The Anniversary (Part 2)

The pool was relaxing. Cristiana had decided to stay away from the water slides and instead swam for a little bit. Unfortunately, the weather was the exact opposite of what it had been yesterday, and the sun beat down on her until even the pool was too hot.

"Where are you going?" Liam asked as he swam next to her.

"I'm getting a drink. It is horribly hot," she said, climbing the steps out of the pool.

There was an outdoor bar, which Cristiana sat down at. "Daiquiri please," she said to the bartender.

Something bright flashed in her eyes. A glare from the sun bounced directly off a mirror hanging above the assorted liquors. Cristiana squinted, looking at herself in the mirror. She looked tired, she realized. Maybe a nap later on would do her some good.

A figure approached behind her in the mirror, wearing an all-black costume. Their face was concealed beneath a dark hood. A costume party on board? That didn't make much sense. The figure stopped, just behind her, reaching out a hand.

She spun around and found Liam standing just behind her, placing a hand on her shoulder. She jumped at his touch.

"Cris, are you alright?" Liam asked, giving her shoulder a squeeze. He looked down at her with a concerned expression.

"Fine, fine." She said as the bartender served her drink. "Just overheated."

"We can go inside and cool down."

"Yeah, that sounds good," Cristiana said, glancing around. There was no figure in a costume in sight. Had she imagined it?

Following Liam, they moved indoors.

"What do you say we go get lunch?" Liam said.

"Sure," Cristiana said. Her stomach was rumbling.

When they arrived in the dining room, it was completely quiet. Only one or two tables were occupied, so there weren't many waiters around.

As usual, Gerard and Milly served them.

"I'll take this glass of wine," Cristiana said, pointing at the menu.

Milly hesitated. "Of course. And for you sir?"

"I'll have the same," Liam said.

She nodded. "Perfect."

An old couple started laughing behind them as they looked through the menu, completely interrupting the serene tone of the room. Cristiana glared over her shoulder.

The old man began to laugh even harder, banging on the table.

"What's so funny?" Cristiana asked Liam quietly.

He could only shrug.

Cristiana looked back over her shoulder just in time to see the man tumble from his chair, still laughing.

Milly, who was carrying two glasses of wine, tripped as she watched the event unfold. There was a brief clatter and then a crunch as she landed on top of the glasses.

Cristiana rushed to help the girl, and Gerard was there momentarily as well.

"I'm fine," Milly said, a shade of red forming over her cheekbones. She stood and brushed the glass from her clothes.

"Go clean up," Gerard said. "I'll take care of their drinks."

Milly looked at him gratefully and rushed toward the bathrooms.

Gerard went over to the old man, who was still laying on the ground giggling. "Sir? You are disturbing our other guests. Could you please calm down?"

"Haha! I'm sorry! It's…it's so funny! Hahaha!" The man chortled.

Another waiter knelt down next to the man, asking him to stand back up.

"How much did he have to drink?" Gerard asked the other waiter.

"A lot," the waiter said, hauling the man to his feet. "Sir, we're going to ask you to leave."

"Could I get a glass of beer to go?" He asked, wiping a tear from his face. His wife burst out laughing and the couple stumbled out of the room.

Cristiana sat back down at the table as Gerard began cleaning up the shattered glass.

"That was weird," Liam said.

Cristiana couldn't help but agree. She also felt bad for Milly. Hopefully her day wouldn't be ruined by this little accident.

They quickly ate lunch, sipping their wine carefully. Cristiana had to make sure she wouldn't get as drunk as the couple who had been kicked out. The last thing she wanted to do was make a scene.

For the next hour or so, Cristiana and Liam played trivia at a pub on the sixth floor. The first subject was movies and the second was books. It proved to be much harder than they'd thought.

"That was fun," Cristiana said on their way out.

"We did horribly," Liam laughed. "But yes, it was fun."

"I think we should go back to the room for a little bit. It's almost five o'clock. We need to get dressed up."

That was exactly what they did. Tonight, they would wear their fancy clothes. Liam and Cristiana had agreed to bring one pair each for their anniversary dinner. Her knee-length, blue silk dress was what she'd decided on bringing.

Liam stepped out of the bathroom wearing a button-up shirt, a striped jacket, and dress pants. He looked her over once and smiled. "Wow. Absolutely stunning. I should've brought a tuxedo."

Cristiana stepped forward and fixed his collar. "No, you look great. Come on, we're gonna be late."