On the fifth day of our cruise, we docked at the tiny island of Bonaire. I barely saw Taylor that morning, just a quick hello and goodbye as my kids eagerly rushed me off the ship, wanting to spend a full day exploring the Caribbean island with just their dad.
As we explored the island, going from tourist stop to tourist stop, admiring the unique buildings, and visiting a few museums, I kept my eyes open for Taylor and her family, but figured they must be out having fun somewhere else.
That was, until I found a playground for my kids to run around at. Michelle, Adam, and their son Luke came walking up the street next to the playground, with Michelle and Taylor's dad right behind them. Their mom and Taylor were nowhere in sight, as I said hi to them when they walked into the playground area.
Luke immediately ran off to play with my kids, while Michelle and Adam walked to the other side of the playground and sat down on a beach, appearing to have a very intense conversation. I watched as Mark came walking over to me and asked, "Is it alright if I sit next to you?"
I scooted over and let him sit down as he took a deep breathe and looked over at his daughter and son-in-law. "They're having a bit of a disagreement so I figured I would give them some space. Taylor and her mom wanted to visit another museum, but I wanted to be outside and enjoy the fresh air," he commented.
"That's not good, about the disagreement and I can't blame you about wanting to be out here. I was shocked when Taylor told me about all the museums she wanted to see here," I said.
"Yep," Mark said as he crossed his legs and put his hands on his knees. We sat there in silence for a few minutes, watching the kids run around and play together until Mark said, "Christopher, I have a serious question for you." I asked what it was and he asked, "What are your intentions with my daughter?"
I thought about it for a few minutes before I answered by saying, "Taylor is an amazing woman. I'm just happy to be friends with her and to do what I can to help her out as she tries to figure out life," feeling like a teenager, explaining to his crushes dad how he felt.
"So, would you say you more feel like she is a little sister to you?" He asked.
Without hesitating and hoping he didn't get mad, I said, "No, that is not how I feel about her."
Mark uncrossed his legs, holding his hands together in between them and said, "I didn't think so."
"You didn't? So, why ask?" I started to remember that I wasn't a teenager or young adult, I was in my mid-thirties, and that I was free to make my own decisions and like who I wanted to.
"Just to confirm my suspicions. Look, I know how she feels about you, I've seen how you look at her, and I'm not dumb, I know that she's gone to your cabin most nights we've been on the ship, some times when it's just you two," he said.
I sat there in silence for a moment before he continued, "Christopher, you really are a great guy. A good parent, you know the Gospel, and you've had a serious misfortune in your life, that nobody should never have to experience and you have mostly gotten through it OK. I wasn't joking the other day when I said it would be an honor to have you in our family. However this little thing plays out between you and Taylor, I just hope that you can honor her, respect her, and, when that day comes for you two to make a decision, that you can both pray about it and make the correct one, OK?"
"Ok," I said. "Thank you for that."
Mark patted my knee with his hand before he got up and walked over to where his grandson was. I watched as he played with him for a little bit. Michelle and Adam seemed to end whatever disagreement they were having as they also stood up and went to play and I joined them soon after. We had already made plans to meet up with everybody for dinner that night, so when the time came, we left the playground and walked over to the restaurant, located pretty close to our cruise ship.
As we walked back to our cruise ship after dinner, Taylor and I hung back from everybody and I quickly told Taylor what her dad had said. She laughed and said, "He's so cute. It's funny that he made you feel like a teenager. Maybe tomorrow we'll hold hands in front of him and see what he says then."
The next day was the final port we would be making on the cruise before heading home, landing on the island of Curaçao in the middle of the night. As we got off the ship, the entire family, my kids and I included, were in our swimsuits, excited to spend most of the day at the all inclusive beach resort and Aquapark located on the island. Unfortunately, Taylor was back in her one-piece suit, but I still told that she looked beautiful as we walked to the resort.
After swimming around in the pools for a bit, Taylor and I wanted to start going down some of the water slides that they had, so we asked her parents to watch my kids, which they gladly did. As we slipped into the crowd of people, our hands locked together and we walked to the slides, stealing side-eye glances at each other and laughing. After going down the slides, we shared a few kisses, both of us with a longing in our eyes, before going back to the rest of the family and eating lunch with them.
Late that night, after getting back to the cruise ship, eating dinner, and getting my kids to bed, I heard a knocking at my cabin door. Just like the first night on the cruise, Taylor was waiting on the other side. She had her brown hair pulled up into a bun on top of her head and was wearing a cute pink and white pajama set, with a shirt that buttoned in the front, and shorts that went to about her knees. I invited her inside and asked, "So, what's up?"
"I just missed you. Can I lay down with you for a little bit?" She asked me, looking at me with her beautiful eyes.
I smiled at her and said, "Of course," and grabbed onto her hand, leading her pass my sleeping kids and to my bed. With the way my cabin was set up, there was a little wall that separated the two sleeping areas, giving us a little bit of privacy as we laid down on the bed with Taylor cuddling up next to me as I lay on my back and wrapped my arm around her shoulders.
"This is nice," she said.
"Yes, it is," I agreed.
"Can I tell you a secret?" She asked and I told her that she could and I wouldn't tell anybody. "I'm pretty sure I caught Michelle giving Adam a blowjob this morning."
"Really?" I asked.
"Yes. I woke up when I heard a noise. I looked towards it, which was towards their bed. I could see Adam laying flat, didn't see Michelle, but could see the blanket moving up and down by his groin," she said.
"Did you keep watching?" I asked her, wondering what else she could have done.
"For a minute. It actually didn't take long before he finished and I had to pretend to be asleep when she came out from under the blanket," she told me.
"Wow, I can't believe they would do that with you in the room," I said, while I wondered what a blowjob from Michelle would feel like.
"I know!" Taylor exclaimed before resting her head down on my shoulder and closing her eyes. A few minutes passed by and I could feel myself starting to drift off to sleep, as I could feel Taylor's chest moving up and down with her calm breathing next to me.
When I started to wake up some time later, I rolled over in my bed, instantly feeling something next to me. Thinking it was one of my daughters, I went to put my arm around them, realized the body was bigger, and opened my eyes to see Taylor sleeping next to me. At my touch, Taylor jumped and rolled over, opening her eyes to figure out who scared her.
