“We’ll let you go and get settled and I’ll see you in a bit. We still have to unpack.”
I walked further down the hallway to my cabin where I unlocked my cabin door and entered for the second time. There, I began to check out the various room features. To my left was the toilet room with a sink and drinking glasses. On my right, shelving rose to the ceiling. Underneath the bottom shelf, I found three small drawers for storing my clothes. The room size was adequate for my needs since there was only a single bed in my room. I rolled my suitcase to the edge of the bed on the right and set my tote bag on top of the cloth bed protector. I strolled over to the small balcony which faced the ocean. Unlocking the sliding glass door, I stepped over the raised floor rail and out on the platform to smell the fresh humid air.
Ah, this was perfect for me as I envisioned having my hot chocolate on this balcony in the mornings. I sat down in one of the two white plastic and metal chairs divided by a small plastic table. The barrier in front of me, which separated me from the open drop below, was some type of plexiglass secured with metal railings.
Inside my cabin near the sliding glass door was another vertical shelf containing a small refrigerator on the bottom and a television set on top. I re-entered my cabin and turned on the TV to discover the station was set to the ship’s channel. There were details about the ship and a brief welcome aboard by the captain. Deciding that was not to my interest, I turned it off.
I sat on the edge of the bed taking it all in when a thought about Henry caused my eyes to mist. Upon hearing a knock at my cabin door, I wiped my face and pulled opened the access.
“Come in,” I said to Trisha. “Is your cabin like this one?”
“Similar, but then we have two beds in ours. Oh, you haven’t unpacked yet. Need help?” she asked.
“Oh no, I was just sitting here... thinking...” I trailed off as my eyes once again began to tear. I don’t know why.
“Oh, Susan what’s the matter?”
“I don’t know. I guess I get emotional about some things.”
“It’s all right. You were thinking of Henry, weren’t you?” she asked and headed for the bathroom.
“I guess. I was thinking I wished he were here to enjoy this wonderful trip with me.”
My friend handed me a couple of tissues from the sink counter in the restroom.
“Well, he is in spirit. Dry your eyes and let’s put some of your stuff away,” Trisha consoled.
I nodded and blew my nose.
“I don’t have much. Isn’t there a buffet open? I feel a little hungry,” I said, rising off the edge of the bed.
“Oh, that’s why I came over. Ooo, did you feel that? Good thing I just took my seasick pill.”
“I did. The ship must be moving,” I exclaimed, feeling the slight jerk beneath my feet.
I heard the ship’s horn blow and felt the vibration under my feet. We both looked out of my balcony window and decided to sit outside for a moment. A few people on the dock were waving back at us as the ship drew away. Looking around I saw several other passengers in the balconies below us waving toward shore.
“Hi, neighbor,” I could hear Larry’s baritone voice two balconies over.
We waved back at him and started giggling.
“That’s the spirit. Come on and let’s check out the food,” Trisha said. “Make sure you take your pass key with you.”
“Got it,” I replied, lifting the card up in the air to show her as we left my cabin.
Every kind of food you could imagine was available in the buffet on Deck Five. You could have lunch or dinner at the same time. The desserts, stacked high on tiered shelves, tempted us. But I told myself, ‘no,’ and refused to look at them.
I decided to eat light since we would probably have a heavy dinner tonight. I picked up an apple, some cottage cheese, and Chinese vegetables that I topped with rice. The meal smelled good to my growling stomach.
We found a table near one of the broad windows away from the main seating area where I saw a seagull fly by outside. The separate room was less noisy in this section.
“I want to explore, Hon,” my friend said, holding up a chicken wing she was about to eat.
“Okay, we can do that as soon as I get my dessert,” he said, chowing down on a hamburger.
After we were finished eating, Larry stood up and went back to the dessert bar to retrieve his treat.
“Larry was cutting down on snacks before we left but I’m afraid this trip will add the pounds,” Trisha said, leaning over to me.
“I bet by the end of this trip we’ll be so sick of all this food. Larry should be all right, let him enjoy himself,” I said while a steward gathered up our used plates.
Larry brought back a chocolate pudding with a chocolate chip cookie and wore a large grin on his face.
“Oh, you stinker,” Trisha said, looking over at his dessert.
“There’s plenty over there, Trish.”
“Well, hurry up so we can walk all this food off,” she replied.
He scraped the last dollop from the dish and smacked his lips on purpose in front of his wife. She gave him a light slap on his beefy arm.
We left the main buffet area to the many conversations going on at once from each table and made our way through the exit doors to an open deck. The humid air was crisp and cool but smelled fresh. We stood at the railing and watched more seagulls below us soar above the crests of the rising black water of the ocean. I think one of the crewmen was throwing fish parts down to
