December 20, 2012

Dinner the first evening on any cruise is teeming with excitement, wonder, and curiosity.  The guests look forward to enjoying all the ship amenities and visiting all the ports; while the crew recognized faces they greeted upon boarding.  All in the short time it took to check a guest in, most often than not, the crew members learned many things about the guest.  The dining room was a good place to remember the tidbits they had learned and wonder which guests will make a lasting impression on their memories and which guests will only be one of the many.
 - "Kyu Jong Hyeong-ah…Hyeong…don’t hold back.  What did you find out about the yeoja from yesterday?”  Hyung Jun impatiently asked.  He and his friends spoke in their native Korean when alone.
 - “Amogotodo (nothing).  Her name is…Ilana-ssi and that I read from her boarding paperwork.  Last name…was with a C…and it was Latin, I think.”
 - “Wae!”Hyung Jun complained
 - “What yeoja?”Young Saeng, now equally intrigued, jumped into the conversation as well.
---“A yeoja whom Hyun Jun and Na attended to this morning. She was feeling faint, but she refused to go to the infirmary.  I sent HyungJun to get her a juice and a candy bar, as she said she’d skipped breakfast in her excitement.  That helped; when she started to feel better Na escorted her to her room.  End of story.  She would not divulge any personal information not matter how much Na tried to make small talk.  YoungSaeng Hyeon hasn’t met her?  She’s on your deck and traveling alone.  Na don’t think you can miss her.:
 - “Yeoja?  All Na met at the reception in the Neptune Lounge were the usual Halmoni-deul.”
 - “Hyeong didn’t make dinner reservations for her?”  KyuJong asked.
 - “Anieyo, hokshina she’s staying in tonight.  Hajima, that’s odd for a younger passenger not to come in and have cocktails before dinner.”
- “Na want to know her story," Hyung Jun said, with a dreamy look on his face.  "Na might have to spend some extra time taking pictures on your deck."  The other two men shook their head and laughed at Hyun Jun’s unashamed curiosity.
 - “Hokshina, she is still not feeling well.  As the Uissa, Na should call on her to follow up.”  KyuJong teased his friends with a grin, but in the back of his mind, he really was concerned for the girl.
 - “Andwae!!” HyungJun protested.  “Pabo is laughing at me, but secretly wants to visit her on his own.  Na was the one who saw her first.  Na should be able to call on her too.”
YoungSaeng laughed at their Maknae’s pouting.  He was sure KyuJong was teasing about visiting the girl, but now he was even more curious.  “Yippeun (pretty) yeoja?  Na will go and scout the deck for her, right now,”he added to the teasing, but really was only half kidding.  He wanted to meet the girl that was making Maknae act more like a kid than usual and KyuJong to have her in his thoughts.
 - “She is American, possibly Latin American, like na said, hajima there is something about her that makes her yippeun.  She’s quiet and shy, hajima when she wanted to avoid my questions, her answers were abrupt and she would change the subject.”  Kyu Jong smiled as he remembered her impatiently asking if they were almost to her room.  “Hokshina na would like to know her story, wae is she here alone.  Na didn’t believe her story of feeling appayo (sick) because she skipped breakfast.”
 - “Nado!!  Let’s find out together!”  HyungJun was already excited about the prospect.
 - “Anieyo…leave her alone, she’s nae responsibility.  Na won’t have Maknae bothering her.”  KyuJong had a valid point, but their youngest friend would just be loitering YoungSaeng’s deck and making himself a nuisance to the passengers that pay a lot of money for those suites.  “KyuJong-ah, if na see her, Na will let her know you asked how she was feeling.”
 - “Hyeong!  Tell her she still owes me a picture!”
YoungSaeng scowled at his younger friend, while KyuJong laughed and walked away.  Had they been alone, he would have smacked the kid.

December 21, 2012

 - “Wh-what happened?  Where am I?”  Almost twenty-four hours later, Ilana woke groggily sometime in the late afternoon of their second day at sea.  It took her a few minutes to remember where she was and how she had arrived there.  The room began to spin when she tried to get up from the bed; her migraine was still there.  Taking deep breaths in hopes of lessening the pain in her head, she closed her eyes and buried her head in the pillow.

After some time she was able to get up, but immediately felt nauseated and went running to the bathroom.  When she was sure nothing was going to come out, or up, from the bathroom floor she reached up for a wash cloth and rinsed it under cold water.  Lifting herself to a sitting position on the toilet, with her head to her knees began to dab the cold cloth on her face and neck.  This usually helped ease her discomfort.

Once she was able to stand without the room spinning or fear of falling she walked over to the small table in the suite where the phone and miscellaneous ship information lay, as well as her boarding papers.  Her hands shook when she picked up her boarding papers.  Perhaps she should try and get some food in her, even though she had no appetite and just the thought of eating made her feel sick.  She glanced through her papers to see what amenities were offered that wouldn’t require her to leave the safety of her room.

• Use of the exclusive Neptune Lounge and personal concierge service*
• 
  Complimentary laundry, pressing and dry cleaning throughout your cruise
• 
  Complimentary sparkling wine served in the Neptune Lounge upon embarkation
• 
  Complimentary bottled water provided in suite at embarkation
• 
  Gorgeous corsages and boutonnieres for the first formal night
• 
  Cold hors d’oeuvres served before dinner each evening on request
• 
  Binoculars and umbrellas for your use on the cruise
• 
  Cocktail party with ship’s officers
• 
  Priority boarding for tendered ports of call
• 
  Special disembarkation service
• 
  Priority dining and seating requests
• 
  Exclusive daily breakfast service
• 
  High tea service in suite on request
• 
  Elegant wooden clothing brush, lint remover and shoehorn for keeping clothing immaculate
• 
  Fragrant bath salts and exfoliating loofah mitt for an invigorating shower experience.

Half the items listed she would have no use for, but for the moment one item on the list stood out; the High Tea was calling to her.  Tea always helped settle her constantly frazzled mind and the food would be easy on her stomach.  Hopefully, by eating something, it would minimize her headache.  Her migraine medication was only a last resort; it made her so tired, she couldn’t function properly.  In the meantime, a soak in the tub with the fragrant bath salts sounded very nice. 

 - “Lounge, this is Young Saeng speaking, how may I be of assistance?”
 - “I’d like to have High Tea service brought to SA7054, please?”
 - “What tea would you like us to bring, Miss?” The voice on the other line sounded young, “I wonder if it’s the woman the guys were talking about,” Young Saeng thought to himself.
 - “Darjeeling or Chinese tea if you have it, thank you.”
 - “Will Keemun do?  It’s a red tea and slightly fruity”
 - “Yes, that will do nicely.  If I don’t answer the door, please, just let yourselves in and set it on the table.”
 - “We should have it there for you in about fifteen minutes.”
- “Thank you, I look forward to it.”

The hot bath was a soothing balm for Ilana’s mood and wellbeing.  It was a whirlpool tub and she normally didn't care for them, but this time she allowed the hot water bubbles to do their job.  While the clean smell of ocean sent bath salts calmed her thoughts, the pulsing hot water coming from the jets eased her tension.  For a short while, she closed her eyes and let all her usual worries, plus the pain of her cousin’s lie drift away with the bubbles.  Ilana emerged from her bath refreshed and her headache was almost non-existent.  Her food had already been served; it looked and smelled wonderful.  She still didn’t have very much of an appetite but thought she could persuade herself to eat just a little bit.  The wait staff had left her some containers, so she put what was leftover away for later or the next day.  She looked out her floor to ceiling window; everything looked peaceful.  People were getting ready for dinner, so this was the perfect opportunity to sit out on the verandah and let the cool breeze of the evening and the scent of the ocean finish what the bath had started.  Taking a cup of tea and the itinerary, she sat down on one of the very comfortable looking chairs.  The itinerary stated they’d be heading for Puerto Vallarta, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama Canal, Columbia, Cayman Islands, and then something caught her attention.  They would be in Fort Lauderdale, Florida in two weeks.  She decided to disembark in Fort Lauderdale and head to the nearest phone store.  Since her meeting with ia at the docks, in Los Angeles, she hadn’t turned her phone on at all; neither had she charged it.  Truth be known, she was afraid of her cousin’s finding her and dragging her back home under his watchful and oppressive supervision.  Worried that her cousin would trace her phone to the ship, she would purchase a new phone when they disembarked in Florida.  Her foster Brother Kike, as she always called him (AKA Rick Martin), lived in Miami.  By now, he would know that she ran away and be very worried.  She would contact him once She had a new phone.