The comet’s return
in ’86 ignited enough public interest that the Florida museum where I interned
decided to hire an astronomy professor from the university down in Gainesville and
set up aboard a smaller Greek cruise ship a lecture series. In this way, the
museum believed they would connect with wealthy donors and generate much free
publicity.
The university
professor by coincidence was an older second cousin of mine. While negotiating
with the museum for his appearance fees and his expenses, he learned his wife
would not be able to make the 9-day trip, and as my luck would have it, he
remembered hearing from my mother that I was at the museum, and so he bargained
on my behalf as his assistant.
His national
stature in his field secured all his requirements, and so that is how I found
myself onboard Athena, a 250-foot
ship that spent its summers in the Mediterranean and wintered making passages
between Port-au-Prince and Manaus, which was 1100 miles up the Amazon from the
ocean.
The first part of
the voyage we were mostly at sea, with stops at Grenada, Tobago, and Devil’s
Island. My cousin the professor was such a compelling lecturer that 40 or 50
passengers and even some of the off-duty crew would join us on the deck two
hours before sunrise to observe the comet with the naked eye and binoculars and
even a smaller telescope. The salon where he gave his talks could seat nearly
two hundred and at each of his six talks, passengers lined the walls of the
room.
During the sea
passage, the professor dressed well, spoke affably with all the passengers, and
limited his drinking to a double Crown Royal after the second dining service at
8:30. The ship’s activities director, a lanky blonde who grew up in Chicago,
seemed very much taken by the professor and often could be seen taking him by
the arm and steering him off from others.
Arlene was one of
those women who would when speaking to a man stand in close so that he could
not comfortably hold a drink in his hand in front of his body. She too dressed
well and obviously spent enough money with the right sort of folks who kept her
hair and nails perfect. I was surprised to learn later that she was only 24.
Once we reached
Belem and would begin steaming up the river, the professor no longer had any
duties per his contract. The river basin’s humidity would not allow for a clear
view of the sky in the morning, and so now my cousin began spending more time in
the ship’s casino, and he was just as likely to take the social director by the
arm and steer her out onto the decks.
The afternoon the
ship docked at Santarem the three of us went by cab to a riverside bar she
knew. Because rain showers were sweeping across the town, we stayed put rather
than exploring the market and shops. The professor drank Bohemias one after
another. After tipping over a bottle and spinning it on the table, he leaned
over and loudly kissed Arlene on the mouth. She said it was time for a cab, and
I helped him get to his feet. During the ride to the ship, we all agreed to a
shower and the 6:00 dinner seating.
Rather than go up
for an early dinner, the professor went to one of the deck bars that looked out
over the pool and cabana. I found him as he began ordering his double Crown
Royals, and for the first time he directly spoke of his wife. The words were
not endearing. After three rounds, he picked up his empty glass and lurched
toward the stairs that went up to the next level. I followed behind, convinced
that he would soon just keel over and be out for hours, maybe even all night.
He somehow managed
to climb up two levels so that we were at the same height as the base of the
ship’s smokestack. I implored him to return to his cabin for the night, but he
just pushed me back, screamed out his wife’s name, and threw his glass out and
over the portside rail. At that point, his head slumped forward, and I half-dragged
him down the stairs and onto a landing where the elevators ran.
When I rolled him
onto his bed, a key and a crumpled note fell out of his jacket pocket. The
number on the key was not for his cabin. The note said simply 11:00.
I stood in front
of that door with the key in hand for several seconds. When the door released open, I saw Arlene
standing just beyond arm’s length. She
was not dressed for dinner. Her face did not change in any way perceptible to my
eye. She simply held out her arms and nodded for me to come in. Ladson, 2014
