Chapter 3 April 11th: Eustace and Annabelle Sherwood, 1st class passengers
My wife and I woke early, due to the sun shining in our portal, so we decided to tour the ship. We started the day off with a brisk workout in the gymnasium on the Boat Deck. I tried out the ride-on camel, while Anna worked out on the rowing machine. After awhile, I switched over to some weights. Not huge ones, but those of medium size.
"I'm impressed." Anna says, jokingly.
"How, unfortunate, since I'm trying to impress the elderly Mrs. Strauss, over there." I say with a smirk, playing along. Anna's laugh is almost like music.
After that and in a good mood, we go down to A Deck, and head to take an elevator (We've never been on one before) down to the French sidewalk café on B Deck to have some breakfast consisting of the best croissants and coffee we've ever had. They must have hired some real French chefs. Over breakfast, we had the liveliest discussion. We talked so long that our coffee grew cold by the time we were done. I can't wait to see what the rest of the ship has to offer.
After breakfast, we headed down to F deck (unfortunately the elevators don't run past E Deck, so we had to proceed on foot), where she was allowed entry. Unfortunately, I wasn't allowed in until later in the morning, almost afternoon, so I waited. When I was allowed in, I decided to go for a refreshing swim in the pool. I was so excited, I swam a few laps to let off some steam. Speaking of steam, when I was done, I went to the steam room, where you wouldn't believe the kind of perspiration I worked up. After that, I went to the hot room. Nearly faint from the heat, I decided to skip the temperate room, and went right to the cooling room. I tried out the Electric Bath first. Feeling even more invigorated by the bath, I decided to have my hair shampooed. It was wonderful. After that, we met up with each other and decided to go play some racquetball.
The rest of the day passed without incident. At 11:30 we arrived at Queenstown, Ireland. Naturally, the missus and I decided to wave to the crowd below. You wouldn't believe how many turned out for this momentous event. I felt like a king.
What a treat we got this afternoon! Anne and I got to talk with Mr. Andrews himself. My wife told him "I've done the math and I can't quite figure it out: There are twenty standard size lifeboats on this ship, all designed to carry about sixty people, 1,200 in all, yet this ship can carry as many as 3,360 people, almost two thirds."
His smile flickered.
"Don't you worry, Mrs. Sherwood." He says. "This ship was designed to stay afloat with any four of her first five compartments flooded. Provided, that is, should any thing get past her inner hull."
Captain Smith is a wonderful man. I've taken many other trips with him. He knows me so well; he even invited us to sit at the captain's table. No wonder he's called "the Millionaire's Captain."
One evening, a rather lovely young woman named Mrs. Isabella Paradine joined us, with much disdain from Mrs. Foley (Mrs. Foley did not like the fact that Mrs. Paradine, who had traveled to London for her aunt's funeral, was wearing red so soon after the fact). I liked her until she started dancing an extremely suggestive dance called the tango with my friend, Mr. Park. It turns out they've been carrying a torch for each other since they're break up. However, I decided to give her another chance.
"Mrs. Paradine! Wynn's told me so much about you." I said
"I hope nothing bad"
"Ooh, I don't know about that." I replied in jest
I apologized when I saw Annabelle giving me the cold shoulder. It took a while, but she gave in. After a while, I asked Mr. Ismay "What speed is this ship capable of?"
"She can do 24-25 knots. As a matter of fact, I'm hoping to reach New York Tuesday night, instead of Wednesday morning."
"I do not see the importance of docking so early." The captain replied, irritably.
"I don't see why we shouldn't. Why should we take so long in arriving in New York, when this ship is designed to go faster?" Mr. Ismay calmly responded.
Noticing the ugly turn this conversation could take, My wife asked, "Where did you get the name for the ship?"
"I wanted to convey size as well as beauty, something that the world could marvel at. I also wanted the name to bring to mind the fact that it's man's greatest achievement since the train."
Alas, another perfect day is over.
