August 20, Juneau

At the end of their lunch, Helen handed Laura an envelope. Walking away from the elevator, Laura opened it and read the card inside.

Laura, take some time for yourself

-Brian

Behind the note, she found a handwritten certificate for the Lotus Eaters spa, for a sizable amount of money.

I have a clear afternoon, so what the hell? Thought Laura, walking to the spa. A man stood behind the counter in a gray uniform that looked a little bit like scrubs. "Welcome. Do you have a reservation for our spa today?"

Laura hesitated. "No. Do you have anything available?"

He smiled. "Let me check. Just a second." He waved her over to a computer about two feet further down the sleek white countertop. He typed briefly and his eyes scanned intently. Laura saw the screen scrolling by in the reflection on his glasses. "Well, what type of services were you looking for today?"

"Well, I had a gift card. I was thinking of a massage."

He sucked in air through his teeth, and scanned again. "Well, it looks like all of our masseuses are booked for the afternoon." He scanned again. "But, it looks like one of our estheticians has an opening in about 30 minutes. She had a cancellation, so she could fit you in for a body scrub."

"Oh."

"It's very lovely. Here, I have a pamphlet."

Laura opened the pamphlet's thick, hand pressed paper and scanned it quickly. Bergamot and honey, lavender vanilla, or tea tree and spearmint? The employee seemed to read her mind. "If you were looking for a relaxing spa experience, I would recommend the bergamot and honey. It's my favorite of our fragrances, and it's not as... invigorating as the tea tree."

"Outstanding." Laura said. She handed him her gift certificate. "Would that be enough?"

"With a sufficient tip, yes."

Laura tried not to roll her eyes. Moments later, a woman emerged wearing the same gray wrap uniform. She motioned Laura to follow. "Please, come with me. You can disrobe and then enjoy our relaxation room while you wait."

Laura followed her to a locker room, where she changed into a flax-colored waffle knit bathrobe and soft slippers. Then they came to a warm, dimly lit room lined with cedar paneling and built in benches. Laura sat on a linen cushion and heard faint flute music. The spa employee offered her botanically infused water or herbal tea.

She returned a minute later with dark ruby-colored herbal tea in a hand-thrown pottery mug with no handle. Laura took a sip, leaned her head against the cedar, and closed her eyes.

After a short wait, a tall, athletic woman in the same gray wrap uniform with chestnut hair in a ponytail appeared. She smiled and handed Laura a clipboard. "Hello, I'm Claire. I have forms for you," she said in a northern British accent.

Laura took the clipboard and pen and flipped through the forms. They asked about allergies, preferences, and the last form about her medical history. She raised an eyebrow.

"I know. It's a lot. But we have all kinds of services here. Some are almost medical. On Fridays, we have champagne and botox parties."

"Really?"

She took the clipboard back. "Oh, yeah. It books up like that," she snapped her fingers. "Anyway, are you ready Laura? Anything I can get for you before we start?"

"Ready. That tea was enough, it's fantastic."

"Oh I know!" She touched Laura on the arm. "It's my favorite. If you ask at the spa desk, they'll sell you a box of it." She winked. They walked into a hallway lined with small rooms. "We're in this room here. If you get disrobed and lie face down, I'll be back in a moment."

Laura took off her robe and slippers, then nestled herself into the warm, soft sheets on the massage table. Claire knocked gently and slid the door open with a soft swish. She folded back the sheets covering Laura's shoulder and one side of her torso, then started to spread the scrub between her hands.

She started to scrub with firm, strong hands. Laura nearly jumped. The abrasion was no shock, but the overall sensation rode the edge between pleasure and pain. She pressed into Laura's back with vigor. Quick, deliberate scrubs starting at the shoulders. She moved lower, scouring Laura's back. She moved to the other side of the table and adjusted the sheet again, then folded it to expose Laura's legs.

The sensation of the deep scrub on Laura's legs felt exquisite. After a few minutes, Claire folded the sheet back over her legs and stopped. "I'll step out for a moment while you flip over."

Laura awkwardly navigated how to flip herself while covered in scrub. A moment later, another knock and a soft swish. Claire started the process on the front of Laura's body. Laura caught a whiff of the bergamot and felt like she had fallen headfirst into a pot of perfectly brewed Earl Grey.

The scrub done, Claire led her to the locker room. She started a steaming hot shower. "Just a quick rinse will do. When you're done, I'll be outside."

Laura took off her robe and stepped into the shower. The salt and sugar crystals melted away, leaving smooth skin underneath. The shower stall flooded with the smell of bergamot. She met Claire in the hallway again, and they walked back to the massage table.

"This is my first time getting a scrub like this," said Laura.

"Aw, that's lovely. I'm so glad. How do you like it?"

"It's kind of a lot, isn't it?"

Claire laughed. "Oh my God, it is. But seriously, you'll have newborn baby skin after this. I'm not even joking."

"I hope so. My skin has been through a lot. It would take some serious abrasives to undo everything." She shrugged off one shoulder of her robe. "See this?" Laura pointed to a long, thin burn scar that streaked down from her collarbone.

Claire leaned forward to see in the dim, flickering light. "I did see that. What happened?"

"I was training with submachine guns at a firing range in Virginia."

Claire held her hand over her chest. "Oh my god. You're a badass. I love it." She put her hand on Laura's shoulder. "But honestly, you have to be careful with yourself! Look, I've done a lot of caring for skin and nails and everything. I can tell you, you only get one set of skin."

Laura nodded. "I was being careful. The guy five feet to my left wasn't. Those things eject hot brass about fifteen feet."

Claire's eyes widened with fascination. "Well, can I ask you about the other scar? If you're sharing? I'm starting to get the feeling you have a lot of stories."

Laura smiled conspiratorially. "Plenty of stories." She untied her robe, and exposed her side, just above her hip. In the flicker, they could see the long ragged scar, dotted on either side by scars from stitches. "Arrest gone wrong, in Miami."

"An arrest? Are you a police officer?"

"I was. In the FBI, for about ten years."

"No way! How can you be so gorgeous and so scary?"

Laura smiled.

"No, I'm serious. You're my favorite person today. Hands down." She paused. "But don't they make you wear those things?" She gestured around her torso. "The black vests with the velcro that stop bullets and everything?"

"They stop at your navel." She held her hand just above the scar. "So you can still run with them on. I got lucky, honestly. Any deeper and my small intestine would have been hanging in the breeze."

Claire's face went green. "Good lord. That's enough for me."

Laura shrugged. "I spent a lot of time hunting, then working in kitchens, then in morgues. After a while, all of the parts just start to look like meat."

Claire held her hand in front of her mouth. "Look, love. You're still my favorite. But we need to get some lotion on you and stop talking, before I lose my lunch."

Laura laughed. Claire left the room while she nestled herself back under a new set of warm, clean sheets. The door slid open again, and Claire gently rubbed Laura's shoulders with bergamot scented lotion.

A few minutes later, Laura dressed again and walked back to her room feeling relaxed. The ship buzzed with mid afternoon activity. Laura stopped at the coffee stand in the Wayfairer's lounge and heard some of her favorite sounds: the whir of a coffee grinder and the bubbling scream of a steam wand. She ordered a cortado that arrived a minute later in a low, heavy glass.

She carried it to a two-top table by the floor to ceiling windows. Rocky coastline glid by in the distance, covered in massive evergreen trees and laced with fog. She sipped her nutty, bracingly bitter cortado and felt her heart rate speed up as the espresso spread warmth through her body.

After the walk to her room, she settled back in with her laptop open. Her room slipped away as she focused on untangling the huge security contract in front of her.

A knock at the door made the room reappear. Laura opened the door to an uncharacteristically sheepish Francis. "Hello, Laura. I have an unusual question, and feel free to say no."

"I'm intrigued."

He looked at the floor. "I suppose I shouldn't be asking. This is just a personal favor. I don't know... I just felt like you were a person I could talk to."

Laura nodded.

"I'm actually a huge whale watching fan. There's supposed to be a large pod of Orcas off your side of the ship, later this evening. Would it be OK if I joined you on your balcony to see them? I wouldn't normally ask, but they have a baby with them. It's a rare sighting. The decks upstairs get mobbed with people when there are Orcas. By the time I'm off work, you can't see a thing."

"Can you bring anything in trade? We could call it a payment for balcony rental, so it's legit."

He relaxed visibly, then paused in thought. "Oh! I had an old French couple that checked out yesterday. They left me a fancy bottle of wine as a tip."

He pulled out his phone, and swiped through his photos. He held it out to Laura. She pinched to zoom in on the label. "Oh. A 2021 La Ferme du Mont Vendange Blanc."

His eyebrows wrinkled. "Is that good or bad?"

"It's a $200 bottle. So yes, you're invited. Can you swipe anything from the kitchen? How is your access to cheese?"

"No one has ever asked me about 'cheese access' before." He smiled. "But sure, I can probably find something good."

"Good. That bottle of wine, a nice runny Camembert or a Brie, bonus points for some sliced peaches. Bring the wine cold and we're even."

"Ok, deal."