The Cruise

1. Politics and Suitcases

It was midday on the last Friday in July. The Brockmans would tonight leave for their long awaited cruise holiday around parts of the Northern Hemisphere. It was your average summer's day in South London; raining, slightly cold and windy, Sue for one couldn't wait to get on with the trip and reach sunnier and warmer climates. In an attempt to speed up the process of packing and leaving Ben had been banned from doing his own stuff since the last time he'd been trusted to pack for himself, he'd forgotten to bring any underpants or t-shirts. Pet and Sue hoped that any inevitable delay from a potential repetition had been avoided. It was also the day in which there were some political debates being broadcast on the TV so Karen was mindlessly packing and re-packing all afternoon, distracted by the debates going on. She liked giving her opinions on the Tories (her mother's party of choice) much to Sue's annoyance.

That evening, everyone was in the car ready to go. Everyone, that is, except Karen who was still to arrive at the car with her luggage. Sue was beginning to wish that she'd packed for her daughter like she had done for Ben. Both parents were also slightly angry at themselves for failing to keep the TV unplugged. Every time they'd tried to do so, Karen would plug it back in and tune in to the debates again.

"Pete! Go and see what she's up to!" Sue said, exasperated. They'd been waiting for 30 minutes by this point. At that current moment, Sue was concerned they'd miss the ferry. They'd not even set off yet and it was 6.30. The plan had been leave by 6ish, arrive in Southampton by 8 and grab a quick meal at a restaurant known for having parties in and out within 45 minutes if such speed was requested. That plan was out of the window now, though "At this rate we're barely going to even have time for a McDonald's! We have to be at the port by 9 if we want a good place in the car park queue!"

Pete reluctantly got out of the car and wandered back into the house "Karen! Where are...?" He was cut off mid sentence as it became obvious that his 7 year old daughter was again watching the politics unfold. "Karen, come on, aren't you packed yet?"

"Yes daddy," she replied, "I was just waiting for you and Mummy."

"We've all been waiting in the car for you for well over 30 minutes now! Come on! Where's your case?" he replied, getting a little annoyed

"By the blender in the kitchen daddy, can't we stay for one more argument on TV? This woman in the crowd just threw a shoe and a tomato at the BNP man!"

"Karen, if you come now, I promise that you can borrow my laptop when we get on the boat and connect to their internet to look back at what you missed, okay?" Karen nodded, so Pete turned off the television, picked up Karen's suitcase and led her out of the door, locking it behind him. The pair arrived back in the car to the end of Ben's question about who'd win in an ocean fight between a squid and an octopus. Pete looked at Sue with an expression of bewilderment. Sue simply shrugged and then drove off on the near-2hour journey to Southampton.