does okay on the water. Some dogs don’t. Some cats don’t, either.”
“I’ll do that, assuming I can find someone with a boat willing to take me out. It won’t be a cruise liner, though. Aren’t they different from one of the smaller boats?”
“Somewhat, yes. If they can’t handle a small boat, I’d be worried about them on a cruise liner.”
Where would I find time to take my pets on a mini cruise to see if they liked the ocean? I added it to my list of things to do. “All right. I’ll see about that as soon as I have some time. What is the timetable for this?”
“Honestly, once I tell my cousin about the cruise liner and a week on the water, it will be as soon as you can get one booked. She doesn’t even need a destination port. She loves everything about the ocean. Her groom likes the water, too, though not as much as she does.”
“And you?”
“I very much like the idea of having a week to work on the target of my affection, even if I don’t get to ask her during the actual wedding ceremonies. That’ll let my cousin shine at her wedding too, despite her willingness to have me encroach on her turf.”
“You told me it was basically a family tradition to double up on these things.”
“She’s willing to accept a proposal instead of me trying to toss a woman into a wedding gown on a whim. Members of my family and the family friends are used to that sort of thing, but it might be a harder sell this go around.”
Interesting. “So, you’re willing to double up but you don’t think the woman you like will be willing to double up?”
“I wouldn’t say that, I just don’t want to spring it on her without giving her a chance to think about it. I’m not the kind to force someone to give me a yes or no with an audience, so I figure I’ll be sly about it. She can decide without an entire cruise liner watching and waiting for her answer. If she wants to double up, I’m sure my cousin would be happy to toss her into something and drag her along for the ride. And if she is interested in that sort of thing, I get a chance to stick it to my parents and the other intermediate members of my family who have ideas about who I should be marrying.”
Ah. Poor Rick. “They want you to do one of those alliance marriages, don’t they?”
“Precisely. I’m trying to teach Annabel Lee to tell my mother no, but my mother has charmed my dog too much for it to work. Her inability to speak English also hampers with my attempts to have her tell my mother no.”
I laughed. “That would be some trick, though.”
“I tried telling Annabel Lee that, but she doesn’t listen, and she insists on adoring my mother even when she’s being a pain in my ass.”
“Just tell your mother you’re happily dating someone, pass on her kind offer to be set up with a woman, and go about minding your own business. You’ll have to be sneaky with when you see your lady until the cruise, but that’s a small price to pay for some peace, right?”
“I’m not sure my lady will like being treated like she should be hidden from sight, though.”
“Have you asked her?”
“Not precisely. I’m trying to figure out how to convince her I shouldn’t just stay in the friends category.”
Ouch. Poor Rick. Poor me, too. Damn, we were good at making messes for ourselves. “So, it’s less of a proposal for marriage and more begging for a chance to be her boyfriend?”
“That is sadly accurate. I figured if I proposed, she’d know I’m serious about a relationship.”
“I’m probably the exact wrong person to talk to about relationships, because I totally made certain my brother got married to a bridezilla, and I’m still not convinced she has his interests at heart, but he really wanted to marry her, so I went with it. I’m thinking this might make me a bad person.”
“I’m thinking it makes you a smart person, really. I did have a question about that, if you don’t mind.”
“I don’t mind. What’s up?”
“Did you vet the services she wanted to use?”
“Amy picked, and Amy would not tolerate other suggestions. I went behind her back on the arrangements that were actually used. Why?”
“I found something interesting when I was going through the invoices.”