6. Choppy Waters

Once back on the boat, the family decided to try out the Chinese cuisine restaurant for dinner. It was as the boat set off again that Pete explained to the kids that they would tonight be heading through the Bay of Biscay which is a notoriously choppy stretch of water, so they might very well feel the boat moving more than they'd experienced since arriving. With the sugary pancakes the kids had had, he was slightly worried about having a similar experience to last night – 'and anyway,' he thought, 'if Karen is sick on relatively calm waters, what'll she be like tonight? Oh dear god...' He thought it best to stop scaring himself and just wait the night out and see what happens.

The boat moved on and on, through the waters of the Bay. The seas got rougher and rougher. Pete was convinced that he could see Karen's face turning ever more green and/or pale, but for the moment at least it was just his imagination.

"Hey, mum," Jake said to Sue, "d'you think it's my turn to throw up tonight?"

Sue laughed, "It's been barely twenty-four hours since your dad's first clean up, let's not torture the poor man too much..."

"OK, guess you're right," he laughed back. Then, "Oh hell, looks like Karen's not heard the plans to give dad a break from vomit cleaning..."

Jake was correct. Karen had by now turned quite an alarming shade of green. She called for her father as she ran into the cabin's en-suite. Pete and Sue grimaced at each other as they quickly followed her in. Jake looked on with pity, but Ben was rolling on the floor in fits of giggles and struggling to breathe as a consequence.

"BEN!" Jake shouted, "It's not funny!"

"Yes it is," he replied, unable to get it out in a coherent fashion because of his laughter.

"Imagine how mum and dad are feeling with this happening 2 nights in a row. And Karen for that matter," Jake retorted.

"But last night when Karen was sick, I saw you and mum laughing," Ben said, "so why is it different tonight?"

"Because last night it just seemed a bit funny that the two of you had been sick within a few hours of each other but this is more of a disturbing pattern" Jake replied, trying to be mature. However, by now, even he was struggling not to laugh, but decided against it so as not to seem hypocritical.

"Mum! I need the toilet!" Ben called into the bathroom

"This one's kind of out of bounds at the moment darling!" Sue replied, "There's one at the end of the corridor outside the cabin when you turn left"

Off Ben went, leaving the door slightly open, and arrived back a few minutes later to a question from his brother "What kept you so long? The toilets are only a few doors down?"

"Well," Ben started, "first I had to pee, but then I got a stomach ache so... "

Jake interrupted, "Actually never mind. I know where this is going..." 'Trust Ben to mention the unmentionable' he thought to himself. Then, into the cabin's bathroom, he shouted "How's Karen doing?"

His answer was soon given. The toilet flushed, and Karen, Sue and Pete stepped out. "She's OK now," they said together,

"I want to go on the deck now," Karen said, seemingly very chirpy.

"Well, OK, if you're up to it. Come on boys," Sue replied, and then to Pete she whispered "looks like it was just a clean-out as much as anything else, she and Ben have especially had a lot to eat. Surprised he's done so well. She's less pale now anyway, she'll be fine... hopefully."

Jake decided to keep it to himself that Ben had been a while in the toilets when Karen was throwing up. He felt it best to not worry his parents any more than they might have been. The deck was pretty empty due to the rough waves, but not yet closed off health and safety reasons were not quite met yet. The fresh air did some good to Karen, who was soon running around as part of the family game of tag (which she requested to make her feel better). It was almost 11 o'clock before anyone realised the time and the family returned to the cabin. It was not to be a comfortable night, though, as the waves picked up. All the family, especially Ben (who probably exaggerated it a little), were thrown from their beds a few times. No-one was particularly hurt, but a few bruises would show themselves in the morning. At around 3a.m. a general announcement came through that the boat would be slowing to negotiate the exceptionally rough seas and that also the deck was off limits due to safety concerns. This gave the Brockmans peace of mind as they finally settled down to sleep properly.

The next morning, the seas had calmed and the boat was travelling along the northern coast of Spain and would soon stop at its next destination, Santander. Luckily for Pete and Sue, this leg if the trip passed without incidents, as all of the kids were relatively well behaved and they were able to enjoy the time in the town as a family, including sandwiches and ice cream on the beach in the afternoon. Ben was distracted looking in rock pools with his brother and Karen busied herself with sandcastles. It was the first time that Sue and Pete felt they were 100% relaxed on the holiday. They even found the time to sneak off for a quick coffee, leaving the kids under the watchful eye of their new friends – the couple from the cabin next door who'd also decided to spend a few hours on the beach.

However perfect and surprisingly uneventful this day had been, the adults were worried for the next day. The ship wasn't going to stop anywhere as its next destination was on the Algarve in Portugal. That's an entire day on a ship with their... unusual children. Would Ben break anything? Would Karen go into one of her complicated rants on legal issues, suspicious people, etc? Would Jake spend the entire day with his earphones in or, worse, arguing with Ben or Pete? They re-boarded the boat with the kids – growing increasingly fearful that their worries would be met. That night was also uneventful as no-one was sick. No-one gets sea sick after all, Pete and Sue hoped.