Home > Santa Cruise(4)

Santa Cruise(4)
Author: Fern Michaels

“Spill, girl!” Amy was almost shouting. “What happened?”

“I didn’t answer the phone but he left me a voice mail saying how immature it was of me to take someone else’s property.”

Amy’s mouth was agape. “He said what?”

“You heard me. But, I must say, I got a lot of satisfaction out of that call. He was so pissed. Too bad, too sad. Such a jerk.”

“So how did you know he had been seeing two other women?” Amy asked curiously.

“A friend of mine. One could say it was a coincidence, but think about this. New York City has a population of eight million people, and over ten thousand doctors.”

Nina pushed, “Get to the good part!”

“As I was saying, a friend of mine was introduced to him at a hospital function. He was with a woman named Victoria. Well, while they were chitchatting, a woman named Michelle walked up to him and slapped him in the face.” Frankie sat back in her chair with a wry smile.

“Wow.” Nina gasped. “Well, at least he got the slap he deserved.”

“Yeah, too bad it wasn’t from me.” Frankie chuckled. “I felt vindicated without having to do anything except dispose of something gross. It’s funny. Odd, I mean. I wasn’t angry. I was stunned. But when I tossed that thing in the garbage, I felt elated just thinking about how he was going to talk his way out of its absence.”

“He sounds like a real piece of work,” Nina observed.

“Yes, indeed. I pity his patients. Now he’s a psychiatrist.”

The women almost spit out their drinks. “Seriously?” Amy barked.

“Yep.” Frankie nodded. “I feel like I dodged a bullet with that one. And several others, I suppose.”

Silence fell across the table.

Frankie’s eyes twinkled. “I have an idea.”

“Uh-oh,” Amy said.

“I know we all hate Internet dating . . .”

Nina held up her hand. “I am going to stop you right there, girl. There is a NO DIVING sign at the dating pool.” The women laughed.

“Seriously. Listen,” Frankie went on. “Let’s make a pact. I know this is probably something we swore we would never do. But”—she took a deep breath—“if none of us have dates for New Year’s Eve by this Thanksgiving, we’ll go on a singles cruise together.”

“What?” Nina’s eyes almost bugged out.

“Huh?” came from Amy.

“Count me in,” Rachael said, jumping at the idea.

“Really. What’s the worst that can happen? We’ll have fun, get a tan, and come home with some duty-free perfume,” Frankie assured them.

“That could be fun,” Nina agreed. “It’s only June now, so we have plenty of time to either ruin our lives again with a man or get ourselves into bathing-suit shape.”

A groan went around the table. “OK. So we’ll wear sarongs,” Nina added.

“And cover-ups,” Amy said.

“And big hats,” Frankie suggested.

“Let’s not forget the dark sunglasses.” Rachael put her two cents in.

“Caribbean?” Frankie asked. “We can meet up in Miami and take one of those four-or-five-day singles cruises. Come on! Like I said, the worst that can happen is we get a tan.”

“Or tossed in the drink for being too rowdy.” Nina chuckled.

Rachael clapped. “I love it!”

“Don’t get too excited there, missy. We’ll keep you on a tight leash,” Nina said.

“Ha. Isn’t the whole point to have some fun?” Rachael protested.

“Absolutely!” Frankie was pleased with her idea, and her friends were enthusiastic about it, too. “It will be like The Love Boat with eggnog.”

The women reached across the table and grabbed each other’s hands. “Pinky swear!” They locked fingers the same way they had in high school when they set out to accomplish something.

Frankie surveyed the room. “I think our work here is done. Are any of you staying here at this hotel?”

“I’m at my folks’,” Amy replied.

“I’m at a B and B off Henshaw Drive,” Rachael said.

“I’m at the Courtyard,” Nina put in.

“Oh good. So am I. I couldn’t get a room here, which is fine. I don’t know if I want to keep running into people I don’t remember,” Frankie said almost apologetically. “Let’s go over to the Courtyard and hang out. I don’t see anyone or anything worth pursuing here.” She giggled.

“Splendid idea,” Nina agreed.

“Pajama party?” Amy almost begged.

“I have two beds in my room. You can join me, but won’t your mother be upset?” Frankie asked.

“You mean my mother and Mister Charm? Nah. They’re at the club. I’ll send her a text so she won’t worry.”

Rachael frowned for a moment. “Can I come and play, too?”

Nina put her arm around Rachael. “Sure thing, babe. I also have an extra bed.”

In unison, they high-fived each other, grabbed their purses, and headed toward the door when a loud voice came over the speaker. “Let’s all say hello to the famous Nina Hunter!”

Hoots and applause filled the room.

“Uh-oh. I thought we could make a quick getaway,” Nina said with clenched teeth, feigning a smile. “Hello, everyone!” She made her way up to the podium while the three other women waited near the exit.

“It’s so nice to see all these familiar faces,” Nina lied, with a big, bright smile. Frankie was stifling a laugh. Then Nina said, “Let’s have a round of applause for the reunion committee. Didn’t they do a great job?” Lots of clapping, whistling, and cheers filled the room. Once the noise subsided, Nina ended her impromptu appearance with, “I trust everyone tunes in on Thursday night for a half hour of laughs and crazy family fun! See you on the boob tube! Enjoy the evening! Be safe!” She gave a wave and stepped away from the microphone as the group gave her the appropriate applause. She hustled toward her friends to make a quick getaway in case other people wanted to talk to her. In spite of her big personality and her love for theater and acting, Nina was basically shy. She said it was her acting skills that helped her deal with people.

As the four women exited the hotel, Frankie pulled up her Uber app and ordered a car to pick them up. When they got to the Courtyard, they raided the minibars in their rooms, settled in, and made plans for their seafaring adventure.

 

 

Chapter Two

August

Santa Clara, California

 

 

The women kept in close touch over the summer. Rachael had already gone through two boyfriends in two months, so odds were she might ditch the cruise for boyfriend number seven. Nina was still flying solo, and there were no prospects on the horizon for Frankie. Nina was waiting to hear about a part for which she had auditioned, but Frankie and Amy decided that even if the other women bailed, they would still be going on the cruise. The opportunity to get a suntan, lounge on deck chairs while being served pretty drinks with tiny umbrellas, and bring home duty-free perfume was all the encouragement they needed.

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