Zombie Cruise Part II

The Sea Starburst slowly sailed away from New Orleans under an overcast sky and lively singles. Passengers settled into their cabins while some ventured to explore the newly renovated ship. Monica decided to go on the prowl a little early to scope out the eligible men. No sooner than she stepped into the casino, she locked eyes with a sultry sophisicated man. Scared out of her wits, she tried to look away, but he was already alarmed to her desire. The man slowly strutted away from the blackjack table to greet her.

“Hello”, Monica peeped out, feeling like an amature in the fierce dating scene .

“Hello, the man dittoed. He had the ability to see right through her.

“So… are you here to gamble?”, Monica asked while slapping herself on the inside with such a supid question.

“No... that would not be allow miss”, the man smiled.

“What’s your name?”, Monica asked with her heart racing.

“It’s here on my name tag”, the man directed.

Monica wandered her eyes over to the right area of his jacket and was mortified, he was part of the ship’s crew. His name was Demetri Yugoslov from the Ukraine.

“I’m sorry, I thought you were a passenger”, Monica sighed hopelessly.

“You don’t have to apologize, I'm flattered to flirt with such a stranger”, Demetri complimented.

“So, are you single?”, Monica asked without giving up, he could still be a strong contender for her heart.

“You are very lovely my dear, but I am a married man with five children. So if you look at it that way I‘m really how do you say really taken”, Demetri laughed.

Demetri gradually coached Monica out of the casino that didn’t open for another hour.

“He was just a warm up anyway”, Monica thought while feeling better.

******

Wally Burke settled into his cabin and ordered a movie, he knew about the single’s masquerade ball, but he didn’t feel up to it. Hungry, he ordered room service to comfort him. Escargot, a slice of lemon cream pie and a sweet tea with peaches became his modest dinner.

“Look at me I’m pathetic. I went to swimming classes for two weeks to get over my fear of water, now I’m stuck in my cabin afraid to face the music”, Wally sobbed while removing his glasses.

******

“Drew ! I can’t believe how insanely beautiful this suite is. We have our own ocean view balcony with hot tub, a fireplace, stocked bar, floor to ceiling windows, king sized bed and the biggest steam shower I have ever seen. Look at this, swans made out of bath towels, this may not be a bad time after all”, Hailey grinned.

“It only gets better Mrs. Koffkey”, Drew assured while handing her a white envelope.

Hailey frantically ripped open the envelope to find the ships spa menu. “What’s this?”, Hailey asked.

“I took the liberty of booking you a Swedish massage and lime sugar body scrub treatment tomorrow afternoon”, Drew smiled.

“Babe…., that’s so sweet, thank you!”, Hailey cried.

“That’s not all, I’ve arranged for us to have a champagne breakfast delivered to us tomorrow morning, that way we can have it on our balcony without leaving the room”, Drew expressed.

“I thought you said you were not the romantic type”, Hailey said while embracing Drew.

“I know you wanted our honeymoon to be special, so I tried to pull out all of the stops for you”, Drew confessed, he deeply kissed her.

Hailey glanced over Drew’s shoulder to see two masks and a red envelope floating atop the down comforter on the bed.

“What else have you done?” asked Hailey.

Drew became clueless as he watched her walk over to the bed’s night stand. Hailey opened up the envelope and saw a Captain’s invitation, she silently read to herself.

You are cordially invited to the Sea Starburst Singles Masquerade Ball. The festivities will start at ten o’clock sharp tonight on the Sports and Lido Decks. There will be music, dancing, Cajun food, games with prizes and two complimentary cocktails per guest. Please wear the masks that have been provided in your stateroom. We hope you enjoy your stay aboard the Sea Splendor’s Sea Starburst.

Sincerely,

Captain Pierre Franquois

Hailey was thrilled, she loved parties so much that the word singles did not register.

“Honey, there is a party on the Sports and Lido Decks tonight at 10:00 p.m. Hurry up! We need to unpack and get ready”, Hailey urged. Hailey dashed over to her luggage and started to pull out her toiletries.

“Hailey, calm down we don’t have to be there right when it starts”, Drew slurred while sitting down and holding on to his head.

“Drew, what’s the matter with you?”, Hailey asked in frustration, she was pumped and ready to go.

“I don’t know…..I’m feeling kind of sick to my stomach”, Drew admitted with a tint of green flushing his cheeks.

“Do you get sea sick?”, Hailey asked.

“I did when I was a kid, but I have been on boats since and was perfectly fine”, Drew said.

Suddenly Drew ran to the bathroom and started to vomit in toilet. Hailey ran over to him concerned.

“Are you okay honey?”, Hailey asked while rubbing his head and offering him tissues to wipe his mouth with.

“I’m feeling a little better, but I don’t think it is such a good idea for me to go to the party. Honey, I want you to go and have a good time”, Drew sniffled.

“Babe, it just does not feel right to go without you, we are on our honeymoon”, contested Hailey.

Drew shook his head no then went for a second round of chucking up the reception food and wedding cake. Hailey offered him another tissue and he wiped his mouth.

“I know, but I need to rest. Please Hailey, it will make me feel better if you go”, Drew slobbered.

“Are you sure?”, Hailey asked.

“Yes, just don’t drink too much, the ship has stairs!”, Drew warned.

“Alright, but I won‘t stay out long”, Hailey said.

****

“Too bad you couldn’t bring your dog Porscha, this pate tastes like it would be her favorite, yuck!”, Mitzy cringed.

“Oh, come on you guys, this cruise will be great”, Porscha stated while reading the masquerade ball invitation.

“I don’t know…..the bathroom shower only fits one person, there is no room for my clothes, the balcony has no ocean view and the bed feels like wooden plank”, Olivia criticized.

“I know, right. Like, this ship is so yesterday”, Pam said while tossing the towel elephant down and stomping on it.

"That’s it, ENOUGH!!!. I paid for this cruise, you WILL have a good time and stop acting like your the victims... this is my bachelorette party!”, Porscha reinforced.

“Alright, what do you want us to do?”, asked Olivia

“For starters, you will come with me to the Singles Masquerade Ball and mingle, then you will buy me a few bridal trinkets, like maybe uh, some jewelry to ease some of the tension we have in between us. I’ll think of more if the opportunity presents itself”, Porscha commanded while shoving her bulky luggage to the side of the cabin.

“So what’s in it for us?”, Mitzy asked being her defiant self.

“A rightful place as a bridesmaid at my wedding of the year in Catalina”, Porscha summed up.

“Look, I’m ready to ditch this cabin and have a good time, even if it is on this sub standard ship, besides we get two free cocktails”, Pam commented.

“We don’t need free, we are filthy rich, remember”, Mitzy countered.

****

Miles stepped out of the shower and shaved his face. He dressed in a velvet red polo shirt and relaxed fitted blue jeans. Afterward, he splashed on a hodge podge of colognes because wanted to smell sexy for the ladies and coming on too strong wasn’t in his vocabulary. He grabbed his wallet to double check that his shipboard credit card was there; he was dedicated to keeping the ladies three sheets to the wind so sleeping alone would not be an option. While flipping through his wallet, he came across photo of him and his girlfriend Natasha embracing during a sunset on the beach. It hit a sore spot in his heart, he loved her, but the aching emptiness inside needed to be satisfied and he could not wait any longer for her return. He justified it as nothing more than just a temporary fix of passion and what she does'nt know won't hurt her.

****

Lawrence piled together his stationary journal and cliff notes from relationship experts onto his cabins desk. Preparing to start his dating article, he reached for his small pencil in his back pack, a pocket sized writing tablet and video camera to bring along with him.

He did some last minute grooming in the bathroom, did a breath check then grabbed the mask sitting on the bed. It was time to attend the ball. He had no expectations and was objectively researching, but, he was ready to stop traveling to settle down with his perfect match if he could only find her.