"Now this is the life," Harrison commented later that afternoon as he and Tru relaxed by one of the pools.
"Hmm," Tru replied with a smile although she didn't bother opening her eyes.
"Wonder if dad's gonna make this a regular thing," Harrison said. "Wouldn't it be great to do this…?"
Harrison's voice trailed off as he saw Tru's face settle back into the concerned frown that she had worn almost permanently since Richard had sprung the surprise on them.
"You don't find it at all odd that all of a sudden dad suddenly decides to run for father of the year?" Tru opened her eyes and sat up to look her brother in the face. Was she the only one with suspicions?
"Aw, come on Tru, give him a chance, at least," Harrison said. "He's trying to make up for lost time."
"Sounds like bribery to me," Tru muttered.
"Well I know something that'll cheer you up," Harrison grinned.
Tru raised her eyebrow in response.
"That lifeguard over there's been checking you out," Harrison nodded discreetly across to Tru's right and sure enough when she turned to follow his gaze she caught the lifeguard looking her way before he quickly averted his eyes.
"Now if I were to go find something else to do, I bet he'll come over and talk to you," Harrison suggested with a wicked grin. "A little shipboard romance is just what you need."
"Hardly," Tru replied though she couldn't quite stop herself from glancing back towards the lifeguard who was once again looking in her direction.
"Come on Tru, live a little," Harrison said as he stood up and made a big display of looking around the area as though bored and looking for another activity to partake in.
Tru watched in exasperation as her brother gave her a wave. "Later Sis," he said before he disappeared out of sight.
"Great," Tru mumbled to herself. First their father has a personality transplant overnight and now her brother had decided to play matchmaker. Laying back again she closed her eyes and tried to put the concerns over her father out of her mind.
A few minutes later she felt a coolness that told her someone was standing over her and casting their shadow across her. She opened her eyes ready to berate Harrison only to find that his prediction had come true and that the lifeguard had indeed walked over to her as soon as he had departed.
"Hi," the lifeguard, Pete she read on his shirt, greeted her with a wide smile. "You enjoying the cruise so far?"
Tru smiled and wondered briefly whether he would want to hear the truth. She had not even opened her mouth to answer before he spoke again.
"God that was lame," he said rolling his eyes as he sat down in the deck chair recently vacated by Harrison. "Of course you're going to be enjoying the cruise. The weather's great and you're here with your boyfriend. Why wouldn't you be having a good time?"
"Boyfriend?" Tru asked in surprise before she realised that he had inadvertently mistaken Harrison for a boyfriend. She laughed aloud at the idea, her first real joy since setting foot on board.
"So I take it he isn't?" Pete asked with a grin.
"My brother," Tru explained. "It's a family vacation."
"So no other halves here?"
"No. Just me, Harrison and our older sister and our dad."
"And waiting back on dry land?"
"Harrison's left his girl waiting there," Tru replied.
"And is there anyone waiting for you?"
"Just my boss," Tru answered with a smile. "I'm Tru Davies."
"Pete Rawlings," Pete said by way of a belated introduction. "So can I buy you dinner tonight Tru?"
"I think my dad's got something planned for the family," Tru said with real regret.
"Tomorrow then?"
"Sure," Tru agreed as Pete stood up and walked back to his post at the poolside.
Tru settled back again but no longer felt like lounging by the pool. Standing up she waved across to Pete and set about tracking down her family.
Meredith wandered along the upper deck and leaned on the railings to look down at the poolside below her.
Tru and Harrison were seated beside the pool. She watched them from her vantage point with a small stab of jealousy.
It wasn't that she disliked her siblings but she had never been as close to either of them as they were to each other, they were a private club of two and she was the one who was always left to watch from the sidelines.
She watched them a moment longer and saw Harrison stand up to leave. She wondered whether to follow after him but decided against it.
"Now what's a lovely woman like yourself doing standing alone on board a luxury liner?"
Meredith turned around to see who had spoken to her, wondering whether he was deserving of the sharp end of her tongue or not.
Jack smiled charmingly and turned to look down at the poolside. "Someone you know?" he asked as he looked at Tru who was now talking to one of the lifeguards.
"My sister," Meredith replied with a shrug.
"Your older sister?" Jack asked with another charming smile.
It was an old line but Meredith smiled back anyway.
"I take it you're not a particularly close family?" Jack asked leading Meredith away from the railings. "Such a shame. My own sister and I are very close."
"She's here with you?" Meredith asked as they continued to walk.
"Sadly no," Jack replied. "I'm all on my own here. Just like you."
"Lunch?" Meredith asked as they neared one of the liner's restaurants.
"Delighted," Jack replied, opening the door for her.
Tru could find no trace of Meredith at all but did manage to track down Harrison and their father at the liner's small casino.
She had glanced through the window, not expecting to see them inside, and frowned at the sight of Harrison at the poker table. He had managed to stop himself from gambling for some months now and within a few hours of being on board the ship he was back at a poker table.
She had never told him how proud she had been of his hard work and determination to stop gambling; she wondered if it would have made a difference if she had.
"Harry can I have a word?" Tru called to him as she approached the table. He looked up and she caught the slight flush on his face in the fluorescent lighting. She wondered if it was guilt or excitement at having a good hand.
"In a minute Tru," he replied, clearly distracted.
"I'll be just outside," Tru called as he tossed a couple of cards down and waited for the dealer to pass him two more.
She paced outside furious with herself for not keeping a closer eye on Harrison, furious with their father for letting him near the table in the first place, and furious with Harrison himself for being so easily swayed back into his old habit.
"I was right wasn't I? He tried to pick you up?" Harrison asked as soon as he stepped outside.
"Yeah, we're having dinner tomorrow," Tru replied. "Now what do you think you're doing in there?"
"Winning," Harrison grinned. "Dad gave me a couple of pointers I never even thought of."
"That's not what I meant," Tru said as she grabbed his arm and hurried him away from the casino. "You've been doing so well not to make any bets and now you just decide to head back to the tables because dad gives you a few pointers?"
"Come on Tru, we're on vacation. Have a little fun."
"Fun?" Tru exclaimed. "You can't gamble Harrison. You know you're an addict. You can't just have the odd game, the odd bet. You know that."
"I can stop any time I want to," Harrison argued.
"That's the point, you can't," Tru insisted trying to stop herself from shaking some sense into him.
"Dad says…"
"Dad's barely been around in years and suddenly he's the expert?"
"It's just a little poker game," Harrison said. "It's not hurting anyone."
"It's hurting you," Tru pointed out. "You're going to stand there and tell me that you're not thinking, right now, about how quickly you can shake me off and get back inside that room?"
Ducking his head, Harrison was not quick enough to hide the flush that this time Tru knew was guilt.
"You'll be in there every day of the vacation unless you can stop yourself."
"Dad 'll make sure things don't get out of hand," Harrison said. "Besides, it's only other passengers, nothing heavy."
"Dad shouldn't be letting you near that table in the first place," Tru insisted. "He should be helping you with your problem, since you obviously can't control yourself."
"Look Tru," Harrison said, his easygoing nature disappearing by the second as his rarely seen temper rose. "This is a vacation, a break from our lives. It's only a card game and it's not going to get out of hand. I can take care of myself."
"Something wrong Tru?" Richard asked as he approached the two of them.
"Dad," Tru said with a glance at her brother. "I just don't think it's a good idea for Harrison to be gambling."
"It's just a little poker game Tru," Richard replied. Tru listened to him echo Harrison's words and knew instinctively that she had been wrong. Harrison had tried to stop himself from going into the casino with their father, but unfortunately his willpower hadn't been strong enough to let him disappoint his father whose idea it had obviously been. She felt her fury rise again as she turned to her father.
"It's never just a little game when someone's an addict," she said in a tight voice. "If you'd been around a bit more the last few years maybe you'd know that."
"I can't change the past Tru," Richard said with sadness. "I can only try and make things up to you all."
"By encouraging Harrison to set aside months of hard work at controlling his addiction?" Tru argued.
"Can you not talk about me like I'm not here?" Harrison asked. "I'm not a child."
"Then stop acting like one," Tru retorted. "Dad may not know how deep you went under with your gambling problem but the two of us do."
"It's under control," Harrison argued.
"Okay, enough," Richard said, stepping between the two of them. "Tru, this is a family vacation and Harrison can spend his time just as he wants. Go back inside son, I'll be through in a minute."
Harrison nodded and returned the way they had come. Tru watched him go and started to follow after him, wanting to clear the air between them.
"Wait a minute Tru," Richard said as he placed his hand gently on her arm.
She turned to look at her father as Harrison disappeared through the door to the casino.
"I know you worry about Harrison, but you can't watch out for him twenty four hours a day."
"Dad, he's has a gambling problem."
"I know that," Richard replied. "But you can't save him from himself. Only he can do that."
"So you're testing him?" Tru asked. "Seeing how easily he can slip back?"
"Something like that," Richard said. "You're right. I've not been around enough the last few years. But that's going to change from now on. I want to see how bad his problem is and then I'll see about some professional help for him."
"He was doing fine on his own," Tru pointed out.
"If that were true then he wouldn't be at the poker table now, would he?" Richard countered. "Trust me Tru, he'll have all the help he needs soon enough."
"I just don't think it's a good idea to encourage him to gamble," Tru insisted.
"Well let's just see how it goes," Richard replied. "You've had a lot of time to help him after all. How about you give your dad a chance to look after his children for a while?"
With that Richard patted Tru on the arm and turned to follow after Harrison. He stopped at the door and called back to her to go have some fun. Tru smiled weakly and turned to try to find Meredith again.
She hoped their father knew what he was doing.
