Mrs. Allen looked at her daily schedule and sighed.
"I'm sorry, Catherine, I didn't realize they hadn't opened up the casual dining on the top deck yet. We'll have to go down to deck three."
"They're serving drinks up here," Mr. Allen observed. "I'll stay by the bar."
"Fine, dear," Mrs. Allen replied. "Catherine, would you like to take the stairs or the elevator?"
"Would you rather take the elevator Mrs. Allen?" Catherine asked.
"If you don't mind, yes, I would prefer that."
"Should we go to the elevators we came up on, or the ones by the spa here?" Catherine asked.
"The restaurant on deck three is at the back of the ship," Mrs. Allen explained. "I think we're better off walking to the other end up here. Everyone is boarding on deck three."
They walked along. Catherine was beginning to feel warm in the sun, but she didn't want to complain, and as their cabin wasn't ready yet, she couldn't change out of what she was wearing.
"Oh dear," Mrs. Allen said when they got to the elevator bank, "everyone is using these to get to their rooms. Maybe we should take the stairs after all."
"Wait, Mrs. Allen!" Catherine called out, "this one is going up to deck ten. Do you think it'll stop for us on the way down?"
"Perhaps," Mrs. Allen said. "Yes! Here it is. Hurry up!"
They rushed across the elevator lobby into the open elevator. There was a young man standing in the elevator who nodded at the two of them as they got in.
The doors closed and they started down, but halfway down to deck eight there was a beeping sound and the elevator stopped.
"I've never seen that happen before!" Mrs. Allen exclaimed.
Catherine looked nervously at her companion. "Do you think they'll be able to fix it?"
"They'll miss out on a lot of tips from us if they don't fix the elevator."
Catherine looked up, startled. It was the young man.
"Excuse me?" she asked.
"I wouldn't worry," he chuckled.
"Has this happened to you before?" Mrs. Allen asked him.
"Not exactly," he admitted. "So, is this your first cruise?"
"Yes," Catherine answered quickly.
"Have you signed up for anything yet?" he asked her.
"No," Catherine admitted.
"We tried to," Mrs. Allen sighed, "but there simply wasn't anything available once I got online."
"Something always opens up, I wouldn't worry," he said.
The music suddenly started up again.
"Ah, there we go!" Mrs. Allen declared cheerfully as they felt the elevator begin moving again.
"By the way, my name is Henry," he told them.
"Catherine," she said, offering her hand for him to shake, which he did, though with a smirk that looked like he was about to laugh.
"Well, Catherine," he said, "I'm sure I'll see you around this week."