A Long Road to Redemption

Chapter 10

The night was already off to a bad start when she arrived at the docks. Walking on the pier, she saw the large yacht berthed in a spot barely large enough to contain it. The ship was a multideck vessel able to accommodate several people, which is precisely what she saw when she arrived. Lawson spotted her from the rear deck and yelled, "Hey Sid, look who showed up. Come on aboard and grab a drink."

She waved at him and smiled, trying to hide her anger that all those other people were there. So much for just the two of us, she thought as she started up the gangplank. A crewman she didn't recognize took her bag and escorted her to the cabin she and Lawson shared. After the man left, she looked herself over in the mirror and calmed down. Making a scene was not what she wanted, so she decided to try and play the part of the gracious hostess.

As she made her way to the party, she greeted everyone she passed. Most of the people were Lawson's friends and their dates, wives, or whoever they were. Lawson called her over and greeted her, "Sid, how are you? Work go alright today?" he asked her in a voice that sounded like he had been drinking for a while.

"I didn't go today or yesterday. I've been sick."

"Oh, is that why you didn't answer your phone yesterday? Poor thing. Feeling better today?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Can I talk to you in private for a second?"

"Anything for you. Guys, excuse us for a moment." The two stepped to the rear corner of the boat. "What's on your mind?"

"Lawson, why are all these people here? It was supposed just to be us?"

"I know, but I ran into Carl and Steve in the coffee shop this morning, and I asked them to join us, and well, one thing led to another."

"Lawson, we need to talk later."

"Hey, I know. Don't worry. As soon as everyone goes to bed, we'll talk."

"Goes to bed? Did you invite them to come with us tomorrow?"

"Well, yeah. Be rude not to, don't you think?"

"Sure. Sure, whatever you think, Lawson."

"Great, this is going to be fun."

The night was anything but fun for Sidney. As hard as she tried, she didn't feel like being social. She disappeared several times into her cabin, trying to stay focused on the night ahead. Second thoughts about what she planned to do crept into her mind. Would he even be sober enough to bother talking about this tonight? She couldn't just pretend that nothing was wrong the whole weekend either. Getting things in the open before the boat launches tomorrow morning would be much better.

When the festivities began to die down, Sidney decided to find Lawson. When she saw him, she thought Lawson was saying good night to an old college friend, Steve, and holding a half-empty bottle of scotch. His stumbling around suggested he was too drunk to have a serious conversation tonight. Hence, she decided to put him to bed and leave in the morning with the excuse she was still too sick to dive.

"Lawson, come to bed; it's late."

"Oh, there you are. Where've you been all night?"

"I'm not feeling well. I may go to the doctor tomorrow."

"What? No, something's bothering you. Come on, Sid tell me."

"Later. Right now, let's go to bed."

"No, you've been a first-class bitch all night, and I want to know why."

"You're drunk."

"And you're being a bitch. What is going on?"

"Why are you calling me that?"