First Class Voyage (First Class Novels – A Contemporary Romance Series) Read online

  “Have you ever known your mom to take unwarranted risks? To make silly, impetuous decisions?”

  Janie shook her head. No, her mother was sane. But this was also very out of the norm for her too.

  “She has been alone for a very long time.”

  “I know,” agreed Janie. “But this just isn’t like her.”

  “How do you know?” asked Matt. “You have not lived in the same city for four years. She may be dating regularly. And you can’t blame her for that if she was.”

  “The voice of reason,” she frowned. “You’re probably right.”

  Janie thought back to her childhood. She could not ever remember her mother going on a date. Not since the day her father had died suddenly of a heart attack. Janie was thirteen, and she and her two younger sisters had been the only focus of her mother’s life since.

  Janie understood loss. When her first husband had died of cancer five years ago, she was inconsolable. She couldn’t imagine having to put on a brave face every morning and care for three young children. She had realized just how strong and marvelous her mother really was. And her father had died over thirty years ago. Janie had a hard time remembering his face without the aid of a photograph. No, she couldn’t fault Patty for wanting companionship.

  “I suppose it’s harmless enough,” she conceded.

  Matt just grinned at his wife.

  *****

  “I love your skin,” Mark growled as he nibbled on Katy’s shoulders.

  After a room service breakfast, they were ready to venture onto the beautiful island of San Juan. Mark had been there many, many times over the years, but this was Katy’s first visit to the tropical paradise. She wore a white cotton dress with spaghetti straps. Her bronze skin was too much of a temptation for Mark.

  “Come on,” she giggled. “We need to go.”

  “Fine,” Mark chuckled. “Let’s go.”

  They made their way off the boat and strolled down the dock hand in hand. Mark was going to show her his San Juan; everything he loved to see when he had been there before. He wanted to share it with her. He wanted to share everything with her.

  *****

  Maureen sat on her balcony watching the passengers disembark. She didn’t have anything specific planned for the day so she was in no hurry.

  “Oh!” she exclaimed. “There’s Mark and Katy.” She waved frantically but they didn’t look up to see her.

  “I do love that girl,” she sighed.

  Peter chuckled. “Don’t sound so happy about it.”

  “Oh Peter! What if she never marries Mark? What if in twenty years they’re still engaged?”

  “Well you won’t need to worry about that because you’ll be dead.”

  “Peter!” she exclaimed. “That’s a terrible thing to say.”

  “You think you’re going to live forever?”

  Maureen frowned. “Fine! I want to see them married before I die.”

  Peter walked to his wife and kissed her. “I’m taking Andrew and Rory golfing again.”

  “Of course you are,” she smirked.

  “They will get married, Maureen. I know it. You’ll have another daughter…officially.”

  Peter hoisted his clubs onto his shoulder and Maureen was left by herself with her thoughts.

  She did consider Katy her daughter. She loved her no less than if she had born her herself. And she knew that Katy was completely in love with her son. She couldn’t have asked for any woman to love him more. She knew it wasn’t possible. So, what if she didn’t live to see them married? As long as they were happy would it be so bad?

  *****

  Mark and Katy wandered the streets of San Juan, entranced by the sights and smells of the old city. They walked several blocks and arrived at Castillo San Cristobal, a Spanish fort that began being built in the seventeenth century. Katy had never been a real history buff, but with Mark as her personal tour guide, she soon became fascinated with the place. He knew so much about it.

  “Originally, it was much larger than this, but they knocked down a considerable amount when the city became too big and they needed more roads and space.”

  “You know your stuff,” Katy grinned.

  “Oh, I love this place,” Mark beamed. “I come here whenever I can. Can you imagine what it was like in the 1700’s when this was a real military fort? Sitting high upon the ocean watching for enemy ships?”

  They wandered through the buildings, reading the history, looking at pieces of history and taking some photos.

  “For an old place, it’s holding up surprisingly well,” Katy said as her fingers traced the outline of a large stone in the wall.

  “It was built to defend the city, fight the British and protect its people. It’s strong and made to last for a very long time.”

  “You’re kind of like a fort, aren’t you?” Katy smiled as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

  “Am I?” He looked surprised.

  “Well, you protect your family and defend your people.”

  Mark looked into Katy’s eyes and saw a tinge of sadness. Would she ever be completely free of him? Of that bastard who kidnapped her and tied her to a bed?

  “I will protect and defend you until the day I die,” he whispered and gently kissed her lips. “You never have to fear him, you know. He is in the past, history.”

  “I know.” She attempted a smile. “You rescued me. I am forever in your debt.”

  “No,” he said as he shook his head. “I am in yours. You rescued me,” he smiled.

  “I think your rescue beats my rescue,” she laughed.

  “Oh really?”

  “Yes, really. So when you think of a way that I can repay you, all you have to do is ask.”

  She kissed him and turned back to the canon they stood in front of and climbed on top.

  “Take my picture,” she grinned.

  *****

  In all his years of sailing all over the globe, Paul had never been to San Juan. He was on a tour bus with his mom riding around the city, seeing the sights.

  “You seem restless,” Maureen said to her son. “Is everything okay?”

  Paul smiled at his mom and patted her hand.

  “Yup,” he said. “Everything’s fine.”

  “Good!” she said. “I worry about you when you’re gone. I don’t like to worry about you when you’re home too.”

  Maureen’s attention was back on the buildings outside the bus. Paul closed his eyes, his mother’s words swirling through his head. He didn’t like her to worry. Sometimes it made him physically ill to think of her back at home worrying about him. But he would always have to put it from his mind because the mission came first. It always did and it always would.

  *****

  The next stop on Katy’s personal tour was Capilla del Cristo Chapel. It was a church built on an ancient wall that protected the old city. Unlike the fort, it was small, but beautiful. They were not allowed in, but an old man sat at the gate playing his accordion as tourists walked by. Most of them kept going.

  Katy and Mark stood and listened to the music and when it stopped the old man told them the legend of the old church. In 1753, a young man was in a horse-race at the St. John's Day festival. He lost control of his horse and they plunged from the rocks high above the sea. The people prayed to Christ to spare the boy's life and miraculously he lived. To express his profound gratitude, the young man began building the chapel that very year.

  They listened to the story and thanked the old man for his time.

  “It’s a shame we can’t go in,” Katy sighed.

  “You can see other churches,” Mark said. “The city is filled with them.”

  “Yes, I know, but the story is so beautiful. It makes me want to see inside.”

  He took her hand and led her back to the street and continued wandering through the maze of people and cars.

  “Plus,” he added, “We are docked here for two days so tomorrow we could drive out of the city and explor
e.”

  “I’ll go anywhere or nowhere, just as long as I’m with you.”

  *****

  Matt and Janie each pushed a stroller along the streets of San Juan.

  “I wish we’d just brought the double stroller,” Janie muttered as she navigated her way through the throng of pedestrians.

  “I asked!”

  “I know. It was my idea. But I wanted to be able to take Ella out and leave the baby with Mom, so I figured two would be better.”

  They stopped at a small café and settled in for lunch.

  “What is it?” Janie asked after watching her husband for several minutes.

  “Huh?”

  “Your forehead is wrinkled. You obviously have something on your mind.”

  “It’s Paul. He has a big decision to make and I can’t help him with it. Nobody can. He has to do it on his own.”

  “Is it about the Navy?”

  “Yeah. He really wants to get married but he won’t while he’s still a Seal.”

  “I wouldn’t want to be married to a Seal,” Janie frowned. “That would be so hard. I’m glad you’re biggest threat is a paper cut,” she grinned. “Hopefully he can figure out wants he wants the most.”

  *****

  The ‘Museo de Arte e Historia San Juan’ was the next stop of Katy’s tour of the city.

  “A couple of hundred years ago this used to be the main market place for the city,” Mark told Katy as they walked through the galleries housing local art. They toured the halls and appreciated all the color in the paintings and unique sculptures.

  They didn’t stay long and headed back out to the street. As they walked, Katy could see the beautiful white church directly in front of them.

  “Is that where we are headed?” she asked, nodding at the church.

  Mark smiled and gripped her hand a little tighter.

  “I love this place,” he grinned. “The first few times I was here I walked by it not really realizing what it was, not paying any attention to it, and then one day I went in and I have come back every trip since then. I’ve attended Mass here several times and even counseled with the priest.”

  “Really?” Katy was surprised.

  “Yeah,” Mark shrugged. “I was dealing with a certain woman, who shall remain nameless,” he grinned.

  “What?”

  Mark chuckled. “I was desperately in love with a woman who wasn’t interested in me, or so I thought.”

  Katy was speechless.

  “I’d come on a weekend trip to try and clear my head, but I would end up spending the whole weekend talking about you…to whoever would listen.”

  Katy stopped walking and turned to Mark. She placed her hand on his cheek and kissed him tenderly.

  “I love you,” she smiled.

  “I love you back.” Mark tugged her forward and they reverently entered the cathedral.

  “It’s magnificent,” she whispered.

  “Rebuilt in the sixteenth century. It is a marvel.”

  Katy slowly walked up the aisle toward the front alter. There were a handful of people scattered in the pews praying so they made sure to be very quiet. Katy gazed up and around and was mesmerized by its beauty. They made their way to the bench at the very front and sat down, still hand in hand.

  Mark took a few minutes and prayed silently, Katy watching him make the sign of the cross on his body. She had been to Mass now many, many times. Most Sundays, in fact, they spent at St Luke’s, the Lathem family parish, and then at the Lathems’ for the weekly family dinner. Katy was becoming well-versed in the Catholic Church. Not well enough to be baptized herself, but she respected Mark and his religious beliefs and convictions.

  They had been there for several minutes, now whispering about the architecture, when a small door opened on their right side and a priest came walking out. He looked at them and smiled and then slowly, recognition was expressed, a bright smile forming.

  “Mark?”

  “Yes. Hello Father,” Mark said and stood to take the man’s hand in a friendly handshake.

  “What a wonderful surprise. It is very good to see you.”

  “Father Carlos, I would like you to meet someone very special. This is Katy, my fiancée. Katy, this is Father Carlos.”

  The priest extended his hand and Katy shook it and smiled and said hello.

  “Is this her?” the priest asked Mark.

  “Yes,” Mark chuckled. “This is her.”

  “And you are engaged, no?”

  “Yes,” smiled Katy. “We are.”

  “Well, congratulations. I have often thought of you Mark and wondered if you were able to convince her to love you back.”

  Katy grinned and Mark blushed.

  “And now you are getting married,” Father Carlos continued. “When is the big day?”

  “Um, we haven’t set a date,” Mark fumbled to find an answer. It should have rolled off his tongue quickly as he’d had to answer that very same questions a million times. But now, standing in front of a priest, in a place he had come to seek solace and answers, he didn’t want to come up with excuses anymore.

  Father Carlos could see in Mark’s eyes he was unsettled. But before he could comment, Mark turned to Katy and took her face gently in his hands.

  “You said, just a couple of hours ago, that when I thought of a way for you to repay me, all I had to do is ask. I’ve thought of a way.”

  Katy searched his eyes for a clue, but all she saw was love.

  “Anything,” she whispered, her voice barely audible.

  “Marry me.”

  “Yes,” she smiled.

  “Now?” he pleaded.

  “Now,” she smiled.

  *****

  Father Carlos sat behind his desk in his office with Mark and Katy in front of him.

  “We never do this,” he shook his head as he spoke. “But I will make the exception for you, because God would see you married. And I am honored that you would be married here.”

  He was on the phone making arrangements for their marriage to take place that evening. Mark had produced from his pocket all necessary documents needed for them to be married.

  “You carry that stack around with you in your pocket?” Katy exclaimed.

  “Yes!” Mark replied. “On the off chance, at some point, by the grace of God and some miracle, that you would agree to actually get married,” he winked.

  They had attended all of the pre-marital counseling with their priest back in New York. They had all the paperwork necessary to marry in the Catholic Church. Katy had been blown away by the amount of work they had needed to complete.

  “We do not take marriage lightly,” Father Todd had told them in their very first counseling session. “And we don’t want you to either.” And after many sessions with their priest, he had signed off on their marriage, completing all the documents that Mark had now handed over to Father Carlos. All they had needed to do three years ago was set the date and show up. Father Todd was still waiting.

  Father Carlos’ secretary had reviewed all of the documents Mark had produced and all they needed was the appointment with the Demographic Registry and Father Carlos was organizing that personally. After speaking for several minutes with them, he hung up the phone and smiled.

  “They will take care of you,” he said.

  Mark and Katy thanked him several times.

  “Do you need to use the phone to make sure your guests arrive on time?” he asked.

  Katy looked at Mark and began to speak, hesitantly at first.

  “Mark, I know that…your family is very close but…I was just thinking maybe…”

  Mark turned back to Father Carlos. “Is it possible that there would be witnesses here at the church? I think that we want to have this be private, very private. There won’t be any guests.”

  Katy gasped and, as Father Carlos replied that he could easily take care of that, she threw her arms around Mark’s neck and squealed.

  “Thank you!” she smil
ed.

  The secretary knocked on the office door and entered to tell Father Carlos that at 6:45pm that evening, they could close the doors of the cathedral for fifteen minutes in order to have a private, but short ceremony.

  “That sounds perfect,” Mark replied. “Thank you so much.” He turned back to Katy. “You’re sure?”

  “Yes,” she smiled. “Very sure.”

  *****

  The Lathem family, in small groups, began returning to the ship throughout the late afternoon. The younger men would probably be back on the boat much later in the evening. The cruise ship would be docked in San Juan overnight, giving the passengers an opportunity to experience the city at night. It was the last stop on the itinerary and after tomorrow’s day in port, the anchor would be raised and they would begin the two day trip home.

  As Maureen removed her shoes and socks after a fun day with Paul sight-seeing, she leaned back on the sofa and sighed.

  “This has been wonderful. I’m so glad we decided to do this.”

  “So why so glum?” Peter asked, coming to sit next to his wife.

  “I don’t want it to end,” she chuckled. “We have them all here under one roof, so to speak. I see them all every day. Why would I want that to end?”

  “Vacations can’t last forever. That’s why they are called vacations.”

  “I know,” she sighed again. “It’s just that this trip has been simply marvelous. I can’t imagine it being any better.”

  *****

  Mark and Katy exited the taxi back in front of the Cathedral of San Juan Bautista. They had used the couple of hours after leaving Father Carlos to visit the Demographic Registry, as required by Puerto Rico, and to purchase a simple dress for Katy and an appropriate island wedding outfit for Mark. He was dressed in khaki trousers with a crisp white linen camp shirt with leather sandals made right there in San Juan.

  Katy’s dress was strapless with a sweetheart neckline and an empire waist. It was very pale pink and made of chiffon. It came to just a few inches above her ankles and she wore strappy silver heels. Miraculously, she had fallen in love with it the second she walked into the small boutique tucked away in the city. She hadn’t wanted white, but she hadn’t thought she had wanted pink either, but when she saw it she knew it was the one. She had tried it on and had a tinge of regret that Janie wasn’t there to share it with. The sales clerk had told her she looked lovely and Katy was sure that Mark didn’t care what she wore.