Tickets to get onboard this cruise liner were not cheap, it was the best ship that the company had at its disposal, and Christine made sure of that. Trips across the Atlantic didn’t seem to be a favourable option, consequently nor a common itinerary option, perhaps because of the length of time at sea, but it would provide them ample time as a family to build bridges without distraction in the first few days aboard and that was exactly what this trip was supposed to be about, family, a chance for them to make amends for the past few years of nothing short of negative feelings, tension and the general unpleasant aura of increasing distance. To say they knew their daughter now was akin to saying they knew what secrets the universe held. Yes they were visible from afar and perhaps she knew a little bit about both, but if her daughter’s complexed thinking could be compared only to the vast expanse of space itself, then there was indeed a great deal yet to learn and understand.
Rachel was a big girl now, it wouldn’t be so easy for Christine to simply return her to the house and there keep her confined until rehabilitated, completely cleared of all this nonsensical bullshit she now referred to as her life, as much as she had half a mind to. The only other way was to coax her back into being the sweet heterosexual girl that she raised, a doting wife and a good mother. This was easier said than done, what with her daughter’s girlfriend intervening at every possible opportunity and any attempt to deter the leech of a woman would surely create wedges between them as a family and that was the last thing she wanted.
More staff greeted them with a smile and offered to help.
“Can I help you with your luggage, ma'am?” A kind blonde female member of the crew asked.
“I should be okay”. She turned to her husband who was lugged with most of the baggage. “Edward? Can she help you carry anything?”
“The smaller things if possible, my hands are rather full at the moment”, he replied, indicating which ones to take with his mouth. The kind member of staff leapt in to help where possible, grabbing as many bags as she could muster and taking the lead.
“What are your cabin numbers?” She enquired.
“We have a loft suite, number three, zero, four, six, I believe”, Edward replied.
“All of you?”
“No, just the three of us, my daughter and her… friend, will be staying in a different cabin”.
“Oh, did they need assistance? I can call for someone else to help”.
Christine turned to her daughter, deliberately disregarding her girlfriend.
“Will you be okay? Can you manage?” She asked.
“We’ll be fine, mum, you three go ahead, we’ll catch up to you a little later”.
“You have my number, give me a call if anything goes wrong and you can’t find us. You also have our cabin number, so you know where to come looking for us”.
“Yes, yes, I get it. Go, we’ll see you later”, Rachel insisted.
“Okay”, Christine replied and with the lovely member of staff, they made their way up a set of grand marble steps, reflecting the exquisite chandelier hanging overhead. Putting the main decks of the ship aside however, the corridors leading to the individual cabins were your typical five star affair, marble flooring that glimmered with the sheen of a perfect polish, gold coated lamps attached to the walls, doors with gold plated numbers screwed on and each with a peephole.
They eventually came to their cabin door, three, zero, four, six on a gold plate perched upon the door.
“You can use the keycards you received down in the departure terminal before boarding to access your cabin, everything including lighting and television will be activated when you enter the room automatically and should you lock the doors again using your keycard, it will all switch off automatically. If you should lose your card, I should inform you that it will incur a replacement fee of one hundred and fifty pounds, this is to deactivate your lost card and activate a new one for security measures, so we suggest keeping your card with you at all times”, the lovely blonde staff member informed.
Christine turned to her husband who had taken all three keycards earlier and was now having difficulty finding them.
“Don’t tell me you’ve lost them already”, Christine jibed, with a hint of seriousness in her tone.
“I haven’t, I just can’t remember where I put them”, Edward replied.
“Typical”.
“It’s not as though I’ve just been standing around with my hands swinging, Christine. Don’t start”.
Christine sighed and after a few moments of watching him hopeless shuffle through his pockets, he found them.
“Ah ha, here they are”.
“I should probably take those, for our sanity and security”, Christine proclaimed and took them from his hands.
They entered the cabin and the lights flickered on; not that they were required, for the cabin already brimmed with outside light from the vast, single two level windows that only came with an extravagant two level luxury suite. Downstairs was a small kitchenette, an adjoining bathroom, a dining area and a lounging area close to the windows, of which the largest sofa could unfold out into a double bed.
Assuming the cabin was exactly as described on the website and in the ensuing emails, the upstairs was where the king sized bed and small ensuite bathroom resided. Although to give credit where credit was due, seeing was most definitely believing and the real thing effortlessly triumphed over the pictures and virtual tours provided on the site.
Their eyes widened and
