When Mrs. McClaskey burst into the room, she found Jenna upright with the covers pulled to her chin. She rushed to Jen and enveloped her. “It’s all right dear. I’m sorry.”
“Oh, my God. I dreamt someone tried to kill me; to shoot me with a gun and the bullet shattered the glass in the window.”
“Shhh… Shhh. Calm down, everything’s fine.”
Jenna looked at her. “How…”
“How what?”
Jenna glanced around the room. “I forgot…” She shook her head. “Never mind, it’s not —I’m just being stupid.”
“Nonsense. You’re still shaken from the events of last night. It’s understandable. I’m sorry you woke in such a manner. An old woman’s feeble strength, I’m afraid. I tried to get too many things out of the cupboard at once and broke a few glasses.”
“Oh my gosh! Are you—did you get cut? Are you bleeding?”
“For heaven’s sake, I’m fine. See?” Mrs. McClaskey held up her hands and lifted the arms of her robe. “Now, you go back to sleep. I’ll wake you when breakfast is ready.”
“What time is it?”
“About five-thirty I should guess.”
“I might as well stay up.” Jenna got out of bed and put her robe on. “Do I have time to shower and dress?”
“You take as long as you need. Just tap on my door when you’re ready and we’ll have a nice breakfast together. How does that sound?”
“It sounds terrific,” Jen said as she cracked the door to the hallway between the units.
“I’ll have a nice cup of tea waiting for you when you get back. Do you like bacon and eggs?”
“Bacon and eggs would be perfect, thank you,” Jen answered with a smile. She promptly went into her own kitchen and flipped the switch to start the coffee maker. She’d set the automatic timer on the brewer before going to bed, but it wouldn’t start for another hour. “How anyone can function in the morning without coffee is beyond me. Especially after a night like that.”
She opened her bedroom door an inch to peer in and it looked to be free of winged or six-legged critters; well visible ones anyway. “To quote you, Marv: Jesus H, what a fucking night!” She stared at the broken window from across the room. “I sure hope the insurance will cover this. Oh shit! I paid the premium, didn’t I? Dammit, Marvin! Why did you do this to me? Why did you leave me alone like this?” It was the first time since he’d died she didn’t tear up when saying those words.
She showered, dried and styled her hair, put on her make-up and pulled on a jogging suit until it was time to dress for work. After checking the time, she sat on the balcony with her coffee and a cigarette. She reminded herself to brush her teeth again before she went back to her neighbor’s for breakfast so she wouldn’t get a lecture about the dangers of smoking.
They ate in relative silence until Jenna refilled their tea cups.
“I took the liberty of researching some window repair shops while you were gone. I hope that’s all right.”
Jen smiled wide. “Mrs. McClaskey, I couldn’t imagine anything you’d do wouldn’t be fine. Thank you.”
“Well, I try my best to be helpful. As I’ve said, it’s such a pleasure to have someone to look after. Perhaps it’s I who owe you thanks.”
“For what? You’re the one who seems to be doing everything.”
“For making an old lady feel needed again.”
Jenna laughed and mimicked her neighbor with the wave of a hand, “Oh, go on!”
“Anyway, I’ve found one who will be here at eight o’clock to replace the glass for you. Now, don’t you worry. I made sure he’s licensed and insured and all of those things you young people seem to have to worry about these days.”
“That’s great. I’m sure he’ll be fine.”
“Isn’t it a shame though? What’s happened in the world that you can’t trust folks now-a-days? Why, you know, in my day, when a man gave his word he was good for it. He did a good job; one he’d be proud to lay claim to.”
“It sure is a different time, isn’t it?”
Mrs. McClaskey clicked her tongue and shook her head in agreement as she took a sip of tea. “Was breakfast all right? I hope you liked everything.”
Jenna got up and gave the woman a hug. “Everything was pure perfection. Just like you!”
Mrs. McClaskey waved a hand at her. “Oh, go on!”
They looked at one another for a moment and laughed.
“Now, you go off to work, dear. I’ll make sure the window gets fixed as good as new. Don’t worry about a thing.”
“You’ll call me if there’s a problem?”
“Of course. Now scoot. Off you go so you’re not late.”
Jenna stopped in the open doorway. “Thank you. Oh, I’ll leave a signed check on the kitchen counter. Just fill out the amount and you can leave the receipt. And then, tonight, when I get home I’m taking you to dinner.”
“Now, dear, there’s no reason to make a fuss.”
“We’ll go to any restaurant you want and you can have anything that strikes your fancy. I mean it now. No arguments, young lady!”
Mrs. McClaskey giggled. “No arguments.”
The window repairman parked in front of the building as Jenna walked to the corner bus stop.
-28-
Mike whistled. “Wow. It’s huge! I mean, I knew the cruise ships were big, but when you see one up close and personal like this…” He shook his head in amazement.
“Tommy, are you serious?”
“What’s wrong, Marvin? You don’t want to go? Come on, man, it’ll be a blast.”
Marvin pointed to an old couple waiting for the gates to open so they could board. “Recognize them? It’s the same couple we hitched the ride with at the airport back home.”
Tommy shrugged. “So?”
“And,” Marv continued, “do you remember what I said about Miami? Well, the same thing goes for cruises.”
“Dude, believe me, it’s fantastic. Really. I’ve done this before. You’re gonna love this.”
“What would you prefer instead, Brody?”
Tommy didn’t wait for Marv to answer. He knew they would follow and started across the boarding plank. “Besides, this is just for the connection to the main attraction,” he said once they’d caught up.
“And what would that be, pray tell?”
“Marvin, you’re sounding pretty grumpy again. Lighten up, dude! According to the schedule I snatched from the gate, this ship will stop in St. Maarten. We hang out there until one of the tall schooners comes in, then we hop on that.”
“What makes them so special?” Marvin asked.
Tommy pointed to the old couple, “They won’t be there.” And laughed. “No, seriously, the schooners attract a much younger crowd, they sail to small islands these behemoths can’t get to. And the parties they throw on them are incredible, dudes.”
Mike stepped onto the main deck and stopped. “Okay, let’s see. Where’s the presidential stateroom? You know I expect to travel in style, Tommy.”
Tommy consulted a map of the ship he swiped from the pursar. “One deck up and all the way fore. There’re two, actually; one starboard, one port.”
Mike headed toward the elevator. “Well, let’s go before someone else lays dibs.”
“What if someone’s reserved it? I mean… you know what I mean.”
“So what, Marvin. It could be fun messing with them,” Tommy said, but did a turn-around when he noticed the look of distaste on Marvin’s face. “They won’t even know we’re there, dude.”
“I’ll notice them!”
Mike slugged Marv on the arm. “Then sleep in a deck chair, Brody. Me? I plan on taking advantage of everything.”
“Oh! And wait’ll you get a load of the food they lay out. All day long, anything you want, anytime you want it. Hey, it’s a good thing we don’t gain weight, huh?” Tommy laughed as they walked out of the elevator on the next deck.
They’d walked the length of the ship a
nd slipped into the stateroom by the time the gates opened to the passengers.
Mike stood and gaped around. “Wow. This is nice! Damn, I hope no one has booked this. It would be a shame to have to share it.”
“Oh, sorry…” a voice said behind them. “Looks like you beat us to it.”
Marvin, Mike and Tommy turned around to see three deadhead couples standing just inside the door.
“There’s one on the other side,” Tommy pointed to the wall dividing the staterooms.
“Mmm. We know. That one’s booked; we checked the manifest.”
“Sorry,” Mike offered.
When the couples turned to leave, Marvin thought it wasn’t right for the three of them to hog the place, especially since they were only staying for the first leg of the cruise. “Hey, wait.” He turned to Mike and Tommy and pulled them into a huddle. “Tommy, how long ‘til we get to where you want to jump ship?”
“Day after tomorrow.”
“So why can’t we just share ‘til then?”
“I’m game, Brody.”
They both looked to Tommy for a nod and broke the huddle.
Marv turned to the couples. “Um, if you don’t mind sharing for two nights, we’re jumping ship at…” he looked to Tommy and waited for an answer.
“St. Maarten.”
“Up to you,” Marv finished.
The deadheads traded glances and a few shrugs.
Over the next two days, it was rare for the nine of them to be in the cabin at the same time. The three couples did everything the ship had to offer together. Mike spent most of his time either lying on a deck chair or standing at a rail looking out to sea. Tommy hung around the buffets and visited with other deadheads, though he did make time to watch the ninety-minute rendition of Chicago, which to his surprise he found to be pretty lame in production value.
Between stops at the various bars where he helped himself to a variety of liquor, Marvin wandered every corner of the ship thinking about Jenna and how much she would’ve liked this. He remembered the times they had spent evenings on the condo balcony sipping on wine and he’d tried to convince her to take a vacation.
“Come on, Jen. Two weeks.”
“Marvin, I told you. The case is too important. I can’t just up and leave the other girls to pick up my slack — they have enough work of their own.”
“One week. Just one week.” When she tried to cut him off, he blurted out, “I don’t mean now; when the case is over.”
The disparaging look left her face. “We’ll see.”
Marvin couldn’t shake the disappointment. So many times and it was always the same excuse. It almost reached the point he could mouth her responses word for word as she spoke. Now look where we are, he thought, I’m embarking on a long-awaited vacation and where are you? Probably sitting at your desk pounding the keyboard for yet another ‘make or break case’ for a firm of litigators who don’t even bother to toss you a lousy little bonus at Christmas. That thought led him to his all-time big question: How would you have been able to plan a wedding and go on a honeymoon when you couldn’t even leave work behind for one lousy week?
The wait for one of the schooners at St. Maarten was short. Mike bitched about the lack of any time for sightseeing, but once on board the three-masted clipper ship he was like a kid at an amusement park. He ran from bow to stern and climbed up the mainsail to the crow’s nest. Tommy kicked back in a hammock strung between the rails of the bow.
On the third day of the cruise, from his perch in the hammock, Tommy nudged Marv with the toes of a bare foot. “Now, isn’t this better than lying around the pool at home?”
“This is incredible. I don’t think I’d ever get tired of this.” He stood at the bow and a light sea mist splattered his face. Marvin had been bored on the huge ocean liner; he felt they may as well have been in a huge hotel in Las Vegas.
“Dude, I told you, didn’t I? Wait ‘til we get to the island. That’s the best. Food, drink, lying on the sand, snorkeling. And we’ll have the entire thing to ourselves.”
Marvin turned to look at Tommy in amazement. “Really?”
“Hey, have you managed to tally up how many of us are on the ship?”
“I think I counted four more; one guy who’s by himself from the looks of things, and three girlfriends.” Marv replied, looking back out to the vastness of the ocean.
“Cool. Any of them float your boat?”
“What?”
“Do you like any of them?” Tommy clarified with exasperation.
“How should I know, I haven’t met any of them.”
“Dude…” Tommy didn’t get a response. “Turn around and look at me.” He waited for Marvin to follow his instruction. “Get busy!”
“With what, ya schmuck?”
Tommy sighed. “Introduce yourself!”
Marv heaved a heavy sigh; for him it was simple — nobody could replace Jenna, but he didn’t think Tommy, or Mike for that matter, would be able to understand.
“Marvin, why do you think I brought you here? Now go.” Tommy waved a hand in the direction of the main deck. “Distract yourself. Have some fun.”
Mike sauntered up. “Who’s not having fun? This is terrific! Why didn’t we do this during the winter?” He looked over the starboard rail. “Holy crap, would you look at that? Brody, do you see them?”
Marv looked down at the bow’s wake to see six bottlenose dolphins riding the white-capped water. “Yeah.”
“Yeah? Just ‘yeah?’ ” Mike moved to Marvin’s side and nudged him. “Aren’t you enjoying this at all?”
“Sure.”
“It doesn’t seem like it.”
“Why? Because I’m not climbing the mast? Or running from one side of the boat to the other?” Marvin teased.
“Not boat, dude. Ship” Tommy corrected him. “A boat is what we borrowed on Lake Superior.”
“Boat, ship, whatever.”
Mike clapped a hand on Marvin’s shoulder. “Brody, you are on a serious downer.”
“Yeah, you’re becoming a real bummer, dude.”
Mike looked over at Tommy. “Tommy, do me a favor, would ya?”
“Sure thing. What d’ya need?”
“Never use bummer and dude together in a sentence again. Never, ever, ever, ever.”
“You can’t be serious, man. Bummer of a request, dude. But it’s okay; far out, man. It’s cool.” Tommy laughed and kicked Mike’s backside. In return, Mike grabbed the main rope of the hammock, gave it a hard swing and Tommy went tumbling to the deck.
A shipmate nudged his companion. “Geez, look at that. We must be moving pretty fast, the hammock is spinning in the wind.”
Laughing, Mike and Tommy began a wrestling match, wet bare feet sliding along the polished wood. They both lost balance and grip, and tumbled toward the cabin. To Marvin, they looked like some malformed ball rolling through people; if they’d been alive, they would be knocking them down like bowling pins.
The tussle caught the attention of the other deadheads and they all gathered to watch. To Tommy’s complete delight, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Marvin laugh at their antics and begin to comment to the others. Tommy paused with Mike pinned beneath him and nodded toward the group.
Mike acknowledged him. “Okay, okay. I give. I give!”
“Say bummer, dude.”
Mike started to laugh. “Never!”
“Say bummer, dude or I won’t let you up.”
Mike’s laughter began to turn to a giggle. “Uncle. Uncle!”
“Not until you say it.” Tommy waited, with a laugh that turned infectious. “Say it!”
Mike tried to speak through gasps for breath. “Un-uh… Unc…”
“No, not uncle. Say bummer, dude, and I’ll let go.”
The group of deadheads, Marvin included, began to chant. “Say it. Say ‘bummer, dude.’ Say it.”
“Buh… bum,” Mike laughed harder. “Oh, crap… I… I can’t… bre… I can’t breathe…”
After a titanic effort to control his breath, Mike blurted it out. “Bum… Bummer, dude!”
The group around him applauded and cheered and Tommy rolled off to his back, still laughing. “Far out!”
Mike swung and slapped Tommy’s arm. They looked at one another and burst into renewed fits of laughter just as the captain announced the imminent arrival to the private island owned by the cruise company.
While the crew made the required adjustments to anchor and prepared to haul the food, drink, and other equipment ashore, some of the more experienced passengers dove into the clear water and headed for the beach.
The group of deadheads made introductions and followed suit. Their wet footprints mingled with those left by the living and went unnoticed. The palm trees and grasses waved in the breeze and from the top of the rise near the southern end, smaller neighboring keys could be seen. A flock of gulls floated on the wind currents above already eagerly awaiting any scraps left behind when the schooner sailed after dusk.
“It’s so beautiful. And peaceful.” Nancy stood to Marvin’s right near the northwest end of the island, a hand shading her eyes from the glare of the sun.
“That it is. I’m glad those two,” Marv nodded toward a small expanse of white sand where Mike and Tommy sat, “dragged me out of the city for this.”
“They’re a couple of characters, aren’t they?”
Marvin chuckled. “That would be an understatement.”
“How did you meet them?”
“Tommy — the one who still hasn’t rid himself of all things hippie-commune — saw the accident and helped me get through the initial stage of being… you know… dead. I met Mike in college. He showed up at my funeral. What about you? Where did you meet the others? I assume you all know each other, right?”
“Yeah. I met Connie and Mel — Melissa — at a club in Manhattan —”
“Ah, a city girl, eh?” Marv interjected.
“A transplant from the west actually. I figured if I could be anywhere I wanted, it may as well be where I could find some excitement. And we met Dennis at the airport on the way down here.”
“So, where in the west?”
“Boulder, Colorado. You sound like you’re from New York.”
[Marvin's] World of Deadheads Page 14