PREVIEW
Never Say Never
Never Say Never
By Lena Nelson Dooley
Charlotte looked through her hanging clothes, trying to decide what to wear to eat with the captain.
The schedule clearly stated that the first night was not formal, so she finally decided on a soft floral cotton gauze dress. She liked the way the full skirt swirled around her legs. It made her feel feminine. Why that made any difference tonight, she didn’t know.
Before leaving the room, they studied the map to see where the main dining room was. Charlotte folded the map and stuck it in her tiny shoulder bag in case they needed it later. They took the elevator up to deck four. A cruise employee waited to show passengers the way. When they arrived at the dining room, Chelle handed the maitre d’ the invitation. He immediately led them toward a table on a raised platform surrounded by railings. Charlotte glanced around, taking in the burgundy plush carpeting as well as the muted draperies on the windows, or were they portholes? But they weren’t round. The high-ceilinged room was open in the middle with balcony seating on the deck above. This dining room was like an upscale restaurant on land, except the floor was not completely steady. Charlotte had trouble with the movement of the ship for about an hour, but now she had her sea legs.
When the maitre d’ pulled out her chair, she glanced at the other people at the table. Five besides herself and Chelle–a couple who held hands as if they were newlyweds, an older couple, and the captain.
Charlotte couldn’t believe her eyes. That man on the deck, the one with the piercing blue eyes, was the captain, and he sat right beside her. Suddenly, the comfortably air-conditioned room felt too warm and something inside her quaked. She worried that she wouldn’t be able to eat a thing with her stomach acting that way. Charlotte had been sure she wouldn’t have a problem with motion sickness, but now she wondered.
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