Page 24 of Sailor's Delight
“Jenn!”
She didn’t look up.
Trey cupped his hands around his mouth and leaned as far as he dared over the balcony railing. “Jenn!” he shoutedagain. He thought she might have turned her head slightly, but she never looked up.
He turned and ran for the stairs, taking them two at a time right up until he stumbled, and his foot slipped down a step.
He went down hard, falling backward onto the stairs as his ankle crumpled beneath him.
“Damnit!” he hissed as a few other passengers rushed toward him, offering concerned gasps, words of consolation, and a few helpful hands up.
Trey tried to smile through the pain in his ankle as he waved them away graciously. “I’m fine. It’s fine,” he said, continuing to limp his way downstairs.
Slowly, painfully, he hobbled down the rest of the remaining flights of stairs to the floor of the atrium.
Damn, damn, double damn!There was no sign of Jenn. Trey tried to stand on tiptoe to see above the crowd and winced. His injured ankle was not going to support him, and he couldn’t balance well enough on one ankle to see much. He made his way to the Shore Excursions counter.
“Excuse me,” he said loudly, over the top of the attendant helping a couple in particularly bad matching Hawaiian print sun dress and shirt combo. The woman glanced at him, annoyed.
“Sir, if you’re wanting to book an excursion, we’ll be happy to serve you at your turn.” The attendant smiled thinly and pointed to the end of the long line.
“No, sorry, I just wanted to ask about a woman who was just here.”
The woman’s face went tight and decidedly cold. “I’m sorry, sir, we can’t give out information about other passengers.”
“No, I— she’s my wife.”
The woman looked at him, suspicion coming so thick from her eyes he could have spread it on toast.
“What room are you in, Sir?”
“No, that— we’re staying in different rooms.”
The woman paused, her face now starkly devoid of expression. Trey wondered briefly if she thought she was actually hiding any of the obviously negative thoughts she was having about him.
“I’m sorry, sir. I can’t give out the information of other passengers. It’s for everyone’s safety, sir.”
Trey sighed. There would obviously be no help coming from this direction. He glanced at the couple at the counter. The man’s whole face wore a furrow that traveled uninterrupted from his forehead to his chin, and the woman’s disgusted sneer had Trey gritting his teeth.
“Creep,” he heard her say.
It was all Trey could do to walk away from the desk without saying anything. The last thing he needed was to draw more attention to himself.
His mind raced. He couldn’t call her, couldn’t message her. He glanced down at his ankle. Couldn’t follow her.
“Are you all right, sir?” The cruise employee gently touched Trey’s shoulder, pulling him out of his stupor.
“What?” Trey glanced down at his ankle again. “Yeah, I’m fine,” he lied, hopping as he fought to keep his balance without stepping on the offending ankle.
“Do you need to see the ship’s doctor, sir?”
“No, I’m fine.”
Trey looked up, an idea flickering in his brain.
“Is there a pair of binoculars I could borrow?”
A few minutes later, holding the expensive pair of binoculars he hadn’t intended on buying, but been given no other option, Trey stood watch on the top deck as close to shore as he could get, his eyes fixed on the gangway doors where the waiting crowds would appear from the cruise ship.