Chapter 2

The next day was a day at sea. Brad was at the infirmary and the business as measured by the number of patients that came there was slow. Carl said this was to be expected. Brad put four stitches in a cook helper’s hand he cut when he was careless with a knife in slicing vegetables.

After lunch, Brad suggested to Carl that since it was slow he could leave and Brad would stay to see if there were any other patients till the infirmary’s normal hours ended. Carl said that was what he would do and handed Brad the beeper. Carl told Brad he had the duty and not to hesitate to call if he had a question or needed help.

That afternoon four patients came to the infirmary that were seasick. After prescribing medication, he gave them advice on what to eat and what to avoid.

Brad was getting ready to leave when an elderly man, probably in his early sixties came in with his wife complaining about chest pains. Brad ordered an EKG and blood tests. The EKG was normal and the blood test showed there were no enzymes present which would indicate the man was having a heart attack. Brad told this patient what the test showed and said the patient was just having a case of heartburn. He prescribed some acid-reducing medicine and jokingly told the patient to lay off the hot sauce when he ate.

The highlight of the week as far as Brad was concerned was when Elaine Credos, one of the show’s dancers came to the clinic. She told Brad that she thought she had a yeast infection since she previously had that type of infection in the past. Taking a swab sample of her discharge allowed him to look at her very precious place. There was only a very small strip of pubic hair above it. He thought he caught her smiling while he was taking this swab and doing his examination.

The microscope examination of the swab confirmed it was a yeast infection. Bad was tempted to pull her very nice leg and tell her she was pregnant, but he wasn’t sure how that would go over so he didn’t say it. He prescribed some medication that should clear up the condition in three to seven days. He told her not to hesitate to contact him if the problem wasn’t resolved. Pulling up her panties she jokingly asked if he wanted to do more of an examination of her later in his cabin.

He laughed at her remark and said, “Don’t I wish,” which caused her to laugh as well. He couldn’t help but wonder if there was a touch of seriousness in her making that suggestion.

There were no life-threatening medical conditions that he treated the following week. Most of the patients he saw were concerned with gastrointestinal illnesses, sunburn, motion sickness, or small cuts and abrasions. One passenger slipped and fell which required a few stitches to close a knee laceration.

Socially he hadn’t struck up any meaningful relationships with any of the ladies. He enjoyed talking with Elsa and Astrid. In port, if their duty schedules weren’t conflicted, he did do some of the tours that were offered with Elsa and Astrid. Snorkeling seemed to be a big thing for the ladies to do. The ladies liked the water and Brad enjoyed looking at them in their two-piece bathing suits.

He quickly discovered that there wasn’t much difference in the ports of call the cruise ship made in the Caribbean. The same stores existed in most ports and the local shops were selling the same types of merchandise. When they were in port and if Brad wasn’t on call, he went off the ship just to check his email and send some responses. He had to pay to use the internet on the ship if it wasn’t for the ship’s business and the ship’s internet was slow. Off-ship, the internet was much faster and free if a drink was purchased. He could also purchase some personal items that weren’t available in the ship’s shops.

A turn for the better occurred one evening when Elsa approached him with a concerned look on her face. She said in doing a self-examination she noticed a small lump in her breast. She asked him what she should do. He asked her if there was any history of breast problems in her family, to which she negatively responded.

He suggested they go to the infirmary for him to examine her. He could see she was a little hesitant but she had no other option and went with him.

At the infirmary he had her take off her top and her bra. He couldn’t help but notice her nice set of breasts with their good-sized nipples. He tried not to react at seeing them. With her pointing out where this lump was she found, he cupped her breast and confirmed its existence. At the same time, the palm of his hand could feel her nipple stiffening.

Brad told her he didn’t think this was a tumor. Securing a syringe he inserted it into this lump and aspirated it. The liquid that was taken out had this lump vanish. He told her that should solve the problem but to play safe, they should do a mammogram which was done. In looking at it, he said he didn’t see there was anything to be concerned about but he would send it to a radiologist off the ship for a second opinion.

He could see the relief shown on Elsa’s face when he gave her this news. She started to put on her bra but stopped and said while she was there maybe he should examine her other breast. He noticed a little smile on her face when she said this. Brad cupped her other breast and while it was a nice handful he didn’t feel any lump.

Before he could tell her this, her arms went over his shoulders and brought him to her for one very long kiss.

Ending the kiss, she leaned back in his arms that were around her and said, “Thank you.”

“No, thank you,” he said and brought her back to him for another nice long kiss. When the kiss ended they both knew their relationship had progressed to a different level.

The relationship continued to develop more when their work schedules were in sync. When they weren’t in conflict, they had a late dinner meal at the Lido along with some other ship’s crew. After the meal, they would individually excuse themselves at different times so as not to look like they were a couple. In leaving the Lido, they each would go in different directions but they would meet and spend time together in Brad’s cabin.

The kissing they did progressed to the expected level of them being in his bed and making love. Elsa was a good lover who he could tell enjoyed being intimate with him. He sure as hell enjoyed being intimate with her. Their schedules controlled how often they would be expressing the affection they had for each other which on average amounted to about twice a week.

In life, there are a few things people don’t want to occur, one of them being the dreaded five in the morning telephone call which usually is bad news. That was true in Brad’s life and he expected it was going to be bad news when the phone in his cabin rang at that time waking him up.