The Old Man and the Beach–Part 3

CHAPTER 9

A limo picked us up at 10:00 Wednesday morning as we hugged and kissed Leia good-bye. I scratched Max’s ears and told him to obey Leia. I knew he would. He and Leia had bonded completely. Our plane flew to Charlotte and from there to JFK in Queens, one of the boroughs of New York City. From there it was Air France first class to Schiphol Airport outside Amsterdam. I love Air France. Not only is the food like a hundred times better than on our airlines, but the service is, too. Despite their cool reputation I had always found the French to be a warm and welcoming people if one only makes an effort to speak a little French.

Having studied French in high school and college I was able to get by reasonably well. I’d been to Paris several times for work.

We had just settled into our seats when the steward asked if we would like champagne. I agreed, but Cindy opted for orange juice. When I gave her an inquiring look she smiled broadly and replied, “Remember that little talk we had back in March when I told you that I wanted more than anything to….”

She never had the chance to finish. I grabbed her head for the most sensational kiss of my life. “I’m not a hundred percent sure. I’m only a week late, but we’ll know for sure pretty soon. I think we should get some of those home pregnancy tests once we’re in Amsterdam.” The steward overheard us and gave us his congratulations and again once he learned we were on our honeymoon.

“Yeah, now all I have to do is live long enough to see the child graduate high school.”

“Don’t…please, John—you’re in excellent health and I’m going to keep you that way.” I kissed Cindy’s cheek and sat back to relax while the plane filled with passengers. We took off at 6:54 p.m., only a few minutes late. After a decent filet with béarnaise sauce, scalloped potatoes, and string beans almandine and more wine—for me—we reclined and slept for the rest of the flight, arriving in early morning.

A cab whisked us to our hotel and since we were early we checked our bags and went for a walk through the city. We stopped for a tour of the Anne Frank House then continued up the street in search of a restaurant. Once we found one I ordered two servings of poffritjes, one with banana and one with dark cherry topping. Both came with a huge dollop of whipped cream, more than enough to completely hide the pile of two dozen tiny pancakes. We shared and Cindy agreed immensely with my choices. Once we were done it was time to walk back to the hotel for check-in and some hot honeymoon sex as if there was ever any other kind.

We had a small suite, something I always ordered even though we didn’t plan to spend much time in the room. I was sometimes afflicted with insomnia and a suite meant I could sit and read or even drink a beer from the mini-bar without rousing Cindy. The first time this had happened at home Cindy came running out of the bedroom thinking the worst had happened until I was able to reassure her. Since then she had ensured my sleeping well by wearing me out every evening—fucking me until I was exhausted and could barely move.

Now Cindy thought she was pregnant. We had talked about it at length—daily for more than two weeks as we sifted through the pros and cons. I had always wanted a family, but Rosie had fibroids on her uterus. We were disappointed, of course, but we had each other and that was all that mattered right up until she became ill and died. Now I had another chance. I would never have mentioned it, but the whole thing was Cindy’s idea. I had asked her what Leia might think. Cindy thought she’d be thrilled even though it was really none of her business. After those two weeks we had agreed she would go off the pill.

Walking together we found an apothecary—what we called a drug store in the States—and asked in regular English for a home pregnancy test. Europeans demand good service unlike in the U.S. where we blindly accept the Wal-Mart model in which service is non-existent. The clerk walked us down two aisles and across to another, stopping in front of a small line of products. We thanked her and selected three. She explained what to do as I paid with my charge card.

We walked hand in hand to the hotel and, once in the suite, my darling wife made a beeline for the bathroom. She returned a few minutes later with a huge grin on her face. We knew that a child at our ages would have a huge impact on our lives, even larger than if we had been younger. This was the biggest topic of discussion during those two weeks I mentioned earlier. We both wanted to travel and see the world, but we agreed we could delay for five years. By then our daughter would be old enough to accompany us. That was our second discussion although it was more teasing back and forth than anything else. Cindy wanted a son; I wanted a daughter. I knew the odds were in my favor—104 girls were born to every 100 boys.

We spent our days walking through the city, visiting the many museums and learning to appreciate the works of the Dutch masters like Rubens and Rembrandt. Our final day we took a tour boat through the many canals that ran through the city. We ate well and I enjoyed the European beer. I wasn’t cruel—I did allow Cindy to sniff it occasionally. Neither of us thought she was sacrificing through her abstinence. It was Cindy’s decision to become pregnant immediately and she’d have to abstain at home, as well. That night we took a leisurely walk through the red light district, even passing a theater that featured live sex shows. I told Cindy I wasn’t interested and wouldn’t be even if I could learn a few new tricks. She punched my shoulder then whispered that she had a few new tricks to show me as soon as we returned to the hotel. I couldn’t wait. We transferred to our ship on Monday afternoon.

I’d selected Viking River Cruises because the ship available on this date was one of their newest and because it had two large suites at the rear of the ship. In addition to the size of the suite there was a wrap-around balcony that we could use if the weather was warm enough. Even if not, the large floor to ceiling windows afforded us spectacular views. We were shown to the suite and a few minutes later our baggage arrived. We unpacked hurriedly then we headed to the lounge to socialize and meet our fellow travelers.

Most of those we met were my age or older. Several complained about the uncomfortable conditions in flying coach and others about the size of the cabins even though I knew from experience that they were larger on this ship than on many others. Cindy was excited with so many new things that she told several women that we’d been in Amsterdam for four days and that flying first class was a real thrill for her. I sat by silently.

“Why did you come in so early,” a blue-haired woman asked. “I don’t recall you on the pre-trip.”

“Well, I guess because we’re on our honeymoon. John surprised me with the trip. I always wanted to go to Europe, but my first husband always had an excuse.”

“So…you’re divorced?” I had a pretty good idea where this old biddy was headed, but I was pretty sure she was in for a surprise.

“Yes—my husband was cheating on me with his secretary. Worse, he tried to set me up, even hiring a private investigator in an attempt to get the goods on me.” Cindy went on, pretty much summarizing our brief history together. I had heard several sympathetic remarks when I excused myself to the newly opened bar. I returned with a ginger ale for her and a frothy stein of Belgian beer for me.

“Don’t you drink, Cindy,” one of the women asked.

“I do occasionally, but not now—I think I’m pregnant and I don’t want to take any chances.” That led to another long discussion so within a half hour or less our entire story was pretty much common knowledge. I didn’t mind. I knew that we’d likely never see any of these people again once the cruise was over.

I drifted away from the crowd to look out the window and I was surprised to see one of the husbands walk over next to me. “My wife went through a messy divorce, too. There was even a nasty confrontation between me and her ex-husband a few months after it was over.”

“We had a confrontation right after he was served. We went to the beach house they had rented to get her clothes and he was there waiting for us. Then he made the mistake of grabbing Cindy by the arm.”

“You slug him?”

“No…never had the chance; my dog took him down and locked his jaws around the stupid idiot’s throat until the police came then he was arrested.”

“I’m surprised they didn’t shoot the dog.”

I chuckled and then I explained about how the local police chief had run into Max and me several times at the bagel shop. We shared a good laugh and returned to our wives. I led Cindy back to our suite and then we returned to the lounge, life jackets in hand, for the mandatory safety lecture. Later, after going to our stations on deck we returned the jackets to the closet and walked down to dinner.

We had a lot of fun with our servers that first night so we tended to sit in the same area for all our meals. As the days passed we found a small group that we especially enjoyed being with so we tried to sit together for all our meals. After dinner one night I approached the restaurant manager about something Cindy and I wanted to do for our new-found friends. Two nights later we hosted a cocktail party with canapés and a bar in our suite. We were more than pleased to host and they were thrilled, both with our hospitality and with the opportunity to see our suite.

I overheard one of the women talking with Cindy. “John certainly is considerate, but then you are honeymooners. Unfortunately, that will probably change over time.”

“No…I doubt it. John was even kinder before we began to date. It’s in his upbringing.”

“Then I guess his parents did a wonderful job with him.”

“Hardly; they threw him out when he turned eighteen. His mother wanted him to become a priest and John refused. He’s not religious at all. He learned his kindness from his best friend’s parents who took him in. John’s an Irish Catholic and they’re Jewish. The parents are gone now, but I did get to meet his friend and all of his family. They’re incredible people and I know John patterns himself after them. John is the kindest man I’ve ever known. He never loses his temper no matter how stupid I am sometimes. He’s very easy to love.” I turned around to speak with one of the men when their conversation changed to another subject.

We enjoyed the trip immensely, stopping first in Kinderdijk to see the many windmills that have been relocated there to pump water into the sea before following the Rhine through Germany. Our first stop there was Cologne, a city that had been bombed to rubble by the U.S. and British during World War II. As the trip proceeded we stopped at a number of towns neither of us had ever heard of although we did take a side trip to Heidelberg. We especially enjoyed walking through and stopping to shop in the small villages and towns. The architecture was incredible, especially the churches and cathedrals.

I was amazed at the history in each of these little towns. Mostly, what we found fascinating was accepting that what we in the U.S. considered old Europeans considered new. Almost every one of our stops dated back a thousand years or more. We did spend two days in Vienna and another two in Budapest—a magnificent city–before disembarking and taking the train back to Vienna for another three incredible days on our own. All the walking we did made eating the rich pastries we ate in Vienna so much easier to justify. Several of the bake shop staff laughed at our concerns and we readily joined them. How often does one have a honeymoon or a vacation like this? We returned to North Carolina with extra baggage because of all the souveniers Cindy and I had bought. The limo dropped us off mid-afternoon exactly twenty-five days after we had left. Max had heard us and bolted out the door, almost knocking us over with his tail as he greeted us eagerly. Leia followed soon after, giving her mom and me huge hugs.

Once we had unpacked, throwing the dirty clothes onto the floor, we brought all of our purchases to the living room to share with Leia. I left this up to Cindy and went to the kitchen for beer and Pepsi. Cindy began with the cuckoo clocks—one for us and one for Leia. They were gaudy as hell, but that’s what you expect when you decide to buy one. Next were the beer steins—a big one for me and two smaller ones for Leia and Cindy. Cindy showed Leia the German crystal wine glasses I’d toted carefully around half of Europe. Then there were the clothes—sweaters from Austria and Hungary and a woolen felt vest from Cologne, clothes for Cindy and Leia. There were hand-made earrings and a necklace we’d bought at a craft fair in one of the small towns for Leia, as well.

“There’s one other gift, but you’re going to have a wait to see it. It’s my gift to John.”

“What is it, Mom? Did you have it shipped?”

“No, sweetie—I carried it with me the entire time. I’m pregnant.” I thought Leia might faint, but once she had recovered she jumped for joy, running to her mom with hugs and kisses and the same for me.

“Any idea what it will be?”

“No, I’m only about two months along. I’ll have to find an OB/GYN nearby. How can we do that, John?”

“I think we need to go to the supermarket and ask some of the women there, especially if they have young children.” That’s exactly what we did, except we got the answers we needed from the staff, not the customers, most of whom were elderly. Quite a few recommended a doctor in Myrtle Beach. It was more than twenty-five miles to the hospital, but it was widely considered to be the best in our area. Cindy phoned and we had an appointment two weeks later.

I’ve always hated going to the doctor and sitting in the waiting room as the only man reminded me of the time Rosie had me sit in the middle of the women’s lingerie department while she shopped for some new bras. I wouldn’t have said that I was embarrassed, but I sure was self-conscious. We waited more than a half hour before Cindy was called. She peed on some home pregnancy tests (again) and a nurse came to take a blood sample. Then the doctor walked in, introduced herself, and proceeded to give Cindy what she called an internal exam.