Chapter 17
“Go away.” Iyell at the door of my cabin. “I don’t want to speak to you ever.”
“It’s us, Alice and Sylvester. Are you okay?” A pair of reedy voices pipe from the outside.
I slump off my bunk and open the door. “I’m not okay, and I’m not up for shuffleboard.”
Alice snickers. “Do you think we have nothing better to do than shuffleboard?”
“We’re here for you.” Sylvester wrings his baseball cap in his hands. “We heard what happened.”
“Everyone’s talking about it, but we want to hear your side of the story.” Alice plops herself on Jordan’s bunk.
“This isn’t gossip central.” I also plop down on my bunk. After this roller coaster of a day, I have no muscle tone left except to melt away like a jellyfish out of water.
Sylvester, surprisingly, sits on my bunk and takes my hand. “I’ll always respect you. Do you want to be my date for the New Year’s Eve party?”
“I haven’t even thought that far. All I want to do is hide in my room.”
“That won’t do,” Alice says. “You have to get out and about. Not let anyone get you down. You came on this cruise to chin up and have fun.”
“I came to meet people and forget about Stephen,” I wail. “How can I forget about him when he’s on board the ship stalking me?”
“Hiding in your room isn’t the answer,” Sylvester says. “Besides, you’ve made a lot of friends, like me and Alice. We have your back.”
Alice snickers but says, “I agree. We have your back. Tell me exactly what happened with Jordan.”
The reminder of Jordan’s betrayal brings fresh tears to my eyes, and I can’t help it, I bawl like a baby. It takes a while for Alice and Sylvester to calm me down. Eventually, I run out of tears and tell them what happened on the mountaintop.
“I exposed my true feelings for him and I thought he shared them, too. I wanted to run away with him. He seemed to have agreed, but it turns out he was working for Stephen the entire time.”
Snickers explode from Alice’s mouth in rapid fire. She flaps her hands and stomps her feet, shaking her head. “Unbelievable. That explains why he thought he was doomed.”
“You’re not supposed to repeat confidences,” Sylvester says. “Jordan said not to tell anyone.”
“What did he say?” I grip Alice’s arm tightly. “Tell me. Why did he say he’s doomed?”
Alice grimaces and rubs her arm. “Remember he left you alone after the Yuletide Ball?”
“Yes, after I unexpectedly insulted him by giving him a raspberry instead of a kiss.”
“Ewww, fart sounds are disgusting,” Sylvester says, waving his hand. “Is that what you did to drive him away?”
“No, I was pranking him. I wanted him to be off balance.”
“She was teasing him,” Alice says. “But Jordan was in great turmoil. He kept pacing back and forth, pulling his fingers through his hair, and sighing like a broken stovepipe.”
“What did he say? Why was he so upset?”
“He didn’t say.” Alice purses her lips, but no snicker snaps from them. “I thought he wasn’t sure he could cheer you up. I told him not to give up.”
“I could have cheered you up better,” Sylvester says. “But I stepped aside to let the younger men have a chance.”
“Both of you have cheered me up.” I blink and flash a tentative smile. “You sitting here with me is special.”
“Especially since the casino’s open,” Alice says, rubbing her hands together.
“Oh, yes, we’re really good with the mathematics of casino games,” Sylvester agrees. “You want to come with us?”
