Page 27 of Fire and Ice Cruise

“Then you’re braver than I thought.”

We share a laugh at that one.

Bess helps Nettie gather the fallen sweet treats while Marina pitches in, though she’s laughing so hard she has to wipe tears from her eyes.

I quickly scan the room for my handsome plus-one and find him chatting away with Quinn Riddle while some blonde wraps herself around him like a vine.

“Oh, she’s a dead woman,” I mutter, taking a step that way before I realize that blonde is indeed a dead woman.

I frown over at the man-hungry ghost. It seems she’s more interested in catching a man than a killer.

My eyes flit into the sea of bodies, all talking and laughing as if their fearless leader wasn’t brutally taken off the planet less than twenty-four hours ago.

Twenty or so of them are still trying to retrieve donuts from precarious places and out of coffee cups, which somehow feels more solemn than the official moment of silence we didn’t get.

Sugar on the floor, a killer in the crowd, and a ghost hitting on my husband.

Welcome to Day Two of the Emerald Queen’s Icelandic adventure.

I bet somewhere in this room, wiping powdered sugar off their fingers and pretending to mourn, is a killer who thinks they’ve gotten away with it.

But they haven’t met me yet—or have they?

CHAPTER 10

Suddenly Hitched—What a Trip!

Hello, Trixie!

I’m in a bit of a predicament on my Iceland cruise. I’m turning fifty in two weeks, and I booked this trip to celebrate with my best friend from college. We were roommates twenty-five years ago and got along great. Now? Not so much. She insists on waking up at 5 a.m. for sunrise yoga on the top deck and gets annoyed when I sleep until 8. I want to try every restaurant on the ship, and she’s on some kind of intermittent fasting schedule that requires us to eat dinner at 4:30 p.m., like we’re seventy-five.

Yesterday she signed us both up for a glacier hike without asking me, and when I said I’d rather spend the day at the spa, she gave me a lecture about “wasting the experience.” Meanwhile, I’m spending a fortune on this cruise and just want to relax with a book and some wine.

Should I have it out with her now, or just grit my teeth for the remaining five days and never travel with her again? Also, is it acceptable to tell your cabin steward that you need a 7 a.m. wake-up call just so your friend thinks you’re trying, then immediately go back to sleep?

Exhausted and Overwhelmed

Dear Exhausted and Overwhelmed,

Oh boy. The travel compatibility issue—a tale as old as time, disappointing as stale buffet croissants.

Here’s the thing: You both paid good money for this cruise, and neither of you should spend it miserable or resentful. Have the conversation NOW, not on day ten when you’re both seething. Try something like, “I love that we’re here together, but I think we need different things from this trip. What if we do our own thing during the day and meet up for dinner?”

Good friendships can survive separate schedules. Great friendships actually thrive on them, especially when traveling.

As for the fake wake-up call scheme? Absolutely do it. You’re fifty (almost), not fifteen. You don’t need to prove anything to anyone about your commitment to sunrise yoga. Sleep is sacred, and cabin stewards have seen everything—they won’t judge.

One final thought: If this friendship can’t survive five days of different vacation styles, it might not be as strong as you thought. And that’s okay. People change. What mattered in your twenties might not work in your fifties, and there’s no shame in acknowledging that.

XOXO

Trixie

P.S. The spa over a glacier hike is a completely valid choice. Don’t let anyone shame you for knowing what you want. That’s literally the whole point of turning fifty.

Day 3: Akureyri, Iceland

(northern fjords, whale watching, charming town)