AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Brittany
Dane never showed up in the dining room during lunch, and his string of lies remains a mystery, although I'm not sure I want to know the truth. Believing someone may have used me is painful enough. Knowing it happened and getting it thrown in my face would magnify my feelings tenfold. If I could handle the situation the way I'd prefer, I'd hunt him down, confront him face-to-face, leave the ship, and go home. But that's not an option since I can't leave, and it would be unwise to call attention to myself because of my assignment. Doing the job poorly or not at all would likely cost me the promotion or get me fired.
So I'm stuck on a cruise ship for eight long days—with Dane.
Angry and unable to sit still on the ship, I make the twenty-five-minute walk from the dock to the famous Great Market Hall to expel some of my negative energy and calm down. The place is a gigantic multistoried warehouse full of meats, cheeses, produce, coffees, spices, souvenirs, and much more. Opening in1897, it's the largest indoor market in Budapest and a popular stop for tourists.
It's also a great place to clear my head.
Purchasing a tin of paprika from a smiling merchant, I take my plastic bag from the counter and reevaluate my mood. Still hurt and grumpy, I'm not ready to return to the ship, which remains docked in Budapest until tomorrow morning. Deciding to stroll the aisles a while longer, I stop at a stall full of chocolates and browse their assortment of tempting products. I'm about to walk away when I notice a woman leaning toward me.
"The marzipan is delicious. My husband and I came back to the market to get more."
Surprised, I turn toward the lady speaking to me in perfect English. Based on her Philadelphia Phillies baseball cap and camera hanging from a strap around her neck, I have to assume she's an American. A heavyset and cranky-looking gentleman stands next to her in a matching cap.
"It looked like it would be good, although marzipan isn't my thing. I'm more into licorice and jelly beans," I say.
"Ooh, you're American. Where are you from?" the woman says excitedly.
"New York, and you?"
"Philadelphia." She points at her hat and smiles. "We have to support our team."
"Are you on a cruise?" the man says as he scrutinizes me. "We just finished one from Bucharest to Budapest. We're here until tomorrow, and then we fly home."
"I'm on one from here to Regensburg, Germany. We stay docked here overnight."
"If you like—" The man stops talking and glares at the woman as her voice drowns him out.
"That's such a lovely cruise! We did it last year." The woman grasps my arm, and I can feel her nails dig into my skin. "Don't you think she'll enjoy it, Marvin?"
"Are you going to let me speak or cut me off again?"
The woman gives Marvin the evil eye, opens her mouth to say something, then closes it.
I clear my throat to interrupt their stare down and detach myself from the woman's grasp. "This is my first cruise, so I'm glad to hear it's nice."
The man turns away from his wife. "What I started to say earlier was if you like licorice and jelly beans, you can find some at the specialty candy store down the street. The place is easy to find. Head away from the river and turn left at the four-way intersection. You can't miss the store."
"Oh, yes, we were there earlier," the woman says giddily. "You have to go there. You really do. The place is full of American products you can't buy in the regular stores around here, like Pop-Tarts, Lucky Charms, Twinkies, and tons of candy."
The woman reaches for my arm again, and I quickly step back, evading her overly friendly grasp.
"Thanks for the heads-up about the store. I'll check it out. You'll have to excuse me. I need to head back to my ship." I give the two a brief smile and hurry away. I've had more than my fair share of drama today and have no desire to get sucked into the middle of theirs.
I leave the market and head to the candy store, finding it easily. Once inside, I'm in junk food heaven, the store filled with everything you could imagine. I scan the shelves and spot the Twizzlers. "Yes!" I say with an exaggerated arm pump.I've been saved!I gather the last six packages in my arms and then duck down to peer at the back of the shelf. Aha! There are two more packages. My arms are loaded with strawberry Twizzlers as Ihead to the checkout stand and plop my chewy treasures on the counter.
"Need to buy more?" the man at the counter says. He's grinning at me, appearing thrilled I've raided his shelf. "More…in back." He points to a door, which I assume leads to a storage area.
"No, no, this is good. It's my comfort snack. I've had a bad day."
"Ah, bad day." The man nods his head in apparent understanding.
I pay for the licorice and head back to the ship, my plastic bag practically overflowing. Once there, I scan my key card on the device in the reception area, which registers my return. I turn to leave and find the four ladies I met earlier watching me from where they're standing by the reception desk. I smile, a length of strawberry licorice bobbing up and down as it hangs from my mouth.
"You went shopping?" Iris eyes the bag in my hand.
"I did," I mumble before pulling the licorice from my lips. "I went to the Great Market Hall and a specialty candy store afterward. I had to get Twizzlers." I pull the open package from my plastic bag and hold it up.
