I laugh a little, relief washing over me. Tiffany is the one person who gives me her real opinion, but always in a constructive way. And the fact that she loves my swimsuit eases my nerves enough to step outside the room. “It was a splurge buy, right after quitting my job and the phone call from my mother. It was mixed in with the panties Landon saw in the frozen foods aisle.”
“Of course that happened. We have talent, you and I, for the embarrassing.” She pauses and walks over to stand next to me, resting a hand on my shoulder. “I know it’s hard, but your mom isn’t the only one with an opinion. How do you feel in this suit?” She gestures up and down my body with her hands, waiting for an answer.
After an extra moment of hesitation, I turn to the mirror and stare. “I really like it. And you’re right, I finally have a few assets to make it work.”
“Then go out there with all the confidence in the world because you look amazing.” Tiffany wraps her arms around me, and I take a deep breath and let it out slowly, going over the many things I’m grateful for on this trip. Having Tiffany act as a pseudo-therapist is helping my mood shift for the better.
I throw on a sundress and we walk out the door.
“How are you feeling today? Any better?”
She nods. “Yeah, I bought some Dramamine at the store here on the ship early this morning and I think it’s working its magic.” So that’s why she got up so early. I didn’t even hear her leave. Then again, I probably fell asleep by the time she woke up.
I adjust the sundress before we get to the breakfast room and we eat quickly. It’s surprising that I’m actually kind of excited to go swimming today. It’s been a while since I’ve had the chance and water somehow calms all the crazy thoughts in my head. Except for waterslides of death.
Tiffany points to an open couple of chairs next to the pool and we set down our things before she leads me to the line for one of the slides. “Are you ready for this?”
I glance up, seeing how many flights we have to climb to get to the top. It drains all the excitement I have about swimming. “We can just swim in the pool.”
“Yeah, but we should try out the slides, don’t you think? They aren’t that high.” Tiffany gives me an exaggerated wink and I groan.
We start walking up the stairs and a pit forms in my stomach.
Don’t look down, don’t look down. We’re just gonna jump right into being out of the comfort zone, aren’t we?
I said I’d give everything a try on this trip, and I’m now regretting that. But at least Tiffany is here by my side. She’s always been a safe place, but then again so was Landon at one point. The thought makes me glance around, trying to be aware of where he is so I can ogle/avoid him.
I know, it sounds ridiculous.
We make a slow climb to the top, Tiffany basically gripping my hand with an iron fist and pulling me upward.
A memory pops up of the last hike I’ve ever been on. Landon, Dani, and I, along with a few of Dani’s friends went on a hike to a waterfall. The views were amazing but I made the mistake of looking over the edge and fainted. It was a good thing Landon was there to keep me from falling into the ravine, or else I might not be here today.
And yet I have that same feeling I might faint from the height of this metal contraption.
“You made it to the top,” Tiffany says, braiding her hair away as we wait in line. When she finishes, she claps her hands together and I’m tacking on the best smile I’ve got, even when my insides are all jumbled together.
I watch as a guy heads down the slide, all calm, as if he’s not ready to die on this thing. Okay, death is extreme, but my stomach doesn’t think so at the moment.
It’s a tube, which could be good or bad for me depending on how twisty it is going down.
“Do you wanna go first or you want me to?” Tiffany asks.
I don’t think too long about it because I know the longer my mind goes, the less chance I have of actually going down.
“I guess I’ll go first,” I say, stepping over and positioning myself in the tube. The lifeguard gives the signal to go and I pause for a half second before Tiffany pushes me from behind. A scream escapes my lungs, echoing through the tube.
This is like an out of body experience where I am hurtling downward and then the tube opens up so I can see the sky. The feeling that I’m sliding out past the edge of the boat causes me to scream louder, and my arm stretches with a will of its own, as if I can stop myself from flipping over the side of the boat. Instead of stopping, the momentum twists me around.
Not only am I hurtling down in a plastic tube over the side of a large cruise ship and possibly falling into the ocean, but now I’m doing it backwards.
I try to turn my head to see what’s happening behind me but end up getting a large mouthful of water. And then it’s as though the slide gushes more water, picking up even more speed and making it so my stomach is practically in my throat.
If I live through this, I’m never doing this again. I finally feel the slide leveling off but I can’t see it because I squeezed my eyes shut. And then my body is still.
I lay back, my nose the only thing above water as I try to compose myself. Why do people think that’s fun?
I hear words through the water but they’re distorted. Of course, when I pop my eyes open, guess who is standing above me?