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Author's note - Can you believe it a new chapter? I promised we would check in with the Sojourn folks from time to time. There will be a few chapters coming here in short order. I hope you enjoy. Drop me a note if you'd like at pnskid61@cox.net
I have taken the liberty of mentioning some characters in this chapter that are from another story I follow on Nifty. It is an outstanding story and was what originally inspired me to start Sojourn. Check out Ron and Bryan (now called Ron and Matt). You can find it under Adult Friends here on Nifty. Chances are you are already a fan. It is an outstanding series. Great job JETjt!
Chapter 45
About an hour into the flight from St John's to Pensacola, everyone had settled in for a nap. Adam was asleep next to Sarah. Ethan and Rick had gone to the bedroom and were asleep spooned together. The mental and physical exhaustion of the last few days clearly taking a toll on everyone.
Brian's announcement from the cockpit awakened everyone. They were beginning the decent into Pensacola. A sense of excitement filled R-1 as everyone realized that this was all about to be over. Life would return to normal soon.
As usual, the landing at Pensacola was hard and abrupt. As nice as it was to not have to drive over from Mobile, Ethan moaned each time about how short the runway was in Pensacola. Also he missed A-1. The 777 was his favorite airplane and while it was big and really too much for him to have for his personal use, he couldn't help but want it back. R-1 was nice and a good size but A-1 would always be Ethan's baby.
After R-1 had powered down and everyone was off it was time for people to go their separate ways. Hugs were exchanged. Tears were shed. Emotions were raw and close to the surface for everyone. Kevin and Sean left to go to Kevin's place. Sheila left for her apartment. A relief crew from Compass was waiting to take R-1, Brian, the co-pilot, Sarah and Jane to Ft Lauderdale. Dan would be staying since he had to be at work back in Crestview. Ethan watched as Dan and Sarah held each other tightly. He knew their love was deep and real. He was so happy for Sarah. The old bat.
Forty-five minutes after landing, Ethan, Rick, and Adam watched as R-1 taxied to the end of the runway, turned, and took flight towards Ft Lauderdale. Then the three piled into the car and headed home.
Adam had some nightmares the first few nights and would end up in bed with Ethan and Rick. They had many talks about what happened and soon Adam was sleeping through the night. Christmas was coming and they had a lot to do.
"Hun, I have been thinking about a few things I want to talk with you about," Ethan said to Rick one morning after breakfast.
"Uh-oh, I am not sure I like the sound of that," Rick said with a smile.
"Well, as much as I hate to admit it, I think we are going to have to make some changes. Rick, I can't bear the thought of us going through something like we did ever again. I think we need to hire a security firm to put together a plan to ensure our security and safety. I have also been thinking that this might not be the best place to raise Adam. Living out here in the condo on the beach is great but it doesn't give Adam a chance to be with people his own age or a yard to play in. I'd like to look at some houses in Pensacola that will give us more space and more security."
"Pfew, I thought you were going to send me packing," Rick said laughing. "I have to be honest, you know I love you but I do have Adam as my first responsibility and I agree we have to be sure we give him the best environment. Unfortunately that means we have to have take extra precautions because of who you are. I don't like the idea of having security people around but I think we have to do it."
"Well, what do you think about us getting in some help too. I think we need a nanny to help with Adam. I know you are going stir crazy and need something to do and that staying at home is not what you had in mind for the next 20 years," Ethan added.
"Wow, you have been thinking," Rick said as he got up and went to where Ethan was sitting taking him into his arms. "I love you babe, thank you."
Ethan called Terry, the lady that had taken care of him while he was recovering from his accident to ask if she knew any nannies. She had said that she did and would email him some names. Ethan asked her if she was available to come and sit with Adam for a few hours while he and Rick went for some Christmas shopping. She said she would be over at 2pm. Ethan also called Dan to see how he was doing and if he knew of any good candidates.
It had been ages since Ethan and Rick had an afternoon together alone just to run errands and do regular things. They headed out in Ethan's BMW and were headed for the mall. They stopped at Pier One, bought a bunch of candles, pillows, picture frames, and some new wicker chairs for the balcony. After realizing they had no way to get the chairs home Ethan suggested they needed to look at a SUV. Rick shrugged, rolled his eyes, and said, "boys with money and their toys." This earned him a playful punch in the arm.
Next stop was the mall. As they were circling to find a parking space, Ethan yelled out for Rick to look at something.
"Honey, look. It is fantastic," Ethan said pointing to a crap heap of a car.
"Ethan West, that isn't like you. You shouldn't make fun of people that don't have as much as you. That is all they can afford so leave them alone," Rick said with a clear edge in his voice.
" Oh no, you don't understand. I really do love it. I always had cars like that when I was in high school and college. I know I can afford anything I want but I yearn for the simple days when that is what I had. I love the cars in movies like Uncle Buck and The Blues Brothers. I have always said I would get one again but that probably isn't going to happen now. Can you imagine?"
"Ethan you are so full of shit. We are sitting in a BMW 740, you just talked about getting a new SUV, you have 5 ships soon to be 8, you have a fleet of airplanes, and way too much money and now you are telling me you want an Uncle Buck Car? You are nuts!"
"No really hun, I am serious. You remember my Honda in Ft Lauderdale. It wasn't beat up enough but I loved that car. I want a car that is about 20 years old, has all kinds of quirks, is beat up, makes a screeching noise when you turn the wheel and sounds like it is going wanna wanna wanna when it is moving along. I really do!"
With that they went into the mall and managed to spend 4 hours and hundreds of dollars on Christmas gifts. They ate in the food court, watched people, laughed, giggled, and had a great time. They packed the beemer with the goodies and headed home. Adam was there to greet them at the door anxious to know what was in all the bags! That evening after tucking Adam into bed, Ethan and Rick shared their love with each other.
Monday morning Ethan was on the phone with Sarah and the executive team at Compass headquarters. They had a lot of business to discuss. The papers for the deal with ASK would be signed in Athens and by Ethan in Pensacola that afternoon. Soon the Compass fleet would be growing by 3. The ships needed names and deployment plans. The refurbishment of the ships would be taking place in Mobile and Pascagoula and would take about 4 weeks after they arrived. That would mean that the 3 new ships would be ready for service in mid February. That left less than 2 months for all the marketing campaigns to be launched. It would be a massive task to do so. They would have to do some major price cutting to get people on the ships on such short notice. This would anger Compass competitors but all is fair in war - and business.
The refurbishment plans had been sent to Ethan for his review. All in all he was pleased. The ships would have all new carpets and furnishings, decks renamed to match the standard Compass naming scheme, public rooms renamed. The dining rooms would be broken down into smaller areas to create multiple restaurants as opposed to 2 large rooms. The three new ships would launch the new flexible dining programs that Compass planned to phase in fleet wide. Guests could pick a different restaurant each night, eat when they want, without pre-assigned table mates. Each of the smaller restaurants would have a different theme to give guests a different dining experience in each room. Of course Adam's Den and Rick's would be standard features on each ship. Staff had to be hired, berthing space secured, itineraries planned, the tasks ahead were enormous.
Ethan had been thinking about the names for the new girls. He had the names prepared and he knew that the team was anxious to hear. He steered the conversation away from the names as long as he could. He had to tease them and he was having fun.
"OK, well I guess that is all we have to talk about regarding our new girls for today. Thanks everyone for your help now and during the next few weeks. It is going to be hard work but I know we can do it."
"Just a second mate, I know you are playing with us. Don't make me get R-1 in the air so I can come up there and beat it out of you. Names, we want names," Sarah demanded through the speakerphone.
"Oh that. Ok, well, you all know that it has been a tough time for me and those that are close to me. I have thought about the names and they reflect some of the things I am feeling but also tie into the names of our other girls."
"Ethan, I swear I am going to kick you butt if you don't spill it soon", Sarah barked.
"Guys, make her leave the room. She is getting too bossy!"
"Hrrrmph" could be heard coming from Sarah.
"Just kidding Boss. You can stay. Freedom, Spirit, Harmony, Sojourn, and Tranquility's three new sisters are Liberty, Resolve, and Aspire."
A few seconds passed without anything being said. This was when Ethan hated conference calls. He couldn't see faces. He couldn't sense how this was going over.
"Hello. Y'all still there? Do y'all hate the names?"
Kevin, the Director for Sales and Marketing spoke. "Nope, we are all smiling. Sorry you can't see that. These names are great. Thanks Ethan."
"Great. I also have selected the God Mothers for the ships but I have some calls to make first. I also know where I want the ceremonies to take place and I will fill you in on that soon. Guys, I also want you to leave one ship for me to plan her itinerary and her homeport. I will give you details on that soon. The other two I want you to deploy based on the data we have on where we have demand or where we think we can generate enough demand. Let's be creative. I don't want more ships in Ft Lauderdale unless we have to. So, leave Resolve with me for now. You guys take Aspire and Liberty and get back to me in a few days with some ideas. I'd also like the timelines from Mobile and Pascagoula sent to me this afternoon. I plan to be over there visiting through-out the refurbishment work."
"Sarah, I'd like you to get a call with Engineering lined up for this afternoon. I'd like you, Kevin, and the head of Engineering on the call with me."
Ethan then addressed Ann, the director of HR, "Ann, I want all the crew members from Quest that want to come back to work for us to be offered positions. I would also like you to talk with Phanos' people over in Athens. Any of the folks that worked on these ships when they were part of the ASK family should be given priority consideration. I don't want anybody out of work that wants to work."
"Ethan, you are so predictable. I have already done all you suggested. Don't worry," Ann replied.
"Sarah, would you also call Geoff at Compass Air and tell him I will call him after our call this afternoon. He sent me an email about needing to talk with me."
"Right Ethan. Now shall we all stick a broom up at arses and sweep the floor too? Crickey mate you have been issuing orders," Sarah said laughingly.
"Be sure you don't miss that spot in the corner Sarah," Ethan jabbed back. This was met with loud laughter and the call concluded.
Ethan then called the mayor's office to arrange a meeting about a few things. He also placed a call to Ron Turner in Las Vegas to talk about some construction plans he thought Turner Construction would be well suited for. He had met Ron a couple of times. Ron too was a wealthy man so the two of them understood a lot about what the other's life was like. The fact that Ron was also gay and had recently fallen deeply in love with a wonderful guy named Matt was a further mirror to Ethan and Rick's life. Ron had recently acquired Aztec Security and a meeting was arranged for Sean to meet with them about security for Ethan and his family.
Ethan placed another call, this time to his old friend, Brent Connor. Brent had been the representative for the area in Tallahassee for many years before winning the seat as Representative in Congress in Washington DC. During the 6 years he had been in Washington he had quickly moved up and now had seats on several key committees.
"Hey Brent, how are things up in Washington?"
"Cold and slow. I sure miss home. How are you doing my friend? I read about what has been happening to you and Rick. You hanging in there?"
"It has been hell but you know me. Rick and Adam give me even more reason to be strong. They have changed my life Brent."
"Well it couldn't happen to a nicer guy. I am very happy for you Ethan. I wish you and your guys all the best."
Ethan then went on to explain what he wanted to discuss. Brent was excited and they planned for Brent to join Ethan, Rick, and Adam at the condo the next week for dinner since Brent would be back in town for the holiday break.
It was now lunch time and Ethan joined Rick and Adam for some grilled cheese sammiches as Adam called them. Rick said he had some errands to run in the afternoon and that he would take Adam with him. Ethan asked for more details but Rick wouldn't say more other than, "Christmas is coming."
The call with Engineering went for 2 hours. Ethan was most adamant about the environmental systems that would have to be installed on Aspire, Liberty and Resolve. While the ships met the current regulations, Compass had always gone beyond the requirements with a zero tolerance for the discharge of pollutants into the water. Sarah was constantly amazed at Ethan's knowledge. They discussed electrical systems that would be modified to suit the North American market, the installation of aft thrusters since the ships had traditional propulsion systems and not the Azipods that offer greater turning ability, and much more. Ethan then asked about Quest. She was in Mobile. The tugs would be arriving in two weeks to begin her final voyage back to Europe for scrapping.
"Cancel the tugs. Quest isn't going anywhere for now," Ethan ordered.
The head of engineering spoke, "Ethan, we know how you feel but she really isn't salvageable. The folks in Mobile want here removed as well. We need to get moving on this."
"No. She remains where she is. If Mobile has a problem with it then we can find another place for all of our refurbishment work to take place. I will explain my plans to you in a few weeks."
"OK, guys. Thank you Ethan. Anything else," Sarah interjected sensing the tension building. She knew the tone in Ethan's voice. This wasn't open for further discussion.
Geoff from Compass Air had several things to discuss with Ethan. With the addition of the new ships he was trying to plan on role Compass Air would play getting passengers to and from the homeports for the new girls. He was anxious to know about the plans and seemed frustrated that more details were not available.
"Ethan, I guess I will have to wait. But I do need to run something by you. We have a lot of business we are turning away because we don't have the capacity. Also, the 777 is a fantastic plane but it is too large for some of the business we are looking at. We need to look at our fleet plans. I propose that we transition to a larger fleet of smaller planes. That will give us operational flexibility. I have talked with a large airline that is looking at some fleet changes. They sorely need the 777 for some international routes so the deal is this. We can give them our 777s in exchange for fifteen 757s. We can move quickly on this and begin the swap in the next 60 days," Geoff explained.
"You know I love the 777 but I understand what you are saying. The 757 is a good plane but as you know Boeing just announced they are stopping production. Should we be concerned?"
"No, these 757s average 5-7 years old so they still have another 15 years of operational life. They are very fuel efficient and can operate into smaller airports. I think it is something we should do. I also like the Airbus 321 which is similar to R-1 but we can't get our hands on them as quickly as we can the 757s"
"OK, Geoff. Make it happen. You can do the swaps of the 777s. Except one. She stays with me."
*************************** More to come soon