“Good morning doc. Can I have the pleasure of your company?”
Sofia stopped playing with the fork and looked at the middle aged man with soft grey hair, big dark blue eyes and a khaki uniform who was smiling at her.
“Sure. I don’t think we’ve been introduced. I’m Sofia Aguiar, a.k.a. baby doctor.” She offered a hand that he kissed extravagantly.
“Enchanté. I’m David Willis, a.k.a., SETO.” He replied and took a seat right next to her.
“And what does SETO stand for?” She enquired, although she knew the violet color between the three and a half golden stripes meant he was from the technical department and his rank was higher than hers.
“Senior Electrical Technical Officer. I’m responsible for the electrical issues onboard so, if you have any problems in that area let me know. If someone upsets you please tell me and we can arrange for their cabin lights to be put off for a cruise. I can also talk to the plumbers and get them to shut down the water. I have excellent connections onboard.” He winked.
“Most people ask for a phone number or send flowers. I like your approach. Very unusual.” She chuckled.
David ordered his English breakfast and Sofia had coffee, toast and jam. Eggs, sausage and beans in the morning were way too much for her delicate stomach and even after living in England and Ireland she could never get used to that.
“So, what’s your excuse?” David asked, observing her with devoted attention.
“For what?”
“To be here. What’s a beautiful young woman like you doing on a ship so far away from home? I’m sure unemployment is not a problem in the medical industry.”
Sofia shrugged. “Let’s just say I needed to escape completely.”
“Fair enough. Most of us do. My boys are all excited about you. There’s a lot of doc gossip going on in the Engine Room. Don’t get them wrong. They’re nice lads, but life on board can get a bit boring. It’s good to have someone new and beautiful to look at. I just hope they don’t all start getting sick.”
“Interesting. Do you think I can take advantage and get a tour of the Engine Room? I’m very curious to see what runs the ship.”
David frowned. “My dear, I’ll be very happy to give you that tour myself. Just page me on a port day. I wouldn’t miss the chance to be seen with a beauty like you and make them all jealous. Plus it will be a pleasure to show you what keeps this rust bucket floating.”
“Rust bucket, hum? Now you’re scaring me. But thanks for the offer. I’ll give you a page some other day since today we have drills.” She reminded.
“Yes, we need to be nice with the Aussies. They’re good people.” David mentioned while they finished breakfast.
“It’s going to disturb my plans a little but if we have to do it, we have to do it.” She said with resignation.
“If everything works well they should be done by eleven and then you can do whatever you like.”
“That’s not too bad. It still gives me enough time to go to the crocodile park.”
“You’re going to see the crocs?” His eyes narrowed in curiosity.
“Yes, Denise, the front desk supervisor and I are going there at lunch time.”
David made a short pause like he was trying hard to remember something. “I was there last year when my kids came for a cruise. It was very interesting. You’ll like it.”
“You have a family?” Sofia enquired with surprise.
“Yes. Two kids and a wife. I’ve been married for almost twenty years.” He replied proudly.
“How does your wife cope with you working on ships and staying away from home for so many months?”
“I met my wife on a ship when I was a cadet. She was a photographer. We did a few contracts together but when we decided to have a family she went back to England and stayed there with the family. She took care of the kids all the time. She’s a wonderful lady, my Mrs.”
“And she trusts you here alone, surrounded by beautiful women?”
He laughed because if such a thing as a David’s FAQ existed that would be the number one question.
“Of course not! When the kids were smaller she had to, but ever since they reached their teenage years she leaves them with the grandparents regularly and comes to stay onboard with me. She does a lot of travelling while I work. Great life for her, she gets the best of the two worlds and still keeps me under control. But of course I love her company.” He explained.
Sofia looked at him dazzled. “It might be a good life, but I couldn’t do it. Staying away from my husband would be bad already, but trust him by himself on a ship would be out of the question. And I’ve only been here for a couple of weeks.”
David found her observation funny but he understood why she felt that way. As someone who witnessed great changes in the people and mentalities over the years at sea, he could see why any intelligent young woman wouldn’t trust her man alone onboard. The temptations were many and the morals were getting lower at the same rate they made the ships bigger.
“It’s not for everyone. Some people manage, others don’t. A few years ago things weren’t as bad as they are now. When I was younger there was a lot more respect; you wouldn’t see people behaving like they do now and the ones who crossed the lines of decency were a lot more discrete. Things changed a lot.” He observed consulting his Omega watch. “Well my darling, I must go now. Nice talking to you. Enjoy the crocs.”
“Nice to meet you too.” Sofia said before he left and when he walked out of the room she wondered how someone could spend a lifetime away from home and not be there when the kids said the first words or took the first step. She wasn’t sure if she admired David or if she found him selfish, but he was certainly an enjoyable company.
At 9:30 the Bridge made the first announcement through the PA for the Assessment Party to go to deck 2, zone six, storage area. At 9:45 another announcement came through and a few seconds later the crew alert signal went off: the continuous ringing of the ship’s alarm.
Following the rules Sofia went to her room, put on a life jacket, got her emergency card, the hat and the warm clothing and followed her emergency duties by the book, hoping that if that alarm ever went off for real everything would be that smooth and well organized. It was very easy to tell people what to do and get them to obey when they all knew it was only an exercise and all they wanted was to get it over quickly so they could go ashore.
A voice with a strong Italian accent followed, informing what was the meaning of the alarm and Sofia moved to the promenade deck as ordered.
Crew members took their positions wearing the lifejackets. There were very few passengers onboard and they all knew there was a drill so they didn’t get on anyone’s way. In a real emergency the doctors would be placed on lifeboats with the passengers, so they went to deck 7 and waited for the bridge to give them the next orders.
The bridge made another announcement and called everyone who was not involved in the preparation of the lifeboats to stand down. In minutes most people were gone and the only ones left on deck were the few that were going to get the boats out of their davits into the water. All the exercises went according to plan and the Staff Captain was happy that with such a nice day and almost no wind no one scratched the paint from the side of ship. The port authorities were happy too and like David predicted, just after eleven the Bridge announced the end of the drill.