I don't remember the cruise, as by midnight I was plastered, needing assistance to board a taxi onshore. However, I pieced the story together from online sources, unreliable witnesses and some triggered memories.Melissa strode into the pulsating throng with a confidence she did not feel. The harbour cruise had been organised by NotDesperateSingles. A familiar constriction in her throat and tightness in her abdomen. Something that she had felt as a teenager at her first dance. Annoyance at herself for this reversion. Being a full-blooded adult she should be beyond kid stuff! Then the noise of the multitude and the too-loud music drowned out her thoughts.
Melissa’s eyes swept the room like a lighthouse beam. Immediately, she noted a man with a striking but neat black beard, who looked charismatic. Trouble was he was talking to a dolly-bird blonde with a plunging neckline and matching stilettos. How to get his attention? She began walking towards him, her long black boots making a satisfying clacking sound on the wooden boards, announcing her proximity to her quarry. Melissa came closer, but failed to catch his eye. Like a waiter at a busy restaurant, he suffered from tunnel vision.
Jane was charming. Her long straight hair and bright blue eyes beguiled me, not to mention her generous cleavage. She appeared to be interested in me, or was she just being polite? Self-doubt made me uncertain, causing my words to falter, with memories of past failed dates intruding on the present, like unquiet ghosts floating into the brightly lit space. Just as I was about to compliment Jane on her outrageous earrings, I noticed a formidable woman approaching. This tall brunette with cropped hair was every inch a bitter divorcee.
The only thing I hate more than padded shoulders are long boots worn over jeans. Her worn leather jacket, a faded black, reinforced the impression. She was simultaneously saying, "Stay away!" and "Come hither!" with the negative more prominent. I avoided looking at her, pretending to remove fluff from my collar.
Why did I get button-holed by this nice looking but consistently boring guy? Jane asked herself. She had signed up for the cruise with misgivings, under heavy pressure from her two younger sisters. Sabrina had met her beau at this very venue and she insisted that Jane could do the same. All Jane could think about at the moment, while prattling listlessly to the guy, was how to extricate herself. A toilet break looked suddenly inviting. This rowdy singles scene was not for her. Give her a candle-lit dinner with soft music any day of the week. The awful pulsating music did not help her to relax. She excused herself, blurting out the words.
Melissa saw her chance. "Hi, I'm Melissa, pleased to meet you".
"Yes, nice to meet you," he answered lamely.
"So what do you do?" she spat out.
"Oh, I just fiddle with numbers, accounting, actually." "What about you?" he added, too quickly.
"I'm a screenwriter for Hollywood. No, just joking. I am a bank assistant manager."
"So we both defraud people, I guess."
"You could say that. I prefer to say that our job is to make the rich richer."
"That sounds a lot more altruistic."
"Doesn't it just!
"My name is Robert, by the way." I sounded apologetic for not saying it earlier. Put my foot in again.
"I like your name, and you have great dress sense as well".
"Thanks" I could not return the compliment, so instead I asked, "Do you like it here?"
"It's energising" she said breezily. "I used to go to loud parties and this brings back the feeling."
"I was never much of a party creature and to be frank, I wish I had brought ear plugs." said I, feeling like this was wrong to say.
"Never mind. You're here and you might as well make the most of it, don't you think?"
"Yes, I guess... So can I buy you a drink? Nothing expensive, I hope. Just joking."
Melissa liked his awkward humour. He seemed a gentle soul, the antithesis of a predatory male. Or was this just an image he projected, whereas he was actually a sex fiend or serial killer?
"I'll have a scotch and tonic, thanks" said she brightly, feeling attracted to this man, whose discomfiture was oddly appealing. He was the opposite of her ex, whose macho bluster she had naively mistaken for inner strength. In fact, it camouflaged an inner void.
Robert seemed taken aback by her forwardness. How could she put him at ease? It was hard to do while the anger at her ex boiled inside, putting her into a dual reality. Maybe physical touch was best?
She gently took his arm, saying, "Let's go to the bar and see what goodies they got there."
Her directness ambushed me. I felt pressured. But I could hardly tell her I wanted to stay sober, when I desperately needed alcohol in my veins. With a shock, I realised that a touch was something I had been longing for.
"OK" I said, hoping this didn't commit me to anything more than a much needed tequila. We wandered past the gyrating couples, secure in their inebriated embraces. It made me feel stone-cold sober, like watching a film.
I realised that taking me in hand may have been very hard for her to do, as women are not supposed to do this. This made me feel sympathy for her, as well as grateful.
At the bar there was a queue of people who didn't need alcohol, but were eager for more of it. It took me embarrassingly long to be served, as I wasn't adept at pushing in.
We settled in the remotest part of the hall, watching through the bay window as the coloured city lights flickered on the water.
"It's good to sit down. Do you dance?" she asked.
"I am learning Bachata, have made some progress with it. Do you dance it?"
"No, I need to be drunk to let loose on the dance floor."
"You seem very confident. That surprises me."
"I'm just a little girl beneath the armour." said she, shocked by her own candour, holding back a tear.
"Thanks for being so open. I think we all have an inner child. It requires urgent attention every now and then. Frankly, my inner child feels lost here."
"Why don't we abscond?"
I was shaken by her abruptness. Did I want to spend time with this tiger-woman and the little girl inside her?
Her wanting to have my company was the deciding factor. I badly needed to feel needed.