It has been far too long since my last update! But I've continued to receive overwhelmingly positive reviews, and so I knew I had to write a new chapter. I hope you all enjoy it. And I promise, the next update won't take quite so long!

Curled hair, or straightened hair? Dark eyes, or bright lips? No matter what she did, Emma Tutweiller simply couldn't shake the school teacher look. She couldn't understand it, it had only been nine years since she had hung up her feathered boa and sequinned leotard for good, and yet every inch of her sex appeal had already faded away, leaving her a very insecure woman. Every day she faced a horrible Catch 22. Her loneliness had caused her to become overwhelmingly desperate, but when she found someone that she hoped would cure her loneliness, this same desperation always scared them away.

However, she had decided that this would no longer be the case. Chad was to join them on the ship today when they docked in Australia, as he had been working in Sydney as a sports commentator for the past year. When Emma had known Chad, he had been consumed with two things and two things alone; sports and her. His devotion was truly admirable, and when Emma decided to leave him due to her reluctance to settle down while she was still young, beautiful and ambitious, he had never quite recovered from the shock of actually being turned down by a woman. As a result, when Emma picked up the phone and informed Chad that she was ready to start her life with him, he dropped his latest blonde cheerleader girlfriend and waited anxiously for the boat to dock in Sydney. His desire to be with Emma matched perfectly her desire to forge a real life for herself, and so their shared desperation was of mutual benefit.

Miss Tutweiller's primary concern at the present moment was ensuring Chad did not take one look at her and run back to his life in Australia. After all, she had gained a few pounds since she last saw him, and had lost much of her flexibility, which Chad had always enjoyed. Chad would have been less than impressed to see her struggle through the Starlight Follies routine the year before, not after he'd seen her in her heyday. Mr Moseby had, on the other hand, seemed quite taken by her performance. It was probably the closest he had been to a half-naked woman in a long time.

By the time Miss Tutweiller had decided to throw her hair up, something she hadn't done in a rather long time, and changed into a tiny black dress, she had to rush off to meet Chad on the deck.

…..

Arriving with a few minutes to spare, she perched herself on a stool by the juice bar and anxiously ran her fingers through her hair. Across the room she spied Mr Moseby, sitting at a table, working his way through a mountain of paperwork. She was actually pleased to see him, as it meant he would be witness to the arrival of Chad. This, Miss Tutweiller hoped, would make Mr Moseby dreadfully jealous. Not of Chad, but of her. She would soon be starting her new, exciting life on land, hunky beau in tow, leaving him, all alone, to the monotony of the ship. She was aware this was a nasty thing to wish upon Mr Moseby, that he would be miserable and bored to tears, alone, on the ship, but it was a strangely comforting thought. Not only did she want him to be unhappy, but she also wanted him to miss her. He was perhaps the only person who might remember her after she left, however there was so far no indication that he would actually miss her. He had not displayed sadness or regret at her decision to leave, rather he had simply been frustrated with the process of hiring a new teacher. Miss Tutweiller wasn't quite sure why she cared more about being missed by Mr Moseby than the details of her new life, but she decided to put this down to the basic human need to be thought of and leave a mark. As for whether she would miss Mr Moseby, she refused to entertain this thought, as she would be far too busy living in the real world.

The boat seemed to sink a few inches into the water as Chad boarded the ship. Miss Tutweiller looked up to find he had somehow managed to develop the body shape of King Kong whilst still retaining the handsome features which had charmed her during her showgirl years.

'Emma!' called Chad, bounding down the stairs with a goofy smile spread across his face. He wrapped his arms around Miss Tutweiller, and as she struggled balancing on the tips of her toes, she spied Mr Moseby looking over at the two of them. He appeared slightly afraid, and Miss Tutweiller was not surprised. Chad was close to three times the size of Mr Moseby!

…..

Chad was, as Emma expected, overjoyed to see her. He complimented her at every opportunity, and repeatedly explained how empty and lost he had felt without her. At first Emma found this delightful, however after a while, the conversation began to lag. He had spoken about his career as a sports commentator, she had spoken about her career as a teacher, and then they soon found they had very little left to talk about.

Emma thought back to the days when they used to date, and wondered how on earth they had managed to maintain a relationship for five years. Of course, their former relationship had been a predominately physical one, and they had never spent much time in deep conversation.

Being with Chad now made Emma realise exactly how much she had matured since beginning her career as a teacher and boarding the ship. She was no longer a clumsy flirt who lived entirely on the looks men gave her, she now had substance, something Chad lacked. It was very possible that Emma had outgrown Chad, and the thought of spending the rest of her life with him was becoming more and more frightening.

'Right babe?' asked Chad, clasping Emma's hand.

'Sorry?' Emma replied, suddenly aware that she had not been listening to the last five minutes of Chad's ramblings.

'I was just saying that I bet you're looking forward to getting off this ship and away from those damn kids.'

'Yes, I suppose I am.'

'But, you'll have some of your own to look after soon.'

'I will? Oh- our children.'

'Yeah. I'm sure it won't take long for us to have a couple on the way.'

'Not right away though. I mean, you'll have your career, and I've only just started looking for teaching vacancies.'

'What are you doing that for? I'm earning in the high six figures. You'll need to take care of the household, and the kids.'

'That sounds a little boring!' laughed Emma Tutweiller, although her patience was wearing thin as she began to realise that Chad's image of their future life together wasn't exactly what she was looking for.

'Boring? I thought you told me you were ready to settle down, that you were done with that crap you used to pull when we were going out. I left my job to be here.'

'Would you calm down? You're making a scene.'

'You haven't changed at all! You're just leading me on again.'

'Chad, I don't think this is going to work out. Perhaps you should just leave.'

…..

Emma remained sitting at that table on the deck for another hour, rethinking her future plans. She was relieved to have gotten rid of Chad, as it seemed that in the process of planning her new life she had forgotten his terrible angry streak and absolute idiocy. However, she now wasn't quite sure what she was going to do. She could take the risk and start life afresh in New York, with no friends and no certain job, all in the hope that she would find happiness somewhere out there, or she could give up her extreme plans and settle back down on the ship. Emma had to admit, the latter option was becoming more and more tempting. There was no certainty that she would be happy away from the ship. In fact, there was no certainty in anything anymore.

There was one thing Miss Tutweiller was grateful for, and this was that Mr Moseby had, upon seeing Chad and her sit down at a table across the deck, packed up his paperwork and left. This meant she had avoided the embarrassment of Mr Moseby seeing exactly the kind of Neanderthal she used to date.

'Your date ended early, I see.'

Miss Tutweiller looked up to see Mr Moseby sitting down at her table, her stomach flipping instantly. She hadn't noticed him slipping back onto the deck. It must have been while she was downing her fifth or sixth glass of red wine. He looked genuinely concerned, however Emma could not be sure.

'Ah, yes,' she spluttered, unable to think of anything a little more eloquent.

'That's a shame.'

'Yes it is.'

It was apparent that this was to be yet another awkward conversation between them. Miss Tutweiller shifted in her seat and contemplated ordering another glass of wine, or perhaps a bottle. Better yet, she could excuse herself now, ending the uncomfortable silence, and go back to her room to browse for yet another cat on the internet. A tabby this time, or maybe a Russian blue.

Before she could make her decision, Mr Moseby made a sudden gesture, clasping her hand in his, and stating 'You deserve better.' His eyes avoided hers, instead he stared down at their entwined hands, as though he was as surprised by their position as she was. After another pause, he removed his hand.

Miss Tutweiller smiled at the noticeably embarrassed man, and responded with a somewhat reassuring 'Thankyou'. She could almost feel the return of a small sense of the warmth which had originally existed between them, and it was this, in conjunction with the the red wine, which made her giggle.

'Of course, you might actually be doing better if you didn't keep whipping out those pictures of your 50 cats at every opportunity,' chuckled Mr Moseby.

And with that one statement, Mr Moseby had swiftly destroyed the tender moment.

'Excuse me?' Miss Tutweiller responded in shock.

'I- I- I just meant that it might make you seem like some sort of crazy cat lady, and no one…'

'Wants to date a crazy cat lady. Right? Thankyou Mr Moseby.'

Miss Tutweiller picked up her clutch from the table and fled the scene as fast as possible.

Once she had reached the solace of her cabin, she found herself faced with her beloved furry pets, which would from now on remind her only of Mr Moseby's cruel comment. She supposed she had been foolish to believe that Mr Moseby could have actually cared enough about her predicament to hold back his snide cracks. After all, she wasn't sure if he had really ever cared for anyone but himself. And there was no way he would sacrifice an opportunity to listen to the sound of his own voice.

So, she sat there, on the lounge, in her cabin, and felt sorry for herself. There was one thing she was sure of, she never wanted to face Mr Moseby again, and if this meant getting off the S.S. Tipton, that was what she was going to do.

And it was this thought that made it resoundingly apparent what Miss Tutweiller was truly running away from. It wasn't the S.S. Tipton, but rather Mr Moseby himself, and the strange, unidentifiable and deep-seated feelings she had for him, which she had been denying from the very moment she first arrived on the ship. However, what could she do about this? She missed the old, simple days with Mr Moseby, where they could bicker and laugh, without any complications.

But, things had changed. And if they were to continue changing, Emma was determined to be in control.