Shipmates
He sits at breakfast, his gray cardigan shrouding the gaily colored Hawaiian shirt. The old woman notices he does not have butter for his roll. She rises and totters off to solve his culinary needs, as has been her custom for decades. The crowds bellying up to the buffet are thick and protective of their space, so she is gone a long time. And perhaps she is not terribly eager to return to his sullen presence. His patience is tested. His face morphs from frown to concern. Without warning he throws back his head and bellows, “WHERE ARE YOUUUU?”
***
I observe that on cruise ships, the older the woman the more bling she wears. “Mutton dressed as lamb,” I mutter to my sister. “The more mutton dresses this way, the more it becomes normal for mutton,” she replies. I am left with no closing remark.
***
There are only three children on this long cruise, all girls in one family that is moving to New Zealand. I meet them because Emma has studied salamanders in school and I am wearing a salamander pin. She notes I am wearing glasses, too, as is she. Clearly I am a superior sort of grown-up. The parents seem desperate for adult company; no one really wants to join their table of chattering, wriggling kiddies. On the other hand, these kids have the entire staff and all the play equipment in the children’s club to themselves. Their memories of this crossing will be very different from Mom’s and Dad’s.
***
Overheard at 7:45 a.m.: “Where’s Jan? She’s not still in bed, is she?” In one statement, the speaker reveals herself as that judgmental type who has no idea why she has so few friends.
***
We sit on deck in the evening after dinner. A young couple joins us which surprises me somewhat since they tend to gather with their own kind. The woman eases the conversation to subjects that interest both her husband and us. Then she leaves for the casino, where he does not want to go. We realize we have been selected as non-threatening companions for her man; to her we’re as sexless as old socks. Does he recognize the manipulation? Sis and I are amused and, I admit, a little hurt.