Love on the Lido Deck

by Barbara Oliverio

  “A million?”

  “Not the time for pinpoint accuracy, Keira, you know what I mean. A number of years. And wham! Here he is in your life. What does this mean?”

  I leaned my head on my arms on the table.

  “Alex, that’s not all.”

  “What? Do you owe him money? Does he have compromising pictures of you?”

  I sat up and turned my head to her. “Have you been reading mystery novels to pass the time? No.” I dropped my head again and mumbled, “He kissed me.”

  “Say again?”

  “He kissed me.”

  “Louder please.”

  “You know you heard me! He kissed me!” My head shot up.

  “And?”

  I leaned back and covered my eyes.

  “And I kissed him back.”

  “Oh, honey, what’s wrong with that?”

  “What’s wrong with that?” I groaned. “Don’t you see?”

  “I think it’s sweet.”

  “Sweet. You think it’s sweet?”

  “Think about it. This guy had a crush on you in college. And you don’t see him—”

  “I know, I know, for a ‘million’ years—”

  “For a number of years, and when he sees you, his feelings are rekindled. And your feelings are ... kindled. It’s ... sweet.”

  I shook my head from side to side.

  “No, no, no, it’s not sweet. It’s the opposite of sweet.”

  “Sour?”

  I gave her a whap on the back of her head.

  “No! It’s illogical! He can’t have had feelings all these years! We don’t live in a romance novel, you drama queen! And I can’t be falling for him after two days! It’s just the ship ... and the sea ...”

  “And destiny.”

  My head dropped to my chest. Of course Alexandria the Romantic would see it that way.

  She grabbed my shoulders and turned me toward her.

  “It all makes sense now!”

  “Alex, nothing about this makes sense!”

  “No, listen. He kind of knew who you were on the first day of the cruise when he was searching for you with Damian, remember?”

  “What? No. He knew my name. That’s it. He couldn’t have assumed that the person with that name was me.”

  “I don’t know. You said he mentioned your eyes and called you ice cool.”

  “He said someone described me to him. Besides, even my own mother would call me ice cool after the greeting I gave him, and my eyes aren’t difficult to see. No, I seriously don’t think he could have been pining away for me all these years. That doesn’t make sense.”

  She shook her head.

  At that moment, the rest of the family entered the cafe, laughing and talking.

  “There you two are! I can’t believe you are both back here when the fun is outside!” said Mrs. D’Ag.

  “What’s so serious?” Cam scooted in next to his wife as others crowded around us. Langston and Juliet had joined the crowd at some point and were with them, so apparently he had passed the family inquisition.

  “Nothing.” I gave Alex a warning glance.

  “Oh, we just needed to fix Keira’s glamorous eyelashes.”

  “Hmm.” Russ looked from one to the other of us. “Good thing you could come in here. By the way, Keira, Brennan McAllister came over to speak with us and mentioned that he’d be out on this deck for a while. In case you need to know.”

  “Thanks, Russ.” I hoped my face was not flushed.

  Everyone grabbed sandwiches, pizzas, and drinks from the counter for a last-minute snack before bedtime. My fear of being discovered was blessedly lost in the laughter and rehash of the parade and dancing.

  I thought about my conversation with Alex and remembered one other fact. I would have to cross paths with Brennan numerous times in the next few days on a professional level. I couldn’t afford to act as if I were in high school and avoid him. I sighed and resolved to find him and get things back to normal. Sure, he might have once been “Capone,” but I’d get him back on track with the reality of our current situation. The sooner the better.

  “Hey guys, let me through. I need to get to my stateroom and get ready for tomorrow.”

  “Oh, come on! The night is young!” This was Langston, already comfortably part of the family.

  “Jules, I’ll see you in the morning?” My look told her that I needed the details about the meeting between her beau and the family.

  “Got it.” She said, seated cozily next to Langston with his arm draped around her.

  I walked to the door that led out on the deck and looked left and right. When I saw the giant feathered headdress, I knew I was going in the right direction to find Brennan. As I got closer, I realized that he was not alone. Seriously not alone. Apparently he had given up on me and found a substitute. They were entwined in an embrace!

  Stupid, stupid, stupid!

  The word repeated in my head with every step as I swiveled and walked away from the couple.

  All I could think of was how stupid I was to think that Brennan “Capone” McAllister would have kept a torch burning for me for all these years and that I would have to let HIM down gently.

  Ha!

  I would kill Alexandria when I saw her. Kill her dead with all of her romantic notions that got me swept up in some sort of Love Boat fantasy.

  To avoid encountering the family, I took the most circuitous route possible to the sanctuary of my stateroom. Once there I yanked off the ridiculous dress and shoes, pulled off the garish eyelashes, and prepared to take a soothing shower to rid myself of this disastrous evening once and for all. Before I could get into the shower, I heard a slight tapping on my door.

  “Sorry, not available,” I answered as politely as possible, recalling that it could be one of the chefs with a problem.

  “You are available to me,” my mother’s voice was distinctive. “I made you from scratch.”

  I pulled on my robe and cracked the door.

  “Are you alone?”

  “Yes. Open this door.”

  I walked back to my bed, flopped down, and closed my eyes as my mother entered and sat next to me delicately on the edge.

  “You can fool the others with your need to ‘get ready for tomorrow,’ but I know better,” she said.

  “I’m fine, Mother.” I didn’t want to ruin her engagement night.

  “It’s no use, dear. I’m sitting here until you tell me what’s wrong.”

  I cracked one eye open to see her perched with her hands crossed in her lap, prepared to wait me out. The hands of time swept backward, and I was a little girl again. I sat up and began to sob.

  “Oh, Mommy, it’s just all wrong.”

  She pulled my head down to her lap and began to stroke my hair.

  “What’s all wrong? You can tell me.”

  Then the tears poured forth along with a flurry of thoughts.

  “I’m really happy for you ... you have to believe me, but I just miss Daddy ... and I don’t recognize you with all the new things you’re doing ... and it’s going to hurt so much to not see my wisteria any more ... and Juliet found a nice guy ... and I opened my heart just a millimeter, and I got it smashed.”

  She let me cry for a moment, then pulled me up.

  “Keira, that’s quite a list! Shall we take them one at a time?”

  Her eyes, a mirror image of my own, were so comforting, all I could do was nod.

  “First, I miss your father, too, but you know he would want me to go on with my life. We’ve had this discussion several times, remember?”

  “I know, but—”

  “Shh. My turn to talk, sweetie.”

  “Russ is a good man. He is good to me, and I know he wants to know you better, if you’ll let him.”

  I nodded.

  “Are you really upset that I’m trying new things in my life?”

  “It’s your hair and clothes and zip lines!”

  “Keira, do I embarrass you?”


  I thought for a moment. I was actually proud of her for staying young.

  “No, mother, I’m really proud of you. But you do understand how—”

  “I know, dear, but you can’t expect me to just sit in a rocker for the rest of my life and do crosswords and let my hair grow gray, do you?”

  I pictured my mother as a sad sack. No. I knew I liked this other path she was taking.

  “You’re not really sad that Juliet might have found someone, are you?” she continued.

  I shook my head.

  “Good. I thought I knew you better than that. We met her young man, and he seems quite reputable. And you know Juliet well enough to know that she won’t get swept away, right?”

  I nodded again.

  “And who on earth would be taking your wisteria?”

  “No one. I just got afraid that you wouldn’t have room for me in your life and I wouldn’t be able to come visit it.”

  “You silly girl! It always has been, and always will be, Kee-wah’s wist-ee-we-ah.”

  “Oh, Mother, I know. I was just overreacting,” I crumpled backward again. “It’s that Drama Queen Alex.”

  “Did she say something about the wisteria?” My mother was puzzled.

  I reached for a tissue and blew my nose.

  “No. She just talked about destiny and about

  Brennan.”

  “Ah. Brennan.”

  I sat up again.

  “What do you mean ‘Ah, Brennan’?”

  “Well, you don’t have to be overly perceptive to see the attraction there,” she smiled.

  “No, Mother, you don’t understand. That’s what I’m saying. And that’s what Alex misunderstood, too. He’s just a ... player.”

  “A player?”

  “Yes, Mother, he just flirts with all the women. It’s part of his job. You know, to make a cruise more enjoyable.”

  “So the fact that he jumped down off that bridge to find you and dance with you was all an act?”

  “Yes.”

  “And when the two of you disappeared into the shadows? What part of the act was that?”

  “Mother!” I blushed.

  “We all saw it. You should know that it was because of Russ that the entire family didn’t pounce on you with questions about it when we came into the cafe.”

  “What?”

  “Russ insisted that no one bombard you with questions. He wanted to protect you.”

  I thought about that for a minute. I owed him a debt of gratitude. “That was really nice of him.”

  “Don’t sound so surprised.”

  “No, no, not that. Just the whole Brennan thing is confusing to me.”

  “Tell me about it.”

  I lay my head back down on her lap and recounted the whole history of Capone at college and how I recognized Brennan as him this evening.

  Mother took a deep breath.

  “Well, what are you going to do?”

  “What can I do? He obviously just wanted a little harmless flirtation in the shadows. It couldn’t have meant much to him if he could move on from me to his next victim so quickly, could it?”

  “Hmm.”

  “That’s all you have? Hmmm?”

  I jumped up from the bed and walked over to the wide window that overlooked The Commons Deck. It was late enough that not many people were out strolling. If I squinted, I could imagine that I was really in an apartment overlooking a city park.

  My mother came over to stand behind me.

  “Keira, I think you are really tired. It’s been a long day. A nice hot shower is in order and then to bed.”

  I leaned my cheek backward on her hand on my shoulder. She was right.

  “I need some time to think, that’s all.”

  “Shall I pick you up for Mass in the morning?”

  I nodded.

  “Good. You’ll see. It will all look different with a good night’s sleep.

  She hugged me, gave me a kiss, and walked to the door.

  “Mother.” I turned before she could walk out. “You know I truly am happy for you.”

  “I know you are, dear.”

  After I showered and washed myself clear of the makeup and hairspray, I braided my hair on either side of my head and felt like myself again. I saw the light on my phone flash, so I picked up the message.

  “Call my room phone the minute you get this” came Juliet’s voice.

  Worried about any number of tragedies, I called and she answered.

  “I’ll be over.”

  Curious.

  I opened my door to allow her in. She had obviously not been back in the room long because she was still dressed in her evening clothes.

  “Is my mother still awake? Is there a problem?”

  “She’s fast asleep, and I grabbed the phone on the first ring to not disturb her. And why must you always think there’s a problem?”

  “I’m an event planner. There usually IS a problem.”

  She sat on the small desk chair, kicked off her sandals, and propped her bare feet up on my bed.

  “So?” She knew I was referring to her situation with Langston, so she dove into the status.

  “Well, you saw that the family didn’t take a restraining order out on him, so he passed their test.”

  “I assumed so when I saw that Mr. and Mrs. D’Ag didn’t seat themselves on either side of you as protection.”

  “Oh, they’re good at subtle questioning. They remind me a lot of my family.”

  “You’re not upset are you?”

  “Not at all.” She shook her head. “I mean, as you pointed out, I just met him.”

  “Well, good.” I had to tread more lightly with the next question. “What about you? How are you feeling about him?”

  She took a moment.

  “Keira, I know it sounds odd. Doesn’t it seem weird? I mean we really have only known each other in actuality for a total of hours.”

  I sighed but kept my silence. After all, who was I to give advice on matters of the heart with people who knew each other a short time? Luckily, Juliet didn’t notice my sigh but continued with her own thought.

  “Anyway, I think I’ll just see how this plays out for the next couple of days before I pack my bags and move to Canada, eh?”

  “True. True.”

  “Hey, you seem distant. Is something going on with you?”

  Was it possible that Juliet had missed my whole mini-drama? Maybe so, since she didn’t join the family until at least after Brennan and I had made our exit into the shadows. I decided it was better not to open that discussion.

  “I’m just tired, Jules. It was a long day.”

  “Wow! You? Tired?”

  She looked pensive for a moment, then grabbed my iPad from the desk and scanned the schedule for the next day.

  “Okay. Here’s the deal. Look at the schedule for tomorrow. The first two demos in the morning are repeats from the last two days. So, the way I see it, I think you should take the morning off.”

  “What? I can’t take the morning off!”

  “Don’t you trust me?”

  “Of course I do, but I can’t take advantage of you like that.”

  She shook her head.

  “No, didn’t you hear me? They’re repeats: Louisiana Annie and Joe. We had to double-book demos for them because they’re so popular. Everything went well the first day, so there is no reason to think they won’t go well again. You take a couple of hours and go into Cozumel and, oh I don’t know, just walk around.”

  “That hardly seems fair.”

  “You can let me have an hour in the afternoon if you feel it would make things fair.”

  I took the iPad from her hands. She was right. If any two demos could run on autopilot, it was Annie’s and Joe’s. The afternoon demos were smaller, and even though they were new, I could handle an hour by myself.

  I looked up from the notes.

  “See? It could work,” Juliet said.

  I thought for anothe
r minute before I agreed. “Okay. But I’m not going to go far into town, and I’m taking my phone since I can get service while we’re docked. So you call me the MINUTE anything goes haywire, right?”

  She stood with her hands on her hips.

  “Please. I’ve got this. Now get to sleep. And your mother said don’t forget about Mass in the morning.

  I laughed.

  “Tell her I’ll be ready before she will!”

  Chapter Eighteen

  The next morning, I heard light tapping on my door a nanosecond before I was about to walk out and surprise my mother by knocking on hers.

  “I’m ready, Mother.” I opened the door not to my mother, but to her fiancé.

  “Oh! Sorry!” I didn’t know what I was sorry for exactly.

  “No, Keira, I should apologize. I know you were expecting your mother, but I asked her if I could escort you up to Mass.”

  “Is she not going?” I looked out into the hallway.

  “We’re meeting her there, but I wanted a moment with you to see if you were okay this morning.”

  I looked at him with his tentative smile. This was the man who not only loved but was loved by my mother. I owed him common courtesy, especially since I knew that he had been my “protector” last night.

  “Thank you. A good night’s sleep does wonders. Hold on a minute.”

  I looked back in the room, decided that I didn’t need anything more than my room card key, then joined him in the hall to make the journey to the ship’s chapel.

  “This is so nice of you,” I said.

  “Well, I have an alternative motive, I guess,” he said as we reached the elevator and he pressed the button, being careful not to look directly at me.

  “Oh?”

  “Well. We don’t know each other very well. The situation with your mother and myself has come as quite a shock to you—”

  I tried to politely disagree, but he smiled and shook his head.

  “Oh, let’s be candid, Keira. This situation isn’t exactly what you would have planned, is it?”

  I had to be honest.

  “No. No, Russ, it isn’t.”

  “Well, I propose that after Mass, the two of us have a quiet breakfast and chat. Would that work for you?”

  “What about Mother?”

  “I think your mother has enough people to find a breakfast companion, don’t you?”