The family turned to see a tall and tan middle-aged woman with sparkling blue eyes and flowing blonde hair. The woman’s sun dress was flattering and her gold jewelry perfectly accented her looks. Despite her lovely appearance, she had a glare on her face that seemed to fit her more naturally than her expensive looking clothes.
"Can't you see you're blocking the whole walkway?" she huffed.
"Sorry about that, we’re just taking it all in," Hillary replied, ushering her daughters to the side.
"It’s an amazing ship isn’t it?" She continued oblivious to the woman’s ire.
“Yes yes, so amazing.” The woman let out an annoyed sigh, and then muttered “Country bumpkins…”
“Well, actually, we’re from the suburbs.” Hillary responded, still pleasant.
Tina half heartedly corrected her mom. “I don’t think that’s what she means…”
The rude stranger rolled her eyes dramatically. "Of course you wouldn't understand what I mean. Let me spell it out for you bumpkins - I'm trying to get to my room in peace but you clogged the entire hallway like lost cattle."
The young mother was speechless.
“There’s plenty of room to go around us!” Brie suddenly shot back, “Maybe you’re the cow if you can’t figure that out!”
Tina burst out laughing. Hillary quickly admonished her younger daughter, but looked equally proud of her. The rude woman’s eyes looked like they were going to bug out of her skull.
“How… insolent and… and…” She looked like she was trying to think of the biggest word she knew, “CHURLISH!” She spat out. It didn’t have the effect she wanted. Hillary and Brie didn’t know what the word meant, and Tina knew, but didn’t care.
The rant continued. “You… you… all don’t even know what leis are for. This a Caribbean cruise, not a Hawaiian one! You all look ridiculous!”
Tina started to retort but Hillary nudged her. "Girls, let's go check into our suite and let this nice lady get on with her day. I'm sure once she's had a chance to relax she'll feel better."
As they walked away, the rude woman called after them, "And try keeping those kids under control from now on!"
Hillary turned to her daughters with a sigh. "Don't let one crabby person ruin your excitement."
But Brie pulled off her lei, crestfallen. "Maybe she's right.”
Tina could see the hurt in Brie's eyes. "No no, you look cute." But the girl was inconsolable.
As they strolled down the opulent hallway towards their suite, a friendly voice called out to them.
"Good afternoon!" Approaching them was a striking young woman dressed in the ship's uniform: neatly pressed slacks and a button-down shirt with an embroidered name tag.
She had dark hair pulled back in a sleek ponytail and dark brown eyes that matched her olive skin tone. A warm smile lit up her face as she introduced herself. "My name is Lani and I'll be your cabin attendant for the cruise. Do you need any help settling in?"
Brie, still a bit downtrodden from earlier, shyly peered out from behind Hillary. That's when Lani spotted the lei in the girl’s hands.
"Aloha! I just love your flowery necklace. It would look beautiful on you."
Brie's face lit up. "Really? Even though we're not going to Hawaii."
Lani shook her head. "Not at all, leis are a symbol of hospitality. You wear it wherever your heart takes you."
Seeing Brie perk up seemed to lift everyone’s spirits. “Well, you are just a ray of sunshine on our cloudy day!” Hillary exclaimed.
"If you need anything at all during your stay, don't hesitate to call me."
“Thank you, but you gave us just what we needed.”
Lani responded with a cheery salute. "I'm tickled pink."
"Speaking of tickles, we're all feeling pretty tickled pink from our trip here.” Joked Hillary.
She had meant it literally, but Lani had no way of knowing that. The attendant grinned regardless. "I can imagine! This ship has enough excitement to tickle anyone's funny bones." As if to drive the point home, Lani quickly poked her finger into the sliver of exposed tummy right above Hillary’s shorts.
Hillary let out a surprised squeak that quickly dissolves into giggles. “Ah hehehe, not you too!”
Lani smiled apologetically at Hillary. "I'm afraid I couldn't resist.”
Brie jumped at the chance. "Well, Mom is SUPER ticklish on her tummy.” Her little fingers slipped under Hillary’s blouse lightly scratching the soft skin right below her ribs. “See?” Hillary giggled wildly trying to dislodge her daughter’s fingers without much success. Brie went on. "And don't even get me started on her feet!
"Brie-hehehe honey, ahaha! I don't think Lani needs to know every single- AHHH!"
The delicious tickling sensations suddenly appeared under her arms courtesy of Tina’s wiggling fingers. “Don’t forget her armpits.” She chimed in.
"NoHOHOHO girls stop hahaha! Pleeeeease! heheheh!”
Lani chuckled watching the scene of Hillary being reduced to helpless mirth by her two daughters. “Well, it seems I know all your weak spots now.” She said with a wink. “I doubt you will have any trouble having fun on this trip. It’s been an absolute pleasure meeting you all."
She left Hillary to deal with her daughters, who eventually stopped tickling her. The three of them made their way to the suite and stepped in.
"This is our home for the next few days!" Hillary stated.
The modest room was decorated with a plush couch and a small desk. A number of porthole sized windows offered views of the ocean.
As the girls ran off to the bedrooms, Hillary explored the living room area and plopped herself down on the couch. "Cozy!" she said to no one in particular.
Brie and Tina peered into the adjoining bedrooms. "A queen and twins, not bad," Tina assessed.
The queen room had just enough space for a bed and side tables. In the twins room, the two narrow beds were pushed right up against each other.
Brie chuckled mischievously, "I call dibs on the queen bed!"
Before anyone could protest, she dashed into the bedroom, but Tina acted quickly. She launched herself through the doorway, arms outstretched. Her hands grasped Brie around the waist, pulling her sister onto the bed.
"Not so fast!" Tina declared, her fingers flew all over Brie's sides.
"Nonono! Hehehe hahahaha!" Brie squealed trying to escape the sudden attack. She gasped in surprise as she felt both her wrists being raised over her head.
“I still haven’t paid you back for the flight.” Tina grinned. With her other hand, she gripped the bottom of Brie's t-shirt and yanked it upwards. The fabric bunched up around Brie's ribs, leaving her tummy completely exposed. As a true redhead, her complexion was pale as porcelain, unfazed by sunlight. Tina's nimble fingers spidered across her sister's sensitive midsection.
Outside, Hillary listened to the peels of laughter and playful pleading coming from within the bedroom and closed her eyes. “Those two are incorrigible.” She thought as a small smile played on her lips.
After a few moments, the suite went suspiciously silent. Just as Hillary was getting up to check on things, her sneaky daughters pounced. Blankets whipped around her body as small hands pinned her limbs down.
"Girls, what on earth…!"
Within moments, she was wrapped up under layers of blankets like a satiny straightjacket. Only her head, midriff and feet peeked out. The two girls looked at her hungrily, like animals staring down their prey.
Taking a deep breath to regain composure, Hillary tried her best to bargain. She knew what would happen if she didn’t. “C’mon, let me out of this. Don't you want to go exploring on the ship instead?"
“We’ll have plenty of time for that!” Brie declared, wiggling her fingers menacingly. Just as her fingers started spider-walking across Hillary's tummy, a ping interrupted their fun. Tina retrieved her phone and read the message aloud.
"It says our luggage is at the service desk!"
Hillary breathed a sigh of relief, hoping for release, but the girls had other plans. She watched as they got up to leave.
“Wait! What about me?” She cried, wiggling helplessly on the couch.
"We'll be back for more tickles later, Mom!" laughed Brie. With a final tummy squeeze, Brie bounded out the door, leaving Hillary still wrapped up like a captive burrito.
Before following Brie, Tina paused with a playful grin. She gently slipped both sandals off Hillary's feet.
"You won’t be needing these," she giggled, placing the shoes beside her still-struggling mother, before exiting the room.
Hillary gave her bonds a test. They had gotten her good, she was totally mummified. Her pale midriff rose and fell slowly as she relaxed her body. Her creamy skin was lightly speckled with faint freckles that reached down beneath the waistband of her shorts all the way down to the tops of her slender feet. This was relaxing in its own way, she thought to herself.
The sound of the door opening again interrupted her relaxation.
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