The dark was gone, replaced by a blinding light.
Then, too, the light was gone. Darkness, it seems, had won.
Dorothea and Bill were ready for this holiday. The cruise was their first. They were bringing their new baby Vicky, an unexpected autumnal surprise. They had booked the cruise a year ago, in March of ’76, and at the time it was to be their honeymoon. But things happened - Dot never was the most conscientious with her contraceptive ministrations - she’d not been with many men in her life, despite rumors to the contrary. She’d been married once before, and had wanted children - desperately, so said the Hollywood scuttlebutt. But her first husband Hank, never did. So, she had to admit to herself that six years later when she met Bill, she was not the most careful planner. For that matter, in those early days, when Bill was still completely in Dot’s thrall, before he realized he held the power in their relationship, he was susceptible to her appreciation of a good stiff drink. Vicky’s appearance on the horizon was the harbinger of their shift in dynamics. Once the test came in positive, Dot resolved, unsuccessfully, that Bill’s default tea-totalling ways would soon be her own as well.
Nine months later Vicky came into their lives, and they would never dream to complain about the blessing. Arrangements were hastily made, plans changed, and soon they had booked an additional room on the Golden Odyssey for some help. Nannies were interviewed - an agency out in Glendale was recommended to Dot by one of her old friends David. Violent - a wispy, red-haired 19 year-old Glendale native with aspirations of movie stardom and an unconcealed excitement about working for Dorothea - was by far the best candidate. She was duly hired to start in early March, with the proviso she could accompany them on this trip. Dorothea and Bill’s wedding date was pushed back to July, and their honeymoon turned into something less traditional but perhaps more fulfilling: time away for the family to learn how to be a family.
The plane was preparing to take off in the fog. They’d been stuck at Los Rodeos for several hours and were excited to get to the boat, to this vacation, to this attempt at reconnection. Their original destination had been Las Palmas, on Gran Canaria. But an hour before landing, the captain came on and told them that there had been a bomb at Las Palmas, and they were being diverted to Tenerife. The idea of a bomb had caused a shiver of horror in Dot. The disorienting sensation of feeling like you narrowly avoided a catastrophe, even though you really were never in danger. The ineffable sense about the fragility of life, so to speak, though Dottie couldn’t put it into those words.
The cruise was going to be two weeks. It left from Las Palmas. The cruise director from Royal Cruise Lines, who accompanied them on the Pan Am Clipper Victor - it was a charter - had assured them that the Golden Odyssey was waiting for them and it wouldn’t leave without them. Their cruise was going to be two weeks of traveling through the Mediterranean. They had planned ports of call in Funchal, in Madeira, and then Casablanca, in Morocco. There was a side trip offered in Morocco to Tangier, but Dot was going to stay on the ship with Vicky while Bill took the journey and they gave Violet the day off. Next they would enter the Mediterranean sea to Gibraltar, Palma, Mallorca (Dot had been here before in the 60’s), Tinis, Valletta, Malta, Heraklion, and Crete. Then they’d pass through the massive crater left by the dormant volcano at Santorini, and end up two weeks later in Athens. Bill had always wanted to see the Acropolis.
They were going to fly first class, but Bill didn’t want to waste the money on Vicky and Violet, and they didn’t want to sit separately. Dottie had offered to pay for everyone - she had plenty of money - but Bill hated spending her money, and doubly so on things that weren’t necessary. So they were sitting in coach.
“Maam, we’ll be taking off momentarily, so I’m going to have to ask you to finish up your cocktail. No rush.” The stewardess was kind in her request, and didn’t seem to be too hurried about it. Dot had noted that they hadn’t bothered to re-do the pre-flight safety demonstration earlier.
“Thank you. Won’t be a moment.” Dot stirred her Gin and Tonic. She had a few moments. This being a charter the rules were somewhat more lax. She took a deep gulp and finished the depressingly small cocktail in one fell swoop. She handed the glass to Bill, who was sitting in the middle seat of row 30 while she took the window.
“Thank you, Violet,” Bill passed the glass to her so she could hand it to the stewardess. After handing the glass to Violet, he lowered his hand, and brushed the cheek of the sleeping Vicky laying in Violet’s lap. He turned to Dot. “Vicky seems to be sleeping well. Glory be. A natural traveler.” Dottie laughed, gazing at Vicky. He went on, “Are you excited about the trip?”
“You bet. This is exactly what we need.”
“All my plotting to get you out of Hollywood is finally coming to fruition.”
“I don’t need to ever go back, you know.”
“But what about Narcoleptic Nostalgia Head Trip of Concupiscent Angst?” Bill chided.
“I admit that the title needs work,” Dottie allowed, giggling. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s too… Hank.” She hated saying his name, but Bill’s chiding on her new film’s title made her realize all too well how Hank’s influence held sway on it. “I was thinking it might be called Mesmerize.”
“That is better,” Bill assented. “More snappy. Looks better on a Marquee.”
“It was David’s idea. I talked to him on the phone last week. Wanted me to come with him to a screening with him. I told him I couldn’t make it.”
“Why not?” Bill asked. “Is it a big deal?”
“No. He says it’ll probably flop. Joked that it was hard for him to find a date. It’s up against the new Jarrott film, the one about that Sydney Sheldon book.”
“You should go. Maybe there will be some big wigs there worth meeting.”
“Maybe. It’s not till next month. Maybe if he still can’t find a date.”
“Hey now.”
Dot laughed. She reached up, and brushed Bill’s cheek. “Just for the contacts, honey. You’re the only man for me.”
Looking past Bill, Dot noticed a young man sitting in seat C, six seats over from her in row I. That man was too young for the cruise. He couldn’t even be thirty. Were it not for him, Dot thought ruefully, she’d probably be the youngest person on this flight. Well, except for the crew. And Violet. But the man in seat C seemed to be a cruise passenger.
Dot let the Gin and Tonic lull her into a woozy sleep. She’d had two earlier in the Los Rodeos lounge, so she felt she could manage a small nap. The flight was short, so she didn’t want to sleep too deeply. In two hours, she’d be safely ensconced in her luxury suite - she didn’t let Bill scrimp on the room - aboard the Golden Odyssey, sailing the seas towards Madeira. She gazed out the window at the bright white sea of fog as it slowly turned to a darker grey and, eventually, to deep black.
Man a week away really messes with my playlist prep. Thank you to my high school friend Willow’s spotify playlist for helping me finish this one off I was a couple short. I’ve listened to seven new albums since I’ve gotten home and the other playlists are filling out again. Soon, soon.
Hope you enjoyed our fiction interlude. Shit doesn’t really kick in until the next section. No idea if or when I’ll post that. Maybe one a week for a while.
Until tomorrow!
yesssss.
also i'm listening to an 1981 album from a band i've never even heard that leaura put me on to this morning. how did this band escape my notice?! sad lovers & giants—you probably know all about them, haha!