On Sunday, after the children had finished packing and eaten their breakfast, Benny said, “Let’s visit my favorite place.”
“And where’s that?” asked Henry. “The navigation deck?”
“No,” Benny replied, grinning.
“The pool?” Violet asked.
“Nooo.”
“The dining room?” Jessie teased.
“Not the dining room, either,” Benny said.
“Then, where?” Violet asked, sounding puzzled.
“I want to visit Isaac!” Benny loudly announced.
“Ah,” Henry said with understanding. “The kitchen. I should have guessed that was it.”
“Yes, Benny,” Jessie said. “We must all say good-bye to Isaac. We dock in Miami at noon, so we have time to do some visiting, too.”
“The ship feels like home, now,” Violet said.
Henry laughed. “True. We know the ship from the engine room to the top of the navigation deck.”
“Follow me!” Benny said, leading the way to the kitchen.
Isaac, cleaning a refrigerator door, stopped when he saw the children and a wide smile creased his face. “Come in, come in,” he said, taking off his tall white hat and wiping his brow. “Did you come to say good-bye?”
“Yes,” Benny said, feeling sad.
“I’m sorry to see you go, but you’ve all enjoyed yourselves, haven’t you?” Isaac asked.
“Oh, yes,” Violet said.
“I wish I had a treat for you, but everything has been wrapped and put away.” Isaac put a finger to the side of his nose, thinking. “Wait. I think there’s a package of chocolate chip cookies that I could give you,” he said.
Jessie laughed. “We just finished eating breakfast, Isaac. Besides, we didn’t come for any sweets. We came because you’re our friend.”
“No, no, I insist,” Isaac said, snapping his fingers. “I know! I have something you’ll like even better than chocolate chip cookies.”He went to a freezer, taking out a plate holding four, giant chocolate-covered strawberries. He offered them to the children. “Taste these!”
Each Alden took a strawberry. Biting into his, Benny rolled his eyes. “Hmmmm, good.”
Isaac laughed. “I thought you’d like them.” He set his hat squarely on his head and solemnly stuck out his hand, shaking hands forcefully with Henry, Violet, and Jessie. Finally, he turned to Benny and scooped him up in his arms. “You’ve been my helper, Benny, and I’m glad I met you.”
“And I’m glad I met you,” Benny said happily.
“We must go,” Jessie said. “We have others we want to see.”
“I’m sure you do,” Isaac said. “You’ve made friends with many people on this cruise.”
“Except for Tom Bishop,” Henry said grimly. Then, with a wave and a smile, he added, “Good-bye, Isaac.”
They left to find Heather, who was in B Salon helping passengers with any questions and making sure their luggage was tagged.
Grandfather was getting instructions for leaving the ship.
Heather was tying tags on a woman’s luggage. Turning around, she smiled. “Hello, Aldens! I’m glad you came by.” She pointed to a comfortable sofa and matching chair. “Let’s sit over there.”
Jessie was surprised at how friendly she was. Usually Heather didn’t care to talk at all.
Heather folded her hands in her lap. “I’m sure you’ve wondered why I always ran away when I saw you.”
Henry just waited, not wanting to tell her how unfriendly he thought she had been.
Heather continued, “You know, this was my first job.” She twisted her ring. “I’m quite shy, and meeting all these passengers made me even shyer.”
“Is that why you didn’t stay and talk to us?” Benny asked.
Heather’s cheeks flushed pink, but she smiled. “Yes. It wasn’t because I didn’t want to stay and chat with you. I was grateful for how warm and friendly you were. In fact, now that I know the crew and have met people like you, I feel much more relaxed.” She gave them a warm look. “Now I enjoy my work. Since I’ve finished work on my first cruise, I know the next one will be even easier.”
Jessie reached over and touched Heather’s hand. “Now we understand why you seemed a little distant. Tell me, who is C, the one who gave you the roses? Was it your boyfriend?”
Heather gave a light laugh. “My brother Charles. He wished me good luck, knowing how nervous I was on my first job. I sent him a message back, telling him that everything was going fine.”
“You crumpled up a piece of paper when we came to play Monopoly,” Benny said.
“Yes, it was another message from Charles. I knew I shouldn’t have been reading it when I was working.” She smiled impishly. “Although I should’ve known that you wouldn’t have minded.”
Violet smiled. To think they had suspected this sweet girl just because she’d been so quiet and nervous.
All at once Heather reached into a bag beside the sofa. “I have something for each of you.”
Benny’s eyes grew big as she pulled out four white caps with visors.
Heather first gave a cap to Benny, then to Henry, Violet, and Jessie.
“Great!” Benny said, pulling the billed cap down to his eyes and grinning.
The caps had the words “West Wind” around the band. “Thank you, Heather!” Jessie said, trying hers on. “I’ll wear it home.”
“I’ll wear mine, too,” Violet said, sounding delighted.
Henry wore his rakishly to one side. “Now everyone will know we’re all from one family!”
“Oh, there are the Rands,” Heather said, standing.
“Did you know them before the cruise?” Henry asked.
“No,” Heather said. “But I’ve been helping Melissa with Robin, and we’ve become friends. That’s why I felt relaxed with them and not at all nervous.”
The Rands came closer. Ralph, holding Robin, smiled when he saw the Aldens. “I was hoping we’d find you before we left. I wanted to say good-bye.”
“And so do I,” Melissa said, shaking hands with each of them. “You’ve always been so friendly.”
Ralph chuckled. “I’m afraid we’ve been comparing the West Wind to the French line we were on, but truthfully this ship is fantastic. We like everything about it. Especially passengers like you.”
“You even bet your ship was better than the West Wind!” Benny said.
“Yes,” Melissa said with a laugh. “But we learned otherwise.” She took Ralph’s hand. “We must go.”
“Maybe we’ll meet again,” Melissa said, happily.
“I hope so,” Henry answered.
The Rands moved on.
“I must go, too,” Heather said, blowing them a kiss. Then she was gone.
Grandfather, who was filling out some papers, called to them. “Do you all want to go out on deck? We’re just coming into Miami!”
“Yes,” Jessie said. “We were so busy saying good-bye to everyone that we almost forgot to see our port.”
The children went out on deck, and over the blue water loomed the white buildings along Miami’s coast. Closer and closer they came.
A steward came by. “We’ll be docking in fifteen minutes. Please wait until the all clear is given for disembarking.”
The children went inside, found Grandfather, and sat with him.
Before long, over the loudspeaker, a voice said, “All passengers prepare to disembark.”
The Aldens moved along with a large group and went out on deck.
Down the ramp they hurried.
“There’re lots of people beyond the gate,” Violet said.
“Yes, they’ve come to meet their friends,” Grandfather said.
Suddenly, through the crowd, Jessie glimpsed Max. “Look! It’s Max!” she shouted.
Sure enough, when they went through the gate, Max rushed forward to meet them.
“Hello!” he called, catching up to them.
“Max!” Henry said. “We’re glad to see you!”
“How did you come out with the will?” Jessie asked anxiously.
“I was in time. I inherited the house and the money.” Max, who had always seemed so upset before, now appeared to be full of joy.
“Oh, I’m happy!” Benny said. “We were scared Carla might beat you.”
“No, I made it with plenty of time to spare,” Max said. “And when I open the house to the public, I want you to be my first guests. I’ll give you a private showing!”
His smiled broadened. “If it hadn’t been for you, I never would have gotten Great-Aunt Edith’s house. Tom and Carla would have.”
Grandfather pumped Max’s hand. “Wonderful, Max. I wish we could stay and help you celebrate, but we have a plane we have to catch.”
“I understand,” Max said, smiling, “but I just wanted to share my good news with you!”
“Good-bye, Max,” Jessie said, and smiled. “Maybe we’ll see you again someday soon. Maybe we can come and visit you.”
After they’d all wished Max good luck and good-bye, Benny said firmly, “I don’t like good-byes. I don’t like to say good-bye to people. It doesn’t seem fair.”
“Yes, but think of the new friends you made,” Violet said. “Think of people like Issac and Max.”
“Besides,” Henry said, and he laughed. “We can always look forward to seeing them again.”
Benny’s face brightened. “That’s right. Maybe we’ll see Max and Isaac next year.”
“Hurry, children,” Grandfather exclaimed. “We need to catch a taxi to the airport.”
Once in the cab, Jessie glanced over her shoulder to look at the West Wind for the last time. It had been a wonderful trip, but now they were going home. That would be wonderful, too. |