One afternoon, she was sunbathing on the foredeck with several of the other women, pretending to doze but actually trying to straighten out some of her woollier ideas about life and love, when a tremendous clangour caused all the recumbent bodies to shoot into a sitting position.
"My God! What's that?" exclaimed Joanne.
"Ooh... What a noise!" Norma protested, clapping her hands over her ears and wincing at the loud continuous sound.
"I think it's the signal to practise abandoning ship" said jenna, raising her voice to be heard above the bell.
"Maybe it's for real" said joanne, looking alarmed.
"Not very likely on a calm sea in daylight" jenna said, smiling reassuringly.
"Do you know what to do? We have to go to our cabins for our lifejackets. Then we have to go to our lifeboat stations."
"Where's that?" asked joanne.
"It will tell you where yours is on the notice on the inside of your cabin door" jenna answered, rather astonished joanne hadn't bothered to read it.
Hana's reaction, if inelegant, at least wasn't panicky.
"Oh, damn! What a bore. Typical of. The Captain to ruin our siestas. Why couldn't we do it before lunch if we have to do it at all?"
"he could have chosen four o'clock in the morning" said her sister.
"joon would have had something to say about that" was hana's comment, before they went to their cabins.
None of them, jenna realised on her way below, had thought to look up at the bridge where they might have seen something to indicate if the drill were merely an exercise or, as joanne put it, 'for real'.
It seemed to her very improbable that, on a private yacht, a fire could break out between decks and take hold to a dangerous extent before the passengers knew of it.
However, on the remote chance that it might be more than a routine test of the crew's efficiency and the passengers' common-sense, she thought quickly what she would do if the rest of the day, perhaps longer, had to be spent in a lifeboat.
It seemed to her that the first discomfort they would suffer, without shade or protective clothing, would be too much sun. Her sun-cream and sunglasses were already in her hand. Thrusting them into a beach bag, she flung on her father's dress shirt and a pair of white cotton pants she had bought before they left Lahaina.
Finally, as an afterthought, when she had put on her lifejacket, she dragged the sheets off the bed and bundled them under her arm.
The bell had stopped clanging and one of the junior stewards was rapping on the doors of the cabins and calling out, "Everyone to lifeboat stations, please," when she stepped on to the walkway.
"is it a practice?" she asked him.
"Yes, miss, but if we don't do it in good time, the Captain say do it again"
The practice didn't include lowering the boats over the side; clearly its purpose was mainly to test the passengers' reactions. Soon after they had assembled at their various stations, jihoon and lee yong came round on a tour of inspection.
By this time jenna was beginning to feel rather foolish about her precautionary measures, especially bringing the sheets. These, during the few ninutes' wait, she had folded and rolled up more neatly.
"you decided there was time to dress, I see" remarked jihoon, looking her over. The two other women at her station were in bathing suits.
"I thought, in a real emergency, I would need to protect myself from sunburn. It only took half a minute to fling on some clothes" she explained.
"Did you think it was a real emergency?"
"Not really.... But I wasn't one hundred per cent sure."
"what did you bring the sheets for?"
Jenna was beginning to feel she had made an idiot of herself.
"To protect other people from burning... As coverings or even as awnings. I......"
Jihoon turned away to speak to one of the other women. Lee yong smiled at her and said, "you needn't wait, jenna. Tea will be served on the top deck in a few minutes."
It was about a quarter of an hour later, when everyone was having tea, that the two senior officers joined them and lee yong called for silence.
"the Captain would like your attention for a few moments, ladies and gentlemen."
Jihoon stepped forward. "I'm sorry it was necessary to interrupt your normal activities this afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, but I'm sure you understand the wisdom of rehearsing what you should do in the event of our having to leave the ship. That is, I assure you, a most unlikely contingency as long as you all observe the regulations about smoking. However, before I thank you for your cooperation, I should like to point out that, in the event of your having to abandon ship on this or any other cruise, the last thing to worry about is the safety of valuables such as jewellery. Your first concern should always be your own safety and that of others. I'm sure no one on Ocean Wanderer would be as foolish as the passenger who, in a serious emergency on a large liner some years ago, attempted to pack a suitcase. But not everyone here behaved as sensibly as the youngest of the ladies on board."
Until he turned his head to look at her, jenna didn't grasp who he meant.
His gaze didn't stay on her long. With a sweeping glance round the rest of his audience, he continued,
"jenna was one of the first to arrive at her lifeboat exercise, she had taken sensible measures. She had put on some clothes to protect her body from the sun. She had brought sheets because it had struck her that others might have no protection. I'd like to congratulate her on her commendable good sense."
This time when he looked at her, he smiled.
In her whole life jenna couldn't remember such a wonderful surprise as being publicly praised by the man whose good opinion meant so much to her. For a few moments, basking in his smile, she forgot about joanne, forgot everything but the lovely sensation of winning his approval.
"Well done, jenna!" said joon, leading around of applause.
Whereupon her pleasure changed to embarrassment. Blushing, she was relieved when, by turning away to the tea table, jihoon indicated that his short speech was over.
"count yourself honoured. It's not often the Skipper sings anyone's praises. Verbal lashings are his speciality," murmured dong won, from behind her.
YOU ARE READING
The perfume of love (rain-bi)
Romancekim jenna was delighted to be invited on a sailing holiday from the south pacific to Australia with her sister kim Hana and her fiance. but she was horrified when she arrived to join them and found that the fiance was a millionair who wanted a glamo...
