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“The entire staff voted to come back here rather than stay in port,” Gloria says.
Did they? This will definitely be the talk of the cruise.
We have a long journey home. This delay will add an extra day to the trip. And another day we’re not at work. Before I can ask the question, Gloria jumps in, “Yes, I already arranged for the temps to come back on Monday since we won’t return on time. The satellite feed is back up and everything is fine.”
“I see, thank you.”
“And we delayed the formal dinner and casino night. Nobody was up for it with you gone.” Gloria frowns. “The ship was well appointed even for an extra day, so we had a burger night.”
Mory pats my shoulder. “We have it handled, and there will be no additional charges for the extra night. Now, I’m sure Dr. Jarvis wants to look at Miss Johansson’s arm, and it wouldn’t be a bad idea for both of you to head to the sick bay to be sure you’re all right.”
“Please come down to the pool when you’re situated,” Sarah says. “I need to be certain that you’re fine.”
“Me, too,” Gloria says. “There will be no more holing up in your room with paperwork.”
I lift my hands in defeat. “All right, all right.” I turn to Mory. “And I’m not holding Blue Sapphire liable for any of this. Bailey and I were way off the beaten path when that storm hit. It was our own fault we got stuck there.”
“That’s nice and all,” Mory says, “but there should’ve been a headcount before we left the area, storm or no storm.”
I move toward Bailey, but she takes a step away, a movement that does not go unnoticed by Gloria.
“If it’s all right, Mr. Armstrong, I’ll accompany Bailey to the doctor. Perhaps you can come along a while later. Give her some privacy and a break from you.”
I want to see how Bailey feels about that, but her eyes are on the floor. “Of course,” I say.
Clearly Bailey needs some space. I will give it to her.
And just like that, we’re separated.
Bailey leaves with Gloria. I’m left with my VP of operations and the ship’s crew.
And I have no idea where I stand with anyone.
29
BAILEY
Rhett looks concerned as I walk away, but I can’t do anything about that. The weight of everyone watching me, maybe even guessing what happened on the island, is heavy on me. I want to disappear.
The sick bay is level with the dock down a maze of hallways that include offices and what appear to be smaller rooms for the crew.
Dr. Jarvis gestures for me to hop onto an exam table and lifts my arm. “I know you’ll want a shower shortly, so how about I come see you in about an hour and redress this? It doesn’t look infected, but let’s be cautious. When was your last tetanus shot?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Well, I can’t remedy that here, but you get yourself updated. I’d follow up with your regular doctor when you get home.”
That will be hard to do, and expensive, given I don’t currently have health insurance. “But it looks all right? It doesn’t hurt.”
“It looks fine.”
Good enough for me.
He looks in my ear and throat. He listens to me breathe again. “The sunburn doesn’t look too bad.”
“I’ve had much worse.”
He steps back and watches me with quiet patience. “Is everything else all right?”
