GYPSY PROPHECY
CHAPTER TWENTY:
MOVING FORWARD
Written by Rick
and Marla Archer
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DAY THREE: MONDAY EVENING
marla IS IN FOR A SURPRISE
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Following our decision to
commit, Marla and I spent the
afternoon walking around the ship
hand in hand.
We periodically crossed paths with people I knew.
Some slowed
down, others kept their distance.
The ones who slowed down would smile,
but no one but my friend Iqbal had the nerve to actually say anything
beyond 'Hello'. I think they
were too shocked to know what else to say. The
thing to understand is that Marla was a complete
stranger to everyone. Not only that, no
one had ever seen us together before. Our
sudden romance took everyone off guard.
It stayed that way pretty much the whole day.
Marla was a little bewildered
and I guess I was too. I think the
surprise of seeing the obvious depth of my
connection to a woman who was a total unknown
spooked people who had known me a long time.
Was Marla a flash in the pan or was she here to
stay? They chose to await the scuttlebutt
before deciding how to react.
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Unsure of our reception at
dinner, Marla and I ate in
our cabin instead. We got ready to attend a scheduled
dance party with the group at 9 pm.
Earlier in the day I had handed the music
equipment to my friend Iqbal with a
request. I wanted Iqbal to get the party started without me. This allowed
us to
drop by 10 minutes after the event was already in progress. When we
walked in the room together, the music continued,
but you wouldn't know it. The dancers froze
the moment we entered the room and stared in
shock. They had heard the rumors, but
seeing is believing. It was true.
The King had chosen his new Queen.
To my amazement, no one
came forward to greet us. I am serious.
All they did was stare. I could feel
Marla tremble at her unexpected cold reception.
I had warned Marla this might happen, but she
did not imagine it would be this bad.
Neither did I. I do not exaggerate.
The room was frostier than Siberia. As I
said, Marla was a complete
unknown. Only five people out of 100 knew
Marla before the trip... Ashley, Lawrence,
Sherry, Martin and me. The remaining 93
had no idea what to make of her, so they were in
shock at this sudden and quite unexpected
development. In addition, they were
reluctant to step forward while everyone else
held back.
Realizing what the problem
was, I went over and put the music on pause.
Then I returned to Marla's side. Holding
her hand, I introduced
her to everyone. Despite feeling very
insecure, Marla managed a wan smile and waved
tentatively. Then I restarted the music.
A few of my friends
welcomed Marla to the party.
However, by and large, most people still kept
their distance. Realizing Marla felt hurt, I asked
her to dance. Trust me, all eyes
were upon us.
I saw several nods. The girl can really dance.
That would have to do for now. However,
the tension remained. Sensing the
awkwardness, I bid the
group farewell and we left.
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After returning to our room, Marla admitted
she was very shaken by the frosty reception. Although I
hardly considered myself a rock star, in my own small world I
was a big deal. What, she asked, could explain the
hostility? The cynics suggested this was a fling which
would not last. So why bother getting to know Marla?
More than likely, she would be gone the moment the trip ended
and Rick would move on to the next girl. Oddly enough,
Marla had feared the same thing. This explained why she
had interpreted my seeming indifference during the Day of
Confusion in the worst possible way. And when did she
realize the truth? The moment I chased her down in the
hallway last night. Marla had been so happy to see me, she
stuck out her hand and invited me to join her at the show.
Unfortunately, the frosty reception had
restored some of her doubt. After I explained my theory, Marla nodded. In a way,
this was a good thing. Marla was seeing
first-hand why I had been careful to check the
hallway for unwelcome onlookers at 6:30 am the
previous
morning. At the time she had assumed I was
trying to avoid being spotted by another woman,
possibly a rival. Now she understood what I
had said all along. I had been shielding us both
from gossip till I was certain Marla felt the same
way as I did.
Marla stared at me for moment, then replied,
"I suppose there's a logic to that. You are
obviously the object of a great deal of idle speculation.
Still, I have to say the chill in that room came as quite a shock."
"I wouldn't worry about it. They
will get used to you soon enough. It happened too
fast, that's all. With previous girlfriends, people
observed a gradual process. In your case, you
made it straight to Number One in record time. That's bound to set
tongues wagging."
"Do you think this is
something that will continue?"
"Absolutely not. They
are just surprised, that's all. These are good
people. I predict they will warm up to you
quickly."
That was exactly what Marla
wanted to hear. She was very relieved.
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Marla's Notes:
Now that Rick and I had committed
to each other, the time had come to go public. I had no
idea what I was in for!
As Rick and I entered the lounge where the group was
dancing, an arctic blast came over the room. I have never
in my entire life felt so much coldness. As Rick and I
walked through the room hand in hand, I overheard several
less than complimentary comments.
"Where did SHE come from?",
"Why does Rick like HER?", "She
doesn't even know how to dance!"
One male member of the group actually came up to me and
said, "I sure hope this is more
than just a fling."
Before this, I
had been an unknown who
blended into the background. Now I was a topic of juicy
gossip and made to feel unwelcome. My first impression was
"How can these people be
so cruel!"
After we danced one song,
Rick noticed how uncomfortable I was.
When I explained how difficult it was to tolerate the
disdain, he suggested we make our
exit.
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DAY FOUR: Tuesday
ON THE TOWN
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Things went much better
the next day, the fourth day of our trip.
As I predicted, people warmed up rapidly to
Marla. During our morning dance
class, I introduced a unique Salsa dance known
as Rueda. In a manner similar to
Square Dancing, a group of anywhere from 4
couples to 20 will dance Salsa in a circle.
The leader will call out a pattern and everyone
in the circle will dance it until a new pattern
is called.
Most of my group were
experts at Country-Western and Swing, but they
knew little about Salsa. Since many people were
beginners, I taught them a memorized pattern to
avoid the need to teach 'lead/follow'.
The Rueda pattern included switching partners on a
frequent basis. This was a smart move
because my rabid single men were dying to dance
with their equally rabid female counterparts.
As for the married couples, they also enjoyed
dancing with a new partner
every 30 seconds or so.
The Rueda dance class
broke the ice for Marla. Once everyone
realized Marla was warm and down to earth, they
were pleased to see how fortunate I was to meet
such a special woman. It was gratifying to
see how rapidly public opinion changed.
Marla was the new 'It Girl', the
beneficiary of instant popularity. The
Rueda class served as her 'Coming Out'
party. After last night's cold
reception, we were pleased to see our patience rewarded.
Given a night to adjust to this
surprise development, Marla's partners
greeted her with big smiles. As well they
should. Marla was very pretty. Even
better, she was a sweetheart.
That night Marla was
the center of attention at dinner. A line
of
people dropped by to wish us well.
However, there was one twist I had
not expected. One guest, a man named
Dave, had something strange to say.
Pulling me aside, Dave demanded to know how we
met.
"Damn it, Rick, you're
lucky you hooked up with Marla when you did
or I would have given you a run for your
money. I did not even realize she was
on this trip till you and she walked into
the dance party last night. I've had
my eye on that girl for months, but she kept
insisting she had a boyfriend. I wish I
had know she was in play. Now it's too
late. Or is it? How serious are
you about Marla?"
I replied that I intended
to keep Marla for myself, then walked
away. Dave was by far the most
aggressive, but other men expressed a similar
sentiment albeit more politely. Unsettled
by countless sharks circling the water, I
wondered for the millionth time how a guy like
Chris could be blind enough to let a woman with
Marla's looks take a Singles Dance Cruise unescorted.
I recalled how everyone had ignored her at the
Cocktail Party. Needless to
say, given the level of competition I might have
faced, I felt fortunate to run into at the
Midnight Mixer before the other men noticed her
presence.
Later that night we joined friends for barhopping
in Vera Cruz, Mexico. I was pleased to see
my friends go out of their way to get to know
Marla. It came as no surprise when they
turned to me and whispered how impressed they were.
In the space of 24 hours Marla had become a
studio celebrity.
Marla's Notes:
Fortunately there
was a huge shift of sentiment from the group
the next day. I received smiles and hellos
throughout our dance class. Several people
went out of their way to befriend me.
That evening Rick and I joined some folks
from our group at a bar in Vera Cruz.
Everyone was warm and friendly. Jill was
part of our little group and I discovered
her to be an absolute sweetheart. A lot of
my perceived first
impressions were slowly dissipating.
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THURSDAY, august 23, FINAL DAY
OF THE TRIP
CHRIS
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The last day of the trip
presented an awkward problem. Neither
Marla nor I had a car. Connie
had driven me down to Galveston and Chris had
done the same for Marla. Her car was sitting in his driveway,
which turned out to be on the way back to
Houston. What
should we do? Jim and Marlane,
two of my friends, offered to help. Jim
had a truck with plenty of room for our
suitcases, so he drove us to Chris' house.
Since it was a weekday morning, to Marla's great
relief, Chris was at work. This allowed her
to reclaim her car without trouble.
As an odd footnote to this
awkward moment, it took Chris three days to get
around to calling Marla about her trip.
His opening line was classic. "Hey Marla,
I noticed your car wasn't in my driveway."
How observant, Marla
thought. Needless to
say, Marla said the two of them needed to talk.
They met the next day in Hermann Park.
Chris was in shock. He had taken Marla for
granted for so long, he was incredulous to learn
she had found someone else. Which, in
hindsight, makes sense. Who can blame him
for being surprised? It isn't often a man
hears that his girlfriend of six years has
completely replaced him during a brief trip.
Undeterred, at
this point, his attitude made a swift U-Turn.
First
Chris asked Marla to marry him. Mind you, Chris had
never proposed in six years. Just to prove he was
serious, Chris sent a ring in the mail as proof of his
sincerity. Knowing that Marla had always wanted to
live on the water, he offered to buy her a house on the bay.
He also offered to drive up to Dallas to help her with "Market",
always a difficult sales event. He wrote Marla a long
letter explaining his certainty that a mere dance instructor
could not possibly be worthy of her. He also accused Marla
of falling under my manipulative spell, adding that I
was sure to dump her at a convenient time. "Don't
be a fool, Marla, come back to me. We can work it out."
To
each approach, Marla replied thanks, but no thanks.
She had made her decision. As for the ring, she sent it
back.
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Marla's Notes: An awkward circumstance
presented itself upon our return to Galveston. My car was
sitting on the driveway
at Chris' house where I left it. Chris had driven me
down to Galveston's port, but had asked if I could find a
ride back. Since Rick and I did not
have a car parked at the port, Rick arranged for a couple on
the trip to drop us off to pick up my car. Even though it
was a weekday around 10 a.m., I
was really nervous. I was afraid that Chris might still be
home. If so, the situation could
become very uncomfortable.
Fortunately, Chris was not home. After
thanking the couple for the ride,
I jumped in my car as quickly as humanly possible. I
sighed with relief as we drove off. Next stop was to Rick's
house to drop him off. Rick invited me in, but I needed to
return home quickly after having been gone for 5 days. I
was driving my daughter to college the very next day. There
was a lot yet to do.
On the third day after returning from the trip, I received a
call from Chris. The first thing he said to me was that he
assumed I got a ride home from the ship because my car was
gone when he came home from work. I said,
"Yes, I got a
ride. We need to meet for a
talk." I suggested Hermann Park,
a public venue. We met the following Sunday
on Labor Day weekend.
Interesting how our
relationship started on the Sunday of Labor Day weekend in
1995 and ended exactly 6 years later.
In the meantime, Rick and I were like a married couple from
the day we committed on the cruise. After dropping my
daughter off at college, I returned to Rick for a Beach Ball
party at the studio. I was now publically his girlfriend
for all to see. I stayed the weekend with Rick. In an
effort to show his commitment to me, he handed me a garage
door opener. This allowed me
to have access to his house whenever I
pleased.
As agreed on, I met with Chris at Hermann Park. I tried to
be as gentle as I could as I gave Chris the news. I told
him that I wanted to be upfront and honest and let him know
that I met someone on the trip. I said I
needed to stop seeing Chris, that
our relationship was not working for me any longer. I do
not think Chris understood what I said.
Or maybe he understood just fine and chose to ignore my
wishes. Although I had told Chris not to phone,
over the next thirty days I
received a flurry of cards and letters assuring me of his
love and devotion for me. Chris even Federal Expressed me a
promise ring. Chris
promised not only himself, but a home on the water and
assistance with my job. Seeing that this daily stream was
not going to stop, I requested another get together. I had
to return the ring. This time I told Chris the BRUTAL
truth. I listed every hurt and misdeed he did towards me. Sure
enough, that did the trick. Chris was blind to his bad
behavior and claimed that he was one of the GOOD guys!
Years later, I discovered that the woman Chris married was
the "Other Woman" that my intuition kept telling me
existed. Chris actually beat me to the altar by an entire
year. I guess he learned from his mistakes.
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august and September 2001
in
the days following the cruise trip
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On the day we returned to Houston after the cruise, once Marla picked up her car
at Chris' house, she gave me a ride to my
house. I invited her in to meet Amy and Stacy, my two
border collies. Unfortunately Marla could not stay
long. She was scheduled to drive her daughter Marissa
to begin college that same afternoon. Before Marla
left, I handed her a present. It was my extra garage door
opener, a gift that carried powerful symbolism.
Marla was very close to Marissa, her only child.
Marissa had played an important role in our love
affair. On the day Marla was scheduled to leave, she
got cold feet. Marla complained to Marissa she did not
know anyone on the trip, there were ten more women than men,
no one was going to ask her to dance, and she had lost all
desire to take the trip.
Tired of listening to her mother bellyache, Marissa laughed.
"C'mon, Mom, quit being such a fuddy-duddy. You
love
to dance
and you are bound to make friends. It's time to take a
chance and get out there."
Marla was not so sure about that, so Marissa proceeded to
more or less bully her mother into going against her will.
In Marla's words, "Marissa practically kicked me out the
door!"
Given her mother's pre-trip skepticism, Marissa was naturally
curious to learn how things turned out when Marla returned.
"Welcome home, Mom. So, how did it go?"
"I'm in love!"
Surprise Surprise. Marla and
Marissa had fun discussing this important new development
during their long drive to Texas State University.
With Chris gone and Marissa off to school, a major chapter
in Marla's life ended the same day the next important
chapter in her life began.
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9-11 took place
three weeks later after the cruise trip ended. Marla got a call from Chris who was still trying to get back in her good
graces. Chris said an airplane had just collided with
one of the Twin Towers in New York. No one was sure
whether it was an accident or a possible terrorist attack.
Marla said thank you, then turned on her TV. Seeing
the horrific image of the smoking tower, she called to
warn me. I turned on my own TV just in time to watch
in horror as a plane made a beeline for the second
Twin Tower. Now everyone knew the truth. This
was terrorism.
Unsure of the immediate consequences,
I begged Marla to drive over to my house. I did not
want either of us to be alone during this national emergency. We spent the rest of
the day
overcome by helpless rage as we
watched further developments.
At one point I turned to Marla. "I do not know what
these events bode for our country, but I want you to know
how serious I am about our future together. I
said on the cruise trip that I wanted to see how far we can
take this relationship. I meant every word I said."
Marla nodded. "I feel the same way."
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spring 2002
rick
plays a dirty trick on marla
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The 2001 Cruise Trip brought Marla and I
together faster than I ever imagined possible. The terrible 9-11 crisis
made us even more determined to take our promising
relationship as far as was in our control to do so. Over the next
few months, our connection was so firm I was more convinced than ever
that we were
meant for each other. What
I should have done was propose to Marla on the spot, but with two
divorces in my past, I wasn't brave enough to go that far just yet.
Besides, I needed to see how
well my daughter Sam and Marla got along before
talking Wedding Ring. So Marla, Sam and I took
time getting to know each other. Meanwhile,
there was a different sort of bonding taking place.
Now that Marissa was off to school, it was just Marla with
her beloved beagle Peanut for company at the Kingwood house.
One night Marla mentioned how lonely Peanut was when she
came to spend the night with me. I asked what was stopping her from
bringing Peanut along.
Marla smiled. "You don't
mind?"
"Of course not," I replied.
Peanut was an instant hit with my two border collies.
I had a big fenced-in back yard plus a doggie door that
allowed the three dogs to come in and out as they pleased. With two sister dogs for company, Peanut spent
just as much time outside as she did inside.
It turned
out
there was a surprise benefit. One day Marla remarked,
"You won't believe this, but I think Amy and Stacy
have taught Peanut how to do her business on grass instead
of my carpet."
I
laughed, but I also took careful note how much
Peanut enjoyed coming over to visit her friends. Marla noticed too. "I think Peanut
likes your house
better than mine. She gets lonely when I'm gone, but
she is never lonely here."
For six months, Marla and I took turns staying at each
other's house. At this point it was obvious how well
we got along together. Once it became obvious that Sam
accepted Marla's presence in my life, I brought up the idea of having
Marla move in with us. Marla was tempted, but at the same time
cautious about such a big move.
Although Marla's house was far superior to
mine and much newer, my house had important advantages. One, Marla's house was
an hour's drive from the dance studio compared to my 15 minute drive.
Two, I had added a special dance room on the side of the house that I
used for private lessons. Three, Sam's school, Duchesne Academy, was
right down the street. Moving to Kingwood would
totally disrupt
Sam's
life.
Marla agreed my house was the better choice.
Only one problem. She wasn't ready. She wanted to think
about it. Anyone who thinks Marla agrees with me on everything
doesn't know Marla. She has a mind of her own and is more than
willing to speak up. So I backed off, but not for long.
"What is the problem, Marla? Do you have any doubt
about my commitment to you?"
"No, I am sure about that. But I would have to sell my
house and that is a huge headache. Plus I am not sure your daughter is ready for me to live here.
She needs more time. I
need more time."
This went on for a couple more months.
Knowing Marla, she might take six years to decide.
ha ha. Back and forth we
argued over the idea of combining households. I was all
for it and she was 49% for it. How do I
persuade her to give in?
One day Marla noticed Peanut sleeping next to Amy. She
said, "I
can't believe how happy Peanut is here at your house."
That gave me an idea. Why not kidnap her dog?
And while I was at it, why not kidnap her desk as well?
Marla had entrusted me with a key to her house. So one day while she was visiting
Marissa at college,
I got a friend to help me put Marla's desk in his truck and
move it over to my house. Then I invited Peanut to
jump in the truck with us. Peanut did not hesitate.
When Marla returned home, she gasped. Her desk was gone. Her file cabinet was
gone. Her dog was gone. Fortunately Marla had a pretty
good idea where she could find these things. Driving faster
than necessary, Marla showed up at my house fuming.
"What on
earth gives you the right to kidnap my dog and steal my desk!!"
"Marla, you already agree we want to spend
the rest of our lives together, so what are you waiting for?"
"That was a dirty trick!"
"Yes, dear, but Peanut loves it here. Do it
for Peanut!"
On cue,
Peanut
wagged her tail. That saved the day. Marla was reminded how much happier Peanut was at my house than her house. If Marla hadn't been so mad, she might have laughed at Peanut's decision
to side with me. It was obvious Peanut did not mind being
kidnapped in the least. Marla begrudgingly admitted Peanut greatly
preferred the companionship of my two dogs to being left alone in Kingwood, so she finally consented.
I was very pleased. My dirty trick had worked like a charm.
Moving in with me was a huge
sacrifice. Marla hated trading her
beautiful Kingwood home for my broken-down old
house in the Heights. But she did it for the good of our
relationship. Marla moved in gradually over the next
month, then put her house on the market.
However, she never quite forgave
me for accelerating her timetable. As a favor to me, please don't remind
her.
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Marla's Notes:
For several months, I would spend Friday night through
Monday morning plus an overnight on Tuesday with Rick at his
house. On occasion, Rick
would bring his daughter Sam over to my home in Kingwood and
we would ride the bike trails together. This
gave the three of us an opportunity to bond faster.
At about the six month mark, Rick suggested I move in with
them. I was adamant that I
wasn't ready to do that. I
loved my Kingwood home!
Now that my own daughter was
off to college, I found myself enjoying my quiet moments
alone. Although I knew Rick
was committed to me, he had not offered
a marriage proposal. He
wanted a "live-in girlfriend" who would share in his
household expenses. This did
not sit well with me.
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Since I was spending so much time at Rick's house, early on
I mentioned to Rick that my dog Peanut was really lonely
staying in the Kingwood home when I wasn't there.
Rick suggested I bring her
along on the next visit. Peanut
LOVED Rick's house. For one thing,
she had Rick's
border collies Stacy and Amy for company.
Then there was Rick's cat 'Kitty Dog' who refused to back
down to Peanut's futile attempts to intimidate her.
Plus there was a doggie door that allowed Peanut to roam the
large tree-lined backyard at will looking for squirrels and
opossums to harass. But the funniest part came from
Rick's love of basketball. All three dogs loved to go
outside whenever Rick announced his decision to shoots
baskets on a goal in his backyard. Peanut would go
nuts as she waited with the other two dogs for Rick to open
the door. All Rick had to do was holler 'Basketball'
and Peanut would start howling with excitement and start
running around in circles.
Truth be told, Peanut was much happier at Rick's
house.
Rick got a big kick out of his new
basketball buddy and gave her a lot attention.
Unlike Stacy and Amy, both nervous dogs who could not sit
still for petting, Peanut was more than happy to curl up in
Rick's lap. One night I came back and found Peanut on
her back getting her belly rubbed. Her sigh of
contentment was something to behold.
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Then came the big surprise.
I returned to my Kingwood home after work to NO office furniture
and NO Peanut. I knew
immediately where they were. I
was incredulous. Did he ask
permission? No! Furious as I made
the drive to Rick's house, I was
determined to retrieve my dog and my desk. But when I
saw the look in Peanut's eye, I relented. She really
did prefer Rick's house to mine. Oh well. I
decided to allow the
situation to remain for the good of Peanut.
I don't like being rushed. Moving
in with him was not on MY
time table. I
not ready
to be a wife and stepmom without the formalities.
For the next six months I
took my sweet time getting my house
'market ready'.
Don't
tell Rick, but I secretly enjoyed
my little getaways. My home
still had most of my furniture, functioning utilities and
cable. However, slowly but surely I
warmed up to the idea. Shortly before our one
year mark together, I made it official
and moved in with Rick.
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Not long after
Marla moved in, she suggested I plan another cruise for
August 2002.
"Last year's trip
was so successful, several people at the studio have mentioned to
me they would like to see you schedule one for this year
too."
I had not been the greatest host during our 2001 Cruise.
Since the lion's share of my attention went to my new
romance, I did not circulate among the guests as often as I
should have. However, I paid enough attention to notice the tremendous enthusiasm
our 100 guests had shown during the trip. Cruise
vacations
and dancers were a marriage made in heaven.
We had dance lessons in the morning, there was a live band by the pool in the
afternoon, three dance venues to choose from at night,
and the Disco stayed open into the wee hours of the night.
This round-the-clock schedule
gave everyone the chance to dance to their heart's content.
A cruise trip was the perfect reward for students who
had spent the past year learning to dance. This was
an ideal opportunity to put their
hard-earned skills
to good use.
In particular, there was growing suspicion
that romance flourished at sea. There
had been several shipboard romances in addition to
Marla and myself. Which made a lot of sense. Our guest list consisted of
40
people who were married or in a committed relationship.
The other 60 were unattached singles determined to pursue
love and passion 24 hours a day for an entire week.
Although Slow Dance and Romance worked undeniable magic on
land, it was a gradual process. Things like work,
kids, paying bills plus long hours stuck on freeways slowed
things down. Slow Dance and Romance at sea eliminated
all those distractions. With everyone
afflicted by Moonlight Madness, the
singles crowd took their pursuit of Romance to a whole new
level. In addition to dancing every chance they got, frisky hands met
little resistance in hot tubs infested with mating
pheromones.
Marla and I
referred to it as the Love Boat Effect.
All the legends are true. Women lose their inhibitions at
sea and throw caution to the wind. Men fool around and
fall in love. It happened to Marla, it happened to me
and it happened to others as well. I would name
names, but to do so would violate unspoken Rules.
One of the precious features of an SSQQ Cruise is that love
can follow a couple to shore. An adventure that starts
at sea does not have to end at sea. It can pick up
right where it left off back at the dance studio. That
is how it worked for Marla and me. We connected during
the trip and walked off the ship hand in hand.
In addition to people who met during the cruise, there were
five couples on board the 2001 trip whose
love affair had started back at the studio. As a way to get
to knew each other better, they were delighted to see their
romance flourish at sea.
A seven day trip gives two people an
enormous amount of time to learn more about each other.
Marla and I were the perfect example.
Someone commented they had never seen two people fall so
deeply in love in such a short time. It was true.
In the space of 48 hours, we were functioning more or less
as newlyweds.
A
new couple can
dedicate their entire trip to learn everything there is to
know about the other person. I am referring
to more than cabin gymnastics. They can talk, they can dance,
they can swim, they can sight-see together on shore.
On a more subtle level, they can observe how compatible they
are, how their partner interacts with others, how he or she
treats the cruise staff, how they are with money, how they
behave in the hot tub with other hot bodies as temptation, are they
a potential womanizer, you name it. A person
can acquire a wealth of information on a cruise that would
take two or three months to learn onshore. By the time they step off the ship, a
new couple might feel like they have known each other
forever. Try using email or a dating service to equal
that. It isn't going to happen. People still need direct
contact! A cruise trip is the perfect way to enhance a
relationship.
"Well, Marla, I agree another trip is a good idea. Do
you have any suggestions how we can improve on last year's
trip?"
"Yes. It
would be nice to sail on a better ship. Let's switch to Royal Caribbean.
There is a ship called the Rhapsody that
strikes me as a definite upgrade over the ship we used in
2001."
At Marla's suggestion, I booked our 2002 trip on the
Rhapsody for late August.
Since word of mouth from the 2001
trip had been so overwhelmingly positive, there was an
immediate groundswell of interest from dance students eager
to repeat the success of our 2001 cruise.
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THE GYPSY
PROPHECY
Chapter
TWENTY ONE:
INVISIBLE
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