Chapter 12
"Meanwhile"
Tuesday
8:15 AM
International Waters
"So peaceful" said John Boudreax, looking out the pristine ocean ahead
"Sure is" said the random woman John was chatting up with, as they stared out from the 3rd floor deck of a Carnival cruise ship
"So, first time cruiser?" asked the woman, as she had witnessed John struggling with directions moments earlier
"No, my third time actually." said John, sipping on a mixed drink consisting of ice, unsweetened tea, lemonade, and some vodka he snunk onboard past security
"My 6th. I am like 'this close' to becoming a gold member." said the woman
"Nice." said John, "So, you're like a world traveler by now.", said John, hoping to steer the conversation to a more flirtatious direction
"Yeah, something like that. You?" said the woman
"Yeah, but I am more of a land and air type of guy. Road trips and air-travel on SouthWest are more my type of thing, being on a budget and all." said John
"Well, I am graduate with a liberal arts degree, doing menial paper-filing work my big shot lawyer brother hooked me up with." said the woman, "but I still manage to find money for traveling. To me, thats like the most important thing."
"Yeah, I am in the same boat." said John, as they both laughed at realizing the unintentional pun, looking out the ocean, "Quit community college half way through, and now I work for an AC repair company. Was an auto-mechanic before that."
"Well, at least you should be able to handle the heat then once we get off on land." joked the woman
"Yeah, I guess thats true." said John
"So, mind me asking." said the woman, being slightly uncomfortable invading John's privacy, but curious at the lives of random strangers, "how exactly do you find the time and money to travel. I mean I don't know how well AC repair pays or anything, and I don't want to..." said the woman
"Oh, its actually pretty sweet gig. Also, I have a system." said John
"A system?" asked the woman
"Yeah, see, anytime I travel out of town for three or more days at at time." said John, "I rent out my place on AirBnB."
"Oh?! Yeah, I've heard of that. How is that?" asked the woman
"Yeah, I earn beaucoup money from tourists who come down to the city. Its how I fund my vacations." said John
"Yeah, but like what are risks and stuff. I mean people aren't going to like rob you or trash your place or anything." asked the woman
"Nah. I've rented out my place like 6 times already without incident. The most I got was some nosy neighbor once complained on me to the city council, 'cause she didn't recognize the out of towners and some NIMBYS activists got in her ear." said John
"Well, that sucked." said the woman
"But it all blew over, and all they did was make me pay a small business fee to the City Hall." said John
"Besides, they're middle aged white guys from Philadelphia. I ain't got nothing to worry bout." continued John
"Oh?" said the woman, puzzled.
"Yeah, I mea... these are middle class, middle aged business owners. They own a bar in Philadelphia." said John, swiftly recovering from his previous statement, which he quickly realized probably came off as a bit racist
"The trick is you have to vet your quests carefully. As a good rule of thumb, never, ever, rent to a group of under 25 year old males. Or girls 21 or younger for that matter. You don't want any of that partying or craziness." said John
"Also, ask good pointed questions. Like occupation, education, hobbies, what not. If something doesn't add up, or you just don't like their answers, insist on a credit check." said John
"Yeah, I guess that makes sense." said the woman
"So, would someone who does paper-filing with a liberal arts degree qualify" joked the woman
"Sheeet! You got more of a degree than I do." said John
"Well, I guess too bad I have to go to the airport and fly straight back to Houston when the cruise ends. Otherwise, I might check it out. How much would my rate be." asked the woman
John, not sure if she's just joking or flirting, thinking hard how to answer. John, a single guy in his early 30's, has been doing his fair share of flitering with random women on the ship. The sun is beginning to get brighter as the wee hours of the morning are slowly coming to an end. From a distance, he can finally see what appears to be a strip of land. The ship is now about 10 miles from its first destination.
"Flying to Houston, you must be ballin' then. Sheeet, thats like not even 5 hours driving." said John
"Nah, not really. Besides, after you factor in gas and long term parking, you're really not saving that much money." said the woman
"True dat." said John
"Oh crap. I got to get ready. I think we're almost here." said the woman
"Yeah, me too, I guess maybe we'll meet up some other time. I got to get going myself." said John, taking several selfies and finished drinking his mixed drink as he headed back to his cabin to get ready for his 8 hour trip.
The ship slowly began to decelerate until it coasted down at about half-a-mile an hour. As the ship was slowly creeping into the Cozumel, Mexico port getting ready to dock, John was one of the first passengers in line waiting to exit out to shore.