Mouse watched Henry dive off the end of the boat. He did a beautiful dive into the warm water, hardly any splash at all. He surfaced, palming his dark hair off his face, smiling up at her. She noticed that she wasn't the only one watching him, either. There were sixteen people on the "tour boat," with snorkeling gear available for those who wanted it, and at least half of them were women who had nothing better to do than watch her gorgeous husband do various things in his swim trunks.

Henry had wanted a private boat for just the two of them, but when Mouse found out how much it cost, she'd nixed the plan, saying that a group situation would be fine. It was also one tenth the cost.

"You're so funny," Henry teased her as they stood in the hotel lobby, looking at the brochures. "We can totally afford the private charter, you know that right?"

"I don't care," Mouse retorted. "We could afford to pay for some idiot to put chains on our car last winter, too, but that doesn't mean we should waste the money, does it? Or pay for private cars to drive us all over the place when we could take the subway?" She looked indignantly up at Henry, brown eyes wide.

"Yes, dear," he replied, bopping her nose with his finger.

So it was her own fault that her man was parading around, putting on a free show for these drooling women who were avidly following his every move. And it's not like they were old, retired grandmothers, either. They were pretty young ladies with bodies to die for, who seem to have been born knowing how to pose and flirt.

Didn't they have husbands? Or boyfriends? Or fathers?

Henry seemed oblivious as he waved up at Mouse, who was leaning on the railing. "Did you see me, honey?" he called with a smile.

She nodded, smiling back. At least everyone could see his wedding ring twinkling on his finger, she supposed.

"Come on," he encouraged. "Join me. The water feels great!"

"Okay," she agreed. She shrugged off her beach coat and dove off the side of the boat, surfacing very close to where Henry was.

It was a very warm day, and the sky was light blue, with white, puffy clouds dotting the entire dome, from one side of the horizon to the other. The ocean was three different shades of blue and green, so bright it almost looked like a watercolor painting.

Henry put his arms around Mouse's waist under the water, holding her so she wouldn't drift away in the current. He looked almost sinfully good to Mouse, with drops of salt water clinging to his jaw and the ends of his dark hair.

"Are you having fun?" he asked.

She nodded. "Of course, why wouldn't I?"

He shrugged, looking around. "I don't know, I just thought you might be re-thinking the whole group charter thing, that's all," he replied.

"Henry, I figured out the exchange rate, and it came out to something outrageous for a private charter!" Mouse told him. "It was something like nine hundred dollars!" she whispered, horrified.

"I know," Henry answered, eyebrows raised mockingly. "So glad you saved us that money," he continued. "We really dodged a bullet, I guess. "Maybe we can get a bigger apartment with what we saved, huh?"

Mouse slapped at his chest. "Don't you make fun of me, Henry Gardener," she warned, drawing her eyebrows together. "It's a lot of money, and you know it."

"Okay, okay, don't get pissed off," he begged, hugging her, kissing her shoulder. "You're just so cute when you're all offended, you know?"

"I must admit, though, I might've thought twice if I'd known what a meat market it was going to be," Mouse admitted, putting her arms around Henry's neck. She looked down at him, admiring the little bit of his chest that she could see, where there were a few black hairs showing above the water on his well-toned chest.

"What do you mean?" he asked, smiling as he saw where she was looking. "I thought you liked the way I looked?" He blinked at her, giving her another beautiful smile. "Have you finally figured out that I look way too old and gray next to you?" He leaned in and kissed her.

Mouse shook her head. "Oh my god, Henry, are you kidding me? Have you honestly not seen the looks these women are giving you? They're doing everything but rolling over on their backs with their legs in the air!"

Henry raised his eyebrows in surprise, his mouth opening. "I definitely haven't seen anything like that," he answered, laughing. "I'm sure I would've noticed." He looked around ostentatiously. "Could you point that out the next time one of them does that? I'd like to take a picture of it--"

"Henry!" Mouse slapped at him again, unable to control her own laughter. "And because they're so interested in you, it makes them hate my ass," she continued, nodding for emphasis.

"What?" Henry asked in astonishment. He put his hands on Mouse's round bottom under the water. "This ass right here? This most beautiful thing? Please, Mouse, what you're saying's just not possible." He leaned in and kissed her again, lingeringly, really tasting her mouth this time as he squeezed comfortably with both hands. "This ass is Rabelaisian, Botticellian, who could hate it, honestly?"

"Henry, stop, you're going to make me laugh so hard I choke," Mouse gasped, leaning her head on Henry's shoulder. "Please," she implored. "Everyone's staring at us."

Henry looked around. Sure enough, many people were at the railing, watching Henry and his bride laughing in the water as they held each other. Even some of the people in the water were looking their way. And quite a few of them did seem to be women.

Henry smiled and gave them a cheerful wave.

"How about if I untie your top?" he murmured to Mouse. "That'll really give them something to look at."

"Henry!"

Eventually they stopped clowning around and got back on the boat, where they enjoyed a nice lunch, which was part of the charter. Then they borrowed snorkels, masks, and fins, and dove in the warm, clear, water, enjoying the colorful marine life that lived there.

Henry found that he really enjoyed being around Mouse when she wasn't minding Leo. One of the things he loved most about her was what a good mother she was, of course, but she became a different person, more carefree, more of a hoyden, more gamine, almost.

He smiled at her as they sat on a bench and leaned against the railing, and she leaned into his chest, sighing with pleasure.

"Thanks so much," she said, shaking her hair out of her face.

"For what?" he asked, rubbing his hand up and down her arm.

"For all of this," she said, gesturing to include the boat, the ocean, and the island.

"Mouse, it's our honeymoon," Henry responded, amused. "I'm getting plenty out of it, too, you know?"

"But you could've done this with anyone," Mouse tried to explain. "I mean, you could've come here with anyone--" she paused.

Henry looked down at her, waiting for her to continue.

"You could've married anyone," she finally tried again.

Henry took a deep breath and pushed Mouse off his body.

"Mouse. I could not have done this with anyone," Henry began, trying very hard to keep his voice and tone light. He didn't want her to feel how upset he was, especially not out here, on this boat, in front of strangers. "I'm in love with you. I wanted to marry you. I could only be enjoying this with you."

Mouse shrugged, which Henry saw. He clenched his jaw.

"Don't do that," he said.

"Okay, okay," she said, setting her drink aside and leaning in, very close to him. "This is coming out all wrong, let me start again," she begged. "Thank you for being so financially successful and good at what you do that you could afford to buy us this fantastic honeymoon," she tried. "I'm so in love with you, and you know that I would've married you if you'd been a struggling art photographer who lived in a crappy studio in Queens, right?" She peered earnestly into his vivid blue eyes, nodding, encouraging him to nod back, which he did.

"And I would've been happy to do that, and we would've had a wonderful time, sending Leo to public school, and struggling to pay our bills every month, and stealing cable from the bodega downstairs," she embellished.

He grinned, dropping a kiss on her temple.

"But instead, you're this hot shit photographer who's worth a bazillion dollars, and can pay off my school loans and can afford to have a baby right off the bat, and for me to stay home and be a full time parent," Mouse continued. "And you can afford to buy us this amazing honeymoon in Bora Bora, where we can eat amazing food and go snorkeling in the most beautiful water I've ever seen," she concluded softly. "So thank you, Henry. For all of it."

"My pleasure, Mouse Cameron," Henry replied, giving her a spine melting smile. "Truly."

One of the charter attendants chose that moment to take their picture from the second floor deck, and he showed it to them later, after they'd gone back to the hotel dock. It was beautiful, a close up of their faces as they smiled at each other, with the gorgeous ocean behind them, so of course they paid the exorbitant price and bought it as a keepsake.

"Henry, are we going to see you in the lounge later?" one of the young women asked as they were disembarking. "The jazz combo they have in there is just outstanding, you know," she added, preening just a little, showing off her cleavage in her sparkly Gucci beach pullover. She had long, lustrous blonde hair, and miles of legs, like the women he was paid to photograph.

"No, I don't think so," Henry replied, slipping an arm around Mouse's waist as they stood on the jetty. "This is our honeymoon, and we really just like to spend time alone, you know?" He squeezed his wife's waist for emphasis. "It took me twenty-two years to find her, I want to spend every second I can with her."

"Really? You don't get bored?" the blonde asked, giving Mouse the once over.

"Never, Henry responded promptly. "Can't get enough of her, to tell you the truth." As if to prove his point, he picked Mouse up, causing her to let out a little shriek as she grabbed him around the neck. "Let's go back to our villa, wife, so we can really have some fun, what do you say?"

Mouse allowed herself a small, smile of victory as she looked at the blonde over her husband's shoulder.

That, and a little wave.