"Kent, I need a big favor from you. Do you think you could help me out?"
"Certainly Captain, anything at all." Capt. Lars Sven's favor was in truth an order in disguise. As captain of the cruise ship 'Dorado', he was my boss and supreme commander, and use to having his own way. As the lowly meteorological officer, I was use to snapping to attention and obeying his command.
"My wife, Bea, wants you to do something for her. Will you have tea with her this afternoon at 1600, find out what is, and take care of it for me?"
"Of course, Sir." I had met the captain's wife on one other occasion. She could best be described as stately. I remembered that she was British and my idea of what an English aristocrat might look like. She was tall and carried herself with great dignity.
By early afternoon I had finished the three-day weather forecasts, bathed, and changed to a clean, white ships afternoon uniform. With my hat under my arm, I presented myself at the captain's cabin promptly at 4 p.m.
At my knock, she opened the door, extended her hand in greeting, and asked me to come in. She thanked me for coming and asked me to take a seat where she indicated on the small sofa. She was dressed in some type of loose lounging pajamas. While she busied herself with the tea preparations, I took stock of her. She had short gray hair, was tall and slender, in her early to mid '50s, perhaps 10 years younger than her husband and had a very distinct, clipped British accent.
She served Earl Grey tea and scones, with strawberry jam and double cream. To my surprise, rather than taking a seat on the small chair opposite the coffee table she sat on the divan next to me.
She looked a little uncomfortable when she said, "Kent, I suppose you know why you're here. Lars said that of all of the young man on the ship, you were the one best suited."
I was completely in the dark and told her so. She leaned forward, put her hand on my bare leg and in a conspiratorial whisper said, "I want you to make love to me."
I was speechless. "I... You... I... The Captain..."
"Don't worry about him, this has his blessing. He is impotent and because of his heart problems, he can't take Viagra. He can't help me any other way because it gets him too excited and his heart can't stand that either. After all, this is his idea and he was the one that chose you."
Despite my protests, she took me by the hand, pulled me up from the settee and pushed me towards the bedroom door. "Go into the bathroom and take off your clothes. I wait for you in the bed."
As I removed my clothes, I was numb with the realization of what was expected of me and was unsure of what to do next. I delayed as long as I dared but knew that I must eventually come of the bath so I wrapped a towel around my waist. Curtains had been pulled over the portholes, subduing the bright afternoon sunshine somewhat, but there was still a warm glow throughout the cabin. She was in the middle of the large bed with a sheet pulled up around her throat.