Chapter 192: Aug 1 – Miami, FL (2)
I was off the ship as soon as they opened the gangway this morning. I had expected it to be opened earlier but Vit and I woke to find that it took a while to disperse the protestors of the previous night. Vit and I both also wondered if stores would be opened at all and I was prepared to return to the ship if that proved to be true.
“You will be careful.”
It wasn’t a question but a statement.
“Of course. I have my phone on and the backup power supply. You can track me through the day if you need to. I’ll try and text when I change stores, but I don’t want you to get in trouble for taking personal communications during your shift.”
“Do it anyway. You heard Hardyston in the chow line. As long as it is doesn’t impede progress today, Communication and Security will overlook it.”
“Do you think Yegor and Polina arranged it?”
He shook his head as we both prepared for our intended tasks. “Nii. Such an order would need to come from higher up. Possibly ship’s Admin but I suspect off-ship authorities. They want us to continue as usual, not create any undue appearances for the media. However, to pull such off they know there needs to be a level of comfort for personnel. So, you will txt.”
“I will,” I assured Vit. It wasn’t unreasonable. If our positions were reversed, I’d be asking for the same concession from him.
I had the list that we had pulled together last night, and while it seemed like a lot of items, we’d sent any full and unopened personal items back to Pembroke for storage so needed to replenish. The plan was for me to purchase enough to last us the remainder of our assignment and then another full, unopened container after that for cushion and to make sure we had more than enough to start with when we returned home. We would worry about shipping things home at that point.
Most of our list really is simply personal hygiene items. Sunscreen and moisturizer is at the top of the list but I was hoping to find the better brands that lasted longer than the mostly water-filled cheap stuff I bought at the beginning of our assignment back in January. They really hadn’t done the job as I thought they would, especially the so-called, next-to-useless, waterproof sunscreen. While it wasn’t greasy and washed off as easy as claimed, it also came off with sweat and any type of liquid leaving no protection. I might has well have been using water as sunscreen on some days.
I also needed to replenish my feminine hygiene stash after sending most of it back with Derrick. I’d like to be a fly on the wall when Christine gets an eyeful of that particular crate. That’s going to be an interesting conversation. The other items, not necessarily in order of importance except for Vit’s shaving soap and extra safety blades are toothpaste, a new toothbrush and spare for each of us, mouthwash (because what is available on ship tastes like bilge water mixed in alcohol), toothfloss, naproxen, hand sanitizer, antacids and Pepto, deodorant, Gold Bond body and foot powder, ear swabs (I’m not quite the brand snob I used to be), eye drops, shampoo and conditioner, lip balm, Vaseline, feminine wipes, toilet paper and the list goes on and on.
Before I left the ship I purchased a day pass for the Metro Mover so my transportation was taken care of. And boy was the day pass worth it as many times as I hopped on and off. Without the day pass I would have likely paid three times as much in fare, perhaps more. Many of the stores that I’d used just a few months ago to get discounts were closed if not out of business altogether; it meant going further afield than I had originally planned. The prices I did find were higher as well, but not as much as I expected based on Angelia’s and Charlie’s reports. There were however pretty severe item limits on nearly everything. And trying to get the prescription filled took three pharmacies because most of them wanted me to leave the script and come back in a couple of days just to see if they were able to fill it.
Made a couple of calls to the family while I was out and about and got one from Barbie as well. We traded news and they all seemed excited for Vit and I getting the Jackson place. Many of them said there were a lot of people in the area relieved that a “local” purchased it and didn’t intend on just razing it to the ground and building another subdivision but had plans to renovate and invest back into the community. Er … that last bit seemed a bit over the top, but I’ve been letting Vit have his plans and goals without sticking my nose in too much. He needs to be a man and have some independence. We have to have income in some way anyway, who am I to tell Vit that a gentleman farmer isn’t realistic.
The one inconvenience that truly irritated me was that I had to go back to the ship not once, but twice, to drop off purchases because no backpacks or large purses were allowed on the Metro Mover or in any of the stores. They weren’t even letting in those personal grocery buggies or luggage carriers. And if you came in with other bags you had to check them in before you could start shopping and then check them back out as you left the store. The que lines wasted more time than I can even calculate. It slowed the entire process of shopping way down. They used those carnival type wrist bands for security. You’d get one for your wrist and the mate was put through the handles of the bags you checked. Geeezzzzz. What a pain. And one time they misplaced two of my bags and I had to prove that they really had by showing my check in slip with the correct number of bags and then my receipts when they questioned what they themselves had written on the slip. The manager got involved with that one and I suspect the employees might have lost the bags accidentally on purpose (and not expected me to check carefully) because of where they were found and how it was obvious the band used to tie all of my bags together at check in had been torn before they were given back to me. I don’t know if it was because of my uniform, they thought I had “enough” therefore they had the right to have some of it, or they were simply pulling a fast one. I do know that there was an angry conversation taking place between the manager and two employees when I returned to that store later in the day to return a pair of shoes that I’d found for a better price at another location.
All back on the ship safe and sound with one final round of goodbyes to some of the family and a report on what my day had been like. Christine, who’d insisted on getting on the phone and thanking me for “you know what” (snicker, giggle) said last time she and Angie had gone to Jacksonville a couple of the stores had started regulating packages the same way as well but it wasn’t widespread.
When Vit came in from his shift and found me pouring a glass of wine, he asked for one himself. I could tell something was troubling him and understood why when he finally asked, “You would tell me if you were?”
“Were what?” I asked as I absentmindedly went back over our lists in my head.
I nearly spit out the sip of wine I’d just taken when he said, “With child.”
A little outraged I asked, “Why would you think, after all of the recent misunderstandings, that I would be so harebrained as to get pregnant and not tell you?”
He sighed. Some in relief and some in … well, relief. “Nii. I should not have even thought it. But Angelia’s questions … tested me.”
“She was just being a pushy and nosey big sister. The brats shut her down. I’m fairly certain the idea of me being pregnant terrifies them. Or at least gives them acid indigestion. Besides, we’ve already had this discussion.”
I could tell he was reluctant to say more but after another sip of wine he explained. “A report was made in committee this morning. One of the women you call the SOs.”
“Which one? Anyone that was supposed to continue on?”
“Nii, it is … not my … er … I should not have said anything.” He shook his head. “It is Dutton’s wife … that Barbara. They are still deciding what to do about it.”
“But … I thought the rumor was they were getting a divorce?”
“It is no longer rumor. Dutton is emphatic that he cannot remain married to her any longer. For many reasons, not just that she is destroying his career.”
My natural inclination was to object when there was a child involved. “But …”
“Dutton is not convinced the child is his and that is when I escaped the … er … TMI. Can we agree that it is not our business? Yes?”
I only hesitated briefly. “Agreed. I do not want to get pulled into whatever drama is about to unfold. I can’t believe that they allowed the cat out of the bag in the middle of a committee meeting if parentage is in question.”
Vit shrugged, not really wanting to continue the discussion but he did add, “Dutton did so in self-defense I believe. It is that Barbara that let the cat … er … I believe she as maneuvering. Now let us speak of other things. How was your day? I heard others say that the shopping was difficult.”
I let him change the subject. I know that type of thing makes him uncomfortable and in all honesty it should have made me more uncomfortable than it did. I really need to watch my attitude. Yes, Barbara was a thorn in my side that I am happy to see go away, but with a child now involved it is not a happy circumstance to gloat about.
Vit insisted we go eat dinner in the XO Lounge, but he asked for a table for two rather than a larger one. He wanted both of us to be able to eat in relative peace. The mess hall was so noisy we could hear it from where we sat even two decks down. I suspect he also wanted me to eat more than a salad which is what I would likely have gotten had we gone through the chow line.
Vit is working on some inspection reports and I’ve finished backing up my pictures, writing this journal entry, and uploading my first new addition to my blog/vlog. It was Barbie who made the request which more than surprised me. She asked if I would help the new co-op she and some of the others are trying to pull together by writing literary thematic units. They want me to start with War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy of all things. When I asked if she was serious she answered, “Very. It is one of the books that is required reading this summer for the virtual schools. We don’t want to compete, but we do want to offer similar selections but in a more flexible and supportive environment. See that’s the problem a lot of parents are having. They have to work which leaves the kids with a lot of unsupervised hours. And the digital assignments being offered by the public school system are dryer than a popcorn fart.”
“Barbie!”
“Yeah, yeah. I sound like Charlie. But the truth is they are. And the school is making it difficult for parents to proctor the assignments on top of that because most of us have very little background in the literature they are choosing. I know … we all know … it is a lot to ask. But we’re asking anyway. Anything you can offer … just get us over the hump and making it less intimidating would be a great start. I don’t have much to offer but when you get home, we’ll figure something out.”
“Don’t say anything yet. Let me see if I can even do this. War and Peace isn’t what you would call light reading and it has been a few years since I’ve even cracked the book much less studied it in any depth.”
“That’s more than I’ve ever done, and I’ve got more college than most of the parents joining the co-op.”
When I told Vit about the project I expected him to object but all he said was, “Do not let them take advantage of you like they wanted with the Pembroke School. If you wish to do this, I will support you but not if it causes you more stress or they treat you poorly.”
So I went on my cloud storage and found an old lesson plan outline I had and sure enough I’ve got the beginnings of a themed study. But even the one that I wrote as a graduate student seems a little dry in hindsight. As I told Barbie, I’ll do what I can, but we’ll have to see how it goes.
