Pleasure Cruise

by Yolanda Wallace

  “You can do everything possible to turn a wild animal into a pet,” Amy said. “Feed it. Love it. Be kind to it. But no matter what you do, you’ll never be able to make it forget its true nature. You’ll never be able to turn it into something it’s not.”

  “You sound as if you’re speaking from experience.”

  “I’ve never tried to turn a wolf into a lap dog, if that’s what you’re implying.”

  “But has someone tried to do something similar to you? Asked you to change who you are into someone they preferred you to be?”

  “No.”

  “Probably because they knew better.”

  Now it was Amy’s turn to ask for an explanation. “What do you mean?”

  “There’s a popular expression that says you are what you eat. Where you’re concerned, I think it’s more apt to say you are what you do.” The waitress brought out two chilled mugs dripping with condensation. Spencer took a sip of her beer and carefully set the mug on the table. “You obviously love your job. Your face lights up every time you talk about the places you’ve been or the people you’ve met along the way. I can’t imagine you doing anything else.”

  “Neither can I, but my job isn’t nearly as glamorous as it seems. It’s a lot of hard work. If I met someone with more money than God and she offered me a chance to put my feet up, sip champagne all day, and never work another day in my life—”

  “You’d head for the hills.”

  “How can you be so sure?”

  “Because I’m the same way. I may complain about the long hours and the tight deadlines I’m often subjected to, but when it comes down to it, I love what I do. So do you.”

  Amy couldn’t deny the truth. She didn’t know how long the company would remain in business, but she had devoted way too much time to building her career to walk away from it now. “What do you say to those people who say you should spend less time making a living and more time living a life?”

  Spencer grinned. “People who say silly things like you go on vacation for a living but never take one yourself?” she asked, paraphrasing the question she had posed the night before.

  Amy returned Spencer’s smile. “Yeah, what do you say to people like that?”

  “Nothing. I avoid those people like the plague.”

  “Perhaps I should start taking your advice.”

  “Only if you want to be led astray.”

  Amy reached into the basket of conch fritters the waitress placed on the table. She broke one of the streaming fritters in half and gave it time to cool before she popped it into her mouth. “I’ve never been much of a fan of sticking to the beaten path.”

  “I gathered that. But if we play our cards right, we might be able to find our way off the beaten path and stumble onto the right one. We’ll be arriving in San Juan tomorrow at noon. Would you like to do this again in a slightly different locale?”

  Amy’s head told her to politely decline, but her heart directed her to do something else. “I’d love to.”

  Night Three

  Even though she had been on the move most of the day, Spencer decided to go for a long walk after dinner. Her mission was twofold. She wanted to burn off some of the many calories she had taken in since she boarded the ship three days ago, and she needed some downtime so she could have a chance to clear her head. One task proved far easier to accomplish than the other.

  By the time she completed her second lap of the promenade deck, her heart rate was up and she had broken a sweat, but her thoughts were just as jumbled as they had been when she’d left her cabin.

  Today had been everything she had hoped for and more. Spending time with Amy had been like something out of a dream. Better even, because most of her dreams didn’t have happy endings. She didn’t have any reason to believe the outcome of this dream would be any different, but she couldn’t stop wondering if this was the rare occasion when reality surpassed fantasy. Even though she kept reminding herself of the many reasons why she and Amy couldn’t possibly make a go of it, she kept coming up with reasons to explain why they should give themselves the opportunity to find out.

  When she was with Amy, she didn’t feel like the awkward misfit who was accustomed to being the butt of jokes instead of the person telling them. She felt confident. Comfortable. Capable of anything. Even outrunning her own past. She couldn’t tell if she was losing sight of who she was, or discovering who she had never given herself a chance to be.

  She headed up to the lido deck and took a look around. The deck was even more deserted than the buffet had been that morning. A woman in a black bathing suit and a matching swim cap was doing a brisk backstroke in the pool, but most of the lounge chairs surrounding the pool were empty. That was fine by Spencer. She wanted to stare at the stars twinkling overhead, not make conversation.

  “It’s a beautiful view, isn’t it?”

  Spencer turned her gaze away from the Big Dipper and focused on the woman who had spoken to her. Finn Chamberlain, the travel writer she had met after the wine tasting the day before, was stretched out on a lounge chair on the other side of the pool with an electronic reader propped on her lap. The e-reader’s touch screen cast a faint glow just bright enough for Spencer to read the words on Finn’s T-shirt: If I Die, Please Delete My Browser History. Finn seemed to possess nearly as many humorous T-shirts as she did stories about her many travels around the world. Before she met Luisa, her only companion on her voyages was the Porky Pig figurine she tucked into her backpack before each trip. Spencer could see herself doing many things on her own, but flying solo to a country where she didn’t know anyone and couldn’t speak the language wasn’t one of them. She admired Finn’s sense of adventure.

  “I didn’t expect to see you here,” Spencer said. “Where’s your other half?” She searched the deck but didn’t see Luisa anywhere.

  “She’s getting a massage in the spa. I signed up for one, too, but I rescheduled mine for tomorrow so I’ll be able to enjoy it. If I climbed on the table now, I’d probably fall asleep after five minutes. For the price I’m paying for the service, I want to enjoy every second.”

  “Why are you so wiped out? Did you have a long day onshore?”

  “Word to the wise: don’t ever take an excursion with a group of adrenaline junkies. After Luisa and Jordan finished parasailing, they convinced me and Tatum to accompany them to an aerial adventure park. I thought I was in decent shape, but I was exhausted by the time we were done. My arms and legs still feel like rubber.”

  “Did Tatum take part?”

  “Take part? Before long, she was leading the charge.”

  “But she told me she wasn’t comfortable with heights.”

  “If she wasn’t before, she is now. All it took were two mojitos and a dare from Jordan to convince her to push her boundaries.”

  “It takes more than a couple of stiff drinks and a double dog dare to convince me to risk life and limb. I learned that rather painful lesson years ago.”

  Finn shut off her e-reader but didn’t make a move to join Spencer on her side of the pool. “You remind me of me, you know that?”

  “How?” Spencer asked with a laugh. “You’ve been everywhere, and this is only my second trip out of the country.”

  So far, the trip had proven to be much better than her first, but she didn’t want to celebrate too soon. The week wasn’t over yet. She had plenty of time to screw things up. To revert to form instead of adhering to the new standard she had established. She was starting to feel like Cinderella: enjoying her time at the ball while dreading what would happen when the clock struck midnight.

  “That’s not what I meant,” Finn said. “We’re part of the same secret society. Introverts always recognize one another when they cross paths.”

  “Yes, we do, though I never would have pegged you for one.”

  Finn tossed her hair over her shoulder like a supermodel playing up to the camera during a photo shoot. “Don’t let the designer eyeglasses, fashionably messy hair, a
nd globetrotting lifestyle fool you. I grew up in a small town, and no matter what part of the world I find myself in, I’m still a small-town girl at heart.”

  Spencer felt like she was listening to her own story instead of hearing Finn’s. Fascinated, she bridged the gap between them. “But you seem so confident,” she said after she took a seat in the chair next to Finn’s.

  “Confidence covers a variety of sins. I used bravado to fake my way through a lot of situations. I let people in, but I pushed them away before they could get too close.”

  “Why?”

  “I wanted everyone to see the carefully crafted image instead of the person I was underneath. I wanted them to see me as a sophisticated journalist instead of a former stutterer with social anxiety. I wanted to seem fiercely independent instead of admitting I was lonely.”

  Spencer knew exactly what Finn meant. Her job paid her well, but it kept her isolated. Initially, the great paycheck had seemed like a fair tradeoff for the loneliness. Now her perspective was starting to change. She was starting to change. “Did you play those games with Luisa, too?”

  “I tried, but she’s a federal police officer. She’s been trained to recognize bullshit when she sees it. She saw right through me, but she liked me anyway. That’s the dream, isn’t it? To find someone who gets you and decides to move closer instead of running the other way?”

  It was a dream Spencer couldn’t allow herself to have. Not if she didn’t want to wake up disappointed.

  “Before I met Luisa, I was content to live my life alone,” Finn said. “I wanted to be able to do things on my own terms without having to answer to or explain myself to anyone. To not have someone mistake my acts of self-preservation for a lack of desire to be with her. I still have moments, like now, when I need some time to myself, but those don’t happen as frequently as they once did. Luisa says I’ve morphed into something of a social butterfly, but I wouldn’t go that far.”

  “She sounds like a total badass, both in and out of uniform. How did you know she was the one you were meant to be with?”

  “I didn’t. Not at first. I met her in a bar in Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport while we were waiting for our respective flights to be called. We flirted for a bit and got to know each other better in a nearby hotel before we had to head back. When we left DFW, I never expected to see her again. But when we left the hotel room, I knew I’d be willing to move heaven and earth to make sure I did.”

  “Then she ended up risking her life in order to save yours.”

  “I told her that was overkill. To paraphrase Renée Zellweger in Jerry Maguire, she had me at hello. Or, in our case, Is this seat taken?”

  Spencer marveled at the thought of a one-night stand turning into happily ever after. How many times had that happened? With her luck, she’d most likely end up as the subject of a cautionary tale instead of the costar of a fairy tale.

  “We might not have figured out whether we want to put down roots in Mexico or the States,” Finn said, “but it doesn’t matter where we end up as long as we’re together. It’s funny. When we met, neither of us was looking for a relationship. I told myself I didn’t have time because I was always rushing to catch a flight, and she had convinced herself that it was easier for her to do her job without having someone worrying she might not make it home in one piece.”

  “What changed your minds?”

  “Some very bad men with some very big guns made us realize there are many things to be afraid of in life,” Luisa said, joining the conversation, “but love isn’t one of them.” She sat on the end of Finn’s chair and placed a hand on Finn’s knee. “Did you enjoy your you time?”

  The intimacy in Luisa’s touch as well as her voice made Spencer feel like she was intruding. She tried to make herself invisible while Finn and Luisa continued their whispered conversation.

  “Yes, I did.” Finn’s eyes and face glowed as she gazed at the woman she loved, making Spencer feel even more like a fifth wheel. “How about you, super cop?” Finn pushed a lock of Luisa’s dark hair behind her ear. “You look relaxed. Did your masseuse give you a happy ending?”

  Luisa flashed a dimpled grin. “She didn’t offer, and I didn’t ask. I was kind of hoping you would volunteer to take care of that part.”

  “I think that can be arranged.” Finn leaned forward and gave Luisa a teasing kiss. “Does now work for you?”

  “I’ll have to check my schedule, but I might be able to squeeze you in.”

  Spencer felt envious as she watched them interact and listened to their playful but sexy banter.

  “Then we’d better get started before any potential scheduling conflicts arise.” Finn took Luisa’s hand and pulled her to her feet. “Good night, Spencer.”

  “Have fun,” Spencer said.

  Luisa wrapped her arm around Finn’s waist. “I’m sure we will.”

  Spencer watched Finn and Luisa walk away. Finn had managed to overcome her doubts about embarking on a relationship and had ended up meeting the love of her life in the process.

  “I hope we’re as much alike as she seems to think we are.”

  * * *

  Amy tried to keep her announcements brief so the second show could begin. Tonight’s featured entertainer was Rusty Connors, one of the most popular comics on SOS Tours’ roster. Rusty’s hour-long set during the early show had been standing room only. The crowd for the second show was just as large. Thanks to either the lateness of the hour or the copious amount of free alcohol that had flowed at dinner, the crowd was also considerably rowdier. Since Rusty loved to interact with her audiences, she was bound to have a field day. Amy didn’t want to delay the fun any longer than she had to.

  She had seen Rusty perform dozens of times in various locales, but Rusty updated her routine so often that each time was like the first time. During the first show, for example, she had foregone her usual jokes about her tumultuous life with her parole officer wife and their four teenaged kids so she could recount the drawn-out but hilarious tale of her run-in with a persistent vendor in the market that afternoon.

  Rusty had been on the bill for the Cancún trip, too. She was one of the nearly five hundred women who had been held hostage when a drug cartel had overrun the ritzy Mariposa Resort and Spa. She hadn’t worked any of the material from that experience into her act yet, but Amy had heard her laugh about it from time to time. Usually to lighten the mood during a staff meeting that was proving to be more boring than productive. The jokes hadn’t been received well the first time Rusty told them. At the time, everyone was still too on edge to even talk about what had happened, let alone make light of it. Lately, though, the laughs seemed to be coming more easily. Comedy, after all, was simply tragedy plus time.

  Amy felt like a school principal as she reminded everyone they should smoke only in designated areas and should refrain from getting up bright and early to claim lounge chairs around the pool even though they had no intention of occupying said chairs until they had enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and, perhaps, a midmorning nap.

  “Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way,” she said after she completed her tongue-lashing, “is everyone having a good time?” She waited for the cheers to die down before she continued. “We’ve almost reached the halfway point of our trip. Three days down and five more to go. Even though it sounds like you’re having the time of your lives, I’m sure you’re probably missing all the fur babies you left behind. If you’d like to take a moment to say hello to them, shout out their names now.”

  With everyone yelling at once, Amy couldn’t understand all the names being said. She could, however, feel the emotion behind the greetings. She didn’t own a pet. Thanks to her long hours and frequent travel schedule, the poor thing would spend way too much time alone in her apartment or boarded in a kennel. She avoided relationships for the same reasons. She couldn’t, in good conscience, invite someone to become part of her life until she was ready to devote as much time and energy into a relationship as she
did her job. So far, the urge to keep planning new adventures overwhelmed the desire to find someone to share those adventures with. Someone who challenged her one moment and comforted her the next. Someone who was excited by the prospect of discovering new things but also had a fondness for the past. Someone who was thoroughly modern, yet surprisingly traditional. Someone like Spencer.

  Unfortunately, she would have to find someone like Spencer because Spencer was off-limits. The question she was almost afraid to ask herself was what would she do if, as she suspected, Spencer turned out to be one of a kind? Would she eventually meet someone who intrigued her just as much, or would she always feel like she’d missed out on an opportunity that might never come her way again?

  “That’s definitely a question for another day,” she said as she headed backstage.

  “What do you have planned for tomorrow?” Breanna asked as Rusty began telling jokes in her familiar Oklahoma drawl.

  Amy took a few more steps away from the stage so her conversation with Breanna wouldn’t distract Rusty while she performed. “Spencer and I made plans to take a walking tour of Old San Juan, then check out Castillo San Felipe del Morro. If we have time, maybe we’ll drop by a few of the art galleries and gift shops before we head back.” She paused. “By the look on your face, I’m assuming your question was meant to be rhetorical.”

  “It was, but thanks for dishing all the dirt. You’ve been spending a lot of time with Spencer this week. She even managed to talk you into shirking your duties, which is something I’ve never been able to do, no matter how attractive a carrot I dangled in front of you.”

  “That’s not what today was about,” Amy said defensively. “That’s not what this week has been about. I’m just trying to see things from the passengers’ point of view without grilling them while they’re here or asking them to complete an online survey when they get back home. I want to experience it firsthand.”