April 10, 1912 6:14 pm

        “Everything was fine until he hired her to work at the house. Then everything went downhill for George and me.”

        Hannah was listening as Lisa was telling her why her husband ran off with their maid, just a few short months ago. Hannah had to admit that she felt sorry for Lisa, and especially for Johnny. He would grow up without a father. Someday down the road he would ask about his father. And Lisa would have to tell her son the truth. That his father walked out on them because he preferred their maid over his own son. Hannah couldn’t imagine how Lisa dealt with this day after day.

        “He barely spent any time with me anymore. And when he started neglecting Johnny, then I knew something was really wrong. Johnny needed his father, especially at that age. So,” Lisa continued, her face changing into a frown as she talked about the end of her marriage, “I talked to George one night while Johnny was staying at a friend of ours. She offered to take him for the night because I had told her about the situation. She was the only person I could tell because I didn’t have any close friends, and I had no other family.”

        “You asked George what was going on? What did he say?” Hannah asked.

        They were walking along the boat deck, Lisa holding Johnny in her arms. Johnny was still wrapped up in his blanket, because it was pretty chilly outside, and the moon still wasn’t out. But the stars were shining brightly, giving the water a shine to it’s normal bland color.

        Hannah was still wearing what she was wearing that afternoon, but now she had a shawl to keep her warm.

        Lisa hadn’t told many people this, and she had tried not to think about what happened that night when she talked to George. She had to blink back tears to keep from crying. It was still such a painful subject.

        “I went into the den and found George working. I assumed that he had just been so busy with work. I never dreamed he was having an affair. I made my presence known to George. I didn’t wait; I asked him right away what was going on. I asked him why he was being so neglectful towards me and Johnny.”

        Hannah couldn’t imagine what George could have said. She didn’t know him, but from all the stories from Lisa, he was a very business oriented person, who had an eye for the market. And apparently a wandering eye.

        This was the hard part for Lisa. “He told me that he was sorry, but he couldn’t do it anymore. When I asked him what he couldn’t do anymore, he sighed then for the first time in months, I saw this sadness in his eyes. He admitted to me that there was another woman. He claimed that he just wasn’t a family man. He said he was leaving at the end of the week. He told me he wanted a quick divorce so he could marry this other woman.”

        “I bet you had a few words to say to him,” Hannah said.

        Lisa held Johnny tighter in her arms. It was getting colder by the minute, and Johnny’s hand kept clutching hers harder by the second. “I didn’t know what to say,” Lisa said, honestly. “Then he told me that he was in love with the maid. I couldn’t believe it. For the first time, I cursed at somebody. I used so many bad words. I mean me, the girl who was brought up to never use vulgar language, was swearing at her husband.”

        “I don’t know what I’d do if I found out the man I love had cheated on me,” Hannah said. “I don’t know how you managed not to smack him right there.”

        “I hit him once,” Lisa admitted. She had been stunned herself when she’d done it. She’d hit him the day George was preparing to leave. He had been upstairs packing his things, when she came in after putting Johnny down for a nap. She had just walked in, slapped him on the face, then walked out of the room before he could see her cry.

        “So then he left and you haven’t seen him since?”

        Lisa nodded. “Our divorce was quick and painless. George hasn’t even called to ask how his son is doing.” To Lisa it wasn’t comprehendible how a father could do that to his son. Especially to Johnny, she thought. Johnny was her pride and joy.

        Hannah stopped at the railing and leaned back against it. “It amazes me how you dealt with it. Not only did you lose your husband, but you lost your home and your stability.”

        At the time, Lisa hadn’t been sure she was going to survive. But she had gotten through it. She was a fighter, and she fought to keep herself and Johnny alive and healthy.

        “I try not to feel sorry for myself,” she said. “I’m one of the luckiest people in the world. I have a son that I love. I may not have a lot of money, but I have a gift I tend to put to good use.”

        “A new job?” Hannah asked.

        “I’m not sure yet,” Lisa said. “But I hear in New York there are a lot of homes looking for a nanny.”

        “I can see that you have a gift with children.” Hannah smiled. “I’m sure you won’t have a problem.”

        Hannah turned back to look out at the water. She sighed deeply. “I wish I knew what I was good at. I’ve been by myself for so long that I’m not sure how to act around other people.”

        “Don’t worry. Soon you’ll see that you can offer the world something spec…” Lisa held Johnny tighter as he started to cry. “I should take him back inside.”

        “Go on ahead. I’ll be down later. I think I just want to enjoy the fresh air a bit longer,” Hannah said.

        “Try not to freeze,” Lisa said, then with Johnny wrapped tighter in the blanket, she walked back inside and headed back down to G deck.

        Hannah started to walk again. She never felt sorry for herself, but since meeting Lisa and Johnny, she was starting to. She wanted somebody to take care of her. She wanted something to keep her grounded.

        Hannah didn’t realize she wasn’t paying any attention to where she was walking until she ran into a hard body.

        Oh oh.

****
        “Watch where you’re walking!” Lance cursed, then rubbed his stomach where he’d been run into.

        He hadn’t been paying attention, either to where he was walking. He had ditched Joey in the smoking room. He had walked in there, smelled the smoke and the liquor, and had immediately walked out.

        Justin and JC had taken a wander down to D deck, while Chris had gone off to the Café, to try more of what he called, “Parisian’s delights.” Joey, Lance figured, was still in the smoking room conversing with the many rich passengers, as he had been doing before Lance had left.

        Joey had been ignoring him. Not like Joey would notice he was gone anyway.

        But now this? Great night this was turning out to be.

        Lance finally looked up, prepared to take his anger out on whoever had decided to use him as a punching bag. But when he saw her eyes, he knew exactly who it was, and regretted even thinking yelling at her.

        “Hannah,” he said.

        “I’m sorry,” Hannah said. She looked up and saw the man she had talked to earlier on the poop deck. Correction : the man who had felt sorry for her earlier. Great, just what she needed.

        Lance smiled. “It’s okay. It didn’t hurt that much.”

        She liked how he made it out to be such a dramatic scene by grabbing his stomach and groaning. She tried to remember his name, but it wouldn’t come to her.

        “I hope you don’t take this as an insult but…”

        He looked offended. “So now you’re going to insult me? It’s not bad enough you just ran into me.”

        She smiled on purpose. “I forgot your name.”

        “Gotta say this is the first time I’ve heard a girl say that to me.”

        “You’re such a conceited…Lance!” she said, finally remembering his name.

        He grinned. “I’m a conceited what?”

        She face turned a shade of red. “Nothing.”

        “Oh, come on. You can tell me. I’m a conceited what?”

        She groaned. He was not going to make this easy. She finally gave in and told him.

        “You’re a conceited brat.”

        “You did just not call me a brat!” He looked offended, but that was only for a show. He actually found it amusing. “Brat” was never a word anybody ever used to describe him.

        So he found this funny? she thought. She was not going to fall for this unmistakable charm that he had. So what if he was a good looking and had the most beautiful green eyes. Hannah reminded herself of all the jerks she’d met on the streets.

        But he’s not from the streets.

        She tore herself away from her thoughts when he said, “do moonless nights make you jumpy?”

        She was taken aback by his question, and she frowned. “No. Why, are you saying I’m acting jumpy?”

        “You zoned out, so I was just wondering.”

        She turned her back to him. “I did not zone out. I was just thinking.”

        “It’s pretty cold out here. What are you doing out here anyway? You could catch a chill.”

        Hannah whipped back around and pointed her finger against his chest, which was covered by a black vest. “Why are you so concerned about me?” she asked.

        He shrugged his shoulders. Lance didn’t really know why, but he was concerned about her.

        “I don’t know. I just am. Is that a problem?”

        She thought about that for a minute. “I guess not. But I’m just going to tell you I don’t need a protector. I do fine on my own.”

        “I don’t doubt that,” Lance said. “How about a cup of coffee? The lounge is still open. I’m sure both of us could use something hot to drink, considering we’ve been standing here the last five minutes in the freezing cold.”

        “The lounge is in first class,” she reminded him.

        “Yeah, so?”

        “So, I’m in third class.”

        He rolled his eyes. “No, really?”

        “Stop it.” She punched  his arm lightly. “Do you always joke around?”

        “Well when you ask a stupid question…”

        “You get a stupid answer.” She looked down at her watch. It was almost 7:30. If he was offering to buy her a cup of coffee, what was so wrong with that? She was cold and thirsty. That, she told herself, was the only reason she was thinking about taking him up on the offer.

        He saw her contemplating whether to come with him or not, and he smiled. At least he was getting somewhere with her. Hannah, he realized, was very stubborn.

        “Well?” he prompted.

        She put her hands on her hips and looked him over. “I don’t know. I mean I barely know you…”

        “You make it sound like a date.”

        “It’s not a date,” she said a little too quickly. “I just don’t know. What if you try and kidnap me or something?”

        She didn’t actually think he would, she was just trying to make a point. A point that didn’t seem to be getting across.

        “I wouldn’t kidnap you. Now come on. It’s just one cup of coffee.”

        “Just a cup of coffee? That’s it? After that, you’ll let me go?”

        Lance laughed. He couldn’t help it. She was making it sound like he was a stalker or something. He did NOT fit the description of a stalker of any sorts.

        “I’ll take you back down to your room after. I promise,” he said.

        “I can walk there myself.”

        Damn, she was difficult. But he was starting to like that about her. She was so different from all the other girls he’d ever met.

        “Okay,” she agreed. “One cup of coffee, then you can walk me to my room. But only because I want to see if you really are a gentlemen.”

---