Page 51 of Love Overboard
ATORRENTIAL DOWNPOUR PELTED THElarge windows of the tour bus as it wound through the streets of Charlestown. With a placid smile on her face, Lacey rode on the seat behind the driver. She tucked her purple polo shirt into the waistband of her khaki pants and rested her hands on her stomach. But inside, her brain was biting its nails. Would the tenders still be running? The covered ferries worked great in calm waters, but rough weather sometimes stranded passengers ashore.
“Excuse me, ma’am.” A polite young man wearing anI Love OklahomaT-shirt tapped her on the shoulder. “Is this rain going to affect our ride to the ship?”
“No need to worry.” Lacey hoped she wasn’t bamboozling him. “The ferryboat drivers are used to this island’s weather patterns.”
He nodded and sat back across the aisle with his bride.
Please, God.Her brain stopped biting its nails and prayed for a miracle instead.Let the boats be running.
Her cell phone rang, and her nerves tightened.
Please, God. Please, God. Please, God.
“Hello?” She tried to keep the anxiety from her voice as the honeymooners eavesdropped from the opposite side. Her hostess smile reappeared. “Yes. That’s correct.”
Mr. Oklahoma tilted his head.
“I understand.” Lacey kept her tone calm and even. “Please let me know.”
She ended the call and whispered to the driver. He put on his signal and made a sharp left at the stop sign. Lacey stood and faced the people in the bus.
“Ladies and gentlemen.” Sixteen pairs of eyes pointed at her. “I’m sure you’ve noticed the unfortunate storm outside. I regret to inform you that the heavy rain makes it impossible for our tender boat to return to the ship at this time.”
Exclamations of disbelief and a few colorful words she wouldn’t be repeating answered her announcement.
“It doesn’t seem that bad,” a woman in the last row called. “Can’t we give it a try and turn around if it doesn’t work?”
Lacey tried to look sympathetic instead of scoffing at the idiotic question. “Your safety is our utmost priority. We won’t risk your lives to stay on schedule. The ship will wait for us.”
“Where do we go in the meantime?” Mrs. Oklahoma asked. “Do we stay on the bus?”
“Oh, no.” Lacey grabbed the headrest of a seat and held on as the vehicle made another sharp left. “The company has already arranged for a resting area near the dock.”
“Are we sleeping in a hotel?”
Lacey wished she could ignore the question, but they’d find out soon enough. “Passengers from other cruise lines are also stranded on the island, and there were no vacant hotel rooms. I’m afraid we’ll have to rough it a little.”
Thunder crashed. The storm increased both outside and inside the bus. Voices rose in a crescendo of discontent. Lacey braced herself for a mutiny.
“How exciting!” A frizzy gray head popped up among the turmoil. Emily stood and braced herself between the seats as the bus swayed along. “We’ll have something to brag about to the people who stayed on the ship.”
“I wish I was one of them,” Mrs. Oklahoma grumbled.
“And miss the adventure?” Emily shook her finger at the grumpy honeymooner. “Didn’t you come on this cruise to get away from the routine?” She sat. “Trust me, my dears. I’ve lived a long time, and there’s one thing I know for sure. The best adventures happen off the schedule.”
Lacey mentally retracted every complaint she’d ever made about Emily Windsor. The woman was an angel. Her phone rang as the bus stopped in front of an unidentified building. The dark outline loomed in the pounding rain. She lowered her voice while the caller on the other end informed her of the unattractive details.
A school gymnasium. Army cots. Cold sandwiches. And no one to take care of the passengers but her.
The bearer of bad tidings hung up without a word of sympathy.
Lacey continued to hold the phone to her ear to buy extra time. How could she put a positive spin on this? She sent another silent request heavenward, lowered her cell, and walked down the aisle.
“Would it sound too cliché to say I have good news and bad news? The bad news is, we’ll be staying in a school gym.”
Gasps and protests ensued, and Lacey raised her voice.
“The good news is this rain is supposed to end in a short while. Once the sea calms, we’ll head straight to the ship. It shouldn’t be more than a few hours.”
