“I was, sorry, I just prefer to use my own”.
“That's okay too. We have changing rooms and small lockers in the back. Please store your things in there”.
“Thank you”, Christine replied, growing a little impatient.
“This is the Zen room, you can relax here, drink tea or cocktails and read magazines or our collection of books whilst you wait for the availability of any of our facilities”.
“Okay, thanks”.
“Is there anything else I can help you with, ma'am?”.
“No, that'll be all. Thanks again”.
“Okay ma'am, enjoy. Don't be afraid to speak to any of us if you encounter any problems”.
The woman finally left Christine to her own devices and to be entirely honest, the feeling was akin to setting a child loose in a toy shop.
Christine wasted little time putting her toiletries away in order to bask in life's rare luxurious moments. She registered her name for a full body shiatsu and made her way to the tub.
It wasn't long before she was able to slip into the revitalizing heat of the hot tub. Every muscle in her body relaxed and she uttered a satisfied sigh. She would have preferred to not have to share the tub with others… she’d have preferred to not share any of the spa treatments with others to be entirely honest, but this was as much as she could ask for.
There she remained for another half an hour, fighting off relaxation induced drowsiness, before stepping out and making her way back to the Zen room to indulge in a cheeky cocktail.
She took a seat on one of the lounging sofas; soft and deep, almost body embracing and picked up a glamour and style magazine. Flicking through the pages and sipping her cocktail, a lady took a seat next to her.
They sat beside each other in silence for what seemed like five minutes before the lady interrupted her, much to Christine's initial irritation, she came here to escape disturbances, not encounter more of them.
“Sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you, I've just been glancing at that cocktail you have, it looks simply marvellous, how does it taste? I'm not usually one for alcohol, but I'd consider a naughty cocktail here if it's any good”.
“It most certainly is”, Christine replied, feeling a little guilty for her prior cold attitude, “this one is cherry and apple blend, it's called Saultana”.
“I think I'll treat myself to one”, the lady replied and left Christine's side to retrieve one from the bar. She returned with a cocktail in hand and a satisfied look on her face.
“My goodness, it's delicious, a little strong though”, she declared, wincing.
“Isn't it just?”
“I almost feel like a teenager again”, a statement that seemed a distant memory to Christine.
“It’s the perfect means to leave behind the daily grind”.
The lady chuckled.
“My name is Rohini, it's a pleasure to meet you…”
“Christine, and the pleasure is all mine”.
“Is this your first time here?”
“It is”.
“Have you had a chance to try any of the facilities yet?”
“Just the hot tub, and you?”
“I've had a manicure and pedicure, so I don't think I'll be taking a dip, I do however want a Thai massage”.
“I'm due for a shiatsu full body massage myself”.
“That should be nice”.
“I certainly hope so, it's about the only thing I have to look forward to besides the heat of the Caribbean at the moment”.
“That's certainly sad to hear, I hope things get better”.
“I do too, this trip is something of a family reunification, but here I am trying to avoid confrontation”.
“I’d probably be out of place saying this and feel free to tell me so, but I lost some dearest friends a few years ago. They weren't family, but I considered them as such. It pains me every day to know I'll never see them again, so whatever the case might be between you and your family, I'm more than certain you can resolve it”.
“I suppose you are right, I appreciate that bit of advice”.
“Mountains and molehills”.
“Very true, I don't know until I try, right?”
“I'm sure you'll be glad you did”.
Just then Christine's name was called out on the intercom.
“Well, that's me. It was a pleasure meeting you, Rohini”.
“The pleasure was all mine”, Rohini replied.
Christine took her leave. She stepped into the massage parlour, removed her gown and lay down flat upon the massage table.
Within moments she was lost in a bliss induced trance, her masseuse incredible with her hands, relieving her of all the tension built up in her shoulder and lower back muscles.
If this wasn't the life, Christine didn't know what was. That Rohini was right though, sooner or later she'd have to confront her family and iron out their differences, they were getting nowhere at this rate and if she allowed it to continue, the entire trip would pass without a single thing having been resolved, or at the very least discussed.
Feeling somewhat invigorated by the advice, however spontaneous it was, Christine had decided to arrange a family meeting for tomorrow; no more hiding, it was time to put all their problems on the table.
Rachel sat at the American diner style restaurant alongside Lori, flicking through her phone and making use of the hour of paid Wi-Fi she had available to catch up with Jeremy and Terri. Wi-Fi certainly wasn't cheap, in fact it was downright extortionate, but what other choice did she have in the middle of the ocean.
“Are you planning to eat those?” Lori asked, pointing towards Rachel’s curly fries.
Rachel gave her a disapproving look from the corner of her eye and went back to her phone.
“Go on, take them”.
“What was that look for?”
“I'm pretty sure your stomach is bottomless”.
“I'm hungry, what can I say. Can you blame me after last night?”
“Take some personal accountability, you were much of the reason last night happened”.
“Don't act as though you didn't have a great time, don’t think I didn’t see you twerking on the dance floor”.
“Me? Twerking? Never!”
“Oh hell yeah, with my own two good eyes I saw it, your ass was indeed moving in a way that constitutes twerking”.
“God… I must have been pretty gone last night”.
“I didn't say it. What's going on back home?”
“Not much. Group chat, Terri’s boyfriend moved in, Jeremy is fussing over the proposal to his girlfriend, Terri told him to calm the fuck down, ooh and he got his diploma”.
“Oh really? Tell him congratulations for me”.
“Will do”, Rachel replied, grabbing a chip and popping it into her mouth.
“Toilet run”, Lori declared and slid off of her seat.
A woman pulled up to and leaned against the take-away counter on the opposite side of Rachel and ordered a meal, before becoming oddly fascinated by Rachel.
“Hey, I know you, you were the one trying to break-dance last night”, she blurted out. Rachel wasn't initially sure who this woman was talking to, but her gaze towards her made it apparent.
“Me?” Rachel replied.
“Yeah you, who else?”
“Sorry, you must have mistaken me for someone else, I don't break-dance”.
“Notice how I worded the sentence, trying to”. She laughed.
“I don't think that was me”.
“Oh no it was definitely you and no judgement, you looked pretty drunk. You couldn't break-dance for shit, but I love people who just want to enjoy themselves and don't give a shit who's watching”.
“Erm…”
“I apologise, that was out of the blue, I'm Wendy. I was at the same club as you last night and saw you getting down with who I think was yours and two male friends”.
Rachel’s curiosity was sparked. She turned towards Wendy.
&nb
sp; “Oh? How do you know those two weren't our boyfriends?”
“Bullshit. I know what I saw and there was no chemistry between you two and those two, the only chemistry between you and them that I saw was the spontaneous combustion of your attempts to impress them with your moves on the dance floor”.
“Very funny”, Rachel replied, “You should be a comedian”.
“I'm sorry, I'm in a silly mood today. What's your name?”
“Rachel and my girlfriend's name is Lori, she's just popped to the toilet”.
“Ah, I see. So what brings you two fine movers aboard the MS Heaven of the Seas?”
“Pleasure and relaxation”.
“Couple or party?” She asked, picking up her order.
“Unfortunately the latter, though fortunately you would never guess it based on how cold we've been towards each other since we've gotten onto the ship, not that our relationship basked in the heat of the Sahara to begin with”.
“Sorry to hear that. Well if you two are ever up for partying with me and some other friends, our cabin number is twenty twenty, bell us on the cabin phones or just come a-knocking”.
“I'll be sure to bear that in mind”.
“Sweet, later”.
“Bye”. Wendy left just as Lori returned.
“Who was that?” She asked.
“It appears I have something of a fan base”.
Rachel and Lori returned to their cabin to find a sticky-note pasted on their door reading ‘Rachel, tomorrow, our cabin, family meeting 12 o’clock sharp. If you don't show, we'll assume you want nothing to do with this family any longer”.
Almost instantly Rachel felt annoyed, her chirpy mood shattered into a thousand little pieces.
“For fuck sake, seriously? Now you want to have a fucking family meeting? To discuss what?” Rachel snapped.
“You should probably give them a chance”, Lori replied.
“Why the fuck are you defending them? They even left you out of it, as though completely disregarding your existence!”
“Well technically I'm not family, so it shouldn't be that much of a surprise, calm down”.
“Don't give me that and don't tell me to calm down! They know full well that we are together, a couple, it's all or fucking nothing”.
“Look, getting angry about it isn't going to resolve anything, sleep on it and decide what you want to do tomorrow”.
Rachel went silent, prompting Lori to continue.
“What's the worst they could say? Something not out of the realm of what they've said before? I appreciate the fact you'd want me there, but to be frank with you, I’d rather not be there with your family whilst and if they rip me to pieces. Furthermore, I don't want to prevent sensitive and personal issues from being discussed. Believe it or not, you need this, Rachel, there are clearly things you want to get off of your chest and this is the platform to do that. Say what needs to be said without worrying about what I might hear or see”.
Rachel sighed frustratedly and ran her fingers through her hair.
“This isn't going to end well, I can just feel it”.
“Don't paint a doom and gloom portrait before you've even tried”.
“I don't need to, such is always the way with my fractured dysfunctional family”.
“Well… I won't argue with you there, but you know you need to be there, right?”
“Ugh… I don't want to think about it until tomorrow. Let's have some fun”, Rachel replied, scrunching up the sticky-note in her hands.
“What did you have in mind?”
“We haven't tried the water slide yet”.
“Aren't we too old for that?”
“For what? A water slide? What are you? My grandmother? I already have one bitter one on the ship, I don't need another one”.
“Okay, okay, you've made your point”.
“After that we can go to the cinema or theatre, your choice, followed up with dinner”.
“You have yourself a deal”, Lori replied. They stepped into the cabin to change into their swimsuits, fully prepared for the less than ideal weather conditions and in spite of that, had a tremendous amount of fun, so much fun in fact that the rest of the day slipped by faster than either of them could have imagined.
CHAPTER 11 - EDWARD & MARTHA
11:37am - 2 Days until outbreak
. . .
. . .
The following morning Martha made her way back to her cabin, returning from her morning walk around the ship. It was a routine that kept her both level headed and gave her opportune moments to sneak in a cigarette.
She wasn't particularly interested in getting involved in all the group activities with other people, she certainly didn't want to bore herself silly in the company of all the pensioners, she was old, but this brain of hers was younger and more active than probably a large majority of the people on this ship and she certainly had no desire to spend the entire trip locked in that claustrophobic cabin.
So to alleviate that anxiety, boredom and frustrations, she went for walks, the zoo-folk living out their everyday lives were entertaining enough to watch and for when it wasn't, she could always gaze out into the open ocean and puff away at a calming cigarette, praying for something drastic enough to force them to return home.
Making her way through the corridor towards her cabin, someone small bumped head first into her, almost knocking her to the ground.
“Watch where you are going?” She snapped irritably and looked up to see a little ginger haired boy holding his nose, blood stains covered his shirt, nosebleed.
“I'b sobby”, he replied, with what looked to be his mother running up behind him.
“I sincerely apologise, his nose started bleeding incessantly, I told him to run back to the cabin, this is my fault. Did he get blood on you?”
Martha checked her clothes and only found tiny blood stains, but blood stains they were, however small.
“Yes”.
“I'm truly sorry, I'll have them washed and dry cleaned, or pay for any damaged clothing. Please come and find me later, my cabin number is one zero sixty two and my name is Nora Tyler”.
Martha nodded and sighed.
“Make him sit down and firmly pinch the soft part of his nose, just above the nostrils, for about ten minutes or so. While he's doing that, get him to lean forward and breathe through his mouth, that will drain the blood down his nose instead of down the back of his throat. Ask the cafeteria or med-bay for an ice pack or frozen veg and with a towel, place it on the bridge of his nose whilst staying upright in order to reduce the blood pressure in the blood vessels of his nose and that will discourage further bleeding. If and then the bleeding eventually stops, you shouldn’t need to seek medical aid, but you should prevent him from blowing or picking his nose, too much physical activity, lying flat and hot beverages for at least a day to avoid infections. Just tread on the side of caution for anything involving the nostrils and let them heal”.
The mother of the boy appeared taken aback by the sudden advice, but managed to nod.
“Th… thank you, are you a doctor?”
“Surgeon to be exact, so I’ve had my fair share of encounters with blood”.
“Oh, okay, well that’s good to know. Freddie hasn't been most well the last couple of days, he came back with the sniffles one day after school and we thought it was just a cold, so we didn’t cancel the trip, but it’s been steadily getting worse and I’m getting worried. He was sweating profusely and twitching erratically in his sleep last night, which I’m certain isn’t normal”.
“I know a thing or two, but I’m a surgeon. If he continues to deteriorate, get the first flight back to the UK you can find. For the time being, get him seen by the on board medical staff”.
“I… I will, thank you. Please come see me later. Come Freddie”, she replied, taking her leave and hurrying her son to their cabin. Martha watched them off. Something didn’t sit well with her. Sweating? Twitching? Did he have a virus? If so, was it
contagious? That little brat probably infected her now too. These amateur parents and their laissez-faire attitudes could end up being the bane or demise of them all.
Irritable and impatient, Martha returned to her cabin, whereupon Christine descended upon her with her false pity.
“Mum, what happened? Where did that blood come from?”
“It’s no bother, a child with a nosebleed bumped into me, don't make a fuss, it's unbecoming”, Martha replied, pushing past her daughter abruptly.
“Don't make a fuss? What would you have me do? Pretend you didn't walk into the cabin with blood stains on your blouse?”
Martha didn't reply. Why drag this pointless melodrama out any longer than it needed to be?
She made her way to the bathroom and cleaned up, making sure not to touch her face in case that boy was contagious. She probably washed her hands at least three to four times, scrubbing deep and making sure not to miss a spot. She wouldn't chance it and the sooner they got off of this oversized Petri dish, the better.
She stepped out of the bathroom to find Edward standing there, looking somewhat pathetic. She hadn't seen much of him whilst on-board, it was any wonder where he disappeared off to on his own so often.
He merely greeted her with a passing glance and returned his gaze to Christine. Martha never liked that man.
“I left a message on her door, surely she saw it”, Christine proclaimed, continuing a conversation they had started.
“Well the message you left her may have been misconstrued as passive aggressive, it certainly shouldn't be any wonder that she doesn't turn up if that was the case”, Edward replied.
Martha changed into a clean blouse whilst the couple back and forthed about whether or not Rachel was likely to make an appearance… and then she did.
Cryptophobia | Book 2 | Hell & High Water [Fear The Unknown] Page 10