Snapshots 4.0

Chapter 11 – Seadays and Victoria, BC

So they would be up and ready for breakfast at 9 AM Maura set her alarm for 8 AM. She knew Jane would ask for her 'five more minutes' so she planned that in figuring as long as Jane was out of bed by 8:30 they could still make breakfast at 9 AM.

The alarm sounded at 8 AM. Jane snuggled into Maura and held her tight. "No, you're not going anywhere. We're supposed to be able to sleep in today." Jane said without releasing her grip on Maura. Jane couldn't see that Maura had a deep beautiful smile on her face, she loved when Jane held her so possessively. She didn't want to get up either but they had promised Arianna and Mario they would go to breakfast with them in the formal dining room. They hadn't had breakfast in the dining room yet and this was one of their last days to do just that.

"Jane, we promised to meet Arianna and Mario for breakfast in the formal dining room. We only have two mornings left that we can do that."

"So, let's do that tomorrow. Today I want to stay in bed as long as possible." Jane stated as she rolled on top of Maura to keep her pinned in the bed.

"Well, I can see it is going to be hard for me to get up with you laying on top of me." Maura said as she smiled at Jane who was looking down at her with darkening eyes. "Let me send a text to Arianna to let her know we will not be going to breakfast this morning."

"Yes, please do." Jane said as she smirked at Maura. She had plans that involved Maura staying right where she was.

"Jane?" Maura questioned.

"Ya, babe." Jane responded as she kissed her.

"I need my phone and I can't move with you on top of me." Maura stated and Jane didn't budge.

"I'll get your phone, you are not moving. I have plans for you." Jane reached over and grabbed Maura's phone off of the nightstand and passed it to her. Maura was able to move just a little bit but Jane still had her pinned down. She wasn't complaining she knew what her wife's plans were and she would be a willing participant once she contacted Arianna about breakfast.

Arianna laughed when she read Maura's message, "Jane has um other plans this morning and I, well we will not be joining you for breakfast this morning."

She quickly replied, "You will have to come up for air and food at some point. Have fun and see you at the pool later when the cheeseburger and fry urge strikes my cousin."

Her reply was read before Maura put her phone down and gave in to Jane's attempt to get the phone away from her so she was not distracted from Jane's morning plans. A few hours later Jane was in fact hungry. They put on their swimsuits and went to the hamburger bar so Jane could get some cheeseburgers and fries. Maura went to the buffet to get something a little healthier and met Jane by the pool. Jane had found Arianna and Mario and of course Arianna had to tease Jane. "Man, you are acting like you are on your honeymoon. If I didn't know that you have been married for over twenty-five years, I would think that you were on your honeymoon."

"Ya, ya, whatever, what can I say I love my wife." Jane replied.

"I don't know why she puts up with you and your antics. She must love you also." Arianna stated.

"I do, I love my wife very much." Maura stated as she walked up on the tail end of the conversation. "She makes me very happy, most of the time. She has her moments as do I but for the most part we are happy."

They ate and talked for a little bit before the ladies all went in the pool for a swim. Mario didn't feel like swimming but he did put his feet in the water. He was fine just watching the three ladies have fun and splash around in the water.

When they finished their pool time they dried off and looked over the onboard activities. They decided to play bingo and then attend the comedy show later that evening. None of them won at bingo but they had fun and ultimately that is what was important. After dinner they caught the comedian's routine. The comedian was funny but Jane had to explain some of the jokes to Maura afterwards. Even after all this time Maura still had issues with understanding certain social situations. Jane gladly shared with Maura. Jane actually loved explaining things to Maura.

They went dancing in the club for a little while. The DJ remembered them and asked Jane what other music she had. Jane shared another playlist with him. The first track was 'Let's Get It On' by Marvin Gaye. Maura smiled when she heard the song and her smiled deepen when Jane extended her hand and asked her to dance.

The next song was 'Shallow' by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper. They stayed out on the dance floor for several additional songs and Arianna and Mario joined them when 'Thinking Out Loud' by Ed Sheeran played. Arianna loved that song. Jane twirled Maura around and 'accidently' bumped into Arianna and Mario. They all just smiled at each other and continued dancing as 'Chasing Cars' by Tommee Profit played. An hour later they ended their evening with 'She Keeps Me Warm' by Mary Lambert.

On the way back to their rooms, Jane said, "I'm not as young as I used to be. I can't dance all night anymore."

Arianna just laughed at her and said, "You are old Jane. You are over sixty but you guys still can cut a rug."

Jane laughed and said, "Oh, that is an old saying Arianna now you are showing your age."

"Ladies, I believe we should be somewhat quiet as we walk down the hallway, some people might be trying to sleep." Mario suggested.

Jane immediately replied, "No way. I'm not being quiet. I'm talking and will talk until I get to my room." Maura put her hand up to Jane's mouth in an attempt to quiet Jane down. Her voice had risen when Mario suggested they should be quiet. Jane quickly used her mouth and grabbed several of Maura's fingers and began sucking on them. Maura didn't pull her hand away as Jane was being quiet. It wasn't that much further to their room. Arianna just shook her head at them. Jane really did act like a big child sometimes and Maura wasn't stopping her as she liked that side of Jane.

Using the one hand Maura had available she managed to get their door open and said goodnight to Arianna and Mario and said they would meet them for breakfast. Jane pulled Maura's fingers out of her mouth and said goodnight and then quickly shut their door. She wanted Maura all to herself. Maura made sure she set her alarm and told Jane what time they were getting up for breakfast. "Ya, ya, Maur, now come to bed." Jane was quickly pulling off their clothes.

They fell asleep somewhere around 2 AM and the alarm was set for 8 AM. Jane didn't argue when they alarm went off and Maura told her they needed to get up. She knew they couldn't blow off breakfast with Arianna and Mario again. They spent the day by the pool and decided it would be fun to play bingo again. At bingo Jane won a small prize, a necklace from the ship's jewelry store. She let Arianna have it. They dressed and went to dinner as they had an excursion shortly after the ship docked.

The ship docked at Victoria, British Columbia, Canada at 7 PM sharp. Their excursion started at 8 PM and lasted three hours. They had to put their luggage out in the hallway before they departed on their excursion. The crew needed time to get all the luggage down to the lower levels of the ship so it could be taken off the ship once it docked in Seattle in the morning. They set aside their clothes that they would wear to leave the ship and packed as much of their toiletries as they could before leaving the ship.

Jane was looking forward to this excursion as it was the Craft Brewery Experience. They visited three breweries and sampled four craft beers at each brewery. Each brewery went into detail about how they brewed the beer and how they came up with their label design. Each brewery wanted for the participants to understand the beer's origin so they would have a greater appreciation of the finished product.

While they were traveling to the breweries they were also sightseeing. The tour guide explained different points of interest as they went along. Maura and Arianna were more interested in the sights of the city than the beer. They figured they would let Jane and Mario enjoy the beer tasting experience. Maura and Arianna did try the beers but only took sips so they could provide feedback to Jane and Mario. Spouses did stuff like that for each other and Jane had gone to plenty of Foundation events over the years for Maura and never complained, okay, she didn't complain that much.

Jane was slightly upset when they finished at the last brewery, she was enjoying sampling the different beers. Maura whispered in her ear and her mood changed immediately. She had a huge smile on her face and enjoyed the rest of the tour before they arrived back at the ship at slightly after 11 PM. Once on the ship they went to their rooms and said goodnight to Arianna and Mario as they entered their room.

"Maur, have we really never made love in Canada?" Jane asked as she was kissing Maura's neck. She had pinned Maura against the door as soon as it was closed.

"Correct Jane we have not. I know your main goal was to make love to me in all fifty states but we can add another country to the list. I believe you said we would keep track of countries also."

"Yes … Maur, … countries … count." Jane said in between kisses. She had started undressing Maura and Maura was undressing her. They fell onto the bed once they were both undressed and were very tired when the alarm went off at 6 AM. They had a 7:30 departure time and Jane needed coffee and food before they departed the ship. They met Arianna and Mario at the International Café and had coffee and tea and a small breakfast.

Months ago when they were planning the excursions, they looked at Seattle and decided to spend two nights in Seattle. They made a list of things they wanted to see and made reservations at a hotel. They hired a tour guide and private driver to take them every place they wanted to go.

When they departed the ship, they collected their luggage and met their driver who took them to the hotel. They were allowed to check in early. They relaxed for a few minutes, agreeing to meet everyone downstairs in half an hour. The first thing Jane did when she walked in the room was plunge head first onto the bed. She was tired. They stayed up way too late the night before enjoying each other and then had to get up early to prepare to leave the ship. She would have loved a nap right about then but that would have to wait, they had sights to see.

The first place they went was Pike Place Market. Jane hated the name of the place, it brought up memories of Dr. Pike and she would rather not think of that unpleasant man that once had a crush on her wife. The market was spread out over nine acres. They spent a couple of hours walking around the market. Jane wanted to see them through the fish around. She had seen it on TV years ago and couldn't believe they still threw the fish. She smiled so big as the fish flew over her head enroute to its destination to be wrapped up for purchase.

They stopped at the first ever Starbucks and had to purchase drinks and tag themselves on social media. That was an added bonus as Jane had forgotten to tell Maura about the first ever Starbucks being at the market. They drank their beverages and then continued walking around the market. Several shops caught Maura's attention. She didn't buy anything but she wanted to look.

They had 8 PM reservations at the Space Needle's 'The Loupe' lounge. So, they went back to the hotel and changed clothes. They would be having cocktails and lite snacks. Maura made sure to take her camera and took some breathtaking pictures of the city. After their drinks they viewed the city from the world's first and only rotating glass floor. It made Jane a little nervous but after a minute she got used to the glass floor. It had taken her a few minutes on the ship to get used to the glass floor. This one rotated though so it was a very different feeling.

Arianna and Mario thought Seattle was so beautiful at night. They stood in one spot, Mario stood behind Arianna with his arms wrapped around her. They were enjoying the view. Jane was walking around as the floor was moving. She was almost making herself dizzy. She was holding onto Maura's hand. Maura just wanted to stand still like Arianna and Mario. When they caught back up with them, she told Jane to stop walking and she did. They stood there with Arianna and Mario. Jane was standing behind Maura with her arms wrapped protectively around Maura and occasionally bumped shoulders with Arianna.

Their driver took them on a scenic route back to the hotel allowing them to view the city at ground level. Maura had taken so many pictures. She knew it would look totally different in the morning. It would take her days to sort through all of her pictures from the trip.

When they got back to the hotel Jane set off on making sure they could cross Washington off of her list. She was enjoying this little goal adventure of hers. Maura was enjoying it also. The alarm was set for 9 AM for the next day. They enjoyed breakfast in the hotel's restaurant and then met their tour guide for their trip through the Pioneer Square district and a view of all of the professional sports stadiums. They visited the International District and sat down for a late lunch in Chinatown.

The driver continued to show them the city as their tour guide told them all about the places they were seeing. At 9 PM they were back at their hotel. They thanked the tour guide and driver. They had a 7:20 AM flight in the morning. Jane and Maura were tired, too tired to do anything except snuggle up with each other and go to sleep. All their bags were packed so they could sleep in as long as possible which meant 5 AM by Maura's standards. Jane thought to herself, 'good thing we took care of Washington last night because I'm too tired to do anything tonight except hold my very naked wife.'

Jane and Maura fell asleep within minutes of crawling into bed. Maura made sure her alarm was set. She even set Jane's for five minutes later, so Jane could have her 'five more minutes.' Jane hated paying the high prices for coffee at the airport but they hadn't had time to grab her a cup of coffee before they left the hotel. The car service was ten minutes early and Maura wanted to take advantage of that and get to the airport. She wasn't that familiar with Seattle's airport and wanted to make sure they arrived at their gate in a timely manner.

Jane was almost sleep walking as they walked to their gate. There was a coffee shop right by their gate so she was happy. They sat at a table and actually had a very nice breakfast. They could hear the announcements for the gates so Maura felt comfortable about where they were seated. Arianna seemed a little tired also. Jane was going to tease her but she really didn't have the energy.

Their flight boarded on time and they took their seats in first class. Jane asked for a blanket as soon as the flight attendant came by. She was going to sleep on this flight and that is exactly what she did. Within twenty minutes of taking off she was sound asleep with her head resting on Maura's shoulders.

Maura was reading one of her scientific magazines that she loved. Arianna was curled up into Mario but was not asleep. She was just looking out his window. Maura finished the article she was reading and put her magazine away. She looked over the in-flight video selections and found a nice documentary that interested her. So, she put that on. Jane continued to sleep. When it was time for the meal service Maura woke Jane up. She knew Jane had to be getting hungry.

Their flight arrived as scheduled at 3:44 PM. Maura had arranged for a car service to pick them up as it was a week day and family members were working or in case of the parents too old to be driving. They were dropped off at the Isles' residence. Mario said he would drive Jane and Maura home once they finished their visit with their parents.

The visit with the parents turned into dinner and it was 9 PM before Jane and Maura were home. Frankie had been checking in on their house for them while they were gone and had placed all of their mail on the kitchen island. Jane was surprised to see a letter from Gen at the top of the pile. She opened it up and it simply said, "Welcome home. Can the two of you call me Wednesday morning. There is something I would like to talk to you about. I hope you had a great trip. Can't wait to hear all about it, now go to bed and call me in the morning. Love Gen."

Jane wondered what that could be about, Maura did also. Gen wasn't normally so vague. Maura added it to her list of things to do in the morning. She put it first on her list, well after Jane's coffee then call Gen. She hoped Jane didn't worry all night about what Gen wanted to talk to them about.