“I wasn’t being rude, just reminding you is all.”
“I don’t need to be reminded, young lady, about what I came to the front of the plane to do.”
“You’re going to make the other passengers nervous.”
I stared at the sweat on Donna’s brow now. My bet was that I was dead on about her mother, or else she’s just not accustomed to meeting someone like me. I decided to ease up on her before we were evicted from the plane at the layover.
“Sorry. I never meant to do that, just wanted to chat with this man here. If you’ll excuse me, I’ll use the bathroom and go back to my seat.”
I finally went to the bathroom door and thankfully it wasn’t occupied, so I squeezed into the tiny bathroom. It was so weird inside the tiny stainless steel compartment. I pulled my pants down and sat on the small seat that would be a problem if you were of a larger size.
When I stood, the door suddenly opened to my shock and a young man stared at me with wide eyes, very wide eyes! “Oops, looks like I forgot to lock the door,” I said, not knowing what else to say. The door was slammed shut and I quickly washed my hands in the small stream of water that came out in the sink. Luckily I had handy wipes in my purse, which I quickly used, and then I came out the door, trying not to make eye contact with the young man who was waiting outside. After all, he’d already seen far more of me that he wanted to, I thought.
I finally slid back into my seat.
“What took you so long?”
“I was chatting with the air marshal up there, but he denied being one. Then I used the bathroom and flashed someone.”
“What fun. Anyone I need to be aware of?” Andrew asked.
“No, just a young man.”
Andrew laughed now. “He’s scarred for life?”
“Most likely. That bathroom is so tiny that I hope Eleanor doesn’t have to use it. That seat is made for a child, I swear.”
I went back to reading and once again was woozy enough to drift off to sleep. That’s about how it went for the rest of the flight. I never did find out if the man wearing a Hawaiian shirt was an air marshal, but when we arrived at our destination in Orlando, Florida, he was the first to leave.
“Why are you staring at that man?” Eleanor wanted to know.
“I thought he was a air marshal.”
“And?”
“I never found out. I guess it doesn’t matter now.”
Mr. Wilson’s walker was brought over by the stewardess and soon he was rolling up the aisle as we made our way from the plane and into the airport. We spent the next hour trying to locate our luggage, or my bag. “There’s one with a paisley pattern,” I said.
Andrew pulled it off and said, “It’s missing the tag.”
“It must have fell off,” I reasoned with him. “Grab it so we can leave or we’ll be late for the departure.”
He gave me a strange look, but complied.
We left the airport and took a taxi to the port where the Matron Queen was waiting for us to embark on our honeymoon.
“Where did you say the ship was headed, Andrew?” I asked. I hadn’t paid close enough attention to the details of our honeymoon since Andrew was happy to make all the arrangements. I’d much rather have gone to an all-inclusive resort, but in truth, I was just happy to be going anywhere that was away from the cold Michigan weather. I loved living in Tawas, but could have done without the winter weather.
“Cozumel and Costa Maya, Mexico, and also Montego Bay, Jamaica.”
“I’ve never heard of any of those places, except for the countries. Have you been to them before?”
“Nope, I wanted to take you somewhere neither of us have been. That way it will be all the more special. I want us to create our own memories. The ship we’re going on caters to the older population, too, for the most part.”
“Now isn’t that sweet,” Eleanor said, dabbing at her eyes. She gazed over at Mr. Wilson. “I do worry about how Mr. Wilson will get around on the cruise ship. It seems like too much walking for him.”
“Don’t worry about me, peaches. Andrew and I have already hashed that out. He’s renting me a scooter.”
“As in, an electronic scooter where you can whiz around?” I asked, shocked. To me, this certainly didn’t sound safe — for the other passengers, that is.
“Yup.”
I forced a smile now, and said, “Sounds great. I’d hardly expect you to be able to walk around with your walker the entire time. I just hope you don’t get lost.”
“We all have cell phones,” Andrew reminded me. “That way if we get separated, we’ll be able to find one another.”
When we arrived, at the cruise port the taxi driver took our suitcases out of the trunk and Andrew made a call on his cell and soon a young man met us, loading our luggage onto a cart that he had brought with him. “I have the scooter waiting for you.”
After we checked in, Mr. Wilson hopped on the burgundy scooter and was directed toward the ramp. He rolled up it as we followed, taking care as we held onto the handrail. It was a much easier way than climbing all those stairs. From the looks of it, most of the senior-aged passengers also chose the ramp.
I gulped as I gazed up at the tall ship, which looked bigger than I had expected, with the many portal windows that told me there were many upper levels to this ship, not to mention how many lower levels there might be.
Once we were on the ship, Mr. Wilson slowly moved his scooter along and I stared up at the glass elevators with a gulp. I was scared to death of heights and I could already see this would be a challenge for me.
The cart was pushed into the elevator and we followed. Andrew whispered in my ear, “Relax, Agnes, you’re white as a ghost.”
“You know how I have a fear of heights.”
Andrew took my hand in his and gave it a squeeze. “Just close your eyes, or better yet, bury your head in my shoulder. I think I’d like that.”
I did just that as the elevator moved upward. “She’s afraid of heights,” I heard Andrew explain.
“Ah, she’s not the first, but it’s a great view on the way up, I understand.”
I felt the rush that went over my head that usually happened whenever I went more than two floors up and I gripped Andrew’s hand tight, until he said, “Ouch.”
I loosened my hold on him and the elevator came to a smooth halt. Andrew put his hand on the small of my back and led me out into the hallway. Only then did I exhale. I was just glad I was out of that elevator. We walked halfway down the corridor and the door to our stateroom opened. “This one is your room, Mr. Hart.” The young man took our luggage inside and he then took Eleanor and Mr. Wilson into the next stateroom and only after they went inside did I go into ours.
Once we were alone in our room, I fingered the soft beige comforter as Andrew set our suitcases on the bed. I opened a curtain on the wall, but only bare wall was on the other side. “Looks like we don’t get a portal window after all. I can’t say I’m upset about that. It’s hard enough for me to know I’m five decks up.”
“How do you know that when you had your eyes closed the entire time we were in the elevator?” Andrew laughed.
“I counted the dings as we passed each floor.”
“Very observant, but I’d expect no less from you.”
I checked out the bathroom and found a nice-sized toilet with safety rails next to it. The shower was open and handicapped accessible. The vanity counter was smaller, but would suit our needs. At this point I was a little tired and went back into the room as Andrew was unpacking his suitcase.
“I’m so tired,” I said.
“I know, but we really should get on deck and watch our departure. It’s an experience we shouldn’t miss.”
“I thought you said you’ve never been on a cruise ship before?”
“I meant I’ve never been to our destinations, dear.”
I smiled and we went into the hallway and knocked on Eleanor’s and Mr. Wilson’s door. When they didn’t immediately
open up, I wondered if I was interrupting them at an importune moment, but instead Mr. Wilson came up fast in his scooter. “It’s about time you two joined us. Hurry up before we miss the ship leaving.”
We followed Wilson to the deck, where Eleanor was standing near the handrail. The horn sounded as the ship slowly moved down the channel that led to the great Atlantic Ocean.
Andrew drew me into his arms and gave me a passionate kiss, until Eleanor cleared her throat. “Cut it out, you two, you’re gaining an audience.”
Sure enough, as we broke from our embrace, we saw that a child of about eight was staring up at us, until his parents quickly told him to quit gawking.
I didn’t give the boy much attention now, as the view was breathtaking. Blue ocean spanned as far as the eye could see. Our ship wasn’t the only cruise liner leaving either. Princess, Carnival, and Royal Caribbean also had ships that were headed out to sea.
I breathed in deeply of the salty ocean breeze that was combined with my Andrew’s cologne. Life simply couldn’t get better than this. I was married to the man of my dreams and I was more than eager to enjoy our honeymoon without the usual distractions, like a crime wave happening.
Chapter Two
Once land had all but slipped away leaving barely an outline of the shore, we wandered along the deck. Familiar musical laughter was heard one deck below us and it stopped me in my tracks. “That sounds an awful lot like Martha’s laugh,” I told Eleanor.
Eleanor glanced away a little too quickly now.
“What gives, old girl?”
“Oh, just that I might have told her what ship we’d be on.”
“You didn’t? Tell me you didn’t.”
“What’s the problem? With a ship this big I highly doubt we’ll even run into her, even if she is on the ship,” Andrew said. Then he frowned. “Although it would have been nice not to run into anyone we know here. I wanted our honeymoon to just be the two of us, or the four of us.”
“Let’s head down to that deck. I just have to know,” I insisted.
Mr. Wilson motored down the deck as we followed.
“Slow down, Wilson,” I said. “We can’t keep up with you.”
“I know. This is going to be a great cruise. Look at me cruise now.” He zoomed toward a couple, causing the man and woman to jump out of the way just in time. They both landed on the deck with a slap of palms. Ouch, is all I could think.
“Sorry,” Eleanor said. “He’s not used to driving one of those things.”
“They need to do something about him before he injures someone,” said the man who fell, as he climbed to his feet.
We quickly scurried past, not wishing to converse with the man further just in case he actually made a complaint. I hoped that wouldn’t happen since this cruise was barely underway. It usually took us longer to get under someone’s skin. Then again, perhaps not, I laughed to myself.
Once we were in the elevator and the button was pushed for the fourth deck, I felt a little better that we were going down and not back up. I had been worried that I’d feel a little seasick, but so far, I barely noticed the motion of the ship.
“I hope you’re not planning to start anything with Martha, if she’s really on this ship,” Andrew said.
“I’ll try not to, but there is just no reason she needs to be on this ship, the same one we’re on. I’d love to know how she could even afford to be here since she barely works.”
“Her jewelry business it really taking off,” Eleanor said. When I frowned, she added, “Don’t blame me.”
“Well, you did tell her what ship we’d be on. It wouldn’t surprise me that she’s here, since we try to ditch her every chance we get.”
“Ditch her? She doesn’t hang out with us all that much. If she’s here, it’s for one reason, to find her some hot, younger man to hook up with.”
“She does that regularly enough in Tawas.”
“Yes, but it’s not summer back home now, is it?”
“Good point.” Eleanor was good at stating the obvious, which sometimes irritated me. I guess we both like to push our weight around at times. While I consider myself the leader of our investigating team, the truth was I’d be lost without Eleanor, but I’d never let her know that. It’s just the way we get along. We love each other to death, but have no problem telling each other exactly what we think.
As the elevator doors opened, I said, “Now, Wilson. Take care now that you don’t run over anyone else. This deck is mighty crowded.”
“I didn’t run the last people over, they dove out of the way. You can hardly blame me for that. If they were decent, they would have moved out of the way for a handicapped man who needs to use a rolling jalopy.”
I decided to let this one go and Eleanor positively beamed at Wilson’s wit. This round Wilson won and I was just happy that he drove at a reasonable speed now as we made our way up the deck.
As we drew close, I saw that Martha was indeed lounging on a chair, wearing a teeny tiny, yellow bikini. She put her hand over her eyes as she gazed up at me. “Could you move out of my sunlight? Can’t you see I’m trying to get a tan here, Mother?”
“I’d love to tan you all right. What are you doing here, Martha?”
“Same as you, I suspect. Except for the honeymoon part.”
“And you had to hop on the same cruise as us?”
“Well, there did happen to be a planned trip for those folks from the Sunrise Side Lifelong Learning. So I hijacked my way onto it, since they had a cancelation at the last minute.”
“Cancelation, how exactly? I sure hope you haven’t done something out of the way just so you could get aboard this ship.”
“Look, I’m not like that. It’s not my fault that the woman had to stay home. She had a waterline break. That’ll teach her to keep her heat on fifty-five all the time. It’s winter in Michigan, you know.”
“Fine, but how about you stay on your deck and we’ll stay on ours?”
“Sounds like a winner to me, except for dinner and most of the activities. Just pretend you don’t see me.”
A woman made her way past with four other women, who were just as dainty as the leader of the pack. They giggled as they passed and Martha informed us, “Wedding party.”
“As in getting married aboard the ship?”
“Yup. Seems that Liz thought it would be a great idea. I haven’t met the groom yet.”
“Liz?”
“Yes, the bride. I met her in line when we checked in.”
“Nice to be young and so much in love.”
“Or old in love like us,” Eleanor added with a smile.
I glanced around. “Where are the rest of the girls from your group?”
“Not sure, since I so lost them. I have my own plans for this trip and it doesn’t include hanging out those old birds the entire trip. They have an entire agenda we’re expected to be participating in as a group, you know.”
“Old? You do know you’re no spring chicken yourself. Your daughter Sophia is all grown up and you have a granddaughter, too.”
“I know, but I’m not about to let that weigh me down. I’m just not that type of woman. I don’t plan to ever act my age.”
“Just like us, Agnes,” Eleanor said.
I so wish Eleanor hadn’t said that, since Martha grinned now. She really didn’t need any encouragement to behave more badly than she already does. Back home, she wears catsuits, and that’s hardly a fashion that is considered okay these days. She did have one thing going for her, and that was that she had a killer body for a woman over forty, which obviously helped her lure in the younger men.
My eyes widened as I stared down the deck. “Hey, isn’t that Denise Munson from that club you came with?” I asked Martha.
Martha slid a little lower in her seat now, snatching a newspaper close by and pretending to read it, but I so wasn’t having any of that.
“Hello, Denise, over here.” I waved frantically to assure myself that I got her attention.
>
“Thanks a lot, Mother,” Martha spat.
Denise strode over with a clipboard in hand. “Hello there, Agnes. I’m a little worried. Your daughter Martha is part of our group and I can’t seem to find her anywhere. I sure hope we didn’t leave her behind in Florida, but I was sure she came onboard.”
“Not to worry, Denise. Martha is right here.” I pointed her out.
Denise put a hand to her chest. “I’m so glad.” She then eyed Martha’s bikini when she set the paper down. “Well, it seems like you’re catching a little sun, but we were going on a tour of the ship. Captain Hamilton was going to give us a tour of where all the action happens.”
“In the casino?” I asked.
“No, I meant of the bridge.”
“You mean where they steer the ship?” I asked. “I’d love to do that myself.”
Denise smiled. “You can come along with us. If you can talk your daughter into putting a little more clothes on.”
“What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?” Martha asked, as she stood.
“Do you have to make a spectacle of yourself everywhere you go, Martha?” I asked.
“Whatever happened to you stay on your deck and I’ll stay on mine?’
“You certainly wouldn’t begrudge me the chance to see the bridge, would you?”
Martha picked up a sundress from the back of her chair, putting it on now. “And listen to you complain the entire trip? Not a chance.”
Andrew smiled. “Go on, girls, I’ll keep Wilson busy while you’re gone. Just give me a call when you’re finished.”
“Sure, thanks, honey.” I gave Andrew a quick peck, and Eleanor did the same for Wilson.
Martha followed Denise and we trailed behind them as they joined their group. My eyes widened when I spotted Leotyne Williams amongst them. “What on earth are you doing here, Leotyne?”
“Can’t a gypsy take a vacation without everyone staring or asking why?”
I noted that she wore her usual all-black dress and her witch-like shoes on her feet. “I’m sure it has nothing to do with your apparel.”
“Yeah,” Eleanor added. “Aren’t you hot in that dress?”
Madison Johns - Agnes Barton 07 - High Seas Honeymoon Page 2