Cruise Cats received Honorable Mention in our
Hot Summer Romance Contest
CRUISE CATS
by Radomir Luza Jr.
We hated each other at first. She the cavorting, superficial, talk-only-about-shopping cruise queen, and me the loudmouthed, flamboyant, bring-his-underwear on stage artist. We were both interested in Vince, the ship's resident comedian. But he thought she was too clingy, and I too controversial.
We avoided each other as best we could until one night in the ship's lounge. We finally talked to each other, and we didn't stop until 4AM and both our lives had changed forever.
"Are you infatuated with either one of us?" I asked her, Vince sitting next to me.
She looked down.
"I won't answer that question," she said.
Silence.
"I don't know," I added, "how do you know you are in love?"
"It depends on what you are looking for," She replied.
"Tits and ass," I answered.
She looked down again.
"I think you have found the right person if he or she fills the gaps you have," she said calmly and intelligently.
This time my eyes bit the ground. She was right. And she was really insightful and soulful. I didn't know it but that was the beginning of the end and the beginning of, well, the beginning.
As we walked toward our cabins that morning, her to the one she slept in alone, I to the one I shared with my parents, our paths crossed.
"Good night," I said.
"Good night," She answered.
"You know," she said, one leg resting on the first step of the staircase leading to her cabin. "I am infatuated with one of you." She turned her head and walked away.
I knew she was talking about me. That night I thought of her in my dreams. And you know, I said to myself, she was right. It's not about a person's body, it's about what they have on the inside.
The next day, our last on the ship, we exchanged phone #'s and were surprised to find-out that we both lived in the Philadelphia area.
Months of talking on the phone, sending flowers and gifts, and composing poems followed until I realized I had found not only a soulmate and best friend, but my bescherta.
Never had anyone been so easy to talk to, so much fun to be with and to learn from. I wrote poetry, she wrote poetry. I played tennis, she played tennis. I wanted to change the world, she wanted to re-organize it. It was as if God himself had come down from heaven and put us together. Sometimes I did feel I was in heaven.
She was so sensitive and soft to the touch. I could not understand how anyone had not claimed her earlier. And, brother, she was smart. She could outthink me in a political debate, and that was rare.
Yeah, I met her on a Monday and my heart stood still. Ta do run run run ta do run run. We met in December, I proposed in March, and by August we were man and wife. Ta do run run run ta do run run.
We've had our differences and disagreements, but we've made it through five years. We still hold hands, we still hug and kiss, and we still tell each other "I love you" at least once-an-hour. People mistake us for newlyweds.
She, the one who broke the mold, the one so different from her parents and relatives. The one who isn't afraid to accept me as I am. And me, the rebel and outsider who still takes all the chances, the maverick who has slowly been broken by a soothing touch.
As she would say, the future is ours, if we fill its gaps.
Radomir Luza Jr. is a writer/actor/stand-up comedian and director who is the Founder and President of Radman Productions. Radomir believes that vulnerability and the courage to take risks are not only vital to art, but life as well.
Radomir has been published in numerous publications including The New Laurel Review, Seldom Nocturne, Sahara, Spare Change and Nerve Cowboy. Over 20 newspapers and magazines have published his journalistic output. Luza currently has three books coming-out from AuthorHouse. He has hosted a number of performance nights and poetry readings in New Jersey and New York City.
As an actor Luza has acted in three of his own plays (Curious Tumor (also directed) Beneath The Blood Red Bridge and The Bishop Has Landed). Other plays he has acted in include Alan Ayckbourn's "How The Other Half Loves" (OnStage Atlanta), Aristophanes' "The Birds," (Tulane University-New Orleans), and August Wilson's "Joe Turner's Come And Gone" (Dashiki-NO).Luza has also been featured in over a dozen films and many tv and commercial spots.
Radomir has done stand-up comedy all over the country, including The Punch Line in Atlanta, The Funny Bone in St. Louis, The Comedy Store and Laugh Factory in Los Angeles, and The Comedy Cellar, Boston Comedy Club, Stand-UP NY, NY Comedy Club and Gotham Comedy Club in NYC, among others.
Radomir lives in Jersey City, NJ with Monica, his wife of five years. Contact Radomir.
