I dropped my purchases in my cabin, then headed to the soft ice cream machine by the outdoor pool.
Six passengers, a family group judging by the resemblance, reached the soft ice cream ahead of me. The machine, clearly, was not familiar to them. I could have given them lessons — blindfolded and asleep, as a matter of fact — but they were having such a good time teasing each other in what sounded like Greek to me — literally Greek — that I hung back so they didn’t feel rushed.
The area around the pool was sparsely populated. On this last onshore opportunity before a string of six days at sea, apparently most of the passengers had opted for day-long excursions and were still out.
It was becoming even less populated, because the Valkyries — except for Coral — had packed their totes and were heading my way in diaphanous swim coverups.
Even here, they wore high heels that forced their feet into a ballerina’s on pointe position. Instead of appearing delicate and light, however, they clunked loudly on the deck.
I smiled at them.
They made fragmentary eye contact, acknowledging my existence, then a series of sniffs, apparently directed at the soft ice cream machine.
I was sorely tempted to inform them of my plan to let a number of pounds roll back on.
Where the main pool narrowed to join a kiddie pool, two hot tubs sat on each side. I saw Maya and Ralph in one hot tub on the near side, with Leah and a gray-haired man I hadn’t seen before in the next tub. Behind Leah, Wardham sat sideways in a deck chair next to Odette. He appeared to be trying to make quiet conversation. She read a book with no indication of paying him any attention.
A woman deposited a bag and a towel on a nearby deck chair then strode to the tubs. She climbed in to the one Leah was in with far more determination than grace. Her arm contacted the water hard enough to splash Leah, who sputtered as if in danger of drowning.
It hadn’t been that big a splash, but it certainly deserved an apology.
The woman glanced at Leah, said nothing, and began upbraiding the man in German. I know enough Spanish, French, and Italian to get by, but no German beyond guten tag, bitte, and danke for good day, please, and thanks.
She didn’t include any of those among her loud torrent of words, which drew attention from all around the pool and the bar at this end.
He said little, not making eye contact with her or anyone else.
Ralph and Maya were trying to pretend it wasn’t happening.
I could only see Leah in quarter profile, but I guessed from her tense shoulders and focus on the woman that she was waiting for an opportunity to jump in and take over. The woman gave her no opportunity.
The man said something. The woman talked over him. He spoke more sharply, the jerk of his head indicating their audience.
She glanced around with disdain, which I thought might rocket Leah straight through the sun canopy, then blew out through pursed lips. She stood, again splashing Leah, and climbed out with no indication she was aware of anyone else around.
The man stood — without splashing — gave a small bow of his head, then followed her.
Silence reigned as they departed toward an upper deck.
“Rude.” Leah said sharply as soon as they were out of sight. “Rude foreigners. Didn’t even speak English.”
Ah. That added to my suspicion that what bothered her the most was she couldn’t effectively lambaste the woman.
“Why should they?” Maya said. “You don’t speak their language, why should they speak yours? Besides, you’re a foreigner here, too.”
Maya wasn’t as defenseless as she seemed.
Leah turned toward Maya and now I could see three-quarters of her face. “You’re strange everywhere. You pathetic, sophomoric—”
“Sophomoric,” Maya interrupted to repeat. “That’s one of your favorite words in those reviews. You use it far too much, you know.”
Ralph reached a hand toward her. Restraining? Supplicating? She didn’t appear to see it. She was focused entirely on Leah.
Mottled red rose up Leah’s chest, neck, and into her cheeks. “You stupid, ignorant—”
“Dee North of Boise, Idaho.”
Leah’s mouth opened. Nothing came out.
Ralph stood.
Triumphantly, Maya continued, “That’s who you pretend to be when you write those horrible, horrible reviews on Amazon. A troll. That’s what they call people like you. Trolls. Leah the Troll.”
The last was said over Maya’s shoulder, as Ralph guided her by the elbow out of their hot tub.
That broke the spell. Wardham stood and walked away. Odette pulled her hat lower and raised her book higher. People all around the deck area and bar suddenly developed deep interest in whatever gave them an excuse to look away from Leah.
Me?
I scooted around the Greek family group, whose uneaten ice cream was threatening to drip over their hands because they’d been watching the drama, filled a cone expertly and wasted no time getting out of sight.