At St. Lucia, Wendy and the others had rented jet skis from the onboard marina and had ridden around, even up to the beach. She hadn’t forgotten about it but when thinking of getting off a ship, a lifeboat was always the first thought. Wendy did wonder why the crew hadn’t used them, but was thankful because they were there.
Another change they made was clearing the large suite beside them and opening the door between the two rooms. Their room sat at the corner of the starboard stern and the balcony looked over the stern. The balcony for the other room looked starboard or to the right of the ship, if you were facing the bow or front.
Hearing Ryan babbling, Wendy moved inside and saw Ryan kicking his legs in the air from the pallet they’d put him on before going to the balcony. The day before yesterday, Ryan had showed them that he knew how to roll over, even rolling over the pillows they’d surrounded him with. As they had scanned the shore, they’d all heard the thump and turned as Ryan had let out a scream.
Only scared by the fall, Ryan had been okay. Now, if they weren’t in the bed with Ryan, he slept on the floor.
Picking Ryan up, Wendy watched the twins pull over the highchair they had moved into the room. “Don’t feed him the green beans,” Sally grumbled.
Laughing as she put Ryan in the highchair, “Sally, he has to eat and Ryan really likes the green beans,” Wendy told her as she buckled Ryan in.
The girls grabbed bowls and cereal and then pulled a jug of milk from an ice chest. Wendy sat down, opening up the baby food jar. “What do you want me to cook today?” Wendy asked, dipping the baby spoon in the jar. Ryan slapped his hands on the highchair and opened his mouth before the spoon was even out of the jar.
“Grilled cheese,” the twins cried out and Wendy gave a sigh, putting the food in Ryan’s mouth.
“Girls, I’ve cooked that every day. How about soup to go with the grilled cheese?” Wendy offered as she refilled the spoon. When Wendy had found out the kitchen stoves still worked off stored propane, she’d cooked them one meal at least every day.
After looking at each other, the twins nodded while picking up their spoons. “Okay,” they said in unison.
Glancing over at the girls, Wendy no longer needed the barrettes to tell them apart. Even when they spoke and Wendy wasn’t looking at them, she could tell which one it was, most of the time. “Sally, you need to brush your hair again,” Wendy said and then spooned more food into Ryan’s gaping mouth.
Sally gave a groan and then scooped up a spoonful of cereal. “I can do it,” Wendy offered.
“You brush hard,” Sally mumbled.
“Not as hard as she brushes teeth,” Jo Ann said under her breath.
“Girls,” Wendy said, guiding the spoon to Ryan’s mouth. “You have to brush your teeth, so you don’t get cavities. I can assure you, neither of you want me to fix a cavity.”
“What about the dentist?” Jo Ann asked.
Refilling the spoon, the tiny bit of joy Wendy had felt left. “Girls, I’m sure some are alive, but the world is changed now,” Wendy told them with her voice breaking.
Dipping her spoon into her bowl, Sally just pushed the cereal around. “You think those people on the radio were telling the truth about all the sick people, don’t you?” Sally asked in a small voice.
Wendy and the girls had listened to the radio, but never called out again. In truth, Wendy had been hoping to hear from the other dozen cruise ships parked around them. Before the storm, there had been sixteen cruise ships around them. The other ships were about half a mile apart but this morning, they’d found one just a thousand yards away. Also, there were only fifteen around them now. Wendy was hoping when they headed to the bridge they would see the missing ship further out to the northeast, since they couldn’t see in that direction from the balcony.
“Girls, what I think is a terrible virus has hit us, killing many and those of us left have to rebuild,” Wendy said solemnly.
Slowly, the girls ate because if they didn’t, Wendy would feed them and to them, that was worse than the teeth brushings.
“What if the sharks eat the jet ski?” Jo Ann asked, taking a bite.
Looking over as she refilled Ryan’s spoon, “Then I won’t slow down,” Wendy smiled, but even she was worried about that.
With the balcony door open to let a breeze in, they all turned when they heard the soft report of a gunshot. They all stared at the open balcony door. “Wendy, do you think Anthony has friends on the land, waiting?” Sally asked.
Turning away from the door and feeding a spoonful to Ryan, “If he does, then I’ll do the same to them,” Wendy said with iron in her voice. “I’ll kill anyone that threatens any of you.”
Hearing Wendy tell them again, Jo Ann and Sally perked up again and continued eating.
After breakfast, the group grabbed flashlights and backpacks. “How many diapers does Ryan have?” Wendy asked, putting Ryan in a baby body carrier on her chest so he faced her.
Leaning over, Sally
