Cruise

Back Again

* 4 Years later*

"Jake I need you to take care of Nathan's lunch, I have to run early to the office," you mumbled to the person laying next to you. "Five more minutes," he snuggled closer to your body. "Jake, please," you said getting up. "Fine," the supposed Jake sighed in defeat.

You went to your bathroom and began getting ready for work, beforehand you went to Nathan's room and woke him up. "Nathan, baby wake up," you slightly shook him. "I don't want to mummy," he kept his eyes closed. "If you don't the tickle monster will come," you said poking the sides of his stomach.

He giggled, "Okay, I'll get up." He slid his feet out from under the covers. "Jake will be in here in a bit, I have to get ready," you kissed your son's forehead. "Good morning buddy," Jake said tiredly as he entered Nathan's room. "J!" Nathan exclaimed excitedly. Jake gave you a kiss on the way out of your son's room.

Half an hour later you were all tidy up and exciting the door. "Babe, here you go," Jake handed you your forgotten tea and gave you a kiss. "Bye mummy," you leaned down and firmly embraced your 3 year old in your arms. "Be good to your Aunt Claire, she might take you out to eat ice cream later on," you pecked his nose.

"I'll see you later," you grabbed Jake by his tie and gave him a wink. That was your daily routine. Some days you'd have to arrive early at the office and Jake would take Nathan to Claire's house but it was usually you who would drop him off.

You worked at a regular boring office with an ass of a boss. He commanded everyone difficult tasks and paid minimum wage, but at least you left everyday with hard earned money.

Jake is your boyfriend, a guy you met shortly after delivering Nathan. You bumped into him one day after getting out of work, he invited you to get some coffee and you gladly accepted. You told him you were an only mother and that your best friend took care of your kid while you tried to make money to provide for him.

He was touched by your story and stayed, not because he felt pity but because he was interested in you. Not short after you moved in with him, creating a little family of your own. He took care of you and Nathan. You especially loved how he treated your son as if he were his own.

You were glad Nathan had some sort of father figure. Nathan never called Jake dad, he always heard you call him his nickname and that stuck to him 'J'. You never heard of Benedict, unless he appeared on some article or a trailer for his upcoming movie. You didn't know Karon responded back until you met Jake.

Claire saw you happy and she thought that the burning hole inside would be healed if you knew what Ben had said, and she was right. After 4 years of not talking or knowing much about him, you let go of the idea of ever being with him. Especially since J came along in your life.

Jake had agreed he was going to pick up Nathan early from Claire's house. You arrived home, exhausted as usual. J was in the kitchen preparing some food, you followed the pasta aroma. "Smells delicious," you said entering the kitchen.

Nathan sat at the table coloring in some pages. You went up to Nathan and gave him a kiss then Jake. "It'll be ready in 10 minutes," J informed. You sat down at the nearest table and set down your laptop on the counter. You opened up your emails and went to the restroom.

Coming out you saw Jake hovering over your computer, "What does my boss want now?" you annoyingly asked. "It's not your boss.. it's from this cruise company," Jake observed it suspiciously. You swiftly hurried back to your laptop and saw the email.

It was an invitation to go back to the cruise you were on exactly 4 years ago. They were going to go through the same route and were sending a special invitation to the people who were aboard 4 years ago. You had the privilege to buy that exact same room you had 4 years ago.

"Honey, this is exactly what we need. A special vacation for you, Nathan, and me," Jake grabbed you by the hands. He doesn't know that thanks to that trip you got pregnant. "I don't know, I have a lot of work--"

"Screw that, you've been stressed since the first time I met you and you haven't had a proper vacation. This is your chance to finally relax. Look there's an exclusive offer," Jake really wanted to convince you. You looked blankly at the screen and nipped at your bottom lip, "You're right."

Jake jumped in excitement. You told him how it was all the way in Miami but he still agreed to do it. You checked the airplane tickets to make sure you still had enough money to make it through. Once that was all settled Jake served everyone their plate.

"Mummy are we going somewhere?" little Nathan asked as he swallowed his pasta. "We're going to a very big ship soon and we will be there for 2 weeks," you broke down the news to your son. His eyes bulged out of his sockets, "Really?" You nodded your head and showed him a picture of the cruise.

He began to jump, you giggled at his actions. In the back of your head there was a thought lingering, was Benedict going?

***

"Karon I need a vacation, maybe go to the beach in California or the Bahamas," Benedict settled down on his couch. Through the other line of the phone Karon spoke, "Already have something for you. I thought to keep it a surprise but you need to start planning ahead. I got you your same cabin from the cruise you boarded 4 years ago."

Benedict abruptly stopped what he was doing and sat up, "H-how?" he stammered. "You received an email today and I knew you were going to mention some sort of trip. Oh but don't worry, Tom will be accompanying you as last time," she proudly said.

"Tom knows about this?" Benedict asked rubbing his hand against his knee. "Yes, he's the one who encouraged me to buy the passes in the first place. The trip will be in a month, I already bought you yours and Tom's plane tickets. It's all set."

Benedict sighed and thanked Karon for her generosity. He slumped onto his couch, "I can't believe I'm going back again."