6 comments/ 18068 views/ 3 favorites Road Warrior: Barcelona Ch. 02 By: JakeRivers THE CRUISE – BARCELONA TO MIAMI It seemed that I lay lay down on the bed, fell asleep and woke up instantly. Looking at the clock I could see that I'd slept right at eight hours ... and I rarely slept more than six. I was on my balcony watching the harbor when I saw a cruise ship docking, close to eight-thirty. I couldn't quite see the name but I could tell from the style that it was a Royal Cruise Lines ship. I had to assume it was the Sea Bright. I called down to Ana, and after exchanging pleasantries, I asked her, "Could you meet me in the lobby at ten, checked out and with your luggage?" "Sure, Charlie. Can you really get me aboard early ... and get me a tour? I've always wondered what it was like to see all the parts that passengers don't get to see. I took a shower and packed everything up, and went down to check out. I walked up to the desk to check out and caught the eye of the assistant manager. I'd gotten to know him over the many stays I'd had at the hotel. He snapped his fingers for someone to go to my room and pick up the luggage. "Señor Charlie! It was so good to see you again. You have already been checked out ... the bill was taken care of." I knew when not to argue so I just shook his hand and thanked him for a wonderful stay. Instead of giving him a tip I made a mental note to send something to his wife. I overdid the tip to the bellhop for taking our luggage out to a taxi. When we got to the ship the passengers were just beginning to trickle off. I saw a ship's officer standing there so I approached him and introduced myself. "I'm Charlie Castillo. Señor Benavidez said I would be met by someone." "Yes, of course, Señor. I'll have someone come down immediately." A tall, thin – almost cadaverous man of about thirty came out of the ship in a few short minutes. He introduced himself, formally, "Signor Castillo? My name is Giuseppe Basso, but please call me Joseph." He nodded towards Ana, "And is this lovely signorina your friend I was told to expect?" "Yes, Joseph. This is Ana, and I am Charlie." "I am the crew purser, which means I directly have all responsibility for all the crew on this ship. Signor Benavidez briefed me by telephone this morning and the ship's captain has received a fax. I am a busy man on such a cruise but I will make whatever time available to you that you may need. However, to make things simple for you, I am providing Terence Dickens to take care of you." He snapped his fingers and three men showed up. Actually it was two boys, late teens at the oldest, and a wizened old man at least sixty. He was barely five foot tall, if that. My first impression was that he barely escaped being a gnome. "I'll leave you in his capable hands," Joseph finished as he walked away. The old man grabbed my hand and shook it with a much greater force than I would have expected. "Aye, mate, I'll take care of you. Is this the lass?" He had a heavy cockney accent that I think was lost on Ana, as she smiled uncertainly. "Yes, this is Ana, I'm Charlie." "Ma'am, you are booked for an inside cabin on deck seven, right?" She nodded her agreement to that. "Okay, here's the deal. My job is to take care of you for the fifteen days of the cruise. Normally I'm a Floor Supervisor, meaning that I take care of a deck. On this ship that is almost always deck ten. Everyone that has anything to do with the rooms for that deck would be responsible to me. I was supposed to go on vacation now but for a bonus I agreed to this trip." "Charlie, I have a suggestion. You were supposed to go into the Royal Suite. One of the Directors from Miami has shown up with a bird, if you know what I mean, all very hush hush. He wanted that suite so I'm going to put you in a Royal Family Suite. It's only half the size, but ..." He looked at Ana, "Well, Ma'am, the Family suite has two bedrooms, each with its own bath and egress to the deck. "If the two of you could share that cabin it would make it much easier for me. Y'see, Charlie, I was asked to look after the lady also." He bowed to Ana, "And may I say what a lovely lady she is! And, please, call me Terry." And Ana accused me of kissing the blarney stone! He looked back at me, "Charlie, I know this suite is only half the size of the other one, but it is quite nice. Could you help an old man out and share it?" He had a hopeful look on his face. I could see he was a scoundrel at heart, but apparently, he was my scoundrel. I looked over at Ana, and with a smile, she nodded her head. Terry saw the movement and waved to the two young men who loaded up our luggage on carts and disappeared. Terry took us up to the suite and settled us in. It really was even nicer than he had said. Since it wasn't costing me anything, I thought it was especially great! Before he left, he said, "I've only got the two rooms, yours and the director's." With a leer, he continued, "And I don't think we will see much of him before we leave, if you get my drift." He called the young woman that would clean our room. "This is Alma. She is from Cebu in the Philippines. Like me, she has only the two rooms. She will come in a number of times during the day to keep everything neat, but she will knock first. He seemed like he was leering again, "And if you don't want to be disturbed, just put the sign out. And I'll see you for the dinner at the Capitan's table at eight. I'll come get you at ten 'til." Both Ana and Alma were blushing. I couldn't figure out what that was about ... '"Women," I sighed to myself. Alma insisted in unpacking the suitcases, assuming I wanted the larger bedroom with the king size bed. Ana and I went out on the deck and enjoyed watching the activity on the dock. It looked like all the passengers had debarked but the new ones weren't to come aboard until around 1:00 p.m. Yet the dock was busy with all the activity of restocking supplies and various government agents flitting around. I looked at Ana – she seemed fascinated by all the activity. "Ana, are you okay with this? I mean staying in this suite?" "Oh, yes, Charlie. I have my own bedroom." She looked slyly at me, "And I noticed it has a lock! I feel quite safe, Charlie." My face burned pink at that. I stammered a little, "Ana, I didn't mean, I ..." She gave me a big smile, and added, "Charlie, the other room was on the inside, a tiny place with no light. It was all I could afford. It's okay; I know you are a gentleman." Well, I wasn't so sure about that ... in fact I was slightly offended but I couldn't quite figure out why. She was looking out at Barcelona, enjoying the view. I thought about the night before, when I thought I'd never see her again. I took her hand but avoided looking at her. "Ana, last night you said you had to go to the reception. I ... I thought that I'd never see you again. This may not be what you want to hear but I was heartbroken. You are in my heart now, Ana. If you leave there will be a big empty place." I was still looking straight ahead, afraid to look at her. Sounding heartbroken herself, she said, "Oh, Charlie. They said it was important to go and meet new friends. Charlie, I ... I was going to come up to your room afterwards." She took my hand and pulled it so I would look at her. "Charlie, I was going to give myself to you last night. I didn't know you would be here on this ship and I, too, was afraid to not see you again. I was going to give you the phone numbers for to contact me in Miami. I can do that now." Suddenly I knew it was okay between us. Candy had made her decision and sure, my pride was hurt but the rent in my heart was mended and filled so quickly by my feelings for Ana that I never really had time to grieve for a love lost. Something relaxed in me and I knew that everything was okay, with myself and with Ana ... and even with Candy. "No, that's okay. We have the whole cruise and, well, we will see each other in Miami. Won't we?" I asked with a slight tremor in my voice. She squeezed my hand, then came and sat on my lap. "Sure, Charlie, we will see Miami together. And I ... I'll introduce you to Aitor's parents and my brother and sister. Well, my family." She looked a bit funny when she said the last part, like she had forgotten something; she seemed a little worried. "My mom and dad are still in Santiago. He is a lawyer looking into the Pinochet abuses." I started to ask her about what she was concerned about but she took my head in her hands and gave me a deep kiss, one of commitment. We had forgotten Alma and I barely heard the phone ringing when I heard the sliding door opening. I tried to slide Ana off my lap, but she threw her arms around my neck and laughed at my embarrassment. "Señor ... Charlie, it is Mr. Terry." I could see she was uncomfortable calling me by my given name but I had insisted. I took the phone, curious to see what he wanted so soon. "Charlie, I can do a tour for you at two o'clock. I've been told to show you the ship and to take you anywhere on it at any time. You can bring Ana along if you want." I could hear the leer as he said that. Dirty old man! Knowing that a cruise ship behind the scenes is not at all what the passengers see, I put on a pair of shorts and, remembering what Terry was like, suggested to Ana that she wear slacks. Terry obviously knew the ship well. He took us first to the bridge and introduced us to the captain, who was going over some papers. He was Norwegian and gave off an aura of competence, and seemed a man that wouldn't suffer fools gladly. "Mr. Castillo, welcome to our ship. I know why you are here and I will fully support you in any way that I can. In fact, I am the one that insisted the company do something about what I see becoming more and more a serious problem. One would think that the problems with harassing young women would be by other passengers but it is mostly a crew problem. I think we need to improve our hiring process and I would like to talk to you about that at dinner." He turned to Ana, and asked, "And who is this delightful lady?" "This is my good friend, my very good friend," I added with a smile, "Ana Gálvez," "Please do bring her along to dinner. As a woman she may have insights to the problems we have been having. If she desires, I will make sure she also has unlimited access to the ship." He looked thoughtful, and added, "I frequently find that women are sometimes more perceptive than men are." We chatted for a minute and then continued on the tour of the ship. We saw all the areas accessible to passengers, and then went down into the guts of the ship. I was amazed by the size of the laundry operation. But with just the sheets for twenty-five-hundred passengers and half that in crew, I could see it had to be a major operation. I really enjoyed the behind the scenes view. Candy and I had gone to Waikiki Beach to stay at the Ala Moana for our honeymoon. While we were there, the Peruvian Naval Training ship was in town on a visit to Shanghai and other Pacific places, including Hawaii. I had a cousin from Peru that was an officer of the ship and he gave us a tour. Everything was utilitarian and painted a uniform gray. This ship was like that: what the passengers saw was ornate; what the crew lived with was spartan. Still, it was fascinating. I particularly enjoyed the engine room. It looked like an operating room. It was very functional but clean and well organized. It was deep in the bowels of the ship and I had to wonder what it would be like to be closed up there in a storm. After crawling all over the ship, we were tired and went back to our cabin to rest before dinner. We each went to our respective rooms to take a shower. I luxuriated in the hot water, and sleepily, lay on my king size bed covering myself with the light cotton sheet to ward off the air conditioning. I never slept with anything on – even a pair of boxers was a distraction to getting some rest. I quickly fell into a deep, dreamless sleep. After some indeterminate time ... a minute, an hour; I had no idea ... I felt a slight movement of the bed. I felt a warmth cuddling up to me but I was so far under it never raised the level of my consciousness. I woke several hours later – it was six and we still had two hours before dinner with the captain. I rolled on my back and felt a weight pushing against my right side. I looked over and saw that it was Ana. Shocked and considerate at the same time, I tried not to move, not to disturb her. I gradually sat up against the pillow and looked at her. She had on a pink baby doll nightgown that was up to just under her breasts. She wasn't wearing the bottoms. The gown was so sheer that it didn't really leave anything to the imagination. I guess she had been too warm to wear anything more. Whatever. I wasn't about to wake her and ask any questions. I'd seen her breasts before but I'd never had a chance to study them. They were slightly flattened from laying on her back and the dark pink areolas and nipples were puckered from the slight down draft of the air conditioner. Her stomach was taut; she had mentioned that she worked out regularly, especially swimming a lot. Her bush was trimmed for wearing bikinis and was the dark patina of old red brick. The outer labia were more prominent that I would have expected and I couldn't help but stare at them. I'd immediately become erect and I knew the smart move would be to wake her up or else to get up and get dressed. I did neither of these. Her legs were splayed with her right leg bent at the knee and her foot resting against her left calf. As stealthily as I could I slid down the bed, my eyes locked on target. I gently lifted her foot and she straightened out her legs but left them splayed open. I leaned over and sniffed. There was a faint scent of apple in her pubic hair. I had noticed several times that her hair smelled the same way. I assumed she shampooed her bush along with her hair with the same shampoo. On her legs was a delicate scent of lilac – I guess from some body lotion. I bent a little lower and lightly touched my tongue to her slit, not moving it, just enjoying the smell and texture of her body. She looked dry so I let a small amount of saliva drip on her slit and gently, so gently moved my tongue slowly up and down, opening the folds of the labia majora to get at the labia minora and the opening to her vulva. She moaned and moved slightly, as in a dream. I continued my stealthy assault, gradually moving my tongue deeper and deeper. She was twisting like one does when one is asleep but a fly or something lands on the body. At this stage I gave in to my desire and put one, then two fingers in her and gently moved them back and forth on her Gräfenberg spot, behind her pubic bone. I'd moved my tongue up to her clitoris and I started slowly and softly massaging it with my tongue, then increasing the pressure as her body reacted. She woke just as she started a massive orgasm. "Charlie, what ... oh, God! Charlie, what are you doing?" My answer was not to answer. I moved up and slid into her with one long smooth thrust and kissed her deeply to keep her from asking any more questions. She immediately started shaking again and she pulled me tight then put her legs around me, pulling me in as much as she could. I knew I wasn't going to last long – this was just too erotic for me. As I released my sperm deep inside of her the stray thought of birth control came to me. I rolled over with Ana half on top of me and she started crying. I felt bad as I felt her shaking. I rubbed my hand along her back and whispered in her ear, "I'm sorry, Ana. I woke up to find you next to me, half undressed and I ... I just gave in to my lust. Please forgive me." "Oh, Charlie. It isn't that. It's ... you are the first since Aitor and I woke up feeling ... oh, please, Charlie, tell me you love me!" "I do, Ana, I do. I love you." We lay like that for a while then she slid down and took me in her mouth. Quicker than I would have thought possible I was erect again and she slip up and sat on top, moving slowly at first then gradually increasing the speed. He eyes were closed and I reached up and lifted the top over her head so I could see her breasts. I held them as she moved up and down, now asking for, demanding release. She came again with a sheer passion, a carnal passion I'd never seen from Candy, and then she collapsed on me. We lay like that for a long time but when I saw it was seven-fifteen I eased her up and led her in to my oversized shower. I turned the water to lukewarm and we gradually woke up. We were waiting when Terry knocked a few minutes before eight. As we went down the elevator four levels to the Chops Grill I took Ana's hand in mine and held it tight. She stared at me in the mirror then turned and kissed me on the cheek ... smiling as the wiped the lipstick off. I looked at the image in the mirror – how could I have believed that she was handsome instead of beautiful? She had on a basic black sheath dress with a high collar. She wore a thin gold necklace close around her neck. For the first time I saw her with her hair up and she had a long elegant neck that reminded me of Helen Hunt with her hair up off her neck. She was quite lovely, all in all. I'd expected dinner with the Captain would be a command performance, with a lot of hangers on. It wasn't like that at all. A table had been set aside and it was just the four of us, the captain, Jens Nordgaard, Terry and Ana and myself. Jens bowed to Ana and shook my hand formally. "Let's just chat while we eat, then we can talk over coffee." This was a steakhouse and it was outstanding. My filet was high quality beef prepared to perfection. I was to find out later that it had nothing to do with the Captain being there; it was just a great place to eat. I really don't know what I expected from the captain. He was well versed in current events, sports, the arts, and, of course, with anything related to the sea. He told us several anecdotes illustrating how the cruise business had grown and changed. I had trouble keeping my eyes off Ana so that finally she had to kick me gently under the table. I smiled at her and paid more attention to what Jens was saying. "This problem with the crew bothering women has been around for some time, particularly on the Mediterranean cruises. Years ago it was mostly men molesting or taking advantage of young girls, especially when they had too much to drink. "Now it's more vicious, more violent. We are seeing various kinds of drugs, including more and more of the date rape stuff. There are threats and pictures taken. There have been several cases of straight rape. The laws of the sea are quite complex and we have crews from a large number of countries. It's a real mess. "We are starting to get some bad publicity ... deserved I'm ashamed to say. I think the problem is in the hiring process. What I'd personally like you to take a look at is whether you think we could set up some kind of screening process the cruise lines could share with each other. The problem is we have to comply with the labor laws in each country we hire people. "I don't expect you to solve the problem. What I'd like from you, with your experience, is to help us to frame the problem so we understand it better." We chatted about the issues some more, then the captain excused himself. Terry and I made an appointment to meet for breakfast when he would give me some case histories to study. I took Ana to the Concierge Club on the same deck as our suite. Everyone that was booked into a suite was automatically a member. There was a woman playing light jazz and Ana and I danced to a few slow numbers. We sat down and enjoyed the peace and quiet after the hustle and noise of the public areas. I had a nice single malt with a splash of water and Ana had a martini. Road Warrior: Barcelona Ch. 02 Ana looked troubled which made me feel bad. "Ana, I'm ... sorry what I did. I didn't give you a chance to say no. If you want to move to another cabin I'll understand." "Oh, Charlie, my dear, dear, Charlie. You must know I love you. It's not what happened. God, I've wanted that since the first time I saw you by the pool." She smiled ... maybe it was a smirk, and continued, "Although, it was a surprise. You, sir, are quite talented. I might just have to keep you around as my slave. Charlie, I think maybe you are better than an alarm clock!" Looking serious again, she added, "No, there is something else I haven't told you about. It's ... something important to me that I haven't told you about – and now I don't know how. It scares me, Charlie." I knew we had moved fast and I had to give her time. I put my arm around her and held her close. "Querida, I do love you. Don't hurry on account of me." Later we were walking around one of the upper decks before we turned in. Suddenly, Ana stopped and grabbed my arm. "Oh, my God, Charlie. I don't have any birth control pills! I haven't used them since Aitor died ... I haven't had any reason." "Ana, tomorrow we dock in Alicante. You can go ashore to a pharmacy, okay?" Looking dubious, she nodded and answered, "Yes, okay." We got back to out room and got ready for bed. "Ana, you can stay in your room if you want to but I would really like for you to sleep with me. No, not just for the sex – which was great, by the way – but I like you close to me. Okay, querida?" She was agreeable to that. We didn't make love that night. I think we were both worn out, emotionally as much as physically. But it felt so good to hold her close in the lonely hours of the night. In the quiet hour before dawn I could feel the slight vibrations of the boat. I remembered we were to dock in Alicante at seven a.m. I lay there for a long time thinking about Candy. It was frustrating because it was all so remote. I was pissed off at the way she had so cold bloodedly just left me a note. Damn, she had big balls! I laughed quietly as I tried to figure out if that was an oxymoron. Guess not. Then I wondered if it were more precise to say she had brass balls instead of big balls. Hell, maybe she had big, brass balls. I snorted as I wound up that train of thought: well, if she married Llewellyn, she would be the only one with balls. I almost laughed aloud as I tried to figure out if she could self-impregnate herself. In a more serious vein, what I had trouble dealing with was trying to understand why, if I was so mad at her for her betrayal, I wasn't bothered more by it. Had we drifted so far apart without me having a clue about it? Another strange thing about it was that I wasn't mad at her so much as a person, but for what she had done. As far as Llewellyn, he was just a cipher as far as I was concerned. I'd met him once or twice and had no real recollection of what he was like, other than bland. The bottom line was that if Candy wanted to leave there was nothing I could do to stop her ... and I sure wasn't going to beg. She was in London and I was on a cruise ship off the coast of Spain. What the hell? Ana moved next to me and I put my arm around her, pulling her up on my chest, and she fell back asleep. What did I want? If I were honest with myself – and I always tried to be – the soft warmth of Ana in my arms at that moment was giving me more satisfaction and a feeling like ... I guess like coming home. I felt like there had been something missing and I had just found it. Kind of like a sailor after a long cruise, coming to his home port and family. I knew for sure then, right at that moment, that I wanted and needed Ana in my life. I had to ask myself some hard questions, like, was this a rebound thing? It had moved awfully fast. Was I trying to get back at Candy? I thought about these and more questions, falling half asleep, with no real answers but with a feeling of peace seeping into me. I hung my hat on that and fell into a deep sleep until Ana's getting out of bed woke me up. I had to get ready to meet with Terry, so I asked Ana, "Do you want me to go into town with you?" She laughed, "No, I think I can pick up a prescription okay. Besides, I need to pick up some presents for ..." she paused for a minute, looking a bit flustered, "... for some of my family in Miami. I didn't think anything about what she said and went in to take my shower, preoccupied with my breakfast meeting. I still didn't have a real clear idea of what they wanted me to do but I had to at least make an attempt. We met at the Seaview Café two decks up. Terry was there, waiting for me with a carafe of coffee, which suddenly made him my best friend. We had a great view of Alicante as we were closing in to the dock. We were sitting outside and it was already warm with a slight ocean breeze. I told Terry I just wanted something light and a girl brought me a continental breakfast. There was a stack of folders on the table – much thicker than I had anticipated. I picked up the first couple and looked at them. The first one was from a sister ship, the Sea Shadow. Each folder had a précis at the front. The 28-year-old woman said that she was raped on an RCL ship last year by a cruise ship employee. She said she was further victimized when she was told by cruise ship staff to collect evidence of the crime herself. "The feeling was like nobody was helping me," the woman said. "Everything was slow motion and they were trying to figure out how to protect themselves." The next one was an assault of a cruise ship employee on the Sea Bright by a passenger. While she was a cleaning a women's restroom, a drunken male passenger came into a restroom of the ship and asked her to pose for a photo with him. Two ship employees held the restroom door open, and another man clicked a camera. The woman went along with the clowning - until the drunk grabbed her breasts. She was infuriated. Terry said, "What's not in these files is that there are a few out and out sexual predators that go from cruise ship to cruise ship. Most of them will use various kinds of threats to keep the women from making a complaint. These range from threats of violence to the woman or a member of her family to taking pictures and using them for blackmail. Too often it's a simple situation of taking advantage of a woman who is inebriated." I sighed and took the stack back to the cabin to read. Ana had already gone ashore so I went out on the balcony with some coffee and went through the stack, making notes and looking for patterns. From what Benavidez had said, I wasn't to concern myself about the laws, or the police actions, but more on hiring and training practices. Ana came back about eleven holding a package of birth control pills in one hand and a diaphragm in the other and a big smile on her face. "I can't start the pills until my next period starts, which should be about the time we get to Miami. We have to use this in the interim." She held up the diaphragm and waved it around. "You will still love me when we get to Miami, won't you?" she teased. I had been sitting on the sofa in the living area and took her hand and pulled her down on my lap. I kissed her with a quickening hunger and then held her tight. I whispered in her ear, "Querida, I will always love you." The next couple of days were uneventful. I wandered around the ship, getting familiar with it and just observing people. Terry would introduce me to one employee or another in different departments. Each of them had been briefed on my task and asked to not tell anyone else. It was interesting getting their various perspectives. They all agreed that from the passenger perspective it was almost always a problem with booze. I met with Terry and Joseph Basso and we kicked around some ideas. The problem seemed the worst in the bar by the pool area. We talked it over with the bartenders and waiters and asked security to put a video camera in place and keep an eye on things. Neither of us wanted to get off at Gibraltar so we spent a languid day by the pool, nearly deserted with so many passengers ashore. After a couple of hot hours in the sun we escaped to our cabin and came together with a slow gentle touching, sharing our bodies, enjoying our love. The more I touched her, the more I saw her firm body, the more I wanted her. Not just wanting her for my pleasure but for a pleasure we could share together. We didn't talk much of our love. Instinctively realizing how sudden it was and we didn't want to jinx it. Physically we shared our love fully. Emotionally we moved with a tender slowness, not pushing it ... just letting it come. We were still getting to know each other, our little quirks and habits: the endearing things, the annoying things. She used my razor to shave her legs – I said something and felt repentant at her look of hurt. I admired a leggy blond in a next to nothing bikini and she gave me a dirty look and stomped off to our suite. She had a lovely way of walking around our room wearing just a bra and panties that kept me in a perpetual state of sexual excitement. I always opened doors, pulled back chairs, all the little signs of respect that flowed from love. Unlike Candy who had expected these things as her due, Ana always let me know she appreciated it with a touch, a soft look, or a bawdy flip of her hips when I put my hand on her ass walking down the hallway. I was caring less and less about what I was on the ship for. It was pretty clear to me that they mostly needed to tighten up on their hiring practices. The different cruise lines just fired someone when there was a problem but never passed that information on to the police or to other cruise lines. There was what seemed to me to be a blanket of secrecy about the whole thing. Well, I'd make my report, including a suggestion for installing a training program and policies and procedures addressing internal sexual harassment issues. The customer part, again, I felt that better crew training and some common sense approaches would handle most of the problems. I also did some research and pulled it together in a report I provided. Given the number of incidents and passengers the assault rate was less then half what it was in the resort hotels in Cancun by staff and a fraction of incidents by guests. I made a mental note not to take Ana to Cancun. The fourth day of the cruise we would be in Lisbon from nine in the morning until eight at night. I took Ana to visit some of the things I loved about the city and we had a great day. We had a small espresso – what they called uma bica with sweet rolls in the Barrio Alto and visited the beautiful church, São Roque with its magnificent baroque interior. It was a beautiful city, one of my favorites. Ana had never been there so she was like a child at Christmas: no matter how many presents opened, the next one was ever more exciting. We had an early dinner in Alfama, a small place hidden in the twists and turns of the old district. The place was one of those unique to Lisbon, a Beer and Shellfish Tavern. We ordered a huge plate of giant prawns and a side dish of their exquisite ameijoas, those clams that seemed to taste better here than anywhere else in the world. Tired, sated, and a bit tipsy from the pitcher of beer we made it back to the ship and watched as the ship left Lisbon heading for Funchal, on the incredibly beautiful island of Madeira. The island was basically a mountain sticking out of the sea. It was just less than three hundred square miles spread around the large mountainous interior. At over six thousand feet, the mountains were surprisingly tall. Covered with clouds the mountains towered over Funchal, which flowed down to the sea in a jumble of red tile roofs, crooked streets and an amazing festival of greenery. I loved the place and there were a lot of places I wanted to take Ana but we really didn't have time. We walked around town for a while, sitting occasionally in the park, watching people. We went on a fascinating tour of one of the Madeira houses, finishing with tastes of their different styles. My favorite, a Malmsey, uses a grape that makes one of the richer, sweeter Madeiras. They had it paired with some Roquefort cheese ... exquisite! They had glass cases with screens over them with vintages dating back to the 1770s. I asked Ana her age causing her to look at me in surprise. "Ana, I just want to buy you a bottle for your birth year." What is it with women and their ages? I shelled out seventy dollars for a 1979 Rainwater Madeira and got a sweet kiss in return. I felt it was a fair trade. Back down by the dock area, there were a lot of seafood restaurants so I let her pick one out at random and we had some delicious local fish, along with a bottle of the Portuguese Vinho Verde, the crisp white wine matching perfectly with the food. It is called a green wine not because of its color ... it can be either white or red ... but because it is bottled when it's young. It typically has just a hint of effervescence to it. We went on to Tenerife but it was quite hot and we chose to stay aboard. Then we had five days of open sea before we would get to St. Johns. Both of us enjoyed the open sea more than making a lot of stops. Life aboard ship settled into a pleasant, if somewhat humdrum, pace. We felt lazy and just enjoyed the trip. Sometimes we would stay up late and dance in the lounge; other nights we would hit the sack early and enjoy each other, having dinner sent in. On the nights we retired early, we usually got up early as well. We were in the habit of going up to deck twelve where I would run around the jogging track, sometimes around the deck, while Ana would walk easy, going wherever she saw something interesting. We liked to do this before breakfast to get the juices flowing and wake up. The air was so clear and clean it almost seemed intoxicating. We were about half way between Madeira and St. Johns. On this morning I'd gotten tired of running around the jogging track and headed to the other end of the ship around where the golf driving range was. I'd just gotten back to the pool area and I saw Ana running towards me, with a scared, urgent look on her face. "I was walking in from the fitness center to see if they were open when I heard a scream." I ran to the front of the gym area – it opened at seven and it was about a quarter to – the door was locked and I put my ear to the glass door. I heard a definite scream and told Ana to go the purser's office and have them send security up. I thought about kicking the door in and thought what glass shards would do to my leg. I grabbled a nearby table and threw it at the door, shattering the glass. I reached in and unlocked the door, listening for noise. I heard a muffled shout in the area they used for massages – I remembered this from my tour – and I found my old friend Aldo, the one that was bothering Ana at the reception in Barcelona, in the final stages of ripping the clothes off a tiny Philippine girl; she couldn't have weighed more than ninety pounds. She was maybe nineteen at the oldest. I wasn't that big a guy, maybe five-ten and slim from the years of running. But I had two things going for me; I was highly pissed and I was motivated. I slammed both hands, open, on Aldo's ears and that immediately took the fight out of him. Just to make sure, I kicked him as hard as I could in the groin area ... forgetting my running shoes were on and sprained my big toe. I stumbled over to a stack of towels and wrapped one around the girl just as security showed up, Joseph right behind them. I explained what had happened and apologized for the door. They asked a few questions and took Aldo away. Ana came in just as they led him out the door. Ana looked at him with such a venomous stare it sent chills down my spine. This, I said to myself, is not a woman to get mad at you. I was sure she was going to spit in his face and moved closer, protectively. Ana took her sweat jacket and sweat pants off and gave them to the girl. They were big on her, but by rolling up the legs and sleeves she was much more decorous as they took her down to security to take her statement. Joseph told me later he would come to my cabin and I could fill out whatever forms. I asked him about the door, but he just laughed. I looked at Ana and I had to say she looked much better with just a sports bra and Lycra shorts on. We went down to take a shower then had breakfast with a stop on the way to get my toe taped and get some pain pills. We got off for shopping and lunch at St. Johns then we were off for Miami, two more days of open ocean then the cruise would be over. I put together my position papers, had Terry review them, and presented them to Joseph and the captain. I don't think either was surprised by anything and I had the feeling they knew exactly what to do but hadn't been able to make their directors understand to the point that they would take action. A bonus was the director that had taken the owner's suite sat in on the talk and seemed suitably impressed. He shook my hand, apologized for taking my room, and offered me a cruise at a later date as compensation. I wasn't going to complain and just nodded as if it were my due and shook his hand. I only saw the woman he was with once and I certainly couldn't fault his taste. With my responsibilities over, Ana and I relaxed for the last day and a half of the cruise. She seemed worried about something, but I wasn't sure what. I asked if she was okay but she gave me a wan smile and nodded yes. That afternoon we went to the room to rest. Well, that had been my intention, anyway. Ana put some light jazz music on, opened the drapes and did a slow, sensuous strip for me. She looked lovely with the bright sunlight splashing across her through the open curtains of the door to the balcony. There was no way for a person to see inside the window but she seemed excited by the openness. She spun around dancing with her eyes closed, the bright sun highlighting her clothes as they flew to the corners of the room. She delicately took off her final items, her bra and panties and threw them at me with a laugh and flopped on the bed. She looked wanton, lying there with her legs splayed slightly and her arms reaching for me. The sunlight caught the curly tips of her pubic hair creating a slight halo effect that was very erotic. I sank down on the bed beside her; my face buried in her hair, smelling the essence of her, the things that made her so desirable. I could hear her breathing, the faint rush of cool air from the ceiling vent, and at some level the throb of the engines deep below in the bowels of the ship a constant. She rose and sat on my thighs, facing me, slowly rubbing her hands from my abdomen up to my chest – a smile on her face. She raised herself to her hands and knees and, with a frown of concentration on her face, gently drew her brick red bush back and forth over my erection. The slight scratching, back and forth, the tight curls barely touching ... made my skin so sensitive I felt like I would explode just from the brush of her hair. Lowering her pelvis a fraction more I felt her wetness coating my penis. She was moaning and I was ready but I wanted to prolong it – to enjoy our bodies together as one. I rolled over, pinning her beneath me. Her pupils seemed like pinpoints of black agate, caught as they were in the full sun. They had a playful look but as I stared into them they turned serious and grew wider as she waited for what was to come. She whispered, trembling, the faintest drop of a tear in the corner of each eye, "Just you and me, Charlie, just you and me." She took my head in her hands and, pulling me close, kissed me deeply, a kiss of promise and fulfillment. Road Warrior: Barcelona Ch. 02 I slid down to her breasts, one in the sun and one in shadow, sucking one, then the other gently, making it last. I felt her nipples grow hard in my mouth as I gently nibbled them. I slipped on down, my feet now off the bed. I wanted all of her, my tongue flicking out, this secret spot, that concavity, tasting her as I passed her belly. I heard her gasp in anticipation as I kissed along the inside of her thighs, enjoying the silky texture, kissing them, and barely touching the softness. She shivered as I reached where we both knew I had been heading for, delays in route as the curves of her body provided this taste, that smell. I moved to the crease between her legs rubbing my face over her hair, enjoying the feel, smelling her unique scent. I parted her outer lips with my fingers and slowly moved my tongue from the bottom to the top flicking her clitoris as its small hood valiantly tried to protect it from the depredations of my tongue. Feeling her hands running though my hair then pulling me tightly against her as I breathed hotly on her sex, slowly licking in long strokes from the bottom to the top in one motion, always ending at her clit. She shivered as I repeated this over and over until she shuddered, crying out, "Now, Charlie, now, love me, come with me." I moved up and slowly entered her; languidly stroked, wanting it to last, for me, for both of us. Her vagina rippled with aftershocks as I drew in and out; established a rhythm with her. Feeling my need ... and hers, I increased the pace until with a long, almost violent lunge I came in her, felt her squeezing me tight. We collapsed on the bed, spent. The sweat of the exertion now cooling as our bodies dried under the tender ministrations of the air conditioner. Pulling a sheet over us we fell into a deep sleep. Hours later, knowing we had to pack for the morning debarkation in Miami, I woke her with a kiss and whispered sweet silly nothings in her ear until she started laughing and then tickling me, she climbed out of bed. We took a shower and packed, ready for what the morrow would bring. We were excited by the possibilities, scared of the problems that might arise, but comfortable in our love. That last night of the cruise we had dinner with Captain Jens again, this time in one of the main dining rooms with a mixed coterie of staff and passengers. It was a wonderful meal with wine from Jens private stock. He asked Ana and I to meet him in the engine room for coffee. We did and had a pleasant discussion. He was a fascinating man with a command presence. He was gracious with Ana and I felt he would be a friend. He had had a picture of him, Ana and myself at dinner and signed it and said we would get it in a nice frame before we departed. After dinner we danced for a while in one of the lounges, feeling quite mellow. Ana seemed to be in a happy, almost playful mood. She kept teasing me, pushing her hips into mine as we danced. Finally, I looked at her and asked, "Ana, would you like to go back to the cabin?" She smiled her agreement, probably thinking I was a bit slow on the uptake. When we got back to the room I wrongly thought that she would have been satiated. Where the afternoon was slow and sensuous, that final night she was wild in her need with an almost desperate air about her. She seemed worried but I assured her of my love and she calmed down. The next morning we were standing on the deck looking at the clusters of people standing behind the fence. Ana saw a small group off to the side and waved to them ... they were all obviously Latin, an older couple, a man with a woman standing close to him, a younger woman, maybe early twenties that looked like she could be Ana's sister, and two little kids, girls, about five. We turned to each other at the same time, Ana looking nervous. I'm sure I looked confused. "Charlie ... I never told you about my girls. Because of what happened to Aitor I am extremely protective of my little angels. Then ... when I fell in love with you I was afraid that I might lose you, that you wouldn't want children ... another man's kids. I didn't know what to do. It was tearing me up!" "Ana, you are crazy wonderful. I love children and maybe that is what was missing from my life ... Candy didn't want to give up her career." Looking at the girls, I was suddenly scared; what if the girls wouldn't accept me? Ana, reading my mind, smiled, "Charlie, they will love you. Ana Argiñe Galvéz is on the left and María Ariñe Galvéz is on the right. Aitor gave them their first names and I picked their middle names. Argiñe and Ariñe both mean 'light' in Basque. When I first saw them it seemed like God's light was shining on them and those seemed like the right names. Are we okay, then?" she added nervously. I gave her a hard hug, my heart going out to her. We walked down the dock, went through customs and picked up our luggage. As we walked back outside I stood back a little bit while she was swamped by her family, especially by the two girls. She was crying and so were the little Ana and María and I didn't want to intrude on such a private, intimate moment. The crush of people trying to get in to customs was heavy and I started getting pushed back. I heard a loud squeal, shouting, "Charlie," and so did everyone else. Ana and her family turned to me, curious, as this blond bombshell I recognized as Candy came flying at me, her arms and legs wrapped around me like a leach in heat, and her tongue doing it's best to give me a tonsillectomy. I had a flash of a horrified Ana staring at me as I lost my balance and fell. I felt something hard hit behind my ear then my nose exploded in pain. A sudden dizziness overwhelmed me ... then blackness enfolded what small awareness I had left. A dark period took over my life. (to be continued) Road Warrior: Barcelona Ch. 03 BUT NEVER DOUBT I LOVE Doubt thou the stars are fire, Doubt that the sun doth move; Doubt truth to be a liar, But never doubt I love. Shakespeare, Hamlet, II,ii,116 The voice was saying something I couldn't quite make out. There was the timbre of anxiety in the voice; the words filtered as if I had earplugs on. I gradually became aware of my body – my subconscious sending out urgent messages to the organs and extremities asking if they were doing okay. The right responses must have been sent back because I had a sense of feeling better without knowing why I felt that way. I felt, and then saw one eyelid then the other as they were pulled up, an unpleasant graininess causing discomfort. A blinding flash of light, with that special intensity of a too close bolt of light caused a sudden pain in my eyes. Firm hands holding my head tight ... the owner of the hands offering a barely heard, "Easy, okay, easy." The soft voice knew somehow – experience? – that my eyes were dry and gently applied two drops of some liquid to each eye. There was instant relief and by squinting I could make out the plain but somehow peaceful face of a nurse looking over at me. Moving my head slightly I saw a short, pot-bellied man who must be the doctor – standing there observing us. I could also make out a large bandage covering my nose and now, with the sight I knew that pain would arrive shortly. I mumbled, dry mouthed, "What happened?" The doctor came closer, and looking at me with a smile, said, "Yes, I guess you wouldn't know." He pointed at something outside of my range of vision and the nurse held a water bottle with a straw in it to my lips. "You fell down at the port. Your head hit the sharp corner of the concrete base of a light pole. You had bleeding in your brain. We had to put you in an induced coma and drill a small hole in your skull to clean out the clot. We just now brought you out from under. We will keep you here for a few days for monitoring but you should be able to leave by the end of the week." "How long have I been here?" "Just under two weeks." "What happened to my nose?" "He smiled, "Well, a bit of bad luck there. When you fell your wife fell on top of you and hit your nose with her elbow. "Fraid you aren't going to be quite as handsome with that new bend in your beak." He chuckled at what he must have considered a joke. Sounding stupid, even to myself, I asked, "My wife?" "Yes, and I must say she is quite lovely. I have never seen a wife as dedicated as her. She has been here almost all day, every day. Sitting by your side, reading to you from a novel. The nurse said she went to the hotel to get some sleep just before I came in to bring you out of the coma." "How soon can I travel?" "Well, I'd say a week from today should be okay. Don't do anything really strenuous for a couple of weeks. By the way, there is a gentleman waiting to see you, if you feel up to it." I asked the nurse to put the back of my bed up some and to let him in. "Charlie, damn, you look like you got hit by a truck!" It was my boss from New York, Gerald Adams. "Thanks, Gerald. That makes me feel a lot better. Listen, I'm ready to move closer to the action. I need to work out something. If I can make it happen I want to be based in Miami. That would be best for travel to South America and good connections to Spain and Portugal. Otherwise I'll go ahead and move to Madrid like you originally wanted me to." Gerald stared at me, "I'm a little confused here. Candy told me you guys had patched things up. She also said she was changing her focus to work mostly in the US so she wouldn't have to travel so much." That bitch! "Well, Gerald, that's not true. Candy and I are through. We've both signed the papers and the divorce is in process." "Uh, Charlie, Candy said she tore those papers up." That bitch! That damned bitch! "Well, Gerald, I kept a copy signed by both of us and I'm going to turn it in. If that doesn't work I'll move to Nevada for six weeks and do it there. We are clearly incompatible, which is all that Nevada cares about. I have the note that she gave me when she said she was dumping me for Llewellyn. So talk to me about Miami." He looked a bit stunned – I didn't really blame him. "Well, sure it would be better for us to have you either here or in Madrid. Actually, all things considered here in Miami would be the best. We do have an affiliate office you can work out of when you need to. And I fly through here all the time so it would be much easier for us to meet." "Okay, great, Gerald. Look, I need you to do something. Could you call the law firm we work with in Santiago and have them set up an introduction for me in, say, two weeks? A lunch would be great. I need to meet with a guy and I don't know much about him. His last name is Galvéz and he is a lawyer working on the Pinochet stuff. I know his wife's maiden name is Pomar, but that's all I have." "Sure, I can do that. How are you feeling? I have to say your nose looks like shit." He laughed at that. I told him how everything went on the cruise. I'd already copied him on the reports I'd written. "Charlie, they were quite impressed with you. I met with Cary Edwards and he gave us a contract to do a feasibility study on your recommendations. He apologized again for taking the room they were going to have you use and told me to tell you he meant what he said about his offer of the suite for you to take a cruise on them. He said it just had to be scheduled. He gave me his secretary's number here in Miami and you just need to call her when you are ready." We chatted for a bit more, and when the nurse came in to do whatever it is that nurses always seem to be doing, he stood up. "Gerald, I appreciate your not asking anymore about what's going on. I'll let you know when I either do or do not get it worked out. Be assured, though, that in any case Candy and I are not getting back together." After the nurse left I fell asleep for a couple of hours. When the nurse's aide came to serve me lunch I saw that Candy was standing there staring at me. From the look on her face she had run into Gerald and heard what I'd had to say about her. She came over and sat on the edge of the bed. "I screwed up, didn't I, Charlie?" I looked away for a moment then looked back at her, curious about what she would say. "It was so stupid. I'd gone shopping but I got a headache and came home. I caught him in bed with the guy that was supposed to be the best man." She teared up and tried a laugh that didn't work out quite right, "I guess that was the problem, huh, he really was the best man. It turned out his dad wanted him to get married to make him look more respectable. I guess there is no chance for us?" Quietly, I replied, "No, Candy, there isn't. I've moved on. I've ... well, Candy, I've found someone new. Someone special I want to live the rest of my life with. She was there, at the dock. Did you see her? She was with two small girls, twins about five." "No, Charlie. I only had eyes for you. I stupidly figured we could just start over. I told Gerald that I was going to stay in Denver. But if it's not going to work out I've been offered a partnership in a small firm in Odessa, Texas. There will just be three of us and we will specialize in oil leases." She started crying and I did feel some sympathy for her. I'd loved and lived with her for years. I didn't hate her; just what she had done to us. Forgiving her or not wasn't an issue. Our lives would go on in different orbits. The way that it had come about left a bad taste in my mouth but that was history now. I was impatient for her to leave, distracted with trying to figure out what had happened to Ana. The only thing that made sense was that Ana had seen Candy kiss me and jumped to the wrong conclusion. She stood up, "Can you give me a goodbye hug?" I did but, with no guilt whatsoever, my mind was on Ana. As she left, Candy added, "I know this doesn't mean much, but I really am sorry. Not just for what I did but for the small, mean way I did it. I'm not proud of myself. I won't fight you on the divorce, Charlie. I hope you find that girl. Oh, by the way, there was a man called Terry, an Englishman. He saw you fall and said he would have the cruise line hold your luggage. Just call them and they will have it delivered. She walked out the door and out of my life. It was ten years before I saw her again, and that was at the airport in Houston ... ships passing in the night. I improved rapidly and that Saturday they let me out of the hospital. The doctor wanted me to wait for another three or four days before traveling. Gerald had called me and told me the meeting was set up. I still had ten days before the meeting in Chile so I made reservations for the next Wednesday to fly to Lima. I figured I'd spend a few days there with my extended family that had remained in Perú. Then I would go on to Santiago for the meeting that I hoped would answer some questions and save my life. I checked into a hotel room and called to have my luggage delivered. I had everything cleaned and washed, and paid extra to have it done right away. It would be winter in Lima and Santiago so I bought a couple of heavier jackets and several pair of slacks. I spent my days walking along the beach, thinking of Ana, trying to puzzle out her disappearance. I could see her being upset ... more than that, feeling betrayed if she saw Candy kissing me. There wasn't anyway she could have known that I didn't want and would have refused the kiss if I had the chance. I loved only Ana and for me it was the last love I would have. I finally decided she must have seen us and turned at once in shame and anger. Yeah, she did have a fiery temper. I know that she wouldn't have been able to walk away if she knew that I was hurt. I didn't want to sink into depression, I had to fight this and find my love. I was dying of curiosity about the girls and found myself wishing I had had a chance to meet them. I was careful to drink only wine or beer and then only with meals. The solace of alcohol was tempting, but I knew it would ultimately be self-defeating. The trip to Perú went quite well. Everyone must have thought I looked skinny 'cause they did their best to fatten me up. It was good to decompress – great and terrible, my life had been chaos for the last month. A highlight was when my cousin took me to see Cecilia Barraza at a club, Manos Morenas, in Barranco. She had such a lovely voice and the Pisco sours were going down easily. The food was great and the conversation made me realize how important family was. In Perú, family is sometimes a somewhat loose concept and that night included cousins of cousins and several persons that I had no idea of how they fit in. The next morning, having both a slight headache and a warm feeling from the night before, I flew down to Santiago. The temperature was about the same as Lima but the lower humidity was more comfortable than Lima and it was quite pleasant. In the winter Lima usually has what they call garua, which is a gray mist that settles in over the city to a height of about three hundred feet, for months at a time and is totally depressing. Santiago was cool but sunny, and all in all was quite nice. My meeting with Ana's father was set for the next day for lunch at two in the afternoon at a well-known place called Giratorio. It was on the sixteenth floor of the building where Señor Galvéz (it was hard to think of him as Ana's father) had his law office. I met him at the restaurant and he wanted to hold off talking until after the meal, which was incredible. Over coffee I told him my story. My nose was obvious and I showed him the still healing scar on my head where they drilled for blood. I was disappointed with his attitude. I think he pretty much believed me but felt that Ana's privacy was her business. The most he would agree to do was to take the information on how to contact me and give it to Ana the next time she called. Despondent and disappointed I walked down to take a taxi back to the hotel. Raúl - that was his name - did agree to walk me down stairs. The doorman of the building waved for a taxi and as we were standing between the taxi and the building I saw a fast movement to my right. Remembering what Ana had said about the Basque separatists, I must have been subconsciously wound up. Seeing a motorcycle coming fast down the street I saw that the driver and passenger both had stocking caps pulled over their heads and the passenger was pulling a pistol out of his pocket. Not thinking about it I shoved Ana's dad to the ground and threw my briefcase, and, just as the pistol started firing, I dropped to the pavement. I heard screeching and a crash. I stood up and the taxi driver told me I had hit the driver in the head with my heavy leather case. The cycle had slid under a bus and it was clear no one survived. The police, of course, came in short order. It turned out the two guys were Pinochet loyalists and didn't like what Raúl was doing. Ana's dad was shook up but took me back in the lobby. "It's seems like I owe you something. Look, Charlie, why don't you come to dinner tonight and meet my wife. You can tell her your story and we'll see what she has to say." So at nine that evening I found myself in front of an attractive, moderately sized house in a nice, quiet neighborhood. As the taxi parked I did notice a police car at each end of the block. The dinner was both elegant and simple. The wine was from Chile and went well with the meal. Afterwards, we retired to what looked like a library and Raúl poured me a nice brandy. I told my story all over again to Silvia Marcela, Ana's mother. She looked at my nose – the swelling and discoloration were gone but it still wasn't a thing of beauty. She carefully looked at the scar forming over the hole in my head, and looked sad. She finally finished with her questions and left the room. Raúl shrugged his shoulders and offered me a small, pungent cigar. Everything considered I thought it prudent to go ahead and smoke it. About ten minutes later Silvia came back into the room. "Señor Charlie, please, the phone." She said as she pointed towards the instrument setting on a table. She motioned for Raúl to leave the room with her and quietly closed the door. I picked up the phone and instantly heard the click of the extension being replaced. Really having no idea what was going on, I answered, "This is Charlie." I could hear the soft sobs as she answered, "Oh, Charlie! God, I'm so sorry." She started crying hard – I waited for her to gather herself. "Mom told me about your fall. I just saw Candy kissing you and I thought ... Charlie, I thought you weren't serious about me. I was shocked, I felt betrayed. I grabbed the girls and ran to the car. I didn't see you fall. Oh, you know I would have come to you ... even if, even if you didn't love me. "Please don't hate me – I couldn't stand that. My girls need you ... I need you. Please come to me." "Ana, I love you, more than anything. I was so scared because I didn't know how to find you. I was desperate." "Please come to me, Charlie," she said again. We talked for a while then I went to find her parents. I gave her mom a hug for helping me out and told her that everything looked okay. I flew out the next day for Miami. They were living in two rented houses in Ft. Lauderdale until they could figure out what to do. They, consisting of hers, and her brother and his wife were in one house and her sister, Ana and the two girls were in the house next door. Ana picked me up at the airport in Miami. It was so good to hold her. She felt terrible about not being in the hospital with me, but I just shrugged, "Ana, it's in the past and we can't change it. Let's learn what we can from it, about trusting each other and always talking before we do anything drastic. Being with you now is all that matters to me." "Charlie, what you did for my dad, thank you. You risked your life to save his. You are a good man." It was late when we got to her house and everyone was asleep. Her sister got up when she heard the door and went right back to bed after Ana introduced us. Ana led us right into her bedroom, which was the master bedroom of the house. I needed to shower from the trip and as I was soaping up Ana squeezed in with me. It was a lot more crowded than the bathroom we'd had in the suite but I wasn't complaining. We didn't really do anything, just soaped each other up and got out. While I was drying I looked around the bathroom, curious to see if she had the diaphragm on. When I went into the bedroom Ana was already lying down, with a pink gown on, this time with panties. Not wanting to make a mistake about it, I asked, "Do you have your diaphragm on?" "No, Charlie, I don't need it anymore." "I guess you started your birth control pills, then?" "No, Charlie," she said patiently, "I can't start the pills until I start my period." I swear she was smirking at me. Maybe I was just too tired to understand. "Is something wrong with you?" "No, love, something is exactly right. I'm expecting!" I guess I looked confused. "Charlie, I'm pregnant." "You're pregnant?" "Yes, honey, I think you finally figured it out." "But how? When?" "Well, the when is obvious ... probably that first time on the ship. The how is a bit more complicated. There are these bees and then there are some birds ..." I threw the pillow at her and pinned her to the bed. "Really? Honest to God, really?" I put my ear on her abdomen, listening. "Baby, you're hopeless. You can't hear anything for a long time. But as long as you are down there ..." I took that as an invitation, and after twenty minutes of vigorous activity, we fell into a deep sleep. About eight the next morning, there was a soft knock on the door, and it opened a crack, "Ana, honey, you have about two minutes to get decent if you aren't already and then the girls will be coming in. Ana put a robe on and I pulled on my boxers and a tee shirt. Shortly afterwards, the girls bounded in all excited, and jumped on top of us on the bed. Ana introduced us and they each gave me a slobbery kiss on the cheek. They were really cute but I didn't have a clue about how to tell them apart. Later I made a suggestion to Ana and she agreed. Two days later we drove up to Orlando and Disney World for three days. I thought it would give us time to bond. They loved it and Ana and I had a lot of fun too. We did get to know each other much quicker than we would have otherwise. Candy sold the house in Castle Rock and sent me a check for half the proceeds. We bought a house closer to Miami so I wouldn't have to drive too far. I did start working out of Miami and started doing training sessions there instead of on the road. I was gradually able to plan my trips better and to travel less. The business grew and they hired someone to work in Spain and Portugal and I only needed to travel there for the rare emergency. I traveled mostly in Latin America. We got married at the parish we went to a week before Christmas. My mom and dad flew out and Ana's parents came from Chile, and both sets of parents stayed for the holidays. It was several years before we were finally able to take the cruise. We kept the smaller Royal Family Suite like we had before because of the two bedrooms. Ana's sister stayed in one, the girls on the sofa bed in the living room, and the baby with us. We flew to Barcelona and took the ship back to Miami. Terry had retired but Jens was the captain again and was glad to have us aboard. On the second night of the cruise we had dinner with Jens and his first officer. Carolina, Ana's sister, fell for Jen's assistant like a ton of bricks, so we were happy to give her a lot of time alone ... well, not alone, but not with us. Road Warrior: Barcelona Ch. 03 Occasionally, I look back to that day I read Candy's note and how I felt at the time – not knowing then it was the best thing that ever happened to me. The love that Ana and I shared only got better as time passed. We never had any more children after Juan Carlos but he was enough. He grew into a tall, good looking young man with wavy black hair he liked to wear long. His sisters confided in me that all the girls at his school got weak in the knees whenever he passed by. The twins grew into great beauties ... and that led to my premature gray hair. It was a good life; a great life and we lived it to the fullest.