by A. E. Radley
“I don’t think we got your name?” Graham said.
“Serena Rubio,” Annie said, hoping her cheeks weren’t as red as she felt they might be.
“Pleasure to meet you,” Graham said. “Sorry if I’m a bit pushy. I just love these ships, and I know some people miss some of the wonderful things on board.”
“But if she wants to know about them, she’ll ask,” Louise said, effectively stopping another attack from Graham.
Silence loomed over the table, and Annie wasn’t in the mood to break the deadlock. Instead, she observed her fellow passengers making their way to various assembly points. She was pleasantly surprised by the sheer diversity of people on board.
She’d always assumed that cruises were for the rich and that a cruise consisted of mainly wealthy white couples, but that didn’t seem to be the case aboard Fortuna. There were people from various ethnicities, a wide age range, families, solo travellers, and she could even see a few same-sex couples.
She people-watched for a while, soaking up the atmosphere. While no one wanted to assemble for an emergency drill, everyone still seemed excited with the prospect of being on the ship. She heard snippets of conversations talking about the pools, the shows, the food, and the excursions.
Deep down, she started to feel a little tingle of excitement herself.
She’d gotten away with it. She was on a ship where, surely, she was safe? Who could possibly know she was on board? The gangway had been raised, so everyone was aboard. There was a good chance that she had seven days of respite from the nightmare that was her life now. A whole week of not looking over her shoulder. Time to make plans and implement them. Time to rest.
Once the drill was over and they could finally be dismissed.
She turned back to Louise. “How long does this usually take?”
“Not long,” Louise reassured her. “They have to make sure everyone has attended. Then they do some things on the bridge, totalling numbers, I suppose. Then we watch a video, and then the captain will speak to us.”
It sounded longer than Annie would like, but she knew there was little she could do but wait. She carried on looking around the promenade, wondering if she might pop out of her room now and then and sample one of the cafés.
It seemed entirely likely that once she was at sea, she would be safe from the Ortegas. From there on, her only issue would be pretending to be Serena Rubio and ensuring that no one realised she wasn’t who she said she was. Keeping to herself would solve that issue—weren’t celebrities meant to be standoffish anyway?
After a few minutes, screens around the guest services area sprang to life. Annie turned in her chair and looked at one of the screens behind a guest services desk. The chatter from the crowd died down, and a safety video began to play. It was a cartoon, taking the edge off of the fact it was discussing fire, crashes, evacuations, and life vests. Annie half-listened, assuming that in the event of a disaster, she’d probably just follow Elvin as he seemed capable enough.
The video went on for a few minutes. At the end they explained that the ship’s emergency signal was seven short blasts on the ship’s whistle followed by one long blast, as well as an internal alarm system.
A few seconds went by before the ship’s whistle started to sound, and an internal alarm blared through the promenade.
Well, I won’t miss that, Annie thought.
Finally, the alarms ended, and the screens changed to advise passengers to wait for a message from the captain.
Annie looked at her watch. She’d been there for twenty minutes.
“Not long now,” Graham reassured her. “And then we can go and get ready for dinner. We’re dining at eight, same as you.” He gestured to the pass key that Annie had tossed onto the table when she sat down.
She looked at the card, noting that her dining time was listed as well as the deck number where her dining room was located. She snatched up the card, thankful that her room number was on the back and out of view.
She was about to reply when the screens flickered. Annie turned to see the screen. A lump formed in her throat at the sight of a gorgeous older woman dressed in a crisp, white shirt, black tie, and a navy-blue blazer with sparkling brass buttons.
“Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen,” the woman said. “I’m Captain Caroline West, and I’d like to personally welcome you aboard Fortuna, one of the largest cruise ships in the world. Thank you for attending the muster drill, your safety is important to us. In fact, safety is my number-one priority.”
Annie couldn’t help but stare.
Caroline West was confident, welcoming, authoritative, and attractive. She wasn’t at all what Annie had been expecting. In her mind, Captain West had been a man, definitely white, probably old. She guessed Caroline was in her early fifties, old enough to command respect but still in her prime.
“She’s been in charge of Fortuna for five years now,” Graham explained. “Great captain.”
Annie looked around and noticed people were glued to the televisions in a way they weren’t with the safety video. People were enraptured, taking in every word.
She’s a celebrity, Annie realised. Through the murmuring chatter, she could hear snippets of conversations of people saying they’d seen her, spoken to her, shared an anecdote with her.
Annie realised that she’d completely tuned out of whatever Captain West was saying and turned her attention back to the screen.
“So, with that, I again welcome you aboard, and I hope to see many of you throughout this week-long cruise to some of the most wonderful destinations in the western Mediterranean. Thank you, crew dismissed.”
Immediately, the staff around them started to move from where they were politely barricading people into their muster assembly points, and large swathes of people started to move.
“I’ll see you later,” Annie said, hurrying to get up and get lost in the crowd before Graham or Louise could realise they hadn’t set up a meeting time or place, and had no idea where her room was.
“See you later,” Louise called back.
The Shelbys
Annie turned onto her back in the soft bed and stretched her arms out wide. She must have fallen asleep the moment her head hit the pillow because she didn’t remember much after returning to the room following the drill.
She picked up her watch from the bedside cabinet and squinted at the display. It was seven; she’d been asleep for more than two hours. A bit longer than the quick catnap she had planned, but obviously she needed the rest.
She reached for the remote control and turned on the television. She hated the silence and needed some background noise, anything to feel like she wasn’t completely alone. Channel-hopping for a while, she stopped when she saw Caroline West.
Her thumb hovered over the channel button, debating whether she would move on or stay and listen to the captain talk about weather fronts.
“Suppose it’s good to know what the weather will be like tomorrow,” she mumbled to herself, tossing the remote control on the bed.
A loud rap sounded at her stateroom door, and she jumped in surprise. She got up, glad that she had, again, fallen asleep fully dressed, and rushed over to look through the peephole.
Elvin stood in the corridor, his hand resting on the handle of her suitcase. Serena’s case.
She took a deep breath and reminded herself to maintain her slight Spanish accent, aware that she was already forgetting it on occasions. She opened the door wide for him to enter the room.
“Hello, Miss Serena. Here is your luggage.”
She’d forgotten all about the luggage issue. Being tired and drained from recent events had definitely left her muddled.
“Thank you, Elvin.”
He entered the room and pulled a luggage rack from the wardrobe and lifted the heavy case onto it. “Can I get you anything else?”
“Yes, I think I might order room service,” Annie said, plucking up the room service menu from the magazine rack.
�
��But you are dining in the dining room?”
Annie looked over the top of the menu. “No, I’m not.”
“Mr Shelby asked me where your room was. He said you were dining together tonight,” Elvin explained, looking a little confused.
“Shelby? Graham Shelby?” Annie asked.
Elvin smiled in relief. “Yes, Mr Graham.”
Annie let out a groan. “Oh, Elvin, I wanted to hide from them. I wanted to have a quiet dinner alone.”
All traces of happiness vanished from Elvin’s face in a flash. “I’m so sorry, Miss Serena. He said that you had spoken but had forgotten to give him your room number. He will be here to pick you up at five to eight.”
Elvin looked heartbroken that he had done something wrong.
“Okay. It’s not a problem,” Annie said, wanting to reassure Elvin that he hadn’t committed some hideous crime. “I was just feeling a bit tired, but I have my case now, so I suppose I can get ready quickly and have one dinner with them.”
“I could tell him you are unwell?” Elvin suggested.
Annie scrunched up her nose and shook her head. “I think then he would just insist that I go tomorrow. Might as well get it done.”
She smothered a yawn with her hand.
“You are tired. Should I get you some tea? Coffee?” Elvin asked, almost bouncing with the thrill of having a way to put things right.
Annie realised she could probably do with a kick of caffeine if she was going to sit through a three-course meal with the Shelbys.
“You know what, Elvin, that’s a great idea. I’d love some coffee.”
Elvin was already moving when Annie realised something.
“Oh, Elvin, what’s the dress code for dinner?”
“It is not a formal night tonight. So, casual.” Elvin looked like he wasn’t saying something.
“But… you’d recommend I dress a little formally?” she guessed.
“The Shelbys are on the big table, so it might be a good idea?”
“Formal, it is.” She nodded.
“I will get you that coffee.”
“Brilliant, I’ll need to speed up if I’m going to be ready in under an hour,” Annie said.
Elvin left the room, and Annie blew out a sigh. She should have guessed that Graham wouldn’t leave her alone. She consoled herself with the knowledge that this would be the one and only time she dined with him and his wife; getting it out of the way on the first night was probably a good thing.
She opened her suitcase and hoped that Serena had packed something that she could wear for a formal dinner.
In fact, she hoped she had packed a lot of things. It was only now that Annie realised she’d boarded the ship with the clothes she was wearing and a hope that someone else’s case would contain everything she needed.
Annie quickly started to empty the case onto the bed. There was a toiletry bag which, thankfully, had everything she needed including the essentials and what looked like a brand-new toothbrush.
Next, she found swimwear, shorts, skinny jeans, tops, dresses, and underwear.
Annie ruffled her nose. She hadn’t thought of that. She didn’t want to wear Serena’s underwear; that was just too weird. She’d have to see if there was a place on board where she could buy new pairs.
Serena’s taste in clothes was slightly different to Annie’s. Her outfits were more revealing than Annie would usually favour. The dresses had plunging necklines and short hems. The shorts were a couple of inches shorter than Annie was used to.
“Good thing I’m not shy,” Annie muttered.
Every article of clothing was classy, something her previous wardrobe sorely lacked. Diego was constantly buying clothes for her, dressing her up like a doll. Sadly, his tastes were tacky, and it showed in the clothes he purchased and requested she wore. He spent large amounts of money on designer labels, but that didn’t mean that the result looked anything other than cheap.
Serena’s outfits were different, certainly revealing but in the style of a movie star rather than a hen night.
She held up a couple of dresses to her body in front of the full-length mirror beside the bathroom door. Admittedly, it was going to be tiny bit fun to play at being Serena Rubio for a while. She didn’t like lying to people, but she’d never see these people again anyway. It would be exciting to wear a celebrity’s clothes and swan around like she was an opera singer for an evening.
“So, with all of that being said, we hope for a very smooth departure from Barcelona this evening,” Captain West’s voice drifted from the television.
“It better be,” Annie replied. “I didn’t pack my sea legs.”
A knock on the door indicated that Elvin had returned. Annie opened the door, and he entered with a silver tray with a mug, a sugar bowl, some milk, and a carafe of coffee. He placed it on the desk.
“Would you like me to pour for you?”
Annie was about to say no, but he looked so eager to be helpful that she changed her mind and nodded. She’d already decided to give Elvin the almightiest tip when she left the ship.
She held up a black, floor-length dress. There was a slit up the right leg to her hip, and the straps were very thin. The front and back of the dress plunged down, exposing a lot of skin.
If I’m going to eat in the main dining room, I might as well splash out and wear something really elegant, she thought.
“What do you think, Elvin?” She held the dress in front of her body and turned to face him.
He beamed at her and nodded rapidly. “It’s beautiful, Miss Serena. Very nice.” He gestured to the tray. “Milk or sugar?”
“Just some milk, please.”
Elvin fixed the drink, glancing up at the television as he did. “You are keeping an eye on the weather?”
More like the captain, Annie admitted privately.
“Yes, to see if these sunny conditions will continue,” she said. “And calm seas. I’m not good on the water.”
“Captain West is an excellent captain. She will make sure we are safe,” Elvin assured.
“Have you ever met her?” Annie asked.
Elvin held out the mug for Annie to take. “A few times. She talks to the crew a lot at meetings and parties, but she is very busy, very in demand with the passengers.”
She took the mug and sipped. “I bet she is. Are there many female captains?”
Elvin shook his head. “She is the only one for this company. There are others, but not many. She is the best.”
Annie chuckled. “Better than the men?”
“Of course,” Elvin said.
“Good answer,” Annie said.
He grinned. “Can I get you anything else?”
“No, I better get ready before Graham gets here.”
“So sorry again—”
“Nothing to be sorry about, you were just doing your job. Don’t worry about it. Will probably do me good to get out and get some food,” Annie reassured him.
“I will clean your room while you are at dinner,” he said.
“Thank you, then I suppose I’ll see you tomorrow. Thank you for the coffee.”
“If you need anything else, please just call.” He smiled at her again before making his way out of the stateroom.
Annie thought he really was the sweetest man. He was very kind and obviously adored his job. She wondered if she was lucky and had encountered the best stateroom attendant by chance, or if everyone on the ship was as dedicated as Elvin.
She looked at her watch again and realised it was time to hustle if she was going to be presentable in time for dinner.
When Graham Shelby did arrive, Annie was very glad she opted to dress up. He wore a dinner jacket, the whole suit probably costing more than his fare on the cruise. Louise was beside him, wearing a tasteful blue gown with lace-capped sleeves.
“Oh my, you look lovely, dear!” Louise said. “Doesn’t she look lovely, Graham?”
“You look magnificent,” Graham said.
“Thank you,
you both look lovely as well.” Annie stepped into the hallway.
They started walking, Graham leading the way and Louise taking hold of Annie’s arm.
“The menu looks exquisite. They always have lovely food in the main dining room,” Louise said. “Do you know how it works?”
“No.”
“There’s a choice of eight dishes for each course, a starter, a main, and a dessert. So, you’re bound to find something you like. We have the drinks package, do you?”
Annie had no idea. “I’m not sure, I didn’t book it.”
“Show me your pass card,” Louise requested.
Annie unlinked her arm from Louise’s and dug through her small clutch bag and produced her pass. Louise looked at it and tapped it.
“Yes, you see that there? That’s the code for the drinks package. That means you can go anywhere on the ship and order whatever you like, alcohol, coffee, wines, beers, milkshakes. Anything, and it won’t be an extra charge,” Louise explained.
Annie silently thanked Serena, or Serena’s manager, for the convenience of an unlimited bar. Even if she probably wouldn’t use it that often.
They all stepped into the elevator, and Graham pressed the button.
Annie looked out of the glass windows at the other elevators and floors. Everything was either glass or open-plan, and she could see people milling about in all manner of clothes. Some people were in swimwear, presumably heading for the pool deck, some in shorts and T-shirts, some in dresses, some in ballgowns. It really was a diverse mix.
“We’re members of the Captain’s Circle,” Graham said.
“Oh, lovely,” Annie replied. He sounded boastful, and she wasn’t particularly interested in what clubs he had acquired access to through multiple cruises.
“Going on seven years now,” he added.
She was saved from having to come up with another reply by the doors opening. They all filed out of the elevator and walked the short distance to the main dining room entrance.
“Ah, Mr and Mrs Shelby, how lovely to see you again,” the greeter said. “And your guest, Miss Rubio, a pleasure.”