PORT OF CALL
by
Kathleen Stoley
CHAPTER 1
The minutes seemed to drag on into hours as Alyssa waited to
be called for her interview. She was
taking a step out of her ordinary life and trying to get a position with a
cruise line. Adventure and sailing the
high seas for living was the ticket for her.
No more working in the dull, dusty library of a small town where each
day blended into the next. She was
beginning to feel like one of the old worn out books that she watched being reshelved every day.
Her job was the total sum of the Accounting Department, which basically
meant that she was in charge of all accounts payable and receivable from
overdue book fines to the purchase of new books. Each day she arrived at the library at dawn
and didn't leave until dusk, putting in long hours as part of her duties. She was beginning to feel like one of the
children of the night and her pale skin reflected this lack of sunlight. Her family consisted of her mother and
father and two brothers, both of which worked construction alongside their
father. Her mother remained a housewife,
because that is what her father wanted.
Alyssa had lived in this town for all of her 28 years and, although she
was attractive, she never seemed to date anyone for very long. Her brothers told her that she was looking
for Mr. Perfect and would never find anyone.
Her mother's response was that she didn't have to settle for less
either. Her mother had always been her
source of encouragement and had made sure that she had gone to the community
college to get her degree. She was
happy with her life, but she didn't want her daughter to have to settle if it
wasn't what she wanted to do with her life.
Alyssa wasn't sure what she wanted to do, she just knew that working in
the library wasn't it. So, when the
Recruitment Fair came to the local community college, Alyssa was one of the
first in line to get in. She walked
along the booths that had been set up for various local and national recruiting
organizations until she came to the Holiday Cruise Line booth. There as big as
life, was a poster of the deck of a ship with a group of people standing in
their starched white uniforms, tanned and smiling encouraging her to join them
in their fun. Alyssa walked directly
toward the table and began to leaf through the brochures, before she knew it, a
week later she was sitting in their offices in Miami waiting for her final
interview before receiving her assignment.
She had flown in this morning and had been met and taken directly to her
hotel to register before being bussed to the Cruise Line's
offices. She had never been to Miami,
let alone Florida and couldn't wait to get out and see the sights.
The door opened and Alyssa looked up as a tall dark-haired
woman walked in. She had the most
striking blue eyes that Alyssa had ever seen.
The woman walked with an assured grace, comfortable in her tall body and
with life in general. Her white shorts
and pale blue polo shirt contrasted well against her firm tanned skin. Alyssa watched in awe as she strolled over to
the counter and leaned against it waiting for the woman behind it to look up.
"Hey, Kelsey!
It's been too long, welcome back!
You ready for another tour at sea?"
The receptionist looked up with unveiled interest. "We've missed you!" "Kelsey?"
Kelsey looked around at all applicants that were waiting and
thought, 'I'll just bet you have'.
Her attention was caught by a blonde in the corner who, to her
embarrassment, was looking straight at her with a look all to familiar to Kelsey. She looked like a deer caught in the headlights,
a 'newbie', scared to death and looking for adventure on the high seas. Unfortunately, what she would find is a lot
of long hours and hard work for very little thanks. But, the pay was good and Kelsey loved the
open air and the smell of the sea so she kept coming back each season. Hearing her name called again, Kelsey turned
back toward the receptionist.
"Yes sorry, umm thanks Sandy…I guess I'm ready to head
back out. The break never seems long
enough though, does it?" Kelsey
smiled down at the receptionist trying to be polite. She had continually rebuffed the woman's
advances, but that didn't stop her from always trying. Kelsey wasn't interested in getting involved
with anyone right now, at least not Sandy.
"No, I guess it doesn't, but at least you aren't stuck
behind this desk all the time."
Sandy pulled out a packet and handed it to Kelsey. "Here is your room and
duty assignments. Ship
Orientation is tomorrow at 10 AM in the ODR (officers
dining room), you are expected to board at 8 AM and get settled before the
meeting." Kelsey nodded her
understanding, nothing new just the usual routine.
Sandy laid the packet on the top of the counter but didn't
let it go when Kelsey tugged on it.
Kelsey looked up questioningly into the hazel eyes and instantly knew
what was coming. "If you aren't
doing anything tonight, maybe we can get dinner and catch a movie before you
ship out?"
Kelsey plastered a look of regret on her face and shook her
head, "Oh, I'm sorry. I've made
plans to spend the evening with my aunt."
Sandy didn't seem pleased as her eyes narrowed when she
remarked. "I didn't know you had
any family, you folder lists your parents as deceased."
"Yes, they are.
My aunt is my only living relative and is listed as my next of kin for
emergency purposes." Kelsey replied
trying hard to keep her solicitous look on her face. One of these days she was going to tell the
woman off and be finished with her constant fishing expeditions, but she didn't
want to jeopardize her assignments either.
She knew that Sandy had pull when it came to the assignment of rooms and
duties. Kelsey had tried every other way
to let Sandy know that she just wasn't interested in her. It wasn't because she was a woman, because
Kelsey was a lover of all things female, just not this one.
"Maybe when you get back
then." Sandy murmured and let go of the packet and
Kelsey whisked it quickly away before turning and waving good-bye on her way
out. 'Whew! Another
reprieve!'
Alyssa watched the interaction between the women and for
some reason was happy when the tall one turned down the receptionist. She hadn't been real thrilled with the way
the redhead had eyed her when she first came in, too pushy for Alyssa's taste. Alyssa had never dated a woman before, but
the idea was far from foreign to her.
There were few opportunities in her town, which was one of the reasons
why she never had a date. Alyssa grinned thinking, 'If her brothers only knew!' Caught in her daydream, she didn't hear her
name called the first time. The second
time, she looked up and the receptionist was looking at her impatiently as she
called her name again.
"Oh, I'm sorry, that's me." Alyssa quickly rose and went toward the
counter. Sandy looked at her curiously
before shaking her head and giving her directions on where to go for her
interview. Nodding in understanding
Alyssa finally thanked her and went down the hallway the woman had indicated.
"12-B, this must be the room." Alyssa mumbled to herself and smoothed out
her shirt before knocking on the door and waiting for a response. She heard a muffled voice call “come” from
behind the door and she turned the knob to open the door and enter. The room turned out to be a small conference
room consisting of a table with a couple of chairs around it. Seated on the other side of the table was a
man in an officer's uniform of the cruise line.
He quickly stood smiling and looked down at the packet and then back at
her and said, "You must be Alyssa…"
"Yes, I am."
Alyssa walked up to the table and stopped.
The officer held his hand out for a handshake and introduced
himself. "Great, I'm Mark, Chief
Purser. Welcome to Holiday Cruise
Lines. Please, have a seat."
He waited until Alyssa was comfortably seated before
beginning. "May I call you
Alyssa? We run a pretty informal ship in
the Pursers office."
Alyssa nodded and replied, "Yes, Please do."
"Great! I'm not
sure how much they have told you, but should you accept this assignment you
will be attached to the Pursers Office.
With your background, we can certainly use you." Mark replied opening up the manila envelope
with her name on it.
"So far all I've been told are the basics about
employment, salary, benefits, etc. They
told me I would learn about the job assignment itself at this
interview." Alyssa leaned forward
on the desk excited with the knowledge that she actually had the job if she
wanted it. At the last interview, they
had left her to believe that nothing was final until she received an actual
assignment, and this was it!
"Well, then let me tell you about your assignment
then." Mark answered happily and
began to turn the papers in Alyssa's direction so that she could follow
along. "Your assignment, as I
stated before, is with the Pursers Office.
Your duties will include manning the Pursers Desk in the main
atrium. Most of your role will be to act
as a cashier of sorts, cashing checks, exchanging currency and things of this
nature. You will rotate with three other
Officers on a set schedule. We are all a
pretty friendly group and I don't mind any switching of schedules between
officers as long as it is noted on the rooster ahead of time. Other than that, at the end of each shift,
the officer is expected to total out their transactions for the day and log
them in the computer system. This will
ensure that we have ample funds and various currencies available for the
passengers. Most of which is kept in a
safe and either myself or the Assistant Chief Purser, Monica, have access to
and in rare emergencies, the captain.
But, we don't like to trouble him with the day to day running of our
office." Mark sat back smiling and
waited for everything to sink in before continuing, "So, do you have any
questions?"
Alyssa thought for a moment before answering. It didn't sound like that difficult of a job
to her and actually it might be fun to actually talk to the various
passengers. In the library, she never
got to talk to anyone. "Well, the
job sounds good. You've seemed to
explain it fully."
"So, think you might be interested in joining us this
season?" Mark waited for her
response before going into the rest of the details of uniforms and rules.
"Oh yes! I think
I'd like that very much!" Alyssa
was so happy that her smile must have stretched from ear to ear. She was going to sea!
"Terrific!"
Mark rubbed his hands together in excitement for the young woman. She seemed to be an easily likeable person
and would have no problem fitting in with his staff. "Okay, next let me tell you about your
uniform, room assignment and the rest."
Mark pulled out more papers from the envelope and went over
them with Alyssa. Since this was her
first season with the Cruise lines she had been assigned to room with an
experienced officer who could show her the ropes. Alyssa had been assigned to bunk with the
Assistant Sports Director for the duration of this cruise. It was the Cruise line's policy to mix their
officers from the various departments so that everyone could get acquainted and
also get to know how other parts of the ship operated. Mark signed her slip for her uniforms and
after welcoming her again, sent her along on the next phase of her employee
orientation.
By late afternoon, all arrangements for uniforms and
essentials, medical releases and paperwork had been filed and taken care of,
and Alyssa was free until she was to report to the ship at 8 AM the next
morning. Exhausted but exhilarated,
Alyssa headed to her hotel room to call home and change. She wanted to get something to eat and check
out the sights before it got too late.
The call home was the hardest thing she would have to do. It was for sure now, that she would be gone
for at least 12 months on this duty assignment.
She wouldn't be able to see her family unless they booked passage aboard
her assigned ship. She could call and
write, but that was about all the she would have time to do. There were no side trips unless for an
emergency.
CHAPTER 2
Hanging up the telephone, Alyssa realized that the only
person she would miss would be her mother, but she promised to call and write
as often as possible. She could hear the
catch in her mother's throat as they said good-bye and the enthusiasm of an
hour ago dimmed as Alyssa thought seriously about the task she was undertaking. The job itself was a 'no-brainer' as far as
Alyssa was concerned, but what about the hours in between her duty
schedule. She knew no one on this job
and had never been one to make friends quickly, and she would be far away from
everyone she had ever known.
The doubt and fears began to creep in causing Alyssa to
second guess her decision. But, before
she let these fears take root, she decided to get out of the hotel room and
take a walk over to the shops at Bay Shore.
She bought a couple of trinkets to send back home and ended up sitting
down by the water to decide where she wanted to eat. Deep in thought she didn't realize anything was wrong
until she felt her purse being ripped from her shoulder. She held on as hard as she could to the one
strap, but it broke and the assailant began to run between the tables of diners
at the outdoor café and suddenly found himself sprawled out on the
pavement. Rising from one of the tables
was the tall woman from the Cruise lines.
She bent over and retrieved Alyssa's purse and the man scrambled to get
away from the growing crowd.
Kelsey had seen the whole thing coming and got lucky when
the man ran in her direction. She just
stuck her leg out at the last minute sending the thief flying threw the air. She
leaned down and picked up the purse as he ran away. She had no intentions of following him or
getting involved as she was shipping out the next morning and didn't need
anything to get in the way. Holding the
purse she looked over at the startled blonde and blew out a breath as she walked over
toward her thinking, 'She had better start getting a grip on life before she
finds herself in trouble or worse.'
"I think this is yours." Kelsey stated matter of fact and held out the
purse by its broken strap. Close up she
saw that she was average height, blonde and kind of cute, but when she looked
up into the brilliant green eyes, they caused her to take a second look and
then a third.
"Thank you. I
never saw him coming." Alyssa
gushed as the women stood looking at her so intently. She could feel the flush running up her
cheeks at the close scrutiny. "Umm,
my name is Alyssa."
Kelsey hadn't heard a word the woman was saying and didn't
realize that she was even talking until she saw her expression change to that
of embarrassment. 'Damn Kelsey! Pay
attention yourself!' Kelsey scowled
thinking.
"You need to pay attention around here or you are going
to get hurt." Kelsey's voice
sounded more curt than she had intended it to, but she
had been caught off guard and was angry with herself.
"I'm sorry."
Alyssa quickly replied to the woman.
She hadn't even acknowledged the pleasantries of an introduction and
Alyssa was taken back at the brusque behavior.
"Okay, but be more careful and less sorry." Kelsey answered and turned to walk away. She didn't know why she was being so
obnoxious right now and decided to take her moody self away before said
anything more.
"Your
welcome!"
Alyssa murmured tersely under her breath as she watched the raven-haired woman
walk away. "I'm glad to meet you too."
Kelsey's back stiffed as she heard the woman's comments, it
was a pain to have such good hearing sometimes.
Now, she felt like a bitch for acting the way she had to the woman. Feeling guilty, Kelsey turned at the first
row of stores and decided to keep an eye on the woman to make sure there were
no repeat performances tonight, at least that is what
she told herself she was doing. She
watched the blonde intently as she got up and went over to the nearby café and
was seated at one of the tables. Kelsey
waited long enough to watch the blonde order her dinner and then left to pick
up a few things. She figured the blonde
was safe for the moment as she waked away thinking, 'What
did she say her name was? Oh yeah,
Alyssa. Hmm, nice enough name.' Kelsey walked down to the drugstore to
stock up on some of the items she would need for the time being.
Alyssa looked at her purse strap and knew that it was
irreparable and shrugged. She really
didn't think she would need a purse for awhile anyway. Staring out over the ocean she remembered the
conversation between the woman and the receptionist and the remark about having
dinner with her aunt. "Guess we
know that wasn’t true." Alyssa
couldn't help but wonder about the dark haired stranger and if she possibly
worked on board ship too. Her musings
were interrupted by the arrival of her dinner and she concentrating on eating
it. She hated to eat alone and ate
quickly and while she waited for her bill, she decided she had enough
excitement for one night. Staring out
over the water and the evening sky, she decided to just go back to the hotel to
get some sleep.
Kelsey returned to her lookout spot and was slightly
relieved to see that Alyssa was still there. She watched the young woman for a few moments
and noticed the sadness in her face as she sat alone. Kelsey was no stranger to that look, it was one that stared back at her every time she
looked into a mirror. 'Maybe she
doesn't have anyone either' Kelsey quickly shook off these remorse
thoughts, 'Hey, it's not the end of the world!'
Alyssa made her way back past the shops toward her
hotel. She was glad that they had put
her up so close to everything so that she wasn't stuck in her hotel the entire
time. Even with her little purse mishap, she was happy that she had a chance to
look around a bit before she sailed in the morning. 'I'm sailing in the morning!' She kept
chanting to herself with one huge smile on her face. So wrapped up in her own little world again,
Alyssa never realized that she was being followed again as she entered the
hotel lobby and took the elevator up to her floor.
Kelsey followed at a discrete distance and smiled when she
realized they were staying at the same hotel.
'Good, I won't have to go out of my way playing Good Samaritan. I'm just walking back to my hotel.' She told herself as she followed the blonde
into the lobby and waited for the next elevator to take her up to her own
floor.
CHAPTER 3
Kelsey was up at the crack of dawn, packed and ready to get
onboard and get settled. She knew the
ship orientation by heart, but it was mandatory for all officers to
attend. 'Yipee!'
she thought glumly and headed down to the lobby to find a newspaper and a cup
of coffee to kill some time.
Alyssa heard music playing in the background and rolled over
and fell back asleep. It wasn't until
the phone rang that she jumped up awake, it was her wake up
call from the front desk. She had used
it as a backup in case she failed to wake up to the alarm in the room. She quickly hung up the phone and ran for the
shower, grateful that she had the presence of mind to call the desk or she
would still be sleeping as the ship pulled out of the harbor. Getting up early had never been a favorite
past time for Alyssa, who liked to sleep as late as possible in the
mornings. But, she knew that those days
were long gone with this new job. She
would be on a rotating schedule of shifts.
The Purser's Desk was to be manned from 5 am to 9 PM every day, seven
days a week. Being new woman on the
totem pole, so to speak, she had a feeling she would be pulling a lot of early
morning shifts.
Alyssa caught the second employee bus pickup to the cruise
ship and stumbled on board with the rest of the arriving crew. All her things
had been previously sent to the ship except for her overnight bag, which she
carried. As she waited on the dock to
board the ship she rummaged through her bag for her ID. Each ID listed, beneath their photo, their
name, rank and country of citizenship.
'Photo ID must be worn by all employees at all times, and must be
carried on their person even off duty.' Her mind quoting what she had read from the Employee Handbook. Placing the chain around her neck, the ID
badge hung to almost her waist. Frowning, she let it go. Enough time later to worry about the small stuff. When it was her turn to board, she showed her
ID and her paperwork and was directed toward her cabin. She had never been on a cruise ship before
and she could feel the excitement building as she walked down the passageway
looking for her cabin number. She knew that
officers received better quarters than other employees, but usually cabins that
the paying customer wouldn't want.
Either they were too small, or too out of the way. Alyssa was surprised to find that she had to
go up two decks to find her cabin. She
didn't think that the crew were actually bunked above
the level she was currently on and hoped that it wasn't a mistake. Now, was not the time to be running around
trying to find her cabin, orientation was in 30 min. and she had wanted to be
early to make sure she got a good seat. She hadn't realized how long it would take to
go through the boarding process or that there were this many employees on a cruise
ship. This was a whole new world for
Alyssa and she was constantly amazed at what she didn't know.
Kelsey made her way forward on the Promenade Deck and was
happy to see that she had gotten one of the better officer cabins. She wondered if she had Sandy to thank for
this and if she shouldn't give in and go to dinner her
just once. Cringing at the thought, she
figured she would just enjoy her good fortune while it lasted and take the bad
with the good later. Entering the cabin,
Kelsey chose the bed farthest away from the door, remember past nightmares with
roommates that came in all hours of the night, usually drunk and falling on the
nearest bed, hers. She would not only be
jarred awake, but she would have to get up and put her roommates to bed, before
getting back in her own and trying to fall back asleep while they snored in
their liquor induced comas. Nope, this
time she was taking the rack by the window and going to get some sleep at
night! Their gear was all sitting
outside the door and she went and pulled her familiar duffel bags into the room
and began the task of unpacking. She
wondered who her roommate would be this year and hoped it wasn't some
starry-eyed newbie that thought every night was made for a new conquest. The only rule that Kelsey loved about the
Cruise line was that no opposite sexes were allowed in employee's cabins. Kelsey smiled glad that she wouldn't have to
put up with the new recruits bringing home a new man every night. Only with one roommate had Kelsey closed her
eyes to the infraction and allowed her to bring a man to the cabin. It was one of the few friends' that Kelsey
had ever made on her voyages. Carol and
her husband were fresh out of college and both were working the season to save
money to get their own home. Carol and
Kelsey had set up a schedule where three nights a week Kelsey wouldn't come
back to the room until midnight. On
those nights, Kelsey spent a lot of time hanging out in the employee lounge and
other creative places while she waited until she could get back into their
room. Her favorite place was on a deck
chair in the front of the ship where no one usually went. She could look up at the stars as the evening
breezes washed over her body. It was the
nearest she ever came to feeling at peace in her entire life. With the billions of stars above her and the
gentle caress of the wind, she felt she wasn't alone. Kelsey had many relationships in her
lifetime, but none had ever made her feel that way, which is probably why she
had given up searching for someone to complete her world. Now at 33, she just did what she had to, to
live and left the foolish ideas of romance to the youth. Kelsey felt a presence at the door and
turned, to face her new roommate, a quick spark
tingled her heart and startled her, instantly jolting her out of her
reverie. This sudden uncertainty allowed
her to shut down all emotions and inwardly she groaned, "Oh great! Babysitting detail!'
Alyssa stood looking from the paper in her hand to the
number of the door and then back to the tall raven-haired woman that stood in
her cabin. 'No, please tell me this
isn't happening! Tell me, that I'm not
going to spend the next year of my life with 'happy' here!' The two women stood looking at each other
with neither one making the first attempt to break the silence. Finally, Ayssa
cleared her throat and asked, "Promenade B4?"
"Yes."
"I think this is my cabin." Alyssa replied uncertainly, afraid to enter
the room and not sure of what to do otherwise.
Kelsey's patience did not seem to be at it's best today and her reply was anything but
cordial. "Are those your bags in
the corridor?"
Alyssa looked down at her things next to the door and nodded
without speaking.
"Well, then I guess you’re in the right
place." Kelsey replied flippantly
and finished her packing. She silently
kicked herself for her behavior and didn't look at the blonde as she struggled
to pull her things into the room and stood looking around unsure of
herself.
Kelsey turned to face the woman and maintained her composure
to calmly instruct her new roommate.
"That bed is yours and this dresser and the closet on the right
behind you. You need to hurry and unpack
as ship orientation is in 20 minutes in the ODR." Not waiting for a response from the blonde,
Kelsey walked past her and out the door and headed down to the briefing,
wondering what it was about the woman that made her act so stupidly.
Alyssa sat down on the edge of her assigned bed and felt a
rise of panic well up in her. Taking a
deep breath, she got herself under control and let her anger take over. Getting up she yanked her suitcase up on the
bed and began to pull out her things and shove them into drawers. Opening up the closet, she noticed her new
uniforms and placed the few other dressy items that she had brought next to
them on the hangers. Finished, she
shoved her suitcases under her bed and looked at her watch. She had 5 minutes to get to the Officer's
Dining Room for orientation. Hesitating
at her dress, she remembered that her roommate hadn't changed into her uniform
either and grabbed what she assumed was her cabin key off the dress and went in
search of where she needed to be. She
finally found a stream of people heading in one direction and tagged along,
hoping they knew where they were going.
Arriving at the orientation, Alyssa took a seat in the back next to a
group of women who seemed friendly enough and introduced themselves. They were all from one department and worked
the various lounges. Alyssa was glad
that she seemed to find some friendly faces and possible future friends and
looked around the room to find her roommate sitting up near the front talking
to a group of people who all looked as equally tanned and fit as she did. She began to wonder what exactly their
assignments were.
"Hmmm…honey, don't even bother there, nothing but
ice." Alyssa turned to face the
accented voice that she heard next to her.
The woman's badge said that her name was Karen and she was from England.
"What?"
Karen pointed toward Alyssa's roommate. "Kelsey.
Yeah, she is gorgeous, but a dead end for sure. Now Terri, the brunette next to her, she is
really a nice yank!" Karen winked
and smiled at Alyssa.
Flushed and embarrassed Alyssa stammered, "No, you
don't understand….she's my roommate."
"KELSEY?"
Alyssa nodded to the woman. "You are one lucky
yank!" Karen patted her on the arm proudly and turned to tell the group of
her new discovery. All the women
laughing and congratulating Alyssa, which made her
feel very uncomfortable. She wasn't sure
what she had expected, but certainly not this, she had expected there to be
some gay women on the cruise, but not everyone she met! 'This is too funny!' Alyssa thought
smiling and looked back over at Kelsey and saw that she was looking directly at
her with a very unhappy look on her face.
Alyssa quickly lost the smile and looked away as the speaker approached
the microphone. The entire orientation
was spent with Alyssa trying to pay attention and not look over at her new
roommate. She wasn't being very successful,
but on more than one occasion, she found those blue eyes looking right back at
her.
After the orientation, lunch was served and the women began
to talk about the opening of the season party that evening in the crew's
lounge. It was B.Y.O.B and most of the
women had planned ahead and brought alcohol on board with them. Alyssa had never thought about that when she
packed as she had never been much of a drinker.
The woman assured her that there would be plenty to go around and that
she should just show up. After lunch,
the crew was released to meetings in their various departments. Alyssa parted ways with her new friends with
a promise to show up at the party later that evening and headed toward the
Purser's office. Kelsey watched as the
women watched Alyssa walk away from their group and the whispering that went on
among the little gang. 'Damn, of all
the groups to attach herself to…she goes out of her
way an picks the worst! Lord knows what
they've already told her.' Kelsey
shoved her papers in her portfolio and headed toward the equipment room with
her team. There were still schedules to
decide upon and events to plan, she knew that she had
a full afternoon ahead of her. She
wouldn't be able to talk to Alyssa and warn her until later that evening. 'Let's just hope she doesn't have a
problem with it, cabin switching at this late date would cause a world of
trouble for both of them.'
Watch for the newly, expanded edition soon to be released…….
ÓK.Stoley