Jason turned his head slowly, and his face drained of color. Standing ten feet away, in a crisp white uniform with gold bars on his shoulders, was Captain Aldridge, the head of the ship. Beside him stood two security officers and a woman holding a tablet. “Mr. Cole,” the captain said evenly, “I believe you have some explaining to do.” The woman on Jason’s arm quietly stepped away from him.

I had not planned on any of it, but I had called the cruise line from the taxi, because I wanted answers before I reached the terminal. The woman with the tablet was from human resources. “Mrs. Cole,” she said gently, “we received your message, and we also received something else this morning.” She held up the screen. Jason’s smile was gone completely, and the rest of the crowd had begun to watch.