A Life Rescued
Part 5
Chapter 50 – The Compensation (Part 2)
(Please read and review, it makes us better writers.)
Disclaimer: The world of Terabithia belongs to Katherine Paterson and her publishers.
I'm just playing around in it for a while. No profit was, or will be received from this story.
A homemade breakfast the next morning greeted each of the vacationers as they rose, though no more than two were present at any one time. Jesse's parents were the first to get up, and following a light meal of coffee and toast, left a note for the kids and went down to the beach for a long walk. They were close to returning when Grace and Leslie dragged themselves into the small dining area for juice and cereal. Seeing the note, they threw on their clothes and went out, also, to watch the sparse Sunday morning activities around the hotel, and met Mr. and Mrs. Aarons as they showered the sand off their feet next to the pool. Jesse and Tom were just stumbling into the dining area when the others came in the front door.
Mr. and Mrs. Aarons were not going to press the issue with the teens, but they headed to their room to shower and dress for Sunday Mass at the Catholic Church two blocks away. Grace said she would join them and the other three reluctantly agreed to go also. Jesse had been gently prodding Leslie to resume her RCIC classes since the previous summer, but she stubbornly held out for some reason Jesse could not quite weasel out of her. They still attended Mass together, but that was the extent of her conversion, up to this point.
It was nearly eleven when they returned to the hotel and saw Claire and her family in the large atrium that doubled as a dining area for the guests' complementary brunch. The four teens sat at a neighboring table while Jack and Mary went up to change and start packing.
Tom immediately struck up a conversation with Mel, while her brother, Tim, the surfer, watched on amusedly as his sister and her new friend flirted unabashedly. Jesse and Leslie talked with Claire about her imminent cruise and found she was excited, but also concerned that there would not be kids her age, or that she would get bored after a couple days. Her parents would cut in now and then and try to assure her there would be plenty of activities to keep her busy. Claire nodded, but her face said she was skeptical.
While the Sunday Brunch service proceed busily around them, the Virginia travelers were treated to a look into what their new Ohio friends were about to embark upon. Mike and Alice Haskell, the parents, pulled out the brochures with information about their cruise ship and ports of call. The Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas was a monstrous machine, one of the largest cruise ships in the world, displacing more than one hundred sixty thousand tons, or as Mr. Haskell explained, about the weight of four World War II battleship. "And she's longer than an aircraft carrier," he pointed out. "Over eleven hundred feet!"
Jesse, Leslie and Grace were spellbound at the pictures on the pamphlets. The ship had a wave rider, climbing wall, water slides, three swimming pools, four hot tubs, basketball and tennis courts, a nine-hole miniature golf course, skeet shooting – and that was on the top decks alone! The interior contained fifteen floors of shops, theatres, six dining rooms, eight specialty restaurants, spas, saunas, night clubs, casinos, a library - in short, it was a small city for up to four thousand people. And the accommodations ran from small interior cabins to royal suites big enough for large families.
"We're not getting one of those," Claire stated without a hint of resentment; then she pointed to two adjoining interior cabins they had purchased on deck four. "Mel and I get the small cabin. Tim will share the suite with mom and dad."
The itinerary was as impressive as the ship:
Day Port Arrive Depart Activity
1 Miami, Florida 4:30 PM
2 Cruising
3 Puerto Rico 3:00 PM 11:00 PM Docked
4 St. Thomas 8:00 AM 6:00 PM Docked
5 St. Maarten 8:00 AM 5:00 PM Docked
6 Cruising
7 Miami, Florida 7:00 AM
Mr. Haskell continued talking about the cruise as Tom and Mel disappeared. "We leave Miami today at five o'clock and get to San Juan, Puerto Rico Tuesday morning," he said excitedly, pointing out the details. "We stay there much of the day. Then to Charlotte Amalie at St. Thomas, Philipsburg, St. Maarten, and returning back here to Miami early next Sunday morning. Al and I have wanted to do this for years and this was probably the last chance to take all the kids." The father's anticipation was obvious and contagious, Alice (or Al), his wife, Tim and Claire appeared ready to jump out of their seats that minute to get to the ship.
"And where are the six of you headed?" Mrs. Haskell asked.
Shrugging, Jesse admitted, "Um, we don't know, exactly." Then he proceeded to explain about the surprise and some of how it came about. When he mentioned Leslie's parents, Claire begged to tell her family who she was. Leslie sighed, but kept a smile as Claire told her parents and brother about her father.
"And Jesse was one of the illustrators of the book, too," Claire added, pointing out that she had gotten his autograph the previous evening.
As noon arrived, it was time for the two groups to say their final goodbyes. This time Claire hugged Leslie and Grace, and then gave Jesse an amusingly formal handshake. Tom reappeared with Mel, his hair slightly disheveled, and a sly smile on his face. The girl gave him a brief hug goodbye and walked off quickly with her brother and under the curious stares of everyone else.
When the Haskell family had moved out of earshot, Jesse turned to Tom. "Come on, Don Juan, time to pack." Tom continued to smile and followed the others to their room.
Upon returning to the suite, Mr. Aarons asked to speak with Leslie and they went into her room where she was handed a sheet of paper.
"I received this from your father this morning, he asked me to show it to you."
Leslie's face fell as she read through the warning about reports of photographers following her. Handing the email back, she explained how she and Jesse had already run into a few. Mr. Aarons put on one of his old, sour, unpleasant faces and mumbled an unintelligible curse as he walked out. Jesse entered immediately afterwards and asked what was wrong. She told him.
"I have an idea. If we don't know where we're going today, they probably don't either." He explained his plan and went to speak with his father.
At one o'clock, the Lark Creek vacationers met in the front lobby as yet another limo arrived to take them to their next destination. Off to the side of the hotel, the Haskell family was boarding a shuttle bus to the Port of Miami for their cruise. Claire saw them and waved goodbye one last time before disappearing behind a heavily tinted window.
"Nice kid," Jesse said to Leslie.
"Uh-huh. I could tell you thought so yesterday, Aarons," she replied, laughing and squeezing her boyfriend's hand. She received an exaggerated Cheshire cat grin in return and then noted sourly, "So...what's the plan? I see my fans are already gathering." Pointing across the parking lot, a group of a half-dozen photographers were milling about, some taking pictures and others looking ready to jump in their car to follow the limo when it departed.
"You'll see, it won't be too long."
And it wasn't. Ten minutes later, having just turned onto Ocean Drive and as Mary was about to reveal their next destination, the limo made an abrupt turn into a parking garage. Looking behind, Jesse saw the guard immediately close the gate so no one else could enter. Their chauffeur had done his job properly. The limo stopped around a corner and everyone got out and went into two inconspicuous cars. Not two minutes after entering the garage, the limo sped off, out the same way it had entered, with an even half-dozen cars and bikes tailing. Everyone remained quietly out of sight, slipping down in their seats, for another fifteen minutes while their tails were led north on Ocean Drive. Then their cars started and a couple not-so-refined young men drove them away.
Crouched down in the seats, the teens could not tell which way they were headed, at first, even when Jesse picked his head up to peer out the window. He observed they were going over a high bridge, between the barrier islands and the mainland, he speculated. Hundreds of motorboats were docked in the port area, a couple dozen sailboats of all sizes tacked into the wind, making their slow way out to the ocean that had become as smooth as glass overnight. As he related this to Leslie, she tried to worm up to see, but was told by Mrs. Aarons to stay down.
Jesse's view was suddenly blocked by a white wall and he gasped as they started past the Port of Miami terminal; the wall was a cruise ship, the word Carnival painted in dark blue near the bow with accompanying red and gold filigree.
He moved up a little more and gasped. "There are four HUGE boats here, Les. Mom, can she look?"
"Make it quick, Leslie," Mrs. Aarons said, and the other teen popped her head up so she could just see the ships.
"That must be the one Claire's going on," Leslie gasped, pointing to one liner that was twice as big as the others were. "Look! There's the waterslide and all that other stuff on top." Slipping back down, she nestled herself under Jesse's arm and sighed. "Maybe next year we can do that, Jess."
Mrs. Aarons turned around and asked her son if he would like to take a cruise some time. The answer was something along the lines of, "Yeah, right, Mom." Neither teen felt the subtle lane change, but the rapid deceleration was obvious.
"Where are we going, Mom?"
"When we switched cars I was just about to tell you two and the others. We're headed to the Caribbean."
"What? On - on a boat, on a cruise ship – like one of these? I KNEW it!" Jesse shouted, hugging Leslie who was suddenly looking guilty. "Did you know, too, Les?"
"By accident. I heard your father and Mr. Haskell talking last night. Sorry, I didn't want to spoil the surprise."
But by the look on his face, it was clear to Leslie that Jesse was upset about nothing just then. He sat back up into the seat, but kept low as the car made a circuit around the busy embarkation area, pulling into a secluded and enclosed area. The other car, with Mr. Aarons and the Jacobs, had just arrived also. The driver turned around and asked them to wait at the car while he checked in.
The six gathered between the two vehicles and waited for their eyes to adjust to the dark interior; it took a minute after so long in the bright sun. But soon their quiet was replaced with more expressions of amazement. The structure they had stopped in was full of limos and other expensive looking automobiles. They were parked in the "Millionaires' lot," as Tom called it. There was very little activity except for one car on the far side of the building where a small family was also gathering their things. As their car was unloaded, a golf cart-like vehicle pulled up and their luggage was loaded.
Then Leslie nearly cried out: "Jesse! That's – that's that girl, the one from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory!"
"Oh, who? The gum girl you thought was creepy?"
"No, the other one, uh, Veruca Salt. Ohmygosh! I hope she's on our ship!"
Jesse, Tom and Grace laughed at Leslie's uncontrolled excitement while an electric tram pulled up behind their cars. Two well-dressed men jumped off and started loading their bags. When finished, all were instructed to sit while they were shuttled to the check-in area. It was a brief ride, and Leslie saw the actor (whose real name she could still not recall) was in line immediately in front of them. At one point she turned around and smiled at Tom, completely ignoring Leslie's own bashful wave.
Over the next ten minutes, the six travelers were given a short introduction to Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines and the ship they were about to board. Picture IDs were issued and explanations given on their use. Jesse overheard the woman who was making the arrangements tell his parents that the passes were essentially charge cards for anything on the ship and some places ashore. Then an Asian woman in her early twenties approached and asked them to follow her. She seemed to know each of them by name, causing Mr. Aarons to jump a little whenever he was addressed, clearly uncomfortable with receiving the royal treatment. Their luggage had already disappeared on its way to their rooms, or cabins as they are called on ships.
Following a short walk, they reached the stern of the liner and saw the actor and her parents a hundred yards ahead of them turn to the right and board the ship. Thirty seconds later they followed, and Jesse had to let go of Leslie's hand; she was holding his so tightly out of excitement. Tom and Grace appeared to be sleepwalking behind their dark sunglasses, but in awe of the monstrous machine they were about to board. Even Mr. and Mrs. Aarons looked a tad shaken by the adventure. Jesse heard his father say to his mother, "Burke really went all-out with this adventure."
Crossing the small removable gangway and into the bowels of the ship felt like entering a sort of cathedral – or tomb: Everything changed. The cool air was dry and held the faintest hint of sea salt, diesel fuel and food, but none were at all overpowering. It was the smell of the sea their guide, Vanessa, told them. She then led the six to an elevator, explaining how they were secured by the passes recently issued. Stepping in, she pressed the button labeled "13" and the cab was whisked up through the ship, the glass exterior giving them a spectacular view of the spacious six central floors of the liner before returning to its dark tube. An electronic bell sounded, the doors opened, and Vanessa ushered her charges into a long lobby. At the far end, perhaps fifty feet away, were two fancy wooden doors. Along the sides of the lobby/corridor were more, though less ornate, doors, each numbered.
"These are the larger suites," Vanessa said, pointing to either side. Then she started down the hallway. "Behind us, towards the stern of the ship are more cabins. Here is your stateroom."
Even Leslie and Jesse were not prepared for what they were approaching. Between the two wooden doors was a gilded plaque that read:
Royal Family Suites
1300 – 1301
Hearing his parents exhale and say "No!" under their breath, Jesse looked back at Tom and Grace. Both had removed their sunglasses and wore a shocked expression. Over the past month, whenever they speculated about the trip and the possibility of taking a cruise, all four had joked that having the royal suite would be "Super cool," but none had seriously believed Bill and Judy Burke would be so extravagant. Jesse clearly recalled Tom looking up the cost of such accommodations; the six of them on a weeklong cruise would cost over fifty thousand dollars. Even Leslie, more accustomed to wealth, was clearly taken aback.
Vanessa opened the port door and invited them in. As he passed his father, Jesse heard him say, "I told him to keep it simple, Mary. I'm gunna punch Burke in the wiener when we get home." Jesse wasn't certain the man was joking.
It took a while for this, the shock of the day, to wear off. Vanessa gave them the tour and introduced the cook and two full-time stewards assigned to their cabin. The baby grand piano, two huge flat screen HDTVs, and private Hot tub only added to the dream. Three sizable bedrooms, each with a spacious private bath, living room, dining room, kitchen, two exterior decks and a lounge with a fully stocked bar topped the suite. Vanessa gave them further information about programs and finally departed after leaving a small stack of her business cards with directions on how to contact her, day or night. When she had left, Mr. Aarons disappeared for a minute and returned with a shot of whiskey, collapsing into the sofa next to his wife.
"So this is what it's like to be filthy rich?"
Tom, having been watching Jesse's father, spoke for the first time. "Actually, Mr. Aarons, ocean liners have far larger suites because they'll be at sea for weeks...sometimes."
"Thank you, Tom," Mrs. Aarons said for her husband, who was already finishing off the ounce of whiskey. "Why don't you four go pick rooms and look around?"
Jesse and Leslie smiled at each other and raced across the living room to check the suite's details, Tom and Grace followed.
By three o'clock, everyone was settled and had calmed down some. As soon as the teens were told to be at the dining room at six sharp, Tom grabbed Jesse's arm, announced they were going to look around, and disappeared out the door before Leslie had time to give her boyfriend a counter-offer. Instead, she and Grace examined the hot tub and announced they were going to look at the pools. They made a quick change and headed out while putting on sunscreen.
Two decks below, Tom led Jesse into one of the twenty-four hour dining rooms where they found a couple hundred other passengers going through any of twenty different lines for food. The boys walked around scoping out the various fares before settling on a variety of Asian foods and tall plastic tumblers of fruit punch. At a table for two next to a window, they sat and ate.
"It'll take us a week just to explore this thing," Jesse said while he cast a suspicious eye on the spring roll he had taken.
"Ur no' ki'ing." Tom swallowed. "I want to try the wave rider..."
"And the climbing wall! It's bigger than the one at the mall in Roanoke..."
Their excited chatter went on for a while as they sampled the many meat and vegetable dishes around the dining area. True to form, Tom would point out a girl he'd like to 'get to know better' every few minutes, and even waved to a couple.
"Did you see those twins, Jess?" asked Tom excitedly at one point, pointing towards two females leaving the room. "They aren't Lisa and Carol, but..."
Jesse just laughed and shook his head.
"You know, mate..."
"Tom, please stop calling me that in public. It sounds queer."
"'Queer'? Alright, love, my old British English has pretty-much worn off anyway."
Jesse cried out, "Ah!" and threw a balled-up napkin across the table. Then in a completely serious tone said, "You can only say that when we're alone." Both teen dissolved into fits of laughter.
Approaching four o'clock, a ship-wide announcement reminded all visitors that they had to disembark from the Freedom of the Seas at least thirty minutes before its five o'clock departure. Tom got a funny look on his face, dropped his fork, pulled his ship pass out, and jumped up.
"Come on, Jess! I can't believe...never mind."
"What?" Jesse asked lamely as his friend ran off. Shrugging, he followed as Tom ran down four flights of stairs to the Passenger Service Center on deck seven. "What the hell are you doing?" he asked, grabbing Tom's arm as he searched for the shortest line.
"Jess, we're on the Freedom of the Seas! Doesn't that mean anything to you?"
"No. Do you want to find that actor? She's a little old for you, I think she's about twenty now."
Tom ignored Jesse and stepped up to the counter. "Hi, I'm trying to locate some friends; we got separated when we, uh, checked in. Their name is Haskell."
While the assistant looked on her computer, Jesse realized that he had forgotten all about their South Beach friends and the ship they had talked so excitedly about. Freedom of the Seas... I guess we won't be seeing much of Tom this week... An image came involuntarily into Jesse's consciousness. I guess I wouldn't mind seeing more of Claire, either...
When Jesse and Tom returned to their suite a short time later they found Mr. and Mrs. Aarons running around like excited children in their swimsuits trying to figure out how to turn on the Hot tub. The girls had gone up to look at the pools, they said, and everyone would meet at such-and-such a spot for the five o'clock departure.
The boys changed into their suits in case they wanted a quick swim before dinner and headed to the pool decks, which were three levels below their own. Crowds of passengers were everywhere, coming and going, looking for a spot to watch the ship leave port. So many were lined on the starboard side, Jesse though the ship had to be listing a couple degrees.
Two of the pools were centrally located on decks nine and ten, the forward one with dual waterslide emptying into it. There were already dozens of kids, and not a few adults, in line for the ride. Between the two pools were two large hot tubs filled with adults holding drinks and chatting madly, laughing, and acting half their age. It was difficult to tell, however, if that was good or bad. A steel drum band played loudly on the deck between the two hot tubs and pools, seemingly indifferent to the occasional splash of water. The third pool was further towards the stern and covered in case of inclement weather.
Jesse and Tom looked for the girls, but not finding them tried to locate two chairs. However, most of the deck lounge chairs were occupied, and some had small crowds of partiers around them. As they set their towels down, both heard a familiar voice. Leslie's. A dozen chairs down, hidden by a group of guys their age, Leslie and Grace lay on lounges talking to their visitors. They approached slowly, not really sure what was happening. As the girls came into view, Jesse's turned to Tom who was looking at him, too, and saw the shock on his face. The girls were wearing matching white bikinis, the ones Leslie had purchased the week before, and while modest (at least as those types of suits go) they only enhanced the natural beauty of the teens.
"Jeez, Jess..." was all Tom could say.
"They kinda look like sisters, don't they?"
"Just about...Wow. Do you think they need help?"
Jesse spied through the crowd again and saw his girlfriend was having no difficulty, but Grace looked a little self-conscious. Watching her, he was reminded why he had made a point of keeping his distance: She was a beautiful girl...woman...teen...whatever! Just then Grace looked up and saw Jesse's blushing face and in a second sat up and started putting on a wrap. Leslie followed her friend's gaze and found Jesse and Tom watching from the outer ring of boys. She waved to them and beckoned them in. As soon as Jesse was within reach, she took his hand, sat up, and kissed him in a way that left no uncertainty about whether she was available. Jesse actually heard a couple of the guys groan in disappointment. Most of the small crowd started to disperse, some waving in a friendly way, but a couple tried to reengage Grace in conversation. She had, however, turned beet-red and was already telling Tom to take her back to the cabin. He reluctantly assented to her wish.
"Um, nice suit, Les," Jesse said. Then he laughed as more than a few teens (and older males) glanced her way while walking by. "You're popular."
"More than I expected," she replied in false immodesty. "You really like it?"
Jesse felt a trap being set and only nodded. Seeing he wasn't going to be bated, Leslie lay back and patted Grace's former chair. "Pretty amazing, isn't it? The ship, I mean."
"Yeah. Did you and Grace look around?"
"A little, I was hoping to do some exploring with you, but Tom dragged you off before, well, we'll look around after dinner, ok?" Leslie was turned on her side, smiling at him, and he found it impossible to feel anything but affection for her. She had obviously been irritated by his earlier disappearance but had now waved it off. "Where did you two go?"
"To get something to eat…"
Leslie giggled. "I should have known. Did you look in the kitchen back at the cabin?"
"No."
"It's got all sorts of snacks. We also have free room service and there's a cook available to us seven by twenty-four." She looked a little guilty. "I think Dad went a bit crazy with this holiday."
"Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous: That's us. Did you see your actor friend?"
"'Friend'? Tom's the only one of us to get any reaction from her. She's around here somewhere, I'm sure." She pointed to a spot further down the pool deck. "Probably behind that group of guys."
Leslie lay back and examined the nearer pool where groups of kids were laughing at a clown, and Jesse took the opportunity to re-inspect his girlfriend's bathing suit, or more precisely, what it was covering. It had been seven months since he had seen her at the beach and he noted some subtle differences in her figure. All very pleasing. When his eyes moved upwards from her hips he saw she was smiling at him and he apologized, blushing.
"Don't apologize, Jess," she whispered, "it's flattering."
He nodded appreciatively - but continued to blush.
As five o'clock approached, Mr. and Mrs. Aarons, Tom, and a much-recovered Grace met Jesse and Leslie for the departure ceremony, such as it was. The liner blew its horn; a couple thousand streamers popped in the hot, late afternoon breeze; another few thousand hands waved goodbye to the small crowd on the dock making the ship appear like a bloated, white millipede that had tumbled on its side. Slowly, almost imperceptibly, the three hundred-thirty million pound vessel with its twenty-five hundred passengers and fourteen hundred crew (more than fifteen hundred passengers under capacity) moved straight out from its berth, pirouetted a hundred-eighty degrees, and began the short trip from the Port of Miami to the Atlantic Ocean.
They were on the way.
Dinner on the liner was yet another novelty for all six Lark Creek residents. Their table of eight was rounded-out with a couple in their sixties, Marianne and Roger, who were pleasant company and had cruised extensively. When Tom voiced his indecision about which appetizer to order, Marianne told him to order both. "You can eat whatever you want, and as much as you want. Don't plan on losing weight on a cruise."
Their stories of travel were interesting, but both were a little aloof and said they seldom ate in the dining rooms after the first night or two, preferring to dine at the smaller restaurants aboard. And sure enough, they were seldom seen again on the voyage.
Following the meal, everyone returned to the suite where Vanessa had arranged to walk them through the various activities aboard ship, excursions on the islands, and other amenities their first class trip offered. It was eight before they completed looking over the options for the next twenty-four hours and as soon as their activity guide left, Tom suggested they try to find the Haskell's and do something with them. By this, in Jesse's estimation, his friend meant he would find Mel and take up where they left off at the hotel nine hours earlier.
But Mr. and Mrs. Aarons had other plans and told all four teens they were attending a show in the Palm Theater at eight-thirty, which left them just enough time to walk to the stern of the ship and find good seating. Tom grumbled to Leslie, trailing the other four, until the show started and he learned it was a comedian, and a very good one. By the time they'd left an hour later, Tom was still griping, but now because the man only gave two performances.
Exiting the theater, the teens finally ran into the Haskell family. They had seen their Virginia friends earlier and were waiting outside, filled with enough ideas of things to do to keep them busy a month. Unsurprisingly, Tom took off with Mel, allegedly heading to don suits and try the wave rider. Tim invited himself along, but let the others have a good head start. His parents gave their son an appreciative look.
Mike and Alice accepted an invitation from Jack and Mary to have some "adult drinks" in the Starlight Lounge, the highest point aboard ship. The rotating lounge gave a perfect view of everything in sight.
Grace said she was going to check out Teen Time, the section of the ship reserved exclusively for thirteen to fifteen year-olds, but Claire and Leslie begged her to join them and Jesse in the Hot tub back at the suite. She hemmed and hawed for a while before finally giving in, mainly because Jesse begged her and acted silly until she relented.
Back in their cabin, Leslie pulled out her strapless white bikini and asked Grace if this was the right time. She proposed another: "Les, that thing hides as much as a wet t-shirt. Maybe you should wear it when it's just you and Jess." Leslie was surprised by the suggestiveness of her friend, but quickly realized Grace didn't mean it to come out that way. In any event, she wore her regular white two-piece and hoped for an evening alone with her boyfriend in the near future.
By the time Claire knocked on the suite door, Leslie and Grace were already playing with the controls of the tub. Jesse answered and watched as his guest stumbled into the 'palace,' as he had started calling it. All she could say was, "Wow!"
"Yeah, that's what we said, too. The tub is over here." Jesse led her to the deck where the other girls had just entered the roiling water. They eased themselves in and sat back to relax; Leslie turned the temperature down ten degrees so they wouldn't overcook. The warmth and comfort soon had all four at ease, but Jesse noticed Leslie looked a la bit shaky.
"You ok, Les?"
She swallowed and turned his way, smiling. "Of course!"
Claire talked a lot, but Jesse didn't mind any longer. She was a nice girl and Grace seemed to have found a level of comfort with her that suggested they could enjoy mutual companionship on the cruise. This was important to him, for as much as he liked Grace he did not want her latched to Leslie and himself. So he sat, quietly listening, and enjoying the sight of three attractive girls. His eyes wandered from Leslie to Grace to Claire, and he found that far from being bored, their company was stimulating and interesting. He focused on his newest friend for a while, trying not to stare. Claire's skin was darker than the other two girls' were, though not as dark as Makayla. She was average height, looks, and build, with short dark hair and still very much in early adolescence. He tried to reconcile the girl in the Hot tub with him and the girl who had run topless out of the ocean the previous day, but the image had already faded enough that there was no lingering embarrassment when he glanced at her chest; there she was less endowed than Grace. In an odd way, it gave him a sense of security, or at least no feeling of being threatened - or tempted.
Because Leslie was sitting next to him, it was nearly impossible to look at her without being noticed, particularly when he wanted to catch a glance of her more hidden spots. Her new bikini gave him visual access to much, much more of her breasts than anything else she had worn around him. It required nothing more than a fleeting look to see the pale, fleshy signs of her approaching womanhood. At times he felt as if he was being rude, or a pervert, but she had never admonished him for looking at her; her most typical reaction was a smile. What intrigued Jesse most, however, was that the cut of her top allowed him to see more of the front of her breasts, though he could never quite make out everything, particularly areas of most recent interest to him.
Then there was Grace sitting across from him. The feet of all four were touching, but it was her feet that evoked the greatest reaction, even more so than Leslie's. And without having to hide or be sneaky, Jesse also enjoyed the view of Grace's upper torso. Though smallish, her bosom was shapely and very captivating. He buried the guilt of looking at another girl, however, and resolved to enjoy what was offered, wondering why that part of the female anatomy had become such a powerful draw to him.
About ten o'clock, Tom returned, but only Jesse noticed that something was wrong. He excused himself, wrapped a towel around his waist, and went to their room. The door was closed. He knocked and entered.
Tom was laying on his bed reading, which in itself indicated to Jesse much about his friend's state of mind.
"Hey."
"Hmm?"
"No wave riding?"
"Yeah, we did a little."
"How was it?"
"Oh, the wave riding was fun."
Jesse sat on his bed. "But Mel wasn't?"
Tom didn't answer, but pretended to read for a couple minutes. Jesse could tell he wasn't really reading, though, just staring at one spot on the page. He tried again.
"What happened?"
"Nothing. We surfed for a while and then she wanted to go back to her cabin."
"Oh, I see. Maybe she was tired," he suggested.
"Jess, she wasn't tired, she wanted to go back to her room…with me." Tom put his book down, tired of pretending to read it.
"Oh…um, what's wrong with that?"
"Jess, she wanted to…you know."
Jesse almost laughed. "And the problem is…?"
"Shut up, Jess," Tom snapped. It was said in that tone Tom only used when he wanted to give an order. Jesse had learned long ago not to ignore it. But this time he did.
"Ok…are you sure that's what she wanted?"
"Well, let me see," he started sarcastically. "We're walking down the hall, holding hands, and she asks me if I have any condoms. I don't think she wanted to blow balloons."
"No, I guess not."
A long silence passed between them during which Tom went to the bathroom, changed and got ready for bed. When he returned, he picked up the book and began to pretend to read again. Jesse gave him more time, suspecting he wanted to talk but was too proud or upset. He shed his suit and pulled on his boxers, and just in time. There was a single rap on the door and it flew open.
"Oops! Sorry, Jess," Leslie said, closing the door part of the way. "Are you coming…oh, hi Tom. You two want to come out to the Hot tub?"
Tom barely acknowledged Leslie, and Jesse simply shook his head no. Leslie shrugged, raised her eyebrows suggestively at Jesse's attire, and left to rejoin the girls.
"Almost," Tom said, his voice showing a hint of amusement.
"Huh? Oh, yeah, I think she does that on purpose. Maybe I should surprise her one of these times."
"We could climb in bed together and pretend to make out."
Jesse hit him with a pillow, but laughed.
"So, what's bothering you? I kinda thought you'd, you know, like to do it with Mel."
"Me too. It's like a fantasy: A girl asking me to screw her. But when she said that I felt like hurling."
"You mean you've never, um, done it…ever? Whew! I always thought you'd be the first of us to…you know…"
Rolling over on his side, Jesse's friend flipped him the bird. "You all think I'm a pervert. I can't stand that, Jess. Outside of a few times where Lisa and Care gave me a…"
"DON'T WANNA TO KNOW!" Jesse nearly shouted.
"…I've hardly gotten past second base."
Which one is second base…? "Oh. You had us fooled."
"Quit saying that. You'll be the first, besides Barb, but that doesn't count."
"The first what?"
"Aarons, don't act so innocent. I can name five or six girls we know who would make it with you in a heartbeat, it you asked them."
"WHAT?!"
"I know you know who they are, right?"
"Well…um, Leslie, yeah…" And he shrugged in a helpless sort of way. Tom laughed and hit him with a pillow.
"Leslie, Makayla, Barb, Lisa, Carol…and maybe Mel," he added sarcastically at the last second.
Jesse, feeling both intrigued and a little sick to his stomach, asked, "Who's the sixth?"
"My sister."
"Too young."
"Bullshit."
"Doesn't matter. It'll never happen."
"I know, but, it's food for the imagination, mate."
Jesse shook his head. But Tom might be right, in a way. Every one of those girls held some type of attraction to him. The twins… Bouncy and bubbly and apparently interested in some level of deeper physical intimacy. Barb… She was a tiger: Aggressive and strong, but in too much pain. Makayla… Exotic, and probably the most emotionally appealing to him, aside from Leslie. Grace was… He shuddered, again faced with the purely physical responses she induced, again he was glad she was moving away, and again he wished it had been her and not Claire who had run out of the ocean the previous day.
And lastly, Leslie… His Leslie. She was the whole package, the person who offered him everything. Jesse recalled a funny old song he'd heard at the last school dance:
A little bit of Monica in my life
A little bit of Erica by my side
A little bit of Rita is all I need
A little bit of Tina is what I see
A little bit of Sandra in the sun
A little bit of Mary all night long
A little bit of Jessica here I am
A little bit of you makes me your man…
It would be easy to substitute names…
"Aarons, what are you fantasizing about over there? My sister?" Tom slid over on his bed, moving a little further away. "Just don't start playing with yourself."
Jesse laughed and went to his suitcase. Withdrawing one of his sketchpads, he sat in a chair and began to draw. After a minute he closed his eyes and thought of the subjects. For the next hour, he worked furiously with pencils and charcoal, putting on the paper what he could so clearly picture in his mind: Leslie, Grace, and Claire. As the clock in the atrium rang eleven, he stopped and stretched. Tom walked over and looked.
"Jesus Christ, Jess! That's…amazing!"
Smiling, he tore the page out, handed it over, then slipped on his shorts.
"It's yours. I'll be back in a minute."
But he didn't come back for a long time.
When Jack and Mary returned around midnight, they panicked finding Jesse and Leslie's beds empty. The hot tub was vacant and there was no note. But Mary soon discovered the two on the port balcony, asleep in one of the lounge chairs, bundled against the cool ocean air and wrapped in each other's arms. Calling her husband, they roused the teens and each adult escorted a child to the appropriate bedroom.
When Jesse was about to climb in bed, he turned sleepily to his father and kissed his arm.
"Night, Les…"
Jack helped his son into bed. "Goodnight, Cupcake."
A/N: The 'Punch him in the wiener' line came from the movie Juno.
Revision 1.1, July, 2008
