The Anniversary Cruise by Pam Swain (each kindness read aloud .TXT) 📕

The cruise ship swayed from side to side as Pat walked round the deck. She breathed in the fresh smell of the sea and a fine mist of water left a salty taste on her lips. The listing of the ship did not bother her; she was a good traveller and had never experienced travel sickness. David was completely different. He would be in their cabin, his skin clammy, his stomach churning and the bitter taste of sick stinging the back of his throat. He had finally given in to her and booked a cruise for their anniversary. He had bought just about every seasickness cure known to man including a bracelet to be worn on pressure points on his wrist.

The giant ship was gleaming and the decks were scrubbed sparkling clean. As she neared the stern of the ship she could hear muffled cries of laughter, bellowing and splashing. She could see children and families playing by the pool. Children were standing on the edge of the pool and jumping in, crashing with muffled thuds as they slammed into the water. Some of the children held their noses and jumped and others tried diving. David would have enjoyed watching them. He loved children and they had planned to have a large family but it had not happened. The lifeguard was having a busy time scrutinizing the crowd carefully and keeping track of the sheer number of people. Now and again Pat would hear the shrill noise of the whistle when he was trying to get someone’s attention.

As she walked on there was a group of passengers arguing and loudly shouting at each other in a disagreement over a game of quoits. They were having a heated discussion over points and were accusing each other of cheating.

Pat walked briskly by, not liking hearing people screaming at each other, she went to the other end of the deck and sat at a table. She chose one with a large parasol to shade herself from the scorching rays of the sun. A waiter carrying a white cloth and silver tray took her order. Her cocktail looked delicious. It was pale pink with a sweet fruity aroma and a small umbrella sticking out of the top, resting against the white and pink striped straw. There were chunks of ice and chopped pineapple and strawberries bouncing to the top as she stirred it with the long spoon. It looked frothy and syrupy and was surprisingly gratifying. It was cooling to her throat and she could feel it slide down to her stomach. It was so cold it took her breath away. But it was refreshing and cooled her from the inside out. She sipped it slowly to make it last.
As she sat, she watched large seagulls swooped around, soaring high into the sky on the wind. They glided gracefully without moving their wings. They appeared peaceful and two of them flew together in perfect harmony reminding her of herself and David. Further down, three seagulls sat on the ship’s rail cawing and flapping their wings at each other as if to appear complete opposites of their counterparts.

Pat could feel the burning sensation of the sun shining on the top of her feet. Her sandals did not give her much protection so she reached into her bag and searched for the sun cream. As she rubbed it on her smooth skin it felt silky and had a fragrant scent. She applied it to all her visible parts and sat back and looked around her.

She could not believe David was missing all this. He knew this was a special trip and that this is what she had always dreamed of. But what he didn’t know was that she had just found out days ago that their life dream had come true and that they were to become parents. The flu that she thought she had turned out to be a new life forming inside her. She had not had the chance to tell David and had been keeping it for a special announcement over dinner on the cruise. But life has a way of dealing up the unexpected.

David had been taken from her so suddenly, in a car accident on the way home from work. She had come on the cruise to try to put her life back together and to spend time thinking about him.

As she walked back to her promenade deck cabin she looked up at the giant glimmering ship and felt a lump in her throat. Her heart was heavy as she walked along, then she stopped short. A white feather came fluttering out of nowhere and landed at her feet. David was letting her know he was with her after all.

Publication Date: 02-12-2013

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