“So yes, I believe that about covers it. Like I said, you can find everything in the itineraries provided. There is also a first aid kit in the bathroom. Hopefully you won’t need it, but just in case. I don’t think I need to warn you about the balcony, though we recommend remaining inside if it gets windy, we’ve had no casualties yet on this cruise liner and we’d like to keep it that way, for your sake and of course ours. You’ll also find complimentary gifts in the cabin, buttered shortbread and bespoke Earl Grey blue flower Wellington Tea, a bottle of Chardonnay and after dinner chocolates. I hope we can cater to everything you might require and I bid you all a happy voyage. Would there be anything else you need?”
“No, dear, you have done a splendid job of explaining, I think we should be fine for the time being. We’ll just make ourselves at home now, I should guess”.
“Well, I shall take my leave then. I shall be back to check on you later”.
“Oh, yes, one more favour”.
“Yes?”
“What is your name?”
“Irini, ma’am, Irini Anastas”.
“That’s a pretty name, it sounds exotic, Spanish? Turkish?”
“Greek, ma’am”.
“Ooh, I’ve never been there, I’d like to go. Irini dear, could you take a photo of us?”
“Yes, no problem”, Irini replied, taking the DSLR camera from Christine.
“Just press the button there when you are ready”, Christine indicated, “Edward! Come over here, get in this!”
Her husband reluctantly dragged himself back into the cabin and took a spot between the two women, his wife and mother-in-law, before Irini could raise the camera to her face.
“Say cheese”, Irini instructed, to which they did, but there was no flash and after a moment of standing idle, it was evident that Irini was pressing the wrong button.
She lowered it and brought it over to Christine.
“Sorry, is it this button?” She asked, bemused.
“Oh no, dear, that one”.
“Oh, sorry they are so close together. Second time lucky”. She took a step back. “Cheese”.
This time the flash went off.
CHAPTER 3 - EDWARD
8:44am - 5 Days until outbreak
. . .
. . .
As Irini took her leave and his wife set about unpacking the bags, Edward returned to the balcony and gazed over the edge towards the docks of Southampton.
Little did his wife know he had once lived here, three long years of his life, three hard years of his life. Those were the years he would much rather forget, the years when his living standards were a cesspool of drink induced misfortune and terrible living standards.
If that accursed house and all the abhorrent memories it harboured had been reduced to nothing but rubble and dust in an intense inferno, it would truly be a blessing in disguise.
How long ago was that now? Far too long ago.
Luckily life had taken a turn for the better following those three years, albeit not perfect, but better and that was more than enough to ask for.
His father went on to rehab and cleaned himself up after finding religion, a born again. No matter how you looked at it, he was simply replacing one unhealthy obsession with another. His father was always one of those susceptible people, weak willed and people pleasing, until of course even that became too much for him to contend with.
Honestly, his transition wasn't the best result, not to say a newfound, long lasting relationship with God was anything but a good thing, but to use it as a weapon of self-righteousness against others, whilst concealing a turbulent history of ruining lives that he had done little in the way of making amends for, reeked of contradictions and hypocrisy. Still, of all the possible outcomes, Edward could live with this, he was going to have to come to terms with his father spending more time at the church than that with his family, learn from the mistakes of his father and swear not to repeat them.
His mother worked her ass off to keep things together at the best and the worst. At times she had to take on both roles and at other times it was a struggle for her to simply get out of bed in the morning, exhaustion and lack of zest for life having taken their toll on her. It was any wonder why she stuck with him when he was so clearly wrapped up in his own little world, but she swore an oath that she vigorously stood by to her own detriment.
Edward used the opportunity to help his mother and younger siblings the very first chance he got, determined to see her struggles end. Dropping out of school was probably the hardest decision he had ever had to make and the years to follow were certainly not easy, but he established his own business and found his footing again. As it turns out, the business boomed and even sailed its way through the recession. As it turns out, there are some things that people will always need.
Able to buy his family a better and bigger home, he finally managed to get them all out of the rut they had only ever known.
He chanced upon Christine on a trip to France, visiting a popular patisserie. Trying and failing miserably to ask in French for pastries, she stepped in and helped him out, speaking the language with such fluidity that she made him feel foolish for even attempting. To thank her, he extended the offer of a coffee with the pastries they had only just purchased, an offer she declined, but only because she was with friends, she did however suggest they meet for lunch, which they did and it was at that moment Edward realised just how incredible this woman was, as though she hadn't already impressed him enough.
No sooner did he return to London, he ended his on and off relationship with a woman he had disillusioned himself into thinking would one day want a permanent relationship with him and averted his undivided attention to Christine.
There were many aspects that attracted him to her, her extensive knowledge of good Jazz, her passion for fine dining, her headstrong demeanour, she knew exactly what she wanted and she wasn't afraid to make it march her way - she didn't do chasing - in timely fashion, one way or another. Besides that, she was quite the talented cook; one might say that her fingers had been bestowed with the gift of dazzling artistry where food was involved.
It took him less than a year to propose to her and Christine being Christine needed time to think about it, coming back to him an entire week later with the answer his ears couldn't have been more privileged to hear.
So here they were twenty-something odd years later, a questionably satisfied married couple with a gay daughter. Edward wasn't entirely sure where their marriage had taken a wrong turn right into a narrow cobbled alleyway or where he had so thoroughly buggered things up with the upbringing of his daughter, but this is where he was now, in a sexless marriage - Edward had honestly lost count how long it had been - held together only by sheer stubbornness and convenience and father to a confused daughter.
His wife busied herself in her self-started upper-class catering service affairs, his daughter was barely ever home and his life had conveniently become more and more preoccupied with business trips.
Yes, their little family, once a glowing beacon for all to learn from, had fallen apart, those once superficial cracks having opened up into gaping unavoidable crevices, threatening to send them tumbling into an unknown abyss if they didn't do something about it sooner rather than later.
It was Christine who decided upon this trip, convinced him to take some time away from work and spend some time with his family, a chance for them to rekindle what they had somehow lost over the years, she claimed. He had to admit that it was a good idea, even if he wasn't so keen on the choice for a vacation. What was wrong with just heading off to the Canary Islands or something? Why a ship of all things?
If it wasn't apparent, Edward and boats didn't particularly have a great history. He was prone to seasickness and being out there on the vast ocean with no land to escape to, filled him with a sense of dread that compared only to that of the thought of ever getting onto a roller coaster. Naturally he felt nervous now and thinking about everything else was a
bout the only thing keeping him calm enough to stay on the ship.
“This is… magical, don't you think?” Christine asked, stepping out onto the balcony alongside him.
“I wouldn't use the word magical, more like… hellish”, he remarked.
“Oh come off it, you could be a little more appreciative and optimistic, it really wouldn't hurt”.
“Believe me, I wish I could share your enthusiasm”.
“Are you going to be like this the entire trip? You'll put a dampener on the whole thing”.
“I certainly hope not… then again, I'm not puking my guts up yet, so I'll reserve judgement”.
“The least you could do is make yourself useful, come and help me unpack”.
“I will, love; I will… just as soon as I calm my nerves down. I'm going to go for a walk, I'll check up on the girls along the way”.
“They're not children, they can look after themselves, I'm sure they'll be fine”.
“Just checking”.
She sighed and shook her head in dismay.
“Do you know what your problem is? You worry about everything”.
He shuffled past her, back into the cabin.
“So you keep reminding me. I'll be back before you know it”.
“Do you even know where the girls are?”
“I know their cabin number, I'll find it”.
“I'll probably be done before you get back", she rambled, clearly not particularly happy with his decision to leave the cabin, “Well, since you insist on going, please see if you can find hand lotion, I'm not sure if what we have will be enough”.
“I'll be back at the drop of a penny”.
“I should certainly hope so”.
With that, he slipped out of the cabin room with keycard in hand, before she could lambaste him any further.
For all the diabetes levels of sweet that she was capable of being at times, there was that all too familiar overbearing side that came with; it probably wasn't all that difficult in hindsight to see why their daughter had decided to go on a rebellious rampage.
Honestly, Edward didn't really understand what it was that his daughter was going through, or whether or not this gay thing was merely a faze or a permanent fixture. Did it bother him? Initially probably, but perhaps that was mostly due to being confronted with the stark reality that he wouldn’t be getting a grandchild. Now that he had had time to come to terms with it, he had to admit that he harboured no ill feelings towards her choice of sexuality, he however knew better than to go against his wife on this, but was it to continue being at the cost of a relationship with his daughter. He knew better than to come between them, he had been blessed with two strong women in his life, but the flipside was that they were constantly at loggerheads.
There were certainly worst things in the world than his daughter being gay, for example discovering she was involved in any form of sex work, addicted to heavy drugs, or jailed for a heinous crime. It could be argued that his daughter was at least still on the side of sanity.
If he didn't think about it as deeply as he used to, he found that it was a great deal easier to contend with.
Slipping past people carrying and wheeling things to their cabins, he stopped before a crew member to ask her for directions.
“Sorry, one second, sir”, she replied, helping a family who had slipped in to ask for her assistance a mere second before him. They seemed like a nice family, a young couple and a little ginger haired boy with the sniffles. His interest in the family stemmed from the memories of what his own little family once were, happy, united, and inseparable.
Once she had answered their questions, the family went off in the direction they were given, the little boy continuing to wave back to her as they left.
“Yes, how may I help you, sir?” She asked, finally granting him attention. He peered down at her name badge; Faye was her name and her title, shore excursion manager.
“Hello Faye, sorry to bother you”.
“It’s no trouble”, she replied with a smile.
“I appear to have gotten myself a little lost, I was hoping you could direct me towards cabin number one, zero, five, zero. Are you the right person to ask?”
“Certainly, sir. Cabins numbered one thousand and up are on the first floor, two thousand and up on the second floor and so on and so forth. The numbers following determine where the cabin is in relation to the ship, lower numbers are towards the front. I hope that helps”.
“Thank you, Faye, you're a star”, Edward thanked her and was on his way.
Finding the girl’s cabin really wasn't as difficult as he had at first thought it might be with that lovely lady’s help, but that didn't mean the journey was any quicker, for besides weaving in and out of excitable, fairly overburdened holiday goers, there was simply far too much to distract, to steal attention away from his goal. Bars, restaurants, arcades, gyms, swimming pools, a cinema, bowling alley, pubs, casinos - something he resisted a tremendous urge to visit - and much more, chances were that anything you could think of was available on this ship.
Eventually he found himself standing before his daughter’s cabin door, in a corridor significantly less lavish than his own, her giggles coming from behind it. Contemplating the outcome of disturbing a possibly private moment between she and her girlfriend, he hesitated for a second, before plucking up the courage to knock.
“Who is it?” Returned the voice of his daughter’s girlfriend.
“It's Edward, I just came to check if you two found your cabin okay and settled in fine”, he replied.
“It's your dad”, he heard a lowered voice.
“We’re fine, dad”, his daughter replied.
“Do you have everything? If you need anything your mother has…”
“Jesus, dad, we're fine, honestly, if we need you, we’ll come and look for you”.
People in the corridor were beginning to glance over at him and he could bet they were thinking he was here to harass the young women inside the cabin.
Feeling a bit of an idiot standing outside the door, he slowly grew more irritable.
“I'd think you had the manners to say that to my face”.
There was a shuffle of someone approaching the door and the click of its electronic lock releasing, before the door itself opened just enough to see his daughter’s face.
“What is it?” She asked.
“No need for the attitude, can I come in?”
“No, we're changing, dad”.
“Oh, okay”.
“Is there anything else I can do for you today?”
“I’d appreciate it if you kept us in the loop, at least for our clarity of mind”.
“Dad, I’ve been living on my own for some time now, I think I’ll be fine”.
“It might not seem like much to you, but for your mother and I, it...”
“Okay, dad, okay I get it. I'll bear that in mind. Anything else?”
“No… no, that's all I needed to say”.
“See you later, dad. Don't worry; I'll keep you in the loop”. With that she shut the door on him before he could get another word out. There he stood once again feeling foolish.
Sighing, he left the door and the corridor.
What happened to the sweet and loving child she once was? Was this just part of maturity or some form of rejection towards parental interference?
If it wasn’t already apparent to her, Christine was going to have a mountain to climb repairing this relationship, convenient then that they were aboard the MS Heaven of the Seas, where better to find miracles than heaven.
Wow, that very cringe-worthy thought was precisely something his father would conjure up, scary.
He found himself standing amongst busy passengers accumulating in the lobbies and corridors, not being one for crowds, he beelined his way right out of there as briskly as possible and made his way to the upper decks, where he found a short strip of unique bars beside railings he could peer off of. It was horribly chilly, but as he
gazed up at the drinks behind the counter, he knew a stiff whiskey would warm him up soon enough.
A barman stood behind the bar cleaning glasses with the sound of Anna Swenton’s new single, Stranded, pumping out from the speakers behind him. That woman sure was talented.
“What have you got today?” Edward asked him. The barman placed the glasses to the side and stepped over to attend to him.
“Welcome aboard, sir. Your barman today is Adam. We have quite an array, anything in particular tickle your fancy?”
“Whiskey preferably. Do you have any Daviduke?”
“Well if it's whiskey you'd like, I can crack open a twelve year old, single malt bottle of Marley Brown, it’s a great deal better than the Daviduke we have”.
“Ooh, not too shabby, not too shabby at all. I'll have a glass of that then if you would”.
“Certainly, coming right up, sir”, the barman replied and began pouring him a glass. “You are my first customer, but a whiskey breakfast?”
“Wife, daughter”, Edward replied exhaustedly.
“Ah, I see. I hope this can at least offer some ease”.
“I hope so too, Adam. Pleasure to meet you, Edward”, Edward replied, taking a seat at a stool and outstretching his hand to shake the barman’s, who reciprocated.
“Ever get those days when you just wonder if life has some positives waiting around the corner for you, because you've certainly had your fair share of negatives?” Edward asked.
“I do indeed. I think you'd be hard pressed finding someone who hasn't”.
“That's me at the moment. I don't do well with ships or boats in general”.
“Oh? How did you find yourself to be on one then?”
“Wife, she insisted. Family bonding to be more specific”.
“I feel for you, sir”.
“You don't know the half. I don't think I've ever dreaded anything more in my life”.
“I'm sure it'll work itself out somehow, sir”.
“That's what I'm hoping for, hope is about the only thing I have left to cling to right now. I probably sound ridiculously melodramatic”.
Cryptophobia | Book 2 | Hell & High Water [Fear The Unknown] Page 3