I had never before, felt so proud of someone else in my entire life, until the moment I placed my arm around my wife's bare waist and escorted her to our dinner table. I could feel the eyes of the other passengers upon us, but I no longer cared.
She was beautiful, she was pregnant, she was fully nude except for her heels, and most importantly of all, she was my wife.
My wife! This woman was the mother of my unborn child, and at this moment, I realized how much she meant to me. I loved her dearly, and there was nothing that would ever stand in the way of that again.
The camera crew was trailing behind us, and I realized something was up. This wasn't for a video diary or even a travel promotion. They wouldn't keep the cameras rolling for that. My thoughts were interrupted, however, by our host.
"Your table,
Monsieur et Madame
." the maître d' stated with a wave of his hand.
"
Merci beaucoup.
" I replied.
I pulled a chair out, and Lauren sat down. I then pushed it into place under the table and waited patiently, for our server to arrive.
Within minutes, the captain - not our server - arrived at the table.
"Good evening." he said pleasantly. "I'm Captain Yärrells. I understand that there may have been a misunderstanding in our rules regarding dinner etiquette."
"Perhaps." I replied. "My wife lost all of her clothes, thanks to the airline. Everything that is, except for her sundress, a pair of tennies and her very formal Gucci heels, which she is of course, still wearing, due to your insipid dress code."
"I am very sorry for this most embarrassing inconvenience." Captain Yärrells apologized. "I would be most honored if you two would please join me at my table for dinner."
"Are her heels acceptable?" I inquired. "We don't want to be underdressed or anything."
"They are," the captain acknowledged, "as are every other part of her. Please feel free to explore the ship however you wish. We are now beyond the three mile limit, so any previous technicalities no longer apply.
"Please accept my most sincere apologies, Mr. and Mrs. Horner. I have spoken with the crew, and ironed out some potential problems for future situations, should this ever happen again."
"They weren't very potential when they affected us." I snapped. "My wife has been through hell today with strip searches and lost clothes, and then, just when she feels human again, your boy tells her that her dress – the only clothing that she has left, mind you – isn't fit for her to eat dinner in."
"I'm very sorry" the captain stated. "Please let me try and make up for this inconvenience. Please join me at my table for dinner."
I nodded, and Lauren and I followed the captain back to his table. It was of course an honor, to be invited to the Captain's Table for dinner; an honor typically reserved for actors, dignitaries and the like, so we were rather flattered at the invitation.
Captain Yärrells motioned for Lauren to be seated, and he pushed her chair up to the table. I seated myself and glanced around the dining area.
What seemed like a thousand faces, but were probably closer to 250, were staring at us, as well as the camera crew that followed us and another that was already set up at the other end of the restaurant. I was a little annoyed at all the attention we were receiving; especially the cameras.
"Is there any way that I can make up for this situation?" Captain Yärrells inquired, as the server placed napkins in our laps.
"Well," I replied, "we have a steward named Raj-"
"What has he done?" the captain asked, throwing his hands in the air. "I will fix this. Is it Raj Patel or Raj Kamat?"
"I'm not certain." I replied. "But I don't have a complaint against him."
"No?"
The captain seemed relieved.
"No. This Raj, whichever one he is, was very helpful and I'd like to help him out. You see, he likes bread pudding, but he says that there's never any left after meals. I'd like to see to it that he can get some. Would it be a problem to set aside for him each morning?"
"Not at all!" Captain Yärrells exclaimed. "Raj Patel is the one who likes bread pudding, and I will make certain that he gets a dish of it every morning from now on."
"Thank you." I said with a smile.
"Oh not at all!" the captain replied enthusiastically. "Not at all!"
I was beginning to wonder why we were getting the royal treatment for an issue that was really more of a technicality than anything else, when the captain continued.
"It's not every day that we get celebrities like you and Miss Dangles here, on our boat-"
"Miss Dangles?!" I exploded.
"Umm, yes... well that's what you call her is it not?" Captain Yärrells stammered. "I mean... the videos-"
"Videos?!" I burst out. "What the hell are you talking about?"
"You and your wife, especially your wife, are veritable Internet sensations, at least here in the Caribbean." the captain explained. "You didn't know?"
Lauren and I looked at each other and shook our heads.
"No." I replied with a slightly annoyed tone to my voice. "Suppose you clue us both in?"
The captain seemed very uncomfortable as he continued.
"The 'Miss Dangles' series is quite the rage here in the Islands." he responded nervously. "They-"
"Series?" I echoed. "What the hell are you talking about now?"
"Apparently, the videos that were taken of her public speaking seminars have gone viral." he explained.
"Public speaking seminars?" Lauren repeated. "Oh my god!"
"Yes." the captain said politely. "Very cleverly done. It was quite an original idea for porn. The whole concept has really taken off. They even hold Little Miss Dangles orgasm contests on some of the islands now. It's the newest tourist attraction; especially at the nude resorts."
I slapped my palm against my forehead in shock and dismay.
"You are so in trouble, Sir!" Lauren said to me sternly. "I am very angry with you right now."
"No wonder that woman gave you her card!" I exclaimed. "She must have recognized..."
My voice trailed off and Lauren looked at me quizzically.
"...your ink." I finished.
"Oh, that's another big thing now." Captain Yärrells offered. "They do tea bag airbrushing. Most women don't have the tits for it though. See, that's the key to winning those contests. Only the women with the tiniest, floppiest..."
He paused for a moment and looked at me.
"I'm not helping am I?"
I shook my head in reply.
"No, you're not."
There was an uncomfortable silence as I tried to figure a way out of this. Right now, the odds of me receiving any further gum jobs on this trip weren't looking so good.
"What would happen if she made cameo appearances at some of those resorts?" I inquired. "Autograph sessions, photo ops; that sort of thing?"
Captain Yärrells reflected for a few moments and shrugged his shoulders.
"I dunno," he replied, "but I'll bet you could make a lot of money, I suppose. She's a golden goose in these parts right now, and you have the perfect opportunity to take advantage of it."
"How so?" I inquired.
"Perhaps you noticed the cameras?"
"Yes." I responded. "They were in the mezzanine when we boarded, by the entrance to the restaurant and they seem to be following us. What's all this about?"