Why Don't We Sail

Ada #1

"Table for one please." 

I tried to fake an air of self confidence in telling the dining room manager I wanted a table for one. Thankfully, he didn't seem to bat an eye at my request.

"Would you like to share?"

I thought about the wonderful book I was reading and how all I wanted to do after such a long, emotionally draining day was to sit by the window overlooking the vast Pacific and read my book. But the idea of eating completely alone after five days of rambunctious dining with my extended family seemed even more sad.

"Sure," I decided.

"Excellent. Don't you typically eat with a large group?" I had to remind myself that his comment hadn't meant to be rude. It was just an observation.

"Yeah, typically." I casually laughed it off.

A waiter led me to a table in the back of the dining room. It was a table for two, looking out at the setting sun on the horizon. The lilies in the vase drooped a little and my salad fork was slightly askew. The candle wick had almost been burned down. Even the dinner table at 9 pm was sad. 

"Ma'am." A waiter had come by to escort my dinner companion to the table. 

"Hi," my companion smiled wide at me as he took his seat across the table. 

He was around my age, surprising on a cruise line known for their retirement aged crowd. 

"Hello. I'm Ada." I smiled awkwardly and tried to look as normal as possible. I'm fantastic at socializing in group settings. I just feed off of the natural conversations of others. One-on-one interactions rely completely upon my ability to create the natural conversation. Not one of my strong suits. 

"That's a cool name. I'm Daniel."

"Thank you. It's nice to meet you, Daniel."

"You too." 

We sat there both glancing out of the window. For myself, I was grasping at any wisps of conversations starters I could think of. But the longer I sat there, the more I realized how cute Daniel was. The little tooth gap is endearing and his style is impeccable. Usually I don't like so many accessories on a guy. But Daniel made the rings and necklaces all work. 

"Where are you from?" he asked. 

"I'm from Wisconsin, but I leave for college in a couple weeks."

"That's awesome! What school?" 

"Cal State LA. Majoring in Communications."

"Oh my gosh! I live in LA. I'm originally from Portland, but I live and work in LA. It's a fantastic city."

"What do you do? I don't mean to make assumptions, but you look pretty young, and I'm just curious." I blushed a little from my rambling.

He laughed a little. "Yeah, I'm only 19. But I'm in a band."

"Ah okay." I nodded and tried to hide my judgement. Really there was no need to judge him about being in a band; I just know it's difficult to actually turn that into a career.

"Yeah, I know what you're thinking." He laughed it off.  "But we've landed a record label and are writing our first album at the moment!" 

Well okay, then. He's actually in a band.

"Oh wow! That's exciting! What's the name of the band?"

"Ma'am. Sir. Have you decided on what you'll be having tonight?" Our waiter waited patiently, pen and pad at the ready for our orders.

I hastily chose the first things I saw on the menu. 

"I'll have the same," said Daniel.

After our waiter left, I said to Daniel, "You know I just chose the first thing I could get out of my mouth, right? I don't even remember what I ordered."

"It'll just have to be an adventure then."