My Shipboard Romance(s)

I asked to be placed at a table for 8 on my Norway cruise.

Having that many tablemates gives one a better

chance of finding someone with whom they are

compatible.

When I went down for dinner the first night,

I arrived at my table for 8 to find two gentlemen
 sitting on one side. I sat opposite them.

 That was it. Just the 3 of us.

They were strangers who had just met.

The guys were very British, Paul from Lincolnshire,

and Les from Liverpool. 

They were extremely difficult for me to understand

because their "British" and my "English" 

sound very different.

They were both widowers, and shared about

the deaths of their wives, 

 one 8 years previously and one 2 1/2. 

The second night it was just the 3 of us again.

I had shooed off the photographer the first night,

telling her we were total strangers!

Then the guys said something about the only

thing good about pictures is that you can send

them home to your family.

So I said, "Let's go for it" when the photog came.

Well, I had in mind going over and standing

behind them.

When I started to get up, Paul said,

"No, we'll come over so you don't have to move."

Very nice, I thought.

So they came around and sat on either side of me.

Then the photog asked Paul to move his chair

closer to mine, and he acted scared to death.

He said, "The next thing I know you'll be

asking me to put my arm around her."

So I said "Come here, you two, and threw my

arms around them!"

That's Paul on the right and Les on the left.

We were stopping at Bergen the next morning,
and I kinda hoped Paul would offer to walk me to
 the funicular. I had no memory of how to get there. 
It's a good thing he didn't. He logged 13,000 steps
that day, probably many of them before I dragged
my jet lagged self out of bed!

 The third night, I come down to dinner and only

Paul was sitting at our table.

Assuming that Les was not coming, I sat down 

beside him. I could not feature us sitting on

opposite sides of that big table!

Well, he stood right up and was going to move--

where I don't know.

I think it was because he knew Les would be there,

but he actually seemed afraid of me!

Les did come and sat casually across the table!

Dinner was extremely arduous, since I would

have to ask them to repeat everything.

By this night the tension in my shoulders was killing  

me after dinner.

The next day I was waiting for an elevator when a

couple approached me.

They said they were the only 2 at a table for 6 very

near my table, and they wanted to join us.

YES YES YES!

Their names were Bonnie and Mike.

So, would you believe, when I got down to dinner

they were already seated to one side of "my" chair,

and Paul was seated on the other!

I guess he felt they would be protection for him.

Although, mysteriously that night Paul began to

act a little less like he was in fear!

But it was good to have 5 instead of just 3.

Mike and Bonnie

 The next day I got off the elevator on my floor,

and there sat Paul on a sofa.
He didn't know my room number, and there
were 4 elevator lobbies on the 9th floor, so
I don't know how he found me.

I sat down and talked to him a minute, then told

him I was going to the art auction just out of curiosity.
(Both of us had kinda poo-pooed the auction.)

So...guess who shows up. First a floor above me,

calling my name, then sitting beside me!

By the way, Les had told a couple of people at dinner

that he had asked me to marry him. 

The first time he said I replied that 
"I would think about it!"

  The second that "He didn't have enough money!"

He met me in the hall one day and asked if he could 
give me a kiss.

 When I declined, he said "Just a little peck?"

Fast forward to the last dinner.

I asked Bonnie to take a picture of Paul and me.

Funny...he doesn't seem scared any more.

Now I'm scared!