Page 10 of Love Overboard
“My father was an English teacher. He named me after his favorite poem.”
“Ah, Richard Lovelace. I remember from my college lit class: ‘When Love with unconfinèd wings hovers within my Gates, and my divine Althea brings to whisper at the Grates.’”
“Mmm-mmm.” Her eyes sparkled as she rested her elbows on the table and propped her chin on her laced fingers. “Baby, you must have to beat the ladies off with a stick.”
“Were you an English major?” The woman with the cat-eye spectacles spoke with her gaze still fastened on her novel.
“No, ma’am.”
“Call me Gerry. It’s short for Geraldine.”
“Thank you, Gerry. I wasn’t an English major. I just had a penchant for reading.” He reached out to the remaining unnamed woman at the table. “Jonathan King, ma’am.”
“Daisy Randolph Masterson. How do you do?”
She rested her manicured fingers against his, and he gently pressed them instead of shaking. Nobility encompassed her like an invisible mantle. He wouldn’t be surprised to learn she descended from a queen of England. She retrieved her hand and reclined on her chair, pulling the brim of her large black sun hat over one eye.
Emily clicked the top of her pen. “Where did you go to school?”
“Someplace I couldn’t find a decent taco.” Jon gave an exaggerated shudder.
“You’re a fan of tacos, then?”
“I’m Florida-grown. We’ve got some of the best food trucks in the country. You haven’t lived until you’ve tasted the sweet fusion of juicy Korean bulgogi and spicy coleslaw wrapped in a fresh corn tortilla.” He pulled an empty chair out and sat next to Althea. “Did you ladies know each other before you came aboard?”
“Only Althea and Daisy.” Emily motioned to the women on her right. “They share the same hometown.”
“Where would that be?”
“The Big Easy,” Althea said.
“Ah, New Orleans natives. Were you friends for a long time?”
The two shook their heads, Daisy with her hat still covering half her face.
“Hardly,” she said. “We met a week before sailing.”
“It was my idea to share a cabin.” Althea leaned over and swallowed petite Daisy in an affectionate hug. “I was going to have to pay a single supplement without her. This way, it’s cheaper for both of us. She’s got me to thank for all this luxury.”
Daisy tilted her head and granted a soft smile to her roommate. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”
“But why a cruise ship?” Jon asked. “Doesn’t it get tedious? Visiting the same ports? Attending the same shows?”
Gerry poked her head out of her literary foxhole. “More tedious than an overpriced retirement community where the highlight of the year is a pack of screeching first graders singing Christmas carols?”
“Gerry.” Daisy stuck her hand up, her pinky tipping a little farther back than the rest of her fingers. “Mr. King doesn’t know you very well. He won’t understand you’re joking.”
“Who said I was joking?” Gerry mumbled as she descended into her book.
“Consider the facts, Jon.” Emily raised a finger and pointed at it with her ballpoint pen. “It costs approximately the same amount of money to live on board as a retirement community these days. But you make our beds, do our laundry, offer nightly shows, and provide a wide variety of food options.” She ticked off the amenities on her fingers. “We eat what we want, when we want, and have it delivered to our room if we don’t feel like going out—and it’s a lot better than cafeteria food.”
Jon admired their ingenuity. “I concede to your point.”
“Excuse me.” A pudgy man in a Speedo approached Jon. A bloated green snake tattoo with a rose in its mouth curled around his milky-white belly button. “My wife wants me to ask when the ballroom lessons start.”
“Day after tomorrow.” Jon stood. “I can help you register, if you’re interested.”
“Are you crazy?” The snake charmer lowered his voice. “Why don’t you schedule me a root canal while you’re at it? Day after tomorrow, you said? I’ll make sure I’m sick in bed.” He stalked away and caused a minor tidal wave when he jumped in the pool.
