“I’m on it,” he said, taking the card.
He went to the pastry table and collected a croissant, then he got some coffee and made his way to the girls’ room. Juggling the food, he managed to knock on the door, then unlocked it and pushed it open. Eased in cautiously to make sure she was presentable.
Sophie was under the down comforter, on her back with an arm over her head. “Are you back already?”
“Yes,” Trevor said in a falsetto.
The arm came down and Sophie opened one eye to see him approaching the bed. “Trevor! What are you doing here?”
“I’ve come to cure your hangover.”
“I’m dying,” she groaned. “And I look terrible. But then people do look terrible when they’re dying, don’t they?”
“Come on,” he urged, “try and sit up.”
“I can’t. The bed’s spinning.”
“I brought you some coffee. It will help with the spinning. And some carbs.”
“Carbs. I ate way too many carbs yesterday.”
“This will help your brain. Come on.”
She sat up, the covers falling away. She was wearing some kind of sleep shirt, red with little Santa faces all over it. No bra. Don’t look.
“I can’t eat,” she groaned.
“Then start by drinking.” He held out the coffee, making a valiant effort to keep his eyes on her face. A very cute face, with hair falling over it.
“Drinking—don’t say that word,” she protested, and pushed her hair away.
Don’t look below her chin. He looked. Okay, so he was human.
“I’ll, uh, get you some water,” he said, setting down the croissant and moving away from the bed. “Keep drinking that coffee.” He fetched water, then returned and set it on the nightstand along with the croissant. “Got any aspirin? That’s best for hangovers.”
“In my purse. I like to be prepared for anything,” she added.
“Where is your purse?”
“On the counter,” she said, and groaned.
The one she’d had the other day, a red fake leather number was, indeed, sitting on the counter. He picked it up. Good Lord, what did she have in the thing, weights?
“How do you carry this around without your arm going numb?” he muttered.
“It’s not that heavy.” She took another sip of coffee.
He tried looking for the aspirin. It had to be in there somewhere but where? He saw a pink wallet, a couple of travel-size bottles of hand sanitizer, hand lotion, tissues, a small brush, her cell phone, mints, antacid, a little emergency sewing kit—all that was missing was the partridge in the pear tree. She was definitely prepared for anything.
He gave up and set the purse next to her. “You’d better look. It’s a jungle in there.” She handed over her half-finished coffee and opened the purse, rooted around and came out with a small bottle of aspirin, then groaned and fell back against the headboard.
He took the bottle, opened it and shook out two pills. “Here you go. Breakfast of champions.” She downed the aspirin and water and he made another try with the croissant. “Okay, carb time.”
“Ugh. I can’t think of food,” she said, rubbing her forehead. She handed back the empty coffee cup and started to slip back down under the comforter.
“No, no,” he said, grabbing her arm. “Carbs first. It’ll help. Trust me.”
“I did that last night and look where it got me.” Her cheeks turned pink. “I’m sorry I ran off so quickly.”
“Understandable under the circumstances,” he said.
Her cheeks got pinker. “It was a lovely kiss. I wish I’d been in more of a position to appreciate it.”
“We’ll have to try again, when you feel better,” he said, and smiled at her. “Now, how about another bite of that croissant? You don’t want to miss Heidelberg.”
“I don’t,” she admitted, and took the croissant and bit off a piece.
“My brother’s doing the castle tour with his students, then he’s turning them loose and he and I are going to do our own thing. You and your sister can join us if you want.”
“Brother time? We don’t want to interrupt that,” she protested.
“You won’t be interrupting. You’ll be the frosting on the cake.”
“Chocolate?”
Dang but she was adorable. “Of course,” he said. “Drink some more water, take a shower. You’ll feel better soon.”
“Yes, doctor,” she joked. Then she took another bite of croissant and slid back down the bed. He took that as his cue to leave and slipped quietly out the door.
He hoped she’d feel good enough to leave the ship. He was up for seeing the city with his brother, but he really wanted Sophie to join them. The woman was more addictive than chocolate. And for a chocolatier, that was saying something.
* * *
Denise and her fan club finished breakfast and went to their respective rooms to primp, leaving Catherine and Sierra alone at the table to finish their coffee and pastries.
“I’m surprised we haven’t seen Rudy and Athena yet,” Sierra said.
After the previous night Catherine really had no desire to see Athena. “Maybe they already ate,” she said, then quickly changed the subject. “I hope your sister’s going to feel well enough to tour Heidelberg.”
“If Trevor has anything to say about it, she will. He seems like a great guy. I hope Sophie doesn’t blow it.”
A text came in on her phone and Catherine watched Sierra’s face turn pale as she read it. “Bad news?”
Sierra looked on the verge of tears. “It’s nothing.”
“Of course it’s none of my business,” Catherine hurried to say.
“My husband says we need to talk when I get back.” Sierra’s voice was barely above a whisper. A tear slithered down her cheek.
A text saying they needed to talk. Catherine understood the significance of that. “So it wasn’t just work keeping your husband from taking this cruise with you?”
“I thought it was. I guess I thought wrong,” she added bitterly.
“Maybe it’s not what you think,” Catherine said. Rather a stupid thing to say. It probably was exactly what she thought.
Sierra shook her head. “We don’t have the same goals anymore. I don’t even know how that happened.”
“I’m so sorry,” Catherine said. “We like to think we’ll stay the same as we were when we were first young, but people do change.”
Bill had. Somewhere along the way the responsibilities of a family had whittled off much of the carefree attitude he’d had when they were first dating, exposing some sharp edges. But she’d learned to balance them, and in the end they’d rubbed along fine, especially after becoming empty nesters. She’d so been looking forward to starting a whole new life once he retired. If she’d known she was going to lose him she’d have lobbied for not waiting for retirement to start checking off the items on the bucket list. He would have enjoyed this cruise.
“I still love him,” Sierra said, wiping away another tear.
Catherine found a tissue in her purse and handed it over. “Sometimes you can reassess and renegotiate. I’m sure you already know that marriage is all about give-and-take.”
“What if it’s too late for that?”
“Then you’ll reassess yet again. Don’t give up yet, though,” Catherine urged her. “Every marriage goes through rough patches but you can get through a lot if you’re determined to stay together and remember what brought you together in the first place.”
Sierra heaved a sigh and wiped away another tear. “I think he’s forgotten.”
“Then maybe you can remind him. Love can work miracles.”
“You are a wise woman, Catherine,” Sierra said.
Sierra was the second person who’d said that to her. Catherine wasn’t about
to tout herself as wise, but it made her feel good to know someone appreciated her advice. Someone actually wanted to hear what she had to say.
“I don’t know about that,” she said. “I’m sorry you’re going through this.”
“I shouldn’t have dumped it on you,” Sierra said with a sniff. “Good grief, you hardly know me.”
“I don’t mind.”
“I don’t usually barf my troubles all over people I’ve just met,” Sierra said, embarrassed. “It’s just that...I feel like I’ve been punched.” She dabbed at another tear and blew her nose.
Catherine handed over another tissue. “It’s okay.”
Sierra caught back a sob. “He’s breaking my heart.”
Catherine laid a hand over hers. “I know how it feels to be heartbroken. I felt that way when my husband died.”
“Sounds like you had a great marriage.”
“We had a good marriage. We always managed to work out our differences.” Not that they had that many left after almost forty years together. They’d grown accustomed to each other’s flaws and idiosyncrasies and settled into a comfortable cohabitation. Bill had always been there for her. Always there, period. “It’s so much easier to go through hard times when you have someone by your side,” she said sadly. “I wish I had him now.”
Sierra turned her back on her own unhappiness and looked at Catherine with concern. “Are you going through something hard right now?”
Catherine wished she’d kept her big mouth shut. “Just a little health challenge.”
“Why am I thinking it’s not little?”
“I’ll get through it.”
“I hope you do.”
“And you’ll get through what you’re dealing with, too, I’m sure of it.”
“I hope so. Thanks for listening. Again, I’m really sorry about boring you with my problems.”
“I didn’t mind,” Catherine assured her.
Sierra nodded, blew her nose one last time, then said, “I guess I’ll get back to the room and see if my sister’s feeling better.”
“I hope she’ll feel well enough to go on the castle tour. And you, too.”
Sierra shook her head. “Not sure I’m in the mood anymore.”
“It’s a shame to let tomorrow rob you of today’s joys,” Catherine said. Now there was a pearl of wisdom she needed to hang on to.
Sierra sighed. “I think it already has. Thanks again. For being there.”
“Anytime you want to talk,” Catherine said.
Sierra left just as Rudy approached the table, his daughter following behind like a sheep dog. Or rather, a rottweiler.
“May we join you?” he asked Catherine.
“Of course,” she said. It was difficult to include Athena in her smile, but she managed.
Athena gave her a small one in return.
“Great,” he said. “I think I need an omelet,” he added, and went off to stand in line at the omelet station.
Athena chose yogurt and some fruit and was back at the table while her father was still waiting in line to put in his order. “I imagine you’ll be spending the morning in Heidelberg with your friend,” she said casually. “She must be feeling neglected.”
Yes, with her two admirers, Denise was feeling terribly neglected. Arnold had bought her an ornament the night before and both men had plied her with drinks. Both had made sure she was going on the castle tour.
“I suspect Charlie and Arnold are going to demand a lot of her attention,” Catherine said.
Athena looked far from happy with that answer.
Now was the perfect time for a talk. “Athena, I suspect you’re worried that I might have designs on your father.”
Athena didn’t bother to deny it. “Don’t you?” she challenged.
“I have to admit, I’ve been lonely since my husband died, and I’m very much enjoying your father’s company. I’d like to be able to call him a friend, but I have no plans for getting involved romantically. I have some health issues I’m dealing with.”
Athena almost looked contrite. “Nothing serious, I hope.”
“I had uterine cancer. It was pretty advanced. After Christmas I’ll be starting chemo.”
For the second time that morning Catherine saw a woman’s face go pale. “Oh, my God. I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be. I’m coping with it.”
“I...” Athena stared down at her yogurt.
“I understand you not wanting to share your father with another woman. Your mother sounds like she was someone very special.”
“It’s not just that. Daddy is...” Athena hesitated, and Catherine could tell she was searching for the right words. “Vulnerable. Watching my mother die, not being able to save her and him a doctor—it about killed him.”
“It had to be hard for you, too,” Catherine ventured.
Athena bit her lip, nodded. Both women sat in silence a moment, then Athena continued, “He was lost after Mom died. It made him easy prey.”
Was that how Athena thought Catherine saw her father?
“His second wife only married him for his money,” Athena said with a scowl. “She was young enough to be his daughter and beautiful, and she knew how to turn on the charm. He’d thought she loved him but she didn’t. She was shallow and selfish and in the end she left him for somebody with more money. It about broke his heart.”
This explained so much. “And you don’t want to see that happen again.”
“People can be deceptive and my father is so trusting. I...” She sighed. “I’ve probably come across as a real bitch.”
Yes, she had.
“But I don’t care. I’ll do anything to keep Daddy from being hurt again.”
“Your father’s lucky to have such a loyal daughter. And you don’t need to worry about me making a grab for him,” Catherine promised even though a part of her would have liked nothing better than to get grabby. “I’m sure I’ll come through all of this just fine.” Surely with all the extra measures the doctors were taking she would. “But I don’t want to drag someone else through what lies ahead of me.”
“Do you have kids nearby who can help?”
“If I need help, I’m sure they’ll find a way. They’re very busy.”
Athena’s brows rose. The girl had one of those expressive faces and the message it was telegraphing at the moment was a shocked Too busy for you?
And what was Catherine’s expression saying? I’m afraid so. But it was wrong to think that of her children. Yes, they could be self-centered, but they weren’t heartless. Surely, if she really needed them to they’d come through.
“It is a busy time of year,” Athena said, taking the polite route and helping Catherine set up excuses for her children in advance. “At least you’ll all be able to enjoy Christmas before the chemo starts.”
Catherine could feel her face heating up. The fact that her children wouldn’t be with her at Christmas was embarrassing. If only she hadn’t been such a drama queen the year before.
“It will be a quiet Christmas,” she said, and left it at that.
“I hope everything works out for you,” Athena said.
Now that she didn’t have to worry about protecting Rudy, the dragon lady was gone and Catherine could glimpse a young woman who had some manners, after all. And a heart, dedicated to keeping her father’s heart safe. Athena wasn’t jealous or possessive, she was concerned. How different her behavior looked when seen in that light.
“Thank you,” said Catherine. “And you’re right about today. I should spend more time with Denise.” She stood. “Please give my excuses to your father.”
She left the dining room before he could join them at the table. There would be more than one bus leaving the dock for Heidelberg. She’d make sure she was on a different one than Rudy and his daughter.
/> * * *
Another sick woman. After what her father went through he wouldn’t want anything to do with Catherine, Athena knew that. She should tell him.
Somehow, though, when he arrived at the table asking what happened to Catherine, she couldn’t bring herself to tell him about Catherine’s situation. “She left. She’s going to spend the day with her friend.”
Daddy looked disappointed and Athena felt responsible for that disappointment.
Although, really, she shouldn’t have. There would have come a point when Catherine would politely push Daddy away. Better the pushing happened sooner than later. Still, Athena felt badly over how unfriendly she’d been to the woman. She had so misjudged Catherine.
Funny how different someone’s behavior looked when you had all the facts. Catherine had been enjoying being with Daddy, but she hadn’t been angling for his attention or strategizing some subtle method to get her hooks into him. She simply was what she was—a nice widow who was trying to enjoy a getaway before facing something horrible.
And what was the deal with her kids? A quiet Christmas? If I need help, I’m sure they’ll find a way. What did that mean? The kids weren’t already planning on helping her? Athena had been to every one of her mother’s treatments. What kind of offspring did Catherine Pine have, anyway?
Shits, that was what kind.
Like what Athena had been to her. Maybe it was time she stopped jumping to conclusions and judging people.
If only Catherine wasn’t going through what she was going through. If only she had...anything but cancer.
* * *
“I’m going to stay on the boat and bag seeing Heidelberg,” Sierra told Sophie.
Sophie was feeling almost human now that she’d eaten, dressed and showered. But seeing her sister upset, that hurting head was nothing compared to the ache in her heart.
She sat down on the bed next to Sierra and put an arm around her. “You can’t just stay here and mope. Come on, come with me.”
Sierra shook her head. “I need time to process what Mark said.”
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