THE DIARY OF MRS. TOMY RYAN
Chapter Eight
I awoke to someone knocking on my door. I got
up and put my robe on. "Yes? Who is it?" I asked.
"It’s your steward, ma’am. Sorry to
disturb you, but I have a message for you."
I went to the door and opened it. He gave me
a slip of paper, and I read it immediately. "What time is it?"
"It’s just after three in the
morning."
"Thank you." I gave him a tip and
shut the door. I read the message out loud to myself. "Katie, please come
out and meet me. I’ll be at the stern of the ship. Tommy."
I wanted to see him, but I was curious about
why he wanted to see me so late. I dressed hurriedly and left. I walked
nervously to the stern. I saw him sitting on a bench, smoking a cigarette. I
walked up to him and stopped. He looked up at me and I could tell he had been
drinking. He was so handsome, sitting there in the moonlight. I reached out and
took his offered hand. He pulled me onto the seat next to him.
"Hello, Katherine. I was hoping you’d
come."
"Of course I would. I’ve wanted to see
you, too."
He smiled, and reached over to bring my face
closer to his. He kissed me softly, and I felt myself melt. He had such power
over me. He kissed me like no one ever had before.
Before I got too lost in the kiss, I pulled
away. "Tell me what you did this evening."
"Well, I just went to the party. Jack
came in with Rose. He was all dressed up in a fancy suit, just like one of
those snobs in first class." He smiled as he said this, and I laughed.
"I saw him, too. He ate dinner with Rose
in the first class dining hall. I’m not sure if he saw me. I left them alone.
My father had arranged that I would eat one meal at the captain’s table. It was
awful. No one at the table wanted to talk to me."
We sat there on the bench, talking, getting
to know each other with a few kisses and hot embraces. It seemed like time had
stood still, that morning would never come. I would have been happy to have
that night never end. It was truly magical. When I saw that the sun was rising,
we walked over to the railing and watched it rise majestically over the water.
It was the most gorgeous sunrise I had ever seen. Having Tommy there, with his
arms around me, just made it all the more wonderful.
"Come have breakfast with me,
Katie."
"Of course. I’d love to."
We walked down to the third class dining room
and took seats. Jack and Fabrizio came in and joined us. Jack looked upset, and
he barely spoke throughout the whole meal. Tommy and Fabrizio told jokes, and
had the whole table laughing. I noticed how much Tommy ate, and was amazed. He
ate what seemed like enough for three men. Filling my thoughts with trivial
matters kept me from thinking the depressing thoughts. The children were
laughing, and some were running around the dining room. Jack looked up at me.
"Are you having a good time?"
"Yes, I am."
"That’s good. Are you going to the
church services?"
"No, I don’t think so. I’m going to
spend the morning with Tommy." I smiled at the thought.
"I need to talk to Rose."
"I’m sure you can find her there."
"Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind."
Jack got up and left. I reached over and gave
Tommy’s arm a tug. He turned to look at me, and I couldn’t help myself. I
smiled. "What would you like to do today?"