The following story: "Two Ships in the Night" takes place within the "Guardian Program" world. This is a stand-alone story, but reading the novel before this novella will make certain things clearer. Several characters from the novel appear in this story and some situations can only happen in that world.
Two Ships in the Night.
A novella by R.C.PeterGabriel. All rights reserved.
I'm sure you can relate to the fact that like almost every mother, our hero's is sometimes intrusive, confusing, condescending, overbearing, and manipulative. If you recognize those I'm sure you could name a few other rude titles that go with the job of motherhood. However, that isn't to say that your mother, nor our hero's isn't kind, loving, caring, and supportive. In other words, she has our hero's best interests at heart. I know that she loves him in ways that only a mother can.
If you haven't expressed how appreciative you are for all of the things your mother has done for you over the years, you might want to pay attention to my story, and then call her up. If your mother is anything like most of them, she is working tirelessly behind the scenes to help make your life the best it can be. In the case of Mitchell's mother, (Our story's real but unsung heroine by the way) he owes her his sincere thanks for her most devious and risky plot ever.
Of course, I don't feel any devious scheme should go unnoticed, even though in her modesty she would happily go to her grave believing that her actions were completely anonymous. Please don't tell her that I told you her secret, she would probably be embarrassed.
Mitchell Conway or Mitch grew up wanting to be like Dad, so he went to school and became the best lawyer in his class. He was hired right out of school into one of New York's most prestigious law firms. (Mitch could have worked for his dad, but wanted to earn what he had.) He spent the next three months working fifteen hours a day preparing for a very public lawsuit between two feuding celebrities.
Although the case was in Mitch's opinion 'frivolous', he accepted the case that his bosses dumped on him. He won so overwhelmingly that his client gave him a personal tip of ten percent of the awarded value of the case, in addition to the firm's fees. He smiled, accepted the seven-hundred-thousand dollar check, walked into the partner's closed-door meeting, and explained that while he appreciated the opportunities offered him, he felt that the last three months had been the worst of his life. Quitting, he packed the few personal items in his office and went home to his wife Beth.
Bethany or Beth met Mitch at freshman orientation. They went for coffee, ended up at Beth's apartment, and spent the next several days studying human anatomy. Beth recognizing Mitch for the catch that he was, set her sights on him like a laser-guided smart bomb and blew his mind like only a virgin's mind could be.
Although his parents disapproved thoroughly and openly, they couldn't dissuade their son from marrying her within the year. In truth Mitch's father didn't try very hard, recognizing that the young woman had swimsuit model looks and figured she could make him happy. That didn't mean he didn't see her as a social climber and insisted they agree to a crushing prenuptial.
Beth wasn't thrilled with the news that her perfect man, her Adonis, her celebrity attorney husband, wouldn't practice law anymore. She did calm down quickly though, once she saw his bonus check and realized that they could live comfortably for several years while he figured out what he wanted to do with his life. Nor did it take her long to remember that her Adonis would look just as good above her as he always had; unemployed or not.
In the meantime, Mitch's best friend Pam (Pamela to her parents, Ella to Mitch), was forced to come to grips with the fact that he had chosen to marry someone else. Despite having grown up together, despite her believing that she had given him enough hints that even a blind man could see, despite a hundred conversations with his mother on the subject, he couldn't see that she loved him.
Throughout their entire lives, they had never been apart for more than a few hours at a time. Their mothers had bumped their tummies together to introduce the kids before they were even born. They played together, took naps together, were even bathed together when they were young. They went all the way through school together. Their families even took vacations together. Although forced to do so, she recognized that she wanted his happiness more than her own, and genuinely wished them well.
Two years later she found herself in genuine like with a guy that seemed to worship the ground she walked on. He was a little too 'bumpy' for her taste. She preferred the 'ripped' look that Mitch had to Andrew's bodybuilder physique, but he was kind and treated her well. Soon 'genuine like' grew to love and she accepted when Drew eventually asked her to marry him.
Andrew Owensby thought he had died and gone to heaven the day he first saw Pam. Great body and was so cute he couldn't keep his eyes off her. He worked hard to get her to go out with him, especially when he always seemed to have at least two co-eds pawing at him. Frustrated but determined, Drew's seeking of Pam forced him to be much more discreet. His habit of taking at least one new girl to his bed each week was impacted significantly but he felt she would be worth it and they were married soon after graduation.
Although the four had become very tight friends, and Pam never once said anything to indicate he was her second choice, Drew always had a feeling that Mitch was a rival for her affections.
Soon after Mitch's disclosure, the group was sitting around the pool at Pam's parent's house. As they talked about Mitch having given up his career, it was suggested that they all take a trip to forget the problems of the day. Because they hadn't gotten the chance to celebrate graduation, it was decided that they should just pick a spot and go. While researching travel plans, they all discovered that it was rather fun to plan vacations and soon the thought of opening their own travel agency turned into a serious discussion.
By New Year's Eve, 'There and Back Again' was open for business. Four equal partners, except for Mitch getting the first half-million of the profits due to his investment at startup.
Things were tight at first, but then the desire for expansion brought outside investment (namely Bridge International).
As the business grew, they were doing so well that Mitch hadn't worried about taking out what he was owed, preferring to build up his shares in B.I.
Four years later, a little luck and a lot of hard work made a surprise visit from Poseidon Cruise Line possible.
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Beth smiled to herself as she walked past Drew's office door on her way to her husband's. Her thoughts flashed briefly on the memory of Drew's hand as he grabbed a covert but lingering squeeze of her left butt cheek at last evening's barbeque. Her thoughts returned to work as she caught sight of her husband's PA eyeing her as she walked up the hall.
The offices took up the top two floors of a fourteen-story building across the Hudson from Manhattan. Theirs was far from being the most prestigious travel agency in the world but they were making headway. They now had clients from all over the country and quite a few from 'across the pond' as it were. For the most part, they had chosen to work directly with corporate accounts, forgoing storefronts altogether.
