Preparations. (( POST DATED ))

There is a slight overcast on this particular day, but still a pleasant morning to prepare for the scheduled departure time of noon. Workers were working at a fair pace with loading everything onto the cruise ship, and ensuring that they had all the necessities for a successful voyage. There were crates being loaded by handcarts, and cranes lifting objects from the dock and onto the ship. The overnight crew had been working hard to ensure that most of it was already onboard, and now the morning crew was just primarily getting the last of it and accounting for everything.

Tara arrived later than she anticipated. It was her birthday morning, after all, and someone had to give her some special treatment before she could . The sun was still creeping along the horizon when Tara had arrived; her hair was done into a French braid with the braid pulled over her shoulder; she had a pair of sunglasses on that hid her bright blue eyes, and was dressed casually. She had a white flowing blouse on, and white pants that matched; she had a series of bracelets, rings, and necklaces that adorned her. She had a Starbucks coffee cup in her hand and took a sip while watching everything being loaded… While just ensuring that everything is going smoothly, her phone begins to vibrate in her pocket so she tucks her hand into her pocket to get it out and sees the number that’s calling. She doesn’t instantly recognize the number, but with this event, she opts to answer it in case it’s something for the event.

“Hello?” She answered. After a moment of silence, waiting for the person to answer, Tara resumed. “Speaking… No no no! You cannot tell me this on the day that we are supposed to embark!” Tara had gotten suddenly angry, “That queso dip was the only request that Vhodka had! THE ONLY REQUEST! I don’t care if you have to fly it in from Orlando, Tampa, or anywhere that has it, but you are going to get that queso!” The phone clicked off and Tara grumbled angrily. She rolled her eyes and took another sip from her coffee only to be interrupted by a second phone call which she answered this time without even glancing at who was calling, but this time she put it on speaker. “This is non-negotiable! The queso better be here, and on time!”

“It better be! And the wings, too!” the voice called out on the other end. It was Jason Cashe, or to her, Dio.

“Oh! Hey, babe! You kind of fell back asleep, so I thought I would make sure everything here was fine and ready to go for the cruise.” Tara answered. Her demeanor immediately changed when she realized that it was Dio on the other end.

“Doesn’t sound like it’s going too well if we have to worry about queso and wings.” Dio answered with a hint of concern. “Umm, your boy, Dean, texted me saying that he and Warren are gonna bring the little man there in like an hour. Dubs and I can be there, too.”

“It’s still five hours until departure, so there’s no real rush…”

“Nah, I want to spend your birthday with you. We’re already up and getting our bags together, then we’ll be there!”

“Fiiine!” Tara agreed.

“Oh, and Tara…” Dio said and seemed to hesitate in his next words. Tara remained silent on her end to let him continue, and when he finally resumed, “I-- do you want me to bring you something for breakfast?”

Tara chuckled under her breath, “Surprise me.”

“Alright, but I don’t want to hear complaining! Is there a right or wrong answer to what I bring you?”

“Don’t be silly! You know there is!” Tara answered with her voice filled with sarcasm. She could hear Dio let out a chuckle on his end.

“See you soon, Blue.” Dio answered.

“Don’t take too long. Byeee.” The word trailed off.

“Bye!”

Neither line clicked off, as Tara bit her lip and turned away from the railing. She began walking past some of the crew that were still doing their work as they were drawing to a close. “Still there?”

“Yeah, you have to hang up.” Dio answered.

“No, you have to hang up.”

“No, you!”

“Nooo…” Tara answered, but then they were suddenly interrupted.

“Oh, for the love of!” Tara could hear Sabin on the other end, and the phone suddenly clicked off.