Fiction & Nonfiction

Jaime's Marriage

Word count: 3981.

Jaime’s Marriage

It was quite late in the evening by the time Jaime made her way into the docks. She had been busy through out the day getting her papers intact before signing on Clipper Arita as the ship’s doctor.

Joining the marine service was not her first priority. Like many other medical practitioners, Jaime too wanted to join a reputed medical institution where she could earn and learn simultaneously.

Certain circumstances forced her to apply for this job. Losing her mother was one of them and failure in love was another. After these consecutive blows, her sense of stability started suffering. The aftermath of disillusion made her long for an escape to some place where she could live anonymously.

Her roommate and well-wisher Judy showed her the advertisement in the Daily Chronicle asking for a shipboard doctor. She promptly applied and the response came within a week.

It was a month since the board members of the Dock N Dale Shipping Company interviewed Jaime. They had a fleet of twenty-five ships of which only five were passenger liners.

They did not have many questions for her. It was difficult enough to get applications for a sea job. One of them asked Jaime
‘Miss Bates, are you sure you will have no apprehensions of working in a man’s world?’
Jaime had no problem in putting his fears to rest. She said,
‘No sir, none whatever. As a medical student I worked shoulder to shoulder with many men. In the world of medicine these demarcations hardly matter’ she replied with a calm assurance.

Soon afterwards, they appointed her as a Doctor on the passenger liner M.V. Arita with necessary directions to keep herself in readiness.
The next week passed by in a blur. Her travel arrangements like purchasing a ticket and visa requirements were done by the Company. She would join a cruise ship chartered by the Thomas Cook world travels for the duration of holiday season. The cruise was along the Italian coast. It was booked full. The season being summer, tourists from different parts of the world, flocked to enjoy a holiday of a lifetime in the blue Mediterranean and the romantic coast of Italy.

Jaime was thrilled at the unexpected chance of seeing new places. She was given the itinerary of the ten-day cruise. Jaime noted with excitement that Genoa on the west of Italy was their starting point. It would be followed by Rome, Naples, then cross to the east coast of Italy, enter the Adriatic Sea, proceed though San Marino to Venice where the cruise would end. After that it may be another cruise into some other part of the world.

Jaime was to fly to Genoa where she would join the ship along with the tourists.
She packed her personal effects and important papers in two suitcases, said goodbye to her aunt, her only relative and a few close friends like Judy.

It was a particularly warm day in Genoa when her flight landed. It being the peak of summer, the place was crowded with tourists from many parts of the world.
She took a taxi to the company’s office and was received duly by the manager in the personnel department. After a ten-minute wait, they handed over her papers and sent her to a hotel where she could relax and freshen up before she went to the ship.

On her way to the hotel, the driver was good enough to point out some important sights in Genoa. The attractive feature of the city was its location between the glittering Mediterranean and the emerald hills. Jaime felt her spirits rising looking at the neat houses on the slopes of the hill. The road meandered through the houses and the hill. The town was close to the sea. Tourists who booked the cruise on her ship would have started the tour conducted by the guides appointed by the Thomas Cook travels, Jaime presumed.

It was evening by the time Jaime woke up. She recalled the sumptuous lunch she had in the hotel’s restaurant. Creamed crabs and a green salad with a desert of Banana soufflé and the famous Italian ice cream were fulfilling. Later she made her way to the room and promptly fell asleep fully dressed. Such was her exhaustion after days of preparation and travel weariness.

In the late evening glow of the sun, Jaime had her first view of M.V. clipper Arita, her home for the next three months or so.
She was able to identify the ship easily because the ship’s name was written prominently in white, on the wings of the bridge.
The ship’s hull was painted in gray and her decks in green and accommodation in white. ‘Nice combination’ thought Jaime. The ship had four decks and all of them are open to sea with seating arrangement for the convenience of the sightseers. It accommodated about eighty passengers whose health was going to be her concern for sometime to come she thought with a bit of alarm.

‘Hello can I help you?’ asked a male voice a little behind her. She turned back to face a man in thirties with the bluest of eyes. His friendly smile made her feel at ease.
‘Oh Hi! I am Jaime. I am joining M.V. Arita as the ship’s doctor.’ She said.
‘Hi doc! Surprise surprise! A lady doctor! It would be wonderful to have you working with us Jaime, if I may use your first name.’
‘Oh certainly! You are...’ Jaime hesitated over his name.
‘Oh sorry I am Chuck Stanley, first mate on Arita, at your service Ma’m!’ He clicked his heels standing at mock attention, his eyes wickedly smiling.
‘Thank you Chuck, nice meeting you’ Jaime felt happy to have made acquaintance with someone from her ship.
‘This way please’ Chuck led the way to the ship tied to two bollards on the jetty, one forward and the other at the aft end. There was a long serpentine ladder by the side of the ship. Jaime felt a bit afraid at first. However, with the assured presence of Chuck at her elbow, she had easily made it to the top. As she stepped aboard a man in spotless white uniform, with four stripes, on epaulettes, greeted her.

‘This is Dr.Jaime! Captain. We are saved at last.’ Chuck said to the captain who might be anywhere between forty-five and fifty.
‘Jaime, Captain Arthur Winner,’ Chuck introduced her to a kindly faced, friendly looking man.
‘Hello Jaime welcome aboard! I am happy to have a lovely doctor amidst us for sometime to come. You can settle in first and then we talk more. Hey! Howard! Take Doctor Bates to her cabin.’ Said the Captain. Howard, she learned is one of the two cadets on the ship.

Jaime climbed another flight of stairs to reach her cabin. She loved it on first sight. It was a cozy cabin on the port side with two portholes overlooking the wide blue sea. There was a dresser, a bed, a table with some shelves to put her papers and other writing needs and an attached bath fitted with a shower and a washbasin.
‘It is wonderful!’ thought Jaime happily.

She had a quick wash and stepped into the corridor looking for something to replenish her empty stomach. She looked to right and to left and as she debated which way to go, a man appeared at the end of the corridor and looked at her questioningly.

‘Hello, may I know which way the dining room is please?’
As the tall man in a boiler suit (working clothes) approached her she felt a peculiar stirring in her heart. The steel gray eyes gave her a quick allover and said in a voice that had an attractive timbre to it,
‘You can come with me. I am going that way myself.’
‘Oh, thank you. I am afraid I haven’t yet got used to it.’
‘Not a big deal’ he said in a random voice.

The dining room was fairly large. It is a long rectangular shaped room with a long table with twelve chairs to the center, and smaller ones arranged at convenient places around. White napery adorned the tables, napkins and cutlery in their places. There is a lounge to the side of the dining room fitted with a music system and a TV. The stewards were going about bringing in the dinner. Dinner was served from six to eight in the evening. 

The man who accompanied her took her to the center table. The captain and the first mate were already seated.
‘Jaime, I see you have met our Chief Engineer Liam Chandler. Liam, I presume you know Jaime Bates is our new doctor.’
‘God save the ship and the passengers!’ said Liam in mock alarm.  People around chuckled at his remark.
Jaime felt her hackles rising. Her cheeks grew warm. ‘The bloke needs a lesson in manners’ she fumed inside.
‘Jaime, this is our purser Mark Chapman.’ The captain introduced her to a slightly older man.
‘Hello Jaime! I hope you found everything fine‘ said Mark in a kind voice. Jaime responded politely.

Jaime hadn’t noticed when Liam had slipped away from the room. Probably he needs to freshen up as he was still in the engine room overalls, she thought.
The meal was tasty and appetizing. Grilled fillets and lamb stew with a side of fresh vegetables with Russian salad made a good meal. Jaime lingered over coffee and cakes for a little longer before saying good night.

The next day was pretty busy for Jaime. By eight in the morning she went to the hospital located in the lower deck. With the help of Ralph the second officer, who was supposed to be attending to the medical contingencies on the ship, Jaime started her job. The first casualty was a seaman with an injured finger. Jaime dressed the wound after washing it with antiseptic solution. Then she gave him some tablets to assuage the pain and to help quick healing. Then there was an engine room worker who had a burn. Jaime applied some balm from the ship’s well-stocked medical chest.

By ten in the morning the ship was buzzing with activity. Passengers started pouring in and settling down in different accommodations reserved for them.
Men, women and children of all ages flocked on the decks viewing things curiously.
When Jaime went for lunch she crossed Chuck who was perhaps the busiest on board. First mate was an important and most responsible man on a ship. He smiled at her in the passing. She saw Liam in the dining room along with his second. He nodded to her and went on with his talk with the second engineer. It was going to be a busy day for the engineers as well.

Jaime felt pangs of reeling when the ship started slipping into the sea by six in the evening. Ropes untied, with pilot on board to maneuver the ship out of the harbor, M.V.Arita was finally out at sea. The vibrations affected everybody at the outset.
Later people settled down at the railings on the decks to see the shoreline gradually fading. Jaime said a silent goodbye to the land. Under the glow of a full moon, the decks were awash in the moonlight. The great ocean with white breakers was awesome on the other side. The tide was high. So was the anticipation in people’s minds.

‘So how are we doing?’ asked a voice from over her shoulder. She felt a bit of trepidation at his closeness. If she moved an inch she would touch his broad chest.
‘As well as expected,’ she answered Liam without turning her head.
Some of the tourists were sitting on the deck chairs enjoying the sea breeze and the moonlight.
‘The Italian coast under shining moon can work witchcraft on people. Better be on the alert’ said Liam. She could sense a smile in his voice.
‘You too’ she said a bit tightly.
‘Oh, no worry for me. It takes more than a mere human to cause heartache’, he said nonchalantly. There was a pause.
‘You better turn in. You will have a full day tomorrow,’ said Liam.
‘What an infuriating man!’ thought Jaime as she went in.

It took two days to reach Rome, the ancient city with many spots of sight seeing value. Jaime managed to get the permission of the captain to go ashore with the tourists.

‘Legend has it that Rome or Roma was founded in 753 B.C by the twins, Romulus and Remus. It was built on seven hills,’ said the guide beginning the tour.
Jaime read that growing from pastoral settlements, it finally became Roman Empire in 27 B.C. It escaped the ravages of the Second World War, its reputation as the ‘eternal city,’ continued.
A little girl standing in the first row piped ‘Rome was not built in a day!’
‘Absolutely sweetie’ said her mother,‘ it took two thousand years.’

The entire crowd of the ship’s tourists was divided into four groups and each group had a separate guide. Each of them chalked out their program. Jaime’s group’s first destination was the Parthenon. 
‘It was originally a temple of Goddess Athena. Later converted to a church dedicated to the Virgin Mary.’ The guide’s voice was loud and clear spoken into a small mike on his collar. ‘It was supposed to have been damaged during the Ottoman period when the dump of ammunition in it was ignited.’ 
They went around the tall impressive pillars. As she turned around a pillar, Jaime suddenly came upon Liam. Her breath caught for a second at this unexpected encounter.
‘We were free a little, so I thought I would join you all.’ He said, looking handsome in a light blue tee shirt and white trousers.

At the Colosseum the visitors were transported by the interesting commentary by their guide, to the times of gladiators who fought with lions for the pleasure of the emperor.  The broken steps of the stadium seated fifty thousand or more spectators in ancient times.

The Trevi fountain and wish making had everyone excited.
‘If you make a wish to come back to Rome it will come true.’ said the guide. People threw coins making a wish.
Then they went to the most important of them all, the Vatican City. It was two in the afternoon and the sun was at his hottest. Some of the visitors didn’t want to go. But Jaime prevailed on them saying that it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity they shouldn’t miss. Luckily, that day, Pope John Paul 1V blessed the people assembled in the central square. Jaime felt great happiness to see one of the world’s spiritual leaders in flesh and blood. As she listened to the Pope’s brief blessing, Jaime closed her eyes in deference. When she lifted her head she found Liam standing close, looking at her.

It was late in the night when they finally returned. They sailed on the next afternoon. Some people went out in the morning to shop around and see a bit of modern Rome.
The heat affected quite a few. Some were taken to bed with fever and a headache.
It would take four days to reach San Marino their next port of call. The people aboard had plenty of time to explore the different parts of the ship or just swim in the ship’s pool and relax.

On the third day after departure from Rome, the captain threw a party for a get together of the people on board. It was announced on the ship’s notice board.
Time:6pm
Dress: Informal.
Venue: officers’ lounge deck.

By the time Jaime reached the venue, the party was in full swing. She dressed in turquoise-colored silk parallels with matching top. She bought this dress from a boutique that specialized in oriental apparel.  She piled her copper colored hair high, pinning it with shell comb studded with white stones. It exposed her white graceful neck. A single chain with occasional white stones gleamed at her throat. Her green eyes had an alluring shine to them. The pleasant fragrance sprayed on her wrists surrounded her.

Purser Mark Chapman received her and complimented her on her dress. She thanked him and sat relaxed with a glass of sherry talking to Mark. He was a good friend and often sought her company. Mark was a widower, left with a teenage daughter. Often he drowned his loneliness in drink and in the company of friends.

Jaime got up and walked to the railing of the deck. The white orb of moon seemed to hold the happiness of the whole world. Jaime raised her white face and her green eyes to the white moon. Was there someone coming down the silver steps of the moon?

‘Don’t play the witchy woman at your will’ said Liam who obviously followed her to the edge of the railing. Again he caught her unawares.
‘I am no witch surely. If I am, it is no concern of yours.’ She replied looking straight into his eyes emitting blue fury, quickening her pulse.
‘Stop playing the fool more than you can help Jaime, you are affecting Mark more than you think. Consider his future and don’t go around shedding sympathy for the asking.’
‘What did I do to deserve this moralizing?’
‘Oh come on, stop playing the innocent. You know that Mark is susceptible to womanly charm under the conditions. For God’s sake he is a widower and ready to take advantage of your sympathy.’
‘All I did was to be a little friendly’.
‘It is telling on his work. The captain told me he made some uncharacteristic mistakes in calculations. If he continues so, then soon he will have to leave.’

The next three days passed smoothly.  Passengers spent their time aboard in games like table tennis, squash, bridge and watching movies. The well-stocked library and the luxuriant relaxation on the decks gave them their money’s worth. As the ship turned into the Adriatic Sea, it crossed the island of Sicily in the south. Most of the people watched the green mountains and the white houses gleaming in the sun. They had plenty of scenery on both sides of the ship. The stunning deep blue of the sea made some go waxing poetry. A young man recited,

‘The Sicilian coast
A great place to toast
Its beauty beckons me tempting
Ulysses-like, I go unresistant.’

There was applause from the small group.
It would be a couple of days more to reach San Marino, next port of call.

‘Jaime, open the door please!’

Jaime startled and came awake at once.
‘Who is that? What do you want?’ she asked as she slipped into the robe.

‘There is an accident in the engine room’
Her heart started beating fast. What happened? Who was hurt? Not him I hope oh God!

These horrific thoughts filled her as Jaime made her way to the hospital. She saw a few people gathered around...  ‘Oh no it is Liam!’ 
She rushed to his side and saw his left hand bound in a white bandage, his face drained of color and he looked suffering.

As he was handling a valve in the freezer room a wooden shelf came unbound in the rolling sea and fell on the shoulder. There is no evidence of physical injury but the pain persisted.
Jaime made him lie down loosened the shirtsleeve and saw the nasty bruise on the shoulder. As she poked around the spot, Liam winced and said ‘now that I am in your hands, don’t go about taking revenge.’
‘Don’t talk and lie down without movement.  I have to tighten it so the shoulder blade doesn’t suffer further damage.’ She said professionally.

‘Yes doctor, I am at your mercy’ said Liam mockingly, looking into her eyes. Jaime felt the blush creeping up her throat to her face.
She had to give him painkillers to relieve the intense pain. She kept vigil throughout the night. She took care not to let Liam disturb his injured arm by moving restlessly. When he woke up in the dawn, he saw her leaning over him adjusting the armrest.

‘Jaime would you have me as your man sharing your life?’
Jaime was taken aback at this point blank shocker.
‘It might be the witchcraft Liam’
‘So be it. Let it last all my life, Jaime darling.’
Jaime felt weak with her heart full of love for him.

When they reached San Marino, an ambulance was called and Liam went to the Port Hospital for an X-ray of the shoulder. Jaime and the second officer accompanied him.

Jaime’s opinion was confirmed. There was a dislocation of the shoulder bone. Nothing serious said the doctor. Liam’s shoulder was bound tight. He was advised not to move it too much.
The crowd aboard the ship had a memorable trip to the third smallest state in Europe. They went to see the famous three towers of San Marino, enjoyed the 'La Torta Di Tre Monti' ("Cake of the Three Mountains/Towers"), similar to a layered wafer cake covered in chocolate. They visited the awesome Basilica of Saint Marino and church of Saint Peter in San Marino City.

During the next two days Liam made quick progress.

The final destination, the city everyone was waiting for with great excitement, Venice was in sight at last. Tourists armed with cameras and stuff went out with their guides.

Captain arranged for the officers and crew two different sight seeing trips during the two days of the ship’s stay in the port. Jaime and Liam managed to go on their own to explore the city.
Jaime was thrilled to see Venice reputed to be ‘Queen of the Adriatic", "City of Water", "City of Bridges", and "The City of Light". It was considered by many to be one of  the most beautiful cities in the world. Liam took her through the grand canal in a gondola and together they enjoyed the ride under the  bridges. They relaxed in the cushioned seats and Liam kissed her. Jaime thrilled to his touch and gave herself up to the pure pleasure of surrender to the man she loved.

They saw the enchanting skyline of Venice in the clear blue day. They had lunch at a beautiful way side inn.
At San Marco they fed the famous pigeons. They came across a church while passing under the ‘bridge of sighs.’ They decided to go in .

While praying at the Church Jaime asked ‘Liam are you praying for the same as I do?’
‘Yes! I do’ said Liam ‘let us meet the Father’.
They both rushed and discussed with Father and insisted that they be married immediately as the Ship was leaving that night.  They said they needed his Blessings. Father smilingly obliged them by announcing their Wedding. A few people in cues sat in attendance wondering at the chance wedding. It was a simple ceremony followed by an exchange of wedding rings, (procured by the church attendants) and the wedding vows by Jaime and Liam.

‘You may kiss the bride now’ said the Father.
Liam leaned forward and kissed Jaime. Holding hands and moving in a dream world of newfound happiness the couple departed.

Soon after reaching the vessel they informed Capt. Arthur about their wedding and said they were sorry for the speed at which the wedding had taken place.
Captain was pleased. ‘Cheer up fellows! Tomorrow we will have grand party to celebrate your ship-board romance.’

The next morning the sea was calm and very pleasant.  Leaning on the railing over looking the sea, Jaime remarked ‘Liam you were right. The Italian witchcraft has worked on me. I love it all my darling.’

‘And I love you more than words can tell my love!’


Found Honorable mention in Bard's Hall contest.