Story Veta (Book 1) (complete)

[Kathy in FL]

May 23rd – Argostoli, Greece

Feeling better today but I can’t say that I managed to build up any reserves. I think being able to have a slower morning helped some. We didn’t arrive in port until 10 am. We also managed to avoid the over-crowded tourist groups but still had a good time. Even Aiden, Al, and Edda said so.

We explored Argostoli, Greece on a private tour with our own personal guide who seemingly was able to whisk us away from the crowds to the scenic coastal road of Fanari. There were plenty of opportunities for picturesque photo stops at a lighthouse and the Katavothres water wheels. A local explained how the area’s residents take advantage of the special water flow by using the sea water to generate their mills.

We continued through the resort area of Lassi and the beautiful Livathos villages to the Monastery of Agios Andreas. The main part of this 13th century monastery has been preserved in its original form with iconic 17th century artwork. In the village of Kastro lies St. George’s Castle, a Venetian fortress dating back to the 16th century. We took advantage of the castle’s strategic location to take simply gorgeous panoramic photos of some of the best views of the island as well as the neighboring island of Zante. Our guide said that it was one of the clearest days yet this year and he even asked Vit for one of the photos he took to use as his work photo in their small office.

From Kastro we continued to “En Kefallinia"", for a unique stop at an organic farm. It honestly smelled like home with its sweet-smelling citrus trees and gardens. While there, we walked among the scented lavender beds and enjoy tea and some homemade local sweets. We also picked up a couple of bio-friendly souvenirs one of which was a small keepsake box made of repurposed olive wood. Vit got it for me so I have something to keep my bobby pins in instead of having to dig them out of my make up bag or try and keep them from scattering all over the place when I was doing my hair.

Our journey continued as we made our way past the vineyard-studded village of Fragata on our way up the slopes of Mount Ainos where we explored the Cave of Drogarati. We took a steep, descending corridor into the cave where we arrived at a natural balcony where we saw millenia-old stalagmites, stalactites, and other colorful geologic formations. The sign said the cave lay 60 meters below the surface. Its ideal acoustics makes it a popular venue for concerts. They had a violin to prove their point and when Al mentioned I played our guide insisted I give it a try. A little embarrassed I nevertheless played a short piece and when I opened my eyes it was to find a number of people staring at me. I quickly handed the instrument back and beseeched Vit to get me out of there. He did, but we didn’t do it at a run. It wasn’t until later that I found out Vit had been recording the episode. He said he is saving it to show to Derrick.

I keep saying next, continued on, etc. but it is the truth. We just kept going fron wonder to wonder. We drove along another coastal road that led to the Cave Lake of Melissani in Karavomylos. And isn’t that a mouth full? It is a sunken lake also known as Cave of the Nymphs. The cave was discovered/re-discovered in 1951 and opened to the public in 1963. Myth says that one of the nymphs in Greek Mythology – Melissani – drowned heself in the lake when Pan rejected her love. Upon arrival our guide accompanied us down a small tunnel to an underground lake where we boarded a short, wooden boat for an unforgettable and mesmerizing ride around the lake and surrounding caves. Because of how the open cave ceiling let sunshine in, it looks like the boat is floating on air instead of water. The pictures that we took during the boat ride are simply indescribable. And Vit and I got several really nice selfies and Aiden offered to take a couple of us together as well, thoughtful for your average thirteen-year-old boy.

We made a quick pit stop at Myrots Beach and then it was back to Argostoli and a stop at Koutavos Lagoon, a famous nature reserve for wildlife. Frankie would have loved the place, especially the Caretta Turtle and various waterfowl that call the area home.

On our way back to port we passed De Bosset Bridge, reportedly the longest stone bridge in the world. For the first time the Bairds and the Donna were waiting for us instead of the other way around. I could tell that Mrs. Baird was upset for some reason but upon seeing the children she calmed down. I was to later find out from Perry – a terrible gossip, but sometimes useful – that the Donna had been winding her up with stories that something must have happened to the children since they were back before we were. That Mr. Baird had told her to stop several times because Vit had texted to let him know where they were at various times through out the day and that he would not have hired us if he didn’t think we were up for the job. Vote of confidence yes, but I’m concerned that Mrs. Baird could be so easily led down such a path.

And I might have been insulted by the tone except I was actually grateful when the Donna airily told me my services would not be required before dinner that evening, that Paula was going to play. She plays the piano. Naturally. I hope my instincts are wrong and the Donna was not alluding to the fact that Vit and Paula had a relationship at some point previous. Please don’t let this turn into another Harrington type situation.

And speaking of, I saw something on news that blew my mind. The Harrington Brothers being led into court and looking a little shell-shocked. The sound was down so I didn’t hear what the story was about but … shivers. I’d ask Dylan but I don’t want to risk having my email dropped in file thirteen by the overlords of the internet. I finally uploaded all of the pictures I’ve been taking, today’s included, and got a few hits from the family which at least lets me know they know where I am at.

I am going to bed in a moment. I’d wait for Vit but he told me he would be late and to simply go to sleep. I had to beat the little green monster into submission and I hope that in neither word nor deed Vit suspects how much I dislike Paula. More importantly I hope no one else can tell. I may not like her on principle but that doesn’t mean I want to start a cat fight of any type. More fool me as I’ve never felt this way, not even when Robert betrayed me. And that’s enough of that. Shut up subconscious, I’m going to bed and so will you. Leave my dreams alone.

 

[Kathy in FL]

May 24th – Corfu, Greece

Little green monsters bedamned. Mine and his. Gah! Corfu is a popular port and several of the crew joined us on our excursion as a “gift” from the Donna. Paula and Perry were two of them. I don’t know what mischief the Donna is trying to stir up, but I am having none of it. About midway through our day I could tell that the stoicism lay on Vit’s shoulders like a mantle. I’d seen him do the same thing on the cruise ship when his own baggage started to get in the way. No way was I going to stand back and let that happen. For better, for worse and all that, but as Charlie would say, sometimes it’s your job to beat the worse back, and sometimes you do it anyway you can get away with.

I walked up to Vit and said quietly, “Help. How do you turn him off, or down, or something. My ears are numb, and my brain is turning to mush.”

He blinked a couple of times in confusion until he saw me wince when Perry all but bellowed for me to come look at the next thing so I could give another lesson on it. That’s when Vit seemed to really look at me.

He blinked again and said, “You are not enjoying his attentions?”

“Are you enjoying Perfect Paula pawing at you? This has set up written all over it. And if it is, whoever is doing this doesn’t know us at all. Okay, maybe Paula is your type … people seem to be trying not to tell me that you and she had a thing together at one time, but we’re married now. And me and Perry? Oh my Lord, really?!”

He got a thoughtful look on his face and then it cleared. “Let us try and ignore them and enjoy the rest of the day. Perhaps you are overreacting.”

Well I can’t say I didn’t dig that hole all on my own by choice so I couldn’t exactly be offended. However, I took solace in the fact that Vit finally relaxed a bit though he did finally “save” me from Perry by saying I needed to spend more time with our charges. If the Donna really was being vindictive and trying to cause problems, I’m going to have to watch my p’s and q’s a little more.

But the day didn’t start out badly and never was terrible regardless of the fact that I wanted to push Paula out of the moving bus, down a steep cliff, and into the sea, where she would be tossed around like a rag doll, and then eaten by sharks or octopi or a kraken … or even speared by Poisiden’s trident. As a matter of fact, it was very nice, and I was actually happy at first to have a little company on the excursion. I really did think the Donna was being nice and trying to make amends for being such a cold fish and condescending to the crew. Naïve me.

We tendered over and left the port in a bus that followed the road leading out of the town to the old village of Gastouri for a visit to the Achilleion Palace. It was built by the Empress Elisabeth of Austria in 1891 and later owned by Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany. We toured the rooms of the Palace open to visitors which offered a glimpse into the life of the “Sad Empress” as she was commonly known due to the number of tragedies in her life and her tendency towards what was then called melancholia. We also got to walk in the palace’s beautiful gardens that had spectacular views of Corfu Town and the sea. Filled with exotic flowers and adorned with classical statues of Ancient Greek mythological figures, the gardens show evidence of Empress Elisabeth’s fondness for Ancient Greek History and Mythology.

After boarding the bus again, we drove into the beautiful Corfiot countryside, through olive groves interspersed with pine and cypress trees, vineyards and fields carpeted with wild flowers and shrubs. It was no short bus ride – some 45 minutes – but we reached one of the most beautiful spots on the island; the Bay of Paleokastritsa, also known as the “Capri of Greece”. There we visited the Byzantine Monastery of the Virgin which is still inhabited by a community of monks, and its small museum, housing priceless Byzantine icons and church relics. From the monastery’s gardens we were once again treated to spectacular views over the beautiful bays of the area with their crystal-clear turquoise waters and rocky promontories.

From Paleokastritsa, we drove into Corfu Town for a visit to the elegant old town. It was built by the Venetians more than 400 years ago and looks more like Naples or Venice than any other Greek town. Constructed between two Venetian Fortresses, it is a maze of winding and narrow cobbled streets “kandounia”, little piazzas (squares), and tall tenements (apartments) in pastel yellow and brick red colours. We got off the bus by the central “Esplanade Square” and explored the town on foot with our guide pointing out interesting features, histories, and stories. While we were there, we visited the 300-year old church of St. Spyridon, the Saint Protector of the island. A priest explained about its “priceless” collection of icons and offerings to the Saint. His word, but despite how I was raised I’m still not sure how I feel about relics of saints.

There was also free time for shopping and wandering around on our own. The crew at that point took off for a tarverna to grab a drink while I prepared to walk around with our charges. I told Vit, “You can go with them.”

“Nii. That is their life, this is mine.”

“They’re your friends. It won’t hurt to …”

“Nii.”

Well I wasn’t going to risk him thinking I didn’t want him around, so I didn’t risk a third no. And even with the children there, he paid me some particular attention by insisting on buying me several more postcards than I had intended. There were also other things: spices from the Sweet ‘n Spicy Bahar Shop, soap from the Patounis Soap Factory, wine from George’s Cellar, kumquat syrup and other snacks from Corfu Natura, cheese and homemade pastas at Paramythia, and he helped the children buy things for themselves as well. He was overcompensating a bit but if I said anything it might ruin what I’d already tried to fix. So Vit has a few bits of baggage. It didn’t come out often, at least not this stuff. If he can put up with me being clingy on occasion, I can certainly give him some grace for the occasional fear of me leaving him. Yes, yes; I know most people would see it as jealousy but knowing his history, and being an orphan myself, I see past appearances to the heart of the matter.

We were back at the port and waiting on the pier for the boat to tender us back to the yacht when Paula noted the bags and said, “If you are going to be a sailor’s wife you need to learn to travel lighter. Or perhaps you’ll have to be left … on shore.”

I nearly opened my mouth to tell her it was none of her business one way or the other but instead just nodded. It was a close call with my temper, something I try and not lose control of. Poppa was fond of saying, “You never have to take back words you never say.” I didn’t know what Vit had shared of our plans and sometimes I begin to honestly wonder if we’ll ever get to fulfill them or if our life will be an endless cruise from place to place taking care of other people’s children.

Okay, I’ll admit it. I am … jealous of Paula. She’s everything I’m not. Tall, gorgeous, witty, with a figure she doesn’t have to fight to keep from going “bouncy.” She’s got an amazing amount of self-confidence and never seems at a loss of what to say in congenial conversation. She belongs in a fashion magazine. Me? I can speak … but it is usually as a teacher. Robert accused me often enough of doing nothing but lecture. Our musical abilities appear to be similar, just different instruments so even there I have nothing that sets me apart. Stop it Veta, not constructive in the least.

I didn’t play again tonight. Paula did. Nor was I in the salon. If I don’t play, I am not required to be there. After dinner there was a knock on Edda’s cabin door, it was Sofia.

“I hate to ask but I have to go get my tray from the mess and the bambina won’t sleep. Please? Just a few minutes?”

Even with Barney’s words echoing in my ears I agreed and Edda, Ellie, and I were still on the floor playing thirty minutes later when Mrs. Baird walked by to find us trying to teach her the names of the plastic animals from her toy box.

“Where is Sofia?” Mrs. Baird asked a little sharply.

“The crew being off the yacht today threw the schedule off. She had to go get something to eat from the mess and she said she didn’t dare leave Ellie alone as she was refusing to sleep.”

Ellie spotted her mother at just that moment and reached for her. I got up and picked her up and put her straight into Mrs. Baird’s arms. Mrs. Baird immediately teared up and whispered, “You must think me out of my mind.”

“No. If it upsets you, speak to your doctor about your hormones. You are probably still fluctuating a bit.” When she looked at me I shrugged a tad embarrassed. “Sorry about that. I have a sister-in-law that is a nurse in an OB/Gyn’s office.”

“Ah. And a brother that is a doctor.”

“Yes,” I said with another apologetic shrug.

I left shortly thereafter as the three of them needed some girl-bonding time. I walked back into my cabin to find Vit pacing. “Where have you been?”

“Edda’s cabin. Sofia needed a break to go eat but the baby wouldn’t sleep, and then Mrs. Baird came by.” I walked by only to be hit in the face with the perfume I had been smelling off and on all day. “Give me your shirt.”

“I … what?”

I drew a calming breath and said, “Vit, I know this is a set up. Or maybe not and I’m overreacting as you said this afternoon. Or maybe I am equating the Donna with the Harringtons too much. I’m willing to admit it is a possibility. I’ll deal with it. What I will not deal with is smelling that woman on you. Give me the shirt.”

He sniffed his shirt, but at least he didn’t try and play me. He took the shirt off and said, “I will wash it.”

“No. You’ll need it for dinner tomorrow and there won’t be time for me to iron it after it dries. I’ll spritz it with some Febreeze and hopefully that will neutralize it until the next sea day.”

He handed me the offending shirt and as I did what I could he tentatively said, “You … are upset.” When I didn’t respond immediately he added, “Kokhana …”

“You don’t need to pacify me Vit. My issues are my issues and I’m not going to make them your problem.”

He sighed. “Explain it to me at least.”

Hanging the shirt where the deodorizer could do its work I said, “I know she is your friend. I’m fine with that regardless of how I’m acting right now. She just tweeks my insecurities being everything I’m not, and even the few things I am, so is she. She’s the total package, the prom queen, the kind of girl the star quarterback dates. Next to her I feel like a squat little Cossack pony.” When he started to shake his head I told him, “Not because you make me feel that way. She may not even be doing it on purpose. It’s likely I’m the only one making me feel that way.” I shook my head and went to sit down to brush out my braids so that I could restyle my hair in the way I usually sleep. Having Vit walk around the cabin sans shirt was not helping my state of mind any.

He went to look out the window that passed for the porthole of the cabin. With his back to me he said, “She came after the one you call ‘the dancer.’ I was looking to repair my pride and Paula was … available. She is promiscuous but I didn’t realize just how much until I put together that she is the stereotype sailor, except female … a man in every port. I was … convenient and not looking for entanglements.” He sighed. “Ignore her. She is a mistake from my past. And I would not say we are friends so much as I am trying to keep the peace. She is a woman that likes to have her way.”

“No kidding,” I muttered.

Our cabin phone rang and Vit looked at it a moment before answering. Then he turned to me. “I need to go assist Baird.”

I nodded. He looked like he was going to say something but then left the cabin. I feel bad. I trust Vit, I do. And even if that sounds forced it isn’t. And I feel bad about not being able to like Paula. She seems nice enough, she just brings out my insecurities. And I feel really bad about sounding like a drama queen … a prepubescent drama queen. And I’m tired of feeling bad. I’m tired of missing my family and not really hearing from them except an “everyone is okay” from Dylan, and even him I don’t hear from that much. I’m tired of a lot of things, including the news that alludes to so many things, few of them good, most of them I have no idea what they are talking about. I’m tired of feeling so disconnected. So I’m going to bed. I’m just … I’m just tired. That must be it.

 

[Kathy in FL]

May 25th – Kotor, Montenegro

Today was a better day, and it wasn’t just because we were on our own … with the kids but without other company. I’m sorry I sounded so whiny yesterday. There are days I feel like I can conquer the world and some days … the opposite. Today was a better day. I feel more in control of myself. I ate breakfast in the mess with Vit and didn’t even throw anything at Paula when she sat down beside him. It didn’t even bother me when he said nothing because I saw how tightly he grabbed his fork and how he rubbed his stomach afterward. He says he is trying to keep the peace. I’ll add my effort to his.

What did bother me was that it was like she was flirting with him, but it was to get me to react. The more I refused to react the worse she got. Eventually Vit asked, “Are you ready?”

“Let me get the trays.”

“Nii,” I told him with a small grin.

I shook my head and smiled in return. “I will take the trays. I hear Mr. Baird buzzing you.”

He jumped and took the phone out of his pocket and it was indeed buzzing on very low. “You hear that?”

“Yes. Assuming nothing has changed I will meet you on deck when it is time to disembark.”

He hurried off and I grabbed and then balanced all three trays. No one offered to help. And I refused to ask. I sensed something going on and I refused to bite at whatever bait they thought was being dangled.

I was grabbing my purse when Vit walked into the cabin and I could see the steam coming off of him.

“Vit?”

“That woman is nothing to me.”

“What woman?”

“Paula.”

“Uh …”

“Kokhana, I swear what I told you last night was the truth.”

“I know that. You’ve never lied to me.”

A little roughly he took me in his arms. “I swear, it is true.”

“Vit, what happened? Why are you so angry?”

“I don’t know what is happening. Baird called me in and said that … that … he’d been told that I was overheard making … overtures!”

“Vit calm down,” hugging him. “I suppose this must be a little like a small town where everyone gossips and no one gets it right. I trust you. That is all that matters. In less than a month we will be out of here. We’ll never have to deal with them again.”

“I got us into this … mess!”

“No, you didn’t. You got us out of a much, much worse one. And this is only short term. We can survive it for just a while. That’s all this is. A point between where we were and where we want to go. That’s all.”

He was breathing deeply and heavily like he was trying to gain control of himself. He muttered, “I will not lose you.”

“No. You won’t.”

“You were very sad last night. And you were asleep when I came in. There is darkness in your eyes still.”

“I was tired Vit. The news, what little I understand is … is like a weight. One day everything is okay and then next they make it sound like the world is coming to an end and the next all they speak of is the silliest clap trap and I’m left hanging, trying to figure out if my family is okay and not hearing from them is … its hard Vit. I understand that’s just the way it must be – and stop looking like that, it isn’t your fault – but it is still hard. And now we are free to be to each other what we are out in the open, but it seems like we have even less time to do it. Yesterday was challenging and I let it push my buttons. I shouldn’t have, but I did. Now it seems like I’ve hurt you and made you think that I don’t trust you.”

“Nii,” he said hugging me but not squeezing painfully as he had been. “I believe, as you say, perhaps that my buttons are being pushed as well.”

There was a brusque knock on the door and I heard Dobbs say, “Transfer is ready.”

“Coming!” I said brightly.

To Vit I whispered, “They won’t tear us apart. They aren’t nearly strong enough.” He nodded. The problem is we don’t know for sure who “they” are. We don’t even know if they realize what they are doing or how malicious it is.

On shore the day improved. How can the day not improve when you find yourself in the exotic location of Montenegro, the scene of multiple James Bond movies (even if none were ever filmed there)? We met our driver and guide and it was nice for it to be just the five of us. The kids are now completely at ease in our company, enough they even play, though each in their own way. Our first stop was at Risan Mosaic. The mosaics are from the 2nd century AD, the oldest architectural monument in Montenegro. The territory of Risan dates from the Illyrian and Hellenic (Roman) period. The ancient city had a very busy port and, according to the Tabulae Peutingeriana, it was situated at the crossroads of the Roman military road from Epidaurus. The excavated part of the villa has dimensions of 38m x 31m, comprising a central courtyard – atrium with a row of rooms surrounding it. The walls are visible as well as the rooms with floor mosaics. The mosaics demonstrate different artistic styles composed in poly-chrome geometrical patterns, one with a floral pattern. One of the most famous mosaics is that of Hypnos- the God of sleep in ancient Greek. We had a docent explain things for us and she was so interesting even the children enjoyed the stop.

Next was Perast Museum in the UNESCO-protected old town Perast that covered even more of the local, ancient history. From there we went to Bajova Kula Beach and Kotor Old City where we took a 30-minute guided walking tour. After those stops, we branched out further afield.

The Bay of Kotor is situated in the shadow of St. Elijah Hill which towers more than 2800 feet above it. It is one of the earliest inhabited areas in the region based on remains discovered above the village of Perast that date from the Neolithic (3500 BC) period. The two islands in the Bay are the most photographed view in the area.

We couldn’t stand around taking pictures the remainder of the day, but it was tempting. Eventually however we moved on to Our Lady of the Rocks. Our Lady of the Rocks is one of Montenegro's top attractions and there are many legends surrounding the island. Our guide was very helpful with everything we needed to know about visiting Gospa od Skrpjela, including what not to do. First, there is a dress code for the entire island, not just the church. Secondly, even Mediterranean monks can be hot blooded and are known for yelling at people who stop at the island and fail to heed the dress code. It was a little disturbing to see for me and I worried about the children being witnessed to such behavior. However, it was Aiden who said, “The Med is just like that. Doesn’t matter … mainland or island … church or not … they all have hot tempers. Da’s family used to say our family had a hot temper but I say we don’t compared to some of the people I’ve seen since Da married Martina. You should hear Donna Giordano shoot her mouth off sometimes.”

I saw Edda roll her eyes, but Al nodded his head emphatically in agreement and then shudder. To distract them from what I considered inappropriate subject matter I told the Legend of Our Lady of the Rocks as I read it in the brochure.

The legend of Our Lady of the Rocks goes back more than five centuries and reportedly began on a hot summer's day in 1452 when two brothers were heading home from a long and dangerous voyage. One of them had an injured leg that was so bad it was likely going to eventually mean his death. As they passed St George, the 12th century monastery built on the natural island in front of the town of Perast, they saw something caught on a rocky outcrop. When they went to see what it was, they found an icon of the Virgin Mary and Child.

The brothers took the icon home with them. The next day a miracle had occurred; the injured brother's leg was healed. They took this as an omen and vowed to build a church dedicated to the Virgin Mary on the rock where they found the icon. Of course, at that time, there wasn't enough rock to build a church on. So they started to drop boatloads of rocks and scuttle old boats around the spot. Other sailors, having heard the story, also began to drop rocks on the spot as they headed out to sea, in hopes of being protected while they were away. By 1484, 32 years after the brothers found the icon, there was an island with a chapel on it.

The chapel lost a lot of its treasure on a June day in 1624 when pirates from Tunisia and Carthage attacked Perast and destroyed all the churches and took most of the population into slavery. However, by 1630, almost 200 years after the project started, it was rebuilt by the Venetians as it can be seen today.

Edda the Skeptic asked, “Do you believe the legend Miss Veta?”\

“Hmm. It would appear that something happened. It may not have happened exactly as it is now told, but that doesn’t mean that there isn’t a seed of truth to the legend. What I find interesting is that the people here find the church important enough, even if just as a symbol, that it has been rebuilt multiple times in the exact same location.”

She was thoughtful and we finished our tour of the island, church, and its small museum and then had an ice cream while Vit bought me yet more postcards.

Then it was back to Kotor. The town was first mentioned in 168 BC, and was settled during Ancient Roman times, when it was known as Acruvium. From the early Medieval period It has been fortified. The city became part of the Venetian Republic in 1420 and except for two periods of Ottoman rule, it remained under Venice until 1797, when Greece gained its independence. It is those four centuries of Venetian domination that has given the city the typical Venetian architecture. During more modern times, Kotor served as a naval base during World War I but luckily avoided any serious damage from either World War. Kotor has one of the best preserved medieval old towns in the Adriatic and is home to several sights of interest, including the Cathedral of Saint Tryphon (1166), and the ancient walls which stretch for 3 miles on the steep hillside directly above the city.

Our guide left us there and we had free time until we were due to be picked up and returned to the yacht. The kids were all starving and Vit appeared to have regained his appetite as well. I honestly wasn’t that hungry, but I wasn’t going to object either. Montenegro, like many locations in the Aegean, has a regional flavor made up from seafood. And thank goodness the kids aren’t picky eaters. I admit it was fun to watch their faces when the food came out. Aiden and Al had Pljeskavica, or a Balkan hamburger. Edda had Cevapi which is a kind of Balkan sausage. Vit’s stomach was sore so rather than join me he had chicken skewers only lightly seasoned. It is when the kids spotted the seafood platter that I had that the fun began. I had explained what I wanted, and the owner was more than happy to oblige. He liked to see the foreign children learn about his country.

I ate grilled octopus, fried calamari, black risotto made with cuttlefish ink, mussels in white or red 'buzara' that were perfectly teamed with crusty, fresh bread. And then a bit of barbecued bream with silverbeet. I did manage to get them to give everything a taste, even the silverbeet which is just another name for chard though I wasn’t going to tell them that.

They were all in a good mood as we went through the city gate that led to the pier area. Then they spotted Mr. Baird and Aiden took off. “Da! I ate cuttlefish ink!”

“Did you now?! And how did you come to do such a thing?”

He was about to start his story when he spotted some other people. He stopped abruptly and then in a subdued voice said, “Beg your pardon Da. I didn’t know there’d be guests.”

Mr. Baird snorted and clapped his son on the shoulder. “Guests? Nah. They’re family. Come along you three and let’s get introductions over with.”

Vit and I stood in the background as introductions were made. Two of the women present were sisters to Mrs. Baird … Antonia and Caterina … both widows despite they couldn’t have been out of their 30s. One of the men was her brother, Giovanni, a widower himself at just the other side of 40 but I was to come to find out he was childless. In fact, all three were childless. The three other men were cousins of Mr. Baird; Camran, Dughal, and Mac (short for Macrath). All surnamed Baird but much further down the chain of inheritance than even Mr. Baird. Vit was called over and recognized as they remembered him from before, and had in fact been on the ship when Vit had fought the pirates. The last two men were business contacts.

Edda stood there a moment and then faded back towards me. She looked and then asked, “How do you do that?”

“Do what?”

“Act like it doesn’t matter and keep the smile on your face?”

I thought about it, gave her a look and then a wink and said, “Practice. Lots and lots of practice.”

She slowly started smiling again and we waited in companionable silence for the boat. When it came time to go back to the ship Vit showed his temper was still just below the surface when he turned to find that I’d been left to wait for the boat to return and pick up the rest of the luggage. He made the crewman stop and jumped from the boat to the dock.

“Oy Dymtrus!”

Turning to Mr. Baird, Vit said, “I will not leave my wife alone on the pier waiting with the baggage.”

It only took a moment before Mr. Baird realized the situation and not be pleased with what had almost happened. “I’ll bring the boat back as soon as I unload this lot. We’ll talk then.”

As they pulled away I tried to say, “Vit, don’t …”

“This will not be happening again.”

He was fairly vibrating.

“Vit …”

“Nii. I do not know what the game is but it will cease. I told Henderson I wanted you to sit with the children.”

“Henderson?”

“The one that was helping the Baird’s sister in laws into the boat. He will pay.”

I’d never heard Vit say such a thing. “Don’t start a fight. Please.”

“I am not the one who started this.”

“And you don’t know if it was Henderson either. One of the others could have countermanded your request. Let’s not make assumptions.”

“You would have been left on the pier, alone, with luggage and packages. They didn’t even leave another crew member. Do you realize what kind of target that would have made you?!”

I actually hadn’t been thinking of that part. It took a few more tries but Vit finally agreed to at least find out from Henderson why I wasn’t brought on board as he’d been instructed before going off like a Roman Rocket.

Mr. Baird himself did indeed come back with the boat and he was tight-lipped but polite. “Shouldn’t have happened Veta. My apologies.”

“It was an … oversight. We can leave it at that but thank you.”

“Oversights like that bring down corporations and countries.” He strangely echoed Vit when he said, “It won’t be happening again.”

On the ship the sisters seemed to be scandalized there wasn’t a maid for them to use. Edda and I briefly hid out in the “nursery” with Sofia and Ellie when I had a suspicion I’d be asked to stand in and do their unpacking and help them dress for dinner. This time I left a note for Vit and he came by later, in a better mood, and gave all four of us a wink. “I and the boys did not think of this fast enough.”

We snickered quietly as he told us they’d been commandeered to help all of the others.

“I’m sorry?” I said.

“Nii. Do not be. I am glad you are out of this. But, they wish you to play before dinner? Do you feel like it?”

“It keeps the peace,” I told him, using his words to let him know I was willingly following his lead.

He nodded. Eventually I couldn’t hide out, especially not when Mrs. Baird was calling for Sofia to bring the baby to her. I helped Edda dress for the evening ritual of pre-dinner drinks and a musical performance, and then a return to her cabin for dinner.

It was not as bad as it could have been. I have played for larger audiences, including on the cruise ship. However, some of them eyed me like a bug under a microscope. What turned out nice was that it wasn’t just Edda that was excused from dining with the adults, but the boys as well … and Vit came with them.

“Come. Let us go eat our own dinner.”

“I’ll go get the trays.”

“Nii. They shouldn’t have to be shut in their rooms just because they do not eat in company.”

The kids were agog as Vit led us to the mess hall. You could have heard a pin drop as we entered. Vit asked, “Have you ever eaten here?”

Aiden said, “No. Da says its rude to bother the crew when they’re having some time off from having to cater and scrape.”

Al said, “It looks like the school cateteria. Does it work the same way? I’m starving and it smells really good.”

It was also Al that said later, “Mr. Chang must be really good at math.”

When we just looked at him trying to figure out the non sequitur he said, “The Headmaster is always on the school commissary about cutting expenses but then the man who runs it starts going on about all these numbers and he does them in his head and the Headmaster finally gives up and goes away. Happens at least two or three times a term. But the Headmaster gives in every time and it is all because of the math.”

The crew warmed up to the children being there after that and some of them explained their jobs. I think their place in the crews’ mind was clinched when they heard Edda say, “I like this better than school. In school you don’t always know if the teachers really understand what they are talking about. You can tell our crew does. Now I know why things have to work a certain way instead of just doing it because someone tells me to.”

I was still a little suspicious of Vit’s motives but let it go. The evening progressed from there with Vit finally calling a halt when he saw how late it was getting. We dropped them off in their cabins and had almost made it to ours when we were waylaid by Mr. Henderson.

“It wasn’t me Dymtrus.”

“Who.”

He looked around and then sighed. “I don’t want to start trouble,” he said looking straight at me.

I looked at Vit. “I’ll go to the ca …”

“Nii.” Turning back to the other man he said, “Who.”

Stepping closer and whispering he said, “It was Paula but it wasn’t her that started it. I saw the old lady telling her to do something right before Paula told me that your … uh … wife was staying to watch the luggage. Was in the middle of trying to keep those two others from getting in a fight and didn’t give it enough thought.”

“Why are you telling me this now?” he asked suspiciously.

“’Cause I got dragged across the carpet by Baird and the Captain. Heard Paula was being called in next. Don’t know if she’ll tell the truth or not. Ain’t interested in being part of any cat fight. I know she’s your wife and all but I gotta work here after you leave, and jobs are hard enough to come by that I don’t need a bad performance eval.”

Vit slowly nodded, more understanding than I expected though I was grateful for it. “It never happens again,” he said, still with a bit of growl to his voice.

“Sure. Ain’t lookin’ to get used like that again either. But a word. Watch your back … or hers,” he said throwing his chin in my direction. “That old lady has it out for someone. And if it isn’t you, she’s willing to go through you to get ‘em. Might not be a coincidence that all them other kids of hers are either dead or their spouse is.”

My mouth nearly fell open and it wasn’t until we were back in the cabin with the door firmly shut that I managed to ask, “He wasn’t serious was he?”

“Probably. Then again, I think he was dropped on his head a few times as a child.”

That was so unexpected that I laughed guiltily.

Vit is now asleep and I’m written out. I cannot wait to get home. There are things about these two jobs I would not change for the world, but then again, there are lots that I would if I could.

 

[Kathy in FL]

May 26th – Venice, Italy

I thought today was wonderful but then I’ve just heard from the family and I am just soooo happy and … I’m just happy. I know I shouldn’t let my emotions whipsaw back and forth like this. I need to exhibit some self-control. But as a voice in my subconscious whispered, “I will when the world does.”

But even without the family correspondence the day was nice. First thing Vit and I woke up to were the kids asking if they could eat in the mess hall with us. Vit nodded though I’m a little skeptical that it will be appreciated by the Bairds once they get wind of it. On the other hand, as Momma always said, “You ignore kids at your peril … because they’ll pick their own way and their way might not be yours.” Vit and I aren’t trying to create little social revolutionaries but how do they appreciate what they have if they never see the other side of that coin? Not really my business or my problem but I fill caught in the middle of someone else’s business and problem at the moment. And I’m sure teachers since the beginning of time have said the exact same thing.

Can I just do a brief Bucket List Cheer? V-E-N-I-C-E!! Yes! Okay, back to recounting the day. And I think I’ll be avoiding strong black tea so late at night from here on out. Why is that a lesson I must relearn so many times? And will it ever stick?

We arrived in Venice early. With the O’Meg as big as it is there are only so many places she can anchor and Venice is a busy port. If we wanted to anchor inside the protected area we needed to be there as soon as some other yacht moved out. After breakfast we hurried the kids to get dressed and then we were on deck before everyone but the crew. Was it our fault that we had pulled away and were headed to the pier before anyone else on board? No, it was not. But I will admit there was a small satisfaction that we were.

Vit had never gotten off in Venice as a tourist but he’d been there enough acting as (so he said) Mr. Baird’s pack horse which I take to mean he was carrying packages for whoever his latest mistress was at the time. Vit was able to get us from the pier to Ponte di Rialto with time to spare so that we could join a “Best of Venice” walking tour. We met our guide near the Rialto Bridge, Venice’s oldest bridge, and set off on our walking tour to discover the city’s highlights. Our guide was a college student earning his degree in history. He was well versed in Venice’s history and he told us lots of interesting stories and facts as we navigated winding streets and tiny bridges, and paused at Marco Polo’s house. We listened to tales of the explorer’s sea journeys, and then strolled through the squares of Campo SS Giovanni Paolo and Campo San Luca on route to the Bridge of Sighs.

We continued the tour into St Mark’s Square, the magnificent piazza that Napoleon dubbed ‘the finest drawing room in all Europe,’ and skipped the long lines outside St Mark’s Basilica. Inside we gazed in rapt awe at the mosaics-laden interior and visited the terraces — an area off limits to most tours — to get the bird’s eye views over the piazza.

Next, we strolled to the Doge’s Palace, once the home of Venice’s Doge and courts. It was nice that this was all planned ahead and we had skip-the-line tickets or we would not have gotten a quarter done that we did. I can’t believe how many people wait in line for something when with some pre-planning they can save money and time by buying tickets online. Our guided tour of the palace included viewing frescos by Tintoretto and Veronese. Oh my goodness.

Afterward, we enjoyed an hour and a half of free time to simply roam about and people watch before our Murano and Burano tour. We had to go outside the historic center to grab some food because there are rules now in place to keep it out of certain areas. We also did a little sourvenir shopping and I won’t bore anyone with the fact that it included post cards … but it did!

When free time was over, we hooked back up with our guide and took a scenic water taxi ride to the nearby island of Murano, famous for its vibrantly colored glass. We visited a glassblowing workshop to see the skilled craftspeople in action. We watched as the glass was blown, colored and shaped into a dazzling array of products. We also visited a glass showroom to admire the products they had for sale. They offered the items to us at a discounted price but frankly I couldn’t see any of it making it back to Pembroke safely and then Vit spotted some glass beads in mismatched patterns and the shopkeeper gave him a discount on top of the discount for taking the entire box. My professionalism slipped a bit and I kissed him on the cheek and then became very red when I realized the kids were watching.

Next, we cruised on to the neighboring island of Burano. It was time for pictures, and we took snaps of the rainbow-painted houses along the canals as our guide told us about the island’s lacemaking heritage at a lace workshop. We watched the lacemakers hard at work, and heard how this craft is a dying art. I bought a couple of small pieces, two book marks and one lace fichu that I could pin to a dress when I wanted to. Neither were cheap but were the kind of quality that, with care, can be handed down to someone else once I am gone. And no, I’m not being morbid but simply stating a fact.

The guide took us back to the bridge where we had met him, and we were finished with our day tour. However, I likely have failed to mention that Venice is an overnight port and we are not leaving until 9 pm tomorrow. We had a lull in the day and Vit and I agreed just to let the kids pick where they wanted to go for a change. They were thrilled with the idea, but the reality wasn’t quite what they expected. The crowds were pretty large but at least we got to see buildings and areas they seemed to be interested in. Then Vit got the call he’d been waiting for and we hurried to meet the family where they’d booked an area big enough for everyone to sit in.

Vit and I were prepared to wait outside but Baird got snippy with his wife’s family and said that we were going to be eating with the family. I now not only suspect the Donna of being the instigator of some of our recent issues but I’m sure of it. The look she turned my way was poisonous. But Mrs. Baird was simply too happy. Baird’s family was going all out to welcome her in. She acted a bit surprised and somehow sweetly thankful at the same time. It was nice to see.

Dinner was served family style – and Vit and I did wind up acting as maid and manservant a bit, but it wasn’t onerous and everyone (except the Donna) was gracious. The Sarde de Soar was good, but you need to be partial to sardines in order to appreciate it. Needless to say Vit ate well. Other dishes include Baccala mantecato, Risotto al nero di sepia, Risi e bisi, Bigoli in salsa, Mołéche, Baicoli, and for dessert Fritole. It was after dinner that could have spoiled things as the children were dismissed by the Donna and I was even told to take Ellie with me causing a momentary panic to appear in Mrs. Baird’s face and in my stomach. I realized after a moment what the woman was trying to do … stop her daughter from successfully nursing the baby. Surprisingly her sisters assisted her in thwarting their mother before Mr. Baird could blow his stack … which he looked in danger of doing. Vit and I hustled our charges out and then, Vit stopped us all.

“This is not my choice. I do not like our group to be separated but we will not be far from one another. Edda, I expect you to obey Miss Veta in all things. Understand?”

She nodded, still recovering from the excess of emotions the other adults had put on display.

To the boys he gave a growl, “No hijinks.”

“No Sir,” the chimed immediately.

Vit was not happy because out group was being split with Edda and I going to one craft class while he took the boys to a different one. But at least he was correct, we would not be that far apart. I took Edda to a one-hour craft class while Vit takes the boys to a glass artwork class that lasted ninety minutes.

Edda’s class was a course of production. A Venetian master artisan explained the ancient technique of making a Venetian papier-mâché mask. While the course took place, he also provided information about the use of masks in Venice during past centuries. At the end of the course, Edda had to leave the mask in the laboratory to properly dry and cure. Tomorrow night she will finish the mask in a different class.

I was pleasantly surprised that she took to it as well as she did after her initial dislike of anything to do with “art.”

“Oh, it’s not so bad. Grandmama just explained art wrong. But we won’t tell her that if you don’t mind. She doesn’t take being wrong very well.”

Trying to hold back a grin I told her, “Perhaps that is best.”

We still had a while until the boys were finished so we stepped next door to a “goldbeater” exhibition. It gave us a chance to explore an historic artisan laboratory (Edda was thrilled that the art studios were called laboratories) where gold, silver and other precious metals are transformed into ultra-slim leaves, suitable for application in the field of the arts, food, cosmetics and furnishings. Venice has enjoyed a long reputation for handicrafts and handmade products and part of their economy is exporting items across the world. The tour started with an historical introduction to goldbeater art. Then, we discovered the entire process of production techniques: from the fusion phase to the cutting and packaging phase, where the handcraft takes form. At the end of the tour we perused their souvenir shop, but everything was quite expensive.

Vit met us having used the locator app on my phone to follow our progress. And he and the boys had Italian ices to share as we made our way back to the pier to be picked up and returned to the yacht. The Baird and company said they would be out late so as soon as we put our feet on deck the boat returned to await them.

I would have expected that they all would wish to stay up but instead all three voted to return to their cabins and have a quiet evening. When I checked on them an hour later they were all asleep. I was returning to the cabin when Vit stuck his head into the passageway and said … “you have mail.” Okay, so it wasn’t like a live conversation but still, it was news from home and I could imagine their faces while I read it.

Derrick and Christina are married. They had spoken of waiting but Angie assured them I wouldn’t mind if they made it legal while I was away, especially since it would make things easier on them all the way around. There was a bit of an issue with Lena’s parents but not after they actually met Christina and she promised them that she’d make sure that the boys had time with them. She wasn’t trying to take Lena’s place, she and Derrick just wanted to set a good example after everything that the family had been through. I can’t see the future, but I hope that the situation goes smoothly. More drama from that quarter is not needed.

Dylan also sent news that everying is so far so good. Also, we need to keep our noses clean and that there are no blackmarks on Vit’s visa. Word is the Congress is supposed to lift the restrictions – or at least announce when the restrictions will be lifted – the first week of June. After reading the family news Vit and I slow danced with one another. It might have led to other things but there was a knock on the cabin and Mr. Dobbs offered his apologies, but the Captain was asking Vit to come to the Quarterdeck for a word.

Vit nodded and told me to lay down since he had no idea how long he would be. I believe I will now that I’ve run out of things to say. I hope they don’t keep him long. We have another day in Venice and then there is a sea day and hopefully I’ll be able to let him sleep in on that day.

 

[Kathy in FL]

May 27th – Venice, Italy

This morning we left the yacht to get on a boat and left the boat to get on a smaller boat. Sounds ridiculous I suppose but it was really lovely. We got to see the quieter side of Venice by canal cruise. We made our way to the departure point near St Mark’s Square where we met our guide and boarded a comfortable motorboat that mimicked an overlarge gondola. It was nice to enjoy the quiet as we floated through Venetian backstreets and observed canal-side scenes of daily life. We passed through the gates of Porta dell’Acqua to enter Venice’s 12th-century shipyard known as the Arsenale. Here we learned how this historic naval depot was once among the greatest in Europe during Venice’s reign as a maritime superpower.

Next, we glided through the narrow canals of the Cannaregio neighborhood and made our way to Venice’s Jewish Ghetto. We got off the boat here for twenty minutes to explore the historic area by foot and Vit and I took some wonderful photos of the centuries-old buildings. Back on the boat we continued to the neighborhoods of Santa Croce and Dorsoduro. And we passed a traditional gondola workshop where craftspeople were carefully carving and finishing several of the classic Venetian vessels by hand. That kind of craftsmanship is rare, and I was happy to see that both Aiden and Al took note and asked some thoughtful (and appreciative) questions.

Finally, we made our way out into the wider waters of the Grand Canal, the one that Venice is best known for, and cruised passed the opulent squares and churches that line its banks. We were even able to float beneath the famous Rialto Bridge, getting a completely different perspective than the one yesterday, before returning to the original departure point near St Mark’s Square.

All three kids had been amazingly well-behaved, but they were also happy to get off the boat and get the wiggle out, though I doubt teenagers would appreciate the terminology. I know I would not have at their age. The boys were also hungry and good thing too as our next excursion was similar to the foodie ones Vit and I took with the brothers. I fought back a tear, foolish though it made me feel to still miss my first student quite so much, and we quickly spotted our guide.

Our first stop was to explore the busy Rialto Market where we saw colorful stalls selling seafood, vegetables, and fruit. Throughout our tour, we once again saw some of the main sights of the city, including the Campo San Bartolomeo, Campo San Polo, Basilica dei Frari, and more. The main point of however was the food. We tasted some of Venice's local specialties, such as the bite-sized cicchetti served at bars all over the city. The tapas-like snacks are popular with Venetians who meet friends after work for a drink and a few bites before dinner. Think of them like appetizers. We sampled cheese made in the region, traditional cakes, and buranelli biscuits. We tried six different types of fish dishes and learned how each dish is created. Even though Venice is known for fresh seafood dishes, there were some delicious local cured meats that we tried as well. The polenta and risotto were some of the best I’ve ever eaten. And the tour ended with traditional Venetian cookies and creamy gelato. I couldn’t eat another bite though I think that Vit and the boys could have done justice to something like a burger or skewer of meat of some type.

It was at that time that we had to briefly part again. I took Edda to decorate the mask she made last night, now cured, dried, and ready to work on; and, Vit took the boys to go to the “goldbeater” exhibit/class.

Edda’s mask was very geometric, but the master mask maker complimented her on how meticulous she had been to get the lines just so. He showed her how to draw notice to the geometry rather than detract from it with some additional, stylized accessories. It was really quite unique, and I told her we would find a hat box, or similar, and some tissue paper so that she could take it home and decorate her room with it.

The boys were hungry once again, but the only thing they had on their minds was pizza. I looked at Edda and she shrugged. She seemed fine with the boys’ choice. Just like in Rome, we found fast food pizza that you could buy by the slice – one slice is enormous – and everyone dug into theirs though I was forced to give Vit half of mine.

“Veta?”

“I’m fine.”

“You are sure?”

I smiled to let him know I was fine, but I’d just passed a bar that had a tv going and saw that there were riots in LA again and they were spreading to other cities in California. I managed to put it from my mind, but it took a few minutes. In truth I knew there was nothing I could do about it and I had a tour before me that I was rather hesitant about. I didn’t know our three charges well enough to say whether it would disturb them, and I didn’t want to make them upset by asking. I took a chance and pulled Edda aside and explained my quandry.

“Oh … uh … don’t fuss if Al walks with Aiden. He’s fine with spook shows when the lights are on, but this might be kinda not up his alley.”

“Hmm.”

“He’s not a baby. Just not everyone likes scary stuff,” she said defensively of her brother.

“I wasn’t criticizing Dear. I simply don’t want to make it harder on him or hurt his pride.”

“Oh. Um …”

“It’s all right. I know he had a very traumatic experience when the two of you were younger and it has left scars. I’m simply … surprised. I wouldn’t think this would be a good choice under the circumstances.”

“It isn’t. It is probably Grandmama trying to toughen Al up. She can be really mean sometimes, especially when she just thinks she is helping.”

Well there wasn’t much that could be said to that so I casually mentioned our next tour and the look on Al’s face was telling. It was growing dark and he wasn’t thrilled with the idea of going on a ghost walk. There was a little bit of discussion but when Vit said a bit harshly as if daring anyone to try something like that on his watch, “There will be no grabbing.” Al seemed to relax a bit.

As night fell in the atmospheric city, we met our guide near the famous Rialto Bridge. There were two of them, both dressed in costume. From there, we journeyed through a labyrinth of narrow streets and squares desserted by most of the day’s tourists. Our guides proceeded to recount tales of Venice’s haunted history. From the sacred to the profane – I think the kids thought my outrage was funny over some of the ribald tales – we learned about the noble-blooded ghosts that supposedly wander the city’s grand palaces; and, unforuntely also heard the tale of the medieval child-killer Biasio, who was said to chop up little limbs and add them to his stews. I could have shaken a couple of the people on the tour with us as they made a couple of comments I didn’t find constructive at all.

We visited the Gothic Fortuny Palace and beautiful Bovolo staircase — an architecturally impressive structure that is said to conceal strange secrets in its spiraling stone archways. We learned about ancient cemeteries buried beneath the cobblestone streets and heard the legends of mythological sea creatures supposedly lurking in the Venetian canals. We would have stepped down into a secret passageway where forbidden lovers once met by torchlight, but the water levels were too high and it was flooded out. And no, I wasn’t sorry in the least. Finally, the tour was near its end when we visted the shadowy Calle dei Assassini, once a popular haunt for hardened criminals and murderers and the site of many dark deeds. We had one very susceptible lady on the tour, and she jumped and squeeked at every turn. Frankly she was annoying, but her fear appeared to be real.

I was grateful for the tour to come to a close, not for my own sake but for Al’s. He’d held up well, but the darker it got, the more ridiculous the stories, the squeakier the susceptible woman became, the less tolerance Al was showing.

Trying to be a bit silly I said, “Oh for goodness sake, someone obviously took an excess of drama pills at tea time.”

Aiden thought it was funny and what Aiden does Al tries to follow. He snickered a bit but you could tell his heart wasn’t in it.

“Oh laugh if you want, but honestly? I kept expecting the two guides to break out into song and dance. I swear that woman was showing all those frilly underskirts on purpose. What could she have been thinking? Every man there had a wife. Was that really necessary?”

Having another focus Al said, “You sound like Grandmama.”

I blanched before I thought and then had to stammer, “Oh, my pardon. That was very rude.”

Al actually laughed. “Maybe, but it’s the truth. Can we have one last cup of gelato before the boat gets here?”

I looked at Vit and he said, “If you hadn’t suggested it, I would have. Tomorrow is a sea day and you will need your energy as I will be teaching you some simple self-defense moves.”

I thought Vit was just charming him at the time, but it turns out that Vit wants me to teach Edda some simple moves as I did Frankie. He is uncomfortable with the two ports after the sea day. I reminded him to leave me time to do some housekeeping … of the personal kind with our laundry, and also with our charges. The cabins need a thorough cleaning and we all need to do laundry.

But that is not the kind of thought I want to take to bed so I will go see if Vit is in the mood for a little appreciation. We could both use the distraction I think.

 

[Kathy in FL]

May 28th – At Sea

I find the Bairds’ guests mildly annoying. I’ve been interrupted numerous times today by someone asking me to play. I don’t mind playing but I have other duties that are more important than that. I even had one of the sisters stop me and say she needed some laundry done. When I told her where the machines were, it took me a minute to realize that her laugh meant she thought I had been joking with her. I hadn’t been. Mrs. Baird saved me and then insisted on knowing where her sister had gotten the idea that I was a maid. I didn’t hear the answer, but I did hear her groan of annoyance and the stomp of her foot in frustration. I didn’t have time to ponder it as I was intent on other things … lessons and laundry the two most important.

It has been an excruciatingly busy day and I’d be in bed if I wasn’t waiting for my hair to dry. I’m also waiting up for Vit. He is doing the secretary bit with Mr. Baird and the two business associates that kind of blend into the furniture in my opinion. Or maybe it is simply that the rest of them are so loud and showy. Like preening peacocks without the tail feathers to justify it. The party started late and went even later last night than it did tonight. Today has been one long party for some of them. Ugh. How Vit could sleep through it last night was mind boggling. I got up to check on the children and found Edda awake and reading.

“Not much longer Edda. I know …,” I looked at her ceiling and sighed. “That is unacceptable. How are you supposed to sleep with that?” I asked rhetorically. She pulled ear plugs out of her ears, real ones which suggest she has had this issue before, and some adult had helped out.

“I will speak to Mrs. Baird tomorrow.”

“Mama knows. She came to check on us a few minute ago. She said she is going to try and get them to move to the salon on the other end of the yacht.”

I simply shook my head and returned to the cabin. Tonight appears to be a repeat of last night but Mrs. Baird was as good as her word and the party is on the other end of the yacht. At least Ellie has not started to cry as she did last night. Did I mention that I am tired? The girl who doesn’t need much sleep is tired. Ugh.

I am going to brush my hair to see if that gets it to dry faster. But it would certainly be nice in the adults on this ship had a bedtime like the children do.

 

[Kathy in FL]

May 29th – Dubrovnik, Croatia

I spent the day in Dubrovnik, Croatia. I still feel that I imagined the location, like it was a dream. It is surreal. When thinking about where I wanted to visit during my lifetime, I never even thought about Croatia, much less thought about it as a possibility. Technically Croatia is in the Mediterranean, but it isn’t one most people think about. Vit was like a cat suffering from static electricity; he was too close to Russia. The other member of the crew that wasn’t comfortable with our location was Merk Vagin. Vagin is big, quiet, and efficient … but I’d heard him more than once be extremely foul-mouthed in Russian when he thought no one would understand. He stops when I am around, but it isn’t for my sake so much as he and Vit have some type of agreement or treuce or something like that. I’m not sure Vit likes the man because he let me know without saying it that he didn’t want me around Vagin. Fine by me and I oblige Vit when I can. However, there are times when none of us have a choice unless we are willing to make an open issue of it.

I did hear there was a bit of a ruckus when the adults found out that the kids were eating in the mess hall with the crew. But then it was Mrs. Baird’s brother of all people that sided with Mr. Baird in saying that it wasn’t a high crime or misdemeanor. I heard from Sofia (bad Veta bad for gossiping) that the Donna was so mad she nearly threw something at her son but instead said something extremely cutting. Sofia says she won’t repeat what she said because it is so bad, but the son said, “That won’t work this time Mama.”

Ugh. I told Vit and then admitted to being embarrassed about gossping. He surprised me by saying, “It is not gossiping, it is surviving. There is no place to get away from people, even on a ship this size, so all you can sometimes do is avoid conflict. Or hold enough cards that people leave you alone.”

“Is that how you did this day in and day out for so long?”

He shrugged. “It was the best job I could get given my circumstances. It took me a while to stop being so angry about my fate. I was just beginning to think about advancing in rank when … the pirates forced me to change direction again.”

“Well, I’m so very glad you did.” Then I blanched. “But without the pirates. No more pirates. And no more getting shot. Ever. Understand?”

He chuckled and answered, “It is not in the plans Kokhana.” Then in a voice that always gives me the shivers, “I have too much to live for now.”

But enough of that or I’ll get irritated that Vit has once again been called to play secretary late at night. Doggone it.

This morning we were anchored and tendered over to the pier by 8 am. We had to constantly show our papers but it eased up when we met our guide and climbed inside the bus with some other tourists. We left the port for a leisurely journey to the base of Mt Srđ, the 1,352-foot mountain that towers over the city of Dubronik. As we traveled, several tourists asked our guide questions about the area.

On arrival at our destination, we boarded a cable car for a panoramic ride up the side of Mt Srđ. We took in the stunning aerial views of the city and the Dalmatian Coast as we ascended the mountain. At the summit, we stepped out of the car and gazed out at the literally jaw-dropping views from the two panoramic terraces — it is said that on a clear day you can see sights up to 37 miles away. I’m honestly not sure what the distance was today, all I know is that it was a long way. We spent a few moments snapping photos, then headed to the souvenir shop to get some post cards for me and the kids looked around and bought some silly things themselves. Back outside we explored the summit a bit more then hopped back into the cable car for the return trip.

From there it was into Dubrovnik’s older section of town. Some of the sites and landmarks we saw were Onofrio’s Fountain, which is connected to an ancient aqueduct that provided the ancient city with drinking water; the 12th-century Franciscan Monastery, which houses one of the oldest still-functioning pharmacies and a gorgeous Gothic courtyard; the Renaissance-era Sponza Palace; the Stradun, the wide and main pedestrian way that goes from one side of Old Town to the other; and the Cathedral of the Assumption, a beautiful Baroque and Mannerist building from the 18th century. We also saw the Minceta Fortress, St John's Fortress, Bokar Fortress and the Maritime Museum. The guide was very good, and it was nice to be out of the bus and walking around during the tour.

We wandered through the maze of cobbled streets and narrow passageways, learned of the area’s rich cultural and historical significance. We thought about getting a bite in town but there was some tension in the air that was unpleasant. We were already heading back to the pier when Mr. Dobbs, dressed as a local, started coming towards us.

“Boat’s here,” he said, cheerfully but he was looking at Vit intently.

My radar was pinging loudly by that point and I was on high alert. I heard anger coming out of every bar and café we passed. We hustled into the boat and transferred quickly back to the ship.

Vit said, “Take them to …”

Baird appeared and said, “Paula is going to take them to Martina. You two come with me.”

Uh, that didn’t sound good. As it turns out Mr. Baird only wanted to assure us that what had been occurring would not happen again. “You can pick your friends,” he said with his voice heavy with irony. “But you don’t get to pick your family. I’d offload her but Martina is trying to keep the peace for the children’s sake. Not sure if it is going to work or not. Veta, you can continue to play or not … no more of the forced nonsense. You were hired to take care of their education, not entertain on command. And … well … hmm … if you could continue helping keep the kids’ cabins clean that would be a help. It won’t be until Barcelona that there will be time to hire a maid and by then the kids will be off to my summer place. Dymtrus? You have any objections?”

Vit looked at me and I left it up to him. It really didn’t bother me and I’d ridden herd on the Marchand brothers a few times. It isn’t rocket science, it simply requires adequate time and authority.

He turned back to Baird and gave a brief nod. The deal was sealed with a drink though I abstained, explaining that I needed to go take care of Edda before her dinner.

The rest of the evening, I kept hearing things in bits and pieces … through Sofia who is a fount of knowledge and I have absolutely no idea how she does it if she is in the cabin with the baby all the time. The Russians were up to something. There was movement along the long border with China. There was also movement in countries that, for lack of a better explanation, had once again fallen under the mantle of protectorates of Russia. Croatia was still free, but Russia was using Croatia as a staging ground for something and, while the government was little more than a puppet, the people themselves were not happy.

As Vit said, “One more port and then we are back on the other side of the Med.”

I just hope there is enough … distance and time … to keep us out of whatever is coming.

 

[Kathy in FL]

May 30th – Sarande, Albania

Another 4x4 experience though today’s transportation was not nearly as comfortable as the other examples of such that I’ve ridden in before. What made it so unique is that we were in Albania. Honestly I never realized that the country was so beautiful. Let’s put it this way, the area where we were is known as the unofficial capital of the Albanian Riviera. That should tell you how gorgeous it was.

Our tour began as soon as we were picked up on the pier. Our first stop was the 14th century Saint George Monastery, located on a very narrow strip of land that divides Butrinti Lake from the Ionian Sea. I swear you could have easily gotten lost in the panoramic view of the town and the sea from one side and the Butrinti lake from the opposite bank.

From there we headed to Ksamil to experience another breathtaking view of the sea, sun and islands. We saw a fish harvesting reservoir located in the sea then we entered the National Park of Butrint where we examined the impressive remains of a Roman theater and traveled along a historical route that revealed a temple, an ancient fitness center with public baths, an aqueduct, and a Byzantine church with a one-of-a-kind well-preserved baptistery. The Lake’s Gate and the Lion’s Gate were also on our way with yet more history as told by our knowledgeable guide as several fountains and wells were used in astounding stories as well.

We ended this leg of the route at a hilltop castle from the Venetian period where we visited the museum that is inside the castle. After spending a couple of hours in Buthrotum we traveled to our next destination which was the Blue Eye Springs. We got off the beaten path to see the natural spring that features clear, blue water bubbling from the bottom of an immensely deep pool. In ancient times, this site was used as a relaxation spot for the elite.

Next was Lekuresi Castle, an 18th century castle that offered a panorama of everything we’d seen so far. The photos were simply amazing as I downloaded them tonight. The guide was a continuous presence relating all sorts of ancient gossip as well as offering an explanation of more modern issues. Then it was back to Sarande for a brief tour that included its perfectly preserved amphitheater, baptistery and more.

While we were in Sarande we were offered a chance to taste some of the famous Albanian pies and of course no one turned it down. The first type of Albanian pie is Lakror which, as it was explained to me, tends to be more of a batter then a pastry. Flour, eggs and water are mixed to form a thin batter with a filling in the middle. There are several flavors of fillings starting with Pras Lakror (Leek Pie) and Kungull Lakror (Squash or Pumpkin). The next type of Albanian pie is Pite, again many different types with the most common being Spinaq Pite (Spinach Pie). There are different meat ones such as byrek me mish pule (Chicken Pie), byrek me mish lope (Meat Pie), etc. Pite, is a pie made up of filo pastry and the texture is more flakey with layers of filo below and above the filling. Once cooked, water is poured over and left to soak in before slicing and serving. I know it sounds odd, but it was quite delicious. The last type of Albanian pie is Byrek (which is also Borek and Burek). The most common Byrek is Byrek me Spinaq (Spinach Pies), Djathë Byrek (Cheese Pies), Byrek me mish (Meat Pies) and Byrek me Kos (Yogurt filled Pies). You can also get a mix too, for example spinach and cheese. I feel like a glutton after trying so many of the various flavors but Vit had his share as did our charges. I was very pleased to see Edda eat as she normally picks at her food.

The other thing we did in Sarande was to do a little shopping. I don’t know why I bother repeating it but I got several postcards. Edda and Al laugh every time they catch me, but Aiden bought me a postcard and all three of them signed it “to our teacher” and when I nearly cried he ducked his head in embarrassment. The kids each got something for themselves as well – their trustfund comes with their own personal debit card, oh my. Vit purchased several flavors of rakia and a couple bottles of cognac.

Rakia is a clear spirit made from distilled, fermented fruit and is known for having a very high alcohol content – anywhere from 80 to 190 proof. It can be traced back to 14th century Bulgaria. There are so many different kinds of Rakia because you can use any fruit you want to make it. Popular flavors that I saw bottled for sale included grapes, plums, apricots, pears, apples, cherries and figs. You can also use ingredients like roses, herbs, juniper, walnuts, honey and anise to further vary the fruit flavors. Cognac on the other hand is a type of brandy that is distilled twice in copper pots. Both were different from what we’d sent to Pembroke, I just wonder how we are going to get this home but Vit says not to worry about it.

We were back on the ship before the 5 pm sailaway and it wasn’t long after dinner that Edda admitted that she was tired and only wanted to lay down and sleep after a little bit of reading. I’m really concerned. I am going to suggest to Mrs. Baird that she takes Edda for a physical exam. She is already small for her age and she isn’t a huge eater so that likely means she hasn’t hit puberty yet. She needs to be tested for either delayed growth or perhaps some type of anemia as she is easily tired by evening. I don’t think she is faking it, but neither am I a doctor that can tell for sure.

Vit was sober when he came in tonight (early for once). I don’t mean he hadn’t been drinking, I mean he had gotten word that the Russians and Chinese were doing more than just rattling their sabers. They were starting to militarize their borders even more than they already were. We received an email from Dylan stating to please be careful. What is going on over here is making some people in the States very nervous and it is delaying a determination on foreign Visa holders.

Vit asks that we both get a little extra sleep tonight. Tomorrow is our last Greek port before returning briefly to Italy and then going to the other side of the Mediterranean. Only about a week remains of this job. We can hold out that long.

 

[Kathy in FL]

May 31st – Olympia (Katakolon), Greece

Was in a bit of a rush this morning. We had to wait to use the boat to get to the pier. Most of the adults were already on their way to the beach and unlike most mornings they were there ahead of us. Once we did make it to the pier, the day ran like clockwork.

Our port was Katakolon, but our destination was ancient Olympia. It took about thirty minutes to get from the port to Olympia, but the drive was pleasant and so were the others on the tour with us. They were all Eastern Europeans but that didn’t bother Vit or I and our charges are used to international company so weren’t put off by it either.

Once we arrived we explored the ancient Olympia site and the associated museum. We had about two hours and we were determined to make the most of it. And with our English-speaking guide that was easy as we familiarized ourselves with the history of ancient Olympia and the olympic games heritage. We even walked the Olympia stadium and saw the Zeus temple along with all museum artifacts that bore witness to the magnificent Olympia history and culture one of which was the famous statue of Hermes Praxiteles.

We made a brief pit stop at Agriturisimo Magna Grecia to visit the winery and eat traditional vegetable snacks and small portions of a cooked meal. I really miss the “Magic Packpack,” but security measures have changed so much that it is no longer possible to walk around with something that large.

Out last stop was the Saint Andrew beach. The beach was located near the port of Katakolon and we happened to run into the Bairds while we were there. Our charges weren’t interested in doing more than putting their feet in the surf so we walked quite a bit before returning to the pier and heading back to the ship. Tomorrow is a sea day and I want to try and put together a family letter and post it on my blog. Dylan said that censorship is becoming a serious problem and the major media outlets are cooperating … although some are having to be forced into it.

I need to go to sleep and forget about this for a while. It seems our days are good but right as we think we’ve made it through something comes up to disturb my sleep. I want to go home. I want Vit and I to go home. This is more than just being homesick, I don’t know what it is but it is more than that.

 

[Kathy in FL]

June 1st – At Sea

I will be glad when this job is over. It isn’t the people that employ us although that is part of it. It isn’t the people we are working with, though that is part of it as well. It is not our compensation because I honestly have no complaint even adding the other duties to my responsibilities. It fills my time and I don’t worry about the other, although I do dislike how some view me as a maid rather than as a teacher. The only thing that I know for sure is that it isn’t our charges. They aren’t angels but they’re not bad kids. I had thought to be a little closer to them but I think, given how short a time we are going to be together, they just don’t think the effort is worth it. And that’s fine and I get it. They are also older than Frankie and I can’t expect twelve and thirteen years olds to behave like a traumatized nine-year-old.

I want to go home. I want to feel surrounded by love. I want to feel safe. That makes it sound like I don’t feel loved by Vit or safe with him and that’s not true. I do. But we spend very little alone time together lately. In port we have the children between us. Back on the yacht he has other duties and I have mine and they don’t cross. Even on the cruise ship when he was out late we still had alone time together. Here there is no privacy, no time … and I feel like we are losing our connection. Part of me knows that this is my old issues trying to rear their ugly head. I’m trying not to give them any credence. If I could just hide out in the cabin when not on duty that woudn’t be so difficult to do.

I never appreciated until now how truly nice the Marchands were despite the fact that I was “just an employee.” Miss Hayworth likely played a huge role in that (and I wish I knew how she is doing). I could blame my lack of experience, but I won’t. Never having experienced any other type of employer than nice and kind I had nothing to compare it to. These people? Gah! Madam, despite her high handedness, was more connected to us/me than everyone on this yacht put together. And I won’t complain to Vit, primarily because I’m not totally convinced it isn’t my imagination, but when he is around the other crew act normally but when he is not, I become intentionally invisible. A few do exhibit some hostility. Perry, who used to talk to me a mile a minute, now appears to refuse to be in the same room with me … even in a passageway. Twice today we crossed paths as I cleaned the children’s cabins and he looked right through me like I wasn’t there. Even after I said hello. I wonder if I did something to hurt his feelings.

Though if I did, I must have done it to the entire crew because they act the same way … if Vit is not there. That is how I know that it is me in particular that is the problem. I also have a clue from Merk Vagin who strangely enough acts no different than before, although given how he acted before there really isn’t that much difference.

I was on deck taking Edda for her lunch with the family, something she was invited to do today. And as I was not included in the invitation, I understood that I was unnecessary. From out of nowhere a strong wind came up and the luncheon was being moved inside but then a few of the loungers turned over and then flew up, they knocked two people overboad. Merk Vagin … and Al.

“Stay with your Mama!” I shouted to Edda while grabbing one of the required life rings.

She screamed, “He can’t swim! Al! Al!”

That’s all I needed to hear to know that a life ring would be insufficient in the surf that had kicked up with the wind. Off came my shoes and I was in the water before thinking about it. Amazingly Merk was trying to keep the boy’s head above the water but he wasn’t doing too well himself; something had grazed his head and he looked disoriented. That didn’t cover that there was blood pouring from the gash. Not good.

I had them both hold onto the life ring and started towing them in the direction of the yacht. I didn’t know if it was my imagination or not, but it seemed to have slowed its forward progress as if the emergency call had already reached the Captain. And then Vit was there beside me as was Mr. Dobbs. Al latched onto me so tightly I had to remind him more than once to just let me do the work and for him to relax. He kept wanting to turn and grab me around the neck, which would have been a disaster for both of us.

The rear of the yacht has this platform area. It is where we get on the boat for tendering to shore. The five of us reached it and, with some effort and some help, got Al and Merk back on board. Mr. Baird himself had Al and wouldn’t turn loose of him to let the on-board doc get a look at him until Mrs. Baird and Aiden cajoled him into it. The man was white as a sheet. I found out later the doc had ordered him off his feet. I didn’t know it, but he is on blood pressure meds and the move was precautionary.

Merk was fighting off shock and when the doc heard I had at least a little medical training he asked me to help. Vit paced the entire time I was there. Since I wasn’t needed for Al and Mr. Baird … and the women didn’t really need anything more than smelling salts as they could better control their hysterics if they gave it half a try … I took care of the scalp wound on Merk.

“Go,” he all but growled in a fair imitation of the tone that I’ve heard Vit use a time or two.

I was not in the mood. “Look. Be stubborn if you want but this is still going to happen. We can do it easy or I can have Vit sit on you and it still gets done. Either way you are going to suffer some Cossack care.”

He looked at me oddly. It was Vit who explained. “He is truly Cossack.”

“So are we.”

“Nii. You are more Cossack than I.”

“Oh please, not that old stuff again,” I huffed trying to trim as little hair off Merk’s scalp as possible so I could set the butterfly bandages to hold the two sides of the cut together. “We are both ethnically Cossack. And we’re both Cossack by personality … or at least our stubbornness and determination is. Our will to survive is. Our commitment to family is. That makes us Cossack whether other, overly snobby and stubborn Cossacks want to admit it or not. Too bad so sad for them.”

Merk looked at Vit and said, “Your woman is strange.”

I snapped, “And if you don’t sit still you are going to look strange. One-eared Cossacks are no longer that common.”

And for some ridiculous reason Merk and then Vit found that funny. Vit lost his smile when he was called to take Al to his cabin so he could change. He told me, “You go to our cabin as soon as you can escape.”

I thought it an odd term for it but nodded.

Then it was my turn to grumble and think to myself, “His Mama should be doing that and not Vit.” I didn’t know about Mr. Baird’s blood pressure at the time but still, an aunt or other family member would have been better under the circumstances.

A moment after Vit left Merk asked, “You are … Cossack?”

I gave him a very brief explanation and then said, “I got lucky. Vit not so much.”

“Matters not. He is lucky now.”

I realized he was paying me a compliment and I nodded thank you. He was silent and then said, “Paula is wrong.”

“If it is about her having a chance in Hades of getting Vit back under her cat’s paw she is very wrong.”

He gave a wry grin and said, “That too. But it is that she thinks you take advantage and will hurt him in the end.”

“How?”

“When you leave.”

“I am not leaving.”

“So you say now.”

I wasn’t sure what Vit had said or not but all I could do was tell the truth. “Vit and I have had arguments when he tried to send me home without him. That is NOT happening,” I told him as I concentrated on putting in two stitches to keep the cut closed. “Our goal is to go home and start a life together. My family is eager for us to get home. And we will, as soon as we can. But it will be together.”

“And if Dymtrus prefers to be a sailor.”

“If that is what he wants then I’ll find some way to follow him. I didn’t marry him for us to be apart. We’ll figure it out. But we’ll do it together.”

“And if he wants to be apart?”

I gave the man a sharp look. “Then he can tell me himself and people can stop trying to plant the idea in my head. It won’t work. I trust Vit completely.”

He grunted and I wasn’t sure if it was a response to my comment or because I had tied off the last stitch.

The doc came in while I was giving him instructions on what not to do and to listen to the doctor if he didn’t want his head to fall off and roll overboard. The doc grinned and said thank you, especially after he inspected my work. My clothes were getting stiff as they dried on my body and I itched from the salt crystals forming. I could just imagine what I looked like. Thankfully I learned to wear waterproof makeup early and I could at least rest assured I did not look like a drowned raccoon.

I was in the cabin, trying to rinse out my hair when it finally hit me and I hit my knees. The door to the bathroom was jerked open and Vit was just there and … we both conserved some water by sharing the shower. Afterwards Vit tried to convince me to lay down for a bit.

“Even if I want to there is a girl that I need to check on. What of Aiden and Al?”

“Al is … much like Frankie in some ways. But his uncle and the other men are helping to rebuild his confidence. Aiden … is silent. I tried speaking with him but could not reach him.” That’s when I found out about Baird. We finished dressing and then went about our assigned duties. I checked on Edda only to find Sofie in there with the baby. They were playing in the floor.

Sofie whispered to me, “They always forget about her. I can’t. She reminds me of one of my little sisters.”

In all seriousness I told her, “Thank you Sofie. Not just from me for picking up my slack but for just being there for Edda. She is going to need a friend I think.”

“I had thought to go back home after Barcelona but … I think I will stay on, at least through the summer.”

I told them both that I was going to go get a tea tray if they didn’t mind waiting since I wasn’t sure what the situation would be in the mess hall.

I got there to find Merk pouring himself a cup of coffee. He looked at me like he couldn’t believe I had actually taken it from his hand and replaced it with a bottle of water. “You heard the doc, no caffeine for twenty-four hours.”

Where his growl would have gone I have no idea because Vit entered with the boys. I walked over to Al and inspected him while he gave me a wide-eyed and confused stare. “Good. No bumps, bruises, dings, or dents.”

In a nasally and embarrassed, leave-me-alone voice he said, “I’m fine.”

“You don’t sound fine. Have you seen the doctor?”

Perry’s mouth finally unlocked and he said, “They’re fine. Just the salt water was abrasive to their soft tissues.”

“Hmph. Well if they wouldn’t try to drink the Agean it would help. You do realize fish, octopi, and krakens use the sea for a toilet.”

No one knew whether to look at me or at Merk who had just taken a swallow of water and had it go down the wrong pipe.

Al asks, “Er … what’s a kraken?”

“Ask Mr. D; he knows an excellent story about the impossibly cranky old thing.”

Vit was trying to hold back a grin as he said, “Dobbs tells it better.”

“Hmm. It is up to Al whether he wants the story from either of you. I need to take a tray to Edda. Please see if you can get him to at least drink some warm cocoa.”

Merk said, “Why is he allowed to have caffeine?”

“Ask the doc. But if I had to guess, he is concerned that a deck chair barely missed removing the top half of your hard, Russian head. You have been told none for twenty-four hours. Deal with it.”

Merk grumbled an audible, “Babushka.” All I did was roll my eyes.

Vit was grinning broadly at everyone’s reaction as I left with tray in hand.

The remainder of the day has been much quieter. Edda picked at her dinner as usual, but she did eat … at least she did when Al stopped by. And for the first time I saw Edda be demonstrative in her emotions. She an over to Al and hugged him tightly. He was surprised for all of two seconds before hugging her back and saying, “It’s all right Edda. It’s all right. Aiden tell her it’s all right.”

Aiden nodded and patted her back. “Yeah, it is. And if there’s time later we’ll tell you the story of the kraken that Mr. Dobbs told us. It’s not all girl-appropriate but we’ll leave those parts out. We’d better wait until tomorrow when we are in port though. Don’t want the Donna catching us at it.”

She ate and then the nerves she’d been suffering silently caught up and she didn’t want to read, just go to sleep. Sofia, had gone back to the cabin with the baby so all I had to do was help her to braid her hair for the night and ask her if she felt up to going into port tomorrow. Baldly put, she told me the boys weren’t going to do anything she couldn’t do. So there.

I am tired myself, but I still need to finish rinsing out our clothes. I hope they can be salvaged. I have grown fond of those black capris and the shirt I was wearing. And I’m waiting up for Vit who is helping deal with some of the mess that remains on the deck that no one picked up.

 

[Kathy in FL]

June 2nd – Naples, Italy

We were back in Naples today. Rather than stay in the city and deal wit the increased risk of pickpockets and petty cime the city is known for we visited Capri and the Blue Grotto. The children were in a surprisingly good mood, as if yesterday never happened. Seeing this put Mr. Baird in a good mood. And seeing Baird and the children in good moods seemed to restore everyone’s mood, from passenger to crew. Humans are strange like that. I caught the Donna staring at me but it wasn’t in a cold way, more like an unknown quantity that disturbed her. I didn’t have the time to ponder it then and don’t have the inclination now, not while I’d rather stare at my husband as he lays sprawled on our bed, asleep after some … sweet appreciation for each other.

Our guide picked us up right at the pier and we headed out immediately. First came the Blue Grotto on the Island of Capri. The Blue grotto, also known as Tiberius’ Sacred Sanctuary, is a small sea cave only accessible by small boat, and sometimes not even that. We were taken to a small launch area, and after climbing into a wooden row boat, were rowed through a stone portal, forced to lay back as we went through the entrance, through an inky blackness, and then into a chamber where the water is a turquoise-sapphire color. I didn’t retouch the pictures I posted but it looks like I did. The color of the water looks artificial but it isn’t. We were only inside the grotto five or so minutes, but it was enough to create a lasting impression.

After returning to land we continued on our journey and then stopped at Villa San Michele, known as Axel Munthe house, the name of a Swedish doctor and writer, who bought a ruined building and built this house. Today the house is best known for its architectural interiors and its gardens rather than its builder. I pulled Al aside and said thank you for caring about his sister’s upset as we rowed into the grotto. He’d sat close to her and didn’t stop when she grabbed his arm.

“Er … she just gets upset sometimes if she thinks something is going to happen to me. It almost did once. Most of the time she pretends but Aiden said he caught her crying once when we went away to school, and she said she was afraid someone would take me and she wouldn’t see me again. I don’t want her to worry about stuff like that.”

“You’re a good big brother.”

I’m not sure how much of that is how Edda feels or Al projecting on to her. Either way, it is good that siblings take care of one another. That’s how it should be.

After the Villa we stopped at Monte Solaro in Anacapri where we split our time walking through the village and taking a chairlift to Mount Solaro. We ended our tour at Piazza Umberto I, which is considered the life center of the island. The day seemed to have sped by and there was no doubt it was time to get back to the pier.

To our surprise it was Mr. Baird that met us in the boat. “And how’d the day go?” he asked boisterously of the children. He pulled them all in for a hug, not just Aiden. I think that he has come to care about about Al and Edda as if they were his own. He looked like he was over his shock but obviously something was still up, but not necessarily a bad something.

That’s when he looked up and said, “You two have the evening off. Martina and I are having a family dinner in the small salon. Just the six of us, though I suspect we’ll all be ducking while we try and feed Ellie.”

Edda was surprised enough to yelp, “Just us? Just us?! Like a real family?!”

“We’re already a real family girly. Want to come drive the boat?”

The boys naturally wanted in on that action and crowded in for their share. Back on the yacht Vit and I made sure they were dressed and ready to go and then escaped to our cabin for a pre-dinner … never mind. It was as if no one else existed but us in the mess hall and then it was back to our cabin for a little more “never mind.”

This is what I’ve missed. The time to just be with Vit, not just the physical closeness but the chance to just show the other how much they mean to us. It looks like he was missing it as well. You can’t fake that level of intensity.

Today isn’t the only repeat port. Tomorrow we are back in Rome for the day. After that it is all new ports until Barcelona. And from there we go home. How do I know this? Because an email from Dylan said things were moving along really fast and it looks like Vit’s visa has gotten all the stamps he needs as well as the new one required under the new law. Oh I can’t wait. Less than a week!

 

[Kathy in FL]

June 3rd – Rome (Ciitavecchia), Italy

A second chance at Rome. Unbelievable. And we didn’t leave until 9 pm. Glorious. But I must admit my posterior is a bit sore. Wide seats or not, it has been too many weeks since I’ve been on a bike. Even an exercise bike.

We took the train from the port at Citavecchia into central Rome getting off at the Termini. There we were met by a guide and assigned an electric, pedal-assisted bike. Our guide took us, and the others also on the tour, on a ride out of the city to the Appian Way. Dating back to 312 BC, the Ancient Appian Way was constructed to connect Rome to Southern Italy. It became one of the most important roadways in the Roman Republic. When we arrived at the start of the ancient road, we were finally out of traffic and could relax and enjoy the scenery.

We followed our guide past ancient sites like the Thermal Baths of Caracalla, the Aurelian Walls, and the Park of the Aqueducts. Our guide called the area rural but to me it was more suburban park than actually rural. We heard stories about the centuries-old ruins we passed. We also received a guided tour of the catacombs and learned about ancient Roman burial traditions as we delved into the subterranean tunnels. Then it was a return bike trip to the center of Rome on their version of a subway which they call the Metro. It wasn’t nearly as efficient as London or New York, but it beat walking though I would have been happy to do that as well.

The kids were positively starving by this point and I admit, so were Vit and I. Pizza was too good and too convenient not to make that our choice, but it was greasy and I missed all the things I used to carry in my backpack. The handwipes I had in my purse were barely adequate.

Next, Edda and I had to go one way and Vit and the boys another. It wasn’t too terrible except I hate how Edda always seems to be left out or having activities shoved down her throat when a moderate introduction to art would have been more constructive.

Tonight I accompanied Edda to a mosaic class. Mosaics as an artform began as early as 3000 BC and reached their zenith in the 5th century AD. Some mosaics pieces are so tiny you can barely determine the colors come from tiles and not from paint. The method of melting and thinning glass tiles in order to obtain very small tesserae, was initially used to decorate small objects and jewels. Often, these objects were commissioned by rich and influential people. Even the various popes were known to offer them as gifts to sovereigns visiting Rome.

Our project used both ancient and modern methods to create a custom, silver micromosaic. Surprisingly Edda did quite well much to the pleasure of the master craftsman leading the course. It is her attention to detail that makes that possible despite her age. Even when she doesn’t particularly enjoy something, she insists on trying to do it well.

Vit accompanied the boys to a class on how to be a gladiator and as I understand it, it went over quite well. The lesson took place at the Gladiator School of Rome, located near the Colosseum. It is a type of reenactment of ancient Roman life and gladiator fighting. The instructors are members of the Historic Group of Rome the boys wore a costume — a traditional belt, tunic, leather gloves, and a training sword known as a rudis. Even Vit participated. The boys snuck a picture of him and all I can say is … yummy.

They learned the basic skills of gladiator sword fighting then pretended to fight off ferocious lions and battle other sword-wielding gladiators. Then they got to witness a mock gladiator tournament, complete with a prize for the victor. All participants received a certificate of accomplishment at the end of the lesson I insisted on saving Vit’s (along with the photo) but I promised not to show my brothers.

We took all three of them on one last excursion before hurrying back to catch the train back to the pier. It was a night bus that took us through the streets of Rome so we could see all the landmarks lit up.

We saw how the arches of the Colosseum were lit up. The Pantheon as well. We strolled through Piazza Navona and grabbed some gelato. While everyone ate, we saw the three grand fountains, including Bernini's famous Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (Fountain of the Four Rivers) and took in the atmosphere of the many outdoor cafes and bars lining in the piazza. During the day, the Trevi Fountain is always crowded with people throwing coins into it, but at night, we avoided the worst of the crowds.

Edda and Al dozed on the train back to the port, but Aiden remained awake and watchful. When we asked him what was wrong he said, “Da asked me to keep an eye on them. They’re not as strong as me. Da said we’ll fix them up but it’s gonna take time. Al … he almost drowned. I remember when that man tried to take him. He was messed up for a long time after that.”

“You’ve known him that long?”

“Ever since we started school. We’ve always been roomies. He used to be scared of everything. Then he wasn’t. I don’t want this to make him go back to the way he used to be.”

I said confidently, “He won’t. He’s not a little boy anymore. And he has people he can depend on and who care about him. Don’t let yourself be convinced his fearfulness will return and he won’t live down to it.”

While Vit explained what I was saying in man-speak which is more suited to his age, I stared out the window at the lights and shadows passing by. Life can change so quickly, and often harshly. Look at what happened to Robert. Heck it has been like that ever since man roamed the earth. Look at what happened to my biological parents, the earthquake, losing Momma and Poppa, the time I was mugged, Frankie being tripped and going over the side. The list is endless. I could have lost Vit during the bus wreck and what came after it. I could have lost Vit even before I ever got a chance to know him … twice because of pirates.

I shouldn’t be so morbid. I know it is the news we’ve heard during the day that is part of that. A French airliner went down. They think it is terrorism though no one has claimed responsibility yet. They lost everyone on board. It was a fully-loaded Airbus A380 with 555 passengers plus flight crew. They haven’t released names but did release that entire families were lost.

I want to go home.

 

[Kathy in FL]

June 4th – Florence/Pisa (Livorno), Italy

Woke up to grim news. Two more airliners were taken down overnight. Definitely terrorism though no one is claiming responsibility yet. Terrorism? How about just call it what it is. Insanity. And it is creating chaos as so many tourists, freshly over the violence that prevented us from going home, are now afraid to fly. Security has increased in ports, airports, and around all landmarks. Immigrants are looked at with suspicion and tourists have been warned to stay out of residential areas or from wandering off the normal paths. Suspicious and fearful people do not always act with logic. We didn’t see it personally but then again, we were part of an organized tour. Our guide and driver did insist that we only move with them and not to branch out on our own.

I wanted to be happy. I mean who couldn’t be happy visiting Florence and getting the chance to climb the Tower of Pisa? But it was very difficult to remain situationally aware for the children’s safety and be carefree enough to enjoy where we were. I’m doing my best to not let my feelings show. Vit senses something but he thinks it is the coldness of his crewmates. He keeps telling me it is almost over. I keep trying to listen to him. Then I tell him nothing else matters except that we are together. It melts him every time. I think he needs to hear it every bit as much as I need to say it. My emotions are exhausting me and I will go to sleep in a moment, but not until I’ve proven I’m not a complete basket case and at least strong enough to write what we did today.

The port, which is in Livorno, is somet distance from Florence and Pisa. At least we didn’t have to ride the train but were met by our guide and a car right at the pier. After the drive to Florence our first stop was the Uffizi Gallery. We had a skip the line ticket and was stepping inside one of Italy’s most famous art museums on a 2-hour guided tour without having to wait (except for security). We managed to avoid the crowds with the early access pass, and learned about the museum’s highlights with the help of an art historian guide. I was prepared to be impressed, but the truth was closer to that I was awed as I spotted works by Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Caravaggio, and viewed iconic paintings like Titian's ‘Venus of Urbino’ and Botticelli's ‘Primavera’. Vit tried to cheer me up by getting me an entire book of postcards. Sweet man whether he admits it or not.

Next we stopped at the Duomo, what the Italians sometimes call a cathedral. In this case it was the Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore. No one can go to Florence and not see this stunning church; it is a symbol of the city. We admired its beauty and even climbed to the top of the dome for extraordinary views of the city. Florence's cathedral stands tall and has the iconic Renaissance dome designed by Filippo Brunelleschi. The cathedral was named in honor of Santa Maria del Fiore and is a vast structure built on the same site as the 7th century church of Santa Reparata, the remains of which can still be seen in the crypt. The current church started being built at the end of the 13th century and took 200 years to build. It is unlike any church I have ever seen. The façade is exquisite, and the artwork inside is indescribable. The largest is the “Last Judgement” that winds around the inside of the dome. We even climbed the 463 steps to the top of the cupola. I was just speechless … and not from being totally out of breath. There is no elevator.

Our guide then walked us through the Piazza della Repubblica and pointed out some of the important buildings and other features of the square. After that our walk took us to Ponte Vecchio where we proceeded to walk across the most famous bridge of the whole city: Old Bridge. The bridge was built about 700 years ago and is very famous because there are several shops on both of the side of the bridge. I should say there were very expensive shops on both sides of the bridge. It was fun to look but there was no way I was spending that kind of money even when the shopkeepers kept saying they could ship it home for us. No. Not even with Vit encouraging me.

We walked through the Piazza della Signoria, also knowns as Signoria Square. The Square was very important in the 16th century because in this square you could find the Signoria Palace, once residence of the Medici Family. Read your history book for why this was important, especially Catherine d’Medici and her place in history. After that came the Basilica di Santa Croce where such personages as Galielo Galilei and Dante Alighieri are buried. We grabbed a bite to eat at Mercato Centrale, one of the best food markets in Florence, before getting back in the van and heading to Pisa.

In Pisa we had free time to move at our own pace. When we first arrived at the beautiful Square of Miracles (Piazza dei Miracoli), our sight was captivated by the magnificent Leaning Tower. We didn’t just admire it from the outside but climbed it! Okay, so the exclaimation point might have been a bit much but it was bucket list worthy in all CAPS. The Tower is like a double-walled pipe. The center is completely hollow. The stairs for going up are between the two walls. I hope that describes it. There are 294 steps and by the time we got to the top I admit I was suffering a bit from disorientation. The higher you go the more you feel “the lean” of the building, particularly the lower side. Everything is marble so if you fall you are going to be hurt. There are bells up at the top that are rung electronically and oh, my, word they are so loud.

How many people do I know that can claim they’ve walked to the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa? None that I am aware of. Vit says he knows of no one either. And just to make Vit laugh I helped the kids to pose so that it looks like each of them were taking turns holding the tower up. Vit and I took our turn as well. With a little photoshop editing once we were back on the yacht, the kids had a fun souvenir of their time there. Edda’s was the funniest as she was “holding” the tower up with one hand, holding a flower in the other, and quite obviously rolling her eyes at her brothers that were standing there with their mouths open. I could hear Mr. Baird laughing through the passageways after the kids showed him that photo.

The tower isn’t the only thing in the square. There’s the Cathedral and the Baptistery. Along the perimeter of the square is also a Cemetery, the Cathedral Museum and the Museum of the Synopses. Since it was later in the day, the crowds had thinned out so we finished our climb in time to enjoy a leisurely walk along the Arno river and passed by Clock Palace and Piazza dei Cavalieri, which was once the heart of power in the city and later the headquarters of the Knights of St. Stephen. On our walk we tried Cecina which is a kind of very thin gluten-free bread made with chickpea flour, water, oil, salt and black pepper.

It was 8 pm by the time we sailed away. The adults ate dinner in town, but we took the kids to the mess hall and they had a blast. Edda spoke for them all when she said, “Finally. Real food. Eating that fancy stuff gets old real fast.”

Vit and I coughed into our napkins trying not to laugh. Perry was hesitantly looking where to sit, like he was trying to figure out a way to offend no one when Aiden said, “Perry! Sit here.”

“Er … Mr. Aiden … maybe …”

“Aw c’mon. They don’t bite. They’re regular people like us. I mean so Miss Veta has a thing about cleaning but so does one of my aunts. You just let ‘em do their thing and no one gets hurt.” I was all but having a conniption and trying not to laugh. But then lost it when Al said, “All except for the part where she threatened to do our laundry if we didn’t. A man has to draw the line somewhere and his private laundry is that line.”

I was barely able to get up for the table and squeak “Excuse me” so I could step out into the passageway to control my laughter. Vit followed me out and I hung onto him trying to let no one hear my laughter.

“Feel better?” he asked, smiling.

“Yes thank you,” I answered as I wiped my streaming eyes.

Merk came out and shook his head dolefully at Vit and then muttered, “Babushka.” That’s when Vit nearly lost it.

Finally we were in control enough to return and finish our dinner and take our charges back to their cabins by way of saying a polite goodnight to their adults. I noticed the Donna sitting in the corner of the room staring out at the night pensively. No one seemed to think it unusual so I didn’t ask if she needed a tea tray, though I think that would have been better for her than the snifter of brandy she held.

Part of me feels guilty for finding happiness – or at least humor – in the face of so much tragedy in the world. I wish I could ignore that guilt, but I can’t. On the other hand, Vit said that we find joy in life in the face of tragedy on behalf of the ones that are lost. He said he learned (from me) that it is much better to memorialize someone we care for with love and laughter than it is grief and never-ending sadness as he did with Anichka.

And now he is out of the shower and wanting to go to bed. He thinks that I need to sleep and rest. Maybe I do. I hope when we wake up in the morning the world will be a little better.

 

[Kathy in FL]

June 5th – Monte Carlo, Monaco

Monte Carlo. It brings to mind James Bond, and old movies from the 1940s and 50s. There was even a Herbie the Love Bug movie that took place in Monte Carlo and wasn’t that interesting to try and explain to Vit.

We had quite a whirlwind tour today. It was interesting but I’m not sure how much the kids got out of it except for a few things like the cars they saw. Our first stop was the area around the Monte Carlo Harbor to see the luxurious gardens, luxurious cars, luxurious shops, and luxurious hotels. Did I mention everything was luxurious? Goodness gracious.

Next was the Casino of Monte-Carlo with its beautifull ornamental trees & modern artworks. We didn’t go into the casino but that was fine with me. Then came Port de Fontvieille with its ornamental gardens, roses & trees from overseas, modern artworks, football stadium and residential area. Everything around here is ornamental. At Jardin Exotique de Monaco, we took in breathtaking panoramic views that look out over the principalty of Monaco.

At Vieux Monaco, also known as the Prince Palace, we saw hidden corners in the old town, beautifull gardens and trees, panoramic views, sculptures and artworks. Then we drove outside Monte Carlo to see Vieux Eze, part of the French Riviera to discover the medieval village overlooking the French Riviera and its famous perfume factory Fragonard that has been making original fragrances since 1926. Very exclusive. Very. And pricey. Did I mention it was Monte Carlo?

At Vieux Monaco we drove through the village of La Turbie. It is a thriving Medieval village with buildings dating back to Roman times. The old part of the village is astonishingly well kept and is a maze of arches, passageways and stone buildings.

And finally a real treat. We stopped at Old Town (Vieille Ville) in Nice, along the French Riviera. In fact Nice is considered the capital of the French Riviera. We walked down the popular seaside street Promenade des Anglais. Our guide also took us into the old town section, the heart of Nice, to soak up its original atmosphere, admire the unique Sardinian architecture, narrow streets, delicious restaurants and souvenir shops. Needless to say Vit insisted on buying me post cards all along the way since I refused to purchase anything more expensive.

When we got to the pier is when I found out that there had been a change in plans.

“What?”

“Veta …”

“No. Just tell me you didn’t tell me earlier because you expected me to freak out about it.”

“Ah …”

I sighed.

“Did I stop you on the ship? Did I?”

“Nii. And … I should have just said it. I just did not want it to spoil the day.”

“Why would it have done that?”

“You will worry I will lose all our money.”

“Nii, you hardheaded Cossack. I trust you. Just … be careful. I don’t like … I mean … I don’t want to lose the …”

“Money.”

“No Vit. I don’t want anyone to say anything and make it so we can’t go home together.”

The light dawned and he sighed. “I did not think. I have done this before with Baird. If I could say no … but it is too late. The game has been set and the stakes are high.”

Trying to remain calm I said, “Don’t let that man drag you into something we can’t get out of.”

“He will not.”

I had no choice but to trust him. But watching him walk away – after changing into a tuxedo that made him look nothing like the man I knew – was hard. I gathered the children and we took the boat back to the yacht which we had to ourselves. There was spaghetti for dinner and then they had permission to have the big screen tv all to themselves for the evening. I was at a loss what to do but decided to see if Sofia wanted to trade with me, I’d watch the baby while I did laundry if she would keep an eye on the kids. She jumped at the chance and that’s exactly what I did until Sofia found me to tell me the movie was over and the kids were ready for bed.

“And this bambina gave you no problems?”

“Washing machine and dryer kept her asleep.”

She snorted. “I’ll have to remember that one. I’ll sit on a washer until Barcelona if she’ll just sleep for more than two hours at a time.”

No problems with lights out from any of the three and here I sit waiting for Vit to return. It is almost midnight and they have not returned yet and our sailaway was supposed to be 11 pm. Wait, I think I hear the boat finally returning.

 

[Kathy in FL]

June 6th – Toulon, France

I woud say it is their own fault but I won’t. I have no desire to get into an argument with Vit … or with anyone else. Everyone keeps expecting me to say something, show anger, do something but they don’t know me. Vit should. He should know by now my talent of not fighting. But I think he is still in shock.

Last night I waited and waited until he finally came to the cabin, walking slowly and looking a bit like he’d been hit in the face with a large, frozen fish. The look was not a good one for him and I assumed the worst.

“Veta …”

“Don’t worry about it Vit. We’ll figure something out. But how Baird could do this I don’t know. He knows our pockets are not as deep as his.” I started laying out Vit’s night clothes and getting him a towel so he could shower. He was sour with sweat.

“Veta …”

“A shower will make you feel better and then I’ll massage …”

“Veta. I … did not lose.”

I opened my mouth and closed it twice before I could safely allow my relief to show. “Thank goodness.”

“I … I did not lose.”

“You said that. But if that is true why do you still have that look on your face?”

“I … won.”

“O … kay. That still doesn’t explain …”

“Veta, we were playing for bigger stakes than I have ever …” Vit slowly sat down. “I won.”

“Vit?”

“I can now take care of you as your Poppa would have expected. And your brats. They need not worry that I will be a burden.”

“Vit …” And then I shook the suspicion out of my head. “Poppa, assuming he ever gave it much thought, would have only wanted a good man that would love me and not leave me. And my brothers like you which is much more important than whatever you keep thinking.”

“Veta … I won.”

“Vit?”

“Hmm?”

“How … er … how much …?”

He pulled out a payment slip and when I finally figured out what I was reading I nearly slid out of the chair I was sitting in. “Good heavens,” I whispered.

“Baird won even more than me because … he was betting on me.” And then I realized that was why he looked shocked. Baird hadn’t been playing in the traditional sense, he had set Vit up to play so he could win more than what was in the pot on the table.

“We need to talk to Dylan,” I whispered. “And Charlie.”

“It is done.”

“What is done?”

“I spoke with your Brats. The money has been transferred, and even with taxes and transfer fees … it had to be done before we could leave the casino … Veta, I can take care of you and the government will be happy to have me. I am not a charity case.”

“You were never a charity case,” I said with some heat.

“Nii,” he said finally regaining some of his color. “But it is good that I no longer have to wonder if others think of me that way.”

Vit was exhausted. Playing poker at that level is real exercise. I finally got him showered and dressed for bed but he wouldn’t let me go. For some reason he still imagines that I am somehow going to slip away. Before he thought it was because he had no money and now he acts as if it is because he does. Argh. At least I know I am not the only one with the occasional bought of crazy illogic.

This morning I woke up with a headache as did Vit, as did most of the adults it seemed. I offered to take the children on today’s tour by myself and that did it. Vit ran very cold water over his head, dressed but asked that I eat in the mess hall as he couldn’t stomach food this morning. I was a little aggravated that he’d put himself through the potential ulcer but I suspect it is something I will need to learn to live with.

I was eating and must have looked rather grim. Unfortunately people took it the wrong way.

Paula slammed her tray down and said, “You know the least you could have done was congratulate him instead of acting like a bitch just because he didn’t ask your permission first.”

I just looked at her and said, “What Vit and I do, or not do, is none of your business. However, if you must know, I did … but I suspect it might be TMI for you.”

“Sure you did. The man is a case of walking frustration.”

I looked around and everyone was grinning. I just shook my head. “You know, Vit spoke very highly of all of you but right now you appear to have a serious case of the stupids.” Turning back to Paula I said, “If you can find the courage you can ask Vit but I doubt you are that brave. Instead, you want me to parade our private lives out for your amusement just because you have been unable to find out the truth on your own.”

I turned to leave and she made a grab for me but I blocked her and stepped back. “Dobbs, Perry, please tell Miss ‘Tude what I am capable of … or at least what you witnessed me being capable of. And if she ever tries to touch me again there will be real problems.” To Paula I said, “I don’t know what your problem is. You know absolutely nothing about me. You’ve made no attempt to find out about me or get to know me. All you’ve done is assume. If you’ve been listening to someone on this ship spread lies and poison then you are an even bigger idiot than you are acting. For heavens sake stop acting so hormonal. If you are in heat that much I’m sure you can find someone in port to oblige. But leave my husband alone. You had your chance. You blew it.”

“You know nothing.”

“I know that Vit nearly died and you didn’t stay by his side. That’s all I need to know. Now back off. Go take your meds or whatever you need to calm down. We all have a job to do on this yacht. You’ll be rid of me in a few days and then you can go back to searching for whatever you are missing. But it won’t be Vit.”

I wasn’t going to let her make me run. Everyone in the silent mess hall could hear me grumbling about “stupid and unnecessary adolescent drama” and “lack of professional behavior” as I picked up my tray and took it over and put it where it belonged. I tried one more time. “Dobbs I mean it. Tell her or she’s going to find out the hard way and none of us will enjoy the consequences.”

I was heading for the door with the children’s trays when Merk asked, “What?”

Breathing through my nose I said, “Krav Maga. Brown Belt. The only reason I am not a black is because I haven’t tested yet.” And with that I left.

To give myself time to stop shaking – not in fear but in anger – I found what I thought was an empty cabin and went inside to calm myself. I knew I wouldn’t have long because the children needed their breakfast trays. Aiden followed me in, and I hadn’t even realized he’d been behind me.

“Can you really do that military stuff? Krav maga? That’s what you used on that guy that grabbed you?”

I nodded. “Did you overhear …?”

“Yes ma’am. I think …” He looked embarrassed. “I think Martina’s mother was telling stories. But she isn’t any more. Da threatened to not let her see any of us, especially Al and Ellie. I think that woman just was kinda … er …”

“Being hormonal?”

He shrugged. “Yeah. The girls at school get stupid like that.”

I sighed. “I’m sorry you had to see supposed adults acting like that.”

“Na, it’s okay. I just wanted you to know that Da made the Donna stop. I don’t know why that woman Paula is still acting like a nutter though. Da won’t like it. He already has a problem with her being the only female in an all male crew but the other woman that used to work in navigation switched to working on one of the big cruise lines and there wasn’t time to hire another one. I heard him talking to Mr. D about it.”

Wondering why I hadn’t known that I simply said, “I am hoping that it does not get that far.”

“You don’t want me to say anything?”

“I’m hoping she and I can work things out like adults.”

In all seriousness he said, “Don’t count on it Miss Veta.”

I nodded but said nothing as I gave him his tray and then took Al and Edda’s to them. The crew on the boat that took us into the port kept giving me the eye but I ignored them. They’d look at Vit and I found out he thought it was because they’d heard about the poker game. I shrugged and said, “Ignore them. It isn’t any of their business.” He slowly smiled at me and I knew that things were alright between us. There are only a few days left and I don’t plan on them being spoiled by a crazy woman … me or Paula.

A minibus was waiting for us and another couple and their adult daughter from a different yacht made a tour of eight. We started the day by visiting "les calanques de Cassis" by boat to do a little swimming in the blue waters of the Mediteranean. The valleys, or “creeks” as they are sometimes called, are a succession of coves extending down about twenty kilometers of Mediterranean coastline between Marseille and Cassis. The mountains on the coast are also called Massif des Calanques. It is one of the most remarkable natural sites in France. The word calanques (Provencal calanco) means a valley dug by a river, then recovered by the sea. The Calanques are inside a French national park that was created in 2012 which happens to be the first peri-urban national park in Europe.

For lunch we went to a place called Le Bistro in Cassis that had a patio that overlooked the water. Thank goodness Vit’s French was good. In the mood I was trying to hide I’m sure I would have slaughtered it. I found out all three children spoke French as well and I felt … less than smart … and the only things that saved me in the eyes of the locals was when I apologized and told them I would not inflict my atrocious French on them. They thought that extremely kind and I found a few that knew Italian and got along well enough.

After lunch we headed to Le Castellet, a famous, hilltop provencal village. The bus had to park outside of the town as it was completely pedestrian-only. There we had free time to walk around and look at the nice shops and view “tasteful” (being in the eye of the beholder) manufactured souvenirs.

From there we moved on to Cours Lafayette in Toulon to explore a market with our guide and tasted a few of the local specialties. Fifteen minutes wasn’t much time but somehow the wife in the other group managed to buy something that required a large bag.

We stopped at Cathedrale Notre-Dame-De-La-Seds de Toulon and entered the cathedral to find an English-speaking docent more than prepared to explain the history of Toulon and give us a quick tour. After that we got on another boat for a tour of the Bay of Toulon which the others enjoyed very much. It isn’t that I did not enjoy it, I had just come to the conclusion that I would need to tell Vit about the mess hall incident myself before someone else did and put their spin on it.

By the time we got back to the yacht I was a ball of nerves. The children were getting ready for dinner and I was supposed to play. In our cabin Vit said, “I’ve never seen you this nervous about playing.”

That was the opening I needed and the whole story just fell out of my mouth. A little stiffly Vit asked, “Do you wish to speak to Baird about this?”

“Of course not. I’m trying to … to …” Unable to stand his stoicism anymore I turned away. “You must think I’m an idiot. Or worse. I can’t believe how I acted.”

“Nii.”

“Yes. And I told her she was in heat and …”

He coughed. “You told her what?”

“Fine. I’m a jealous fool. Not that I have any reason to be. You always act exactly as you ought. I, on the other hand, act like a harpy. This is awful. I’m sooo sorry.”

“You … you told her … she was what?”

I mumbled, “In heat.”

“Was anyone taking a movie?”

I looked at him sharply. “Don’t you believe me?!”

“Oh, I believe you Kokhana,” he said pulling me into his arms. “But I would give a lot to have seen Paula’s face when you said it.” His grin turned into a chuckle. “Do not get me wrong, I do not wish to have this happen on a regular basis but … her face must have been …” His chuckle turned into a snicker and then it was his turn to turn away.

“You … you aren’t mad?”

“At you? Nii.”

“Don’t Vit.”

“Hmm?”

“Don’t give me that look. That is the exact same look my brothers get on their face right before they go behind my back to ‘fix’ something.”

“Er …”

“I don’t want a mess. Not that you would make one. But she can make one. I just need to be strong. And keep my mouth shut. We only have a couple of days left. Dylan is sure to call soon.”

That sobered him and controlled his temper as it did mine. We couldn’t have any problems and Paula seemed just the type to cause them.

My playing before dinner wasn’t my personal best but it was enough for the gathered guests. Vit was asked to stay as I slipped out and though I wasn’t hungry I wasn’t going to be a coward either. I went to the mess hall to grab something but luckily no one said anything. We’d returned to the silent treatment. Now I’m back in the cabin and looking at what I have to pack up. Just a few more days. That’s all. Just a few more days.

 

[Kathy in FL]

June 7th – Barcelona, Spain

Today was the last day with the children. Tomorrow everyone disembarks and then the day after that everything should be ready for Vit and I to go home. I just need to have patience. Dylan said he will contact us tomorrow. I can’t wait. But I must.

Today the children were all really fun and energetic. They know that tomorrow they are going home as well. Or at least going to Mr. Baird’s summer estate until school starts back up. Boarding school is what they are used to and it doesn’t appear to hurt them any. Every family is different I suppose. Though I do think they will choose a different school for Edda. She needs more scope and higher academics. But none of that is my business, nor am I free to ask. Vit and I were just gap tutors. I do think they were surprised at how much they learned … and retained. But I also think they could do with a bit more structure than the hurley burley back and forth they’ve been experiencing.

Today we arrived in Barcelona, Spain. I enjoyed myself a great deal. Our guide was a hilarious woman – a transplant from England – and we had no trouble understanding her. The first stop we made was in the Gothic Quarter (Barri Gotic) in the heart of the city in Plaza Catalunya. I loved walking and getting my fill of looking in the oldest part of the city. It was a maze of quaint, narrow streets full of Roman and medieval architecture. We visited the Cathedral, Jewish Quarter, St. James Square and part of the Roman wall. The walking tour ends with a visit to Santa Maria del Mar church in the Born district where we also enjoyed a brunch meal at a local café.

Breakfast in Spain isn’t the huge meal it is in other locations. Most people start the day with a cup of coffee, either at home or in a bar on the way to work. Later in the morning, at around 10 o’clock, what we normally think of as brunch, they stop whatever they’re doing to eat a second more substantial breakfast. The second breakfast normally consists of a pastry or a small baguette sandwich accompanied by coffee and perhaps a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. Other popular breakfast items include bikini (a toasted cheese and ham sandwich), pa amb tomàquet (bread rubbed with tomato, garlic and a drizzle of olive oil) or a slice of Spanish omelette such as potato frittata. Since we had all had breakfast on the yacht I told the kids to think of it as an early lunch. They and Vit chose baguette sandwiches while I had a slice of potato frittata which was pretty close to what I was used to eating back home … when I had the time and bothered to fix breakfast at all.

After our meal we headed to Barcelona Cathedral for a detailed explanation of the exterior façade. Then we went inside to see the rest of it. From there we headed to Placa de Sant Jaume. After crossing the Jewish Quarter, we stopped at Saint James Square where the City Hall of Barcelona is located and the Palau de la Generalitat. The last portion of the walking tour, we visited the Basilica of Santa Maria del Mar.

From there we rode in comfort to Montjuic, site of the 1929 International Exposition and the 1992 Olympic Games. We got an incredible view of the city from there. Afterward came another basilica, the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia. In Spain Square and the Eixample district with its impressive modernist buildings, we continued to Sagrada Familia. Here, we learned all about the history and the intriguing mystical symbolism of the Basilica. We toured the outside facades that are still under construction and saw the incredible interior.

After the church, just a few steps away, we were offered a glass of regional wine and sampled a cherished local delicacy - Acorn-fed pure Ibericus Ham. I abstained from the wine but Vit said it was very good. The small sandwiches served as lunch for the tour group.

After lunch, such as it was, we continued on to Park Guell on Tibidabo mountain to admire the marvelous city gardens. The walking tour through the public area and the monument area of the park was very interesting and informative.

The climax of the visit was a stop at the zenith of Gaudi’s work, the masterpiece 'La Pedrera' where we were given another architectural guide. Bonus was that the rooftop was open and we got some incredible views.

Our tour ended there, and we were cut loose to have some free time before joining the family in what was dubbed a “Tapas Crawl.” I was concerned at first, but it turned out to be just fine. It wasn’t a bar or pub crawl in the traditional sense, but a foodie tour where you got to sample some small this-and-that’s.

We ate like locals as the guide walked us to local tapas bars to sample tasty snacks like ‘pa amb tomàquet,’ Manchego cheese and cured 'serrano' ham. Then we continued our stroll through the city’s atmospheric Gothic Quarter, passing several of the sights we’d already seen such as the Barcelona Cathedral, to arrive at a flamenco bar in the Plaça Reial. The adults drank sangria, while I and the children drank a non-alcoholic version. It also came with more tapas as we were treated to a 45-minute flamenco show featuring some of the genre’s most well-known young performers.

A surprise awaited me when we got back to the cabin and Vit grinned hugely. It was another trunk. “Vit! It’s perfect!”

He laughed and we started packing. I am so excited I can barely stand it. He’s in the shower now and I think I’m going to go join him. Uses less water that way you know.

 

[Kathy in FL]

June 8th – Barcelona, Spain

I’m heartbroken. Why do things have to go this way?! I tried not to cry but I did when we got off the phone.

This morning I helped the children to pack. It was quick work relatively speaking and they were excited enough to go see friends that they made last summer that they didn’t drag their feet. When I saw pictures of the place I told Vit, “That is not a summer house or estate. That’s a castle.”

“Do you wish to live in one?”

“Visit? Stay in one a night or two? Maybe. Live in one on a regular basis? I don’t think so. They’re said to be damp, drafty, and commonsense tells me they probably cost a fortune to maintain.” He laughed like I was making a joke but that is honestly how I feel.

At noon we got the children handed off to the cousins who were going to be traveling with them. Aiden is excited to finally not be the only kid in the castle so the staff can spread the love around and not smother him. Martina went with them as did baby Ellie and Sofia who had indeed decided to remain for the summer. Her older sister had moved back in with their mother and the younger ones, and she wasn’t thrilled to be losing her place as the oldest.

Donna Giordano sniffed her disdain of yacht life and decided to accompany her other daughters back to the home they share in Florence. I heard Don Giordano tell his sisters they’d be sorry and shrug before grabbing his suitcase and heading to his own waiting taxi.

I wondered why Mr. Baird wasn’t going with his wife when Vit explained that he has dual citizenship on his mother’s side and is selling the yacht to take up his responsibilities as a landowner and is worried that he will lose the sale if he doesn’t get rid of it now.

Still nothing from Dylan and I was growing upset. Even with the time difference we should have heard something so I decided to call him. I had just grabbed my phone when Dylan called. “Finally!” I said laughing.

In a solemn voice Dylan said, “Get Vit for me.”

His tone immediately put me on guard. “Dylan?”

“Just do it Veta. I’m calling from work and can’t tie the line up for long.”

The long and the short of it? Vit’s green card is now cleared. That’s the good news. The bad news? They aren’t allowing his type of Visa to arrive by air, so it is back to the drawing board on how we are going to get home.

The next problem? Spain has closed it borders in Catalonia, where Barcelona is, because the talks of Independence have started up again and the Spanish government has decided to punish the area economically to force them to tow the line. That means all visas are cancelled and we can’t even go ashore if we wanted to to reach the US Embassy.

Vit and I are in shock. And Vit is morose and angry and feels like he is keeping me from my family. I told him he is my family and to stop it, there is no way I am going any where without him. I’m not sure exactly what it took to once and for all finally shock Vit into believing in my faithfulness and loyalty, but apparently something has finally done it. He no longer talks of finding a way to send me home, he talks of us finding a way home.

But since we can’t go ashore, we’ve got to figure out something else. Vit is off talking to Mr. Baird to see if we can have a couple of days to try and come up with a solution. I must get this crying under control before Vit comes back. I’ll just tell him it was Angie that made me cry … and she did a little … by crying herself. I know that’s throwing Angelia under the bus but anything to keep Vit from feeling so guilty about something when he did nothing wrong

 

[Kathy in FL]

June 9th – Barcelona, Spain

Once again it looks like Vit has found us a way out of our predicament before Dylan was able to. When Dylan, Derrick, Charlie, and Devin heard us out during the conference call they said they’d come down and get us if that is what it took.

Basically Vit and Mr. Baird have made a deal. If Vit stays on as crew during the transatlantic portion of the journey, Mr. Baird will agree to some remuneration. I wasn’t listening closely to Vit when he told me how much. I was too relieved and thankful to find that Vit is at least as resourceful as my Brats. The rest of the deal is that if Vit stays all the way through the voyage – the seller is to meet the O’Meg in the Florida Keys – then he will add a bonus and I get to ride along for free and not as crew. Yes, I suppose he could have simply let us ride for free but it is something about some kind of legal restrictions regarding non-crew people once a ship enters territorial water. International waters it wouldn’t be a big deal but getting near anything considered US Coastal waters could be a potential disaster and we don’t want to get that far only to have Vit’s visa rejected. Or to wind up in Guantanamo until we are “processed.”

Mr. Baird apologized that we didn’t have much time to discuss it before making our decision, but they need to sail tomorrow to keep with the schedule of port stops he has on the agenda and make it to close the sale on time. Some of the crew are uneasy but most are eager for the new owner – a wealthy family from Dubai – and have agreed to stay on. They were used to the O’Meg being a party ship and the suddenly staid family life Mr. Baird is determined to live has been a strain on crew morale.

Vit won’t be crew in a traditional sense as he’ll not have any particular position. He’s going to act as an interpreter and translator for miscellaneous business documents and meetings Baird will be conducting en route. I told Vit I can help with that and he agreed, assuming Mr. Baird does, on a case by case basis.

One of the “perks” that Mr. Baird offered as part of the deal is that we will have free time as a couple in the ports that we are stopping at along the way. Mr. Baird has confided to Vit that he is certain that some of the crew will jump ship along the way, so he needs to stack the deck in his favor rather than wind up short-handed before the transatlantic crossing.

“Is that likely?” I asked.

Vit shrugs. “I have given up knowing what some of them will do.”

I looked at him and after noting the look on his face I said, “You’re still upset with Rigs not telling you what was going on.”

“Yes. I saw him very little and the few times I went in search of him … he avoided me. He claims it is because he did not want to be forced to choose. Many of them claim that. Or that there was some huge misunderstanding.”

“But you don’t think that is it.”

“Nii. I don’t. At least not for Rigs. I think he and Paula are or were in a relationship … or perhaps that is giving what they have too much credit. Is that how you say it?”

“Close enough. What you are saying is that you think they are friends with benefits.”

“Yes. Exactly. Kokhana, you know if I could find some other way I would not subject you to this. Paula is unlikely to let up and we cannot afford to alienate the crew too much. Too many jumping ship will not only spike Baird’s plans, but our own.”

“Oh Vit. Stop worrying it to death. I can take whatever they try and dish out at us. This is a way to move from point A to point B and get home.”

In frustration Vit said, “More like Point D to point F. But, it moves us forward which is more than anything else was going to do. But I am sorry to make Angelia cry.”

“She wasn’t upset with you Vit, she was thankful.” At his confused look I explained, “She was worried we were going to be stuck wandering Europe trying to find a way home. This may not be a perfect solution, but considering what it gets us, it comes doggone close. You’re a brilliant man Vit Dymtrus.”

“Ah, perhaps you would like to come here and tell me more of my brilliance.”

I obliged and now he is off to take care of some paperwork that Barney left behind. And I am here unpacking. Again. I want the next time I unpack to be in Pembroke. Please let it be that way.

 

[Kathy in FL]

June 10th – depart Barcelona

We departed Barcelona as soon as the last of the resupply and refuel was completed. It took a while, and a little “greasing of the wheels”, to get it accomplished. The unions that run what goes on in the port know the small ships are in a spot because of what is going on in Spain. So they haven’t been above feathering their nests so to speak. Sad but true. I understand that kind of behavior is pretty frequent in some Spanish and Eastern European countries and the cultures that live in them. It is considered part of the system and how people make their money when their actual salary is so small. I don’t know. It sounds counterintuitive and destructive. I’m just glad we are out of there. Barcelona is a beautiful city but it was beginning to feel like quicksand, one Vit and I might not escape because no one was throwing us a line.

And I no longer must worry about being bored or hiding out in the cabin. I’m helping Vit and Mr. Baird. A lot of papers and files have piled up over the years here in the O’Meg office and storage room. All they did during the recent refurbishing was to move them around but that’s it. I am going through and filing it by subject and chronologically in boxes that will be removed after the sale goes through. Some of it is out of date but contains private information so that I am shredding. Paperwork on mechanical stuff I am scanning and then refiling for the new owner. The new owner will get the scanned copies and Mr. Baird will retain the paper copies as a CYA in case anything goes wrong with the ship.

When I grow tired of that I am crating the books from the small library or packing up the sheet music. Baird has owned the O’Meg for a number of years and a lot of items on the ship are his personally. I took the ship’s manifest, or whatever the inventory is called, and have been going from room to room and tagging things so that Mr. Baird can then go through and decide what he is keeping, what will remain with the yacht, and what he is going to give away.

I am also acting as waitress or something similar, only I’m not exactly sure what to call it. I fetch and carry food, coffee, tea, and snacks to and from the mess hall and up to the salon which is where Baird and Vit have camped out rather than in the office. It isn’t the problem Vit was making it out to be because they are eating casually rather than expecting a dinner service to be set. He doesn’t want me to feel like a maid, but it really doesn’t bother me. It’s a job. I’ve had better but I’ve also had worse. Whatever helps to move us forward.

I think the real problem is that Vit is concerned about me being around the crew when he isn’t there, but the truth is that as much as possible I ignore Paula. She does try to provoke me, but only once today did I crack. No one else was around so my tongue finally slipped its leash.

~~~~~~~~~~

In a holier-than-thou tone Paula started up at me with, “Some teacher you are. Look at you. Fetching and carrying just like the rest of us. And you thought you were sooo special. Are you even licensed to teach like you claim? Or have you just got people fooled? But you don’t have me fooled. I can see right through you. And everyone else can to now. And so does Vit. He just won’t admit it yet.”

I admit that it stung my pride a little but I held my temper and said, “I don’t tell you how to run your salon. Don’t tell Vit and I how to run our marriage.”

“Marriage? I doubt whatever you have is even legal. How about we test that theory. Hmm? Maybe I’ll just make a call and …”

Ping went my temper. “Paula so help me if you make it so that Vit can’t come home with me I will do whatever it takes to pay you back.”

“Is that a threat? Wanna talk into the microphone?” holding her phone like a recording device.

“Yes. Paula you are threatening me and my husband. If you do any harm to us, I will use all resources at my disposal to make sure that you are held accountable. Since you don’t know what my resources might be you have no clue what I’m capable of. We’ll start with your current job. And I’ll search out all former employers and see what your references really were, or if you made them up. I’ll check your education and your licensure to see if it is up to date and if there is a problem at any of the ports where you have been. I’m sure that we can find passengers that weren’t happy with your … services. And speaking of … services … how about I investigate exactly what those … services entailed. Let’s check into your past to see if you make a habit of providing … services … and if your … services … have ever caused any problems.”

She wanted to say some choice words, but the First Mate was coming down the passageway. He told her, “Return to your duty station.” I thought he was talking to me as well and said, “Yes Sir” while using it as an excuse to get out of there.

~~~~~~~~~~

Gah! I need to avoid that crazy woman. What gives?! What have I ever done to her? I’ve thought and thought and come to the conclusion that I don’t think she really wants or needs Vit, it is simply the idea that he doesn’t want or need her that she can’t stomach. But, it doesn’t matter how justified I may be, I can’t rationalize my way out of giving into behaving as badly as she does. Especially when I’m not at all sure where the remainder of the crew stands.

Vit is still working with Baird but I managed to tuck myself in the corner here in the salon and neither one seems to object to my presence. It is getting close to midnight and Baird said that is when he was going to stop. Tomorrow is another sea day. I’ll just have to grin and bear it. Besides, I just found an entire cabinet of paperwork to go through. That’ll be something to do to stay out of trouble.

 

[Kathy in FL]

June 11th – Sea Day

I managed to stay out of trouble today and was a good girl and didn’t run off at the mouth at all. In fact, Vit said that if I was any better he would expire on the spot. Teeheehee. I hope that’s a good thing. He certainly appears to think it is if the blissful expression on his sleeping face is any indication. Score one for the wife.

Found a travel case that someone left on the yacht at some point. It was in the top of the closet in a back corner. When I saw what was inside it I immediately took it to Mr. Baird. Mildly irritated at being interrupted at first, when he saw what I had he gave a whistle of surprise and then asked Vit to put it in the safe and for neither of us to mention it until he found out who it belonged to. Jewelry made up of that much gold and sparklies will generate a whistle of surprise every time.

“Which cabin was this in?”

I told him and then added, “As far as I know that cabin wasn’t used by any of your guests. I didn’t have to pull the sheets from the bed or clean the bathroom.”

Vit’s nose flared. We’d had a minor argument at lunch when he’d found out I was helping Perry instead of the other crew members helping him.

“I’m not washing the stuff or even putting new sheets on. I just pulled the old ones off and folded the comforters until someone else redresses the bed.”

“That is not the point. They are …” He stopped, drew a breath, then moderated his voice. “I suspect some in the crew are trying to turn Perry against us. He would be convenient as someone to blame or use if Baird becomes angry enough to say something. The Captain has asked the First Mate to do what he can to keep the crew under control, but it is what you call … hmm … a Catch-22. The crew is needed and too few available to replace them if a significant number jumps ship or if the yacht gets a bad reputation, which a disgruntled crew could do. On the other hand, the crew is being openly disobedient to the officers’ instructions and it cannot be allowed to pass. We only have a short voyage before us, so the Captain is having to weigh his options and balance his response. A ship without a crew is not a ship, just a bouy in the harbor. But a crew without a captain is like a ship without a rudder. It is a circular problem.”

“And by trying to eliminate some problems I’m just creating new ones.”

“Yes. But not intentionally. Next time,” he stopped and shook his head. “I am requesting of you that next time you want to ‘help’ that you ask first. That way at least someone further up the chain of command is more immediately aware of a situation and may be able to intervene.”

I understood what he was saying. There is a chain of command for a reason. Even though I thought I was being helpful I was actually muddying the waters and encouraging further conflict. I won’t be doing that again. Possibly for the best. Poppa was fond of saying that the road to hell was paved with good intentions. I suppose this could be the case here. I’ll defer to Vit’s greater knowledge and experience with how a yacht works … or is supposed to work.

Besides, I am happy with the work that I am getting accomplished on my own. I hate having time on my hands with nothing to do. It makes me jittery and gives me time to think about things that I can do nothing about. Vit said I could work on our lists, but all that does is remind me that we aren’t home and that twice now something has stopped us from getting there. Identifying holes only makes me nervous because I’m not sure how to fill them anymore. The last email from Angelia and Charlie spoke of empty spaces on the grocey shelves and it is no longer assumed that something will fill those empty spots. Certainly brands no longer matter. You take what you can get and you don’t throw a fit.

Some of the family are still resistant to the radical changes that Angelia and Charlie say needs to happen. I could almost here the anger in Charlie’s voice, and the pain in Angelia’s, when they both essentially said they are done trying to push and pull those that refuse to cooperate, that they’ve done what they can. I just want to go home and have a normal life with Vit. Don’t we deserve our chance at some normal? Why do things have to happen the way they do?

Good Lord, I sound so ridiculously naïve and whiny when I say that. Life has been happening to me in unkind ways since my birth. You’d figure I would have learned by now. How many different ways do I need to learn that lesson?

 

[Kathy in FL]

June 12th – Malaga, Spain

I think that I’ve been thinking too much. I’ve been emoting instead of doing something constructive about my situation. Yes, I am disappointed that we aren’t in Pembroke by now but Vit and the others are doing the best they can while world events conspire against them. So many people have much worse problems than I do. So, from here on out I intend on enjoying what is before me, try not waste too much time creating regrets, and above all have hope. Hope isn’t a plan, but it isn’t a bad thing to have either.

Today we were in Malaga, Spain and Mr. Baird kept his promise that Vit and I would have time as a couple in the ports. Vit has made me promise to let him make the arrangements each time. It is his way of it being a surprise. A honeymoon with the … hmm … without the honey part I guess you might say. But I trust that eventually Vit and I will get around to that part. He says he is enjoying the anticipation. I say the anticipation is about to drive me crazy. Then we laugh and I am just happy we are so well matched in that area. It is nice to have one less thing to fight about. I’ve heard my sisters talk about that part of marriage and not all of them can say they are in sync with their spouse. Hopefully waiting will just make things even better.

Malaga is situated on Spain's Costa del Sol, and is the region's capital and a popular holiday destination for Europeans. Malaga is also known as the birthplace of Pablo Picasso and for the sweet Malaga dessert wines that come from the hilly vineyards just outside of town. Yes, Vit bought a couple of bottles.

Our tour started from the Plaza la Marina where we enjoyed stunning views of the Port of Málaga and the Historic Quarter. From there we moved on to Mercado Atarazanas (Ataranzas Market), so called because it occupies the site where the Nasrid shipyards stood. The Nasrids were the last Muslim dynasty on the Iberian coast and the dynasty ended the same year that Christopher Columbus “sailed the ocean blue.” The main gate has been preserved and was worth a look. Actually two looks.

They say that if you want to know a city well, the first thing you should do is visit the local markets. Apparently our guide was a proponent of that belief because we hit several today. The next one on the list was Calle Larios where Málaga's main shopping street is located. You can tell that Malaga has developed into a modern city because of all the well-known brands you can find in that area.

Then came Plaza de la Constitución, the heart of the city's historic quarter. We stopped briefly for a Churros with Chocolate break and then it was on to The Cathedral. That’s what everyone calls it but its proper name is Nuestra Señora de la Encarnación (Our Lady of Incarnation). Work on the Cathedral began after the Muslims left the city on the site of a former Arab mosque, and even though it was technically started during the Goth period (15th century) the majority of the building is in the Renaissance style. But it is still unfinished. Hundreds of years and they still haven’t finished building it, can you imagine.

The Alcazaba came next. It was built between the 11th and 15th centuries, was the fortress-palace of the Moorish rulers. It is located on the site of an earlier Phoenician building at the foot of Mount Gibralfaro. The views were magnificent. From there we saw their Roman Theatre. You might be tempted to say that if you have seen one Roman theater you have seen them all but that isn’t precisely true despite them all looking similar. Built in the first century BC, it was in use until the third century AD.

After that we had some free time to do things like walk along the the Málaga Picasso Route, visit the Fundación Picasso (Picasso Foundation) and Museo Casa Natal (Picasso's Birthplace Museum). I have a confession to make. I do not understand Picasso. To me it always looks like he is trying to revert to childhood drawing styles and calling it art. On the other hand, I had a roommate that loved Picasso and could lecture on his art for days without drawing a breath. That’s where I learned to fake understanding things like that. If you made it known you didn’t like his art or didn’t understand it, she had a bad habit of trying to browbeat you into understanding that Picasso was an essential ingredient of enjoying real life. Or some rubbish like that. I think Vit and I are simply too practical to ever fully enjoy that type of art. There is nothing wrong with art for art’s sake, but I’d at least like to be able to tell what I am supposed to be looking at.

Last stop of the day was to enjoy some Spanish tapas with a glass of wine. This time I did accept a glass. Can’t even remember if I have ever mentioned what tapas are. Basically they are appetizers or snacks and if you eat enough of them you have a full meal. In a lot of cultures they are mainstays. At home it used to be every party would have appetizer trays out before the big meal. These days you’re lucky if there is a big bowl of chips and some dip for them … really lucky if there is more than one kind of dip.

Geez, I sound like a snob. I’m not. I just prefer some of the old-fashioned things and ways of doing them. But I need to be careful how I express my preferences. God forbid that I ever wind up like the Donna. Shudder. Uh uh. No. Won’t allow it to happen. It can’t happen. Please.

I cannot go home and think like a spoiled elitist. I cannot hurt my family or create problems. I can’t …

Stop it Veta, you are getting off one hamster wheel and hopping into another one. Your family still loves you and wants you home. They’ll still recognize you. Yes, you are different than the child you were when you left but that doesn’t have to be something to fear. And you don’t have to worry that Vit will hear stories about when your issues were still front and center, out for everyone to see all the time.

And I have got to stop talking in the third person. It is creeping me out. One of my socks is getting a hole in it. I’ll darn it and then hopefully by then Vit will be finished with Mr. Baird for the night. Tomorrow is another sea day and the plan is to try and finish pulling a budget together for the project that he is proposing the day after that.

 

[Kathy in FL]

June 13th – Sea Day

I have discovered that Mr. Baird gets what Charlie calls “stray hairs” and freaks people out, sometimes doing it on purpose. I think he is missing Mrs. Baird and the kids and is lonely. Vit says he used to have people around all the time unless he was in a black mood and that’s when he would hide away and very few dared to disturb him. Today’s stray hair was he insisted on eating in the mess hall. At lunch the crew in there was almost too stunned to react although some of them looked like they couldn’t wait to get out fast enough.

Now, you wouldn’t think that would be such a big deal. On the other hand, some people just insist on maintaining the class system that they claim isn’t fair, or whatever other rationalization they might have. Hypocrisy is what it is but most people you can’t convince of that. But Mr. Baird also has a method to his madness. Some of the officers soon joined he and Vit and when I would have gotten up to make sure they all had coffee they asked me to sit back down and pointed to some of the other crew members.

I was uncomfortable and thought that it was going to cause problems. What was nice was being spoken to like I had something besides cobwebs in the corners of my skull. Then break time was over and we all went back to what we were doing. Come supper he insisted on eating in the mess hall again. This time without officers but we were eating and going over what I’d been helping to do. He asked me to check the value of a couple of pieces of art and because I’d done similar type work for the Foundation through Derrick to help when the fund-raising auctions were being planned it was no skin off my nose and I had the resources running around in my head … and on my phone.

I guess I was clueless but tonight Vit was pleased and said Mr. Baird was a good chess player.

“What does chess have to do with anything? Or do you mean poker? Is he planning another game?”

“Nii,” he answered pulling me down to sit with him. “What he has done is turn you from a pawn into a higher value piece. Everyone sees you are working, and the work you do is not something they could do. Now they will have less to use as reasons for treating you … Kokhana …”

I hugged him. “I told you not to worry about that. This moves us forward, gets us closer to our goal. So what if Miss ‘Tude holds sway over all the males on this yacht. I only care about one male.”

“Good,” he said with a satisfied grin before turning serious again. “But she does not ‘hold sway’ as you put it. But she does hold something. Maybe it is who she can control. Or …”

“What you don’t want to say is you think she is blackmailing some of them.” I had begun to suspect it could be something like that because nothing else made enough sense.

He gave me a serious look and then nodded. “Yes. It sounds farfetched but the crew’s behavior is so different from what it was that … something is going on. Merk tried to say something but is no longer alone when he speaks to me. Someone is always there.”

Hesitating I said, “Please don’t get mad but … something Paula said … you know the time I lost my temper … that … she made it like she was going to start asking questions about whether I really have a teaching license and things like that. Then she made it seem like she could be a problem about your visa.”

His brows came down in anger. “She said that?”

“Not … precisely. And yes I know I might have been reading something into it because I’m worried and maybe want to think the worst of her. But that’s really when I lost my temper and said the nasty stuff. The thing is, she didn’t deny it. But … how would someone that is essentially a hairdresser on a party yacht have as much influence as she does? And why would she even know who to call to find out about me … or us? I didn’t think it strange until I started analyzing my behavior to figure out what bothered me so much that I’d risk making her more of an enemy than she is already. Or has Dylan finally infected me with the conspiracy theory germs he thrives on?”

He looked thoughtful for a moment. “It does sound … farfetched. But it also sounds possible. You are correct. If she did indeed make those kinds of threats we must know if they were a bluff, or does she have contacts we know nothing about.”

I shrugged. “It might explain why some of the other crewman don’t want to get on her bad side. Most of them are immigrants of some flavor and I presume have families that might not be able to withstand that kind of examination … especially in today’s climate.”

We talked about it a little more, but both agreed that all we had were theories, but no facts. Vit is almost finished reviewing his financial statements that Charlie got him access to. Then we are going to bed. Two port days in a row are coming up and we intend to enjoy them as much as possible because after that comes the Transatlantic Crossing which means a lot of back to back sea days. Possibly seven or more depending on the weather and other conditions. I’m definitely not looking forward to that.

 

[Kathy in FL]

June 14th – Tenerife, Canary Islands

I had no idea that the Canary Islands were so interesting. First off, they are not an independent country, but are part of Spain. Don’t know why I didn’t know that, but I didn’t. Second, the Canary Islands aren’t named after the little song bird called a canary. Nope. They were named by Roman explorers that spoke Latin. Canaria, in Latin means dog. The problem is they aren’t named after dogs either. They were named after the large seals that used to live on the island because Romans used to call seals “sea dogs.” Now you know.

Next fact; the highest point in Spain is not in the Pyrenes mountains but are on a mountain on the Canary Islands. And this mountain is sometimes called Roque de los Muchachos, or Mount Teide, which just so happens to have the largest concentration of astronomical telescopes on it, including the world’s largest which they call Gran Telescopio. Not very imaginative, but succinct, to the point, and factual.

Some of the other strange facts that I discovered are: the Spanish Civil War started there, it is possible to cook over a volcano in the islands, the city of San Antonio in Texas was founded by people from the Canary Islands, a language based on whistling was once commonly used there prior to electronic communications, they had the world’s worst airline disaster there where two 747’s collided in 1977, they used to be home to a species of giant lizards though they were hunted into extinction shortly after the islands were colonized, and Lord Horatio Nelson lost his right arm in the Canary Islands.

There are other strange facts but if I listed them all I’d forget to record today’s happenings. For instance, we landed in the port of Santa Cruz, city of colorful markets and fine museums. However, we spent most of our time today in and around Tenerife, one of the Islands capitals.

By bus we traveled to Mt. Teide National Park. En route we enjoyed spectacular views of Tenerife’s west coast and 12,200-foot Mt. Teide. We visited the village of Vilaflor, set in the pine-forested foothills, and absorbed the cool air and quaint surroundings. We weren’t there long before we started driving through the forest to the volcanic plateau that, similar to other such locations Vit and I had been, had a lunar-like plain. The difference was that this landscape had been used extensively in movies like Planet of the Apes and Clash of the Titans.

Next, we crossed the Orotava Valley to Icod Los Vinos, famous for its wines and Drago Tree, the world’s oldest dragon tree. Drago trees are subtropical trees native to the Canary Islands. I’ve seen them before but never made the connection. They look like a tree you could imagine finding on an alien planet. It isn’t really a tree however, but a member of the asparagus family. But it doesn’t look like asparagus either. What it really looks like are agave plants stuck on the ends of sticks and then shoved into the top of an odd, succulent-like trunk. Very strange looking. I understand that they reputedly have healing powers in its red-colored sap. They call it “dragon’s blood.” As if you couldn’t guess that one.

We had a bit of free time for lunch in a pretty, little town called Garachico, on the north-coast. It was Tenerife’s main port until a 1706 volcanic eruption that pretty much blew everything up and ruined the harbor if local stories can be believed. Masca was next, a hamlet perched on a canyon ridge. It only has about 120 inhabitants full time residents and was once a pirates’ hideout. Aside from that its only claim to fame is that its location commands awe-inspiring views to La Gomera.

Back on the ship Vit and I found out while our day had been wonderful and relaxing, the world had found it much less so. Israel and several other countries that have point-blank refused to participate with refugee patriation have come under heavy threats by groups claiming to have the capacity to simply take what they want if it is not given to them. There hasn’t been a lot of support for those countries as the ones that did participate and took in a lot of asylum seekers and other types of immigrants have been infiltrated at all levels and their governments, if not the majority of their citizens, have opened their borders and started instituting socialist policies that give to those that do not work for it while taking it away from those who have. It is a mess with demonstrations marked along ethnic and cultural lines filling the streets while others fill the airwaves with their demands.

Where all of this is going I can’t even begin to fathom. Vit and I have been insulated from it for a long time. We moved from place to place, never really feeling the effects. That will soon be coming to an end. Trying to talk about it in an email is useless. The monitors simply delete the email or the post on social media. The large search engines have blacklisted many websites on both ends of the spectrum. It is like their leaders only want you to know what they want you to know and they are feeding the general public pablum rather than allowing them to do honest research so they can be educated on a subject. Too many people cheered when their ideological enemies were silenced and too few realized that if they can silence them, they can silence you as well.

Derrick in his own way has tried to warn me that I am idealizing Pembroke. That somehow I believe when we get home all will turn right in the world. I am trying to keep that in mind but its hard. Vit says he is under no illusion and I should not be either. Yes, it will be good to be back with my family, but for us there may be some prejudice because he will be a stranger in a foreign land. That has made me think, but I won’t regret any of it. Vit is who I am to be with. I know it in my heart. I even know that Pembroke may not be the last point on our travels. But for now it is a point, a place, that I need to reach. Once there we’ll have some breathing room and be able to think more clearly about what comes next.

 

[Kathy in FL]

June 15th – Santa Cruz de la Palma, Canary Islands

Last day before our Transatlantic voyage. Yes, I’m nervous. I remember how it was the last time I was a week at sea with no breaks. But I had the Marchand brothers to keep me busy. And a ship full of activities to keep me entertained when I’d reached the limits of entertaining myself. Or I could people watch. Or listen to the people from the balcony. I didn’t feel so … so … cut off and blocked off. Then I had the Polynesian Islands to look forward to. Now all I can think about is getting this over with so that the torture stops.

I realize how unnecessarily dramatic that sounds. But there is so much going on. Yet there isn’t. The things that should be coming to a conclusion are not, but instead have reached a plateau or a state of limbo that is perplexing and nerve-wracking. Nothing new is happening but there is this sense of expectation, like the other shoe is about to drop at any moment. Strangely the news is not reflecting this at all. They act like no news is good news and that finally things are settling down. I overheard Vit and Mr. Baird speaking with the Captain. Those three men are not assured by the news either. People that are happy and relaxed do not have large sweat stains in the armpits of their suits. Nor do they repeatedly look nervously off camera.

All that talk came later however, in the evening. First came our last port; Santa Cruz de la Palma. La Palma is a stratovolcano, and the largest of the western Canary Islands. On the island's east coast is located the port-town of Santa Cruz. Behind the town, which travel bloggers describe looking like a colossal amphitheater, there is the large volcanic crater. The town has the Mediterranean characteristic of steeply inclined alleys winding between its buildings.

Our first stop of the day was the volcanic tube of Cueva de Las Palomas, also known as “The volcanic tube of Todoque.” The lava tube is located between the towns of Las Manchas and Todoque in Los Llanos de Aridane. It has a UNESCO designation of “nature beauty,” and it is protected as a natural monument by the Government of the Canary Islands, making it part of the Canary Network of Protected Natural Spaces. The Cueva de Las Palomas cave was formed as a result of the volcanic eruption of San Juan Volcano in 1949. It has more than 10 openings that provide natural light at different points along its route, formed from fumaroles through which there were lava and hot sulphurous gases leaking during the formation of the tube. The tube’s dimension is around 3 meters wide per 560 meters length.

The tube is scientifically interesting for multiple reasons, including that it hosts a few strange invertebrates. We spent three hours spelunking in the cave and both Vit and I had a wonderful time. It was different from anything else we have ever done, including the wide variety on the Marchand’s cruise.

Next, because we were going to be confined to the yacht for so many days, we decided to go biking. We took an ebike tour that took us many places. Of note were the mysterious stone pyramid of Los Cancajos, the port of Santa Cruz, the flower-colored balcony houses on the Avenida Maritima, the island fortress Castillo de Santa Catalina and the replica of Columbus Santa Maria, with the discovery of America starting from the Canary Islands took its course.

We were biked-out at that point and needed a break. The tour converted to foot-power through the historic center of town with the most important sights. We stopped at the city market, where we tasted local products and gave our backsides a rest so the circulation would come back. But all good things must come to an end and we got back on the bike, started our electric tailwind, and made it to the pilgrimage church of Las Nieves a few minutes earlier than the guide expected.

The small chapel towers are visible on a ridge. After a visit to see the the Madonna statue Virgen de las Nieves we had a cafe con leche and then continued to the Mirador de La Concepcion. On the edge of the Caldereta we got a breathtaking view of the Atlantic Ocean, the cruise ships anchored below us, and the picturesque old town of Santa Cruz. On we biked through San Pedro, the center of tobacco growing and known for its hand-rolled puros (cigars), and reached the island's oldest dragon trees, the twin kite trees. Their age is estimated at about 400-500 years and there are at least as many legends about them. The path continued to the highest and unfortunately last destination, the Montana de la Brena. We got our last 360-degree panoramic view of the communities of Las Brenas and Mazo and then descended for several miles on quiet roads of sparse traffic before reaching Santa Cruz once again.

Vit wanted to take me to a dinner on shore but the Sat phone he still carries started making noise. They were calling all crew members back to the ship for a head count. They already knew that at least one crewman had jumped ship. At head count it was discovered it was three … Rigs and two brothers of Indonesian decent. Rigs wasn’t that big of a surprise though he did give up his bonus to be relieved of his contract so he could go to work on an NCL cruise ship. The two brothers were a surprise. The Navigator in particular was disappointed as they had been on track to apprentice into an officer position in the near future. The fact that they only took a small bundle of belongings also raised the alarm bells. But there was nothing that could be done about it, the schedule had to be kept.

Losing three crewmembers isn’t optimal, or so I understand, but it isn’t as bad as Mr. Baird had worried. The three men were expendable, but it would mean longer shifts for those that remained. Vit will help spell people on the Bridge if necessary as he had some training from his militia days. Where the problem really lay, if I am understanding it, is if the buyer backs out because the ship doesn’t have a full compliment of crew members. Vit says that Baird isn’t too worried because once in the Keys he may be able to pick up some crew members that are evac’ing from the States because their visa is running out. On the other hand, the buyer may have some of his own staff take over some duties that the currect crew handle.

What I need to do is plan out how best to utilize the coming days as constructively as possible. And how to avoid causing any problems. Please oh please give me the strength not to put my foot in my mouth.

 

[Kathy in FL]

June 16th thru 20th – Sea Day

I haven’t written since the Canary Islands. These days have been even more difficult than I thought they would be. The First Mate gathered the gear left behind by the three men who jumped ship and put it in a locker on the 15th. On the 16th he sat down to inventory it. That’s when he found it … the letter. From Rigs but also signed by the other two men. In the letter they cited the real reasons why they jumped ship like they did.

All three men had something to hide. Rigs’ was an ex-wife that he owed in excess of $10,000 in back alimony and a felony DUI that he still owed court costs and restitution on. He left proof that he was making incremental payments but lawyers being what they are, they refuse to stop hounding him. The jobs at sea were as much to get away from the constant hounding by lawyers and family as they were a means of earning money to pay his debts. The threats amounted to him losing that lifeline. The brothers’ fears had to do with the fact that they’re parents had forged documents for them to get them out of Indonesia.

All three men were pressured to do certain things or they or their families were threatened. It started out small seemingly petty things, but just recently it had become criminal in nature. For instance, in certain ports they would pick up a package, carry it in their personal gear, and then in another port would deliver it to an address they were given. Sometimes it was an envelope, sometimes it was a box, but nothing large or obtrusive. Other times they were asked to ignore certain pieces of cargo; they would appear and then disappear yet never show up on the ship’s manifest. The brothers said they were asked to go through the belonings of guests on the ship to see if there was any documents or financial records that they could take pictures of. They even named their blackmailer. Paula.

It took two days and secretly interviewing other crew members before they had enough evidence they could act. I was able to find additional evidence in the inventory sheets where the counts did not line up with the itemized list. Additionally, expensive bottles of champagne, wine, or other liquor would arrive on the ship, be accounted for, but would then disappear from the bar’s nightly inventory.

Paula was convincing when she was confronted. She’d been developing her alibi long enough that it even involved Vit as a minor bit player early in the monologue. She was good, I’ll give her that. She knew exactly what emotions to play on. Her last bid at a rationale can be reduced from an hour-long soliloquy to just a few sentences. As the only female member of the crew she was taken advantage of. She was being penalized for enjoying the same sexual freedoms as the men had. Vit was obviously jealous once he got back on the ship and realized what a mistake he had made and when she rebuffed his advances, he got the other men to join him in making her pay because she had moved on. The accusations being made were just some far-fetched, fairy-tale. Blah, blah, blah.

What she didn’t know is that while she was wringing the female card for all it was worth, the First Mate, Merk, and I tossed her cabin. I was called in as a token female but in the end, I was the one that helped them to find the hidey-holes where she kept things. They only laughed at me when I said that they needed to think like a girl. They stopped laughing when I turned up not one but four hidden caches of stuff … cash in one (mostly US$ and Euros), jewelry in another, fake IDs in a third, and in the fourth her “little black book” of blackmail information. There was evidence that she’d been doing this for a long time, just not to the extent that she had in the last year. She wanted out because she had made some enemies and they were getting too close. Her goal was to set herself up in some place with a low cost of living but plenty of luxuries if you had the right coin.

When finally confronted she tried to turn the tables and said I had to have planted the evidence, or Rigs, or … or … or … or …

The Captain is the legal authority on the ship when it is in International Waters. He had Paula confined to quarters where she will remain until she is turned over to US authorities. Actually she was confined in a storage room while her cabin was gone over again. I guess they are still wondering how to turn over all the evidence without any of the remaining crew members getting into further trouble.

Every day Paula insinuates something new against someone. She’s tried to implicate Vit a number of times. She’s tried to insinuate that Mr. Baird knew because he was part of the scheme. She’s also tried to insinuate they were intimate. She tells awful stories on the rest of the crew. And the reason why I know this is that I am the one that brings her her meals. The Captain worries that she will influence the men, or more likely that they will underestimate somehow. Only one time did she make the mistake of underestimating me.

“You should have listened to Mr. Dobbs,” I told her while she was still trying to pick herself up from the floor of the passageway. I’d been taking her to her twice daily visit to the head. I’m not proud of myself. She tried to shiv me but I’m stil not proud of myself. She is still bruised because I went three moves beyond where I could have stopped, where I should have stopped. I never meant her to be afraid of me, she just scared me and made me angry at the same time. I never want to feel that way again. That is what krav maga training was supposed to be for. Instead I used it like a weapon on the offense. When the adrenaline rush was over, I wanted to puke.

That was yesterday. I didn’t sleep really well last night. And it isn’t something that I can talk to Vit about right now. Any time even a whiff of Paula’s existence comes up, he becomes frighteningly furious. The only explanation I can offer as to why is this. In the middle of the night his arms tightened around me enough that it was uncomfortable. “Ya mih by vtratyty tebe.” [I could have lost you.]

One of the hardest things I’ve ever done is go back to take her her meals and to the head. But now it is with two guards, one of them Merk. He looked at Vit and in a cold, hard voice said, “I will do it.”

It took me a few minutes to realize what he was actually saying. In Russian I told both men that I would not have blood on my hands. If they want to be a guard, then fine. But it was my right to choose if it was going to go further than that and Paula needed to answer, not just for her attempt on my life, but the lives that she has threatened destroy for too long. I added that even if by some miracle she was acquitted in the justice system, she would never escape final justice and sometimes you have to have faith in that or you risk destroying the very thing you think you are protecting.

Both of them just stared at me for a moment and then Merk and Vit looked at each other. But nothing else was said but some of the tension went out of the room. Mr. Baird may not speak Russian but he obviously understands human nature. I heard he and the Captain had a private conversation with Paula this afternoon and whatever they said, she is now white as a sheet and quiet in a way I have rarely seen a person be. I’m not sure that I want to know what they said. Sometimes when I say other people need to have faith, I’m really talking to myself.

 

[Kathy in FL]

June 21st – Sea Day

We are still in international waters, but we are far from alone. There are lots of refugee ships. In some areas there are so many we have been forced to change course. A few times a boat has tried to follow us but the captain does whatever they do when they speed up or whatever to make it stop. Many are calling out maydays, some may even be in trouble, but maritime law is what it is. Plus, the captain has stated that it is too risky to try and help when there are this many boats in the area. Even a ship the size of the O’Meg could be swamped.

We have another problem as well. There is a tropical storm heading this general direction. It formed quickly but it is acting very erratic. The officers rarely leave the bridge. It is good to know they are on top of this, but it is scary to know why they are having to be on top of this. And we’ve had to add something new. There are crews walking the deck at all hours to make sure that no one tries to board us.

Some of the refugee boats are so small and so close to the water line that we could run over them and never know it. Or several other unpleasant possibilities such as they could attack us and damage our hull.

Good Lord Above, what is this world coming to?

 

[Kathy in FL]

June 22nd thru 27th – The Maelstrom (Part 1)

I am pretty sure that today is the June 27th. Not positive but it has to be close, and that is good enough for current circumstances.

I don’t know where we are. We’re moving forward, but just barely. All radios are damaged and inoperable, even the emergency back ups. All navigational equipment has malfunctioned. There’s water in the engine room. However, they finally managed to get the bilge pumps working but it takes rerouting what little bit of power we can generate to keep them online. Any time we try and add something back onto the system, it shuts everything down and we can’t afford to lose the pumps anymore. They are barely keeping up as it is.

On the 22nd several refugee boats were spotted. The captain called their location in like is required. An hour later the First Mate tells the Captain that it looks like the boats are going to follow the O’Meg. The same thing had happened a few times before, so no particular notice was made of it. The O’Meg always outran the much smaller crafts, not all of them seaworthy. But then several more boats show up to join the first group and the O’Meg looked to be their goal. Evasive action was taken to avoid being surrounded.

In the middle of that is when we all got the shock of our lives. An international maritime emergency was declared. I didn’t hear it until the captain had it piped through the ship’s intercom system so we could all listen to the repeating message. There was massive artillery action on the Israeli border. And then from there, within a matter of hours, it was like the entire world forgot to take its Clonazepam. Pakistan and India had at it. Several Middle Eastern countries started brawling like kids on a playground though that seems a rude explanation given how much genocide was taking place. Then something happened in northern Africa and we still don’t know exactly what because we’ve had no radio. The most horrific action came out of North Korea when they launched four rockets. Two went off course, one malfunctioned en route, and one landed approximately where they intended. Of the two that went off course, one landed in Mongolia and one inside mainland China (they still have not said where). The one that malfunctioned fell from the sky early when its rocket failed and it exploded in the sky above Tokyo, Japan. The only one that made it to its intended target landed on Oahu, Hawaii almost on top of Pearl Harbor. What made this even more horrific for the victims and for those of us listening as the world finally lose its collective mind is that all four bombs were carrying nuclear devices. Their payloads were very small, but they did the job … too well.

North Korea for all intents and purposes has ceased to exist. As a consequence much of South Korea is damaged as well, though only from conventional weapons. Several places in the world will be living in the Dark Ages for a long time. Even those places not impacted directly by the fighting have suddenly realized what their dependence on imports means. No grain from the US or Russian breadbasket areas? No fuel from US and Russian oil reserves? No parts and electronic gagdets from China? Oh my. Whatever shall we do? With much rending of cloth and gnashing of teeth. Boo hoo hoo.

The only thing good I can say is that after the three super powers (US, Russia, and China) gave some retribution to North Korea, they have tried to stay out of everything else that is going on, no matter how many calls are being made for them to take sides. For China’s part, I’m not sure if they can because where ever the bomb fell, it seems to have had massive infrastructure consequences. All three seem to be calling their people home and applying their military might to their own borders or in long range protectionist endeavors.

But I’m losing my train of thought. I’m sitting here trying to keep myself awake. Someone will relieve me as soon as they can but for now, I still need to be here.

The boats. The small boats. Refugees? Some of them were but they were being used as cover. Essentially the people in them could choose to be cannon fodder or fish bait. Their captors didn’t care either way.

Darkness fell and we were having to move slower and without lights in order not to become a target. There had been reports of long range missles targeting anything from tankers, to cargo barges, to small fishing boats, to party yachts. Everyone was pretty sure by this point that at least some of the refugees were going to try and board us to either take the ship, or take supplies. No one knew for sure as the only for sure thing was their increasing aggressiveness.

And between the wars starting up across the world, and the boats chasing us for at the time unknown purposes, we had the storm chasing us, already a category 1 hurricane. We needed to do our best to find safe harbor but there were a lot of Keep Out signs going up and entire islands shutting down.

It was just before dawn on the 23rd that two, low-slung speed boats attacked from either side of the O’Meg. I was just getting out of the shower when I heard a lot of noise coming from outside the window and then the unmistakable sound of gunfire. Vit had warned me what to do if it happened. That he’d come for me as soon as possible. The problem was these weren’t pitiful refugees as they first appeared. They were pirates hiding amongst the refugees, like wolves among the sheep.

As I understand it, they started with the refugees who were too plumb not to pick. There wasn’t always money to take, but there was always a woman or two worth the effort. [Nauseating as I heard it discussed just like that by some of the men.] Pirate groups that normally operated as separate entities of “every boat for itself” banded together and formed gang-like groups. The world-wide insanity also infected them, and they had spent the night going for broke. We weren’t the first yacht they took on, and with each ship they took (or sank), they became bigger and more powerful. They were now a “Pirate Armada.” And the O’Meg was going to be the crowning jewel.

We lost ten crewmen to the attack. Ten. I was forced to watch those bodies carelessly tossed into the Gulf. I watched two and a half times that many refugees go over as well and a few pirates who had fallen in the attack. And the marine life in the Gulf came to the buffet.

They made us watch. I tried not to cry. I tried not to show fear. I tried not to react at all. But that only caused him to notice me. DeCampo, the self-proclaimed Pirate King, grabbed me by my hair and made me lean over the railing. “Here! Have a better look!!” he laughed.

I will never forget the look on Perry’s face. He wasn’t quite gone and was barely conscious and going into shock but … he was aware. And I was aware of the obscene actions that DeCampo was making behind me as he laughed. His grinding was going to go further but then Vit tried to save me. And they were just on him and kicking and hitting and they almost didn’t stop until DeCampo walked over and dragged him up by the collar and said, “Look. It happens. Or it doesn’t. She’s just another piece of meat. Either way it is out of your control mate. You wanna chance to save the woman? Or you want to be chum like the rest of them? Better yet, a little fun with her and then make her chum?” Vit looked at me and I at him and we didn’t need words. He knew that I knew that at some point he would come for me. And he knew that I would trust him and do everything I could to survive until he did. And we both agreed to live, for each other, regardless of what came next.

Why they didn’t just shoot Vit I didn’t know at the time, but I was to come to understand, by listening in on conversations they didn’t know I could understand, that it is because they had too many ships and too few experienced sailors. Some of the men were also running low on ammunition and the leaders in the pirate band would only hand out so much right before an attack was staged. What they needed more than ammunition were experienced sailors, even if that meant using slaves.

They broke the remaining crew down and spread them out to the other ships. Vit and Merk, both injured, a mentally distraught Dobbs, Mr. Baird, and I all stayed on the O’Meg. We also took on four women and a few refugees that were then forced to do the grunt work.

I was used as the threat that kept the few of our people that remained on the O’Meg from fighting back. Even if any of them had thought about rebelling Vit gave them a look that said many things, all of them painful and permanent.

The captain and officers of our ship were among the dead. The pirates paid for that in a million little ways that day. The O’Meg is not your average little fishing boat. She’s huge and she’s high tech. The difference between driving a scooter and driving an 18-wheeler, a paper airplane and a jetliner, or a row boat and an air craft carrier. She has very few manual systems and to use the systems she does have requires a great deal of training. Mr. Dobbs knew the engine room, but he was suffering emotional shock and a concussion. I think the only reason he tried at all is because one of the young refugees looked disturbingly like Perry and his family name was even Patel. The kid was scared out of his mind and Dobbs latched onto that. I had known there was something between Dobbs and Perry but apparently it is because Perry took the place of a son that Dobbs lost first to his ex-wife and then to an adolescent brawl where a knife was drawn. Emotional transfer of his feelings … and then to lose Perry in such a way … tough man that he was, Dobbs was cracking along the seams of his psyche. The kid was a life preserver and Dobbs hung on for dear life.

The rest of us weren’t doing too well either. The pirates noticed the empty spaces where things were supposed to be … they hadn’t gotten around to figuring out all the storage areas in the hold and it just so happened that the door to that particular storage area is automatic and electronic. Because it is flush with everything around it all of the refugees that were going around looking for valuables at the instruction of the pirates thought it was part of the bulkhead or whatever you call the metal walls down there.

They were about to take a whack at Mr. Baird for not revealing where things were when I begged, “Mr. Bevins can’t help it. Please don’t hit him anymore. Just because he is a secretary to the ship’s owner doesn’t mean he had all the details of the sale. Most of the valuables were off-loaded when the owner and his family went ashore in Barcelona.”

“He’s not the owner?”

“No. He’s the secretary.”

“I thought you were the secretary,” DeCampo said suspiciously.

“No sir. I’m the clerk.”

And I have no idea where the acting skills came from because I was so bad in the one semester of high school drama I took they wouldn’t even let me work the curtains during productions. If there had been fewer distractions, DeCampo might not have bought my story. Then again maybe they were simply stupid. There’s a lot of that going on in the world these days and God help us all, it is pandemic.

One of those other distractions is when the pirates started shifting their stuff between the boats and ships under their command and King DeCampo took a hefty share of the spoils. Two of the spoils were women … prostitutes … that were from another ship that had been scuttled because it had been too damaged to sail after they were through taking it over.

They … served … DeCampo multiple times during the day. It nearly made me sick. They spoke Patois and by listening to them talk to each other I found out they were from Haiti. They considered DeCampo just another john and their payment was their lives. I also found out every male and every child on their refugee boat had been killed because of one man’s defiance. The remaining women were taken and shared around between ships. Not all of them were professionals as these two women were so they surmised they’d soon learn, or they would die. They were callous but not cold and I heard them talking about me, wondering if they should give me some tips on how to survive what was coming. I think that scared me more than DeCampo’s threats did. That utter, cold certainty those two women exhibited nearly stole my hope.

One of the other two women was an officer from one of the ships the pirates had taken a few days earlier. That’s probably the only reason she hadn’t been attacked and badly injured. She’d taken a beating but the threat they used against her was gang rape. She was on the bridge but wasn’t making a lot of headway teaching the pirates how to work the equipment. And she was hurt enough that she was barely on her feet.

Paula, when she’d been found and released from the storage room she was being held in, tried to make her way by acting like DeCampo was her hero, her rescuer. He stared at her then laughed like he’d thought of a good joke as he told one of his men to take her to the captain on one of the other boats. That man smirked for some reason I didn’t understand at the time. As she was off-loaded into a dingy Paula looked like a cat who had landed on her feet. What she turned out to be was a lamb going to slaughter. The next is hard to record and I won’t even describe what the men did to her on that boat but she stopped screaming about an hour before sunset. I still don’t know if she is alive or dead. As much as I despised her, I pray that she has escaped what was happening to her.

Mr. Baird and I spent the day arranging all the “booty” that DeCampo brought on board. We had started an inventory but as it grew dark, we were locked up separately. He went to the mess hall to help there and I was locked up with the other four women.

The navigator’s name was Maggie Dunbar of Manchester, England. She’d done a tour in the British Army, been wounded in service to King and country, and wound up finding a job as a civilian officer when she showed no inclination to settle down on land. All this she told me as I did what I could to tend to her injuries. I eventually did what I could for the two prostitutes as well when they finally trusted I wasn’t out to make their lives any harder. Or out to take their place. Shudder.

The last woman was older. She was nearly comatose. Maggie explained that she was “some old bird from another ship and they’re going to ransom her as she is supposed to be worth some money.” Poor woman. Life was harsh and she had no survival skills for where she was. I got a little water into her but that was all.

All the while I’d been doing that, I’d been surveying our surroundings … it was the small salon. I’d helped to empty the bar there and clean it just a couple of days earlier. Surprise, surprise. The small trash can on the shelf under the bar hadn’t been emptied yet. Every survival skill and dirty trick that Devin and Charlie had taught me … and a few some of my roommates had shared … started running through my head. Paula’s stunt with the shiv also made me think. I took the tooth brush out of the trash that I had been using to clean the gunk from the grout lines between tiles that covered the bar’s surface.

A toothbrush in and of itself wasn’t much of a weapon so I needed to manufacture one. I took the coffee wand – used for warming or re-warming drinks and the only bar tool that remained – and used it to melt and mold the handle of the toothbrush into a passable dagger. I was looking for a way to use the Barkeeper’s Friend abrasive cleaner when the ship made a sudden lurch and started rocking more than it already had been.

That woke the other women up. Maggie cursed and called who ever was on the bridge a fool. It wasn’t long after that she was dragged away back to the bridge. But remembering the few storms that I had experienced onboard the Viking Sun, I knew this wasn’t the result of someone’s driving but bad weather.

 

[Kathy in FL]

June 22nd thru 27th – The Maelstrom (Part 2)

The rest of the night was miserable with the other three women becoming sea sick. The smell of that was nauseating. Come daylight I was forced to start cleaning where many of the refugees had also suffered sea sickness … all over the ship. All day on the 24th there was constant bickering, and not just the people on the O’Meg, but between ships as well. I heard it as I cleaned the halls and cleaned up on the bridge where even some of the pirates were beginning to have enough. The smell of expensive liquor mixed with puke and other vile things is a smell that must have been devised in hell.

All day … if that’s what you want to call the overcast sky … the pirates bickered between ships. DeCampo maintained control, but it was only a thin and fragile thing at best and several times it nearly broke. The night of the 24th was like the one before. The only difference is what I did while the others slept. I’d managed to collect a screw driver from the bar on the aft deck while no one was paying attention as they were too busy being mesmerized by the rising swells rocking the boat.

Overnight it was thought that Maggie had found a path out of the storm. The morning of the 25th dawned bright and shiny, exactly what a summer day in the Gulf was supposed to look like. DeCampo was happy and the bickering had died down with the other pirates both on and off the boat. They were making plans on attacking small villages and acting like there was nothing that could stop them. Then the hurricane took an unexpected turn.

By mid-morning a schism had started to form in the Pirate Confederation. By evening it was every many for himself as the armada disintegrated and the boats started looking for a port to weather the storm out in.

There are a lot of sunken ships that litter Gulf of Mexico’s sandy bottom. On the 25th I was convinced we were going to be another one. They didn’t even give us life vests. Everyone was tossed around and more than a few people … prisoners, refugees, crew, and pirates … wound up injured and there were a few with broken bones. Three of the refugees were washed over board. The young boy named Patel would have been one of them if not for the fact that Dobbs refused to let go of the lifeline despit it cutting deeply into his hands.

He brought the boy to me and said, “Please. You have to. Save him.”

I was more concerned about Dobbs at that point and forced both of them to sit behind the bar so that when a pirate opened the door suddenly and then closed and locked it once again, all I heard was, “They aren’t in here.”

Another swell knocked us around and to my dying day I’ll say I was laying on one of the walls in the small salon staring up at a wave as it crashed down into the windows on that side. The window cracked but didn’t break or I’m certain the ship would have been swamped.

That was the worst one but there were plenty of bad ones all through the 26th. There was no escaping it, only suffering through. Late yesterday the storm finally tossed us out of its wake. I don’t know where it is heading or if it has gotten there. We survived is about the only thing I can say. The O’Meg very nearly didn’t. I do know that Baird might have had a heart attack at some point during the storm. And Dobbs and the boy were both badly banged up, Dobbs cracking his head hard enough I worried about intercranial bleeding.

And if DeCampo had any sanity at all before the storm, afterwards he’d completely lost his mind somewhere along the way. When he discovered all of the systems on the ship were damaged and that the small boat used for transfers had torn off in the storm and disappeared, he was livid to the point spittle collected in the corners of his mouth as he raged. We were dead in the water and death stalked the ship swinging a gun around and shooting at anything and nothing so long as he felt like it.

Within an hour he was bored of doing that … plus he’d run out of ammunition. DeCampo wanted to be entertained. And he wanted a new flavor. And he wanted to have a little fun at the same time. He lined up the men and anyone that didn’t perform was going to get tossed overboard. I was about to be treated the same way as Paula. I tried to find my courage but all I found was anger.

I tossed the makeshift dagger behind the bar, hoping Dobbs was compass mentas enough to grab it and then palmed the cork screw as I was dragged to “join the game.”

I used every move I knew. Some worked and some only made the men angrier. The bruises I received didn’t matter then and don’t matter now. Yes I hurt, but I was not going down without a fight. And my fight ignited something in the others. I heard Vit yell and then it was on. I really don’t know how long it lasted. It seemed like hours but it was no where near that. It took a moment but the refugees sided with our people and soon the pirates were the minority and fighting for their lives. They did have guns, what they didn’t have were numbers.

And then DeCampo was there smirking that dirty smile. I saw him take aim – he’d taken a gun from one of the other pirates – and point it at Vit. I heard the report of the gun going off and then I saw Vit stumble and go to one knee.

Looking at me he smirked and ask, “What you gonna do about it? Huh?”

I don’t know. This was not in the training manuals or in any class I’ve ever taken. And I pray my anger never takes control of me that way again.

I looked at my beloved and then turned to the pirate and snarled, “Chum.” Before my rational brain could question what I was doing, I slid around his grab and slammed the corkscrew deep in his eye and then pushed him over the railing and into the water. I never saw him resurface. He might have but not in range of my eyes.

I turned and ran to Vit who was trying to stand and fight. But there wasn’t a lot of reason left to fight. Most of the pirates were dead. Those that weren’t quickly followed DeCampo over the railing right along side their dead companions.

For a while, after it was over, we all just kind of sat there. Trying to figure out whether living was a good thing or not. Vit and I sat huddled together, not talking, just breathing in that we were together again. The bullet had barely grazed him, the fall was where the impact made him lose his balance.

Today is the 27th and we are somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico. Everyone on board is injured. I’ve done what I can to patch them up but there aren’t a lot of supplies to be had … at least not medical supplies. Patel hasn’t left Dobbs’ side and he’s teaching the boy some basic mechanics as they’ve done what they can to keep the engine room from flooding. Vit and Maggie are operating the bridge, such as it is, spelling each other frequently so neither one passes out from the exhaustion they are feeling. One of the refugees is trying to help rebuild an emergency radio but it is tedious work … taking the parts of three damaged units and trying to make one operational one.

I’ve been sitting here trying to do what I can for Mr. Baird. He’s a young man with an old man’s problem. High blood pressure runs in his family. He’s stable and lucid, just very pale. I have everyone on the look out for his medication but so far there’s no sign of it. When he starts to fuss, I tell him to think of Martina and the children. I tell him not to make her the next Giordano widow.

I also sit here because of Merk. I think the bullet knicked his bowels. His fever is climbing and his color is bad, and there’s nothing I can do about it. He mutters in Russian. I can’t always understand him. What I do understand reminds me that sometimes being put in an orphanage or foster care is a kindness compared to what happens at home. Being Cossack didn’t protect him from alcoholism and abuse and poverty.

I want to see Vit. I want us to go home. The question remains, will we ever get there?

 

[Kathy in FL]

June 28th – somewhere off the Cuban Coast

Today was almost the last day of our lives. There is no safe haven. But there are people trying to create one … or to protect the one they are trying to create … or protect what they have period.

Our electrical systems may not operate but those belonging to other people do. We’re a big ship acting eradically. They spotted us on radar. They hailed us numerous times, but we never responded. They were practically on top of us with guns locked and loaded before they realized how much damage the ship had suffered. The only thing that kept us from being a ghost ship were the people, few though they were, that came pouring out onto the top deck.

The US Coast Guard. And one of the refugees nearly caused them to fire anyway. Jumping up and down and in general acting crazy and forgetting while he was doing it that he was armed and waving a gun around. It took some fast talking by Maggie through a megaphone to assure the Cutter that he wasn’t telling anyone on our side to fire, or wasn’t about to fire himself. The man was just happy that he was being rescued … and by a US ship.

They boarded us like a SWAT team and it took a while until they believed our story. They checked the ship’s registry and then everything began falling into place. Somewhat anyway. We aren’t allowed off the ship, but a tug is coming to tow us to the Keys for further investigation. They also sent medical aide over and I nearly fell down crying in relief. There was no saving him but finally there was finally someone who could ease his pain.

Merkury Vagin. Dead at thirty-three years. He has a seven-year-old son somewhere in the world but according to Vit he never knew where the mother of the child had taken him. The only things he had of a personal nature in his gear was a picture of a baby boy laying in a hospital bassinett, and an Orthodox crucifix. Nothing of other family. Nothing that would indicate any connections in this life other than that tiny picture of the tiny human that was his son. Heartbreaking.

Mr. Baird’s case had a better turn. They got his blood pressure stabilized and when I was able to provide a copy of his prescription, they said they’d have it waiting when we reached land. They treated him politely and when all he asked was that they notify his wife of his survival … not his secretary or accountant or tailor or anything like that … they were kinder which made a huge difference to our side’s reception.

Dobbs is claiming that Patel is his son. And he even manufactured an island birth certificate for him (Vit said Dobbs is ‘creative’ in many respects and that is just one of them). No one on our side is contradicting his story. Since they aren’t asking to stay in the US there will be no genetic test to find the truth. The boy clings to him so even appearances make it a possibility that no one questions.

What happens to the refugees I don’t know but Vit and I provided all of our papers. Our passports and Vit’s active green card. I gave them Dylan’s name and his office phone number. I’m not ashamed to say I begged them to contact him as soon as possible as my family is probably hysterical at this point. Vit and I are so close I can all but smell the suntan lotion on the beaches.

 

[Kathy in FL]

June 29th – Key West, FL

Close but no cigar. I haven’t even gotten to speak with the family but they promise they’ve been contacted. What form that took or what response it generated they haven’t revealed. All Vit, and I, and the others have been doing all day today is answer questions … on the ship. Tomorrow we may be allowed off. Maybe. For now this ship is the best jail they can provide without actually calling it one.

I was so frustrated I could have broken down. At first they simply found our story too outlandish. Then I realized Vit and I could provide proof of our travels. I showed them my blog, Travelling Marchand, this journal, all of my post cards, contacts that could verify our story, even the character letters if that would help. Mr. Baird’s deposition included what he knew of us … Vit from before and then us as a couple when we’d been hired in Southampton.

We’ve been trying to get answers ourselves. The fate of the other crew members would be nice but the only one they’ve found thus far is Mr. Chang whose body washed ashore in Miami Beach on the 27th. His body is still waiting autopsy to determine whether he died by drowning or other injuries he had sustained “perimortem.” The hurricane has disrupted communication in the Gulf and we aren’t the only ship damaged in the storm. There is international pressure for the US to lead the humanitarian effort of rescuing everyone but after one boat was found to have several known terrorists, the US pulled back and the only reason they wound up rescuing the O’Meg is because she had been listed as missing on the 21st and Mr. Baird’s family had government contacts.

They separated Vit and I for a bit causing me a great deal of anxiety. I held it together until we were reunited and then I nearly fell apart and could only shake while he held me and told me everything would be all right that he was really there. I hate appearing so weak but the last few weeks has barely left me a thin veneer of stability. That’s true of a lot of people. Vit is crackly around the edges as well and becomes very agitated if we aren’t in the same room.

My part in the “battle” was pulled out and examined over and over and I wound up finally puking at what I had done. It was like they were pushing for some reaction; however, they didn’t expect what they got. The medic examined me and said I wasn’t faking it. Well goody, now they know I can’t puke on command.

I don’t mean to be ungrateful. Our fresh water had been getting very low and our despair pretty high. I just want Vit and I to be released so we can go home. Or at least speak to someone that can move us in that direction.

Even prisoners get one phone call. Does the fact that we haven’t mean we aren’t prisoners or does it mean habeas corpus has been suspended?

 

[Kathy in FL]

June 30th/July 1st – Home Sweet Home

This last entry has been a long time coming. And today has been nearly unbelievable. The US was pulled back into the war last night when several simultaneous attacks occurred on British soil and we went to the aid of one of our closest allies. They want to evacuate the Royal family but they won’t go, they won’t leave their people. They have removed to Windsor which has become a militarized fortress, but that is as far from London as they would move. I wouldn’t bet against their survival. The Mountbatten-Windsors aren’t the Romanovs.

I wouldn’t say the same for the leadership in France. They tried to run counter to the will of the people, and while the guillotine wasn’t pulled out, the threats being made came close. I don’t know whether that is going and for now don’t have the energy to even think about it.

We were finally told we were free to go. That we were small fish compared to what they were dealing with. But how we took advantage of that freedom was up to us. Vit’s service and heroism were acknowleged and went a long way to them finally believing our travels weren’t a cover story for some other scheme.

Vit was and is exhausted though I finally got him to sleep. He wanted to watch over me. When they released us we were allowed to go back onto the ship and gather our personal belongings but we weren’t given any help to do it. Vit is injured, his arm is in a sling, but he knew we had to work while we could. Mr. Baird accompanied him onboard as there was a salvage operation going on, trying to separate out what belongs to him and what was brought on board by DeCampo and his forces.

Only one of us could go so I stayed on the dock and kept calling, trying to reach Dylan. His number wasn’t working. No one’s number was working. Thanks to the hurricane, communication in much of Florida was still down and there weren’t enough spare parts to get it back up and running, at least not without a lot of work arounds.

I accidentally dialed the wrong number and connected to Nicholas Marchand who was thrilled to be the one. He nearly blew my speaker running through their house yelling to get Madam. Hearing a familiar voice loosened my tongue and our circumstances came pouring out. And Madam is Madam and she promised to get right on it.

When Vit came back he was pulling a dolly with two trunks. It didn’t compute at first but Mr. Baird and Vit acted like it was completely normal so I said nothing just told Vit who I had finally managed to reach and Madam’s promise of assistance.

We sat there for an hour while I tried to reach any of the family only to be met by the same frustrating dial tone and message that the lines were overloaded and to try again later. Not even my texts were going through. I was becoming so frustrated I nearly threw my phone though that wouldn’t be a good idea as the screen was already cracked in multiple places and the battery didn’t want to charge.

Then things went from complicated to circus-like. The news media had gotten wind of the O’Meg and her story. Neither Vit nor I wanted any part of the spotlight or the blasted news conference that was quickly staged. Mr. Baird understood and agreed to keep our names of out of it. At the same time I got a call from Madam herself and she told me that she’d arranged for a rental car to be brought as close to the government facility we were at but that’s as close as she could get it as it wouldn’t be allowed on base. I nearly wept in relief. Vit visibly wilted as well. He held up so well but even Superman has his limits and Vit was reaching his. I on the other hand had been energized and was going to grab whatever chance was being offered.

We said our goodbyes to the others and Mr. Baird promised to be in touch. Their hand shake meant something but I was too intent on escaping to make room to think abot it. When the press conference started we snuck out a side door and made for a car being held just beyond the military guard posted to protect the building. Once we proved our identities the driver smiled and turned over the keys.

“With Madam’s compliments.”

He only stayed long enough to help us load the two trunks into the sedan’s trunk. The car came with a full tank of gas, a case of bottled water, some snacks, and a satellite capable radio where we cold listen to what had been going on in the world. Vit would have driven but I was the one with the Florida driver’s license and knew my way around on the interstates and state roads. The traffic was hideous in some areas and in others it looked like a ghost town.

Eventually we did pull over at a rest stop to wash up and change out of the clothes we’d been wearing for multiple days straight. Vit wouldn’t leave the car unattended so we had to take turns. He came out of the men’s room looking mystified at the “luxury” that could be found on the roadside. Despite his world travels he’d never been to the States, so his learning curve is going to be interesting. The rest stop was busy and not everyone was friendly, especially when they heard Vit’s accent. Their reaction reminded me of Vit’s warning that his status as an immigrant it might make us a target. Somehow that only made me more determined. After DeCampo and the hurricane I don’t think there was anything I would let stop me.

Vit and I agreed to remain as unnoticeable as possible. Part of that was me watching the road to not stick out by driving too fast. Fat chance of that. The I95 corridor was a wasteland of debris in the road, and roadblocks. Even getting off the interstate didn’t help. Cities were forcing traffic to reroute and to get into an area was sometimes impossible and the detours added hours to an already eight-hour drive. I was growing concerned as the few gas stations that were opened had very long lines, even outside the hurricane’s path which came ashore in Sarasota and then cut up the center of the state. Thank goodness it had expended a lot of its energy and got sheared apart by some upper air system and was barely a Cat 1 at the time. But the storm was a wide one with an excess of microbursts that had tropical storm force winds. That is what caused the state-wide debris field. It also dumped a lot of rain. It officially ended the drought the state was in and in some areas created the exact opposite problem. The rivers and other bodies of water were at flood stage, but it hadn’t closed any bridges thank the Good Lord.

We’d just hit a roadblock and were directed to detour around Jacksonville when my phone rang again causing Vit to jump awake from a nap where his injuries had sent him. Vit answered so I could drive.

“Mr. D! Oh my gawd it is good to hear you!!”

“Nicholas?!” Vit asked sitting up straighter.

“Yes Sir! Look, if you can tell me where you’re at I’ll relay it to Miss Veta’s brother. Frankie managed to bang around on Travelling Marchand and reached Benji. Francine helped Benji to pass the news along and now her whole family is like waiting for word. But their phone service is out but … some of them do have fiber optics up and working. Gawd it is so good to hear your voice. Miss Veta’s okay?”

“Yes,” he said explaining that I was driving. He put it on speaker and I was able to assure everyone that we were on the fastest route I could devise around all of the road blocks and detours. Francine then got involved and found several gas stations that were open around the route I was going to take and any road issues to avoid.

“Gawd Mr. D, it really is good …” he stopped obviously struggling with his emotions.

Francine got on the phone and said, “Let us know as soon as you can that you arrived safely. Grandmother and the parental units are at the hospital bringing Miss Betty home or I’m sure she’d say the same thing.”

We said good bye as there were lit signs along the road warning of driving and being on the phone and the fines involved. There were also lots of State Troopers making sure people were abiding by the rules and getting them out of the road way if they broke down to avoid any more traffic snarls than could be helped. I finally snaked us onto US90 and headed west.

We were on fumes as I pulled down Pembroke Lane, but it didn’t matter that the car gave up its last a few feet from the Pembroke House drive way. Vit stepped out of the car and came around to help me out where I was shaking so bad. Then I heard, “Dad! Dad!! They’re here!!!!!! I see Aunt Veta! It’s her!! And Vit!!!!! I know it is!!!!!!!”

I think the entire world could hear Benji’s announcement. It very nearly felt like it when people poured out of houses up down the road.

I could barely breath I was so suffocated with hugs and kisses and drowned by tears. Ask me if I care. I kept looking and calling for Vit and finally spotted him leaning on the car as Derrick gave him a good once over. When it was determined he wasn’t in need of major surgery right that second he got pulled into the love fest and it was only when I saw that he was pale and overwhelmed at his welcome that I said we needed to get inside and sit down.

It was like being carried along by the sea we’d been traveling on for so long. Charlie, ever practical, organized a posse to bring in luggage. Angie had already fixed a huge communal pot of soup and wouldn’t let up until Vit and I had eaten two bowls and some cornbread muffins. Kids climbed all over both of us and Vit looked like he didn’t know whether to freeze, laugh, or maybe cry. Family. He was already considered a member, but he was finally starting to find out just what that was going to mean. But we were exhausted, and the adrenaline finally wore off.

Angelia insisted or putting us to bed … and no one objected to it being the same room and the same bed. The only thing was I must have gotten a dozen winks from the females in the family before we could finally escape for some privacy to start processing our new reality.

Derrick had done a number on Vit once there was light to see by. He said Vit’s medical care was adequate, but he was unsatisfied to leave it at that and cleaned and redressed his wounds. He also gave him a shot of antibiotics to ward off infection in a couple of places that were looking redder than he liked. It zapped the last of Vit’s strength and he fell asleep so quickly and hard that I grew worried all over again. Derrick took me aside and said we needed to watch for pneumonia as Vit’s lungs were starting to sound a little wet. He hadn’t been able to take proper rest since his injury in Dover and between that shock and all of the little shocks along the way, and the new injuries, his body was slowly losing the battle. Tomorrow he will fuss but if I can just keep him still and feed him properly for a day or two I know he’ll turn the corner and avoid the worst. Please God let that be what happens.

We tried to get messages out to the people we promised to notify. The Marchands, Mr. Baird, and of course the authorities want to know where we are in case they need to question us again. I have a to do list to start but at least I was able to knock that off of it.

Sleep eludes me right now. It is some o’clock in the morning and the sun isn’t near up yet. I walk around the house and can’t help but smile. It’s like when I was little. There are brats and sisters and nieces and nephews draped all over the place. Some of the family did have to go home but most stayed here. They’ll have to go home tomorrow though. Just because we made it doesn’t mean time stops and the world doesn’t move on.

I’ve learned so much in this last year. I thought I had changed completely but being home, amongst my family, has proven that wrong. I’m different yes, in some ways very different, but I’m still me. God it was so good to be wrapped in Derrick’s arms, almost like it was Poppa’s and Momma’s arms … and maybe in a way it was. I met Christine and several other new members of the family but it is going to take a while to process and get to know them.

Vit and I have a lot of work ahead of us. The house … well it is good to be home but it will be better when we can deal with some obvious issues we are facing. Vit whispered we’ll do it together and not to worry at it. It is still a castle compared to where he grew up. It wasn’t until after the bedroom door closed and I went to take out something for us to sleep in that I found out what the look was for between Vit and Mr. Baird.

Booty.

Pirate booty.

I looked at Vit and said, “You have some ‘splainin’ to do Cossack.”

He grinned despite his exhaustion and said, “Tomorrow?”

“Fine. I trust you. But there better be a good story behind this stuff.”

He grinned even broader and said, “Oh Kokhana, there is.”

And still I roam the house. The heat is nearly suffocating but sometimes that happened when I was little too. It is all the people and the fact that the brown outs don’t let the AC run long enough to do much more than keep the humidity at bay.

I’m going to be running just enough to keep the chaos at bay in the coming days. I’m home. But home isn’t a place it is the people. Vit. Derrick. Charlie. Dylan. Devin. Angie. Christine and her daughter. All of them. Tomorrow is time enough to find out about the ones that aren’t here but that’s okay too.

I’m closing this journal and will pack it away. This is the end. On the other hand … maybe I’ll start another journal tomorrow or in the next few weeks. A lot is going to be happening. Maybe I’ll have the time to write about it. Maybe I’ll need to write about it. Who knows? But that’s for later. For now I think I’m finally able to go lay down beside my husband and rest. Yes. I think I’ll do that. Rest. I need to. Because tomorrow is another day. And I’m finally home.


THE END FOR BOOK 1

 

[Mr Bill]

Sorry to see the end. Waiting for book 2

 

[Kathy in FL]

Sorry to see the end. Waiting for book 2

I will try and start posting it later today. It is written but has not been posted/completed anywhere yet.

 

[Griz3752]

I will try and start posting it later today. It is written but has not been posted/completed anywhere yet.

You know you could take a few breathes first - maybe try a night's sleep & a hearty breakfast before you dive into the next marathon.

Just saying.

I've got days of reading ahead of me to catch me up on this one.

 

[Mr Bill]

Take care of yourself first. we will still be here tomorrow

 

[Lake Lili]

Thanks Kathy! Love this story!

Lili

 

[seraphima]

Well, that's quite an ending!

 

[CGTech]

Love it!

 

[sssarawolf]

Another great run through your story. Thank you.

 

[Sportsman]

Thanks Kathy. I've struggled to find the time to read lately and it took a a while to finish. Still can't figure out why i never saw this story before. It's another great one!

Starting book two.