Best friends Ben, Justin, and Edie are surprised and excited to wind up on the same tropical cruise together. Their parents? Not so much. Ben's father Hank used to be good buddies with Justin's father Frank--but the two men have drifted apart over t...
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Janet and Edith Alden bustled out of the cab at the New York Harbor as the driver unloaded their bags. Just behind them was the long, spidery terminal block leading to the wharf where the Carnival cruise ship docked. Edith almost couldn't bring herself to turn around and look at it. Her mother had been absolutely beside herself the whole cab ride over, and even now she wouldn't stop fussing—but all Edith had been able to think about was the fact that all their possessions now occupied a single storage unit downtown. Gomez and Morticia went back to the animal shelter, screaming and cussing a blue streak all the way. Just thinking about it for the fifth time gave Edith a dry lump in her throat. She loved those parrots so much, but since her mother hadn't actually found a job yet, and she would not be working for a week, they didn't have the money for the next month's rent, so by the end of November, a mere two weeks after they returned from the cruise, the apartment would belong to someone else. Unless, of course, a miracle happened when they got back.
"Edith!" Janet called over her shoulder. She had her purse and a small duffel hanging off each shoulder, and dragged the two small rolling suitcases with each hand. "Let's get going! The cruise departs in an hour!"
Edith adjusted the position of her backpack and her purse, and grabbed her suitcase to roll it off the sidewalk.
"Why the mopey face?" Janet softly chided her daughter. "This cruise is going to be so much fun!"
"Yeah, well," Edith grumbled. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea, Mom; I mean, there will be thousands of people on this cruise, and they all have the time and money to spend on a cruise. Us? We have nothing beyond the tickets. And what's going to happen to us when we get back?"
"Edith." Janet stopped and dropped the handle of her bag to wrap an arm around her daughter. "I am beyond proud of you for winning those tickets; there was one chance among hundreds of entries, I'm sure, but you gave it your best and you have this to show for it! This cruise?" She gestured to the enormous ship towering over the terminal. "This is about us, being together, enjoying each other; it's a reward that you earned, because you've worked hard on your writing and you pulled it off. What comes after is for me to worry about, as your mother." Janet drew in a breath slowly, but huffed it out resolutely. "And I am not going to let that black cloud ruin our entire week's vacation!" She caught Edith's gaze and held it, giving her a broad grin as Janet rubbed her daughter's shoulder. "The only thing I want you to worry about for the next six days is making this whole trip worth our while, because I don't want you to come away from a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity like this one and have no experiences and cherished life moments to show for it! Can you enjoy yourself, Edith? Please? Forget about the apartment. Heck, forget about New York. This week, Edie, you get to just be you. That sound like a plan?"
Edie sighed. "Okay, Mom." She put on a smile as the worries melted into the background.
Janet gave her daughter a peck on the cheek. "That's my girl! Now let's go find your boyfriend!"
