* * *
The second day of the cruise marked the transition for Ian and Denise. She stopped working at noon to start the night shift at eleven in the evening and he started working as front desk supervisor at three in the afternoon. The fact that they already knew how to do the jobs made the process smooth and quick. Still concerned, Ian made his colleague promise she would call him if something wasn’t going well for her.
“Yes dad.” Denise replied with a crooked smile.
“Will you be okay?”
“Sure. I can handle it. It’s not rocket science.” She said, trying to inject a little happiness into her voice.
“I wasn’t talking about work. You know nights can be boring and lonely.”
She gave him a grateful look but dismissed his worries. “I’m used to boring and lonely.”
Since it was the first time in the entire contract she had more than three hours to enjoy herself, Denise invited Sofia to go ashore for lunch and have a stroll on the beach afterward. It was so refreshing to leave the ship with more than two hours to enjoy the port.
Initially Sofia suggested they should invite a few more people but her friend didn’t feel ready to socialize yet.
“Did you sleep anything last night?” Sofia enquired.
“After a full bottle of Shiraz even I can sleep. I was knocked out. It was better than the sleeping pills.”
“You didn’t take them together, did you?” The doctor asked seriously concerned.
“No mom.” Denise joked. “I’m getting more worries from you and Ian than from my own family.”
“That’s because you keep telling your family you’re fine when you’re just the opposite of fine.”
“Not really. I told my mom some details. She wasn’t happy.”
Sofia’s cell phone rang that exact moment and by the size of her smile it was not hard to guess who was calling. Denise gave a quick glance at her own phone. There were no calls for her; not even a text message.
“How is he?” She asked when Sofia hung up.
“Fine. He just arrived home.”
“I should have thanked him for the flowers.”
“Flowers?”
“Last night when I arrived from dinner there was a bouquet of flowers on my desk, from Kieran, thanking me for the little perks I arranged for him during the cruise. It was very sweet of him.” Denise explained.
“And considering your face I’m guessing you were expecting the flowers to be from someone else.” She guessed.
“Don’t get me wrong, but yes. Kieran was wonderful and I really appreciate his gesture but it’s just…”
“…you would be happier if the gesture came from Diego.” Sofia finished the sentence for her.
Denise nodded affirmatively.
“Listen my dear, that only adds to the pile of reasons why you should be happy that he’s out of your life. As a friend, I liked Diego. He was great fun. As a boyfriend, let’s just say you’re better off single. Leaving you was a favor he did to you.”
Denise looked at her inquisitively. “Why?”
Sofia had a sip of her sparkling water and tugged a strand of hair behind her ear. “People say that opposites attract and that might be true with magnets but in a relationship you need a few things in common to glue you together. You and Diego were missing that connection, it would never have worked. He is a simple guy and you my friend, are the opposite of simple.”
“Are you saying that Diego didn’t want to stay with me because I’m complicated?” Denise asked with a bleak voice.
Sofia sighed. “No, you’re not complicated. You are complex, too complex for someone like him. Think about this: Diego is someone who is happy with little things; his world is perfect if he has his moments of fun and his professional achievement. He knows he can’t change the world so he does the next best thing: enjoys himself. You, on the other hand, can’t let go. You don’t accept something just being average, or just good enough. You are always thinking, always looking for alternatives, always one step ahead. That’s a great thing and I know if everyone were like you this world would be a much better place, but that’s also what sets you apart from people like Diego who don’t care. He would never be able to understand you. You’re just not right for each other.”
Denise grimaced. “My heart doesn’t agree with you yet, but you just made my ego really happy.”
They walked side by side towards the sea and got their feet wet. The afternoon was beautiful. Many people enjoyed the beach, including a few familiar faces from the ship. The two friends took a seat on the white sand and breathed in the refreshing sea breeze. It was one of the warmest days they had experienced in Tauranga and Sofia wanted to take a nap on her beach towel.
The background sound of waves crashing and the children laughing sounded like music to Denise, who closed her eyes and let herself float in an imaginary world where the clouds smelled like cotton candy and the trees turned into vanilla ice cream… She could almost feel the flavor but suddenly her imagination was cut off.
“Denise? Is that you?” A voice asked from above.
She opened her eyes and blinked a few times before the shadow standing in front of her started to look like a person.
“Tom?” She blinked again. “Tom Gibson?”
He looked at her with a big smile. “Yes, I knew that had to be you.” He said as she got up and gave him a tight hug.
Tom was an average size guy, not too tall, not built enough to be considered athletic. He had brown hair and his kind blue eyes added to a very warm smile and transmitted Sofia a good first impression. She observed them and waited for someone to remember she was there.
Denise told her that Tom worked in the security department and they were old acquaintances from another ship. Denise mentioned with a happy grin that when she worked at the reception on the night shift he used to bring her peanut butter cookies from the buffet every night and they talked for hours before the front desk became busy with passengers.
Sofia shook Tom’s hand and was grateful that he made Denise smile, even if it was only a shy smile. Whoever Tom was, he obviously made her feel good.
“So, did you just join the ship?” Sofia asked, trying to start a casual conversation.
“Yes, I arrived yesterday. So, what are you two doing at the moment?”
“Sofia is the ship’s doctor and I’m starting night manager today.” Denise replied.
“Really? I’m going to be on nights for a while. Maybe we could get some more cookies.” He suggested with a wink.
Half an hour later and after some pep talk, Tom had to return onboard and the two friends were left alone again.
“What was that about? Tom looks very close to you.” Sofia observed.
“Don’t start. Tom is a wonderful friend, but that’s it.”
“Does he know that?”
“Yes, he does. Tom and I always got along very well and he knows there won’t be anything further than friendship. Plus, I only have two cruises left and my heart is so badly broken it will take me a long time to even look at another guy that way.” Denise clarified.
“Well, he seems to be a good person, and if he can keep your mind away from negative Spanish thoughts, much better.” Sofia affirmed joyfully.
The water was really cold but Denise couldn’t resist and went in for the quickest swim in history. She came back to the towel shivering and dried her body as fast as she could.
“I’m guessing the water is cold, right?” Sofia asked.
“Freezing.”
“It’s not like I didn’t tell you. But someone had to go and check full body…” Sofia snorted.
There were still some adventurers in despite the temperatures, and not far away some surfers enjoyed the waves in the protection of their wet suits.
After a relaxing afternoon, Sofia went to work and Denise made an effort to sleep with the help of a pill. The transition from day to night was hard to adjust to and she knew it would take a few days to get h
er body clock back on track but she was looking forward to the time off in the ports. She owed it to herself to have a good time.
“Hallo chef!” Chris greeted in German from behind the desk where he was carefully checking passenger’s accounts.
Denise noted his light blond hair and beautiful blue eyes. She was happy to be greeted in a language she didn’t have a chance to speak that often. He extended her a cup with cappuccino and some sugar as soon as she moved to her chair.
“Danke”. She replied with a smile.
“Ian told me it is part of my job to fetch the night manager a cappuccino every night just before the lobby bar closes.” Chris explained with a grin, switching back to English.
Denise laughed. “That Ian! It is not part of your job, but if you do it I’ll be very grateful.”
“I’ll be happy to do it.”
“Thanks. You’re a star.”
He briefed her on the events since his shift started at seven and she was glad there wasn’t much going on. A quiet night was a good night and there was nothing more annoying than spending two hours typing a report.
Chris and Denise made the first ship’s round together and ensured everything was in perfect order. They started in the wardroom where it was still quiet and Denise kept to herself. It was awkward not seeing Diego in the corner playing darts.
They did a round of the galleys where there was a lot of cleaning going on and as they passed by the bakery the smell of fresh cooked bread reminded Denise she hadn’t eaten anything since early afternoon. The baker gave her some rolls which were still warm wrapped in a napkin and she took them discretely.
The shops had closed but the casino was up and running and the sound of slot machines could be heard all over deck 6 amidships. Some of the bars were still open. They walked through the promenade all the way around and fought the cold wind until they were back in the front where the service stairs led to the crew bar.
There was some activity and as the venues onboard closed, more crew members arrived to have their end of day drinks and socialize with their friends. Denise stayed for a bit, had a chat with the bar supervisor about closing times and moved on to deck 15. The Spa was deserted and there was no one left in the gym. Outside, by the Spa pool a group of passengers enjoyed the bubbles in the Jacuzzis.
The first round finished in the Stardust Disco where the DJ was busy for a change. Before a sea day people always stayed up until later and there was a good crowd drinking and dancing.
“Good news for revenue.” Denise told Chris before they took the elevator to deck 6.
In the middle of their conversation he told her he had worked as assistant night manager before and she felt tranquil to know she could give him responsibility and he would handle it without worries. It was nice not to have to control everything for a change.
Besides bringing coffee, Chris also had an mp3 player loaded with great music, which made Denise much happier since she had totally forgotten how silent the nights could be. He plugged the device on the computer speakers and they were able to enjoy a nice time until the first noise complaint by half one.
“Here we go.” Denise muttered and Chris followed her to deck 8 forward.
That was one of the few negative things about working nights. There were two types of noise complaints: the real ones that had to be dealt with diligently and the fake ones that the upgrade hunters came up with hoping to get a better cabin without having to pay the extra. Some areas of the ship were particularly noisy and there was always a record of those: cabins by the elevators, above the casino or underneath the galleys were on the list. The procedure was to try to find them another cabin if there was one or keep apologizing and give them ear plugs and onboard credits if there wasn’t.
Denise always tried her best to give a nice cabin to those who had genuine noise issues because it was not fair that they couldn’t sleep. In the beginning of the cruise it could be that all the cabins were full, but on a ship that big frequently people had to disembark for different reasons and then it was possible to use the empty cabins for passengers who needed them.
The upgrade hunters, on the other hand, were just annoying people who thought they were smart. They started complaining the first night of the cruise and went on complaining. But the night manager would never give them a new cabin based on imaginary sounds and until someone could hear it in the cabin, they were not moved anywhere. Those complaints normally came from inside cabins, which were the cheapest onboard because they didn’t have windows. Years before Denise had learned from another night manager to swap them into a new cabin of the same category. It was a trick that always worked. If there was an inside cabin empty somewhere they were offered that one and it was really funny to see the disappointment on their faces when they realized they were not that smart after all.
Since everywhere else was closed, the night team had to order food from room service. Denise assigned the night receptionist to make a list and place the order. Half an hour later the trolley arrived and they had a back office picnic.
In an act of kindness, Chris gave a radio to Melissa, the night receptionist, and told her to go on a twenty minute break while he covered the desk in her place. It was not part of his duties and Denise was impressed by his gesture. It was good to work with someone who cared for his colleagues, nothing like the previous day team she used to have to babysit.
“Now that I’m almost going home this is starting to improve.” She murmured with regret.
Chris finished his shift by three, after the money in the casino had been counted and placed in the safe. Denise had to spend the rest of the night alone. The next people only came on duty at seven and Melissa had to stay behind the desk to take care of any phone calls.
Denise did one more round through the ship, this time including the crew areas on the lower decks. Everything was in order. By four o’clock the night manager paid a visit to the bridge where the officers on watch had just started their shift. She stayed there for a while talking to Stefano and Andrea and appreciating the colors outside. Although it was still night, dawn threatened to break soon and the sky displayed a different haze of colors. Black directly above, then a strong dark gray that became gradually lighter until it reached the horizon line where it turned silver.
When she went back to the office to close the accounts for the night there was a plate with a few peanut butter cookies waiting for her.
“Tom.” She whispered and smiled.
She called him on the radio and very seriously just said. “Night manager to security; Tom, what’s your location?” She wasn’t sure who might be listening.
A voice replied: “Deck 7 forward, by the entrance of the theater.”
“Can you meet me in the back office?” She asked.
“On my way.”
Denise and Tom shared the cookies and some easy talk while she closed the accounts and made sure everything was ready for the next day.
“So, are you still with that girl you were seeing?” She asked Tom casually.
“No. We were sent to different ships last contract and last time I heard from her she was dating someone else. Ships life.” Tom replied with a smile, clearly not very concerned about his ex. “And you?”
“Single. Just got my heart badly broken a few days ago.”
“Someone broke your heart? Tell me where the bastard is so I can break his neck!” He smirked.
“Spain.”
“That’s a bit out of my way. Ships life?”
“Yes.”
“May I ask what happened?”
“My impression is that I didn’t fit well with his plans. But that’s just a theory. He never actually told me.” She muttered.
“No worries. I’m here now and I’ll make sure you’re happy. I’ll bring you cookies every night.”
“And then I’ll be happy and fat.” Denise observed with a wink.
“There’s a gym on deck 15 somewhere, not that I would know.” He replied reminding her that i
n-door sports were not his thing. He liked hiking and mountain biking and other things that connected him to nature.
A voice on the radio announced that a passenger had just been spotted wondering naked around deck 12 in the passenger’s area.
Denise consulted her watch. Four thirty.
“He better be hot!” She said, joking, and Tom went with her to deck 12 where they did two rounds on both sides of the ship and didn’t see anyone so each of them returned to their respective duties.
Denise was really happy that Tom was on her ship, even if she only had a few days left onboard. A friend like him was all she needed to feel better. It was like some high force in the universe knew she was having a hard time and sent him to rescue her.
Around five in the morning was the hardest time for a night manager, much worse for a troubled one like Denise. She had done most of her work and now she had too much time to think. The silence was heavy and uncomfortable and she wrote a note on her hand to bring music the next night since Chris had taken the player with him back to his cabin. She had a look outside to the reception area. Melissa was playing cards on the computer, not that there was anything better for her to do.
When she wasn’t expecting any more events for the night, Tom’s voice came up on the radio and he asked her to meet him in one of the lockers on deck 4 aft.
When she arrived Tom was standing there with two workers from the technical department who looked like someone who got caught doing something wrong.
“So, what’s going on here?” The night manager enquired, with the pad on her hand ready to take notes.
“Well, I was doing my rounds and I saw some smoke coming out of this technical locker. I advised the bridge and put my hand on the door outside to see if there were any hotspots. There weren’t so I opened the door. Instead of a fire, I found these two cooking. They were grilling chicken.” Tom explained making a titanic effort not to laugh.
Denise felt her face getting hotter and she knew she was blushing with anger. “You were grilling chicken in a technical locker.” It wasn’t a question.
“Sorry ma’.” One of them answered humbly, looking down rather than at her.
“Do you realize that first of all a technical locker is not a kitchen and second, you could have started a fire?”
They kept looking at the floor and didn’t reply.
At least they are not arguing, Denise thought. “Is that a camping stove?” She pointed at the portable device in the locker. “Does that thing work with gas?”
“Looks like it.” Tom confirmed.
Denise grumbled, thinking about the fire hazard. “All right. I need your names, cabin numbers and ranks. And we’re confiscating the stove.” She declared.
“Can we keep the chicken?” One of the men asked and Tom couldn’t help a chuckle.
“Whatever.” She said. They gave her the stove and she took it and returned to her office with Tom. He left her by the door and went to the bridge to explain the events of the night.
Denise placed the stove on her desk and started typing the night report.
Ian stopped by the office at seven to pick her up for breakfast and check how she was doing.
“Hello. How was the night?” He asked.
“It was interesting enough. I didn’t have much time for boredom. And Chris seems to be really good at his job, which is great news for me.” She replied with a half-smile. She was exhausted.
“Is that a camping stove?” He asked pointing at the strange object.
“Yes. Don’t ask. I’ll send you a copy of the night report.” She informed.
Ian sat on the desk waiting for her to finish the last details. “Okay. And how are you holding on?”
“Surviving. You know how it is.”
“Have you heard from Diego?”
“No.” Denise answered wretchedly and Ian gave her a strong hug.
“Things will get better for you, you’ll see.” He murmured. “You know how it is onboard, people have different plans, different priorities in life…”
“I know Ian. I know exactly how it is onboard.” She replied. “Let’s go for breakfast. I feel like eggs Florentine.” She took her arm and they left the office.
26
In only a few days Denise became familiar with all the crew members that worked nights. The bar staff who closed the bars and cleaned up afterward, the night cleaners that maintained the ship sparkling, the security team, the galley staff, the night supervisor, the watch keepers on the bridge, the engineers in the control room and the casino staff who were always the last to finish work and had a difficult social life apart from their own colleagues because of their unusual working hours.
Although the night people didn’t necessarily become friends with each other, they were at least familiar and there was a certain level of complicity. Soon Denise started being invited to have breakfast with them after work, a cup of coffee in someone’s cabin or to go ashore in a port with them. As night manager she appreciated the respect and attention and since she felt very lonely, every moment spent with her friendly colleagues was one moment less she wasted thinking about the things troubling her.
Tom in particular played a very important role just by being there. He was a good listener, cheerful and fun. Everything a tormented soul needed. They talked every night and tried to get breakfast together in the buffet as much as possible.
He was still puzzled with her. There was a darkness across her face he couldn’t quite figure out, something he didn’t remember from before. He dug into his memory feverously, almost certain that she wasn’t always like that. He remembered a very different, a lot more cheerful and joyful Denise. He found it hard to believe that one man had changed her that much.
“You know, I have two sisters, and I think I know women pretty well. Is it my impression or that break up you just had caused a lot more damage than the usual ship’s story?” He asked during one of their meals, sitting in a corner of the buffet all the way on the back of the ship.
“I can’t keep anything from you, can I?” She murmured with a broken voice.
“Like I said, I have two sisters. I even spent a night in jail when I was nineteen because I broke a guy’s nose after he broke my little sister’s heart.”
Denise stared at him incredulously. “You spent a night in jail?”
“Yes. I was nineteen, you know, lots of hormones. This guy my sister was all in love with dumped her for another girl so I found him and broke his nose. I got away pretty clean. The judge had a teenage daughter so he understood. I’m not sorry. He deserved it.” He added with a wicked smile across his face.
She giggled, finding hard to imagine someone as peaceful and kind as Tom capable of violence.
“As far as I can tell this guy you were seeing was important to you, right? Is that why you are so gloomy?” He insisted.
She nodded affirmatively and looked at the plate instead of looking at him. “Yes, he was very important. More than I should have allowed him to be.”
“Women can’t separate sex from emotions Denise. You should have known that. You girls keep lying to yourselves and accepting a lot less than you deserve because it feels better to have little than nothing and then you end up like that. You know, the fact that you have such deep feelings is one of my favorite things about women. I really love that. It makes you so special. It upsets me to see you waste them or hide them like it’s something to be ashamed off.”
“Thanks, I guess. Not that I feel any special. I feel pretty ordinary, actually.”
Tom met her gaze and threw her a killer look. “You, ordinary? Not in a million years! Why in the world would you ever think something like that?”
“Well, he left me. He knew how I felt and that didn’t make any difference. I’m obviously not that special.” She concluded, following a logic that he really didn’t understand.
“Denise Kilner, I swear I could slap you right now! You’re so lucky you’re a woman.”
“If I
were a man would you break my nose?”
“Yes. And a few other bones. I’m only going to say this once, so pay attention: the Spanish guy didn’t leave you because you’re not special. He left you because he didn’t love you. Stop dwelling on it. Stop blaming yourself, stop thinking that you did something wrong.”
“What makes you so sure I didn’t do anything wrong?”
He smiled at her a crookedly. “I’m a man. I know how we function. Nothing keeps a guy away from the woman he loves. If what’s-his-name loved you, there is no way he would have lost you, at least not without a good fight. Of course he didn’t tell you that because he was afraid of hurting you. Men are suckers for cowardice. Simple as that!”
“He hurt me anyway. He destroyed my self-esteem. And if I loved him, why was it so hard for him to love me even a little bit. It’s so unfair…” She muttered.
“If we could program ourselves to love on demand, Hollywood would go bankrupt. Love is a beautiful thing, but we can’t control it.” Tom explained.
Denise took a bite of her muffin and then looked at him again. “I still think it’s very unfair. I mean, I wasn’t enjoying living in a dating limbo and just getting scraps of his attention, but I really liked him.”
“I know it sucks, but life is like that. We’ve all been there at some stage. Right now it must be really hard but you will get over it. It’s not the end of the world.”
“Thanks for cheering me up Tom. It’s great having you here.” She half smiled.
“Oh, don’t thank me yet. I’m not done. We’re going on a tour so I can cheer you up a bit more.”
Denise chuckled and he loved the fact that he had finally managed to get a positive emotion out of her.
“Can I sleep on the tour?” She asked when they left the buffet.
“If you can sleep with the noise of a train, sure.”
Having time off during the day was one of the benefits of working nights. Getting little or no rest during port days was the price to pay, but no one cared about that. Denise had established to sleep at least ten to twelve hours during the sea days and much less than the recommended when they were in port.
The Taieri Gorge Railway in Dunedin was Tom’s idea and if Natalie had approved it, then it had to be good. The name was strange, like most names in New Zealand, but the trip was amazing and very relaxing. The journey was a 78km long rail experience through scenery that was only accessible by train. After working the entire night, to sit on the train listening to the live commentary and enjoying the sightseeing without having to move a limb was almost as good as a journey to heaven.
The trip started in suburban Dunedin, it passed through the fertile farmland of the Taieri plains and went on climbing into the Taieri River Gorge. The journey was refreshing and beautiful with the appearance of sheer cliffs and sudden ravines framing the river, lovely valleys, narrow tunnels and bridges.
For a few hours Denise and Tom learned the history of how Dunedin’s pioneers cut the railway line through the rugged and impenetrable country and marveled at the lattice work viaducts and dark tunnels on the way. There were some sightseeing stops and the train even had a buffet car where travelers could get food.
“This reminds me of Alaska.” Tom observed.
“There is a little resemblance with that train that goes form Skagway up the mountains, but the landscape is different. Here it’s greener and there’s no ice. The last time I did it in Alaska the summit had a frozen lake and it was July.” Denise remembered.
“It reminds me of the Lord of the Rings.” The passenger sitting in front of them entered the conversation.
Denise and Tom smiled in agreement.
“Yes, I guess everything in this country reminds of the movies. But here specially, with the curves of the river and the high hills covered in trees. I can easily imagine Frodo and Sam paddling down the current in the boat that the Elves gave them.” Tom replied.
“Actually, I don’t remember the movies that well. I’ve seen them a long time ago, but doing this tour is giving me a real idea of how majestic the countryside in New Zealand really is. This place is stunning. I come from a beautiful country too, with mountains, lakes and snow, but there is something about New Zealand I can’t really explain, something that draws me…”
The passenger agreed with Denise about feeling drawn by the charm of New Zealand and the conversation moved on to all sorts of subjects and observations until Tom, who was desperately trying to fight sleep said it would be wonderful if a big yellow M suddenly appeared in the middle of the trees and the entire carriage burst into laughter.
“I don’t think MacDonald’s would fit the profile around here.” Denise retorted. “But if you are hungry I’m sure they have some snacks in the buffet.”
“I’m not that hungry, I’m just really sleepy. This train is so relaxing I could take a nap all the way until we get back to the ship.”
“But then you will miss the scenery. Get a coffee.” Denise suggested and he dragged himself to the next carriage.
The passenger, a man in his sixties from somewhere in Milwaukee, and Denise were left alone for a bit and he kept chatting. He told her that his wife had died the year before when they had the cruise already booked so he decided to go anyway, because that’s what she would have wanted him to do.
“That’s brave. How are you feeling so far?” Denise enquired with genuine interest.
“It’s been nice actually. I was afraid I was going to feel lonely, but I’ve made some new friends and it’s been a good holiday, although it would have been a lot better with my Janice.” He stated.
“You must miss her a lot…”
“We were together for forty two years. She was part of me. When she died I just wanted to go with her. When you spend a life time with someone and you lose your love, nothing else makes sense anymore. Every day I have to search for reasons to keep living without her.”
“I’m sure Janice would want you to be happy even after she was gone.”
“She would, but once you lose someone who completed you, you lose a part of yourself too. You still make it through every day as best as you can, but there is this empty space… I hope you’ll never have to experience it. Losing someone you love is the worst thing that can ever happen to a person.” He concluded as Tom arrived with three coffees, one for each of them. The passenger was very grateful for the attention and Denise used the moment to draw their attention away from her and quickly hid a stubborn tear that insisted in falling down her right cheek.
During the rest of the trip Denise and Tom made a new friend. The passenger, Mr. Hobson, told them a lot of interesting stories about his youth and his experiences cruising for twenty years with his wife. He was surprisingly pleasant and Denise took a note of his cabin number to send him some canapés or a bottle of wine to share with his friends. Passengers like him were the ones she liked to remember and made it enjoyable to be a crew member.
Chris was sitting by his desk and her cup of coffee was religiously waiting, for which Denise was very grateful. She hadn’t slept much after the tour.
“Grobe tage?” He asked in German, looking at her exhausted face.
“Tour day.” She answered in English.
“That explains it.”
She went through her emails and quickly went online and had a look at her private messages as well. There was an email from Diego that set her heart racing as she opened it.
“Sorry it took me so long to say something. I made it home safe. Hope you’re okay. Diego”
“Bastard!” Denise shouted and Chris glanced suspiciously at her. “Not you.”
“Good to know.” He mumbled. “What’s up?”
“God created men! That’s what’s up.” She replied vaguely and sounding really mad.
“Yes, he did. And if he had only created women the world would be boring and noisy.” Chris observed while checking some numbers for the medical center.
“Good point. Let’s do rounds. I need you to
come with me to make sure I’m not killing anyone tonight.”
It was still early and they found the wardroom full. Denise saw Sofia and Carla and spent some time chatting with them. Sofia told her to make sure she was free in Sydney because she had a surprise.
There was a Naughty or Nice party tonight and Carla was dressed up in an angel costume. Her boyfriend was wearing a devil suit.
“So you chose nice. And I thought you would go for naughty…” Denise observed.
“So does everyone else. This way they will all be surprised.” Carla replied with a grin.
“I’ll just have to go in uniform. It’s not naughty, it’s not nice, but we have to live with it.” The night manager observed making everyone giggle.
“And I’m pretty sure you’ll be there by two o’clock sharp to close the bar and end the party.” Carla added.
“Of course. If I can’t have fun, why would you?”
Before midnight there was no one in the crew bar and it made little sense to waste time there. At that hour the passenger areas were a lot more attractive with people nicely dressed enjoying the bars, the casino or a little evening shopping.
They stopped by the theater where a comedian was doing a show and stayed for a few minutes. Denise and Chris didn’t really understand what was so funny about him but the crowd was laughing so they obviously appreciate the entertainment. In one of the bars a piano and guitar duet played soft music and Denise wished she could to stay and listen for a little longer.
Chris entertained her with stories from the passenger’s file that she hadn’t bothered to read yet and how the cruise was unusually quiet and that was normally sign of a storm on the way.
“Don’t say the word storm before we cross the Tasmanian Sea.” She warned him, recalling those three days of rocking and rolling that made half the ship sick and gave a major headache to the other half.
Chris laughed. “Are you superstitious?”
“I didn’t use to be, but this contract made me change my mind. I only have to cross the Tasmanian Sea two more times. It would be nice if they were quiet and easy.”
“I’ll call the captain and order it for you.” He joked.
“Very funny. What about you call Melissa and get her to order food for us? I’ll be hungry in one hour.” Denise suggested and Chris took a note pad out of his pocket and started writing.
“What do you want?”
“I already had a club sandwich yesterday, burgers are off my list, and there’s no way I’m eating salad at one in the morning, so I guess that leaves me the usual bagels and yogurt.”
“That’s not proper food. No wonder you didn’t grow much!”
“That’s why I have a lovely tall assistant to look after me.” She answered with a grin as they walked downstairs to deck 6 and into the back office.
Just like Carla predicted, by two o’clock Denise was in the crew bar and as soon as the happy crew saw the night manager, they knew the party would be over soon and rushed to the bar to get the last drinks. The bar was nicely decorated and a lot of people really put in the effort to dress up. There were all sorts of definitions of naughty and nice, from devils to nurses with very short skirts and some more unusual customs like a Venetian outfit, that not having that much to do with the main theme was actually very nice.
At ten past two Denise told the bar tender to stop selling drinks. She allowed the music to continue for another half hour. Sending people away suddenly would create trouble. They would just go downstairs and start parties all over the crew areas of the ship. It was better to keep them in the bar for a while as long as they couldn’t buy any more alcohol.
With two noise complaints and the extra concern about the crew’s behavior, Denise asked Chris to do the Casino count so she could do a couple more rounds. The crew seemed well behaved and all she found was a small group of bar staff chatting on a deck 3 corridor and then a smaller party going on in Eli’s cabin on deck 12. The cruise staff was having another social drinking event, but since the cruise director was there and the neighbors weren’t complaining, she just waved when she passed by, with no intention of spoiling their fun.
“Hello night manager! Would you like to join us?” Eli asked, opening the door wider and grabbing Denise’s arm before she could say anything. Carla and Sofia were also in the gathering, which was very surprising considering they would have an early start the next morning.
“I would love to, but first I’m busy and second I can’t drink. I’m on duty.”
“C’mon woman.” Leo, the cruise director said. “I’m sure you have time for at least a cup of coffee with the nicest people onboard.” Having said that, he turned on the kettle and gave her a mug, not waiting for a reply.
“I’m assuming that kettle has been tested by security.”
“Of course! The cruise staff team is very responsible.” Leo said, and showed her the sticker that confirmed the electrical appliance had been approved to be used onboard.
Denise had a coffee with them and stayed longer than she had anticipated. The cruise staff had some delightful and entertaining members who were highly skilled in telling jokes and coming up with the most bizarre and unexpected ideas. It was only when Chris paged her after the casino count that she realized it was past half three. She ran down to deck 6 to check the last details with the assistant night manager before he finished his duties for the night.
Chris, professional and organized as usual, had finished all his duties and was ready to go when she arrived.
Denise hated being on her own and with only a few hours of sleep it was going to be hard to make it through the night. At four thirty she made one more round before closing the accounts, this time including a walk through the promenade deck to make sure the fresh air would help her stay awake a few more hours.
The wind was blowing strong with the ship sailing fast and there was absolutely no one to be seen. She had a seat on a big wooden box where the spare life jackets were kept, feeling a bit cold but enjoying the quiet and nothing but the sound of the ocean and the big moon illuminating the mass of deep water ahead. The air was cool on her skin, almost crisp. It was very refreshing.
Just above her head she heard a sound. She looked up and didn’t see anything unusual. The lifeboats were properly stored and secured to their davits, but as a precaution she went up the metal stairs and had a better look to make sure everything was fine. If there was something lose it had to be fixed. When she approached the second lifeboat she heard what sounded like voices. With the noise from the waves battering against the side of the ship it was difficult to tell if she was right.
Her first thought was that maybe some silly crew members had decided to play smart. She opened the orange cover and threw it on top of the boat. When she pointed her torch inside she found a couple completely naked, enjoying sex so distractedly they didn’t even notice there was someone else there until the light hit their faces and they heard her talking to them.
Rather than embarrassed, they looked amused and didn’t try to cover their bodies. Denise kept the light pointed at their faces. They looked very young.
“Hello. I’m the night manager. Who are you? Are you crew?” She asked, already thinking about the lecture they were going to get together with a written warning, but then she saw the blue card hanging on a cord around the guy’s neck.
“No, we’re passengers.” He walked to her with his head down to avoid hitting the top of the boat.
“Could you please put some clothes on?” Denise asked, noticing his nice, fit body. “I can’t talk to you seriously when you’re standing there naked.”
The couple obeyed and put on their clothes quickly. They had an amused look on their faces. Denise helped them of the lifeboat and took a final look to make sure everything was neat before closing it.
“Do you realize what you’ve just done? Do you have an idea of how many rules you have broken?” She asked, trying to be serious when all she wanted to do was laugh.
; The three of them sat on the bottom of the stairs.
“It’s our honeymoon. We were just looking for somewhere original, you know? A little adventure to remember. I want to have something exciting to tell my grandkids many years from now.” The guy, Trevor, according to his cruise card, justified with a smile.
“Listen grandpa.” Denise joked, picking up his line. “I don’t care what stories you want to tell your grandkids many years from now or your friends when you go home. That’s a lifeboat and there’s a reason why there is a chain with a sign saying crew only. You could have been seriously hurt or you could have damaged something in there.”
“I’m sure you understand us Denise. Don’t tell me you never had sex in unusual places before.” The girl said, reading her name tag.
“Looking for originality I can understand, looking for danger and breaking ship’s rules, bad idea. Do you know what will happen when the captain finds out? He might get you off the ship.” She explained.
They looked at each other and seemed worried for the first time.
“Oh, please don’t do that. Don’t tell the captain. We won’t do it again, we promise.” The guy assured and his wife nodded in agreement.
Denise saw sincerity in their eyes but took matters a bit further to make sure they got the point. “It’s my duty. I have to report what I see. The captain is the master of this vessel and if he decides you shouldn’t be onboard, that’s it.” She had no intention of telling anything but they deserved a lesson.
“Please, don’t tell anyone, we promise we’ll stay away from the lifeboats. Please…” The girl asked humbly.
Denise sighed. “All right, this time I’m going to keep it to myself, but I have your cabin number. If I find you doing something like this again you’re out the next port.” She threatened.
The grateful couple left with the promise to stick to more conventional locations for their sex experiences and Denise was again alone on the promenade deck. As soon as the wooden doors closed behind them she burst out laughing.
“Freaking passengers! And I thought tonight I would have trouble with the crew.” She went back upstairs and made another inspection on the lifeboat to make sure there was no evidence left there for the deck crew to find later and then returned to the office where a plate of peanut butter cookies awaited on her desk.
The following night when she came on duty Denise found a jar with tropical flowers and a thank you note from Trevor and Linda.
Sometimes she found it difficult not to love the passengers.
27
Denise spent two calm sea days in bed watching movies, sleeping many hours, catching up with friends on the internet and keeping her mind busy so she wouldn’t think of Diego.
Sometimes she looked in the mirror and her demons came back and she wondered if there was something wrong, if she was no longer attractive, if she wasn’t interesting enough… And then she remembered Tom’s words, took a deep breath and repeated a few times that she was a valuable person.
Sofia came by in the evenings and they talked until Denise had to start working. Although she was still sad and she could only sleep with the help of pills, it was a great surprise to find out that the cruise was going well and she was having a good time.
Denise had it clear in her conscience that it was possible to be happy without Diego and little by little she accomplished that through the good moments she spent with people who cared about her.
She told Sofia the story about the two passengers on the lifeboat under the promise she wouldn’t tell anyone and her friend found it very funny.
“Do you realize how much trouble you can get into for not reporting them?”
“I know. But sometimes we have to take risks. And to be very honest with you, there was a moment there when I wished it had been me in that lifeboat.” She confessed.
“Lifeboats don’t seem very comfortable.” Sofia observed.
“I meant I would like to try the full package: newlywed, happy, wanting to try new things together.” Denise clarified.
“I’m not married yet but I guess it must be really great, when you make the commitment to belong to each other…”
“Well, you’ll find out soon.” She reminded with a grin.
Sofia smiled at the thought. “So tell me, how have you been doing?”
“As long as I don’t think about him too much, I’m fine. The pills help me to sleep and I’ve been spending time ashore. Apart from the two months I was in the crew office, this has been the best part of my contract.”
“Good to know that. I would feel really bad if you didn’t have any fun on our last cruises onboard.”
“Our last cruises?” Denise asked just to make sure.
“I got my leaving date and flights confirmed. We’re going home the same day.”
Denise hugged her friend with joy. “That’s so cool. I couldn’t think of a better way to finish.”
“One more thing.” Sofia added. “Tomorrow morning when you finish work come straight to Eli’s cabin. It’s her birthday and we’re doing a little celebration. She wants you there.”
“By celebration, are we talking about drinking at eight in the morning?”
Sofia chuckled. “With Eli organizing it, very likely. I hope you don’t have any plans for Hobart.”
“Well, Tom wanted to go out for breakfast in some place he likes.”
“Go for breakfast and join us when you come back. Bring him too, and Chris. I’m almost sure that Kelly has a crush on him.”
Denise looked confused. “Kelly has a crush on Chris? Who is Kelly again?”
“Kelly is in the cruise staff team. That blond girl who was in Eli’s cabin the other night, remember?”
“I can’t remember half of the twenty people Eli managed to fit in her cabin, but I’ll advise Chris that he has a fan onboard, just in case he’s interested.” Denise confirmed. “And by the way, you’re sounding more and more like a typical crew member, drinking at stupid hours and matchmaking. We need to get you out of the ship before it becomes chronicle.”