the captain's table

Melba and her husband Aaron were having a normal type of holiday in Greece when they received a surprise invitation to join a party touring the Greek islands in a luxury yacht. Naturally they jumped at the chance - it was free! - but the experience drove a wedge between Melba and Aaron that nearly ended their marriage.

"We had wondered why we had been chosen from hundreds of tourists to join the yacht party," laughs Melba, "and being vain we concluded - quite rightly as it turned out - that we had been chosen because we were young and good looking."

"However," adds Melba, "it was my good looks that counted - not Aaron's - and this fact became apparent on the first night on board."

"A cabin boy approached me and told me to wear something really special for dinner that night because I had been selected to sit next to the yacht owner - also the captain of the yacht."

"Aaron was thrilled to bits and naturally expected to be sitting next to me," says Melba, "but when we arrived for dinner the steward ushered Aaron to the far end of the table."

"The captain and his wife were late arriving for dinner so I had a very uncomfortable time sitting at the top of the table - on the captain's left side - trying to make light conversation with a strange man on my left with Aaron glaring at me from the far end of the table."

"When the yacht owner and his wife arrived at the dinner table everyone stood up and cheered," laughs Melba. "By then we were all slightly drunk!"

"The guy was a lot younger than I had expected him to be," says Melba, "and his wife was a stunning young blonde."

"Throughout the dinner the two of them quizzed me with questions and at one stage the yacht owner put his hand on my knee," laughs Melba.

"My gut feeling told me that this couple was interested in a threesome - and poor old Aaron was totally superfluous."

"Every time I glanced down the table at Aaron he was glaring at me and I expected trouble from him after the dinner."

"When Aaron and I got together later he was furious at me," laughs Melba. "Not because I had sat next to the captain but because I hadn't asked for him to be moved up the table to sit with me."

"Aaron wasn't interested in what the captain and his wife had talked to me about - and I didn't tell him," says Melba. "He was just totally consumed with what he considered to be an insult to him that I had presumably collaborated in."

"I reminded Aaron that we were guests on the yacht and it would have been rude for me to have queried the seating arrangements - but he was adamant that I was remiss."

"The next night - after a very frosty day with Aaron that everybody must have noticed - we were both relieved when some other woman was chosen to sit on the captain's left hand side."

"Aaron and I sat at the end of the table together - and peace resumed in our relationship," laughs Melba. "I never told Aaron what I suspected the deal was between the couple and whatever woman sat with them - but I think he got the drift of what was going on."

"I suppose if the shoe had been on the other foot and I had been forced to sit with the plebeians while my husband was with royalty I guess I would have felt the same."

"But I wouldn't have directed my anger at Aaron," says Melba. "I would have directed it at the yacht owner. They were obviously looking for a complaint couple - and when you consider that there's no such thing as a free holiday I suppose we were lucky that they didn't feed us to the sharks for being troublesome!"


Melba's story first appeared as melba: greek cruising and is reprinted with permission.