Rose imagined that the colorful brochure must have been tossed away with the rest of the junk mail Adobe Nursing Home had received. Whereas the rest of the mail dutifully went into the wastebasket, a brief gust of wind from an open door must have caught the brochure and sent it scuttling down the faded linoleum hall. As if by prior arrangement, a cross breeze would have sucked it under her door before anyone noticed it. She saw it drawn by the cool air coming from her open window, skating across the dusty linoleum and stopping only when it had collided with her favorite orange slippers.

Rose looked down at her feet and stared blankly at the brochure that was wedged under a toe, fluttering in the breeze. She gently set down the small glass ship she had been holding, giving it a gentle pat before leaning over and picking up the ad. She straightened up with a deep sigh and shifted to a less uncomfortable spot on the unyielding bed. She moved the paper away from her face, then close up, then away again before groping the top of her head for her glasses and settling them on her nose. “All The Fun You Can Handle” the brochure practically screamed. The picture was of a man and a woman playing chess. His arm was around her, and they were both laughing. Rose studied the brochure at first disdainfully, then more closely. She looked at the glass ship, then at the brochure again, and she smiled. “Oh yes. This is just what the doctor ordered.”

Later that evening her eldest son, Arnold, came to the nursing home to visit her. He sat heavily on the vinyl couch and ran a thick hand through his thinning hair before droning on about his work. Rose listened patiently to his stories, nodding and asking the right questions but waiting to get a word in edgewise. Once Arnold took a breath, looking as if he would go on about shuffling papers from one office to another, she said, “I’d like to take a trip.”

Arnold blinked his hound-dog eyes, his lower lip poked out a bit, and he blinked again. “What?”

“I want to take a trip,” Rose said again, slowly. She pulled the folded brochure out of her robe pocket, smoothed it carefully with her gnarled hands, and handed it to him.

Arnold took the brochure, fumbled for his glasses in his breast pocket, set them on his nose, and held the brochure at the end of his arms, frowning mightily at the gaudy display before him. He opened the tri-fold, his eyebrows twitching up at words like “fun,” “adventure,” and “exotic.” He sighed and tucked the brochure carelessly in one of his coat pockets. “I think I better talk this over with Gail and Sharon,” he said as he pecked her on her cheek to signify the visit was over.

Rose knew they would all be back that weekend. They always visited her between lunch and dinner on Saturday. So she carefully made sure she knew what to say, what their arguments might be and was ready and waiting for them when they appeared Saturday afternoon. After the normal greetings, a bit of small talk, and what seemed to Rose too long of a time, she brought up the trip.

“You mean to the mall?” Gail asked as she tucked a stray strand of hair back into her bun and smoothed down her plain brown dress. Rose sometimes went with her to the mall for a few hours to do a little shopping and have a bite to eat.

“No,” said Rose, but before she could go on, Sharon broke in with a sniff.

“You mean to the beach?” Sometimes the children rented a couple of hotel rooms on the beach in the summer and invited Rose to join them for a long weekend. Sharon’s hand came up, as if to ward off an invisible breeze from her perfectly done hair, her pinched expression declaring that going to the beach wasn’t what she wanted to do.

“No,” said Rose. “I want to go on a cruise.”

They looked at each other and then back at her. “A cruise?” Gail and Sharon asked together.

Rose nodded and told of the brochure that she had given Arnold. He pulled the very crumpled brochure out of his pocket and presented it to his sisters. They looked over it and looked at each other, then back at Rose. “No,” all three said in unison.

“What do you mean, no?” Rose asked in surprise.

“It would be too dangerous,” Arnold said.

“You would be happier here,” Sharon added.

“Don’t you like us visiting you?” Gail asked.

“Of...of course I like you visiting me,” Rose began. “But dangerous? It’s just as dangerous walking down the hall here. I could fall and break my hip.”

“All the more reason,” Arnold interjected, “to stay here. We could not get to you as fast if you were on a cruise.”

Rose gaped at her son, but plodded on, “And happier here? Would you be happy stuck with a bunch of old people, drooling and peeing on themselves all day? I mean, unless we are talking about the Price is Right, they don’t have anything to say.”

Sharon smiled condescendingly, “But mother, you are just as old as they are,” she pointed out.

“Damn how old I am girl!” Rose raised her voice. “You are missing the point. The point is I may be as old as these folk, but I’m not old here,” she thumped herself on her chest. “Or here,” she pointed to the side of her head. “I don’t like the food they serve here. I haven’t had a steak in two years, and I have my own teeth, so don’t give me no flack about not being able to chew it. And a body gets tired of mush and applesauce every day.”

“Mother, please,” Gail pleaded, “you are getting all worked up.”

“Worked up? It’s about time. All I do is sit here and wait for these visits so I have a live body to talk to and not one of them corpses they call a patient. And I want to take one little cruise, one week out of my life with my own money, and you three have the gall to tell me no? Me? Your mother! Is this the way I raised you?”

“Mother, you are making a scene,” Sharon scolded as she gave a faint smile to the nurse who appeared in the doorway, concern written on her face.

“I’ll give you a scene, young lady. Ever since you married that man, you’ve put on airs. That’s not the way I raised you. I taught you the down to earth old fashioned way, and you aren’t too big to take a switch to!”

Arnold sighed, gathered up his coat and the brochure. “We are sorry, mother, but we are upsetting you and the others here. We should leave.”

“Yes, go on and leave me here. A body wants a small vacation, one week, who knows how long I’ll be here.” Rose continued to holler as her children walked down the avocado-colored hallway and out of the nursing home.

Rose was so worked up she couldn’t sleep that night. It seemed every commercial on television for the next week was about getting away or traveling, and this just added to her unhappiness. The following Saturday the children came to visit, but they kept it brief and no one mentioned the cruise. That didn’t mean Rose wasn’t thinking about it, however. After they left, she found a phonebook and looked up the number to a travel agency that specialized in cruises. She then went to her room that she shared with one other patient, and dialed the number.

“Adventure Cruises, this is Sally, how can I help you?”

Rose explained she wanted to go on a weeklong cruise, but didn’t know how to go about setting it up. Sally was very helpful and suggested she come to the office. Rose explained she was unable to currently and would like the information over the phone. Sally was happy to oblige and after an hour, Rose had found a cruise she thought sounded perfect and was within her budget. She told Sally she would get a money order to her as soon as possible. As she hung up the phone Rose thought how easy this would be to do.

“No children are going to tell me I can’t do as I please.” She nodded firmly to herself.

Monday morning, after breakfast, Rose carefully dressed in one of the few sets of clothing she had. She carefully did her hair, put on her orange lipstick--the one Sharon hated- -and topped it off with her favorite lavender hat. Making sure the nurses were busy doing their rounds, she managed to get out the front door without anyone the wiser and she congratulated herself on that fact. The bank was about three miles away from her nursing home, but Rose had all day. She usually didn’t eat lunch, so they wouldn’t miss her then, and it was such a pretty spring day, she set off down the sidewalk, head held up, a smile on her lips.

Rose had to stop a few times to rest her weary legs, but by lunchtime she had made it to the bank. The line wasn’t long and she soon found herself before a cool young man, his eyebrows arched politely but impersonally over his green eyes. “Yes, how may I help you?” he spoke slowly and loudly.

Rose thought about scolding him. She wasn’t deaf or stupid, but then she smiled. After all, she was here to get her money out of the bank and take a cruise! “I’d like to get a money order,” she said brightly. She pushed her identification, her paper bankcard, and a small piece of paper she had written the amount on and whom to make it out to, through the small slot at the bottom of the window.

The young man nodded briefly and punched things into his computer. He paused and looked from the computer to Rose and back again. “Mrs....”

“Call me Rose,” she said brightly.

He smiled wanly, “Rose, do you happen to have either Gail or Arnold here with you today?”

Rose blinked and her smile slipped. “Why would I have one of my children with me?”

The young man cleared his throat, “Well, it appears that your account is under their approval. For me to give you this money order, they have to sign for it.”

Rose’s smile fell all the way, and her brows knitted. “Oh dear... I forgot about that. But it’s my money. Can’t I take it out if I want?”

The young man held up his hands and tried to put on a reassuring smile that only made Rose’s hopes completely die. “I’m sorry, but the account must have one of their signatures.”

Rose nodded and took back the papers. She thanked the young man who had already turned away to help the next customer. She walked slowly home. It seemed her dreams of going on a cruise had faded beyond her grasp. How could she have forgotten the children had power of attorney over her estate? Ever since she had fallen sick, her children had treated her like a child. She couldn’t fault them; the doctors weren’t sure Rose would ever recover, but she did. The children refused to let her return to her apartment and had left her in the nursing home, thinking it was better for her there than by herself again. She felt old, and heavy, and kept looking up at the stores she passed, wondering when she would make it back.

Rose was subdued for some time afterwards. Her husband had been a sailor and had talked about the beauty of the sea. There was a part of her that wanted to experience this, to feel close to him again, and do this one thing before she became too old to enjoy it. She sat one night, holding the ship tenderly in her hands, when a streetlight from outside caught the glimmer of a ring on her finger. She turned her hand over and looked at it, then smiled. Perhaps all was not lost.

Rose remembered passing a pawnshop on the way to the bank. Although she had managed to sneak out the front door the first time, she was aggravated to find it locked. Checking the time, she made her way to the cafeteria. Although there was much noise from the kitchen, no one was in sight and she was able to get out the delivery door. Spring was giving way slowly. The trees that had earlier been full of flowers had shed most of them in favor of bright green leaves. It made for a pleasant, shady walk as Rose found the shop.

The man inside was about the age of her children, wearing a button shirt and nice slacks. The shop itself was clean and not at all what Rose expected. The young man smiled when he saw her, and when she said she was here to sell a few things, offered her a chair to rest on. She carefully pulled out a small plastic bag and emptied out all her jewelry. The man looked carefully at some, weighed others, and looked up a few things in a book.

“Well, Rose,” he smiled, “these are all very nice pieces. You have kept them in good condition. I could offer you a thousand dollars for the lot.”

A thousand wasn’t quite enough to get Rose the trip she wanted but put her a lot closer than she had been earlier. “I’ll take it.”

The man shifted on his chair a moment, peering at the jewelry before him. “May I ask why it is you wish to sell your things, Rose? Pieces like this often get passed down to other family members.”

Rose thought to take offence then realized he was genuinely concerned. She peered around herself, then confided that she wanted to take a cruise and that she wanted to save her money for her children’s inheritance. She said these pieces meant little to her sentimentally, and her children were not interested in them. The young man smiled and relaxed. “As long as you feel that way, I will take them.” As he handed her the agreement stating that she was willing to sell her jewelry, he spotted the ring on her hand. “May I see that?”

Rose reluctantly drew it off and handed it to him. That ring was her wedding ring, one of the most precious pieces to her.

“This ring is one of the most beautiful things I’ve seen in my years working here. I would be willing to give you another thousand for it.”

Rose paled. Two thousand dollars was enough to get her that cruise with some left over for gifts and tips. But it was her wedding ring. Her husband had given that to her. She had never lost it in the fifty years they had been married.

“Rose,” the young man said gently. “I’m sorry. I can see this means a lot to you.” He started to hand the ring back, when Rose held up a hand to stop him.

“I’ll take it,” she whispered.

The sun was still shining and the birds singing as she left the shop. The young man had kindly said he would give Rose thirty days to change her mind about the ring, but she knew she would not change her mind. Once back inside the nursing home, she sat on her bed, held the picture of her husband to her chest, and wept softly.

Rose managed to get the money to Sally at the travel agency, and Sally worked out for Rose to be picked up by a taxi, taken to the train station and take the train to the coast, then picked up at the coast depot and taken to the ship. The only problem now was when she wanted to go. Rose said she would call back.

The family visits had gotten more eased since Rose stopped talking about her cruise, at least for her family if not for Rose. Spring moved into summer, and the air conditioning, which only seemed to work in the nursing home in the winter, broke and the heater took over.

“We are going to have to wish you a happy Fourth of July now, mother,” Gail was saying brightly.

“You won’t be back?” Rose asked, her excitement trying not to show.

“We are all going to Uncle Joe’s house for a family get together. We’ll bring you lots of pictures, though.”

Rose didn’t hear the rest of the visit. As soon as her daughter was out of sight, she phoned Sally and Sally was happy to discover there was an opening on a ship leaving that day. Rose could get there in plenty of time for the ship didn’t set sail until sunset. Rose packed quickly, laid a letter on her pillow she had written addressed to her children and managed to leave the nursing home without anyone the wiser.

Unbeknownst to Rose, Gail had dropped her sunglasses. After a fruitless search through her purse, car, and house, she returned to the nursing home, sure the glasses were there. They were but Rose wasn’t. Gail read the note and her exclamations were loud enough to alert the nurses. Gail called Arnold and soon the family was racing their way toward the docks to “save” Rose.

Rose made a pleasant, if uneventful, trip to the docks. She was a little worried the taxi drivers or the train conductor would ask her for fare, but they kindly let her know it had all been taken care of. As the taxi approached the docks, she set her lavender hat at a jaunty angle and smiled to herself in her compact. All the waiting, all the planning, all saving, and she was finally going to sea!

In the meantime her family, breaking all speed laws, soon exited the freeway and impatiently followed the signs to the port. Yellow lights were ignored, lanes made out of bikeways, and the horn laid on liberally. Everyone was talking at once, pointing different directions, yelling to “watch out!” Miraculously, they made it to the docks and parked in the passenger loading and unloading zone, spilling out onto the sidewalk.

Inside, Rose had already gone through the line, checked in her bag, and picked up her tickets. She happily tottered the way the woman motioned, stopping only to use the restroom.

“This is almost too good to be true,” she said to herself.

Her family had spent those precious minutes arguing about who should stay with the car so they wouldn’t get a ticket. They finally decided the ticket didn’t matter and they converged on the ship, fanning out all over, ignoring the strange looks people were giving them as they tried to locate Rose. After a fruitless thirty-minute search they finally met on the main deck.

“I can’t find her anywhere!” Gail cried.

“Where can she be?” Sharon asked impatiently.

“Did you check the bathrooms, the restaurant, and the gift shop?” Arnold asked.

Realizing they had neglected the dock area they flooded back to shore to search.

During that time Rose had given herself a start, thinking that a form ahead of her was vaguely similar to Arnold’s or that hair was the color of Sharon’s. Berating herself for groundless worries, she stopped in the gift store for a few things, popped into the restaurant for a quick bite to eat, and then happily sailed to the ship and her tiny cabin, which appeared palatial to her. Before she knew it the ship’s horn sounded and the public address system announced that all non-passengers should go to shore. Rose decided to go on deck and watch the ship set off.

Her family, now panicking, heard the horns and converged back to the dock. They frantically begged for the ship to be held, but the employees didn’t share their concern. The family looked on helplessly as the ship began pulling away.

Rose, atop deck, looked out over the sea of faces. She had done it! She was going on her cruise. And...yes it was. That was Arnold frantically gesturing at one of the employees on the dock. And right next to him was Gail and Sharon. Rose took off her lavender hat, raising it above her head, grinning wide enough to be seen even at that distance.

“And now for my steak,” she said to no one in particular.