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Nana…
Imperious as a queen crowned with nettles, Mary Lynn allowed the cruise ship personnel to wheel her down the narrow corridor to their room. To get her daughter-in-law to agree to the necessity, Nana had agreed to sit in one, herself. They had flown through registration. If Nana didn’t think about it too much, there was something fun about being wheeled along. Mary would not stop complaining about how her cats would not survive without her. When they finally rolled up in front of the cabin door, she released a sigh of relief and said, “Thank the heavens.”
The friendly and long suffering crew member who had been wheeling her daughter-in-law along used Mary’s room card to wand the door lock open. The cabin door swung freely and Nana resisted the urge to get up and push Mary Lynn through the door herself.
Mary scowled. “This is it? I don’t see a window. How on earth am I going to manage without a window?”
“It’s an interior room, Mam. I think you will find it quite comfortable. If you or your mother would like, I could check and see what is available for upgrades.”
Narrowing her gaze, Mary asked, “For free?”
“No, Mam.” The shy Columbian woman encouraged Mary to roll further into the room. “I’m sure I could arrange for you to keep this wheel chair if it would make your time aboard our ship more comfortable.”
Mary locked the wheelchair wheels and pushed herself to standing. “You may take that and toss it over the side of the boat for all I care.”
“Now, Mary. Your room is lovely.” Nana encouraged. “I love how crisp the white comforter is. I’m sure if you asked, they could move the two beds together.”
The crew member said, “Your room attendant could certainly assist with adjusting your room to what you prefer. We want you to enjoy your time with us.”
Mary frowned. “I do not plan to enjoy any of this. We have basically been kidnapped and shipped off to Europe.”
Nan couldn’t believe how stubborn she was being. “Now Mary, once you’ve had a rest, you may start to feel differently. We passed a sign that mentioned bingo.”
The death stare Mary gave her would have frozen a lesser woman in her place, but there had been too many years between them.
Nana dusted her hands off and turned her focus to the crew member behind her. “Roll me backward. Now that Mary is settled, I’d like to be shown my room.”
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The compact woman behind Nan blinked, and double checked the paperwork in her hands. “Madam, you are both in this room.” The two crew members exchanged glances.
“Impossible.” Nan looked at Mary’s reddening face.
“They wouldn’t dare.”
Her daughter-in-laws hands balled into fists. “Two weeks?”
Nana gripped the arms of her wheelchair, preparing for battle. “That is impossible.”
*
Mary Lynn…
Resigned and glum, Mary limped her way toward the slot machines. No amount of yelling had changed their room situation. All Mary got was a casino voucher for fifty bucks. Her mother-in-law had unpacked, but Mary had refused to do so. The stupid woman had changed into a floral dress the Wolves had bought for her and announced she was going to go have a Mai Tai. The old bat was watching the ship sail away.
If Mary’d had enough in the bank, she would have bought her own damn room. Nana was completely refusing to be reasonable and use her savings. The old woman had said that a second room would just be a waste of money, and they were both grown woman that could manage. Hadn’t they managed so far? She had to admit that they had, but they had not had to share the same room. That was beyond surviving.
Once Mary had a cup full of coins to play with, she looked for a lucky machine. She avoided any rows that already had been staked out by others. She had not been to a casino since Kennedy was a little girl. They’d always been a forbidden treat. There were a few times she and her husband had snuck away.
She seated herself at a rodeo themed slot machine. There was something non-offensive about the cowboy’s smile. She popped in a coin and pulled her lever.
“The odds aren’t very good on cruise ship slot machines. You’d have better odds at the black jack table.”
Mary Lynn spun on her stool, ready to brandish her cane at the speaker, and then she smelled him. Another damn bear. It couldn’t be a coincidence. “And who the hell are you to talk to me?”
He laughed. “They told me you were spicy.” He was grizzled and his hands were scarred, but his shoulders still filled out his jacket nicely.
“Aren’t you overdressed for this bucket? Where is your Hawaiian shirt and flip-flops?” He claimed the seat next to her without asking and she bristled.
“Not my style.” He gestured to her hand, where she gripped the head of her cane. “You can ease your hold on your weapon. I felt an introduction would be more appropriate than you catching my scent along one of the hallways. There are only so many places that a person can go on a ship.”
“Fine. I know you are here.” She looked him up and down. “A mountain spy.”
“I’m not from the United States. I’m Canadian.”
She blinked. “Why are YOU shadowing us?”
“I was asked to.” He gestured to the boat. “I have to be in Europe for a meeting and I hate flying more than almost anything.” He turned his hands, showing her more of the scarring. “I fell out of a plane once.”
“How on earth does one fall out of a plane? Of course, they would send us a stupid spy.”
“A guardian.”
Mary drew back from him.
He smiled at her, and the lines around his eyes deepened. “And it happens when you jump out of a moving plane, and the parachute that you had so carefully packed does not deploy properly.” He tilted his head. “The only more painful thing I have ever experienced was marrying the wrong woman.”
He reached into his pocket, took out a coin and dropped it into the slot on her machine. “She was only slightly more unpleasant than yourself.” It took a half second for her to realize he was teasing her. “This pull is on me.” He turned his back to her and lifted his hand as he stepped away. “I’ll leave you alone as much as I can.”