We had finally made it, but it seemed like every part of getting here was an absolute nightmare. I got called in for an emergency at work because the new guy couldn't follow the instructions I left him. I figured out how to fix his stupid mistake, but it took me so long I was seriously worried about missing our flight. Managed to make it to the airport on time, barely, but that hardly mattered since the airline overbooked our flight so there nearly wasn't room on the aircraft. As it was, we had to be separated, and I spent the entire flight beside a very vocal infant, who was bound and determined to make absolutely sure I had no chance to catch up on the sleep I'd missed.
The taxi driver, for some reason couldn't find his way to the ship terminal. The directions on the GPS seemed perfectly clear to me, but he kept driving in circles through what I'm quite sure had to be the worst part of town. We got to the terminal and naturally, the device to scan our paperwork wasn't working so the onboarding agent had to call over a manager after trying unsuccessfully four separate times. The manager had to try it a few times himself before finally deciding maybe he should use a different scanner.
But all of that was finally over. I did feel this wave of relief when my feet first touched the deck of the ship. First priority was food. The buffet on the Lido deck seemed to have just about everything but we were both too starving to fully appreciate the meal we scarfed down. Stomachs full, neither of us had any motivation to explore the ship.
Within a few minutes, I was naked and sitting on a couch in our stateroom looking out at the horizon. The ship's horn soon announced our departure and the towers that made up the city line began to move. I watched, and I felt my mind float along with our ship on the water. It was cathartic in a way. Finally, the stress and the nonsense that we'd gone through didn't matter anymore. We made it. Letting my mind just... go, drifting aimlessly was... well, it was exactly what I needed in that moment. I needed that time to think about nothing at all. I needed to let it all fade away, just like the city slowly fading away from view.
I saw her walking up to me then. I didn't need to turn my head to notice that she was wearing nothing but her knit shawl and a pair of panties beneath it. My expression didn't change, but it did make me happy, knowing that she'd put it on. That soft bunch of yarn was the most comfortable thing she owned. Wearing that shawl was her way of feeling like she was home. This wonderful woman was never more beautiful than when she felt comfortable and relaxed, and I never stop being grateful for the privilege it is that I'm the one who gets to see her that way.