grandfather was talking about?”
She nodded. “That’s why I’m here. To see what he saw.”
4
HOT CHOCOLATE FOR TWO
Kate could tell me nothing more, for Miss Simpkins was teetering down the grand staircase in her high heels, looking like she’d just been electrocuted.
“Kate, you gave me the worst fright!”
Kate rolled her eyes at me before turning to face her chaperone.
“I’m sorry, Marjorie, but you were sound asleep, and I didn’t have the heart to wake you. I thought I’d just go on the tour by myself.”
Miss Simpkins looked at Kate then at me.
“This is the tour? Just you and…him.”
She said him like I was something oozing from the bottom of a trash can.
“That’s right, Marjorie. He is the tour guide, after all.”
“Well, I can only say it’s most inappropriate. Most inappropriate indeed. Your parents will not be pleased to hear of it.”
“You’re quite right,” Kate said. “They’ll be most distressed that their trusted chaperone fell asleep and left their little baby girl helpless.” She tilted up her chin ever so slightly as she said this, and her nostrils narrowed disdainfully. I’d never seen anything quite like it. Plenty of times I’d seen people flare their nostrils when they were angry; Mr. Lisbon did it all the time when he and Chef Vlad were arguing. But Miss de Vries somehow made her nostrils smaller, so they were almost little slits. It was really something, the effect it had on Miss Simpkins. The chaperone hemmed a bit and patted her hair, taking little sips of air. I hoped I never got a look like that from Miss de Vries.
I was busting with questions about Kate’s grandfather, but there seemed no chance of continuing the conversation with the chaperone hovering around. So I thought it best to take my leave.
“Thank you so much,” Kate told me. “I do hope we get a chance to talk some more.”
I smiled at her and set off toward the crew quarters. As I neared my cabin, I felt an unaccustomed tiredness descend on me like a cold drizzle. Probably just the bad news I’d received earlier. Normally I would’ve gone to the control car and asked if I might watch and take notes. But right now I didn’thave the heart. Baz was sitting on the edge of the bottom bunk, kicking off his shoes and socks, whistling. He was just getting off duty too.
“You look shattered, mate,” he said.
“I’ll tell you all about it later.” I climbed up to the top bunk and fell asleep the moment my cheek touched the pillow.
My alarm clock clattered me out of sleep. 7:00 P.M. Baz was already up, ironing his shirt. We both had lounge duty from eight till midnight, serving tea and coffee and cognac and whatever else the first-class passengers might desire.
For a moment I just lay there. I loved my cabin, small though it was. On my bunk was the eiderdown quilt my mother had made for me. Stuck with putty to the wall near my pillow were some pictures from home: one of my father in his sailmaker’s uniform, another of my mother and Isabel and Sylvia on the balcony of their little apartment in Lionsgate City. I always thought of it as their apartment, not mine, because I was aloft so much now. Three years ago, after my father died, we’d needed money badly, times being what they were, and I was lucky the Aurora had offered me a job as cabin boy. It was Captain Walken I had to thank for that.
My mother had not wanted me to take the position, not after what happened to my father. I’d never seen her so upset. I’d tried to hide how much I wanted the job, but she knew anyway. All my life I’d wanted to fly. What she didn’t know was that I wanted to fly away from her too. I wanted to fly to my father, and I couldn’t do that landlocked in the small apartment with its low ceilings and gray views of rainy city streets. My father had spent so little time there. It was not the place I could be near him.
Built into the headboard of the bunk was a little shelf where I had my
She nodded. “That’s why I’m here. To see what he saw.”
4
HOT CHOCOLATE FOR TWO
Kate could tell me nothing more, for Miss Simpkins was teetering down the grand staircase in her high heels, looking like she’d just been electrocuted.
“Kate, you gave me the worst fright!”
Kate rolled her eyes at me before turning to face her chaperone.
“I’m sorry, Marjorie, but you were sound asleep, and I didn’t have the heart to wake you. I thought I’d just go on the tour by myself.”
Miss Simpkins looked at Kate then at me.
“This is the tour? Just you and…him.”
She said him like I was something oozing from the bottom of a trash can.
“That’s right, Marjorie. He is the tour guide, after all.”
“Well, I can only say it’s most inappropriate. Most inappropriate indeed. Your parents will not be pleased to hear of it.”
“You’re quite right,” Kate said. “They’ll be most distressed that their trusted chaperone fell asleep and left their little baby girl helpless.” She tilted up her chin ever so slightly as she said this, and her nostrils narrowed disdainfully. I’d never seen anything quite like it. Plenty of times I’d seen people flare their nostrils when they were angry; Mr. Lisbon did it all the time when he and Chef Vlad were arguing. But Miss de Vries somehow made her nostrils smaller, so they were almost little slits. It was really something, the effect it had on Miss Simpkins. The chaperone hemmed a bit and patted her hair, taking little sips of air. I hoped I never got a look like that from Miss de Vries.
I was busting with questions about Kate’s grandfather, but there seemed no chance of continuing the conversation with the chaperone hovering around. So I thought it best to take my leave.
“Thank you so much,” Kate told me. “I do hope we get a chance to talk some more.”
I smiled at her and set off toward the crew quarters. As I neared my cabin, I felt an unaccustomed tiredness descend on me like a cold drizzle. Probably just the bad news I’d received earlier. Normally I would’ve gone to the control car and asked if I might watch and take notes. But right now I didn’thave the heart. Baz was sitting on the edge of the bottom bunk, kicking off his shoes and socks, whistling. He was just getting off duty too.
“You look shattered, mate,” he said.
“I’ll tell you all about it later.” I climbed up to the top bunk and fell asleep the moment my cheek touched the pillow.
My alarm clock clattered me out of sleep. 7:00 P.M. Baz was already up, ironing his shirt. We both had lounge duty from eight till midnight, serving tea and coffee and cognac and whatever else the first-class passengers might desire.
For a moment I just lay there. I loved my cabin, small though it was. On my bunk was the eiderdown quilt my mother had made for me. Stuck with putty to the wall near my pillow were some pictures from home: one of my father in his sailmaker’s uniform, another of my mother and Isabel and Sylvia on the balcony of their little apartment in Lionsgate City. I always thought of it as their apartment, not mine, because I was aloft so much now. Three years ago, after my father died, we’d needed money badly, times being what they were, and I was lucky the Aurora had offered me a job as cabin boy. It was Captain Walken I had to thank for that.
My mother had not wanted me to take the position, not after what happened to my father. I’d never seen her so upset. I’d tried to hide how much I wanted the job, but she knew anyway. All my life I’d wanted to fly. What she didn’t know was that I wanted to fly away from her too. I wanted to fly to my father, and I couldn’t do that landlocked in the small apartment with its low ceilings and gray views of rainy city streets. My father had spent so little time there. It was not the place I could be near him.
Built into the headboard of the bunk was a little shelf where I had my
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