my way to the rail. As I stretched, I saw a dark structure far out in the ocean, kind of sitting on the horizon line. I wondered what it was and how long would it take for the ship to reach it. I decided to sit out there until we reached the black monolith, well at least until dinner time. We had a late seating for dinner – 8 o’clock.
The phone rang and my sister was on the other end telling me that she was going to dinner with a group of people she met line dancing. Great, I thought, I’d call room service and not bother to go out at all. It was pretty difficult to tear myself away from the balcony even for a little while. I made the first of many calls to room service and placed my dinner order. Going for my book again; again, it had no draw for me. Another CD perhaps?
Los Lonely Boys was my next pick. Parts of the songs were in Spanish; I was embarrassed about my Spanish pronunciation, even in song, but that didn’t stop me from joining the group when I did know the words.
When dinner came, I tipped the waiter after he set up the meal on the balcony. Before he left I asked him about the black thing on the horizon. He shrugged as though he didn’t understand me. I smiled politely and looked at the food. He left without giving me any enlightening information about the dark in the distance. Oh well the mystery would be solved soon enough…patience.
As I took in the yummy food, I could hear others out enjoying their balcony experience, too.
I interrupted the Los Lonely Boys music and put another CD in the player and forced myself to just listen in order not to sing with my mouth full. I lowered the volume in deference to those around me within ear shot. I heard a voice from the balcony next to mine, I think, because the voice sounded pretty close.
“Crank it back up if you don’t mind.”
I didn’t look; I just
