***** Vol.1 Chap.22 Confined to quarter *****
Being abruptly dismissed by Jonas and confined to her quarters, the world had collapsed on her. After such a heroic act risking her own life to save the two survivors, Kristin, an outcast and confined, hoped that Jonas would understand that she had helped him, but in return, she got snubbed.
She passed the mess hall to get a cup of coffee. George, cleaning up the mess that the officers left after their breaks, saw Kristin and his face beamed and grinned from ear to ear at her.
“Kristin, I am so proud of you. I made a cake just for you, even though it is not your birthday.”
“Oh, George, thank you!”
“I also made the Irish Crème coffee, a special blend for you this afternoon.”
“George, you are a genuine friend and gentleman. Of course, I will have a cup of your coffee.”
George hurried and got her a cup.
“George, have a cup also with me,” Kristin yelled to him behind the counter, getting her the coffee. He took a cup, inspected it, and then wiped it clean with his towel. With one cup for her and another for himself, he walked back to her and sat down.
“Thank you, George.”
She remained silent while sipping her coffee slowly. After another long sip of the coffee, she stared blankly at the far wall of the mess hall.
“Kristin, this is not like you. I got the report of your daring rescue. You should be proud of yourself. You have earned the respect of your peers. I, for one, am proud to have known you. So why the long face?”
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She sighed and took another long sip of the coffee.
“George, this coffee is superb.” She answered, skirting the issue.
“I know you like this blend. You are the Queen for the day.”
She looked at him and smiled. He had always been so kind-hearted.
“Tonight, I will make the cheese lasagna just for you.”
“Oh, George!” She blurted out in tears. Totally taken by surprise, he clasped her hands, not knowing what else to do.
“What’s wrong, Kristin?” She sobbed even more and barely muzzled out a few syllables.
“Here, have another sip of the coffee and tell old George what happened.”
She took a small sip and lay her head down on his shoulder and kept sobbing.
“Was anyone mean to you?”
She nodded.
“Who? I will settle the score for you.”
She shook her head.
“Whoever it is, I will poison that person in his food.”
She reached out and grabbed his hand.
“I will go ask the captain right now who is harassing you.” suggested George. All worked up now.
She shook her head violently.
“It’s …”
“You can tell George anything.”
Nodding her head and wiping her tears from her face with her sleeves, she knew she always trusted him and always enjoyed his company.
“George,” she said haltingly, “it’s the captain. He had confined me to my quarter for disobeying his orders.”
George jumped up from his chair and waved his arms in the air. “What? How can he do this to you? Here, you have heroically rescued the couple, and he turned around and punished you for not rescuing them? This is crazy. I will poison him in his food tonight!”
“Oh George, don’t do that. He had his point there. I knowingly and blatantly disobeyed his explicit orders.”
“But this is not right, confining you to your quarters? Well, at least you won’t go hungry. I will personally bring you your meals and coffee anytime you want. Just give old George a ring. Consider this your first-class, private, and personal room service!”
They both laughed.
“Oh George, you are too, too kind. We will dock in two days, anyway. I can use the time to catch up on some writing. It’s no big deal.”
“It’s a big deal to me.”
“George, thanks for listening to me. Please don’t tell anyone what happened. If anyone asks, just tell them I need a lot of rest and I have a lot of writing to do in my quarters.”
“Will do. You can always count on me. Now smile for me, girl.”
She feigned a smile, then picking up the coffee, she slowly headed back towards her quarters.