Chapter 15

In our room, there's a note from Beth. 'Go see Steve.' I call Barb and we head down to the infirmary. Steve's off-shift but he left long instructions for us and permission for us to use the infirmary's satellite internet. The lab has a website; we could check our results on line. Over Alex's shoulder, I breathe a sigh of relief as we view the list of negative results. Only one positive.

A yeast infection.

I've got it too.

"How the fuck do guys get a yeast infection?" Alex mutters for only the tenth time as we sit down to eat.

"You fuck uh girl that got one, that's how." I can't even guess who. Kai or Barb were the only two choices. Unless they could jump through a condom. Or if they could transfer orally. That thought makes me wretch.

"What? You ok? Dude, what?" Alex nearly panics.

"Relax. I'm cool. I swallowed something wrong."

Barb joins us eventually in another sarong. She's damp so it's plastered to her.

"God damn, you hot." Alex greets her with a kiss on the cheek.

"So now I'm going to hear this sort of stuff from both of you?"

"Look like." I say. "God damn, you hot." I kiss the other cheek.

She sighs deeply and goes to the buffet. "So, I got your message." She starts when she has her food and settles at the table. "And it's all negative, thank god. I have a yeast infection which is annoying but harmless and another case of BV which is a life-long thing for me. Again, annoying but harmless."

"You gave us that shit!" Alex snaps.

"Quiet!" I snap back. "What's BV?"

"A yeast's cousin. What do you mean I gave you that?"

"We both tested positive for yeast infections as well."

"Oh." Her face falls. She looked utterly crushed.

"Hey. Could be worse, right?" I tilt her chin up to me. "Don't they have like one-day pills for that?"

"Yes." She smiles sadly then sighs. "Yes, they do. You're both fine - and very lucky that none of your friends were carrying anything worse."

"No shit." Alex agrees.

"Language." I remind him. "I guess we aught to call Da and Kai. Let them know."

"It would be nice, but it's not a panic. Worst case is they'll itch a bit."

Alex agrees to stop by their cabin later. We eat and discuss the weather.

Beth appears as we finish, on the arm of a very unhappy Dr. Steve.

"Would you please keep Miss. McElroy out of my office?" He tries to remove her but she laughs and clings to him. "God damn it, my co-workers are beginning to talk."

"They're teasing him about his 'new girlfriend'." Beth laughs. "They think Ima kid with uh crush."

"You are." Steve finally snatches his arm away and Beth sits down.

"No, I'm not. Believe me." She leans over to Barb. "So where have you been all morning?"

"Look, I'll make this quick." Steve talks over her. "I saw your lab results and we should all thank heaven that they're all negative."

"Says who?" Alex whines.

"Quiet." I bat him in the head. "Go on Doctor."

"I've put in a prescription for you all; you can pick it up after noon. Just follow the instructions. Ordinarily, I'd say that none of this is communicable, but you've been swimming a lot and wear the wet clothing for long periods?" We have. "Yeah, that can create a host environment for candisis. Read the information in the package. Call me if you have any other questions." He turns to leave and stops. "Alex, how are you doing? Any problems?"

"Totally healed, dude. All clear."

"Good." He walks away.

"Bye Stevie." Beth calls out. The Doctor's shoulder flinch but he doesn't turn around.

I bat Beth in the head. "Quit harassin' him. What, you tryin' ta get the boy fired?"

"What? He told them how old I am. Seriously, they all think I'm just a kid with a crush on the handsome young doctor. They given' him hell but they don't think anything goin' on really." She took a sushi off my plate. "I'm not stupid."

"You more trouble than he is, what you are." I groused.

"Nobody more trouble that him."

"Hey! I'm right here, god damn."

We bickered for a few minutes about who's more trouble than who.

"Enough!" Barb shouted. "You're all trouble. You've given me a headache. No wonder your parents let you go for two months. They're probably enjoying the rare peace and quiet."

We look at each other and laugh. "In our family?" Barb left before we regaled her with too many stories of the 'quiet' McElroys.

Alex went to see Kai while Beth and I hit the ship's store. Beth got picky about the choices.

"What's the difference?"

"I like this one."

"How do you know? What, the box color?"

"No." She sighed with exasperation. "I used to get these all the time, right before my period. They stopped a couple years ago. It's not a big deal. It's probably the type of chlorine they use in the pool here. I'm surprised my allergy hasn't broken out again."

"Look, just pick one. What you need this for anyway? He's gettin' you that pill treatment."

"It's for the itch. Peter." she muttered.

"Quit callin' me that."

"Why? It's your name."

"Yeah, but that ain't what you mean."

We bickered all the way to the counter. I thought about it a few seconds then got a tube of the itch cream for me and Alex. The cashier didn't ask; we didn't offer an explanation.

"Could be worse," Beth said as we left the store, "Mom coulda named you Richard."

"You just mean 'cause you cross-eyed."

"Am not!"

"Are too."

In the end, she just gave up and hit me.

"Ow!" I laughed. "See? Mean."

"I am not." Then, after a minute, "Am I?"

"What?"

"Mean."

I looked at her. I hadn't expected her to go all serious on me. "Nah, not really. I like you."

"You like any girl."

"Not true. I'll sleep with any girl. Most girls, least. But I don't like all of 'em."

"So then what's wrong with Steve?"

I stopped walking. "Come again?"

She looked away, embarrassed. "I'm not, like, fallin' in love or somethin' dumb like that but, I mean, we had uh good time that first night, I thought, and now he barely talk to me."

"The first time, he ain't know you 16. He could lose his license messin' with you, Beth. Course he don't wanna talk to you. Hell like that, I wouldn't either."

"Oh."

"Beth." I stopped and took her shoulders. "You don't see the look on his face every time you touch him. You drivin' him crazy. But he can't be caught messin' 'round with some sixteen year old - even here. I'll bet he ain't never meet nothin' like you an' you two years too young ta even dream about."

She blushed and rolled her eyes. "I'm sure."

"Hey." I looked around. "How you think me an' Alex feel back home? Uh girl who hot, smart and can hold her own on the dock? Hell, least you got better options. My sister damn near my dream girl."

"No, I'm not." she smirked. "Not enough tan."

I chuckled and we kept walking. "Yeah, ok. I got uh thing for dark meat. My point is you more than enough ta keep any man happy. Cross-eyed an' mean or not." She hit me again. "Ow." She kissed my cheek.

Alex arrived back in the room about two hours after we did.

"Where you been?"

"Da an' Kai's." He turned away but not before I saw the dark grin across his face.

"What you been up to, Alex?" I did not get up but I looked at Beth and at the balcony door. She got the hint, mostly. "I think I'll go see if Barb wanna go shopping." She left. "I asked what you been up to, Alex."

"I already done them." He said defensively.

"An' I said not again. They married."

"Yeah, but Da started it an' I ain't wanna be rude..." He stopped that line and shruged. "Anyway, Kai like it kinda rough, so y'know..."

"So I know what?"

"I was rough." he said softly after a hesitation. "I ain't leave bruises or nothin' but they was both happy when I left, right?"

"When or because?"

He hesitated again; I didn't think it had occurred to him that there was a difference until I said it. He shook his head. "No. When. They was into it. Both of 'em. They both uh pair uh little freaks, right? They like shit like that. First girl ever asked me ta do her ass. When. Totally when."

"Did you tell them?"

"Yeah. Before I did 'em. They ain't care. Kai say she always get 'em with condoms. Some bulls-uh-stuff about her balance."

I cross the room to him. I'm just enough taller than he was to lean my face over him if I intimidate him enough. He leans back so far he almost falls backward. "No more 'rough' on this trip. Clear? If she wants it that way, tough. She can discuss it with me."

"Yes, Sir." he says, contrite.

"You suspended." I say. It won't be for thirty days but I have to do something to get him in line.

"Yes, Sir."

"I want you in the gym, every morning, 7am. You need ta bleed off some aggression, punch something in there."

"Yes, Sir."

The phone rings before I give him another restriction.

"Peter, sweetheart, which do you like more, yellow or green?"

"Hey, Barb. For what?"

"Dinner dresses."

I look at the phone before I answer that. "I don't really care?"

"Oh, just pick one. I don't want to buy both and I can't decide between them."

"Call Beth."

"She can't decide either. She's going to buy the other one."

"Put Beth on." I cannot believe that she called me for this. "Beth, buy both - hell, buy two of both. I'll pay you back." I hang up the phone. "Women." I mutter.

Alex, I notice, was kneeling on the floor with his head down. "alright. Get up. Here." Hand him the insert from infection cream. "Read this."

Ten minutes later he gets to the part I was waiting for. "No sex? Oh fuck!"

"That's right. We all cut off until after Bangkok." He's suspended anyway

He doesn't swear aloud but he's struggling not to. "Sugar." He finally spits out.

"You got other hobbies."

"Not in f-in' Bangkok."

"Get over it." Barb and Beth shopping remind me that Alex and I have only a couple of shirts for dinner as well. "Come on."

We head down into the ship. It's a floating mall. There's even a Gap outlet. We find the girls and the four of us spend the rest of the afternoon shopping. It's actually fun.

When dinnertime rolls around, Alex and I were actually dress appropriately. Barb joins us again - looking lovely in green.

"Oh, no." Barb says when the discussion comes up, "I am not going into Vietnam with you Peter."

"Why not?"

"Because I am not spending another day of my vacation arguing politics with you."

"I won't do that."

"Yes, you will. You won't be able to keep your mouth shut." She signals the waiter over. "Singapore, fine. Thailand, sure. Not Vietnam, not Korea, not Taiwan."