The host looked out over the vast crowd in front of him. "I am your host, Maximilian Astor, but you can call me Max. I will be hosting a number of shows throughout our cruise. Everyday, same time! But tonight, we open with something special. An idea I came up with myself. I call it…Deepest Secrets."
The server returned with their drinks, passing a small plate of shots to Liam and a daiquiri to Cristiana.
"So here's how it's gonna work. I'm going to need some married couples, five years or more together. Three different couples. Any volunteers?"
The crowd seemed reluctant, but a few people raised their hands.
"Come on up, you guys," Max said. "We need three couples."
Liam glanced at Cristiana. "Do you wanna do it?"
"Hell no," Cristiana said. "I'd die of embarrassment."
Three couples made their way on stage, which had six seats near the curtain.
"Have a seat, you guys. Thank-you so much for volunteering. Now, let me explain the rules. Ladies, you will write down on a board what you think your husband's deepest secret is. Don't show it to him. He will reveal the deepest secret to the audience, and if you wrote down the correct answer, ten points. It's as simple as that."
Max walked over to the first couple. "Hello. What's your name, ma'am?" He asked, turning the microphone to the woman.
"Jackie," she said.
"And you?" Max asked, turning the microphone over to the man.
"Jack."
"Jack and Jackie….hmmm."
The audience chuckled.
"How did that happen? Have you realized how similar your names are?" Max asked.
"Well…actually my full name is Jacquelin," she said. "But yes, we did realize."
"Good good. I'd get a DNA test, just to be sure," Max said, winking at the crowd.
The whole crowd burst out with laughter.
Cristiana looked around, confused. The joke hadn't even made sense. She took a couple of sips of her daiquiri. She probably just wasn't drunk enough.
"So, Jackie, grab that board next to your seat, and I want you to write down what you think Jack's deepest secret is."
Jackie thought for a moment and then began to write.
Max stepped over to Jack. "Jack. Do you have a secret you would like to share with us?"
Jack looked nervous. "Um…yeah. So, this one time, I was at the doctor, and they ran some tests. It turned out I had cancer."
"Aww," the crowd said in unison.
Jackie dropped the board on the ground. "What?"
Max chuckled. "I'm guessing that's not what you were writing down?"
The crowd laughed, and this time Cristiana and Liam joined in.
"Why did you never tell me?" Jackie whispered ferociously, but the microphone was able to pick it up.
"My dear, that's just the name of the game. It wouldn't really be a secret if you knew it too, right? So, Jack, how about that cancer? You seem alright now."
"Yeah…I somehow recovered. There was never any need for chemo or anything. I just got lucky."
The audience clapped and Jack beamed.
"Now Jackie, I'm sorry you had to find out this way," Max said. "But now is your time for revenge. When I come back to you, I want to hear your deepest, darkest secret. Moving on, who do we have here?" He said, strolling over to the next couple.
Liam took a shot and looked at Cristiana. "Cris."
"Yeah?"
He hesitated. "I…do I know your deepest secret?"
No, Cristiana thought. Max was right, it was a secret for a reason. "Probably," she lied, shrugging. "I don't really have any deep secrets."
"Neither do I," Liam said, taking another shot. "Let's hope it stays that way."
They watched as Max interviewed the other two couples, who both talked about past relationships their partners had never heard about.
"Now we return to Jack and Jackie. Boy, what a couple. So last we were here, we learned Jack had cancer. Jack, I want you to go ahead and write down what you believe Jackie's secret is," Max said, handing him the board.
"What do you think it is?" Cristiana whispered.
"No idea," replied Liam, his eyes fixed on the stage.
Max knelt next to Jackie. "Jackie, please don't let us down. Your deepest secret. Go."
Jackie cleared her throat. "So…about a month after Jack and I started dating…I met up with an old boyfriend. I'm so sorry Jack."
The crowd roared.
Jack stood, the board still in his hands, a look of utter defeat on his face.
"Wow. Wow wow wow," Max said, stepping over to Jack. "Unbelievable. This has been a lose-lose situation for you. So, you had cancer, and your wife gets mad at you for not telling her. Now you find out that your wife has cheated on you. What're you gonna do? I'm so sorry you will be sleeping in the same bed tonight. Awkward. Maybe I can put in a good word and get you another room."
The crowd laughed again, but Cristiana didn't join in. She only felt bad.
Max waited for the noise to stop. "Now…now Jack. We only need one more thing from you tonight, and then you can go sign your divorce papers. What did you write on the board?"
Jack spun it around and showed it to Max and the audience.
"'She…cheated on me' is what it says. Jack, you are correct! 10 points!" Max said over the cheering crowd.
"This game is sad," Cristiana said as Max moved on to the other contestants. "Still, it's very entertaining. I'm glad I didn't go up there though. We would've been humiliated."
Liam nodded. "Yeah, sure."
Max finished interviewing the last couple. "Well, if we tally up the points, it looks like we have a clear winner here. Jack and Jackie were the only couple to guess one of their deepest secrets correctly. Congratulations!"
The crowd cheered and the couples were escorted off the stage.
"Well, everybody, that is our show for tonight! Come back tomorrow at the same time for a show featuring one of the greatest singers I have ever heard, Madison Heffner! I promise it'll be worth your time! Have a great night!"