Cruise of Infection (Read 1,652 times)

[Kpatch]

Longtime viewers may remember the Cruise of Deception. But that was nothing compared to the Cruise of Infection!
What can readers expect?

-Romance on the high seas
-Intrigue
-Revenge
-Shipboard activities
-Poisoning
-Sightseeing
-Man overboard
-Overeating
-Sex
-Dancing
-Sea Air
-A virtual cruise experience
-And a certain letter that just won’t go away.


~PROLOGUE~

MAGGIE’S KITCHEN

Maggie [on the phone]: Hope, I’ve decided to go ahead and take that Mediterranean cruise after all. Now that Melanie’s wedding is over, I have no reason not to go.
Hope: Maggie, that’s wonderful. I know Uncle Mickey wouldn’t have wanted you to sit home and mope.
Maggie: Speaking of not sitting home and moping, why don’t you come with me?
Hope: I can’t. Ciara needs me.
Maggie: That gives me an idea. I’m going to invite the family to come along. You, Ciara, Doug, Julie, Nathan. My treat.
Hope: Just how much money did Uncle Mickey leave you?
Maggie: I’ll call Julie and Doug now.

As Maggie hangs up the phone, Nathan arrives.
Nathan: What’s going on?
Maggie: I’m taking the family on a cruise. I want you to come too.
Nathan: Um, thanks Grandma Maggie, but I’m a 20-something intern. No offense, but it seems weird for me to take a cruise with my grandmother.
Maggie: Then why don’t you invite Stephanie to come along?
Nathan: That could get a little expensive.
Maggie: I’m paying.
Nathan whips out his cell phone.
Nathan [on the phone]: Steph? Pack your bags. I’m taking you on a sea cruise.


TITAN JET

Melanie: Come on, Philip, can’t I get even a teeny weeny hint?
Philip: Nope, I told you that our honeymoon destination is a surprise.
Melanie: Pleeeeeeeeeease.
Philip: Okay, I’ll give you a hint.
Melanie: Yay.
Philip: It has something to do with my heritage.
Melanie: Hmmm. Your heritage. You’re Greek on your father’s side of the family. Greece? Are we going to Greece?


KIRIAKIS MANSION

Victor: As Philip’s wife, Melanie is part of my family and I won’t see her hurt.
Vivian: I wouldn’t dream of harming a single hair on that pretty little red head of hers.
Victor: Then why do I get the feeling that you’re still plotting something?
Vivian: Oh stop being so suspicious Victor. I’m not plotting a thing. In fact, I could use a vacation from scheming. Say, that’s a wonderful idea. Let’s do it, Victor! Let’s get away from it all.


BRADY HOME

Carly: I don’t trust Vivian, not for a second. She’s plotting something. I’m certain of it.
Bo: I wouldn’t put it past her.
Carly: I wish I knew where Philip was taking Melanie on their honeymoon. I’d feel better if I knew she was safe, but she said Philip was keeping it a secret.
Bo: I know where he’s taking her.


Tune in for the rest of the story...

______________________________________
Copyright © 2010 kpatch. All rights reserved.

[Kpatch]

THE OLYMPUS, OLYMPIC CRUISE LINES, Ship’s Registry: Greece

PORT OF ATHENS

[Readers, please click the link to listen to the song while reading this chapter: ]

Loudspeaker: Hellooooooooo vacationers. This is Chris your cruise director. Welcome aboard the magnificent Olympus Cruise Ship -- 80,000 tons of fun! We’ll be setting sail at 5:00 this afternoon. Please help yourself to lunch at the Terrace Grill. Then meet me at the Poseidon Pool at 3:00 for a tour of the ship. I’ll be the man in the pink ascot. I hope to see each and every one of you there. Toodles!


POSEIDON POOL

Ciara: Mommy, Mommy!
Hope: Hi sweetie. Did you have a good time exploring the ship with Grampa Doug?
Ciara: Uh huh.
Hope: Did you touch anything? Did you wash your hands? [Hope examines Ciara’s hands.] They say bacteria runs rampant on cruise ships and I don’t want you to catch anything.
Doug: Her hands are clean, Hope. We used one of the antibacterial soap dispensers. They’re all over the ship.
Ciara: Mommy, guess who I saw?
Hope: Chris the cruise director?
Ciara: No.
Doug: Hope, I have to tell you something.
Ciara: I just saw Daddy and Carly.
Hope: You’re kidding me.
Doug: She’s telling the truth.
Ciara: And Grampa Victor and Miss Alamaine too.


STEPHANIE’S STATEROOM

There’s a knock at the door and she answers it.
Stephanie: Hi Nathan! How’s your cabin?
Nathan: It’s double-booked. There’s an old couple in the room. I have nowhere to stay.
Stephanie: Oh. Hmmm. Well, your grandmother wanted us to stay in separate cabins.
Nathan: Grandma doesn’t have to know, does she?
Stephanie: I guess not. So, would you like to stay with me in my cabin?
Nathan: I thought you’d never ask.
They kiss and move toward the bed.


PROMENADE DECK

Bo: Fancy Face, I never expected to see you here. You swore you’d never take another cruise after what happened with Ernesto Toscano on the Cruise of Deception.
Hope: And I never wanted to see you here. Damn it, Bo, what are you and Carly doing on this ship?
Bo: We’re keeping an eye on Melanie. We feel that her life might be in danger.
Hope: Melanie’s on this ship?


THE BRIDAL SUITE

Melanie: Philip, you don’t have to carry me over every threshold, you know. You can put me down now.
Philip: Sorry, I get carried away.
Melanie: Seems more like I’m the one who gets carried away.
Philip: So, what do you think of the bridal suite?
Melanie: It’s bigger than my apartment in Marseilles was.
Philip: Only the best for Mrs. Philip Kiriakis. Are you happy with your surprise honeymoon?
Melanie: I’d be a fool to complain about a cruise to the Greek isles, especially when my companion is the most handsome man in the Western Hemisphere.
Philip: Only the Western Hemisphere?
Melanie: So, when does our honeymoon start?
Philip: How about right now?
They kiss and move toward the bed.



To be continued...

[Kpatch]

Loudspeaker: Good morning. This is your Captain Speaking. We will be at sea all day today, traveling at a speed of 20 nautical miles over the beautiful Mediterranean Sea. The temperature is 72 degrees and sunny, with a light west-southwest breeze. Please enjoy your day.


THE BRIDAL SUITE

There’s a knock at the door. Philip gets out of bed to answer it.
Melanie: You’d better put some pants on.
Philip: Good thinking. It’s probably the cabin steward bringing the champagne breakfast I ordered.
He puts his pants on and answers the door. Victor and Vivian enter.
Vivian: Surprise!
Philip: What the ...?
Vivian barges into the suite as Melanie pulls the blankets over her head.
Vivian: I hope we’re not interrupting anything.
Victor: Sorry to intrude on your honeymoon, son.
Philip: You should be! What the frick are you doing here?
Vivian: All that talk of a sail around the Grecian Isles ... I couldn’t resist the idea of a Mediterranean cruise darling. Where’s your lovely bride?
Melanie [from under the covers]: Philip, could you ask them to leave?
Vivian: Good heavens, we are interrupting. Victor, I told you it was probably a bad time to drop by. We should go. Philip, darling, let’s all meet for dinner in the Dionysus dining room. Shall we say 7:00?


POSEIDON POOL

Stephanie and Nathan are lying on lounge chairs in their swimsuits, sunning themselves.
Nathan: What’s the matter, Steph?
Stephanie: Nothing.
Nathan: There is too something wrong. I could tell by the way you gave me the cold shoulder this morning.
Stephanie: I’m surprised you noticed.
Nathan: Huh?
Stephanie: You just don’t get it, do you?
Nathan: Here we go again, playing guessing games.
Stephanie: Do you have any idea how many times you said Melanie’s name yesterday?
Nathan: I did not.
Stephanie: Thirty-one times. Melanie Melanie Melanie.
Nathan: You’re making that up.
Stephanie: Fine, don’t believe me.


DIONYSUS DINING ROOM, that evening

Bo and Carly are sitting at a table for 10 with 8 strangers.
Bo: I'm sorry I couldn’t get us a table for two, Fancy Face. I mean Princess.
Carly: I just wish we were sitting closer to Melanie’s table. I hate that she’s having dinner with Vivian.
Woman at their Table: Is this your first cruise?
Carly: Yes.
Bo: No.
Woman: Oh. Are you newlyweds?
Carly: No. We’re not married. Unless you count Mexico. Actually I was married to an abusive husband who I cheated on, then I got pregnant and my husband threatened to kill my baby so I had to give her up.
Bo: I wonder where our waiter is. I’m hungry.
Carly: Yada yada yada 20 years later, I stabbed my husband, found my daughter, and shot her on her wedding day.
Woman [to her husband]: Abner, let’s go sit at a different table ... NOW!!! They hurry away.


Meanwhile, Victor, Vivian, Philip and Melanie are seated at a table for four.

Melanie: I recently read that cruise ships are a breeding ground for bacteria and disease.
Vivian: What a charming conversationalist you are, Melanie. Particularly at dinnertime.
Victor: Philip, pass me the bowl of rolls.
Vivian: It’s called a bread basket, Victor.
Victor: Potayto, potahto. Same difference.
Vivian: If you were born in a barn.
Philip: Relax, Vivian. You’re on vacation.
Victor: Speaking of vacations, do you know who else is on this cruise?
Philip: Who?
Victor: Maggie, Hope, Julie, Doug, Stephanie, Nathan, Bo and Carly. The usual.
Philip and Melanie glance at each other and he puts his arm around her.
Philip: Don’t worry. Nothing is going to ruin our honeymoon.
Melanie [mumbling to herself]: That’s just great. Kill me now.

When no one is looking, Vivian sprinkles a packet of poisonous powder into Melanie’s glass of water. A waiter approaches the foursome.
Waiter: My name is Zorba and I’ll be your waiter. What can I get for you this evening?
Victor: I’ll have the filet mignon.
Zorba: How would you like that cooked sir?
Victor: Rare.
Zorba: Very good sir. And for madam?
Vivian: The Dover sole, light on the butter sauce. And oh my what a lovely jacket that is you’re wearing, Zorba.
Philip: I’ll have the shrimp scampi.
Melanie [perusing the menu]: Hmmm. I think I’ll have the Greek salad. And could you put the dressing on the side? Oh, and could you bring me an iced tea? Unsweetened please.
Vivian: My my, you’re a thirsty little thing. You’ve finished your glass of water already and now you want iced tea.
Philip: Melanie doesn’t drink plain water.
Vivian: Really? But her water glass is empty.
Philip: I drank it.



To be continued ...

[Kpatch]

APHRODITE DECK, PORT SIDE

After dinner, Vivian is pacing the deck and talking to herself.
Vivian: What am I going to do? Victor will kill me if Philip dies. Maybe he won’t die. Maybe the poison I put in the water has lost its potency. After all, it’s been sitting in my purse for quite a little while. Oh who am I kidding? I’ve killed my own child. What am I going to do?


APHRODITE DECK, STARBOARD

Bo: Fancy face, I’m glad I ran into you.
Hope: I came outside because I wanted to be by myself.
Bo: I was hoping we could talk.
Hope: There’s nothing to talk about.
Bo: Look, I know it’s awkward being on this cruise with me and Carly.
Hope: Awkward? That’s putting it mildly.
Bo: You know what I really wish?
Hope: No, and I don’t want to know.
Bo: I wish I could turn back the clock and things could be the way they were before Ciara got kidnapped.
Hope: As long as you’re turning the clock back, why don’t you turn it all the way back to before Zach died.
Bo: You know I would give my life to change that if I could.
Hope: I know. I’m sorry. Oh Brady, I wish things were the way they used to be too ...

Just then, a figure goes overboard into the water.
Hope: I wish ...
Bo: Hang on a sec, Princess. I mean Fancy Face. What was that?
Hope: Oh my gosh, someone fell in the water.

Bo grabs one of the life preservers that’s tied to the railing and tosses it into the water. He takes off his jacket and shoes and jumps off the ship.
Hope: Brady!!! Noooooooooooooooooooo! Help! Man overboard! Man overboard!


To be continued ...

[Kpatch]

Loudspeaker: Good morning. This is Chris, your cruise director. I want to tell you about some highlights for the day. We’ll be featuring ice sculpting at the Poseidon Pool at 1:00 followed by a wet t-shirt contest for men only. Then join us in the library at 2:00 for a rousing game of singalong 60s TV theme song trivia. Then at 4:00, come to the Crow’s Nest lounge for two-for-one happy hour. Toodles.


FITNESS CENTER

Julie and Hope are on treadmills, side by side.

Julie: Don’t you just love sea air? I slept like a baby last night.
Hope: Not me.
Julie: Oh?
Hope: You won’t believe what happened last night.
Julie: Ooh, tell me.
Hope: Me and Bo were talking out on the deck.
Julie: Bo and I.
Hope: Were you there too?
Julie: No, I was just correcting your grammar. Please continue.
Hope: So me and Bo ... I mean Bo and I were on the deck together.
Julie: Uh huh.
Hope: Carly saw us and went up to the deck above us and tried to listen to what we were saying.
Julie: Nosybody.
Hope: She bent so far over the railing that she fell over.
Julie: Onto the deck below?
Hope: No. Into the water.
Julie: Good heavens! She must have made quite a splash!
Hope: You can say that again.
Julie: Good heavens! She must have made quite a splash. Then what happened?
Hope: Bo dived in after her and ...
Julie: ... and saved her.
Hope: You got it. Always the hero.
Julie: Well, nevermind him. Maggie, Doug, and I are going to the Zeus Night Club tonight. Would you like to come, my darling?
Hope: I don’t really feel like dancing.
Julie: Then just keep us company. It would mean so much to your father.
Hope: Well, I can never say no to Daddy. Okay, I’ll come.


LIDO CAFE

Nathan: Melanie! We just heard you were on this cruise. Of all the gin joints ....
Melanie: Tell me about it.
Stephanie: What are you doing eating breakfast all by yourself? Where’s Philip?
Melanie: Philip is sick.
Stephanie: Seasick?
Melanie: No, real sick. He was tossing his cookies all night. I had to call the ship’s doctor to come to the room.
Nathan [stifling a laugh]: That’ll put a crimp in your honeymoon.
Stephanie: Nathan, it’s not funny.
Melanie: No, it’s not. The doctor thinks Philip has the stomach flu and quarantined him for the rest of the cruise.
Stephanie: Poor Philip.
Nathan: Yeah, poor Philip.
Melanie: Nathan, could you look in on him?
Nathan: No. He’s quarantined.
Melanie: But you’re a doctor.
Nathan: Give me one good reason why I should do any favors for the man who caused me to spend New Year’s Eve in jail.
Melanie: Could you maybe do it as a favor to me?
Nathan: Oh man. [Sighs.] Okay. Okay fine. What’s the room number?
Melanie: Oh thank you thank you Nathan. It’s the bridal suite. Room 9300.
Nathan leaves.
Stephanie: It really sucks that Philip is sick.
Melanie: You can say that again.
Stephanie: It really sucks that ...
Melanie: Hey Steph, I’ve been wondering.... What did you do with that letter?
Stephanie: Um. What letter?


To be continued ...

[Kpatch]

[Readers, please click the link to listen to the song while you read this chapter:
]


LIDO CAFE

Melanie: What did you do with that letter?
Stephanie: Um. What letter?
Melanie: You know. The letter.
Stephanie: Oh, you mean the letter you wrote to Nathan on your wedding day saying if he still had any feelings for you, you couldn’t marry Philip.
Melanie: You read it???
Stephanie: No, of course not! What kind of person do you think I am?
Melanie: So do you still have the letter?
Stephanie: Um. No. I destroyed it.
Melanie: Really? That’s a relief. How did you destroy it?
Stephanie: I ... um ... I ... tossed it into the fireplace at the Alpine Valley Ski Lodge. Yea, that’s the ticket.
Melanie: Good! Hey, I have another question. Actually a favor. Since Philip is quarantined in our room, I need somewhere to crash. Can I stay with you in your room?
Stephanie: Um.


BRIDAL SUITE

Nathan knocks at the door and enters the suite.
Nathan: Hello? Philip? It’s Nathan Horton.
He walks into the bedroom portion of the suite and sees Philip lying on the bed with his eyes closed. He is gaunt and pale and very still.
Nathan: Jeez, Philip, you look like death warmed over. I operated on better-looking cadavers in med school.
Nathan instinctively touches Philip’s neck to feel for a pulse. He has a short fantasy in which he’s at Philip’s funeral comforting the grieving widow, as Melanie is crying on one shoulder and Stephanie is crying on the other.


OUTSIDE THE ZEUS NIGHT CLUB, that evening

Maggie: Are you all ready to dance? I’ve got my red dancing shoes on.
Julie: Doug is ill.
Hope: Oh no. What’s the matter with Daddy?
Julie: One minute he said to me, “Fair Lady, let’s go trip the light fantastic,” and the next he was running for the loo.
Maggie: That’s a little too much information.
Julie: Long story short, he has the stomach flu. He’s been quarantined in the sick bay.


PROMENADE DECK, middle of the night

A woman is walking slowly on the deck wearing only her nightgown. At first, all we see are her bare feet. She approaches the railing and steps onto the first rung. The camera gradually pans from her feet up to her face and we finally see that it is Stephanie. She is holding the green envelope addressed to Dr. Nathan Horton, the letter Melanie wrote to him on her wedding day. Stephanie smiles and coyly tosses the letter into the sea.

Stephanie: Oops!



To be continued ...

[Kpatch]

Loudspeaker: This is Chris your cruise director announcing some hot deals for all you bargain hunters. Come on down to the Aurora gallery between now and 4:00 p.m. for 65% off diamond and tanzanite jewelry. Then stop by the art gallery for a sneak peek of some original masterpieces in advance of tomorrow night’s champagne auction. Ooh, I just love art. And if you’re planning to go ashore tomorrow, you must must must attend Megan’s informative Port Talk in the Hermes Lounge at 1:30. Toodles!


TERRACE GRILL, POOLSIDE at Lunchtime

Bo: Hey Melanie, mind if we join you?
Melanie: Um, as a matter of fact, YES.
Carly: We need to warn you.
Bo: Where’s Philip?
Melanie: He’s quarantined with the stomach flu. Warn me about what?
Bo: Wow. I’ll bet that puts a …
Melanie: …crimp in my honeymoon. Yes. Yes. And yes. Sheesh.
Bo: He must be pretty lonely. I wonder what’s he doing in that bridal suite all by himself.
Melanie [sarcastically]: What do you think he’s doing? Watching movies and playing video games? Warn me about what?
Bo: Sounds like fun. I may have to stop in and see him.
Melanie: Read my lips, Bo. He’s quarantined. Now ... warn me about what?
Carly: Melanie, you need to steer clear of Vivian.
Melanie: That again? Give me a break.
Carly: I’m only trying to protect you because ...
Melanie [mocking]: ...because “I’m your mother and I love you.” Look lady, you throw that “mother” word around like it should mean something to me. Well it doesn’t. I don’t know you, and I don’t want to know you. Vivian is more of a mother to Philip than you are to me. So buzz off.
Bo: Hey now, that’s a little harsh.
Melanie: Really? I was going for a lot harsh.


DIONYSUS DINING ROOM, THE CAPTAIN’S TABLE, that evening

Julie: It’s so good to see you again, Captain Speaking.
Captain: Mrs. Williams, I am so pleased that you joined us for this sailing. Where is your charming husband?
Julie [whispering]: He has that stomach flu that’s been going around.
Captain: Ah. I see. Well, please come sit next to me and be my dinner companion.


To be continued ...

[Kpatch]

MYKONOS, GREECE

Loudspeaker: This is Chris, your cruise director welcoming you to sunny Mykonos. Woohoo! The temperature is 79 degrees with nothing but sunshine all day long. Enjoy your day in port. Be sure to be back on board by 4:30 for a 5:00 p.m. Sail Away. Today’s drink special is the bananarama for $10, which includes our souvenir highball glass. Toodles.


AT THE GANGWAY

Melanie: Hey guys, do you mind if I hang with you in Mykonos?
Stephanie: Well, actually ....
Nathan: Not at all, come on.


APHRODITE DECK

Maggie is sitting in a lounge chair reading a book as Victor walks by.

Victor: Good afternoon, Maggie. May I join you?
Maggie: Why yes, Victor. Please do. Pull up a deck chair.
Victor: Lovely weather here in Greece. Much better than the blizzards they’re having back in Salem.
Maggie: You can say that again.
Victor: Lovely weather here in Greece. Much better than the blizzards they’re having back in Salem. I haven’t had the opportunity to say how sorry I was to learn of Mickey’s passing. He was a fine man.
Maggie: Thank you, Victor.
Victor: Please let me know if there’s anything I can do.
Maggie: I appreciate that.
Victor: Perhaps you’d like to come over to the mansion for dinner one night.
Maggie: Victor, you’re not asking me on a date, are you?
Victor: No, the thought hadn’t crossed my mind.
Maggie: I’m sorry, Victor. I didn’t mean to be presumptuous.
Victor: Not at all. I was just thinking that you and I are inlaws of sorts now.
Maggie: Oh?
Victor: My new daughter-in-law sees you as a mother figure.
Maggie: And I love Melanie like a daughter.
Victor: Precisely. And it would be nice if you and I and Philip and Melanie would all have dinner together at the mansion sometime soon. Give the children a semblance of a normal family.
Maggie: What a lovely suggestion. I would love to.
Victor: Excellent. I’ll check my calendar when we get back to Salem and we’ll arrange something.
Maggie: Family is very important to you, isn’t it?
Victor: Nothing is more important to me than family.
Maggie: Speaking of which, how is Philip feeling?
Victor: I have no idea. I’ve been too busy to check on him. Right now, I’m going to head into Mykonos. Would you care to join me?
Maggie: I’d love to.


MAIN DECK

A couple of crew members are swabbing the deck and chatting when one of them spots a green object floating in the sea. He takes a long pole (a really really long pole) with a net on the end and fishes the object out of the water.

Crew Member #1: Parakalo o dhromos yia pernete pistotikes kartes tha Ithela na agoraso enna keelo, dheeo keela to logariasmo parakalo parakalo o dhromos yia pernete pistotikes kartes tha Ithela na agoraso enna keelo, dheeo keela to logariasmo parakalo parakalo o dhromos yia pernete pistotikes kartes tha Ithela na agoraso enna keelo, dheeo keela to logariasmo parakalo parakalo o dhromos yia pernete pistotikes kartes tha Ithela na agoraso enna keelo, dheeo keela to logariasmo parakalo?

Crew Member #2: Tee mu pro teenetay keela to logariasmo dheeo keela to logariasmo tee mu pro teenetay keela to logariasmo dheeo keela to logariasmo tee mu pro teenetay. Keela to logariasmo dheeo keela to logariasmo vtee mu pro teenetay keela to logariasmo dheeo keela to logariasmo tee mu pro teenetay keela to logariasmo dheeo keela to logariasmo “Dr. Nathan Horton.”

~Translation~

Crew Member #1: What is it?
Crew Member #2: It looks like a letter. It’s addressed to “Dr. Nathan Horton.”


To be continued ...

[Kpatch]

Loudspeaker: This is your Captain Speaking. We will be at sea all day today, traveling at a speed of 20 nautical miles over the beautiful Mediterranean Sea. The temperature is 72 degrees and sunny, with a light west-southwest breeze. We will arrive in Rhodes tomorrow morning. Please enjoy your day.


SPORTS DECK, RUNNING TRACK

Maggie and Melanie are speedwalking around the running track at the top deck of the ship.

Maggie: I’m so sorry your honeymoon didn’t turn out the way you planned, what with half the population of Salem showing up on the same ship, and Philip falling ill.
Melanie: I can handle most of it okay, but grrr ... Carly! I thought it couldn’t get worse than her stalking me all over Salem.
Maggie: Well, she says she’s trying to protect you because she’s your mother.
Melanie: I don’t think that excuses her behavior. Even Philip’s mother didn’t stalk us on our honeymoon -- well, one of his two mothers didn’t. Besides, I just plain don’t like Carly.
Maggie: Maybe if you gave her a chance, you’d grow to like her.
Melanie: I seriously doubt it.
Maggie: I’ll admit I’m having a hard time liking her as well, after the way she wedged herself between Hope and Bo. She was so worried about her daughter, but didn’t give a second thought about Bo’s.
Melanie: She’s a self-absorbed cretan and a one-woman demolition derby.
Maggie: You can say that again.
Melanie: I could, but the joke’s getting a little old at this point.
Maggie: How’s Philip feeling? Have you spoken to him lately?
Melanie: We talk by phone like a gezillion times a day. Poor baby is weak as a kitten.
Maggie: Maybe you should let him sleep instead of calling him like a gezillion times a day.
Melanie: I never thought of that. Anyways, now I’m starting to worry about Stephanie too.
Maggie: Why’s that?
Melanie: She looked a little green around the gills this morning. Last I saw her, she was heading to the sick bay to see the ship’s doctor.
Maggie: Why does she need to see the ship’s doctor? Nathan’s a doctor.
Melanie: True, but I don’t think she wants to expose her digestive tract to someone she’s dating. It’s not very romantic.


SPORTS DECK, ROCK CLIMBING WALL

Bo: Be careful, Fancy Face. I mean Princess.
Carly [climbing]: Aren’t you going to come climb the wall with me?
Bo: Hanging around with you has got me climbing the walls on a daily basis.
Carly [climbing higher]: That’s a better idea. You should stand guard. I just need to climb a little higher so I can see Melanie.
Bo: Actually I can see her from down here. She and Maggie are speedwalking together.
Carly [climbing higher still]: What did you say? I can’t hear you. Uh oh. Help, Bo, I’m falling. Heeeelp.
Bo: I can’t keep rescuing you, Princess. I aggravated my sciatica diving off the ship the other day. I’m not as young as I used to be, you know.


SPORTS DECK, MINIATURE GOLF COURSE

Victor: Can you remember what Grampa Victor taught you, Ciara? You have to keep your eye on the ball, pull the club back, swing cleanly, and follow through.
Ciara: Okay, Grampa Victor.
Victor: And you’re going to have to learn to talk business when you golf. Grown-ups like to talk business while they golf.
Ciara: Okay, Grampa Victor.
Victor: Now then, before you try it, do you have any questions?
Ciara: Yes Grampa Victor, I do. Why is Titan carrying so much debt on its balance sheet? Why did you cut your shareholders’ dividend to virtually nothing even though Titan reported record-setting profits in 2009? And how will you answer the allegations of malfeasance and misuse of funds at the next board of directors meeting?


To be continued...

[Kpatch]

RHODES, GREECE

Loudspeaker: This is Chris, your cruise director welcoming you to sunny Rhodes. Woohoo! The current temperature is 79 degrees with nothing but sunshine all day long. Enjoy your day in port. Be sure to be back on board by 4:30 for a 5:00 p.m. Sail Away. Today’s drink special is the coco loco for $10 which includes our souvenir highball glass. Toodles.


CROW’S NEST LOUNGE

Victor: Would you stop fidgetting, Vivian. You’re making me nervous. What’s going on with you anyway? You’ve had this crazed look in your eye for days ... well, years actually ... but something is more off than usual.
Vivian: Oh Victor. I have a confession to make and I don’t know how to tell you.
Victor: Just spit it out!
Vivian: I ... I poisoned Philip.
Victor: What???
Vivian: Before you blow your stack Victor I never meant for this to happen the poison was meant for Melanie but Philip drank her glass of water and oh I thought I would die when he said he drank it you know I would never hurt him he means the world to me ....
While Vivian is spouting her unpunctuated run-on sentence, Victor has a flashback to the second night of the cruise when he saw Vivian put something into Melanie’s water glass, and he quietly switched his own glass of water with Melanie’s. He’s rather satisfied with himself that Vivian has been living in her own private hell, thinking she had poisoned Philip. He decides this is the perfect punishment.
Victor: I’ve had it with you, Vivian. This is the last straw!
Vivian: But ...
Victor: I asked you to leave Melanie alone, but no.
Vivian: But ...
Victor: First it was the poison comb.
Vivian: But ...
Victor: Next it was the balcony.
Vivian: But ...
Victor: And the steel rod.
Vivian: But ...
Victor: You just had to disobey me and keep after her.
Vivian: But ...
Victor: And then your plan backfires and you poison my son!!!
Vivian: But he’s my son too. I would never intentionally harm him. You have to know that, Victor.
Victor: I want you off this ship.
Vivian: What?
Victor: You heard me.
Vivian: Permanently?
Victor: Or longer. If you’re not off this ship in the next 10 minutes, I may just murder you with my bare hands.
Vivian: But Victor, I thought we had something extra special between us.
Victor: Nine minutes and 30 seconds.
Vivian. I see. I’ll go pack my bags.
Victor: No! No bags.
Vivian: No bags? Let me get my credit cards.
Victor: No!
Vivian: What am I going to do in Rhodes without any money?
Victor: You’re resourceful. You’ll think of something.
Vivian: Well at least let me go get my cell phone.
Victor: No!
Vivian: Then how about a bite to eat first? It’s almost lunchtime.
Victor: I’m seeing you off the ship right now. I want you out of my life and out of Salem.
Vivian: But Victor...
Victor: Perhaps I’m not making myself clear enough. If you don’t get off at this port now, you’ll be getting off the ship tonight in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea.
Vivian scoots.


STEPHANIE’S STATEROOM

There’s a knock at the door. Nathan answers it. It’s his cabin steward.

Dodat, the Cabin Steward: Good day, Dr. Horton.
Nathan: Hello Dodat.
Dodat: This letter is for you, sir.
He hands Nathan the green envelope.
Nathan: It’s all wet.
Dodat: Yes sir.
Dodat leaves. Nathan carefully opens the letter.


To be continued ...

[Kpatch]

AN OPEN AIR MARKET IN RHODES

Bo and Carly are shopping and sightseeing.
Carly: My daughter hates me.
Bo [looking at some merchandise]: What do you think of this belt? Too girly?
Carly: Bo! I said my daughter hates me.
Bo: Sorry, I thought it was a rerun.
Carly: What am I going to do?
Bo: Maybe stop being so melodramatic all the time?
Carly: Pardon?
Bo: Nothing.
Carly: Nothing? How can you say that?
Bo: Maybe there’s nothing more you can do. There are lots of mothers and daughters who don’t get along.
Carly: I’ve spent the last 20 years dreaming of having a relationship with my daughter.
Bo: Well you have a relationship with her. It just stinks.
Carly: You’re right. I don’t think she wants me around.
Bo: Where did you get that idea?
Carly: I can’t bear seeing her all the time with her giving me those death stares.
Bo: Maybe you won’t see her much.
Carly: You and your maybes. When you did get so wishy washy?
Bo [mumbling]: Around the time you returned to Salem.
Carly: Maxine told me that Melanie’s going back into nursing after the honeymoon. That means we’ll be working at the same place.
Bo: Maybe you could get a job somewhere else.
Carly: Like Rhodes?
Bo: What do you mean?
Carly: I’m not getting back on the ship.
Bo: Are you serious?
Carly: Dead serious. I need time to think.
Bo: Jeez Princess, you sound like Fancy Face.
Carly: I’m sorry Bo. You’ve been great. But I need to drop out of sight. Get away from it all.
Bo: Will I see you again?
Carly: Maybe. It depends on whether I get a job on another soap.
She kisses him and leaves.


THE TERRACE GRILL

Maggie: I can tell something is bothering you, Nathan. What is it?
Nathan: It’s this.
He hands her The Letter and she reads it.
Maggie: Oh my.
Nathan: Stephanie admitted that she was supposed to give this to me before Melanie got married, but I just got it today.
Maggie: Nathan, sweetie, I would advise you to forget about it.
Nathan: You’re kidding, right?
Maggie: Melanie is married now.
Nathan: She wouldn’t be if I had gotten The Letter before the wedding.
Maggie: But she did get married. Things are different now.
Nathan: Not for me, they’re not.
Maggie: Nathan, I’ve seen Melanie and Philip together and they’re happy. I stood vigil with Philip when Melanie was in the hospital. He’s completely devoted to her. He loves her.
Nathan: I don’t give a sh!t about what Philip feels or what Philip thinks.
Maggie: Nathan!
Nathan: All I care about is how I feel about Melanie.
Maggie: And how do you feel about her?
Nathan: It depends on what I ate for breakfast that day.
Maggie: What about Stephanie?
Nathan: With her, it depends on what I ate for lunch. She deserves a public flogging. Maybe I should make her walk the plank. But the punishment she’s enduring now is far worse than anything I could dole out.
Maggie: What do you mean?
Nathan: She’s got that stomach bug that’s been going around.
Maggie: What are you going to do about The Letter?
Nathan: I’m going to get the truth from Melanie once and for all.


To be continued...

[Kpatch]

STEPHANIE’S STATEROOM

Melanie: Where’s Stephanie?
Nathan: She has the plague.
Melanie: What???
Nathan: That stomach flu. She’s got it. She’s been quarantined in the ship’s sick bay. Housekeeping was here earlier and they disinfected the room.
Melanie: Does that mean you and I are here all by ourselves?
Nathan: It sure looks that way. So, you wanna talk about this?
Melanie: Talk about what?
Nathan [holding up the green envelope]: This.


DIONYSUS DINING ROOM, that night

Hope, Ciara, Maggie, and Julie are having dinner together.

Julie: After dinner, let’s all go dancing in the Zeus Night Club.
Maggie: But there’s only one man left to dance with.
Hope: I’ll bet Nathan will be happy to oblige.
Julie: Ah, to be young again.
Hope: Julie, how’s Daddy feeling?
Julie: Oh he’ll live. Nothing keeps Doug Williams down for long.
Ciara: Daddy, Daddy!
Hope: No sweetie, we were talking about my Daddy, not yours.
Bo approaches the table as Ciara greets him and he picks her up.
Ciara: Daddy, Daddy!
Bo: Hey Doodlebug. How’s my little one? He looks at Hope. Hey Hope, can we talk in private?
Hope raises an eyebrow.
Bo: Ciara, why don’t you stay here with Julie and Maggie. Mommy and me will be back soon.
Julie: You mean Mommy and I.
Bo: If you wouldn’t mind, Julie, this is just between Hope and me.
Julie: Hope and I. Oh nevermind.
Bo and Hope walk outside to the deck.

Hope: Where’s Carly?
Bo: She got off at Rhodes.
Hope: She left the ship?
Bo: Uh huh.
Hope: So what am I? Your consolation prize?
Bo: You know better than that, Fancy Face. You’re the woman I’ve always ... ow.
Bo doubles over.
Hope: What’s wrong, Brady? What’s the matter?
Bo: I don’t know. I feel really sick all of a sudden. Could you help me back inside?
Hope helps Bo get back inside the ship.


To be continued ...

[Kpatch]

ZEUS NIGHT CLUB

Julie and Nathan are dancing as the other ladies are waiting their turn.
Maggie: Hope, where’s Bo?
Hope: He took ill. I brought him to the sick bay.
Maggie [gasps]: You don’t suppose he has the stomach flu?
Hope: I think he does.
Nathan: Who’s next? Who wants to dance next? Hope?
Hope: Love to!

Hope and Nathan head for the dance floor as Victor arrives.
Victor: Good evening, ladies.
Melanie: Hello, Mr. Kiriakis.
Victor: You don’t have to be so formal, Melanie. You’re part of my family now.
Melanie: Yes sir. Where’s Vivian?
Victor: She had a pressing engagement.
Victor momentarily fantasizes that Vivian is working on a dry cleaning press at a local sweatshop.
Victor: Maggie, would you care to dance?
Maggie: Oh my. Why yes, thank you. Melanie sweetie, will you be okay here by yourself?
Melanie: I’m fine. You go knock yourselves out.

Nathan joins Melanie.
Melanie: Where did Hope go?
Nathan: She went to powder her nose or something. May I have this dance?
Melanie: Nathan.
Nathan: Melanie.


To be continued...

[Kpatch]

ZEUS NIGHT CLUB

Melanie: Where’s Hope?
Nathan: She went to powder her nose or something. May I have this dance?
Melanie: Nathan.
Nathan: Melanie.
Melanie: I can’t, Nathan. I’m married.
Nathan: Well, you wouldn’t be if I had gotten the letter in time.
Melanie: Nathan, like I explained...
Nathan: The part of the letter that was still legible said if there’s a chance for us, you couldn’t marry Philip. Seems pretty self-explanatory to me.
Melanie: And I explained to you that I had a bad case of pre-wedding jitters and should never have written the letter.
Nathan: But you did write it. You can’t deny what you wrote.
Melanie: I don’t deny it. I meant what I wrote ... at that moment. But ever since that moment, I’ve been grateful that you didn’t get the letter because you might have tried to stop my wedding and that would have been a really bad thing.
Nathan: Who are you trying to convince ... me or yourself?
Melanie: I don’t need to convince anyone. I don’t want to hurt you Nathan, but I love Philip. I mean I really love him, more and more every day. The only thing that would make me happier is if he were here and I was dancing with him.

Philip is standing behind Melanie.
Philip: I’m glad to hear you say that.
Melanie whirls around.
Melanie: Philip! What are you doing out of bed?
Philip: The doctor gave me a clean bill of health.
Melanie [jumps up and hugs him]: Yay!
Philip [to Nathan]: Thanks for looking in on me, Nathan. Whatever you gave me worked wonders.
Nathan: It’s called H2O. That stomach flu left you severely dehydrated.
Philip: Well, I owe you, buddy.
Nathan: I was just upholding my Hippocratic Oath.
Philip [to Melanie]: Dance with me, Mrs. Kiriakis.
Melanie: I’ve been waiting a long time for our first dance as husband and wife.
They move toward the dance floor and start to dance.
Philip: Is it true that you’ve been sharing a cabin with Nathan while I’ve been sick?
Melanie: I was sharing a cabin with Stephanie and Nathan until Stephanie got sick.
Philip: And then it was just you and Nathan?
Melanie: Of course not, silly. I’ve been staying with Maggie in her room. You can ask her if you don’t believe me.
Philip: I don’t have to ask her. I trust you.
They kiss.

Meanwhile, Julie feels a tap on her shoulder and turns around.
Doug: Hello Fair Lady.
Julie: Darling! Are you alright? Do you feel well enough to be on your feet.
Doug: I do indeed. And I believe you owe me a dance.
Doug sweeps Julie onto the dance floor and softly sings in her ear.
Doug: The most beautiful girl in the world isn’t Garbo, isn’t Dietrich, but the sweet trick, who can make me believe it’s a beautiful world ....


To be continued. Tune in for the epilogue...

[Kpatch]

PORT OF ATHENS

Loudspeaker: Rise and shine sleepyheads. This is Chris, your cruise director, on the last morning of your glorious Mediterranean vacation. Disembarkation will begin through the Main Gateway on Deck 5 as soon as all of our passengers are accounted for. Would Carly Manning and Vivian Alamaine please report to the Purser’s Desk immediately.

We hope you had a fantabulous cruise and made memories that will last you a lifetime. Ooh ooh, one quick housekeeping note. We pinpointed the culprit of the stomach flu that’s been running rampant ‘round the ship. And can you believe it? It was the Asian shrimp, of all things! Everyone who had shrimp came down with the stomach flu. But thanks to our top-notch medical staff, we are pleased-as-punch to report that hardly anyone died. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused and will be buying only North American shrimp from now on.

Olympic Cruise Lines is pleased to offer a $10 onboard credit -- only to those who got sick. Your $10 credit can be used for any onboard purchases you make on your next Olympic Cruise. Thanks for sailing with us. See you next time. Toodles!


The End


Tune in for the Captain’s Log.