Page 18 of The Second Chance in the Mediterranean
When I finished, I turned back to Roy. “Anything look amiss to you?”
“No, ma’am.”
“All right then.” I checked my watch and sent Roy a grin. “At ease, soldier.”
He laughed and we had a few minutes to relax. Roy leaned against the bar and chatted with Will. I stepped to the starboard side of the boat and looked out over the marina. Stacked up along piers were rows and rows of smaller boats: sail and power. Beyond that, Tivat’s waterfront held gleaming white concrete and thick palm trees. The terra-cotta roofs were bright against the blue sky. I’d seen enough of the nearby area to know that this was one of the swankier parts of Tivat, and I’d heard from the other crew members about the marina amenities, like infinity pools and saunas.
Seb came around a corner and met my eye. A look I couldn’t read passed over his face, and I glared at him. He glanced around, then walked toward me.
“Look, Marcella...”
I raised an eyebrow, incredulous. “Seriously? Not now.”
“I just wanted to apologize. I went too far this morning.”
“Yes, you did. Stay out of my galley.” I looked back out at the city, trying to pin the details of Tivat in my mind.
“Marce, I really am sorry. You’re just confusing.”
I ignored him.
“Hey, I’m trying to apologize here. Obviously, I was hurt from our night in Antigua and it didn’t mean anything to you—”
“The van’s here,” I interrupted. “And you don’t know anything about what matters to me, otherwise you wouldn’t be picking a fight with me right before my first charter. I need to focus.” It had meant something to me, but what was the point of admitting that? We needed to let this blow over to be civil around each other.
“No distractions, right?”
I nodded. “No distractions.”
He watched me for a moment. Car doors slammed and shouts from kids echoed off the water.
“Okay. I know this is important. That’s not— I wasn’t trying—” Seb pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath. “We can do this, Marce. No distractions.”
“Good.” I nodded stiffly and then left Seb behind, joining the rest of the service crew.
The mood shifted on board as the guests climbed up to the lazarette ofThemis,the staff turning on practiced smiles and straightening up.
The waiting deckhands clamored to the van to open doors and assist our guests in getting on board.Themiswas docked starboard-side-to, and the narrow gangway was extended out to the dock.
The stews waited at the top of the ramp and then took over, giving a brief tour of the deck area and taking drink orders. With nineteen crew aboard for ten guests, there were plenty of hands to help out.
Roy and I stood by the beverage station, letting the rest of the team take the lead. Dom introduced himself, glad-handing the adults. We had two couples and a nanny on board, in addition to five kids.
Between the ages of seven and twelve, according to our dossiers, the children boarded the boat and immediately took off running down the deck. There were squeals and crashes as they left a destructive wake behind them.
Neither the parents nor the nanny did anything to control the kids.
“Hello! Who would like to see the game room?” Clarissa called out.
Five pairs of eyes snapped to her, followed by shouts of excitement, and Percy opened the door.
With the guests now on board, the real work began.
* * *
I had always been lookingfor a job that would take me to unique and exotic destinations. The irony of having that adventurous job was that, sometimes, I would see the scenery only through the window of the galley. And most of the time, I wouldn’t look up at all.
Dom had taken us off the dock right on time. Finally I feltThemismove underneath my feet, and instead of looking out over the neighborhoods of Tivat, the scenery shifted. I knew our schedule, but little else. Sometime later, we anchored out in the Bay of Kotor—the view from the window was calm water and cloud-capped mountains off in the distance.
