“Scarlett.”
“Noah and Scarlett,” she repeated. “How does twenty dollars’ worth of arcade tokens sound?”
Noah’s eyes lit. “Sweet.”
Scarlett clasped her hands, bashfully swinging them back and forth. “Thank you, Millie.”
“You’re welcome sweetheart. Hang on and I’ll get the coupons.”
The crowd cleared and her young winners followed her off stage. Millie wrote out two blank coupons for the arcade and signed her name. “You did a great job.”
“It was fun.”
The children scampered off while she and Gloria placed the limbo bar behind the cabinet. “I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to grab a quick bite to eat.”
“Sounds good. I’m starving.”
Heading aft, they took the stairs all the way to the lower deck. Because the crew members’ dining room was midship, they walked along the “I-95 corridor” until reaching the surprisingly spacious eatery.
Gloria stepped inside, whistling loudly. “I took a quick peek in here during the tour but didn’t realize how nice this is.”
“Almost as nice as the Waves buffet,” Millie said. “Unfortunately, we don’t have a pizza or made-to-order sandwich station, but the food is still tasty.”
Starting at the far end, they each filled their trays. Millie’s consisted of a tossed salad, a cup of broccoli cheddar soup, baked chicken breast and a dinner roll.
With a brief stop at the beverage station for ice water, they found a quiet table in the corner.
Millie’s radio went off. “Millie, do you copy?”
“No rest for the wicked,” her cousin teased.
“At least during the daytime hours.” She plucked her radio from her belt and pressed the button. “Go ahead, Nikki.”
“I…uh…remember you mentioning your cousins were on board for this voyage.”
“Gloria Kennedy and Liz Rasmussen. They brought friends with them.” Millie rattled off their names. “Why?”
“There appears to be a minor issue.”
Millie shot her cousin a questioning glance. “There’s an issue.”
Gloria shrugged her shoulders.
“Where are you?”
“Eating lunch in the crew dining room.”
“I’ll meet you there.” Nikki told her she was on her way and signed off.
“Who is Nikki?” Gloria asked.
“She’s a Guest Services supervisor. They handle passenger complaints, lost-and-found, as well as monitoring customers’ onboard accounts,” Millie explained.
“I hope Liz isn’t down there complaining,” Gloria sighed.
“Where is Liz?”
“Bingo.”
