“Whatever you come up with.”
“You’re creative,” Andy said. “I’m sure you’ll find something clever to take its place.”
Ding…ding…ding…ding…dinggggg.The backstage bell sounded, reminding her the headliner show would be starting soon.
“That’s your cue.” Andy slowly stood. “The show must go on.”
Millie took a quick bathroom break and dashed to the changing room where she found organized chaos, a scene thattook place day in and day out, week after week, right before the headliner shows.
Danielle was in the mix, surrounded by dancers, radio in hand. She caught Millie’s eye and waved her over. “This is a big bummer.”
“What?”
“Gilberto isn’t here.”
Millie’s heart skipped a beat. “Our illusionist?”
“He called out. He’s in his cabin with a fever.”
“Since when?”
“This morning. He’s already visited medical. His fever is pretty high,” Danielle said. “He’s self-quarantined. I asked Annette to have room service deliver chicken noodle soup.”
“Good idea. Hopefully, it’s a bug and not the flu. He could be out of commission for days,” Millie said.
The bell chimed again, counting down the seconds before she introduced the Welcome Aboard Show. “I’ll worry about it later.”
Easing the curtain aside, she strolled onto the stage. Her gaze was drawn to the front row. Donovan sat alongside Nic and next to Dave Patterson. She winked at her husband and approached the microphone. “Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Have you enjoyed your cruise thus far?”
A thunderous round of applause ensued.
“Wonderful. We have a fabulous taste of this week’s entertainment coming up. As a reminder, all events can be found on Siren of the Seas’ app as well as the paper copy of the Cruise Ship Chronicles, which will be delivered to your cabin each evening by your cabin steward.”
The prelude from the ship’s house band grew louder.
“Without further ado, I’m thrilled to introduce our very own Siren singers and dancers.” Millie clapped loudly while exiting stage right.
The curtains parted and the show began.
She stood off to the side, watching the flawless performance: acrobatic lifts, twists and turns, sprinkled in with singing and dancing. As soon as the show ended, she returned to the stage to welcome the comedian. Back and forth she strolled, introducing the team who practiced tirelessly to entertain guests with perfectly executed performances.
Wrapping up the show, she reminded passengers about a few of the evening’s highlights and made a beeline for the dressing room.
Completing her inventory of the costumes and props, Millie walked to the end of the hall, where she paused to check her scheduling app.
The ship shuddered.
Mayday, Mayday.She turned her radio up, listening in horror as the security team issued a mayday call.
Millie jogged to the nearest exit and ran outside. Peering over the railing, she noticed the water around the ship churning. Siren of the Seas had made a sudden stop.
She shifted her gaze out into the pitch black night sky. A flash of bright light flickered. Loud voices echoed from directly below. Her first thought was a passenger had fallen overboard.
She ran inside, nearly colliding with Annette and Amit. “What’s going on?”
“I am not sure,” Amit replied. “I noticed Sutali from maintenance running past and asked him what had happened.He said something about a vessel in distress. The rescue team is dispatching a boat.”
Descending as quickly as possible, the trio reached the crew-only deck. They found the emergency exit door wide open. A Zodiac boat was being lowered into the water.
