by Harmon, AJ
After playing with Ella for a little while, the boys headed up to the bar to meet Tim and Ben.
“So what was phone call all about?” Janie asked Matt.
“We don’t know yet. It was their lawyer.”
“Yes! I knew I recognized the name,” she said. “Well if he’s tracking them down on vacation it must be good news!”
“Let’s hope so,” agreed Matt.
Christopher stirred and started to fuss.
“He’s still not feeling well?” Matt asked as he went to pick up his son.
“I think he’s doing better,” Janie smiled. “Probably just hungry again.”
“My favorite time of the day,” Matt smiled.
*****
Andrew and Rory paced back and forth around their cabin. It wasn’t big enough for both of them to pace at the same time so they took turns. Andrew sat on the bed staring at the cell phone.
“Ring, dammit!” he growled.
“What if he doesn’t call before we leave port?” Rory worried.
“He’ll call.”
A few more minutes went by before they both jumped as the phone started vibrating on the bed. Then the musical chimes began playing.
Rory grabbed for the phone and answered.
“Yes, Jim. How are you?”
He listened for a moment.
“We’re both here,” Rory replied, sitting down next to Andrew. “What’s up?”
Andrew was on pins and needles as he watched the expression on Rory’s face change from uncertainty to surprise.
“Put it on speaker,” he pleaded.
“Hold on Jim. I’m going to put you on speaker phone.”
Rory pulled the phone away from his ear and pushed a button.
“Are you still there?” Rory asked.
“I’m here,” Jim replied. “Hi Andrew. How’s the vacation going?”
“That depends on why you’re calling us,” Andrew chuckled.
“Well, I just told Rory that I have some news for you,” Jim began.
Andrew and Rory looked at each other and held their breath.
Jim continued. “There is a pregnant young woman in Albany who is due in three weeks. They don’t know if the baby is a boy or a girl. The girl is white, the father half African American and half Latino. He has already signed away his parental rights so there isn’t an issue there. The mother is only fifteen so with the support of her parents, they have decided to give the baby up for adoption. Her uncle is gay and was never able to adopt a child because of his sexual orientation so she has specifically asked for a gay couple, and…”
“Don’t mess with us,” Andrew whispered.
They heard Jim chuckle through the phone. “I’m not messing with you,” he said. “Now there’s still three weeks so it’s not a done deal until all the papers are signed after the baby is born, but, she has selected you to adopt her baby.”
“Oh God, thank you!” cried Andrew.
“This is for real?” Rory asked.
“For real,” Jim replied. “You are going to be parents! I will wait for you to call me when you get home. That will still give us a couple of weeks.”
“Thank you for calling, Jim” Rory beamed. “You have made our day.”
“You’re welcome. Talk to you soon.”
Rory put the phone down very slowly, letting the words of their attorney sink in.
“We’re going to have a baby,” he grinned. “We’re going to have a baby!!”
*****
That evening at dinner, champagne was ordered and everyone cheered and toasted to Andrew and Rory.
“Just remember, it’s not a done deal until after the baby is born. She still has a few weeks to change her mind,” Andrew said.
“Why would they do that?” asked Maureen. “There are no two better men who deserve to raise a family.”
“Thank you Maureen,” smiled Rory. “Thank you everyone for your support over the past couple of years. It means the world to us.” He took Andrew’s hand in his.
“Well, fingers crossed all goes well and next month we will be celebrating the newest addition to the Lathem family.” Matt raised his glass.
“What is its last name going to be?” asked Tim.
All eyes moved to Andrew, and then to Rory, eyebrows raised. This was a question they all were curious about.
“Hadn’t thought about that yet,” Andrew replied honestly.
“Jeffers-Lathem, I think,” smiled Rory.
Andrew turned to him. “Really?”
“Yes. I think it sounds perfect.”
Andrew smiled and Rory nodded.
“Wonderful!” beamed Maureen.
Everyone toasted them again and dinner was served.
12.
DAY 10 – ANTIGUA
Patty sat on the Lido deck eating breakfast with Ella. It was just the two of them up bright and early so a date for pancakes it was.
Ella loved pancakes. Well, actually, she loved maple syrup and the pancakes just happened to always accompany it. She was chatting away about something, Patty didn’t know what. She actually only understood about every third or fourth word. Patty sat back sipping on her coffee watching her granddaughter lick the syrup from her fork and make conversation with the salt shaker. It had something to do with elephants and pineapples.
“She’s pretty darn cute,” came a voice from Patty’s left.
She turned her head to see a gentleman, she guessed around her own age, sitting at a table by himself, an empty plate in front of him, a cup in his hand.
“Thank you. I think we’ll keep her,” she smiled.
“Two?” he asked.
Patty looked back at him, not understanding the question.
“Is she two?” he asked again.
“Oh. Yes. She’s two.”
“I have a grandson that age. They are very…very…animated at that age,” he chuckled.
Patty agreed. “And they have wonderful imaginations.” She turned back to her cup of coffee.
A few minutes had passed and Janie arrived at their table.
“I’ve been looking for you for forever,” she sighed. “This place is huge.”
Janie kissed her mother’s cheek. “Thanks for taking her.”
“You’re welcome,” replied Patty.
“Okay Ella. Daddy’s waiting. We are going to go for a ride on a big horse today!”
Ella squealed with delight and tried to get off her chair.
“I guess she’s done with breakfast,” Patty grinned.
“Are you sure you don’t want to come with us?” Janie asked her mother.
“Oh no!” she shook her head. “Horses and I don’t do well together.”
“I’ve never even seen you anywhere near a horse let alone on one.”
“And you never will,” Patty declared. “I’ll see you guys back here later.”
“What are you going to do today?” Janie asked.
“I’ll find something. Don’t worry about me. You guys go have a great time.”
Janie held Ella’s hand and led her towards the elevator.
“You’re here with your family?” asked the man to her left.
“Yes. Well, my son-in-law’s family. Long story,” she said.
“I am here with my daughter and son-in-law and my three grandchildren. Maggie didn’t want me sitting at home,” he smirked.
“That sounds lovely,” Patty smiled.
“They are all going to play with manta rays or sharks or something today,” he chuckled. “Not really my idea of a good time.”
Patty smiled and took a sip of her coffee.
“I’m Lester,” he said.
“Patty,” she replied.
“Nice to meet you Patty. Would you care to share a taxi with me and go see the island?”
Patty’s jaw dropped open. She turned her head to look at Lester’s face. He looked sincere and he looked like a nice man. She took a couple of seconds to consider his offer. She could spend the day with M
aureen she supposed. Assuming Maureen didn’t already have plans. Or she could be spontaneous and live a little.
“Okay,” she smiled. “I’d love to Lester. I’m ready when you are.”
*****
Peter took his son golfing. It was one of the many things Peter had missed having Paul gone so much. As a teenager, it had been the activity that had kept the father and son close all through high school. And now, after many years, they again had the opportunity to play a round together.
By the third hole, Peter was already winning.
“I get a lot more practice than you,” he chuckled to his son.
Paul didn’t mind losing. It wasn’t really the golf he was looking forward to. It was spending some time with his dad.
“I think you’ll be a lot farther ahead by the time we’re done,” Paul replied grinning at his dad.
“Do you know what your next assignment will be?” Peter asked on hole number six as Paul was lining up to putt the ball in the cup.
“That’s the million dollar question,” Paul muttered as he struck the ball. It rolled in, much to Paul’s surprise and Peter walked to his son.
“Cryptic answer,” he mused.
“Dad, when I was younger, what did I want to be when I grew up?”
“Before you wanted to join the army?”
“I remember that. That was in high school. I mean when I was much younger.”
Peter thought for a moment and then a smile appeared across his face.
“You wanted to be a daddy.”
Paul looked at his father. “Anything else?” he asked.
“That’s all I remember. You used to sit in my lap and tell me you wanted to be a daddy just like me. I’m not sure that anything has ever made me prouder.” Paul could actually see the smile in his father’s eyes as he spoke.
*****
Mark and Katy were taking off their snorkeling gear after several hours exploring the ocean.
“That was a lot of fun,” Katy grinned. “We should do that again.”
“We could come back here on our honeymoon,” Mark suggested.
“Yes, we could.”
“Really?” Mark was stunned. “You’re actually talking about a honeymoon? Does that mean we might actually get married at some point?”
Katy slapped him on the arm. “I’m not that bad.”
“Sometimes you are,” he chuckled. “The mere mention of the word ‘wedding’ and you freak out.”
Katy looked offended. “I do not freak out!”
Mark looked at her. “Really?”
“I’m sorry,” Katy sighed. “I know I’ve been a bit…a bit hesitant.”
Mark threw his head back and laughed loudly. Katy slapped his arm again.
“Stop it!” she frowned.
“I love you, you know?” Mark grabbed her around her waist and kissed her quickly. “But you can be quite infuriating.” He let her go and slapped her ass. “The second you say you’re ready, I am going to drag you to the nearest priest and make you say ‘I do’!”
“Well, you may just get your wish one day.”
*****
After finishing his round of golf with his dad, Paul and David had gone kayaking with a group from the ship. The description of the excursion made it sound a little more exciting than they had actually experienced. Paul was more than a little disappointed as the tour bus let them back off at the pier.
“Kayaking in three feet of water is not really adventurous,” he declared to David as they walked in to the pier.
David chuckled. “Well it is for some of us. I thought it was pretty death-defying. I’m quite proud of myself.”
Paul grinned at his brother. “Wanna grab a beer before we head back?”
They entered an open-air bar and sat on a couple of empty barstools and David ordered two drinks. Then he headed off to the bathroom. Paul sat and watched the small waves hit the sandy beach. The waiter put two tall frothy glasses in front of him and he picked up one and took a long drink. As he replaced his glass on the bar, he saw Nic sitting on the other side of the bar, slightly hidden by a pole. She was playing with an umbrella in her drink, her elbow propped on the bar, her cheek in her hand.
David returned and sat down and Paul told him he’d be right back. He walked around to Nic and sat down next to her.
“Hey,” he said.
Her eyes looked in his direction, her head not moving. She continued to twirl the umbrella.
“Hi,” she finally sighed.
“You okay?”
“Fine. You know what? Actually I’m not fine.”
“Oh,” Paul frowned. “Is there something I can do to help?”
Nic dropped her hand away from her cheek and turned to Paul. Paul wondered if perhaps she was a little drunk.
“April was supposed to come on this cruise with her husband, but two months ago he moved out and filed for divorce.”
Paul sympathized with April’s husband. After just a couple of encounters with her he couldn’t imagine anyone being married to her and not file for divorce. He kept his thoughts to himself as Nic continued.
“So because I’m the only one she knows that doesn’t have an important job, yes, her words, not mine,” she smirked, “I was asked to come on this trip with her seeing as though she had already paid for two. She pleaded. No, she begged me to come. ‘You’ll have a great time’ she said. ‘We can forget all about men and just do a girls’ trip’ she said. Well, the second we stepped on that flippin’ boat, my only purpose was to be next to her in case the man she was chasing, in that second, had a friend. Then I was supposed to take the friend, you know, be a good sport and help her out, so she could forget about her sad heartbreak and move on. What a load of bullshit. She never had any intention of having a fun girl’s trip. She just wanted to get laid by as many men as she could find. I got played. So to answer your question, no, I’m not okay!”
Yeah, maybe more than a tiny bit drunk, he thought.
“So, man after man for the past week, I’ve had to sit and be pleasant because she wanted to do some guy she’d only just met. Chat up some lonely guy looking for love on a cruise ship. Yeah, been a real great vacation.”
Paul looked down and tried not to make eye contact.
“Oh, sorry,” she said. “I guess you’re one of those men, huh?”
Paul tried not to grin. “No apology needed, ma’am.”
“And now you go all Navy on me,” she huffed.
“Excuse me?”
“You know! With the ma’am. I’ve dated some of you Navy boys and let me tell you something. You are not all ‘An Officer and a Gentleman’ or ‘Top Gun’, believe me. I wouldn’t be on this stinkin’ cruise if Richard Gere or Tom Cruise had shown up, that’s for sure. No, you’re all a bunch of creeps who have a girl in every port and just lead us on. It’s all about you, isn’t it?”
“Well, I’m not a pilot. I’m a Seal.”
“Same difference!” she shrugged.
“Well if there is something I can do to help I’d be happy to assist you.”
“Thanks. Really. But I’m fine.”
“Okay then.” Paul stood and headed back to David.
“Everything alright?” he asked.
Paul grinned. “Yeah, fine. Nothing a little coffee and a few aspirin won’t fix.”
*****
The family met for dinner at seven. Maureen was thrilled with the idea of eating with her family every night.
“We should do this more than once a week when we get home,” she smiled.
Katy’s head jerked upwards and Andrew looked horrified.
“I think Sundays are good,” Matt said. “I don’t think we could manage more than that with all of our schedules.”
“Nice save,” mouthed Ben to his big brother.
Peter, having seen Katy’s pained expression at his wife’s suggestion, chuckled and changed the subject.
“Paul almost beat me today.”
Andrew dropped his knife. “
Really?”
Paul laughed and shook his head. “Not even close.”
And so the conversation was steered to the exploits of the Lathem family on the island of Antigua.
“So, Patty?” Derek asked. “I saw you having a drink on the pier with a man.”
It was Janie’s turn to whip her head around and look at her mother.
“A man?” she asked.
Patty played with her napkin and for several seconds and Janie didn’t think she was going to answer.
“Just a gentleman I met on the ship. We took a short tour of the island. It’s nothing scandalous!”
Matt smiled. “Did you have a good time?” he asked.
“Yes. Yes I did.”
Matt turned and looked at Janie, eyebrows raised.
“Well that’s nice,” Janie said, her eyes never leaving Matt’s.
He nodded and took her hand and kissed her palm. “That’s a good daughter,” he whispered.
Janie frowned and looked at her mother. She looked as though she didn’t have a care in the world. A man?
Matt squeezed her hand and caught her attention.
“Leave it,” he whispered.
A man?
13.
DAY 11 – SAN JUAN
Katy awoke with her cheek resting on Mark’s chest, their legs entwined, and the sunshine streaming through the glass door. It was still early, as Mark usually woke before her and he was still in a deep sleep.
Carefully, she slid from the bed and tiptoed to the bathroom, quietly closing the door behind her. A dream had awoken her; a dream of their honeymoon. It was warm and peaceful and they were on a beach with the most amazing clear water at their feet. She was happy and calm.
With a smile on her face, her eyes had opened and she was instantly disappointed it had not been real. It was time. She was ready. When they returned home, she would tell Mark she would marry him, and the sooner the better.
She crept back to bed and slid back under the covers. She didn’t go back to sleep. She cuddled with the man of her dreams.
*****
“She’s dating a strange man she met on a ship! How can I not be worried?” sighed Janie.
Matt pulled her closer to his side and kissed her forehead. He was trying not to downplay his wife’s concerns but he also knew that Patty was a grown woman who was able to make her own decisions. Her judgment could be trusted.