Bite Sized Chills

Round 2.1 : Calypso's Prison

Closing her eyes, Marylin Beaumont breathed in the fresh sea air as she grasped the railing of the luxurious ship "Poseidon's Bride". Her husband, James, had sponsored her trip across the Mediterranean through the Ligurian sea. He was well aware of her equal love for adventure and had thus sponsored a trip to bring her to his new work base in Tunisia all the way from their cozy home in Paris.

The winter of the previous year,, 1971, had been a hard one for her. She had received the news of her mother's demise in England and , having been pregnant at the time, Marilyn had been unable to make the long journey to her birth home. The pain and loss had unfortunately resulted in her losing the baby.

It had been a hard time for her but James had been very supportive. When the time came for him to move to his new base he had made arrangements for her to join him. So here she was, ready to turn over a new leaf.

She turned away from the railing and walked away from the deck and made her way to the inner lounge to the private bar than she somehow had access to because James had pulled a few strings and gotten her a VIP ticket. The ship had set sail at sunset and as they sailed past the Ligurian, she couldn't help but feel a sense of forbidding.

Settling onto the comfortable bar stools, she accepted a glass of the rare Chardonnay from the bartender. The crisp acid flavor was something she quite enjoyed, being a wine person, hence the chance to taste the golden nectar of this rare grape made her giddy.

Marylin had no doubt the chardonnay grapes would become quite popular within the decade. If those rich pompous arses that determined those kinds of things could get over their love for whiskeys and those god awful brands of wines they love.

What was so unique and wonderful about Penfolds Grange? Maybe Italy's Piedmont was a little remarkable. France too had some outstanding wines, she wouldn't have been quite knowledgeable if her country of sovereign didn't produce atleast one such brand. The chardonnay grapes were quite promising indeed. She could see some world class wines being made from it.

Shaking her head, she decided she would not indulge the critic in her for far longer than she should. After all, she was here to enjoy the voyage.

Dinner was, in all its fanciness, quite cold. Marylin figured it was attributed to the fact that of all the passengers - of all the women - aboard Poseidon's Bride, she was the only one travelling alone.

As she savored the creamy flavor of mushroom soup, she imagined her husband sitting there with her. Oh how she missed him. This trip was finally giving her the chance to be with him for an extended time and it couldn't have come at a better time than when she was still nursing her grief.

As she continued reminiscing of her days with James, she felt the presence of someone as they took the seat right next to hers. The man had shaggy blond her and by his mere body language, Marylin could already tell that he had come to try his luck.

"Hello there, I hope you don't mind if I join you by this little spot?" He asked nicely.

He was trying to use his gentleman wits. The thought made her want to laugh but she merely bit down on her lip to keep herself from doing so.

"It's a public area. I don't get to mind anything." She told him, looking straight ahead as she took a sip of her wine.

"I'm Leo, by the way." He said as he held out his hand for a handshake.

She regarded his hand before blatantly ignoring it and returning her attention to her mushroom soon and the medium rare fillet that was her main course .

"Why, good sir, downright bold of you to assume we're acquaintances." She said with a smirk as she helped herself to a piece of steak.

"Ha! I was hoping to make yours anyways. The name's Leo Covinsky. pleasure to meet you, Miss." He replied with a nervous laugh. "So tell me, why is a capable woman such as yourself lacking in companionship? I doubt it's because you lack in charm. I can tell you're quite charming."