Second on the Right (12 page)

"Now. That. Is. Interesting," James said
quietly, noting the pendant she wore. Eyebrow raised, she looked at
him for an explanation. "I have one similar to that, though not
exactly the same. A family heirloom."

He showed her the small, worn and scratched
gold coin pendant on a long chain he had been wearing. She read the
inscription:

True love's magic is not to avoid changes,

But to navigate them successfully.

Eileen began to breathe rapidly, nearly
hyperventilating. She felt a chill and goose-bumps formed over her
arms.
How could this be? Is it merely coincidence?

"Papa—” he cleared his throat and corrected,
“My grandfather gave it to me. When I was a boy, he would tell me
legends of swashbuckling pirates and their adventures. He claimed
this pendant was passed down from one pirate, through generations
of our family. Robert Benedict, captain of the
Mistral
Thief
, and an outright scoundrel, had married a woman in the
West Country, but I question the actual marriage. Ugh… her name
eludes me. Something starting with an E. Anyways, I question the
validity of the marriage. Doesn’t seem likely for a pirate.” He
glanced down at the pendant. He scoffed, "To think, I’m actually a
descendant of a pirate. And yet, here I am in this ridiculously
inaccurate costume. What pirate would ever dress this well?"

Eileen's hand covered her mouth in an attempt
to hide a growing smile.
What pirate indeed?
"You are far
from home, aren’t you?"

"I am. The West Country, England to be
precise. My family has been there for centuries," he answered. "And
you? From America, no doubt.”

"Funny that you would mention pirates," she
said. "I learned recently that I might have pirates in my family
history. I'm not exactly sure it's true. Research I had done came
up with a captain by the name of Niles Davis. If that is the case,
it is a much diluted blood line, as many of my family's generations
have been in America."

He nodded, gazing directly at her. He stood
up and leaned close, his mouth next to her ear. "Would you do me
the honor of taking a walk with me?"

Butterflies hit her stomach. Eileen
hesitated. One look into his eyes and she felt a strange
attraction. Taking his right arm, she followed him out of the
party. They strolled around the ship. She noted, despite his
slender frame, his muscles were quite pronounced.

"You keep looking at me. Does this hat make
me look ridiculous?" James asked, stopping during their stroll to
look at her.

Eileen laughed, "No, of course not. Well,
yeah, but you look as good as someone could with feathers. You just
remind me of someone."

"A friend?"

She nodded. "He was a great man, a great
friend."

"Then I only hope I can meet, if not exceed,
the standards he has set."

They resumed walking in silence. Every few
minutes, a fellow passenger would stop James to shake his hand or
request an autograph. After the third passenger stopped James, he
gave Eileen a sheepish grin.

"Sorry about this," he murmured. James
excused himself from the conversation so he could once again be
alone with Eileen. He rubbed at his neck nervously.

"So, you're quite popular on this
cruise?"

"I," James flushed and cleared his throat.
“Yes, well, it’s because I'm speaking tomorrow." He could see the
blank look on her face. "And you know nothing about that. You
aren't here for the conference, are you?" His eyebrow rose as he
grinned at her.

It was Eileen's turn to blush. "No. I'm
afraid I didn’t look at the itinerary. I’d won it as a prize. I had
no plans to attend the conference."

"It’ll be rather dull, anyway," he said,
smirking. "I'm not planning on attending the conference
either."

"But you're speaking." Eileen said.

He chuckled. "Well, yes, I suppose I have to
attend
that
portion. After that though, I'm all yours."

She blushed.

“I did it again. Eileen, please ignore that
last part. At times my mouth moves faster than my brain.”

Eileen considered the man standing before
her. He was persistent yet honest. "James, I need to ask you one
question."

He nodded, waiting with trepidation.

"What is it you want from me?"

James’ eyes widened at the question. "I,
well, uh…I was hoping we might start a friendship. If it progresses
into something more, I would like that as well." He winced, as
though he felt he had said the wrong thing.

Eileen didn’t think so. Waving for them to
continue walking, Eileen wore a satisfied smile. "So tell me about
yourself, James."

James returned with a broad grin and a sigh
of relief. As she wrapped her arm around his, he told her nearly
all his life's story, up to his current occupation as CEO of the
J.A.S. (Just A Second) shipping company. Eileen, in turn, told him
portions of her life, including her dream of becoming a doctor, the
dream she had given up on.

James stopped, searching her eyes for a
moment. "I think you should pursue it. I really do. You'd make a
wonderful physician."

"Thank you, but you hardly know me." She
looked away. "Still, I think I will explore the possibility. Not
sure if I will be able to afford it," she began, only to trail off
quietly. She didn’t want to tell him the one thing that might stop
her was the financial aspect. She would figure that part out
later.

James and Eileen continued to saunter around
the deck. After a while, it became quite late. Eileen was
continually suppressing yawns.

"Either I'm boring you or you’re extremely
exhausted." James chuckled. "And here it is only the first day of
the cruise."

She cringed. "I apologize. You’re in no way
boring me. I’m very tired."

"If you’ll allow me, I’ll escort you to your
cabin and then bid you a good night."

James did as he promised and walked her to
the door of her cabin. "I hope to see you again. Perhaps breakfast
tomorrow?"

She nodded.

He gently kissed her on the cheek, sending a
surge of excitement through her body. She closed her eyes in
response. Seeing she did not pull away, he lingered for a moment.
As he moved back, their eyes met.

Trust yer instinct. Take what is rightfully
yours.

Eileen grabbed James at the base of his neck
and pulled him into a passionate kiss. He didn’t protest. He
wrapped his arms around her waist. As they finished, the two looked
at each other for a moment longer.

With one last tender kiss on the cheek, he
whispered, "Good night, my darling."

Once inside her cabin, Eileen dressed for
bed, though her mind was on James. In just a short time she felt so
at ease with him. She was even looking forward to seeing him again
in the morning.
Perhaps I will attend the conference. At least
the session with him.
His poise, his intelligence, not to
mention his appearance, had won her over.
If it weren’t for that
dream, I would never have spent time with him.

November 8, 2001: 8:58am

Eileen had been anxiously pacing the room
that morning, thoughts of the previous night fresh in her mind. She
felt like a new woman, charged from an unknown energy source. Her
dream had given her the courage to take the first step and meet
James, but ultimately he was the one who had continued to pursue
her. He had a kind and encouraging spirit. She felt uplifted when
around him. Still, worry hung in the back of her mind like an old
habit.
I wonder how long this will last,
she thought.

A knock sounded. James Benedict smiled
brightly as the door opened. In his hand, he held one red rose,
which he extended to her. Eileen was embarrassed by the attention,
but gratefully accepted the flower. Without warning, he leaned in
and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. “Good morning,” he said,
smiling.

“Good morning,” Eileen replied, returning the
sentiment.

James offered his arm, Eileen wrapped hers
around it, and the two set off to a secluded table in the dining
room. James had planned out the breakfast, down to the flowers on
the table and the music playing from the overhead speakers. The
server, who had been waiting off to the side, approached to assist
Eileen in her seat. James shot him a look, took hold of the chair
himself and waved for his date to sit.

“Uh, would you care for something to drink?”
the waiter said to James.

“It is not only customary, but
polite
to ask the lady first,” James said quietly with an undercurrent of
annoyance.

“Yes, of course. My apologies,” the waiter
replied, bowing towards Eileen. “Anything to drink, Miss?”

“Coffee, please,” she requested.

“And you—” the waiter began.

“Tea, Black or Earl Gray, hot. Please,” James
interrupted. He adjusted his chair so he was closer to Eileen.

Eileen could feel James' eyes on her. She
focused her attention on the table and her coffee. Only once did he
catch her eye. Since then, she looked at everything but him.
“So….uh…,” he began, sounding as if he were back in high school.
“This is your first time?”

Eileen turned her head quickly to look at
James, eyebrow raised. “Pardon?”

James grinned. “Oh, uh, I mean….first time on
a cruise?”

“Yeah. What about you? Is it
your
first time?” she asked.

He chuckled, but Eileen was serious. Clearing
his throat, he answered, “I, err, no. Been on a few others.” He
stared down at his tea.

Eileen suppressed a smile and asked, “Did you
say you were speaking on this cruise?”

He looked up, relief flooding over his face.
“Yes, I am. On my book. I will focus primarily on using social
media to aid companies in advanced marketing. If there is time I
might touch a bit on the….multicultural…and I’m boring you,” he
said, sounding disappointed as Eileen suppressed a yawn.

“No, not at all. I must be holding or not
taking in enough deep breaths. It has nothing to do with you, it’s
all physiological. One study pointed out that…hmm, I seem to be
boring
you
now.” She grinned as James covered his mouth to
hide his yawn.

James laughed. “Well, now that we’ve agreed
we’re boring each other, let’s accept it. Feel free to yawn at any
time. I shall continue on, and I hope you will do the same. Now,
tell me why you didn’t pursue your dream of becoming a doctor.”

“My, James, you certainly get right to it.
Okay, why? One physician, a mentor of mine, discouraged me. I had
worked with him and looked up to him for guidance over many years.
Then, one day he told me flat out I had no drive and would never
make it as a doctor.”

“That’s ridiculous! I’m sure he was simply
jealous,” James said excitedly.

“Jealous? Of what, exactly?”

“Of your intelligence and beauty,” he said
trailing off, starting to redden.

“Oh come on now. He certainly wasn’t
attracted to me,” she scoffed.

“I can’t imagine why he wouldn’t be,” he
replied defensively. “Unless he was extremely stupid,” he followed
up.

His obvious attempts at humor, mixed with his
genuine emotions, helped Eileen relax and speak more freely. “Sure,
I was crushed, but I took his words to heart. At the time, he was
right. But now.”

“Now?”

“It’s different. Now, I feel I have the
initiative, that I can do anything I set my mind to do.”

“What changed?”

“A dream. A silly dream gave me the courage
to make up my mind and meet you.”

“A dream told you to meet me?”

“No, no! In my dream, I learned to become a
pirate.”

With eyebrow raised, he asked, “Really. A
pirate? Had you been watching any Errol Flynn movies lately?”

“It’s been a while, but I can’t imagine it
affected me that much. In my dream the captain was nothing like
Flynn. Flynn was a handsome actor and the perfect romantic pirate.
But Captain Benedict, no. He was every bit of what a
true
pirate would have been. Lack of hygiene, tact, rough but true to
his calling.”

“Benedict? Seriously? So, you dreamt about
me?” James grinned broadly.

“You wish. No. I knew you only as James; I
had no idea what your last name was until late last night, after
the dream. Captain Robert Benedict was the pirate who taught me
everything, even sword fighting. You having the same name must be
purely coincidental. Right?”

“Hmm. How interesting. I wonder if…naahh.
Nevermind. So in your dream, Captain Benedict helped you to be
more…swashbuckling.” His grin broadened.

She lit up at his teasing. “Yes! Lucky for
you, when I woke, it was two hours until the party. Before I had
the dream, I had no intention of meeting you again. I was planning
on staying in my room. But after the dream, I felt so, so
energized
. Benedict told me to be more confident in myself,
to take what was rightfully mine.”

“Rightfully yours, me? Oddly enough, I think
I like the sound of that. Take me,” James said, as he opened his
arms.

“James!” she exclaimed, nearly choking on her
sip of coffee.

“Will my mouth ever stop?”

Eileen giggled. “It’s all right. Let’s change
the subject. Are you speaking today?”

James groaned. “Oh, let’s not talk about me.
Please. That will only get me further into trouble.”

“Oh, come on now, it isn’t that bad. It’s
actually kind of cute.”

“Thanks,” he said with a smirk. “To answer
your question, yes, I’m speaking, but just this morning. The rest
of the day I am—” but he stopped himself.

“All mine?” Eileen finished with
amusement.

James grinned and sighed, “Yeah.”

“Then let’s finish our breakfast and get you
to where you need to be. We can enjoy the rest of the day
together.”