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She was intrigued by the storytelling abilities of the highly experienced tour guide and the rich heritage of the island. She had no prior knowledge with which to compare it, but learning it was established by the British, had a history of being a pirate hub, and needed multiple forts to defend itself was fascinating. They stopped and had several tasting sessions along the way. One was of delicious tropical drinks, which all seemed to have some kind of alcohol in them, mostly rum. Touring the rum cake factory and tasting a sample of the rum-soaked cake for the first time was interesting. She was pretty sure she had imbibed in more alcohol today than she had in her entire life and worried that she might get drunk and not even realize it.
Climbing aboard the open-air bus once more, Chad draped his arm along the back of their shared bench, his fingers brushingsoftly against her left shoulder. It felt nice to be sitting this close to a man again and feel the safety of being tucked under his arm like a duckling. That random thought startled Beth, and she considered for a moment that perhaps she really was getting drunk. Leaning into Chad’s side, she whispered, “I think I may be getting intoxicated from all the rum they use in everything here. I am going to let you taste things first from now on and tell me if it is safe or not. The last thing I want to do is pass out from inebriation, and you’ll have to carry me back on board.”
Chad could tell by her tone that she was serious and decided not to tease even though the thought of his prim and proper Beth accidentally getting drunk tickled his funny bone just a bit. Instead, he squeezed her shoulder reassuringly, “We haven’t had as much as you may think. I promise I won’t let you get drunk. If I see you are getting tipsy, I will cut you off. If you did decide to get drunk, though, carrying you back to your room would not be a problem for me. I may actually enjoy it.” He sent her his best seductive smile, and she blushed. The first he could remember ever seeing. It was beautiful.
“Oh, you. Don’t tease me. I also suggest you don’t forget that I am going to see Sarah as soon as I get off this boat. She has a way of dragging secrets out of me. If I report back to her and Tom that I got drunk under your care, there won’t be anything I can do to stop Tom from planting a very nasty virus on your computer or emptying your bank accounts and donating it all to St. Jude or something.” Beth nodded her head as if physically adding a period to the end of her statement, triumphant that she had put him in his place.
He smiled at her spunk, “You are perfectly safe with me, sweetheart,” and squeezed her arm once more before returning his attention to the guide.
The last stop of the tour was a family-owned restaurant where they were served traditional Bahamian food. Their platesoverflowed with conch salad, conch fritters, peas and rice, Johnny cakes, boiled fish, chicken souse, and guava duff for dessert. Beth’s hunger outweighed her fear by this point, so she tucked into the meal and was surprised at the vibrant flavors that burst on her tongue. The lime that was used wasn’t overpowering but lent a freshness to the dishes. She had never tried conch before either and found it wasn’t as tough as she expected. The experience was delightful, and she was glad she didn’t let fear of an upset stomach keep her from it.
When the bus deposited them back at the port entrance, they had an hour before their next tour and meandered through the shops. Colors popped from every booth, and it was obvious that these folks depended on the sales for their livelihoods, as they could be a tiny bit pushy. Before she knew it, Chad had steered her back towards the port where a gentle man standing beside a jeep introduced himself and explained he would be their guide for the pirate tour.
Chad opted to sit in the back of the vehicle with her and once again draped his arm along the back of her seat. As they drove through the city, they heard the history behind several of the buildings and landmarks, explored the caves, took a walk along Cable Beach and up Queen’s Staircase, toured Graycliff Chocolatier along with a chocolate tasting, and finished with a tour of John Watling’s Distillery. A rum tasting was included in this as well, but Beth declined; she had had enough rum for a lifetime. Once again, she found herself fascinated by the history of this small island as the guide finished recounting his tales while driving them back to the port. Blackbeard, Calico Jack, Anne Bonny, Hornigold, Jennings, and Vane all called Nassau home and built a safe haven for pirates here. Looking out the window, she allowed her imagination to run wild, trying to picture what this would have looked like three hundred years before.
She was completely lost in thought when Chad blocked her view, opening her door to help her exit the vehicle. Beth hadn’t even realized they had stopped moving. Now, she wanted to do some research on pirates and lost treasure.
Chapter 10
It had been a long day, and she was weary but not tired, so they agreed to dress for dinner and go to the dining room for their evening meal. She put on a comfortable and simple dress with strappy sandals and twisted her hair using a jaw clip to hold it in place, with a tiny poof of auburn hair cascading over the top to make a semi-French twist style.
Chad met her outside her door, and they walked in silence to the dining room. When they arrived, they were seated at a four-top with another couple about their age. Over the next hour and a half, they got to know each other. Sally and Stewart were also from Florida. This was their thirty-second wedding anniversary trip. They were a little surprised to learn that this was Beth’s first cruise.
“We cruise all the time. Well, notallthe time, but at least twice a year,“ Sally shared. “We always had to schedule them around my work holidays, so Thanksgiving worked perfectly since my school district had a full week off for Thanksgiving. We also did Christmas break, spring break, and, of course, summer break wecould take some long trips. What about you? What do you do, dear?”
“I am a nurse in the ICU, and Chad is the Chief Medical Officer for the same hospital,” Beth replied, feeling a little shy under the direct and inquisitive gaze.
“Oh, how wonderful to get to work with each other and see each other throughout the day. Stewart was a general contractor, so we were sometimes like ships passing in the night. A quick kiss in the morning and then dinner and a kiss good night. Somehow, we made it work, though, because here we are thirty years later and still holding on. How many years have you two been together? It is obvious you are still so in love.”
Beth choked on the water she had been sipping at hearing this comment. As she wiped her mouth with her cloth napkin, she expected Chad to chime in and correct her, but he was surprisingly silent, simply taking another bite of his steak and chewing rather deliberately. “Oh, we’re not together. I mean, we are for this trip, but we are not together, together. We are just friends. We have been friends for about ten years now. Just friends. Best friends, but just friends.” Beth closed her mouth to stop her awkward rambling and sent Chad a glare. He just smiled back and continued eating.Two could play that game,Beth thought and stuffed two pieces of grilled chicken into her mouth, making sure the bite was large enough that there was no way to talk around it politely.
“My mistake. You two just look so comfortable and perfect together. I just assumed you were a couple. Well, I don’t see any rings, so there is time for that, I suppose. You never know when your ticket is going to get punched, so I wouldn’t take too long. Ten years is a long time to be friends. You should just go for it. You already know you can stand each other; that is the biggest part of being married. Finding that person you can be next to for the rest of your life without wanting to stab them in the heartwith your butter knife every night. Isn’t that right, dear?” Sally asked, turning her attention to her husband, who nodded his head in agreement.
“Yep, finding that person you don’t want to stab at the dinner table is 90% of a successful marriage.” The grin on his face spoke volumes about how he had stayed happily married for so long. This man had to have a good sense of humor.
Dinner concluded, and Chad pulled out Beth’s chair so she could stand. As the two couples started the trek out of the dining room, Sally linked her arm through Beth’s like they were long-time friends. Leaning in, she whispered, “Don’t give up on him, dear. If he is too obtuse to make the first move, just take the bull by the horns and do it yourself. Trust me, that man loves you; he just might need a little nudge to put it out there. You know how these things go. Once you have been friends for so long, it is hard to move forward. You’re either too comfortable where you are or too scared to try something new in case it messes everything up. Don’t let fear ruin a good thing; you’re not getting any younger.” With that, she released Beth and went to stand beside her husband as they waited for the elevator to arrive.
Beth stepped onto the lift, hit the 5 for their floor, and waited for other guests to clear a path for Chad to join her when she overheard Stewart say, “Good luck getting out of the friend’s zone, man. It looks like she loves you, but I am not sure she has any idea you want more.” Chad turned, a strange look on his face, before entering the lift and taking his place by her side.
This had been an absolutely lovely day, but the events of the last two hours added a sour taste. Beth had never met such a nosy person. To think that Sally said those things to a complete stranger. Love. Marriage. Chad.What?He was her friend. In fact, she was pretty sure the very reason they had become friends was because every unattached female in the hospital was trying to get his attention, and Beth had been safe. Yes, she wouldadmit he was extremely attractive, but she would never gawk at a man like her colleagues did. No one enjoyed being stared at all the time, no matter how handsome or beautiful they were.
“Beth, you are awfully quiet. What is happening in that head of yours?” Chad asked, looking down at her but only catching her profile as she refused to look at him.
“That woman. The things she said. I just can’t imagine…”
“Can’t imagine what?” Chad prodded.
“Any of it. I can’t imagine saying those things- to anyone. Not even my daughter. Well, okay, maybe I said something similar to Sarah, but it was obvious she was in love and miserable. That woman does not know us and made such outlandish suggestions. I just can’t imagine what she saw that made her say those things.” Beth added a huff at the end of this statement to prove how annoyed she was by all of this.
The elevator doors opened, and they entered the hall leading to their rooms. “What part has you the most annoyed or confused?” he inquired.
“All of it! Saying we are obviously in love. That we don’t want to stab each other, so that means we would make a good match, and we should just do it since we are getting old. That I shouldn’t let fear ruin a good thing, and I should just give you a nudge to fall for me.” Reaching the door to her stateroom, she turned to face Chad as he pulled the key card from his pocket and, after sliding it in the slot, pushed the door open for her. “The whole thing is just ludicrous!” Beth finished, not moving to enter her room.
“Beth, do you love me?” The look on his face was serious but kind. He seemed to be genuinely asking this question.
“Of course I love you. You are my best friend. My confidant. My safety net when I need a safe place to land.” He held her gaze as she peered into his beautiful grey eyes. Tonight, the tiny green and brown specks stood out a little more. She felt off-center.
Taking her hand in his as he felt she needed the connection, he said, “I love you too. I agree that it was not Sally’s place to say those things, but I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. I have been doing a lot of thinking lately, and I want more out of my life. I have spent forty years building a career, but at the end of the day, I go home to a very large and lonely home. Time is running out. I want you in my life any way I can have you, but if there is a chance that we could have more than just friendship, I would be more than happy to explore that option. I have been trying to think of a way to broach this subject with you but was afraid, like Sally said, of messing up a good thing. I would rather be your friend than be nothing at all. But to be honest, I would rather be so much more. It was not my intention to bring this up on this trip. I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable or pressured in any way. For now, let’s just be friends, but if you think it over and are open to exploring the possibilities, let me know.” He lifted her hands and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. “Tomorrow, we get to leisurely explore the third largest barrier reef in the world and soak up some sun on the sand. Why don’t you take the morning to yourself and enjoy a quiet breakfast in your room, and I will come get you at 9:45 for our departure.”
