Chapter Text
“Oh I think it’s sweet, Eddie!” Cath said as she trundled her suitcase up the long metal ramp.
“It ain’t sweet, it’s bloody terrifying! I kept asking if she meant we were breaking up, and she kept saying no, but it sure as fuck feels like a breakup.” Eddie groused in reply. Her own luggage comprised of a single duffel bag bulging at the zipper and slung over one shoulder.
“That’s because you’re used to dating men. Lesbians aren’t like that.” Cath tried to reassure her, but Eddie only huffed. Glancing towards her wife for backup, Cath asked: “Isn’t that right, sexy?”
Dulcie, who had up to this point been squinting at the cruise pamphlet and trying to ignore the entire conversation, sighed. “It depends on the woman.”
“So you think Miki is trying to dump me, then?” Eddie demanded.
“No! That isn’t what Dulcie meant at all.” Cath jumped back in, all soothing vowels and deep dimpled smiles.
“How the fuck else am I supposed to interpret our bloody phone call, then? ‘Oh yeah, I know we’ve been dating for six months, but if ya wanna go off and fuck other women, I’m fine with that.’”
“I still think it’s rather sweet! An open relationship can be a sign of maturity. Besides, she’s your first girlfriend, she probably wants you to sample the pond before settling down for the long haul.”
Eddie snorted, but any further reply was cut off as they reached the cruise ship and were immediately bombarded by staff members and their broad grins.
“Welcome aboard!”
“Yeah, thanks.” Eddie peered over the top of her sunglasses and frowned at the enthusiasm. Dulcie found herself suppressing a chuckle at Eddie’s suspicion, and flashed the crew a tight smile. Perhaps Cath had been right about this trip.
“Thank you, we’re happy to be aboard!” Cath matched their eagerness. “Staterooms 509 and 511?”
“Elevators are just down there to your left, take them to the fifth floor. Have a wonderful cruise!”
As they wound past their fellow travelers, Dulcie considered the trip ahead. When Cath had originally pitched the idea, citing rest and relaxation and plain old fun, Dulcie was surprised. Cruises had never been their preferred form of vacation, finding the ships overbearing and the crowds stifling, but after a time, the idea became appealing. Food readily available, clean pools, and plenty of sun: perhaps a cruise would be enjoyable. To no one’s surprise, Cath immediately invited Eddie. To everyone’s surprise, Eddie agreed. Like a prodigal son returned, Barra Creek had once again become her home, albeit a kinder one after her absence. The domestic bliss of her girlfriend helped, as did the town’s surprising appreciation for her service. But Eddie seemed itching for adventure again, and jumped at Cath’s invitation. And now, they were set for a two week trip to Fiji.
“I dunno, maybe she’s mad at me. Could it be some passive aggressive bullshit?” Eddie continued her worried dissection of Miki’s phone call as they entered the elevator.
“Why would she be mad at you, love?” Cath responded, smiling at the elderly couple in the elevator with them.
“Apparently cruises are the environmental equivalent of ass fucking Mother Nature with a hot poker.”
The elderly couple stared at them. Dulcie coughed and flashed them a quick tight smile in an attempt to apologize. Eddie took no notice.
“She went on this whole spiel about colonization of the ocean. Got all flushed and shit. I can’t remember everything she said, her tits were out.”
“Okay, what should we do this afternoon?” Dulcie cut in as the elderly woman glowered at them. “Quick swim before dinner? Drinks at the pool?”
“Oh I didn’t get us the drink package, sexy, no alcohol this trip!” Cath apologized. “It was horribly overpriced, and I thought it would be good for Eddie.”
“What the fuck, Cath? I’m allowed a beer every now and then!” Eddie protested.
Dulcie was relieved when the elevator dinged at the fifth floor. They spilled out and walked down the carpeted hall, looking for their rooms.
“You’re allowed a beer, Eddie.” Dulcie responded as she glanced over the dark wood paneled doors and checked each shiny number. “It’s when one beer becomes ten, and all of a sudden you’re vomiting in the toilet and stumbling around the bar asking about your dead mum.”
“Oi! I’ve matured now, haven’t I?”
“Here we go! Rooms 509 and 511!” Dulcie pointed to their doors, and as Cath waved the key cards, she tried to ignore Eddie’s glare.
The stateroom was smaller than Dulcie had expected, with a queen bed and cramped en suite. A glass sliding door opened on to a nice balcony, however, and a small TV on the wall played a slide show of stock cruise images.
“What do you think, sexy?” Cath deposited their suitcases on the floor and turned to grin at Dulcie.
“It’s lovely, Cath. Thank you.” And she meant it. Even in their tiny room, Dulcie could feel the tension begin to leak from her body. She’d never been good at relaxation, finding herself too tightly wound for anything close to idleness, but retirement had done wonders for her sense of inner peace. And Cath had been there for every step, with words of encouragement and gentle caresses and endless quiet love. Dulcie swept her wife into a hug, burying her face in the crook of her neck and breathing in the scent of her soft skin. “Thank you for all of it.”
“It’s because I love you, Dulcie. Keep remembering that, won’t you?”
Even through the glass sliding door, the crash of waves against the ship’s bulkhead was audible, and the sound swept through Dulcie in a rush of peace.
“I know. I love you too.”
The moment was interrupted by a knock at their door.
“I’m off to find some alternative to getting rip roaring drunk, lezzies!” Eddie’s voice echoed though their stateroom. “Come find me when you’re done sniffing each other’s pubes or whatever!”
“For some reason, I thought she wouldn’t make lesbian jokes now that she has a girlfriend.” Dulcie marveled.
“She’s feeling insecure about her relationship with Miki.” Cath explained as she riffled through her suitcase. “Didn’t you hear our conversation earlier?”
“Er, no, I was too focused on getting on board.”
“Well, apparently Miki told her she could have a hall pass, if she’d like. Take a chance to sample the pond and hook up with some other women on our vacation. I think it’s sweet.” Cath stripped her clothes off and started pulling on her swimsuit. Dulcie tried very hard to focus on something other than Cath’s tits.
“And you don’t think Miki is trying to break up with her?”
“You and Eddie always assume the worst. Come on, get your suit on so we can go lounge by the pool.”
The ship deck was swarming with people. Old and young, fat and thin, every shape and skin color and cut of clothing known to humankind. Yet all were linked by the same expression of excitement and relaxation as they meandered the deck and oogled the promenade shop windows and waded into the sparkling blue pool. Dulcie wondered if they had perhaps missed the welcoming tent serving benzos and weed.
“Oi! Over here!” Eddie waved to them from a lounge chair.
As Dulcie and Cath made their way over, they could see Eddie had changed into a navy blue one piece swimsuit, a far cry from her standard swimwear.
“That’s a lovely new outfit, love!” Cath remarked.
“Blame Miki, she slipped it into my suitcase. The damn thing is giving me a wedgie in my cunt.”
“Yes, well, girlfriends have been known to have better fashion sense, Eddie.” Dulcie responded as she settled on a lounge chair next to Eddie.
“I’ll get us a snack and some drinks.” Cath said, before vanishing into the crowd.
Dulcie sighed.
Eddie glanced around and lowered her voice. “Think they’re all on drugs?”
“What?”
“These chaps all look too damn pleased about this floating gastrointestinal disaster we’ve found ourselves on. Figure they might be high as fuck.”
To her surprise, Dulcie started laughing. Eddie looked concerned.
“Guess it’s in the air, mate.”
“You do understand the purpose of the cruise is to relax, correct?”
“Oh I’m relaxed alright.” Eddie leaned back in her seat and stretched her legs out. “I’m not the one with a rod shoved up my cooch.”
“Excuse me?”
“I thought it was the uniform and badge making you a tightwad, but apparently that’s just Dulcie Collins’ natural state of being.”
Dulcie was about to respond with something witty and snarky and defiant (although she had not decided the words quite yet), when Cath returned with a veritable smörgåsbord of refreshments.
“Hot dog and lemonade, for Eddie. Burger and iced tea for you, sexy.”
“Thanks, love.”
“Yeah, thanks.” Eddie’s response was muffled as she chowed down on her food.
There were a few minutes of peace and quiet then, as they ate lunch and sipped their cold drinks and let the heat of the sun soak into their bones. Dulcie dutifully applied sunscreen to every inch of Cath’s exposed skin, remembering the endless lectures about skin cancer, and tried to ignore the tension building in her neck. Eddie was full of shit. She was relaxed. At peace. Too busy staring at the clouds to bother about anything which had brought her stress in years past.
“Excuse me, are these seats taken?”
A pair of young women had approached Eddie, gesturing to the lounge chairs next to her. Eddie glanced over her sunglasses in confusion.
“Nah mate, have at it.” Before turning her attention back to fishing the lemon slice out of her lemonade.
The young women spread their towels and bags across the chairs, but just as they had started to fade from Dulcie’s attention, one of them turned to Eddie once more.
“Would you mind doing my back?”
Based on Eddie’s tiny jump of surprise, she had nearly forgotten about the girls as well. “’Scuse me?”
“My back. Would you mind?” The woman, black haired and suntanned, couldn’t be older than twenty five. She proffered the bottle of sunscreen and Eddie took it.
“Why can’t your friend-“
But the friend, an equally beautiful brunette in a blue bikini, had disappeared.
“Right. Yeah, turn around.”
Eddie’s movements were brisk and efficient, rubbing the thick white cream across the woman’s back and leaving a few streaks. And while Eddie may not have noticed the sinuous twist of the woman’s head, the way she fluttered her eyelashes as she thanked Eddie, Dulcie certainly noticed. She flashed a look at Cath, who was already buried in her paperback novel, then glanced back at Eddie.
Eddie shook her head as the woman pranced away: “Fucking weird, mate. I’m telling you, they’re all on drugs.” But her eyes tracked the woman as she entered the water, longer than was strictly necessary.
“So what was this about an open relationship?” Dulcie drawled.
“What? Oh. We had a weird phone call this morning. Said she loved me, etc., then added ‘might be nice for you to sleep with another lady or two while you’re away.’ What the fuck, Collins?”
“She’s not breaking up with you.” Cath interjected, without looking up from her book.
“Actually, Cath is right.” Dulcie agreed. “Miki is very straightforward. Probably wants you to have some experiences before you become an official step-mother and all that.”
“An official step-mother- Collins, is she going to propose or some shit?”
Before Dulcie could respond, an overhead announcement blared across the ship.
“Welcome aboard ‘The Wonder of the Seas’! We’ll be casting off shortly, but please feel free to continue getting yourself acquainted with the ship! Lunch is being served on deck, as the formal dining room won’t be open until dinnertime. Crew members will be on hand to help out…”
“Oi! Collins!” Eddie insisted. “Did Miki tell you something? Does she have a ring?”
“I was being hyperbolic, Eddie.”
“Load of croc shit, Collins! You know something!”
Dulcie sighed. “What I know is that your lovely girlfriend wouldn’t hesitate to be honest with you. She’s the one who made the first move, correct? If she says to go sample the pond or whatever, she meant it.”
Eddie was quiet. Then, in a very small voice, she said: “I love her, Collins. I love everything about her. Why would I want someone else?”
The words twisted in Dulcie’s gut as she tried not to remember her own indiscretion years ago. Pushing past the long defunct guilt, she responded, “Because sometimes, you only know for sure once you’ve sampled everything that’s out there.”
“So you think I should do it?”
“I don’t know, Eddie. I think you should just be open to the possibility.”
“Right.” Eddie snorted. “It’s all a moot point anyways, it’s not like women throw themselves at my feet.”
Dulcie blinked. Then shook her head. Then picked up her National Geographic magazine and tried to ignore the black-haired woman who was still throwing glances at Eddie. This cruise might prove more interesting than she’d expected.