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“It leaves on the 20th. If you had decided on the 20ththat you would go with me, I would have made that boat wait for you to get on, even if I had to call in a last-minute health inspection and delay the departure. I am glad you gave us three days to prepare. It will make things so much more fun and easier in the long run. I will send you a packing list, and you should have a package waiting for you outside your door that will make the whole packing process easier. Thank you for agreeing to go with me. This is going to be the best Thanksgiving of my life,and I hope it goes down in your memory as one of the best of yours. Good night. I will see you at work on Sunday. Call if you have any questions. The itinerary is already in your email, so you can forward that to Sarah and Tom. Make sure you add Tom so he doesn’t feel the need to hack my account to avoid inconveniencing Sarah for the information. My travel agent’s number is included if you or they have any questions. I will be in meetings with the board all day tomorrow, but if you need me, just text, and I will call you between sessions. Enjoy your day off, Beth. You deserve it.”
“Thank you, Chad. See you Sunday and I will be thinking of you tomorrow. Good night.”
“Good night, beautiful.”
As the line closed Beth opened her door to find a very large delivery box had been left while she took her nap. Upon dragging it inside and opening it, she saw it was brand new, very expensive luggage, a whole set with seven pieces!What was that man thinking? Did he send this over, just hoping she would give in and agree?She was once again flabbergasted by his arrogance, but he always had good intentions and treated her so well she couldn’t stay annoyed with him for long.
She logged onto her laptop and searched her inbox for the itinerary. He had sent it right after their lunch, so it was buried beneath advertisements and spam. Opening it, she printed two copies for herself along with the packing list the travel agent had attached, and the list of excursions Chad had selected as potential adventures based on her interests. Beth was supposed to mark the activities she really wanted to do in green, activities she could take or leave in yellow, and any activities she absolutely was not interested in were to be marked in red. Right away, swimming with sharks caught her attention, and she clicked on the red highlighter button and crossed that one off. The list had at least twenty choices on it. She assumed this closeto the departure date, most of them were probably full, so she tried to keep an open mind and only eliminated true fears so the agent had more opportunities to find available bookings. She then forwarded everything to Sarah and Tom with a note to Tom that she would call him the next day to explain.
Beth spent the next three hours standing in front of her closet agonizing over what to take as the majority of her clothing options were scrubs, business casual, or now winter options for visiting Sarah in Massachusetts. Looked like she would be hitting a few shops in the morning.
With a list of necessary items and the stores to find them created, Beth was finally tired enough to try and sleep again. Relaxing back into her pillow with the covers pulled up to her chin, she took ten cleansing breaths and closed her eyes once again. She knew she was going to dream and just hoped her dreams were sweet ones of baby Saraphina or laughing in the surf with Chad and not getting attacked by sharks.
Chapter 6
The morning dawned clear and bright, the perfect day for a shopping excursion. Her first order of business was locating a new bathing suit that did not make her look like an old lady even though she was quite a few years past, “over the hill.” Thankfully, she lived in Central Florida, where bathing suits could be found easily all year round.
The store clerk who assisted her seemed more excited about her adventure than she was, which, at this point, was saying something. The young lady kept going on and on about true love and never being too old to find your soul mate. After the fourth time of correcting her that Chad was her best friend, not her soulmate, she gave up and let the commentary pass without further argument. She had never felt particularly feminine in a bathing suit, but the one she finally decided on made her feel just that. It was amazing how the tiniest of details could make such a mundane garment look like a fashion statement. The one she chose was black and had a tummy control panel cleverly placed behind ruched detailing, cream crocheted trim along the v-neck, cute, ruffled sleeves, and modestly cut leg holes. The clerk saidsomething about butt lift, but Beth had no idea what that meant, so paid little attention. She had never seen a bathing suit like this before but felt absolutely beautiful in it. The salesclerk made a good argument for restroom breaks and suggested a two-piece tankini as a second suit. Deciding that an eleven-day Caribbean vacation necessitated a second suit if she didn’t want to be putting on a wet one every day, she agreed. She chose another v-neck style with a long tank top design, which also included the cleverly hidden tummy control panel and pink bottoms with large blue banana leaves on them. Pull strings peaked from the bottom on each side and allowed her to pull them to increase the ruching effect on her abdomen. She also added a sarong and midthigh cover-up dress. Sticker shock hit her when she saw the total bill, but she imagined Sarah whispering to her,“You deserve this, Mom. Go for it.”and completed her purchase.
After three more hours of shopping, she had all the necessary items to feel confident on this trip, including two formal dresses for the Captain’s dinners. By 5pm, she was packed and ready to go. The excitement was building, and she still had to get through work tomorrow. She was contemplating what to eat for dinner as she had already cleaned out her refrigerator when her cell phone rang. It was Tom,how could she have forgotten to call him!
“Hello dear,” she said, answering her phone on the third ring.
“Hello, Momtu. Did I catch you at a good time?” Tom sounded out of breath.
“It is perfectly fine for me, but you sound a little winded. Is this a good time for you?”
“Yeah, I have been hiking with my conservation team all day and wanted to call you before it got too late. I got your email with your trip itinerary. Thank you for that. Sarah said you are going with Dr. Fox. We both like him, so we have no worries. How do you feel about the trip?”
“I was concerned about missing Sarah and Saraphina for Thanksgiving, but Sarah assured me she was okay with it. I am getting really excited, actually. This is the biggest adventure I have ever had. I still need to call your mom and let her know I am leaving town. It has been a whirlwind since I decided to go.”
“About that, the cat got out of the bag. I spoke with Mom this morning, and thinking you had already talked to her about it, let it slip. She is excited for you and is currently on a plane here, so you won’t be able to catch her this evening. Sarah wanted me to remind you that your phone is waterproof, and you need to keep it on you at all times. Keep a hundred dollars tucked in your shoe or somewhere else secure just in case you get into a pinch. Cash works wonders in these places. Twenties are best; you don’t want to be flashing hundred-dollar bills around. Please wear the necklace I gave you. It has a tracker in it. If you go in the water, don’t wear it because it is shiny, but the black rubber watch is also a tracker. If anything goes wrong, I can be to you in a matter of hours. Do you need anything?”
Beth hadn’t been scared and still wasn’t, even after Tom’s talk about GPS trackers. She felt secure knowing that he would be watching over her just in case trouble occurred. It was always best to be safe rather than sorry. Besides, if she balked at his surveillance, he would do it anyway. This way, she knew that he and Sarah could both rest easy knowing she was okay. When it came to mother hens, she had two: her biological daughter and adopted son. It was heartwarming and never bothered her, knowing they checked up on her.
“Thank you, Tom. I appreciate the information and take comfort in knowing you have my back. I will go put the necklace and watch in my things right now. Give Annette a hug for me and let her know I didn’t forget her. Things just got really crazy.”
“She knows, but I will anyway. Be safe. Have fun. I look forward to hearing all about it when you come up here. I love you.”
“I love you too, dear.” The line disconnected. Tom wasn’t one for saying goodbye, but he always made sure to say he loved her. That boy was such a treasure. Beth was so happy that he came into their lives. He was the best thing to happen to Sarah, right up until she met her husband Eric, and that only came about because of Tom.
A smile graced her face as she finished stowing the GPS trackers, ate a light dinner of random items she still had in the fridge, and then prepared for bed. As she plugged in her phone and double-checked her alarm for work, she noticed a missed call. The voicemail was from Chad. “Hey beautiful, I will be in meetings all day tomorrow and might miss you, so I wanted to clarify our plans. I will pick you up at 6am on Monday. The trip shouldn’t take us more than three hours as long as traffic is good. I have all the documents ready, so you just need yourself and your bags. I hope you have a pleasant day tomorrow. Don’t let the ladies on your floor give you a hard time and no guilt. This is going to be a wonderful trip, and I can’t wait to see you. Good night. Sweet dreams.”
That was unexpected. She wished she hadn’t missed his call. She would try to stop by his office before she left work tomorrow to let him know she got the message or at least text him. She always looked forward to work and enjoyed spending time with her patients, but for the first time in a long time, she wished that tomorrow would just fly by so she could start this journey. The anticipation was building to a breaking point. Definitely time for some shut-eye. Turning off the bedside lamp, she crawled into bed and dreamt of sandy toes, surf, and Chad.
Chapter 7
The elevator had just opened when she was enveloped in a tight embrace, “Beth! Please tell me the rumors are true, and you are going on a vacation cruise with Dr. Foxy?” Stacy continued to hold her by the arms but was bouncing on her toes in excitement.How in the world had that detail about her time off gotten around the hospital. She knew Chad wouldn’t have said anything.
“Um, I am going on a vacation, with a friend, before heading to Massachusetts to see my daughter for a few days.” Beth was a firm believer in honesty, but stoking this fire with any more fuel for the rumor mills was not going to happen.
“Yay! I just want you to know that all of us are so happy for you. This has been alongtime coming, and we are all rooting for you. Don’t you give this place a second of thought while you are gone. In fact, Nicole said she was willing to come in for you today if you want to take off and finish packing or whatever you need to do.“ The doors to the elevator started to close with Beth and Stacy still inside.
“Thank you, Hun, but I am all ready to go. I need to step off the elevator now and get clocked in,” Beth said, gently leaning over to tap the open door button on the panel.
“Oh, of course. Well, the offer stands if you change your mind. I have to run down to the lab and check on some blood work for Mrs. Smith in 339. Be back in a jiff.” Punching the button for the first floor, Stacy waved as the doors slid shut, and Beth turned towards the Nurses’ Station.
She couldn’t help but notice that all throughout the day, smiles curved her colleague’s lips and conversations being whispered abruptly ended whenever she approached. They were having way too much fun and reading considerably more into this than was necessary or accurate. Determined not to let any of it get to her, she carried on with her work, and before she knew it, her shift was over, and she was back in her car heading home. Remembering the state of her empty refrigerator, she stopped by the Salads and Smoothies shop to pick up a Cobb salad and Green Goddess smoothie. The clock read seven, and she was already tucked into bed, wanting to make sure she was well-rested when Chad picked her up in the morning.
