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“You’re definitely the hard-headed one,” Beth grumbled, still not thrilled with the situation. Giving him a final squeeze, thankful they both made it through, she turned with him to continue along the jungle path. Chad reached for her hand, and she welcomed the strength in his grasp.
After returning to the zipline base and gift shop to have their harnesses removed, they boarded the bus that took them to an outdoor market. They explored the shops, strolling hand in hand, for several hours before making their way back to the ship to rest before dinner.
Chapter 15
Sitting down at their assigned dinner table, Chad was relieved that their dining partners were new. He didn’t really care as long as they avoided Sally and Stewart. Today could have derailed his plans, but reflecting on the afternoon spent hand in hand browsing the local wares, he felt like their relationship was back on solid ground. One conversation with Social Sally could turn it in the other direction, though.
Conversation flowed over the elaborate Thanksgiving meal. Their new dining partners, Linda and Amherst, wanted to relive a family tradition and go around the table sharing what they were grateful for. They were a sweet older couple who were grateful to have the chance to go on their very first cruise and for their large, happy family with twenty-two grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. Beth shared her gratitude for her daughter finding a wonderful husband and blessing her with a precious granddaughter. All eyes turned to Chad, who thought carefully about what he would say as he gazed into Beth’s deep blue eyes.
“I am grateful for friendship that grows over time, and for the chance at love I didn’t realize I was missing but now desperately want.” He punctuated his statement with a wink that turned her cheeks a beautiful shade of pink.
“Oh, he is a rascal, isn’t he, dear?” Linda said, reaching across the table to squeeze Beth’s hand. “Gotta watch those silver-tongued lookers; they can get up to quite a bit of mischief. It can be a lot of fun as long as it is with you and not a long line of other girls.”
“Oh, don’t I know it. You should see the ladies hanging over the nurses’ station and tripping over themselves whenever he walks down the hall. Even the married ones!” Beth scoffed good-naturedly, but Chad heard a hint of hesitancy in her voice.Did Beth not trust him? He may be many things, but a player or cheater was not on the list.
“There is never a shortage of uncomfortable topics for us to discuss at these communal dinners. Perhaps we should start eating at the buffet or hamburger shop,” Chad grumbled under his breath.
“Nonsense, son. Better to figure these things out before the wedding than after,” Amherst added in a gravely base voice as he savored a bite of turkey.
“Listen to you talk, old man. You barely knew my name before we got hitched.” A slim, bony elbow was thrust into his ribs, eliciting a grunt from him.
“I knew all I needed to know. You were beautiful, best cook in town, young, and not yet spoken for. Had to stake my claim before someone else did. I don’t mind sharing my pie as long as I know it was cooked in my kitchen.” This was said very nonchalantly, but a smile curled his lips as he took his next bite.
“Do you hear that, sweetheart? Be glad you are getting married now instead of my day when it isn’t your baking skills that matter most to a man.” Linda’s feathers seemed a little ruffled,but she also appeared to be enjoying the banter with her husband.
“So, when is the wedding? If you live in a warm weather state like we do, it doesn’t really matter, but if you live further north, a summer wedding is easiest to plan.” Linda looked at Beth expectantly.
“Oh, we aren’t there yet. We just started dating, if you can call it that.”
“But you have been friends for a while now?” Linda inquired.
“Yes, ma’am, a little over ten years now.”
“Ten years! My heavens. If you don’t know he is worth marrying by now, then I reckon you never will. You have to be blind not to see that man is over the moon for you. Looks like you are the holdout here.” Amherst adjusted his position in his seat, and a grunt could be heard from Linda as his elbow connected with her side. She leveled a glare at him, but he just stared back at her. It was obvious silent communication was passing between the older pair. It was quite entertaining to watch the tug-of-war of wills.
“All I am saying is that when I can’t make up my mind about something, I sleep on it. When I open my eyes in the morning, I pick the first thought that crosses my mind, and that is the direction I go. Then, I don’t give the alternative a second thought. Decision made; no more thinking or dwelling on it, just moving forward with no regrets. You might want to try that. Makes life much more simple if you ask me.” Linda finished with a decisive nod of her head.
Under his breath, Amherst mumbled, “I don’t remember them asking you. You just had to throw your two cents out there anyway.”
Linda chose to ignore him, but Chad and Beth both had a difficult time not laughing at this precious couple’s antics. By the time dessert rolled around, they had strayed on to less awkwardtopics like careers, grandchildren, vacation destinations, and, believe it or not, the best James Bond characters. Linda agreed with Beth that Sean Connery had top billing, but Amherst was solidly in favor of Roger Moore. One thing everyone seemed to agree on was that placing a woman in the role, while fun, ruined the whole plot line. Beth suggested they do a spin-off and have a whole new franchise focused on the female counterpoints of these famous spies, not just include the women as the sidekicks.
It turned into quite a lively conversation about the best mystery books, spy novels, spy movies, and detective shows. Amherst had been a defense attorney back in his day and enjoyed a good detective show. His son used to always pick his brain on how he would defend someone. He said it added a whole new layer to entertainment when you were expected to develop a case for your child each episode.
“If he was so interested in law as a child, did he grow up to be an attorney himself?” Beth asked.
“Nope, a pilot. That is why this is our first trip on a boat. He always flew us everywhere until now. He just retired, and his son is a ship captain, Navy not luxury. He gave us these tickets for our sixty-fifth anniversary just to spite his father. Worked out in our favor. We invited our son and daughter-in-law to come with us, but he said something about plane crashes being faster deaths than shark bites and drowning.” Amherst shrugged, “His loss. We have really enjoyed ourselves so far, haven’t we, Linda.”
“Sure have. I have already looked at the brochure to see where I want to go next,” she replied.
The men shook hands, and the ladies hugged before going their separate ways. Chad and Beth made their way to the Jazz Lounge for a special Thanksgiving concert being hosted and managed to find a loveseat all the way in the back. The lights were dimmed as the first band took the stage. Chad wrapped his arm around Beth’s shoulder and pulled her close to his side. Hekissed the side of her head and whispered, “This was the best Thanksgiving of my life. Thank you for being here with me.”
Beth turned her face to meet his penetrating grey gaze and thought for a moment that he would kiss her. Electricity seemed to crackle in the air between them. She hadn’t felt this way in a very long time. It was exciting and a little intimidating. “Thank you for inviting me. I haven’t had this much fun in a long time. It has been a very memorable trip.” Beth wasn’t quite ready for the next step, so she turned back towards the stage but settled more closely to his side.
“We are just getting started, sweetheart. We still have five full days of adventure awaiting us,” Chad added, pressing a kiss to her hair.
“Well, I certainly hope the rest of our adventures are less memorable than today’s. I am not sure my heart can handle any more scares like that,” she complained good-naturedly.
“Ah, you wouldn’t have missed me if I had fallen,” Chad teased, squeezing her shoulder lightly.
