Below Deck
by Carla Burke
The port was alive with activity; being the quickest route from England to France it was always guaranteed to be busy. I pulled up my car into the ever growing queue to the passport control booth. After checking in there I could get straight on the boat in my car.
Around me were numerous families and groups of friends eager to get on to the ferry. I was seemingly the only person alone that wasn’t on a business trip. Men and women in suits stood around typing rapidly on their phones, the only others by themselves. They were probably used to the hectic travel life, most likely having to put up with the queues and people every week.
I however was unused to this kind of life; this was my first trip out of England in almost 5 years and I was quite scared. My mind wiped back to my husband, the man I had found cheating on me a few days prior to me being here. I had returned home early from work and caught him in an exposed position with one of my friends.
Needless to say I had left as quickly as I could, not bothering to grab any supplies. Staying with my mother I knew I had to get out of the country, luckily she had been keeping my passport. The passport was only just in-date since I had gone on my honeymoon.
I could just imagine what everyone was saying back home, ‘poor Robin, only married for 5 years and soon to be divorced at only 27 years old’. It would be the typical gossip that spreads so quickly in a small village. People I had only met once would act like they knew my whole life, although they probably did.
The loud sound of a horn burst through my pitiful thoughts. Looking forwards I realised I hadn’t moved the car and there was a large gap in front of me. I turned my head to frown at the car that had beeped me; only to be met by a very strange sight.
Behind me, sat in a shiny black BMW was a young man, similar to my own age. He was by himself, unusual given where we were and he wasn’t wearing a suit. He was looking at me, a large smirk evident on his lips. His car was only a few centimetres away from my own so I could see him clearly through the back window.
He continued to look at me curiously until something else flickered across his face. Confused I tried to figure out what he was thinking, until another loud blast rang through my ears.
I jumped in my seat, not expecting the sound. I frowned at the man again, furious this time, and was met by soundless laughing coming from his mouth. My cheeks blazed angrily as he didn’t let up; his eyes were sparkling with amusement while I sat there annoyed.
Toying with the idea of jumping out of the car and punching him in the face I caught sight of the security guards mulling around the cars. Thinking that it may not be the best idea I put my foot on the pedal and sped forwards to fill the gap in front of me.
I was only 4 or 5 cars away from the booth now and I was growing even more nervous. This idea of just picking up and leaving the country with no spare clothes and no plan was starting to seem less like the adventure I had imaged and more like a nightmare.
I looked back over at the man behind me, praying he had stopped laughing by now. When I caught his eyes he erupted back into the same fit he had been in before. I stuck a large mental note in my head to find him as soon as I got onto the ship.
Although it was mostly out of anger, something was different about the handsome man travelling by himself. Not many people would just pick up and leave the country by themselves, which in itself made him interesting. Plus now I was newly free after 5 years, new emotions had started to build up inside of me. After only a few days certain desires that were previously unknown to me were beginning to surface. I shifted my leg restlessly, squeezing my thighs together.
Even the thought of these feelings made my body heat up and my heart rate increase. Shaking my head my thoughts swirled with what a good girl I had been. One act of my useless husband had changed my whole view on life; now strangers in cars were starting to make me hot. I checked ahead to notice another gap had formed.
I drove forwards quickly, filling it before the man could beep me again. I couldn’t be doing with another small heart attack just yet. I was sure my heart had had enough recently without this man trying to kill me.
There was only one woman left ahead of me now and I was starting to get incredibly inpatient. I fiddled around in my handbag trying to find my passport. My search proved unlucky and I automatically went into panic mode; throwing the contents everywhere I still couldn’t find it.
However I could almost feel the man’s eyes on me and hear his laughs as my belongings flew uncontrollably in to the air around me. Every item had found a new home in various areas of my once tidy car. Once I was sure I had thrown everything out I tipped my handbag up over my lap. Must to my amusement and annoyance my passport dropped softly into my lap by itself. Trust my luck for it to be hidden at the bottom of everything.
I quickly snapped it up and looked forward again. Seeing I was next I drove to the booth and waved my passport out the window. A hand ripped it out of my own and a man assessed it slowly. I looked up at the stony faced man and smiled brightly.
It was something I always seemed to do, smile as wide as I could at people. He looked at me curiously, his eyebrow rising far too high on his head. I tried to hold back a laugh, not wanting to offend the intimidating man.
“You’re traveling alone?” he asked, making it sound more like an accusation. I nodded slowly, my face actually blushing lightly.
“OK,” he stated bluntly and threw my passport back through the window. Stunned at his rudeness I drove off, putting the important papers safely into my now empty bag. I checked behind me to see that the other man was still at the booth office.
I chuckled to myself, maybe I would get some payback and he would be stuck there for a while. I navigated the busy road on to the ship, trying to avoid all the people wandering around. The boat didn’t leave for another hour or so which meant that there were a lot of people with nothing to do.
Finally managing to break through the people I pulled up to the ferry, waiting to get on. The BMW was lost somewhere in the crowds as I drove up onto the metal ship.
There were already a large collections of cars parked in the bottom of the boat and I joined them quickly, desperate to get out and stretch my stiff legs. I did a quick scan of my surrounds and nothing of interest met my eyes. For some reason I was missing the handsome man in the BMW, he had been the first exciting part of my solo trip.
I parked up next to a few worn out looking family cars, not far from the entrance. There were only a few people milling around in the depths of the boat so I started to rearrange my bag. I really had managed to spray its contents the length of my car. Reaching my lipstick I reapplied the bright red colour to my lips and rearranged my hair.
Satisfied at my appearance and my newly cleaned car I unlocked the door and jumped out. My sun dress fell loosely over my curvy body, leaving me cool in the hot summer sun. Even below the boat it was surprisingly hot; my choice of a simple white dress was definitely a good one. Although I would have to buy something warmer when I got to France; thankfully the ferry ride was only five hours long and I wouldn’t have to entertain myself for too long.
I looked around, taking a few minutes to locate the exit; it was hidden in a darkened corner behind some cars. I jogged over to it, brushing past one or two people as I went. For some reason it was starting to get darker around the cars and I wanted to get into the light again. I walked up the small staircase and the next few to follow with ease, my heals not restricting me too much.
Within a few minutes I had surfaced onto the main passenger area of the ship. Everywhere I looked there were people trying to find a spot to make themselves comfortable. I bypassed them and followed the nearest sign to a café; it was hot today even in my dress. The sea swirled beside me as I walked along, although we were still docked waves lashed at the sides. I had never been one for boats and quickly rushed on. The 5 hours was starting to feel more like a year, I was desperate to get to France and start my newly free life.