Page 9 of Eat Your Heart Out
My own mother hadn’t been a hugger. Mrs. Norouzi let me go and invited me to breakfast on the garden terrace.
A few of Gerard’s brothers- and sisters-in-law milled around, but coffee and smelling the sweet air was nice. The air in my old apartment had been stifling, but then, it might have been my life.
After we finished, I headed out to the beach for a walk on my own. My temporary situation calmed me. In the distance, I saw yachts, and one caught my eye. It had no guns, but it reminded me of a destroyer from the battleship game. I walked onto the dock to get a closer look. Others were white and all looked fancy.
I wondered which one was Gerard’s, but then he stepped out on the deck of the beautified board ship and called down to me. “You’re up. Want a tour of the ship?”
“Sounds practical,” I said as he lowered a ramp and raced down.
Then he motioned for me to head up. My hips swayed a little more as I walked toward him. Then he had me go first.
“Your mom is super nice.”
“Maman? You saw her?”
I stopped on the top deck. In my mind, for a second, I saw high waves and maybe a gun deck, though in truth, none of that existed. He had a green grassy area and some boxes on the sides.
“We had breakfast together, and she had me measured.”
He nodded. “Ah, tonight is formal, and tomorrow morning, we shove off.”
I backed up to the grassy area and glanced at the decks above. It was a personal cruise ship, though I only said, “This is much bigger than I pictured.”
“The salesman said I could have a hundred people stay over. I wanted something bigger and capable of being used in all weather.”
I supposed if he had the money to spend, then it was about having the biggest boat in the bay. I motioned behind me. “I totally understand. You have a golf course.”
He waved it off but then pointed to the boxes. “That’s standard. The jet skis are locked in here, but the tour begins inside.”
Right. I followed in a daze as I wondered what his life might be like. I gazed up at the huge tri-floor ceiling and the chandelier. “This is amazing.”
He waved for me to see the other rooms. “It’s the grand room, where the guests would be if I did have a party. For the trip, though, I liked the idea of a big room with places to sit.”
I poked my head in the back room overlooking the ocean. “And a dining room. Is this where I bring the dinner?”
“Yes.” He choked out the word, or at least, that was how it seemed.
My skin prickled as worry filled me that he’d changed his mind.
Then he showed me the library. “The entire ship is wired, so we can talk to each other even in another room.”
I saw no button, so I assumed it was voice activated. I scanned the walls but saw no camera. “That’s cool. I’ll be ready to receive orders, then.”
He blushed. “Right.”
My skin was alive, as I wasn’t sure what he was hiding.
He then directed me to a stairwell. “Downstairs is interesting.”
I hugged myself, realizing all my questions came from being unable to trust him. I bounced on the steps as I asked, “Are you showing me the bedrooms on your warship version of a yacht now?”
He ignored a few floors entirely, and we headed to the bottom, which was designed like a living area. He motioned me to the small glass window at the bottom and the school of fish underneath. My heart raced. In movies, people died at sea. Storms threw ships upside down. I swallowed and backed away.
He took a seat. “It’s designed to endure the high seas. And no, I was showing you this.”
I uncrossed my arms, as we weren’t sinking or taking on water, but my voice was high as I asked, “Won’t a glass bottom break if we’re in a storm?”
He pressed a button, engaging a quiet engine as the viewing window disappeared. “We close it and only open it when it’s safe. It’s plexiglass. This ship is made to withstand all climates and weather.”
