The police told me that since she apparently left of their own free will I was pretty well screwed. My only recourse with Cheryl was to get a court order requiring Carol to not keep her away from me. But since we had no idea if they were in the same state, no court would issue such an order. As regarded the money, my understanding was that if we filed for a divorce, I could sue to get half of it back.
I sat for three months. I moped, fretted, and cried. I received neither word nor hint about them; nor from them. Cheryl’s school could only tell me that Carol had taken her records. I went to her parents’ house twice. The second time I was kicked off the property and told that I would be arrested the next time.
At Christmas, I sat down the street from their house for three days hoping Carol and Cheryl would show up. They didn’t. It was a depressing holiday season; especially after I put up outdoor lights and decorated a tree in anticipation of them coming home.
I had hit absolute bottom and was both mentally, and physically exhausted. Then I remembered an expression I heard once. ‘”Get busy living or get busy dying’.”
I was tired of acting like I was already dead.
“Hey, boss. I need a vacation,.” I said as I marched into his office.
“When and how long?” So we discussed vacation options. He and his wife had been on 12 ocean cruises; some lasting as long as three weeks. He convinced me that on a ship in the middle of some big body of water, where, when you looked around, all you saw was more water, you could spend days doing nothing.
Two weeks later I was on my first ever ocean cruise. I sold Carol’s car in order to pay for it, but what the hell.
I drove to Galveston on departure day. It was the first time I had seen a cruise ship up close. That sucker was huge!
I was onboard less than 12 hours and discovered that if a man wants to meet women, cruise ships seemed to be the place to do it. Not that I was looking; but you didn’t really have to look. They were everywhere. Of course they were everywhere off the ship as well, but onboard the ship, they seemed more … accessible? More willing to chat? Something. It must be the environment, but whatever it was, it was palpable.
The first night at dinner, I was seated at a table for six. Besides me, there were two married couples and a single woman. We went to the live stage show as a group afterward. The single lady, Grace Windham, and I sat next to each other at dinner and again after dinner at the show. The cast performed shows twice an evening. Grace liked the show and wanted to stay and watch the second performance. I was pleasantly surprised at how good it was and asked if she minded company. She didn’t so we watched it together.
The next day was a “Sea Day.” Grace and I saw each other by the pool and hung out together for a couple of hours.
Dinner that evening was formal. I didn’t have a tux, so I wore the only suit I brought. Again, I was seated at a table for six; one married couple, one elderly gentleman, two women, and me. Everyone but me was dressed formally and looked great. They were all experienced cruisers and referred to formal nights on board as “Prom Nights.” We were scheduled to have two “Prom Nights.” The two women were friends and traveling together. They were attractive, witty, and a bit risqué in both demeanor and language. They made it clear that they went on cruises to party and have fun. I spent most of my time talking with them and vice versa.
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