Page 5 of Honeymoon for Seven

“Good idea. That’s always the case. Wherever the food is, so are the crowds. Though there will be a good number of folks hitting the buffet on that side than the dining rooms on this side, it should be less crowded.”

“That sounds like the voice of experience. You sail a lot?”

Did two cruises count as a lot? “I’ve sailed before a couple of times, but not a lot.”

He looked down the hall, but didn’t move. Nodding again, he heaved a deep sigh. “I’d better get going before my mom is overrun by children.”

After the whirlwind introductions the other day, she’d missed whose mother the older woman was. Between the five kids and four adults, she wasn’t sure what the situation was, but at least now she knew he was related to the grandmother. “Kids’ mom sleeping in?”

“No. My sister and her new husband were probably first off the ship this morning.”

“New husband?” That might explain the blushing, but not the five children.

“Very new. This is their honeymoon.”

“Really?” She shouldn’t have said that out loud but trying to connect the dots with all the names and all the kids, a honeymoon scenario hadn’t occurred to her, and at this hour with no coffee, her normal filters weren’t kicking in yet.

“I know, but my mother keeps reminding me that even the Brady’s took their kids with them on their honeymoon.”

If he was referring to the television show, his mom was right.

“Well,” he raised the arm holding the coffee cup toward the end of the hall, “I really need to get going. It was nice seeing you again.”

All she did was nod. It was nice seeing him again. Now all she wanted to know was if there was a Mrs. Smooth Voice to go with the mother and sister and new brother-in-law?

Nick had come within inches of asking Ginnie to join him on deck for a stroll and maybe a cup of coffee. Besides his knowing that by now some, if not all, of the kids were probably awake and his mother would be overwhelmed, just because she was alone outside her door didn’t mean there wasn’t a Mr. Brown Eyes. The guy could be inside sleeping or upstairs waiting for her for breakfast. Though if Nick were married to a looker like her, he would never leave her alone in a hall.

Pressing the button for the elevator, he was almost a little surprised when the doors opened and there was room for him inside. Ginnie had been right. In a fraction of the time it had taken him to get from the coffee shop to the hallway where Ginnie’s room was, he’d made it across the ship, up the elevator and to their suite. No doubt anyone who walked by and saw the “Honeymoon Suite” sign on the door probably wondered why the heck would a family of nine need a honeymoon suite. He’d actually been a little surprised himself when he’d seen the sign. Apparently, knowing that Theresa and Alan were honeymooners, the staff had taken it upon themselves to change the sign on the multi-bedroom presidential suite to honeymoon suite. At least for this cruise. The ship had also left a chilled bottle of champagne and a large dish of chocolate-covered strawberries. All of which had been quickly scooped up and carried off to Theresa and Alan’s room.

Pushing the door open, the silence surprised him. His mom sat on the sofa, a book on her lap, and a tall glass of lemon water. He’d forgotten how many years ago she gave up coffee and switched to lemon water in the morning, something her great aunt Delores had told her was the secret to longevity. “The kids are still sleeping?”

His mother closed her book. “The boys are. I think the girls are coloring quietly.”

Coloring? Maybe this wasn’t going to be as crazy a trip as he’d expected. “And Phoebe?”

“She’s definitely awake, I can hear her talking to her toys, but she won’t fuss as long as the draping is over the portable crib. I thought I’d wait for you then go in and get her up, change her diaper.”

Better his mother than him. Though he’d gotten pretty good at diapers over the years, it was never his favorite thing. Especially the stinky ones. “So,” he sat beside her on the sofa, “what’s the plan for today?”

“Kids Club.” His mother smiled. “There will be all sorts of things to keep the children happy till we get them for lunch.”

“Then give them back?” Not that he didn’t like his nieces, but he was willing to admit that four kids under twelve was a new experience for Uncle Nick and his sister and her husband weren’t due back till after dinner.

“You bet. I think there’s a movie after dinner for the older kids. I’ll stay in with Phoebe if you want to go out and socialize with the adults.”

Socializing with strangers didn’t bother him, he was at least a bit of an extrovert, but that wasn’t why he was here. He’d agreed to fill in for his dad, and his dad would not leave his mother home with the grandkids so he could hang out with other passengers. Even if one of them might be Ginnie.

The door to the boys’ room creaked open and Jake came out first, yawning, followed by his younger brother Jeff. That was another pet peeve of Nick’s. Why did parents have to name all their kids with the same first letter? Wasn’t it hard enough to remember names, never mind when they all start with J or S or P or whatever?

Each boy sat at either side of Nick’s mom, the sweet gesture tugging a smile out of her. Alan’s parents had died one after the other several years ago so the boys didn’t really have a grandmother and had taken to their new grandmother like white on rice.

“Hungry?” his mother asked.

Both heads bobbed, and within seconds, the girls’ door opened. The noise level instantly rose in the suite. His mom was like a drill sergeant. Within minutes, all five kids were dressed, including Phoebe, and ready to head upstairs for breakfast. There was definitely an advantage to corralling hungry kids. They might be a bit whinier than usual, but they also eagerly dived into their food without making more work for supervising adults. So happy with their chocolate chip pancakes or whipped cream covered French toast, the kids didn’t even seem to notice that the boat had begun rocking or the sun was sliding behind a stream of not so pretty-looking clouds.

The more the boat rocked, the more often his mother glanced in his direction. When the water began sloshing over the full glasses on the table, the casual glances from his mother had become filled with concern.

Glancing at his watch, Nick tossed his napkin on the table, and pushed his seat back. “Kids Club is open. We should make our way over.” He didn’t want to admit that it might take more time to get where they were going with the boat rocking so much. Whether or not it was indicative of anything or just a normal part of sailing on a cloudy day, Nick had no idea, but either way, the kids would have more fun involved in games with other kids than hanging out with two older people watching the windows, the storm, and wondering if the island was being hit as badly as the ship.

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