Chapter 3 - Onward to Rio de Janeiro
After a wonderful two days in Santiago, Lee and Rosemary board their ship and quickly make their way to the deck with the rest of the excited passengers. They are happy to find some friendly faces as they wait for the ship to start on the journey. Lee looks over at Rosemary when he hears her say, "Oh!" She grabs the camera and cable release out of her clutch and starts to fiddle with the cable, trying to figure out how to connect it properly. After a couple of tries, she manages to finally get it in right. She tells Lee to hold the camera so they can take a picture of them with Santiago and the Andes Mountains way in the background. They smile, and she presses the button on the cable. Next, she asks Lee to turn around so that she can take a picture of the two of them but this time, with the ship in the background. Rosemary joyfully walks over to the railing of the ship as it's leaving the port. Lee joins her, and they just watch the port and city as it gets smaller and smaller. She looks over at him with a big grin, "I had a lot of fun in Santiago with you. Thank you for taking me to see the opera and shopping." She giggles, and then looks back out at the ocean.
They make their way back to the same stateroom and put their things away. Rosemary sits on the couch for a minute and thinks to herself, "I sure hope those pictures come out. Hopefully the moon is bright enough for the images to come through."
Lee sits down next to her and asks, "Are you hungry? I can see if they are providing room service tonight." Rosemary doesn't respond so he asks again, "Do you want anything from room service?"
Rosemary finally answers, "Oh, sorry. No, I am not hungry. I ate too much lunch. You can get some if you want."
"Do we have any popcorn left?"
"I think so. Let me check in my bag." She rummages through her carpet bag, "You are in luck. Here is what is left." He tries to grab it, but she doesn't let go. She tries to keep a straight face while he is laughing and trying to grab the popcorn.
"Two can play at the game, you know?"
"What are you going to keep from me?"
He takes out a little box with a ribbon around it, "I was going to give this to you, but since you are not letting your hungry husband eat, I will just put this gift away for now."
She walks up to him and tries to grab the box, "What did you get me, Lee?"
"That is for me to know and you to find out…eventually."
She chuckles and hands him the bag of popcorn, but he doesn't hand over the gift. "Lee Coulter…that is not fair. I gave you the popcorn so you need to give me my gift." She stops herself and tries again, "Sweetheart, can I please have the wonderful gift you so generously bought me?"
As he is handing her the gift, he stops, "Only on one condition."
"What would that be, Lee?" He smiles and just points to his lips.
She comes over to give him a kiss, but decides to only kiss his cheek. She is able to grab the gift with the distraction. They both let out a chuckle.
"Rosemary Coulter, you owe me a kiss."
She rolls her eyes, "That kiss will depend on the gift I am about to open." She unties the bow and opens up the box. He watches as a big grin forms on her face.
"Do you like your gift, sweetheart?" She doesn't answer; she just gives him the kiss on the lips that he was expecting.
"It is beautiful, Lee. Where did you get this?"
"While you were looking at the jewelry boxes for Elizabeth, I snuck over to the vendor in the next tent. He had all sorts of jewelry made with rubies that are mined there in Chile. I saw the bracelet and thought you would be enamored with its beauty." The band is silver and gold twisted together with two small rubies intertwined. He clasps the bracelet on her right arm and explains, "This is a special bracelet where you can add more jewels. See those little gold pieces along the band? You can put more rubies or whatever stone you would like to add. Maybe in the future, we might want to add a stone or two."
"Oh, Lee! I love it!"
The next morning, Lee and Rosemary wake up a little later than usual. They get dressed and head up to the dining room for breakfast. They are curious to discover how many familiar faces they will see on this leg of their journey. They are happy to find most of the passengers that Lee and Rosemary came with from Los Angeles are continuing on the journey to Rio. They sit down at a table with a couple they have gotten to know on this trip. Lewis and Frances are from Kamloops, British Columbia.
Frances lightly puts her hand on Rosemary's right arm, "That bracelet is beautiful. How long have you had that?"
"Lee actually found it at one of the vendors at Mercado Central. He surprised me last night."
Frances smiles and says, "You have a good one there."
Rosemary happily looks down at the bracelet and then at Lee, "I sure do."
Lewis asks, "What did you two do in Santiago? What was your favorite part?"
Rosemary is happy to speak first, "I am not sure I can pick my favorite. We visited some historic sites, saw some old buildings, went to the opera, did some shopping, and walked around the city. If I had to choose, I guess I would pick the opera and shopping. What about you, Lee?"
"We visited Plaza de Armas, Cerro Santa Lucia, and Iglesia de San Francisco, Santiago de Chile. I actually really like the opera as well, but I would say my favorite was Cerro Santa Lucia. There was a beautiful view on top of the hill."
Lewis adds, "We saw a lot of those same places minus the opera. We did manage to see some more churches, and what was the other place we saw, Frances?"
"I believe it was Casa Colorada. Oh, I would have loved to attend the opera. I guess my favorite would be just walking around and admiring the architecture. It is unlike anything we see in Canada."
"I would have to agree with my wife. I am an architect, and I love to look at buildings and how they are designed and built. Frances and I met at my firm. She is a daughter of the head architect, and she loves architecture as much as her father and I." He takes her hand and continues, "I believe she would pursue schooling for that if there were more opportunities for women."
Rosemary says to Frances, "I have a really good friend who studied architecture in New York City. She was unable to find a job there because she was a woman, but she was able to find a job in San Francisco, and she loves her job and the city. Maybe you should look into your options again." Frances looks to Lewis and smiles.
Lee clears his throat, "If you'll excuse us, I promised Rosemary we could spend the morning together. Lewis, I will probably see you later in the smoking room. You two have a wonderful day." He pulls Rosemary's chair out and takes her hand and leads her out of the room.
Rosemary giggles, "What did you promise me? I don't remember asking you for anything, but I love that you want to spend the morning with me."
"Come on, sweetheart. Let's go!"
They settle back into ship life and make the most of each day. Rosemary starts taking more of an interest in photography. Any chance she gets, she pulls out her camera and takes candid shots of all the different people on the ship, the sunrises, the sunsets, and anything she sees off into the distance. She is even able to take a picture of a couple of whales that seem to be following the ship.
One night, while sitting on the couch, Rosemary turns to Lee, "I know that in the past, we have tried to steer away from asking the details of our lives before we met. I only know the small amount of details you've mentioned the last few years with regards to your brother, parents, and now your sister. Ever since your accident, I feel like you are more open to sharing with me what has happened in your past and have asked a little bit about mine. I think both of us realize how important it is to share what is on our mind and in our hearts. Life is definitely a gift, and I want us to make the most of our lives going forward. I believe this trip came at the right time for us in our journey as a couple. It is allowing us to discover things about each other that never came up or we were too afraid to mention. I was finally able to talk to you about my parents, and you were able to talk about how your folks died and that you had an older sister. I'm sorry for my part in keeping secrets from each other. I guess I thought if I asked questions about you, I would have to talk about my past. Pretty much my entire life, I always acted as if I was glamorous and larger than life even when I wasn't. I am grateful you have taught me how to put others first and that people like or love me for who I am and not who I pretend to be." She bites her lip and then continues speaking, "I hope we continue to feel comfortable talking about anything and everything, including the hard things in life. Like you said the other day, you want to know everything about me whether it is good or bad. Well, I want to know everything about you." She cups his hands in hers and takes a moment to think about what she will say next. After a few moments, she asks, "I've always wanted to ask you this, but what did you do when you first left home? You mentioned you left because there was so much pain and anger. How did you overcome that to become the man you are today? You are such a positive, happy go lucky guy, with a big heart. I cannot imagine you ever being angry."
"Oh. That is a long story."
"I have all the time in the world, Lee."
He looks over at her and takes a couple of deep breaths before speaking, "Rosemary, I am so sorry you felt that way. I always thought I was supposed to be the strong one, so I never brought up the painful things in my past. I guess I never really thought about why you didn't speak about your past either." He gives his whiskers a rub and clears his throat before starting again, "You already know I have been doing a lot of re-evaluating of my life. One thing I know for sure, I want us to spend every day sharing our thoughts, hopes, and dreams with each other. I want us to try helping those less fortunate than us, and I want us to just experience life as it comes. We can get through anything as long as we are together, right?" She smiles with her whole face. He can't help but smile just as big back, giving him the courage to answer her question. "As far as what you asked a couple of minutes ago, when I left home, I just wanted to get away from everything. My friend and I decided we would start making our way to Michigan, finding odd jobs along the way. We worked for the railroad and for a timber company. We would save enough money, and then either travel or move on to the next city. After I found out my father had died and I missed the funeral, I was just so lost. I didn't know what to do. My sister was angry with me, and I didn't have any other family. I had to either decide to wallow in my self-pity or decide to start over and take charge of my own life. I vowed that I would work hard, but also try to make a difference in the lives of others. So that is what I did! I found a job on a logging crew in Michigan. It was hard work, but I felt good about it each night. I felt I was becoming the responsible man my father raised me to be. Luckily, the owner of the company, Levi, saw what a hard worker I was. He started giving me some great opportunities to move up and have more responsibilities. I found that I really enjoyed it and excelled with those extra responsibilities. One day, Levi told me that he wanted me to run a new sawmill he was opening up in Alberta. He wanted to take the company international."
"So that explains how you ended up in Alberta and in Canada?"
"Yes, I am so grateful he gave me those opportunities. Otherwise, I would have never become the great business man I am now. More importantly, I would have never come to Coal Valley and met you! I owe everything to Levi."
"Where is Levi now? I don't remember you ever talking about him before."
"He passed away right before I came to Coal Valley. I still keep in touch with his son, Benjamin. Benjamin took over for his father and has grown the company even more."
"Thank you for sharing, Lee. I am so grateful to him as well. I cannot imagine my life without you."
The next morning, they sit down to their filling breakfast of veggie omelets and some fruit. Rosemary sips on her cup of green tea, and Lee reads the paper while sipping on his coffee. As they are finishing up breakfast, Rosemary asks, "Would you like to go for a long walk with me and then sit in our spot?"
Lee replies, "You bet!"
Lee and Rosemary have come to cherish their long daily walks together to get out in the fresh air. They people watch, admire the scenery, take pictures, and enjoy talking and spending time together. They get to their bench and both sit down. After a couple of minutes of silence, Rosemary turns to Lee, "Please don't let me forget to write another letter to Elizabeth and little Jack. I have been meaning to since we got back on the ship. We can tell them about Santiago, where we are now, and about the camera we bought." She takes his arm into hers and a big smile lights up her face, "But first, I want to enjoy this view with my wonderful husband!" About thirty minutes later, she suddenly jumps up and takes his hand. "Do you want to go back to the room with me? I am going to write the letter before I forget again."
They return to their room and Rosemary sits down to write:
Dear Elizabeth and Little Jack,
We are now on our way to Rio de Janeiro.Santiago was stunning.We were able to see some of the sites.The architecture was so different there.Oh, and Lee took me to see the Opera.It was in Spanish, but it sounded beautiful.
We even bought one of those handheld cameras like Carson has.I insisted we get the cable release so we could take pictures of us together.I bet you can imagine how much Lee loves that.He's such a good sport though.How did I get so lucky?
We hope you two are doing well, and that things are becoming clearer with regards to Lucas and Nathan. Just remember, Jack would want you to be happy.We want you to be happy.Give little Jack a hug and kiss for us.We can't wait to tell you all about our trip and show you all the pictures when we get back.Miss you!
Love, Rosemary and Lee
She hands it to Lee to see if he wants to add anything. "I don't have anything else. Would you like me to take it down to the mail room?" She nods thankfully. "Well, I will go take care of this and, then I will probably play some poker with the guys unless you have something else in mind."
"No, go ahead. I am planning on going back out to our spot and working on some designs."
Lee kisses her on the cheek and says, "Okay, sweetheart. I'll see you at dinner!"
When he gets to the mail room, he decides to also write a letter to Rosemary's parents. It has been on his mind since he asked her about them a couple of weeks ago. Lee writes the following:
Dear Mr and Mrs LeVeaux,
This is Lee Coulter, your son-in-law. I want to apologize to you both that we have not met after all this time. I hope you two are happy and staying healthy. I don't know if Rosie wrote to you about my work accident yet, but I hit my head and almost died about a month ago. The accident really has made both of us rethink some things in our lives. Both of my parents passed many years ago, and I only recently reconnected with my sister. We only spent a couple of days with her and her family, but it made us realize how important it is to be a part of a family. I know you are the only family she has, and I want her to have a closer relationship with the two of you. I love your daughter more than anything else in this world, and I would love it if we could all meet sometime soon.I don't want her to miss out on having a closer relationship with you both, and I know she would be so happy to see you more often.We are on a cruise right now, but we should be back in Hope Valley in a couple of months.I hope we can visit you sometime in the near future.
Lee Coulter
He hands both letters to the clerk and decides to walk by the smoking room to see if there are any poker games going on. He is lost in thought thinking about whether Rosemary's parents will come around and want to visit them or let them come for a visit. He wishes his parents were still alive and of course his brother Patrick. At least Rosemary has a chance to have a better relationship with her parents or at least he hopes. He plays a couple of rounds of poker and then meets her for dinner.
The weather starts cooling off as they continue heading south from Santiago; it is now winter in that part of the world. During their daily walks, they pass by people talking, and they could hear concern in their voices. Some of the passengers are getting worried about the possibility of icebergs. Rosemary squeezes his arm and looks at him with worry in her eyes, "Should we be concerned, Lee?"
He rests his hand on hers, "I don't think so. Ships come through this route all the time."
"Are you sure, Lee?"
"Don't worry, sweetheart. Everything will be fine."
Later that evening, everyone is sitting down enjoying their dinner of poached salmon, potatoes, and vegetables, when the ship starts to shake and then lurches forward and stops. The room became silent, and people start panicking. Lee looks over at Rosemary just as the look of concern washes across her face. One of the officers happens to be eating dinner with some of the passengers. He stands up and tells everyone not to worry. It's probably some minor issue in the engine room. I am sure they are already looking at the problem. I will go check. He tells some of the servers to try and calm the passengers down and to get them to stay in the dining room. "Lee, what do you think happened?"
"They will tell us as soon as they know. Don't worry."
After what seems like an eternity, the officer comes running back into the dining room and announces to everyone what has happened. He says, "While we were trying to avoid hitting an iceberg, the engine's overrun and has now stalled. We are trying to fix as we speak.
A passenger yells, "Did we hit the iceberg?"
The officer says, "Yes, barely, but from what we can tell, it did not rupture the hull of the ship. After you finish eating your dinner, we would like you all to go back to your rooms until we know more information."
Rosemary huffs, "Who can eat at a time like this? Can we just go back to our room, Lee?"
Lee sadly looks down at all the food still on his plate and frowns, "Are you sure you don't want to finish eating? I am still hungry."
Rosemary gives him the are-you-serious look which Lee knows very well as the must do what she says look. They get back to their room, and Rosemary starts pacing back and forth with a worried look on her face, muttering things under her breath. Lee tells her to come and sit down next to him. He quietly asks, "What is going on? Tell me what you are worried about."
"You want to know what I am worried about, Lee? Mmmhmm. Well let me tell you, Lee Coulter. Our ship just hit an iceberg, the main engine is not working, and we are stuck floating here forever."
Lee tries to not to laugh because he knows how dramatic she can be at times. He tries calming her down in his soft smoothing voice, "We don't know that we are stuck here yet. The iceberg did not damage the ship. They will fix the engine. You will see."
"How can you be so nonchalant about this? Why am I the only one worried?"
"Everything will be okay, Rosie! I promise."
Rosemary shrugs and walks over to grab her coat. He clears his throat, "Where do you think you are going, sweetheart? Remember they want us to stay in our rooms."
Rosemary pouts and goes to sit down in the chair away from Lee. Lee puts his hands in his pockets and asks, "Really?" They try to busy themselves as best they can to keep their minds off of the engine trouble. Lee reads a magazine he brought, and Rosemary takes out her sketchbook and works on a design she was working on earlier in the day.
After a couple of hours, the crew members start walking down the halls telling everyone to meet in the dining room at 10 pm. They have some important information. This time it is the captain doing the talking. He repeats what the officer said earlier during dinner. Then he adds, "We have been trying to get the engine up and running and have not been successful. We have wired the closest ships to see if anyone can help us get the engine back online. We have heard back from one ship, and they said they could be here in the morning. They have a master mechanic who can hopefully figure out what is wrong." He then concludes, "You have nothing to worry about. You can walk about the ship as you normally would. We should hopefully be back up and running tomorrow and will be on our way to Rio de Janeiro."
After the captain finishes answering questions, they make their way back to their room. Rosemary is uncharacteristically quiet. He looks over at her and asks, "Rosie, are you okay?"
Rosemary quietly answers, "Ask me again tomorrow." He offers his arm out to her, and she gladly takes it as they slowly walk back to the room. They get back to the room, and both sit on the couch. "I don't know about you, Lee, but I don't think I will sleep much tonight."
"What if we just stay here on the couch tonight?" He wraps his arm around Rosemary, brings her in close, and puts a blanket on top of her.
She looks up at him, lightly pats her hand on his cheek and says, "I love you." She rests her head on his chest and closes her eyes, willing herself to go to sleep.
The next morning, before anyone is up and about, the neighboring ship arrives. The master mechanic boards the ship and heads down to the engine room. They are hoping to fix the problem before any of the passengers start emerging from their rooms.
While everyone is sitting down to breakfast, the captain once again addresses the passengers. He announces, "The neighboring ship has arrived, and they have been working on the engine for the last couple of hours. Unfortunately, the engine needs a part that neither of us has on board."
A passenger shouts, "How long are we going to be stuck here? Where exactly are we?"
The captain says, "I don't know how long we will be stuck here. We are currently fifty miles off of the coast of Valdes Peninsula. We will have to find out if any other ships close to us has the part or if we will have to be towed into land." The crowd starts to get loud with many passengers voicing their opinions.
Rosemary turns to Lee and rolls her eyes, "See, I told you that we are stuck."
Before Lee can respond to his wife, the captain adds, "We are doing everything we can to get the part or a tow boat to come as quickly as possible. We are only two days out from Rio, so we should be able to dock there in three to five days."
A passenger shouts, "Do we need to worry about running out of power or food or water? We were supposed to arrive in Rio the day after tomorrow."
The captain assures the passengers, "We always have a plan for things like this. We bring extra food and water in case this very thing happens. Just go on about your days as you have been since boarding this ship."
After the captain finishes talking and they are done eating, Lee takes Rosemary on a much-needed walk. She reluctantly agrees to go with him. They take their usual route which leads them past their spot. He directs her to sit down next to him. He can tell she is worried about something because she has barely said two words the entire walk. He lets her sit in silence hoping she would open up eventually. When she didn't, he quietly asks, "What's going on, sweetheart?"
In a very dramatic fashion, with hands waving in the air, she quickly replies, "Lee, what if they come to fix the engine, and then it happens again? What if a ship comes to tow us, and that ship hits an iceberg and gets damaged? Now, we are both stuck. What if we run out of food? What if the ship sinks, and we have to get in those row boats and paddle to shore? What if we are stuck here forever?"
Lee reaches out and grabs her hands, "Whoa, Whoa, Whoa. Rosie, hold on, where are you getting all of these ideas?"
With a perplexed face, Rosemary asks, "How are you staying so calm?"
"I am nervous too. I don't know what exactly is going to happen here, but I do know you and I can get through anything, if we stick together." She reluctantly smiles.
Later that day, they overhear the passengers say another ship nearby has the part needed to fix the engine, and they should hopefully arrive tomorrow. Lee looks over at Rosemary, "See, they are going to fix the engine, and we will be out of here in no time."
"Mmm, I won't hold my breath."
"Do you want to go play quoits or shuffleboard? That will take your mind off of things."
"How can you play games at a time like this, Lee?"
"At a time like what? Sweetheart, we have no control over our circumstances. There is no need to sit here and worry about all the things that can go wrong. Let's just enjoy the day together. Just you and me!"
"I know what you are doing, Lee."
Lee tries to stop himself from laughing, "What am I doing? Trying to comfort my beautiful wife? Guilty as charged!" Rosemary rolls her eyes and chuckles. Lee points in the direction of the shuffleboard and quoits area, "So, what do you say Rosie? Do you want to play quoits? I will even let you win."
"Lee Coulter! You better not take it easy on me like you did last time. I know you were letting me win." She couldn't help but smile when he looks at her all innocently. "You don't have me fooled one bit." She stops him and pulls him in close wrapping her arms around his neck. "I happen to think it is very sweet how you try to cheer me up. I know I can be really dramatic and hard to handle sometimes, so thank you for being patient with me." After making sure no one is around them, she leans in and surprises him with a deep and lingering kiss. She pulls back, putting her finger on his mouth, "But if you keep taking it easy on me, you'll get a stern lecture from me." She puts her hands on his chest and slowly pushes him away. She turns around and playfully walks in the direction of the shuffleboard and quoits area. He catches up with her and gives her the smile that makes her heart skip a beat.
Early the next morning, the ships arrives with the part that will fix the engine. The mechanics come aboard and get right to work repairing the engine. They hope they will be able to fix it by lunch time.
While everyone is finishing up their lunch, the captain comes in to give an update, "We have successfully repaired the main engine and have started back on our way. However, since we have been sitting here for a couple of days, we have taken on water from the small hole in the hull from the iceberg. We believe when we are on our way again, we can pump out the extra water and then make the hull repair when we get to Rio."
A passenger shouts, "Are you sure this ship can make it to Rio?"
"Yes, we are not sinking. We have been taking on extra water in some of the bulkheads, which prevents us from lighting the necessary boilers to get up to our normal speed. We believe we can make the repair in Rio so that we can continue on to the next destination with no problems. Since we know this is an inconvenience to you, once we get to Rio, there will be options for you to continue aboard this ship or a couple of other options to think about."
Lee looks over at Rosemary to gauge her mood after hearing what the captain says. She seems to be taking it in stride so he asks, "Do you want to check out the main lounge to see if they are playing any music? We can just sit and listen, or we can talk about what the captain said. It is up to you."
"I would like to just sit and listen to music." They are surprised to find quite a few people have the same idea, but they decide to stay anyway. They hear people talking about the options the captain mentioned earlier that day. "Do you think they know something we don't know?"
Lee looks around at everyone, "I have no idea. I guess we will have a big decision to make when we get to Rio."
"Speaking of which, we haven't talked about what we want to do in Rio either. Should we discuss that now? I actually would prefer we wait until tomorrow. I rather like spending time with my husband."
"I rather like spending time with my wife. Do you think the orchestra will take song requests?"
She grabs his hand before he takes off, "Lee, what do you think you are doing?"
"Can I help it if I want to dance with my gorgeous wife?"
Still holding on to his hand, "No, Lee, not now. No one is dancing."
"Since when did you shy away from being the center of attention?"
She lets go of his hand, "I'll dance with you later in our room. It is not appropriate here under these conditions." She whispers, "I'll even sing to you while we dance." He jumps up with excitement. She quietly chuckles, "Not right now, Lee. I would like to listen to some more music and then have a nice dinner." He frowns but sits back down.
The next few days pass quickly, and they are getting closer to Rio. The captain has another meeting in the dining room to explain what the plan is going forward, "The engine has been working great, and we have been able to pump the excess water from the bulkheads. We believe we will be able to repair the small hole in the hull while we are docked in Rio. However, we are not 100% sure how long the repair will take. It could take anywhere from three to seven days to complete the repair, let it dry, and then test to see if it leaks. We know you all have schedules to keep to so we are giving you some options. Option 1) Continue on this ship. Option 2) Board a ship that will take you back to Los Angeles via the Panama Canal. Option 3) Board a ship that continues on to New York, but it leaves the same day we arrive in Rio. Please take some time to figure out what you want to do, and if you decide on Option 2 or 3, we need to know tomorrow morning so we can book your passage on those ships."
"Are you ready to discuss our options, sweetheart? How about we go back to the room, and you can teach me the card game you have been talking about? I can have them bring us some tea and a dessert of your choosing."
"I love that idea! Can we get some chocolate cake?"
"Consider it done."
While they are waiting for their tea and cake, Rosemary starts teaching Lee how to play Pinochle. She just recently learned how to play the game from the many ladies she has met on this cruise. It has quickly become a favorite of hers, and she wants Lee to learn how to play as well. They take a break when the tea and cake arrive. They each take a bite of the scrumptious cake and take a sip of the delicious tea. There hasn't been a single item of food or drink that has disappointed them this whole trip. Lee suggests they start another game, and then they can talk about their options.
Rosemary deals out the cards, they make their bids, and determine the trump suit is clubs. As they are both determining if they have any melds in their hands, I guess I will start, "I think we should do option 2."
"Option 2? Why? You don't want to continue on to New York City?" He puts down his first meld, a Royal Marriage.
"I've lived in New York, but I have only been in LA for a few days. It will give us a chance to visit for a longer period of time. Plus, the train ride will be much shorter from LA. We can go see your sister again! Don't you want to go back to Bellingham?" She puts down a bare run meld.
"Well. I think we should do option 1. Just continue on with this ship. We will spend a few more days in Rio, we get to continue on our original journey and end up in New York City. Don't you want that?" He has more reasons than those, but he doesn't want to tell Rosemary just yet. He puts down a common marriage meld.
She put her cards down on the table and pouts, "Really, Lee? You want to continue on this ship?"
"I can't believe you don't want to go to New York City. You love New York City! You have been planning every minute we will be there." He puts his cards down and takes her hand, "Now tell me the real reason why you don't want to continue?"
She takes another sip of tea and thinks about it, "I don't know."
"Are you worried about this ship having another problem, Rosie?"
"Well, maybe," she replies softy.
"There will be no more icebergs," he promises.
She rolls her eyes, "How can you possibly promise that?"
"We are starting to come out of the South American winter, so we shouldn't see anymore icebergs this time of year. Come on, Rosie, don't you want to go to New York City?" She tries to hide her smile, but she knows she cannot get anything past Lee.
Rosemary takes another sip of tea and takes her time answering. She closely watches the anticipation on his face, just waiting for him to say something. Finally, she relents and quickly shouts, "Okay, let's continue on to New York City!"
"That's my girl!" Lee gives her a light kiss on the lips. Now, we have to decide what we will see in Rio. What do you want to see?"
"I want to see Jardim Botanico and IIha Fiscal. I also want to see something at Theotro Municipal do Rio de Janeiro. I want do some shopping, of course. Oh, and maybe we should ride the Corcovado Railway. What do you think, Lee?"
"Can we also add the Palácio do Catete?"
"Lee, did we just agree on what we should see?"
He laughs, "I guess everything is right in the world again."
She takes his hand and leads him to center of the room, "I do believe I owe you a dance, Lee Coulter!" He smiles and brings her in close. They start to slowly dance as she whispers the words to their song "Let Me Call You Sweetheart."