It was after 10:00 a.m. before either of us stirred. That small stateroom on the cruise could have been the Lincoln Bedroom for all we cared. It served all our needs well and although expensive it was a lot less that $1,000,000 a night. Susan was the first to rise and began her morning routine. I flipped on the ship's TV and saw that we had changed course and were now heading north toward St Thomas our next and last port-of-call. There would be no landfall until then and we could enjoy 36 hours at sea cruising at about thirty knots. The ships daily 'paper' had been slipped under our door and the day's social events included a blackjack tournament in the casino at 2:00 p.m.. My love for my wife is first on any scale with love for my family a very close second. However not too far down that list and certainly in the top ten is my fondness for green felt. Although we had walked by it on several occasions, I'd avoided the casino because I can scratch that itch on my own anytime back home. Happily, Susan said, 'look at this' and pointed out the announcement about the contest. I feigned disinterest, which worked perfectly because she then began to encourage it. There was a modest entry fee of $20 and the game was on. We spent the remainder of the morning walking the deck and sitting at the pool bar beside the gigantic water slide. We enjoyed a nice sandwich followed the pina coladas and we returned to the cabin to trade our wet bathing suits for casual casino clothes.
To make a long story short the casino was filled with amateurs. Although not a pro, I saw that the rookies out numbered the 'players' by at least 10 to 1. It was not much of challenge to make the final table and the three of us that had a clue finished 1-2-3 and the rookies complained about bad luck. The first place prize was a hundred dollar ship's credit. My second place award was a $10 watch and a $50 credit. Profit is alive and well with these cruise companies.
The surprise of the afternoon was that our new Midwestern friends were observing, but not playing- ironically the reverse of the night before. They thought that the second place winner in a hundred person contest should buy drinks for the group. After two rounds of cocktails and some serious gawking on my part, we promised to meet again after dinner. We retired for our siesta which was again perfect. My John Grisham novel had not been turned one page in the last twenty-four hours.
Tonight was the second and final formal evening so I allowed Susan extra time to prepare. She always looked beautiful and in my mind could have worn a burlap bag and would have been the best looking women in the room. Her low-cut black dress with an unusual ruffle would turn most heads in the room. Our table for two overlooking the sea was perfect. There was an unspoken closeness that was created after we observed last evening's events.
Foregoing the evening show we adjourned to the Starboard Lounge and chatted about the good fortune we had enjoyed together. About 9:30 p.m. the rest of the group arrived. Instead of ordering drinks for themselves they invited us to join them in the same stateroom in thirty minutes. Susan replied 'let us talk about it first' as they took their leave.
Do we or don't we was the only question. I asked for the check and we headed to our cabin and, to paraphrase Shakespeare, the question whether to dress or undress for the evening. Happily, undressing won out