Unforgettable - Chapter Two
Title: Unforgettable ~ Chapter Two
Authors: aussie and bugs
Genre: A/U, Romance, Drama
Rating: T
Word Count: 3,100
Summary: The lines are untied and the ship pushes back from the dock.
Chapter Two:
Bill had always enjoyed the last few hours before his ship sailed. He'd check through his manifest, review his crew one last time, and turn the page in his log to a fresh, clean piece of paper. And always sniffing the wind, checking for storms on the horizon.
He couldn't smell the weather in the SS Monterey's best stateroom. The air was filled with the scent of orchids and lilies from the huge arrangements on every table. And he couldn't think with the chatter of the bon voyage cocktail party in full swing. After three months of marriage, the Adams had acquired a small circle of friends, cobbled together from her crowd who'd actually welcomed her new husband, and his acquaintances from boxing gyms, dark jazz bars, and bookstores.
The writer, Hugh O'Mallory, was slumped in a white velvet chair puffing on a cigar. His wife, Lydia, propped herself on the chair arm, the wide mouth on her long face flapping at Cora Smythe-Boyles, a very haughty fashion designer with a wicked sense of humor hidden well behind her porcelain-doll face.
Bill shimmied between them and the chattering Hank Mercers, of the Piedmont Mercers, trying to make his way toward Laura. She was trapped on the far side of the room, cornered by the leering boxing promoter, Tex Simmons. The little man's stature meant he could gaze into the revealing decolletage of Laura's cocktail dress easily.
Before Bill could get across the room, the nightclub singer, Fanny Bradford, cleared her throat richly, tossed back her mass of blonde curls and began singing a silly ditty about dancing under swaying coconut palms.
With the crush in her way, Elosha was attempting to unpack Laura's four steamer trunks without much success. She kept glancing at the closed door to the small maid's quarters off the lounge. Elosha would be staying behind for the first time in Laura's life and she was not taking it well.
Bill ignored the anguished look she gave him as he went past.
Hattie Schmuler, one of Laura's strongest allies in her social work, and the woman's escort, Terrance Green, were attempting a very poor hula dance, blocking Bill's way again. He found himself wedged against the wall with Emily. She was checking through the passenger list.
"What are you doing?" He peered over her shoulder at her neat notes.
"Just letting Mrs Adams know which passengers are friends, acquaintances or business associates and those to be avoided," the secretary said.
Bill could only shake his head.
"Laura!" Emily burst out, then recovered. "Mrs Adams!"
Going up on her tiptoes to look at her secretary over the heads of the undulating dancers, Laura called back, "What is it?"
"It's Sesha Abinell, that is, she’s now Sesha Doral," said Emily. "She's on this sailing with her new husband."
Laura finally pushed her way through the crush to join them. "Oh goodness, I haven't seen her in at least two years.”
Both women's faces became sad.
"She writes and calls," said Laura, "but doesn't come to the City anymore, or even allow me to visit her in Atherton. The latest I heard from her was a short note after our wedding announcement."
She slipped her arm through Bill's. "This is an old college chum of ours," she explained. "She was so full of life, the leader of our little group, but about five years ago, she lost her beloved first husband; they were such a lovely couple." Laura's face subtly changed. "Then she seemed to find happiness again--her horse trainer--but shortly after they married, she suffered a terrible fall from her new mount. She's never walked again."
"Since then, she's removed herself from society," added Emily. "Which I suppose is to be expected considering the circumstances. She was such a lively person, a great sportswoman--"
Laura raised her chin. "Well, if she's come on this holiday, surely she expects to mingle. Emily, please write up a note and have it delivered to her stateroom."
"Yes, Mrs Adams." Emily opened Laura's travel case and removed a sheet of her heavy notepaper, monogrammed in silver with her new initials. The secretary wrote a few neat lines and handed it to Laura for her signature.
"I'll have a steward deliver it immediately," Emily said. "Perhaps she can join you for the Aloha dinner tonight."
Bill was reminded of this ridiculous dog and pony show he was about to undertake for the next four days to Hawaii; a crew with shiny brass buttons and epaulets on snow-white uniforms, potato sack races on the upper deck, musical chairs in the Grand Lounge--good god!
Then he looked at Laura's smiling face and forced on his own smile. "Can't wait," he said.
Laura's nose crinkled impishly and she gave him a quick kiss. "Our honeymoon at last!" she enthused.
His pasted smile became a full grin. That's right. They were on their honeymoon! Nothing said they had to even leave this posh room--
"Miss Laura," interjected Elosha. "I need to explain how to these silks must be washed..."
Bill sighed in exasperation. Laura took a deep breath. The ship's horn blew.
"That's your warning," Bill announced loudly above Franny's singing. "Twenty minutes to disembark or the next stop is Oahu!"
"Twenty minutes; plenty of time to sort through a few more details," said the maid maddeningly.
Staring Elosha down, Bill plucked one of Laura's gowns from her hands. "It's only three weeks, not forever."
She moved to fiddle with the lock on the last trunk. "I suppose that's everything," she said tragically.
Laura gave Bill a look saying, can you believe this? He gave her a look back, what did you expect?
Putting aside the dress, he went to help the maid. "Let me get that for you, Elosha."
Lowering his voice, he told her, "Take a vacation of your own, Ma'am."
"Vacation?" She looked confused.
"Yes. Charge anything to Mrs Adams and go have a good time."
Still looking perplexed, Elosha gathered her richly colored robes close and followed the chattering crowd making their way out the doorway. Laura stopped her and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Wait for Emily. Jaffee will take the two of you back to the house."
"Anything else?" Emily asked Laura after closing her employer's travel case.
"No, thank you, Emily," said Laura. "I can manage from here on out."
"Of course." Emily flipped her notepad closed and tucked it into her handbag. "I'll hold the fort down while you're gone."
Laura grinned. "I trust you completely."
Lowering her head, the secretary hurried to do join the others.
Elosha looked around the stateroom one more time, then shrugged and followed the last visitors out, closing the door behind her.
"Alone at last," said Bill, embracing Laura.
Then he heard a whine from the closed door of the maid's room. Laura stepped away and opened the door. Jake rushed out, wiggling with happiness.
Laura bent down to rub the dog's head. "One of our little family got to come along!"
"He keeps his mouth shut and doesn't bust in when we make love," said Bill, fetching Laura's silver fox coat from the closet.
"I think we scare him when we do that," mused Laura, accepting the coat on her shoulders.
Bill started to protest, then closed his mouth. "I can't believe you brought that heavy coat on a tropical vacation," he said, still grousing on that point. He slipped into his trenchcoat and Fedora hat.
"Because it's going to be incredibly cold out on the bow of the ship." Bill had already told her they must be up front when the vessel sailed through the Golden Gate. "We could watch from our veranda--"
"No fun in that," insisted Bill, clipping the leash to Jake's collar. "Gotta feel the sea spray on your face."
She shuddered behind his back, but then smiled brightly when he stood upright.
Arm in arm, they strolled out to the deck. The excited passengers had gathered at the railing, cheering and waving to the dock below.
Jake pinned his ears back at the commotion, slinking in between Bill and Laura’s legs for safety.
Bill found them a spot against the railing that offered a clear view to the dock. Laura waved madly when she recognized Elosha’s flowing caftan amongst the well-wishers bidding farewell to their friends and relatives.
Stewards came along offering buckets of confetti and handfuls of streamers. Bill stopped one young man and secured some for them. “Here,” he said, filling her gloved hands with colorful chips of paper.
.
“Mr Adams,” she said, bumping her shoulder against his, “I thought you regarded this type of thing as a folly of the rich and foolish.”
He grinned and hurling a streamer roll in a high arc. It unfurled perfectly, drifting down on those gathered below. “I like to indulge my wife,” he called over the cheering and shouting of the crowd.
Laughing merrily, Laura tossed her own roll of colorful paper ribbon over the edge of the railing, watching as it fluttered and twisted together with the many others her fellow passengers had thrown.
*
“Why aren’t we in the presidential suite?” Aaron demanded to know as they arrived in their well-appointed stateroom. He peered into the bedroom. “Why do we only have single beds? I thought this ship was first class.” He scowled at the steward.
“This room was especially outfitted with more compact furniture to allow for Mrs Doral’s wheelchair,” the young crewman explained.
“Typical,” Aaron grumbled under his breath. Like he needed any reminders of what a burden his wife and her wheelchair were.
"Besides, you won't be sleeping in this bedroom," Sesha said sharply. "Your room is across the sitting room."
The steward schooled his face so not to laugh; Aaron's turned an ugly shade of purple.
"Nurse Schaffer will be sharing my room," his wife said. "She needs to be close to help me in the night."
Three porters shuffled into the room, struggling under the weight of one of Sesha’s heavy trunks.
Puffing from his exertion, one of the men gestured to the trunk’s lock. “I’ll need a key, ma’am. If you want the stewards to unpack.”
Sesha drummed her nails on her chair’s arms. Then she noticed her new nurse lurking in the corner. “No,” she ordered. “Nurse Schaffer will do it. She’ll need to earn her keep on this cruise, after all.”
Paulla made a small curtsy and took the key Mrs Doral offered. She must not forget her role as the demur obedient servant.
“Good. That’s settled.” Sesha watched her husband running a finger along the furniture, checking for dust particles. “Aaron,” she snapped. “I’d like to go out to the deck to join in with the bon voyage with the other passengers.”
“Do you think that’s wise? There’ll be a crowd--”
“Come on,” she interrupted his protests. “Push me. We’ll leave the nurse to get on with her tasks.”
They had not yet reached the dockside railing when a steward approached them and delivered Sesha a note.
“Oh Aaron!” she cried, excitement shaking the paper in her hands. “I can’t believe it! Laura Roslin is also on board. She wants us to join her for tonight’s Aloha Dinner.”
She noticed that her husband's peeved expression.
“You should be excited, dear,” she drawled.
“She’s very rich,” she pointed out. “We’ll be guaranteed a place at the Captain’s table. And she's married an old sailor or something, so you'll have someone from your class to talk to.”
Doral's upper lip twitched at the thought of trying to make small talk with some roughneck while his wife droned on with some other society matron. He remembered Laura Roslin having great legs, but a sharp tongue too. Too bad Sesha hadn't bothered to show her equally bitchy manner when he was pursuing her.
On cue, she snipped at him, "Aaron! Move me closer to the rail! I want to see!"
"Yes, dear," he murmured ingratiatingly, but his knuckles were white on the chair's back as he pushed her up the the deck's edge until her knees touched the railing.
The ship’s horn blared its final warning.
Below on the dock, Elosha and Emily stood side by side, waving up to their employers until the cruise ship's lines were unfastened and the massive white vessel eased back from the dock, making its way out into the deep water of the bay.
“Mr Adams suggested I take a vacation,” Elosha mumbled as they turned to go, tears welling in her eyes.
Emily made an attempt to buoy up the old nanny’s spirits. “That sounds a perfectly splendid idea, Miss Elosha! You keep saying you need to go and visit that pretty young niece of yours. Anastasia, isn’t it?”
"I suppose," Elosha said slowly.
With the help of Young Jaffee, Emily bundled a distraught Elosha into the back seat of the Rolls.
“It’s after five o’clock. I think I’ll find my own way home, Jaffee,” the secretary announced, fighting to hide her agitation.
Emily quickly strode through the dispersing crowd until she found a phone booth. After closing the door behind her, she drew a business card from her handbag, and dialled the number printed on it. “Hello? Shady Trees Motel? Could you please connect me with Mr Adams' room?"
Jake sniffed along the railing as the happy couple made their way to the ship's bow. A steward bowed and touched his cap's brim. "Excuse me, sir, madam, the dog..."
"He doesn't bite," Bill assured the young man.
"It's not that, sir." The steward bowed again. "It's the stops, sir." His cheeks flushed.
"Oh! Yes," said Bill. "Well, he's real good. Goes where I tell him."
"That would be on the upper open deck, sir," said the steward, relieved that Adams understood. "Dogs may be walked on the even hour and stewards will be present to clean up."
Bill turned so Laura and the young man couldn't see him roll his eyes. This cruise did come with everything!
"I'll remember that, son," he said, tugging Jake along, and gathering his wife close to continue their stroll.
At the bow, another steward was waiting, but Bill had arranged his presence. He was holding the best view spot, and had set up a small table with a chilled bottle of wine.
"I know you don't like champagne, my dear," said Bill, "so I've had a bottle of very dry Riesling brought for us."
"Oh, darling, you think of everything!" said Laura, making sure her hat was secure. She reset the diamond-studded hatpin at the nape of her neck, but her curls whirled around her face.
Bill offered her a half-full glass, smiling at her glowing eyes and flushed cheeks. With his own glass in one hand, he pulled her close, pushing his nose through the thick fox collar of her coat to nuzzle her neck. "Here we are at last, my darling wife."
She gazed up at the Golden Gate Bridge. "Yes, there were definitely moments where I questioned if we'd make it."
He laughed. "I never doubted it," he proclaimed proudly.
Foghorns blared as they passed out of the bay and into the open ocean. Bill's nostrils flared.
"Storm's coming up," he announced.
"Oh, Bill. You're on holiday," scolded Laura before sipping her wine.
"It'll be a rough night," he told her. Lowering his voice, he rumbled into her ear, "I'll have to show you how to ride out a storm."
"There's a trick to it?" she asked, her voice sultry.
"Most definitely requires some special techniques," he promised and drained his glass. The steward stepped forward with his tray to receive their glasses. Bill sighed to himself.
"I've found you to be an exceptional teacher, Mr Adams. I look forward to your next tutorial."
Chuckling, he looped her arm through his. “Come on, darling. Let’s get you and Jake back in your room before this storm hits.”
But when they returned to their cabin, Laura found a reply to her note waiting.
"Sesha will be at the dinner," she told her husband. "We must go."
In the act of shedding his suit jacket, Bill frowned. Laura waved a hand at him. "Keep undressing. It will be black tie for dinner tonight."
Yanking his tie loose, Bill growled under his breath. Some honeymoon!
Laura was finding this dressing herself a bit more difficult than she'd assumed. In nothing but a satin robe, she roamed from the suite of drawers to the closet and back. "Did you see where Elosha put my panties?" she asked her husband.
Bill had succeeded in wrestling into his sock garters, high-waisted pants, fine cotton shirt and waistcoat, and was feeling triumphant, deciding Laura deserved some teasing.
Coming up behind her, he nuzzled her neck and wrapped his arms around her. His big hands caressed her hips through her thin robe. "You don't need any underwear tonight."
His hands kept roaming. The robe fell open under his manhandling, and Laura's head rolled back onto his shoulder. She loved the feeling of his thick arms wrapped close, his sturdy body pressed against her back.
But she had to be strong.
"Bill, if you keep this up, we're going to have to bathe again, and we simply don't have time."
"Now, darling," he said in his lowest voice, the tone that rumbled through her very bones. "It's our honeymoon. And we do have some catching up to do still--"
Even as she swayed with him, Laura raised her chin. "Bill, that's low. Trying to use guilt--"
"Guilt?" he said innocently even has he cupped her between her legs. "I just thought we could be a few minutes late..."
She turned in his embrace. "Oh, Mr Adams, there'll be no 'few minutes' of anything." She kissed him breathless.
"After dinner, we'll have one hell of a dessert," she promised, her lips still touching his.
"With a cherry on top?" he said, grinning.
She gave him a quick peck, knowing she'd won. "Most definitely."
But from the sparkle in his eyes, she knew he was going to give her trouble tonight.
End of Chapter Two
Authors: aussie and bugs
Genre: A/U, Romance, Drama
Rating: T
Word Count: 3,100
Summary: The lines are untied and the ship pushes back from the dock.
Chapter Two:
Bill had always enjoyed the last few hours before his ship sailed. He'd check through his manifest, review his crew one last time, and turn the page in his log to a fresh, clean piece of paper. And always sniffing the wind, checking for storms on the horizon.
He couldn't smell the weather in the SS Monterey's best stateroom. The air was filled with the scent of orchids and lilies from the huge arrangements on every table. And he couldn't think with the chatter of the bon voyage cocktail party in full swing. After three months of marriage, the Adams had acquired a small circle of friends, cobbled together from her crowd who'd actually welcomed her new husband, and his acquaintances from boxing gyms, dark jazz bars, and bookstores.
The writer, Hugh O'Mallory, was slumped in a white velvet chair puffing on a cigar. His wife, Lydia, propped herself on the chair arm, the wide mouth on her long face flapping at Cora Smythe-Boyles, a very haughty fashion designer with a wicked sense of humor hidden well behind her porcelain-doll face.
Bill shimmied between them and the chattering Hank Mercers, of the Piedmont Mercers, trying to make his way toward Laura. She was trapped on the far side of the room, cornered by the leering boxing promoter, Tex Simmons. The little man's stature meant he could gaze into the revealing decolletage of Laura's cocktail dress easily.
Before Bill could get across the room, the nightclub singer, Fanny Bradford, cleared her throat richly, tossed back her mass of blonde curls and began singing a silly ditty about dancing under swaying coconut palms.
With the crush in her way, Elosha was attempting to unpack Laura's four steamer trunks without much success. She kept glancing at the closed door to the small maid's quarters off the lounge. Elosha would be staying behind for the first time in Laura's life and she was not taking it well.
Bill ignored the anguished look she gave him as he went past.
Hattie Schmuler, one of Laura's strongest allies in her social work, and the woman's escort, Terrance Green, were attempting a very poor hula dance, blocking Bill's way again. He found himself wedged against the wall with Emily. She was checking through the passenger list.
"What are you doing?" He peered over her shoulder at her neat notes.
"Just letting Mrs Adams know which passengers are friends, acquaintances or business associates and those to be avoided," the secretary said.
Bill could only shake his head.
"Laura!" Emily burst out, then recovered. "Mrs Adams!"
Going up on her tiptoes to look at her secretary over the heads of the undulating dancers, Laura called back, "What is it?"
"It's Sesha Abinell, that is, she’s now Sesha Doral," said Emily. "She's on this sailing with her new husband."
Laura finally pushed her way through the crush to join them. "Oh goodness, I haven't seen her in at least two years.”
Both women's faces became sad.
"She writes and calls," said Laura, "but doesn't come to the City anymore, or even allow me to visit her in Atherton. The latest I heard from her was a short note after our wedding announcement."
She slipped her arm through Bill's. "This is an old college chum of ours," she explained. "She was so full of life, the leader of our little group, but about five years ago, she lost her beloved first husband; they were such a lovely couple." Laura's face subtly changed. "Then she seemed to find happiness again--her horse trainer--but shortly after they married, she suffered a terrible fall from her new mount. She's never walked again."
"Since then, she's removed herself from society," added Emily. "Which I suppose is to be expected considering the circumstances. She was such a lively person, a great sportswoman--"
Laura raised her chin. "Well, if she's come on this holiday, surely she expects to mingle. Emily, please write up a note and have it delivered to her stateroom."
"Yes, Mrs Adams." Emily opened Laura's travel case and removed a sheet of her heavy notepaper, monogrammed in silver with her new initials. The secretary wrote a few neat lines and handed it to Laura for her signature.
"I'll have a steward deliver it immediately," Emily said. "Perhaps she can join you for the Aloha dinner tonight."
Bill was reminded of this ridiculous dog and pony show he was about to undertake for the next four days to Hawaii; a crew with shiny brass buttons and epaulets on snow-white uniforms, potato sack races on the upper deck, musical chairs in the Grand Lounge--good god!
Then he looked at Laura's smiling face and forced on his own smile. "Can't wait," he said.
Laura's nose crinkled impishly and she gave him a quick kiss. "Our honeymoon at last!" she enthused.
His pasted smile became a full grin. That's right. They were on their honeymoon! Nothing said they had to even leave this posh room--
"Miss Laura," interjected Elosha. "I need to explain how to these silks must be washed..."
Bill sighed in exasperation. Laura took a deep breath. The ship's horn blew.
"That's your warning," Bill announced loudly above Franny's singing. "Twenty minutes to disembark or the next stop is Oahu!"
"Twenty minutes; plenty of time to sort through a few more details," said the maid maddeningly.
Staring Elosha down, Bill plucked one of Laura's gowns from her hands. "It's only three weeks, not forever."
She moved to fiddle with the lock on the last trunk. "I suppose that's everything," she said tragically.
Laura gave Bill a look saying, can you believe this? He gave her a look back, what did you expect?
Putting aside the dress, he went to help the maid. "Let me get that for you, Elosha."
Lowering his voice, he told her, "Take a vacation of your own, Ma'am."
"Vacation?" She looked confused.
"Yes. Charge anything to Mrs Adams and go have a good time."
Still looking perplexed, Elosha gathered her richly colored robes close and followed the chattering crowd making their way out the doorway. Laura stopped her and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Wait for Emily. Jaffee will take the two of you back to the house."
"Anything else?" Emily asked Laura after closing her employer's travel case.
"No, thank you, Emily," said Laura. "I can manage from here on out."
"Of course." Emily flipped her notepad closed and tucked it into her handbag. "I'll hold the fort down while you're gone."
Laura grinned. "I trust you completely."
Lowering her head, the secretary hurried to do join the others.
Elosha looked around the stateroom one more time, then shrugged and followed the last visitors out, closing the door behind her.
"Alone at last," said Bill, embracing Laura.
Then he heard a whine from the closed door of the maid's room. Laura stepped away and opened the door. Jake rushed out, wiggling with happiness.
Laura bent down to rub the dog's head. "One of our little family got to come along!"
"He keeps his mouth shut and doesn't bust in when we make love," said Bill, fetching Laura's silver fox coat from the closet.
"I think we scare him when we do that," mused Laura, accepting the coat on her shoulders.
Bill started to protest, then closed his mouth. "I can't believe you brought that heavy coat on a tropical vacation," he said, still grousing on that point. He slipped into his trenchcoat and Fedora hat.
"Because it's going to be incredibly cold out on the bow of the ship." Bill had already told her they must be up front when the vessel sailed through the Golden Gate. "We could watch from our veranda--"
"No fun in that," insisted Bill, clipping the leash to Jake's collar. "Gotta feel the sea spray on your face."
She shuddered behind his back, but then smiled brightly when he stood upright.
Arm in arm, they strolled out to the deck. The excited passengers had gathered at the railing, cheering and waving to the dock below.
Jake pinned his ears back at the commotion, slinking in between Bill and Laura’s legs for safety.
Bill found them a spot against the railing that offered a clear view to the dock. Laura waved madly when she recognized Elosha’s flowing caftan amongst the well-wishers bidding farewell to their friends and relatives.
Stewards came along offering buckets of confetti and handfuls of streamers. Bill stopped one young man and secured some for them. “Here,” he said, filling her gloved hands with colorful chips of paper.
.
“Mr Adams,” she said, bumping her shoulder against his, “I thought you regarded this type of thing as a folly of the rich and foolish.”
He grinned and hurling a streamer roll in a high arc. It unfurled perfectly, drifting down on those gathered below. “I like to indulge my wife,” he called over the cheering and shouting of the crowd.
Laughing merrily, Laura tossed her own roll of colorful paper ribbon over the edge of the railing, watching as it fluttered and twisted together with the many others her fellow passengers had thrown.
*
“Why aren’t we in the presidential suite?” Aaron demanded to know as they arrived in their well-appointed stateroom. He peered into the bedroom. “Why do we only have single beds? I thought this ship was first class.” He scowled at the steward.
“This room was especially outfitted with more compact furniture to allow for Mrs Doral’s wheelchair,” the young crewman explained.
“Typical,” Aaron grumbled under his breath. Like he needed any reminders of what a burden his wife and her wheelchair were.
"Besides, you won't be sleeping in this bedroom," Sesha said sharply. "Your room is across the sitting room."
The steward schooled his face so not to laugh; Aaron's turned an ugly shade of purple.
"Nurse Schaffer will be sharing my room," his wife said. "She needs to be close to help me in the night."
Three porters shuffled into the room, struggling under the weight of one of Sesha’s heavy trunks.
Puffing from his exertion, one of the men gestured to the trunk’s lock. “I’ll need a key, ma’am. If you want the stewards to unpack.”
Sesha drummed her nails on her chair’s arms. Then she noticed her new nurse lurking in the corner. “No,” she ordered. “Nurse Schaffer will do it. She’ll need to earn her keep on this cruise, after all.”
Paulla made a small curtsy and took the key Mrs Doral offered. She must not forget her role as the demur obedient servant.
“Good. That’s settled.” Sesha watched her husband running a finger along the furniture, checking for dust particles. “Aaron,” she snapped. “I’d like to go out to the deck to join in with the bon voyage with the other passengers.”
“Do you think that’s wise? There’ll be a crowd--”
“Come on,” she interrupted his protests. “Push me. We’ll leave the nurse to get on with her tasks.”
They had not yet reached the dockside railing when a steward approached them and delivered Sesha a note.
“Oh Aaron!” she cried, excitement shaking the paper in her hands. “I can’t believe it! Laura Roslin is also on board. She wants us to join her for tonight’s Aloha Dinner.”
She noticed that her husband's peeved expression.
“You should be excited, dear,” she drawled.
“She’s very rich,” she pointed out. “We’ll be guaranteed a place at the Captain’s table. And she's married an old sailor or something, so you'll have someone from your class to talk to.”
Doral's upper lip twitched at the thought of trying to make small talk with some roughneck while his wife droned on with some other society matron. He remembered Laura Roslin having great legs, but a sharp tongue too. Too bad Sesha hadn't bothered to show her equally bitchy manner when he was pursuing her.
On cue, she snipped at him, "Aaron! Move me closer to the rail! I want to see!"
"Yes, dear," he murmured ingratiatingly, but his knuckles were white on the chair's back as he pushed her up the the deck's edge until her knees touched the railing.
The ship’s horn blared its final warning.
Below on the dock, Elosha and Emily stood side by side, waving up to their employers until the cruise ship's lines were unfastened and the massive white vessel eased back from the dock, making its way out into the deep water of the bay.
“Mr Adams suggested I take a vacation,” Elosha mumbled as they turned to go, tears welling in her eyes.
Emily made an attempt to buoy up the old nanny’s spirits. “That sounds a perfectly splendid idea, Miss Elosha! You keep saying you need to go and visit that pretty young niece of yours. Anastasia, isn’t it?”
"I suppose," Elosha said slowly.
With the help of Young Jaffee, Emily bundled a distraught Elosha into the back seat of the Rolls.
“It’s after five o’clock. I think I’ll find my own way home, Jaffee,” the secretary announced, fighting to hide her agitation.
Emily quickly strode through the dispersing crowd until she found a phone booth. After closing the door behind her, she drew a business card from her handbag, and dialled the number printed on it. “Hello? Shady Trees Motel? Could you please connect me with Mr Adams' room?"
Jake sniffed along the railing as the happy couple made their way to the ship's bow. A steward bowed and touched his cap's brim. "Excuse me, sir, madam, the dog..."
"He doesn't bite," Bill assured the young man.
"It's not that, sir." The steward bowed again. "It's the stops, sir." His cheeks flushed.
"Oh! Yes," said Bill. "Well, he's real good. Goes where I tell him."
"That would be on the upper open deck, sir," said the steward, relieved that Adams understood. "Dogs may be walked on the even hour and stewards will be present to clean up."
Bill turned so Laura and the young man couldn't see him roll his eyes. This cruise did come with everything!
"I'll remember that, son," he said, tugging Jake along, and gathering his wife close to continue their stroll.
At the bow, another steward was waiting, but Bill had arranged his presence. He was holding the best view spot, and had set up a small table with a chilled bottle of wine.
"I know you don't like champagne, my dear," said Bill, "so I've had a bottle of very dry Riesling brought for us."
"Oh, darling, you think of everything!" said Laura, making sure her hat was secure. She reset the diamond-studded hatpin at the nape of her neck, but her curls whirled around her face.
Bill offered her a half-full glass, smiling at her glowing eyes and flushed cheeks. With his own glass in one hand, he pulled her close, pushing his nose through the thick fox collar of her coat to nuzzle her neck. "Here we are at last, my darling wife."
She gazed up at the Golden Gate Bridge. "Yes, there were definitely moments where I questioned if we'd make it."
He laughed. "I never doubted it," he proclaimed proudly.
Foghorns blared as they passed out of the bay and into the open ocean. Bill's nostrils flared.
"Storm's coming up," he announced.
"Oh, Bill. You're on holiday," scolded Laura before sipping her wine.
"It'll be a rough night," he told her. Lowering his voice, he rumbled into her ear, "I'll have to show you how to ride out a storm."
"There's a trick to it?" she asked, her voice sultry.
"Most definitely requires some special techniques," he promised and drained his glass. The steward stepped forward with his tray to receive their glasses. Bill sighed to himself.
"I've found you to be an exceptional teacher, Mr Adams. I look forward to your next tutorial."
Chuckling, he looped her arm through his. “Come on, darling. Let’s get you and Jake back in your room before this storm hits.”
But when they returned to their cabin, Laura found a reply to her note waiting.
"Sesha will be at the dinner," she told her husband. "We must go."
In the act of shedding his suit jacket, Bill frowned. Laura waved a hand at him. "Keep undressing. It will be black tie for dinner tonight."
Yanking his tie loose, Bill growled under his breath. Some honeymoon!
Laura was finding this dressing herself a bit more difficult than she'd assumed. In nothing but a satin robe, she roamed from the suite of drawers to the closet and back. "Did you see where Elosha put my panties?" she asked her husband.
Bill had succeeded in wrestling into his sock garters, high-waisted pants, fine cotton shirt and waistcoat, and was feeling triumphant, deciding Laura deserved some teasing.
Coming up behind her, he nuzzled her neck and wrapped his arms around her. His big hands caressed her hips through her thin robe. "You don't need any underwear tonight."
His hands kept roaming. The robe fell open under his manhandling, and Laura's head rolled back onto his shoulder. She loved the feeling of his thick arms wrapped close, his sturdy body pressed against her back.
But she had to be strong.
"Bill, if you keep this up, we're going to have to bathe again, and we simply don't have time."
"Now, darling," he said in his lowest voice, the tone that rumbled through her very bones. "It's our honeymoon. And we do have some catching up to do still--"
Even as she swayed with him, Laura raised her chin. "Bill, that's low. Trying to use guilt--"
"Guilt?" he said innocently even has he cupped her between her legs. "I just thought we could be a few minutes late..."
She turned in his embrace. "Oh, Mr Adams, there'll be no 'few minutes' of anything." She kissed him breathless.
"After dinner, we'll have one hell of a dessert," she promised, her lips still touching his.
"With a cherry on top?" he said, grinning.
She gave him a quick peck, knowing she'd won. "Most definitely."
But from the sparkle in his eyes, she knew he was going to give her trouble tonight.
End of Chapter Two