Julie and Henry found another envelope taped to their door and found the most explosive message yet inside.
THE EB & T BULLETIN
MRS. JULIE SCHAFER AND MR. HENRY JOHNSTONE ENJOYING BREAKFAST AFTER ANOTHER ROMANTIC NIGHT! FROM THE HAPPY SMILES AND SATISFIED EXPRESSIONS, IT APPEARS THAT THE COUPLE CONSUMMATED THEIR AFFAIR LAST NIGHT! WE FEAR THAT MR. SCHAFER IS NOW A CUCKOLD! WE WILL ATTEMPT TO MAKE CONTACT WITH MR. SCHAFER FOR A COMMENT ON THE SITUATION. COULD THERE BE A HENRY AND JULIE JOHNSTONE IN THE FUTURE?
Henry blew up. "Jesus Christ, this is too much. This is no joke, this is harassment! Somebody is going to pay for it! I've thought about every possibility and there is only one person that knew about the Mabel Synthron hoax who might be doing this - your god damn fucking husband! If I find him I'll beat the shit out of him!"
If Henry had been under more control or had looked down at Julie, he might well have tempered his language and threats aimed at Mark. Standing up, her face a mask of fury as she almost screamed, "Just shut up Henry! You will not use those words talking about my husband! He is an absolutely wonderful man and I love him with all my heart! I've done a horrible thing to him and almost certainly have lost him because of a ghastly mistake I've made.
"You will speak of him with respect anytime you are around me! I have no idea as to how he could be doing these things, but if, somehow, he is responsible, he certainly has the right to! Now, speak politely if you would like to explain your suspicions! One other thing, he would beat the shit out of you in ten seconds he ever gets you alone after what we did last night!"
Henry stood there, his mouth literally hanging, totally aghast as he saw this raging wildcat with reddened eyes glaring at him. It was like having a pet lapdog suddenly turning into a wolf ready to rend him limb from limb! This submissive woman, who yielded to his will on every occasion, had reached her breaking point and he was in danger of losing her - and her body! He quickly backtracked. "Julie, I didn't mean to offend you! I had no idea that your husband meant so much to you! I'm so upset and distraught over these 'bulletins' that I lost my head. I'm sorry and I'll be more circumspect in the future."
The apology mollified Julie somewhat and she calmed down, but it was noteworthy that Henry's control over her never returned to the level it had been from the time she became his executive assistant. This conflict and his general behavior on the cruise began to undermine the infatuation and respect she had for him. "All right, just keep my feelings about my husband in mind. Now, why do you think that he is responsible for these bulletins?
Whether or not Henry was really contrite or not, he was under control when he answered. "When we decided on that phony bulletin notice about you and Mabel Synthron, it was not put in general distribution. We had one of the printers run off a few copies although we needed only the one to divert your husband's suspicions. I had thought that someone might have gotten hold of one of those extras and decided to fool with me. I'm certain that didn't happen after seeing people at the conference.
"These things obviously are being made right here on the ship - the pictures are current - so it's not someone back at the office. So, who had that first Bulletin and would want to continue harassing us? Your husband!"
"But that would mean that he is on board of this ship!"
"Exactly! I think that the first thing we need to do today is to go down to Guest Relations and look at the passenger list and find his stateroom number! He would have to use his own name because you have to have your passport to register. We'll just have to convince him to stop!"
"Oh god, Henry, I couldn't face him! You...you...you fucked me last night!"
"Yes, and he said that we 'consummated' our relationship last night so he already knows or, at least, assumes that. He can't know for sure, but it was a logical deduction."
"Well, let's go down and check. I'm afraid that your logic is correct but if you're right, I still don't think that I can face him. He...he said that about being a cuckold. That breaks my heart knowing that it is true."
Across the corridor, Mark was fascinated by what he had heard. He knew that sooner or later - and probably sooner - one or both would figure that he was the Bulletin provider. What really startled him was the way Julie attacked Henry, demanding that he not use derogatory and disrespectful language about her husband. She had no idea that Mark could hear her defense of him, so her words had to be taken at face value. Her remorse and self-condemnation was honest and, obviously, deeply held. Her declaration of her love for him obviously came from her heart.
Even more, her impassioned and vehement attack on Henry was totally unexpected because it potentially could have a bad impact in the future. She minced no words in that attack, not concerned about any damage it might do to her prospects in her career. This was a very different Julie than the one who accepted anything uttered by Henry as law! Totally unexpected and very interesting!
Julie and Henry arrived at Guest Relations and approached a uniformed agent behind the desk. "Hello, I'm Henry Johnstone in Suite 1640. We have a friend who is supposed to be on board, but we haven't been in contact with him yet. Could you look up his stateroom number for us? Just looking around for him just isn't working! This is a big ship!"
"It certainly is. Let me bring up our passenger list. Ok, what is his name?"
It's Mark...no, Marcus Schafer - I assume want his passport name, not his nickname."
"Correct. Let me see now. We have a Juliet Schafer in 1640 - wait, that's your suite!"
Julie spoke up, "Yes, I'm Julie Schafer and our friend has the same last name. That's how we met!"
The agent looked at her with a questioning look on her face but just said, "Well, I'm sorry but you are the only Schafer on board. Your friend evidently didn't make it or he changed his mind."
Henry tried one more time. "Is this a complete list?"
The agent gave him a peculiar look and replied frostily, "Of course! It's a legal requirement."
"Well, thank you. That certainly explains why we haven't run across him."
The two of them went over and sat down in the Champagne Bar area and just stared at each other. (If they had looked in a chair behind them they would have seen a disguised Mark settle in within earshot!) Julie was the first to speak. "Well, that shot that idea down! I couldn't see how Mark could have gotten on this ship, but it certainly made sense. I think I'm happier this way because, as I said, I honestly don't know how I could have faced him."
"I am really shocked! He's not here under his own name and he can't be here under another name, so that theory is wiped away. If it's not him this is really weird! He at least has a reason to mess things up, but if it's not a joke and not your husband, who the hell can it be? What can be the motive? This has been one screwed up trip so far. Your suitcase has the wrong clothes. My suitcase never shows up. These damn EB & T Bulletins keep showing up! Well, we got our answer here. Let's go up and see more of the ship and then have some lunch."
"That sounds good. I think that I would like to go into the water this afternoon if I can figure out how to wear that suit safely."
Early that afternoon, Mark was listening as Julie and Henry were preparing to head for the pool for the first time. He heard Julie say, "I've been looking forward to this but I'm really worried. This suit just doesn't fit me right and it's more revealing than I've ever worn before. If I stand still and erect, everything is fine. However, look at what happens if I twist sideways" Darn it, both nipples slip out! If I turn my hips, the pants shift and hair shows! I need a very empty part of the pool if I try to swim. As I said yesterday, I may just go in and stand in the water."
With a grin that had been missing on their two days on the ship, Henry commented, "Or you could make all the men's day more exciting and just ignore those little problems! A little nipple slip livens up the libido!"
"Well, I have no plan to raise anyone's libido unless it is yours and you don't seem to need that! Let's go."
They left, wearing the robes provided in the suite, followed a few minutes later by Mark and his omnipresent camera. He finally saw Julie standing on the steps of the main pool and was astounded by the brevity of her suit. He watched her through the camera lens and understood her concerns. The top was just two triangles of cloth that barely covered her breasts and the pants, if you could call them that, were two slightly larger triangles held together, front and back, by a single string. She obviously was very nervous as, holding herself very erect, she worked her way down the steps into the water.