Dum?”
“Now who’s cracking jokes?” Jack said.
“Good point. Okay, let’s see if I can explain to you what I found so funny.”
“You can stop anytime you feel the giggles coming on.”
“Oh, I will,” Kris said, and took in a large breath. “You chose golf, even though there was less money in it because it was the safest route to where you wanted to go.”
“Yes.”
“You were in training to be my security chief even before you entered college.”
Jack looked at Kris in utter silence. Then snorted. “By God, you’re right.”
“You bet I am. You’ve been training yourself to look for and follow the safest path since when you were a teenager. I wonder why?”
Jack took a while to try an answer to that.
“My dad was a construction worker,” he finally said. “An accident-prone construction worker. Your dad’s regulations protect people that get hurt on the job, but after you’ve been on workers comp a couple of times, even the union isn’t so interested in referring you to a job. He still got work, but little stuff, short stuff, stuff that no one could get hurt on. Pay sucked.”
“I’m sorry,” Kris said. She licked a finger and made a mark in the air. “Put that down as one question I should not have asked.”
“You had no way of knowing, honey. Your life is an open book, complete with pictures. Most of us live our lives in quiet desperation.”
“And my desperation gets me all over the news.”
“You’re talking shop.”
“Change the topic to something else,” Kris suggested.
“Well, the later diners are arriving. Turn around. You’ll get quite a view.”
The scene could have qualified for a review or floor show in many places. The female half of the couples were arriving in shorts, the shortest shorts in Kris’s closet. The tank tops hardly qualified for the name. They stopped well short of what they were supposed to cover. The men had on the shortest shorts, too, and many hadn’t bothered with a shirt.
“I guess now we know what ‘Total Nudity Not Allowed’ means,” Kris said, turning back to her view of the ocean.
“Twelve guesses why they’re late, and the first eleven don’t count,” Jack said.
“I can’t figure out whether I feel scandalized or regret that we aren’t late with them. Not that I’d step out of our cabin in that outfit.”
“You mean it?” Jack asked.
“I really am enjoying talking to you, Jack. Getting to know you.”
“Me too.”
Dinner arrived. They were served first, at least. The fish was . . . interesting. Different from anything Kris had ever tasted. Hers had a nutty texture although whether that was from the sauce or the fish, she wasn’t sure. After her first taste, she offered Jack one. Kris had seen couples feeding each other from their plates and often wished she had someone she could do it with.
Now she did. Her best guess was she ate half of Jack’s and he ate half of hers. The fish came with a wild rice that could have been from Wardhaven and a mix of sautéed vegetables, half of which were familiar and half strange.
The medley was delicious.
They were about done. They might have been done if they hadn’t been talking so much when, an hour after the dinner bell rang, the second installment of the floor show arrived.
Jack announced it by saying “Don’t look.”
So, of course, Kris did. Only then did Jack turn in his seat and clearly enjoy the show.
Here was the string-bikini brigade. Most of the young women hadn’t even bothered with the top. The guys were also in string things. Most of them covered the essentials, but a few had a critical portion of their anatomy peeking out around the edge.
“And my Granny Rita sent me to this . . .”
“Den of delights,” Jack finished.
Kris turned back to her not-quite-finished dinner. Jack timed his turn perfectly with hers.
“Now we know what ‘Total Nudity Not Allowed’ means,” Jack said.
“I hope.”
“Would you like dessert?” the
“Now who’s cracking jokes?” Jack said.
“Good point. Okay, let’s see if I can explain to you what I found so funny.”
“You can stop anytime you feel the giggles coming on.”
“Oh, I will,” Kris said, and took in a large breath. “You chose golf, even though there was less money in it because it was the safest route to where you wanted to go.”
“Yes.”
“You were in training to be my security chief even before you entered college.”
Jack looked at Kris in utter silence. Then snorted. “By God, you’re right.”
“You bet I am. You’ve been training yourself to look for and follow the safest path since when you were a teenager. I wonder why?”
Jack took a while to try an answer to that.
“My dad was a construction worker,” he finally said. “An accident-prone construction worker. Your dad’s regulations protect people that get hurt on the job, but after you’ve been on workers comp a couple of times, even the union isn’t so interested in referring you to a job. He still got work, but little stuff, short stuff, stuff that no one could get hurt on. Pay sucked.”
“I’m sorry,” Kris said. She licked a finger and made a mark in the air. “Put that down as one question I should not have asked.”
“You had no way of knowing, honey. Your life is an open book, complete with pictures. Most of us live our lives in quiet desperation.”
“And my desperation gets me all over the news.”
“You’re talking shop.”
“Change the topic to something else,” Kris suggested.
“Well, the later diners are arriving. Turn around. You’ll get quite a view.”
The scene could have qualified for a review or floor show in many places. The female half of the couples were arriving in shorts, the shortest shorts in Kris’s closet. The tank tops hardly qualified for the name. They stopped well short of what they were supposed to cover. The men had on the shortest shorts, too, and many hadn’t bothered with a shirt.
“I guess now we know what ‘Total Nudity Not Allowed’ means,” Kris said, turning back to her view of the ocean.
“Twelve guesses why they’re late, and the first eleven don’t count,” Jack said.
“I can’t figure out whether I feel scandalized or regret that we aren’t late with them. Not that I’d step out of our cabin in that outfit.”
“You mean it?” Jack asked.
“I really am enjoying talking to you, Jack. Getting to know you.”
“Me too.”
Dinner arrived. They were served first, at least. The fish was . . . interesting. Different from anything Kris had ever tasted. Hers had a nutty texture although whether that was from the sauce or the fish, she wasn’t sure. After her first taste, she offered Jack one. Kris had seen couples feeding each other from their plates and often wished she had someone she could do it with.
Now she did. Her best guess was she ate half of Jack’s and he ate half of hers. The fish came with a wild rice that could have been from Wardhaven and a mix of sautéed vegetables, half of which were familiar and half strange.
The medley was delicious.
They were about done. They might have been done if they hadn’t been talking so much when, an hour after the dinner bell rang, the second installment of the floor show arrived.
Jack announced it by saying “Don’t look.”
So, of course, Kris did. Only then did Jack turn in his seat and clearly enjoy the show.
Here was the string-bikini brigade. Most of the young women hadn’t even bothered with the top. The guys were also in string things. Most of them covered the essentials, but a few had a critical portion of their anatomy peeking out around the edge.
“And my Granny Rita sent me to this . . .”
“Den of delights,” Jack finished.
Kris turned back to her not-quite-finished dinner. Jack timed his turn perfectly with hers.
“Now we know what ‘Total Nudity Not Allowed’ means,” Jack said.
“I hope.”
“Would you like dessert?” the
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