Chapter 5

I thought that things would pick up in our relationship after the good time we had in Florida. But, just the opposite seemed to happen. She started to get a little more distant and our sex life just seemed to stop.

I tried to talk with her about it, but she said that things were ok with her. But there were always little things at night. She had a pad she heated in the microwave. She would then place on the area that hurt, such as her leg, arm, or stomach. It got to the point I just stopped trying. I swear to God I thought she was cheating on me. I spent a few weeks in surveillance mode and but nothing out of the ordinary happened.

During the month of March, she got into planning a cruise for October. She got her two sons’ and their girlfriends to go, along with another couple. It would be an eight-day cruise leaving Fort Lauderdale Florida. We would fly out on a Friday spend the night in Fort Lauderdale, board the ship the next day.

We coasted along for the next couple of months, in more of a brother-sister relationship, rather than boyfriend-girlfriend relationship. Then in July she had a major fallout with her most trusted son Mark Jr. He bailed from the cruise, leaving us with six in our party. They did heal their riff somewhat, but the damage was done and it was hard to reverse.

The fallout caused her a lot of stress and she didn’t eat well. When she did eat, it caused her to feel nauseated. We struggled through those hot days of August and before I knew it, it was Labor Day weekend. The cruise was just less than a month away.

She had been planning this cruise since March. I had never been on a cruise, but Tina had been on many. She was an old hand at planning cruises and where to go and what to see. Also, what to do while you’re on the ship. She was a platinum member of the cruise line club. Supposedly, she got different types of perks, VIP boarding and so forth.

We spent the month of September picking and choosing just what to bring on the cruise. She went through my stuff four damn times before I got the OK. Finally, D-day arrived and we boarded Delta Airlines with the rest of our party for the trip to Florida. The flight was good and all our luggage arrived safely in Fort Lauderdale. We had dinner together at the hotel restaurant and later we all went into the lounge. And that was when disaster struck.

We were sitting at a table in the lounge. Guys on one side, girls were seated across from their guy. Tina and I were at the end two chairs, when a guy that I had never seen before pulled up a chair at the end of the table next Tina.

She leaped up and gave the guy a hug and a kiss. Which he responded to, causing my eyebrows ratchet up a couple of notches.

“Wes, what are you doing here?” she asked.

“I’m spending the night here in the hotel and then I board the Splendor Cruise ship tomorrow for an eight-day cruise,” he replied.

“Really, that’s the same ship we are on,” she exclaimed.

For some reason she never introduced me to Wes and soon I’m the forgotten son, while the two of them carry on a conversation with each other. I sort of listen in, I had nothing else to do. But somehow this whole scenario just smelled rotten. They were talking with each other like they don’t have a care in the world, ignoring me completely.

“Well, it’s getting late and I’m going to bed. Are you coming up with me Tina?” I asked.

She just shook her head no and continued to talk with Wes.

Well isn’t this just lovely I thought to myself.

This had all the makings of a bad trip. I said goodnight to the rest of our party. I took the elevator to our floor and opened the room door. I have sleep apnea and have a CPAP machine. I got into bed, hooked up my breathing hose and nose pillows and went to sleep.

Around 5:00 am., she staggered into the room and got her pajamas off the bed and went into the bathroom. I heard the shower turn on. Why would she be taking a shower now? She finished up in the bathroom and returned to the bedroom. She got into bed and was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. All this time I was playing possum.

I laid there for an hour before finally, I could not take it anymore and got up. I walked into the bathroom and her clothes were there in a pile. I pulled her panties out and gave them a sniff. Ugg they smelled like semen. Come on every guy should know what semen smelled like, if you have ever had any type of sex with a woman, you will ultimately know that smell.

Damn, that rotten bitch spent most of the night with Wes having sex. Now what the am I supposed to do? If I was smart, I would pack my bags and take the first available plane home. But no, this dummy here carried on with the planned cruise.

I threw her soiled panties in the trash, maybe she might get the drift that I was not a happy camper. I shaved, showered, and got dressed. Quickly I repacked my carry on with my stuff. Before leaving I grabbed my cruise packet and passport out of her carryon bag. I then grabbed both of my bags and left.

I arrived around 7:00 am. at the hotel restaurant for breakfast. I had time to kill, so I sat in the back and had breakfast and memorized the local paper. When I finished that somebody left the USA today and I grabbed that and proceeded to read it from cover to cover. I managed to kill a couple of hours doing that.