"Hustmyre, Charles - The Love Boat" - читать интересную книгу автора (Hustmyre Charles)

THE LOVE BOAT
By
Charles Hustmyre

"Aren't you excited?" Lucy asked, clapping her hands, then rubbing them together, giddy, like a teenager.

Dan put his arm around her as they walked up the gangway toward the deck. "Sure I am, honey." And he was, he just didn't like to act goofy in public. Ten days on a boat alone with Lucy. Alone that is, if you didn't count the other thousand or so passengers, but that was all right, this was going to be the best vacation ever.

Once they found their cabin, he was glad he'd paid the extra three hundred for one with a port hole. They unpacked and got comfortable, very comfortable.

An hour or so later Dan was ready for a drink, maybe a run at the casino. He was feeling lucky. Besides, this trip was costing him a bundle, wouldn't hurt to win a little bit back from the cruise line.

He checked his watch, it was just past three in the afternoon. It would be another three hours before they cleared the mouth of the river and got out into the Gulf. No sense going up on deck to look at the muddy Mississippi River.

Coming out of the tiny bathroom, buttoning up his pants. "How 'bout checking out the casino?"

Lucy was lying on her back on the double bed, looking up at the ceiling. "I wanna go up on deck, look around some."

"Nothing out there but the river and the swamp. By dark we'll be out in the ocean. We can eat dinner on deck, let that salt air invigorate us." He grinned.

She got up, still naked, and looked out the small port hole at the river. Dan got a good look at her. Man, she was a sight! It made him think how lucky he was he could arrange this little trip. Lucky his job required a lot of travel. Lucky his wife was so trusting.

She hadn't batted an eye when he told her he was going to Honduras for two weeks. "Sorry, hon, no phones on the site but I'll call as soon as the job's over and we get back to civilization." He made sure he sounded mad. Even told her he was kind of thinking about getting into another line of work. Said he was sick of the travel, sick of the primitive living conditions in the field. Natural gas exploration, at least the field work, was a young man's game. He was thinking about a desk job.

She said she wasn't happy about it, but it was his job, and she understood. When he got back maybe they could get away for a long weekend. That Karen, what a trooper.

He'd need a long weekend to rest up from this trip. Lucy turned her head and looked at him, the grin still on his face. "I think you're invigorated enough. You don't need any salt air.Ф
Not much of a crowd in the casino. Still early, most people were still probably trying to get their sea legs. Dan cashed a hundred-dollar bill. He was carrying around a big plastic cup, half-full of chips. "I feel like a little black jack."

Lucy snuggled up next to him as they walked toward the table.

He was lucky. First hand, Dan stayed on thirteen. Dealer was showing a five. The dealer took a hit, jack. He turned 'em over, an eight underneath.

Two more hands and he was up sixty. Betting conservative, twenty bucks a hand. Just loosening up, getting warm. Two more hands, one he busted, the other he won. Lucy was hanging on to him, standing at his side, occasionally whispering naughty things in his ear.

That's when it happened. Lucy was on his right and he felt someone slap him on the left shoulder. "Dan! What the hell are you doing here?"

He recognized the voice before he even moved his head, then felt a huge ball of ice drop through his bowels. William Ratman. Dan turned, unsure what to say, now wishing Lucy was a thousand miles away.

The look on William's face told him everything. He wasn't even looking at Dan. Instead William was staring at Lucy. They had kind of gotten dressed-up to come upstairs. Not feeling like shorts and a T-shirt, Dan had put on a golf shirt with a collar, khakis, and topsiders. Lucy a little more dressed, or less, depending on how you wanted to look at it. White cotton summer dress, split way up the side, low neck, lots of skin.

With his right elbow he tried to nudge Lucy away, but she kept her hands perched on his left shoulder. "Will," he said, trying his hardest to sound happy to see his old neighbor, "been a while, what -- six months?"

William pried his eyes away from Lucy. "Little over a year. How's my house doing?"

Dan turned back to the table and scooped up his chips, throwing them in the plastic cup. Lucy dropped her hands as he stood up. He saw her mouth open, but glared at her, willing her to keep quiet. Turning back to William, cup of chips in his hand. "Oh, the house is fine. I see Peggy coming and going. Boys are outside all the time playing." Cup in one hand, Dan clapped an arm around William's shoulders, forcefully turning him away from the table. "Let's go get a drink."

Turning toward the bar, he saw William glance over his shoulder one last time at Lucy, who thankfully stayed at the table. William asked, "Peggy seeing anybody?"

"No, not that I know of. Karen talks to her more than me." Rushing toward the bar. "You say it's been a year since you two got divorced?"