First Class Voyage (First Class Novels – A Contemporary Romance Series) (2 page)

The doctor had warned her of the possibility of a difficult
pregnancy at her age, and he hadn’t been wrong. Morning sickness, the threat of
gestational diabetes, and then the diagnosis of preeclampsia had scared her and
Matt. Mark and Katy, Matt’s younger brother and his fiancée, had become their
saviors, keeping Ella during the really bad days, and Maureen, Matt’s mother,
had all but moved in to their apartment the final couple of weeks so that Janie
could stay in bed and rest, giving their unborn child as much time as possible
to develop his lungs before entering the world.

Janie’s OB had helped deliver a healthy baby boy, much to
the relief of his parents, but the doctor had said it should definitely be
Janie’s last and Matt had adamantly agreed. There was no way in hell he would
risk the love of his life’s own life again. They had the twin boys and now Ella
and Christopher completed their family. 

And as much as Maureen loved her step grandsons, Adam and
Tyler, when Ella Rose had been born, she was over the moon. When Ella had
stopped breastfeeding, around five months old, Maureen had arranged with Janie
that once a week she would take Ella for an afternoon; just grandmother and
granddaughter time.  Matt insisted that if they left the apartment that Ray,
his long-time driver and most-trusted employee, take them to their destination
and wait for them to bring them home again. He would not take any risks where his
wife and daughter’s safety were concerned.

Katy had asked Janie on several occasions how she dealt with
Maureen so well and Janie always had the same answer: “Everything she does
stems from love; genuine, deep, unconditional love for Matt, for me, and for
Ella. How can I not love her for that? How can I deny her the thing she loves
most? Her family.”

“You’re a saint,” was always Katy’s reply. “She’s just a bit
too…too overwhelming for me.”

Janie had smiled and understood Katy’s feelings, but she
also understood Maureen. Their relationship was unusual for a mother-in-law and
daughter-in-law. She considered herself very lucky.

*****

The hospital room door swung open and Maureen bustled in
with a balloon bouquet in one hand and a giant stuffed panda bear in the other.
She dropped both when she saw the blue beanie peeking out of Janie’s arms.

“A boy!” she exclaimed.

Matt and Janie had asked that the doctor keep the sex of the
baby a surprise. They had said that as long as the baby was healthy, they
didn’t need to know.

“A boy,” Maureen said again as she reached for her son and
pulled him into her arms. “You have a baby boy!”

Matt chuckled. “Yes, I do. A beautiful, healthy baby boy.”

Maureen released her son and sat on the edge of the bed and
took Janie’s hand in hers.

“How are you Janie? Everything go smoothly? Are you tired?”

Janie smiled at Maureen and handed her the tiny bundle in
her arms. Maureen squealed as she pulled him to her bosom and kissed his tiny
cheeks.

“I am tired,” Janie sighed, “But feeling very happy right
now. Meet your grandson, Christopher Matthew Lathem.”

“Lovely name,” Maureen smiled.

Peter came and stood next to his wife and looked at his
grandson.

“Well done, Janie,” he grinned at his daughter-in-law. “You
make handsome babies.”

“What about me?” Matt asked. “I helped!”

Peter laughed. “Your job took thirty seconds. Your wife did
all the work.”

Matt pretended to be wounded, but grinned as he leaned down
to kiss his wife. “You do make beautiful babies,” he whispered.

*****

A couple of hours later, Janie having taken a short nap and
Matt taking a photo of his new son every two minutes, Katy peaked her head into
the hospital room.

“Ready for a special visitor?” she grinned.

Matt leapt off the bed and hurried to greet Ella Rose just
outside the door, firmly in Mark’s arms.

“Daddy!” she squealed as Matt took his daughter from his
brother. He kissed her on both cheeks and she put her chubby little hands on
his face.

“I missed you Little L,” he smiled.

“L’Ella miss you. Where’s mommy?”

“Come see mommy.” Matt kissed Katy on the cheek and thanked
her and Mark for babysitting their niece for the past twenty-four hours.

“We loved it,” Katy smiled. “We’ll keep her tonight too if
you want.”

“Thanks, but I’ll take her tonight. Looks like Janie will be
here for another day or two so we can have some daddy-daughter time before her
world is turned upside down with her new competition.” Matt grinned and took
Ella to see her mommy and introduce her to her new brother.

*****

When Maureen had come up with the idea of a cruise for the
entire family, Matt had just announced that Janie was expecting. When Maureen
calculated the dates, she realized that either Matt and Janie wouldn’t be
coming with them, or she would be postponing the cruise. Of course, the decision
was easy; they would push back the cruise for two months, giving Janie a few
weeks to recover. Janie’s mother, Patty, would be flying in from Portland for a
few weeks after the baby was born, so Maureen had invited her to join them on
their two-week celebration. Patty was thrilled and graciously accepted the
offer.

“It’s going to be a circus,” Matt had whined.

“Yes, but probably a very entertaining one,” Janie had said.
“This will be a vacation to remember.”

Matt had pulled his wife to him and nuzzled her neck. “I
liked our last vacation,” he’d growled.  “Bending you over the desk…with that
view…of you and the Eiffel Tower? That was one to remember.”

Janie chuckled. “Yes, that
was
fun,” she agreed. “But
we’re going to do this for your mom.”

Matt had grudgingly agreed and Janie had helped Maureen with
the cruise bookings, making sure everyone had the cabin they wanted, and
ensuring Maureen and Peter had the VIP suite. The cruise line was very
accommodating and had made the reservation process simple and quite painless.
Matt had insisted on paying for everyone and made sure that Janie had reserved
them a suite too, with Patty next door so he could enjoy some time with his
wife…alone!

With a toddler and a newborn at home, the days went by
pretty quickly. In no time at all their trip was only a week away and Janie’s
‘to-do’ list was extensive.

“You know Angela would be more than happy to help you with
your list,” Matt had said over dinner.

“She’s your secretary!” Janie replied. “I’m not going to ask
her to buy diapers and more disposable breast milk bags!”

Patty interjected. “Give me the list and I’ll take care of
it. You should still be taking it easy anyway.”

Janie’s mom had been with them for the past six weeks. Matt
hadn’t been thrilled with the idea of her staying that long but it had turned
out to be a blessing. She had stayed up with Christopher many nights so that
Janie could sleep and the fact that his wife was well-rested despite the
demands of their two young children was nothing short of a miracle.

“Thank you, Patty,” he smiled. “You have been a Godsend and
I am very grateful that you’re here.”

“All I want is to be useful,” she said.

*****

Paul Lathem made his way through the airport in record time
and he was sure it was because he was in uniform. He was let off the plane
first and everyone stepped out of his way. Several people shook his hand and
thanked him for his service to their country and he still choked up just a
little when that happened. He didn’t join the Navy to receive praise or special
treatment. He joined the Navy to serve his country and protect his people from
foreign aggression and ensure his family’s freedom and safety. But a genuine
offer of thanks was appreciated.

As he stepped out into the New York air he felt happy to be
home. He had taken six weeks leave and during that time he wanted to decide if
he was going to remain a Navy Seal. Ten years was a long time. He had loved
every minute of it, but as he got older he was realizing how much he wanted a
wife and a family. Some of his buddies were married, but Paul had watched them
say goodbye to their wives and kids too many times and he’d decided he couldn’t
put anyone through that. It was bad enough that his parents worried about him
constantly. He wouldn’t let someone else worry too.

So Paul had six weeks to make a plan for his future. What he
was going to do, he had no idea. But it sure felt good to be home.

“Paul!”

He turned to see his dad walking around his car and hurrying
to his son.

“Dad!”

The two men embraced and Peter kissed his son on the cheek.

“So good to have you home, son.”

“Good to be back,” Paul smiled.

“Let’s get you home, shall we? Your mother is waiting.”

The car service picked up Mark and Katy first. They had a
lot less stuff than Matt and Janie. Katy slid into the limo and Mark stacked
their suitcases for the driver to load.

“This should be an interesting trip,” grinned Mark as he
slid in next to his fiancée. “I hope the ship can recover after we leave.”

Katy chuckled. “Well your mom is very happy that all her boys
will be there…and her grandchildren!”

“Oh I think she’s more happy about Ella and Christopher than
about us boys,” he agreed.

“Janie and I could probably stay home and she’d never know!”

Mark tilted his head and sighed. “Katy, she loves you very
much.”

“I know. Sometimes she’s just a little much, but I’m getting
used to it more and more every day.”

“How many times do you think she’ll ask us when we’re
getting married?” Mark groaned.

“Well seeing as though we’ll be her captives in the middle
of the ocean, probably several times a day!”

Mark laughed. “I’m sure you’re right.”

The car pulled up in front of Matt and Janie’s apartment
building and the driver went inside.

“I should probably help. They’ll have a shit-load of stuff,”
Mark grinned.

Mark jumped out of the car and went inside. Katy leaned back
on the headrest and closed her eyes.  She loved Maureen but she was just hard
to take sometimes. She and Mark had been engaged for three years and she was
happy with things the way they were. She had a great part time job working for
an orthopedic surgeon; she traveled around the world with Mark whenever she got
the chance; she spent time with Janie, and also with Janie’s adorable children;
she volunteered a few hours a week at a shelter for battered women giving basic
healthcare; and she was in the middle of making her very first quilt, something
completely out of her comfort zone but she had gotten the urge one day and was
going to complete her goal. Her life was full and happy and she didn’t need a
piece of paper to make it any better. But, in the back of her mind, if she was
honest with herself, she wanted to be married to Mark. She knew that they would
be together for the rest of their lives and sometimes it seemed a little silly
to dig her heels in and delay.

The doorman of the building propped open the large glass
doors and the limo driver pushed out a massive pile of luggage.

“Holy shit!” Katy exclaimed. “Where in the hell is that
going to go?”

Patty was the next to exit the building, a car seat in each
hand. Katy opened the back door and helped her in and secured each seat in the
back of the limo.

“You have no idea how much stuff Matt is bringing for these
children!” Patty sighed.

Katy laughed as she stepped out of the car to help Janie,
who had Christopher in one arm and two bags in the other. She happily handed
over the baby and Katy strapped him into his car seat as Janie climbed in the
car and sighed.

“I didn’t think we were going to get out of there without
the dining room table. He’s crazy!”

“Speak of the devil,” Katy grinned.

Mark and Matt and Ella exited their apartment building, Ella
skipping along holding her daddy’s hand and each man carrying more stuff. Ella
ran to Katy and threw her arms around her neck and gave her big wet kisses on
each cheek.

“I’m very happy to see you too,” Katy smiled. She strapped
Ella into her car seat and watched as Mark and Matt, the doorman and the driver
tried to push more stuff into the trunk. They finally gave up and started
handing bags and the strollers in to the ladies. The three women laughed as
they managed to get everything in, including Mark and Matt.

“And this is why we aren’t having any kids,” Mark laughed.

*****

Janie’s fear of flying with two young children was
unnecessary. With Matt, Katy and Mark, Patty, Peter and Maureen, Andrew and
Rory all sitting around them, Janie never had either of her children during the
entire flight to Miami. Even the flight attendants held Christopher and played
with Ella. The rest of the family, David, Paul, Ben and Tim, along with Janie’s
boys Tyler and Adam, and Katy’s son Derek, had all left two days before,
wanting to ‘play’ before the ship sailed.

It took four cars to transport the family and their luggage
to the Mandarin Oriental Hotel just a mile or so from the cruise ship terminal.
Maureen was practically giddy as she led Ella by the hand into the hotel. She
stopped the bellman, the doorman and a few of the guests and introduced them to
her granddaughter. Janie and Katy followed along behind amused at her obvious
pride.

“Have you ever seen a more beautiful little girl in your
entire life?” Maureen asked as she stepped to the counter to check in.

Gail, the front desk clerk, leaned over the counter and
smiled. “No ma’am. I have not.”

Janie rescued the poor girl and gave them their names and
Gail started looking for the reservations for all of the guests.

“It looks like I have a suite for Mr. and Mrs. Lathem and a
suite for Mr. and Mrs. Lathem?” Gail looked confused.

Maureen helped her out. “That would be me and my husband and
then my son and my daughter-in-law, Janie.” Maureen patted Janie on the hand.