You would think that we would all fly off of that ship as soon as it docked. Ha. Not quite. Five minutes after we were motionless, I felt perfectly fine again. The ship started to play music, and I was dancing and singing along. Krys, on the other hand, who had gotten sick quite early on in the trip, remained sick quite long after the trip was over. She was extremely weak, could not move.
I was hoping she would recover soon. Our stay in Tobago, after all, was only to be 6 hours long, considering that we had docked just after 9am. I was thinking that perhaps we could go to the beach still, and she could lie down on the sand until she felt better. That I may not go in the water was not particularly important to me. I just wanted enough lee-way to walk around Tobago a bit, take in the scene, and some pictures while I was at it.
It was not looking too good though. Shell, who knew of our plans, gave us his number so that we could call him if things were not looking up – he did not live far from Crowne Point, he said (not that anywhere in Tobago is particularly far from anywhere else in Tobago, it’s such a small island).
Over twenty minutes had passed since we docked, and Krys still could not manage the strength to get off the boat yet. Finally, Shell offered to take us home with him. He said that it made no sense going back to Trinidad the same day with Krys in her condition; she may not be able to handle the boat ride back, and may pass out completely. Instead, we could have our tickets changed to the Sunday afternoon boat. Krys could spend the rest of the morning recovering, at his house, and we would get the opportunity to truly have fun later this evening and perhaps on Sunday morning as well.
Of course, I was reluctant.
Here was this man who neither Krys nor I knew, offering to take us home with him in a strange island. This guy was big. I way 115 pounds. Krys is a big girl – probably around 160 – but she was out of the fight in her sickly state. I looked to Krys, who nodded, and decided fine. If he tried anything, I’ll kick him in the balls.
And off we went. A 6 hour stay in Tobago turned into a 30 hour stay. A 30 hour stay with a perfect stranger, and his family.
It was the best stupid decision I ever made.