Cryptophobia - Hell & High Water

CHAPTER 9 - LORI & MARTHA: 9:56am - 4 Days until outbreak

To use the word awkward to describe that evening's dinner was an injustice to the word itself, Lori had never been in such a tense situation in all her life, any thicker and it would have been considered rather foggy. It was not as though Lori wasn't prepared for a tense encounter, on the contrary, she was more than prepared, but really and truly, no amount of pre-psyching herself up could have prepared her for that. Honestly, she had never been so relieved and thankful to have a waiter make attempts to entertain her and the people of the table she sat at in her life. The worst part is that Rachel didn't seem the least bit fazed, if anything she was quite content sitting there firing off snarky comments every now and again whenever her parents tried to make general conversation. It was more than clear that she wanted next to nothing to do with them and simply wanted the cruising experience, but if she wasn't going to make any real effort, what was the point of them being here with her family? They could have just as well booked a different awkward-less cruise, they had paid for their own tickets after all, refusing the offer Rachel's mother had made to pay for her because it didn't include Lori, unless the purpose of this trip was for her to show her parents just how much she didn't care for them.

Lori could have counted the number of times Rachel's mother - and it was always Rachel's mother, because her father appeared aloof throughout the night and her grandmother's silent burning glare was still imprinted on her mind - asked questions about her life, ambitions, family, education and more. Honestly, the entire dinner was one small room, a one way mirror and an angry police officer away from a full on interrogation. Rachel had assured her not to be intimidated by her mother, but that was easier said than done, it was one thing being introduced to the parents of your partner and worrying that they might not like you, it was a whole different thing being introduced to parents you already knew hated your guts.

She groaned and ran her fingers through her hair, never had she been so stressed, her stomach in a knot and her mind abuzz with thoughts.

"Stupid, stupid", she muttered to herself, tapping her forehead with the palm of her hand, why had she let Christine get to her? Why had she allowed herself to feel threatened and inferior?

Rachel herself had been standoffish that entire night, demanding of Lori not to answer her, not to entertain her bigotry, but Lori wasn't used to this nature of sheer hostility between people, not people she knew anyway, so of course she wouldn't have had the slightest idea of how to handle it, it was like standing in friggin no man's land.

Somehow they made it through the night, though considering how well and most definitely not frosty the evening banquet had gone, it was doubtful they would be doing that again, it was doubtful she would be putting herself into that situation again anyway.

She couldn't say it was all bad though, despite the deathly glare, Rachel's grandmother didn't contribute to the incineration and her father, despite his aloofness, could potentially be reasoned with. Besides that, the food was delicious, one of if not the best meal she had ever had; three tantalising appetisers of honey garlic shrimps, a light seasoned butternut squash soup and chicken and yellow corn Vol-au-Vent with tarragon, followed by an entrée of braised, confit and roasted Herdwick lamb with gently honey glazed summer vegetables and finally for dessert a mouth watering Pistachio Soufflé. Of course she had a glass of red wine to wash it all down with and by the time it was over, she was well and truly stuffed, it took a great deal to even convince herself to have the dessert, since it was all inclusive and that night she slept like a baby.

Today was a new day however, on a cruise ship to boot, so it only seemed natural to make the most of it, of course by lying on a deck chair doing absolutely nothing. Nothing was something too, so she had no reason to feel guilty about it, besides, most of her life consisted of endless somethings, so doing nothing for a change was a welcome departure from the norm.