Love in Alaska

by Tina Scott

  When I jogged past the restaurant, and with my heart racing, I stepped off the road, shook my limbs and heaved a breath. I then walked toward the couple with forced calm. What looked like shiny seashells near shore, were actually clear jellyfish blobs in the sand. They’d make a perfect science project for my class, but there was no way I was flying home with even one in my suitcase. I slowed my pace even more so as not to step on them.

  “Oh, hey, you’re back.” Traci left Storm without a word and walked toward me.

  “Yeah.” My friend did need lessons on how to catch a guy. She shouldn’t have walked away like that. Then I remembered Traci mentioning the girlfriend he might be married to. Maybe he was just being nice to an old friend. Storm pitched another rock and then joined us.

  “So, will the jellyfish swim away when the tide comes back?” I knelt over a jelly-glob. I even dared touch it but quickly drew my finger away.

  Storm knelt beside me, his brown eyes twinkling. “No. I’m pretty sure they’re dead.” He scooped down and lifted the jellyfish in a bed of sand. When he did, his arm touched mine, and a current passed between us. I stiffened at the implication, refusing to be attracted to Traci’s boyfriend. He turned, glancing at me with questioning eyes.

  “Don’t hurt it.” Traci thankfully interrupted our moment by placing her hand possessively on Storm’s shoulder as she leaned forward to get a better look.

  “Like I said, I’m pretty sure it’s already dead.” Storm got up, and we walked over to the shoreline where he lowered his hand into the water. The jellyfish lay suspended and lifeless. “What are your plans for the rest of your vacation?” he asked.

  “Traci said we’d go kayaking, but tomorrow we’ll probably go to the boardwalk and shop.” I looked to Traci for confirmation.

  “Marcia likes the outdoors, so we’ll go on a couple of hikes, and maybe take in some salmon fishing.”

  “Salmon fishing?” I crinkled my nose. Although I loved eating fish, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to hook and clean my own. “Or maybe we could do something else?”

  Storm slipped his hands into his jeans’ pockets. “If you’re interested, the tour boats go out to Seldovia and back every day. It’s a fun little cruise, and you might see some whales.”

  “I’d love it,” I said a little too quickly, then bit down on my bottom lip. But really, I needed to see those whales so I’d know my life would be okay.

  Traci nodded. “We’d talked about going on a tour. Is there a cruise you recommend?”

  Storm rubbed his chin. “Northern Star gives the best value, and the crew are all honest, hardworking men.” He smiled crookedly. “And I can get you a great price.”

  “Get out of here!” Traci chuckled. “Is that what you do in the summer? You own a tour boat?”

  “Not by myself. Conner and I are partners with Trent—we own the excursion boat together,” he said. “Do you remember Trent?”

  “Not in a good, I-want-to-invest-money-with-you, way.” Traci made a face.

  “He’s grown up. A lot.”

  I hadn’t ever been on a cruise before, and I especially wanted to see humpback whales before going home to Fresno. They were such huge, elusive creatures. Almost mystical. If I could see one before going home, I’d take it as a sign that I would find love again. I turned to Traci. “A cruise sounds great. And, you mentioned seeing glaciers up close?” Maybe we would see them from the ship.

  Traci brightened. “Look across the bay.” She pointed to a large mass of white. “That’s Grewingk Glacier. We’ll take the kayaks across the bay and then hike to the glacier.”

  Storm frowned. “The tours around here all take the water taxi.” He nodded toward the bay. “Because of all the commercial ships, it’s safer.”

  Traci made a face. “That’s just for tourists. We’ll be perfectly fine.”

  “So, you’re planning to camp on the other side?” Storm’s eyebrows lifted. “Because it’ll take the better part of a day to kayak across.”

  “Oh, that’s right.” Traci nodded thoughtfully. “We’d better plan on the water taxi then.”

  “I don’t mind camping.” I lifted a shoulder. “I mean, if you have sleeping bags and a tent.” Brad didn’t like camping and I hadn’t been out in ages.

  “There’s a campsite there, Randy’s Lagoon. It’s near the Grewingk Glacier Lake Trail,” Storm said. “For a fee, they provide the tents and they even have a few cabins. They’re usually booked months in advance though, so you’ll need to call and see if they have any openings.”

  Traci peered southward. “It’ll be beautiful there.”

  “Do you want company?” Storm tapped his boot into the sand. “You know, in case you come across a bear.”

  Traci touched her hand to his arm. “Like you’d save us from a bear.” She glanced at me before speaking again. “When are you free? Surely you have to work.”

  “We do keep busy during the summer, but I’m not irreplaceable.” He pulled out his phone and checked his calendar. “I have Wednesday and Thursday off this week, and Tuesday and Wednesday off next week.”

  “What do you say, Marcia, are you game?”

  I pretended to consider it graciously, but I did not like being put on the spot like that. How did I end up being the third wheel in a girlfriend vacation? “Sure,” I said to Storm. “If you don’t mind tagging along.” Perhaps he’d get the hint with that.

  “Tagging?” Storm slammed his fist against his chest mockingly. “I could never tag along. No way.” He scrunched his face as though upset. I couldn’t tell for sure. “I plan to escort two gorgeous ladies through the Alaskan wilderness. I will be your hero, your tour guide and your—” He stopped mid-sentence and watched Traci. “What?”

  “Don’t be a clown,” she said.

  He turned to me with a deflated expression. “Was that a little overboard then?”

  “A little?” I laughed. It was overboard, and it helped me relax. “I was worried about your sanity for a minute there.”

  “Well, um, I’d better get going.” Storm ran his fingers through his hair. “I’ll meet you Wednesday then?”

  “Yeah. So if it’s okay, we’ll do the kayaking this Wednesday and Thursday, and then next week ...” Traci opened her phone and checked her calendar. “I’ve got some things I need to do for my mom in-between. Can we take you up on the Seldovia cruise next Thursday, or are you too busy then?”

  “No, that’ll be great. I’ll put you on the calendar.”

  I was leaving for home Saturday night, so the cruise would be my last big thing.

  “I’ll be there.” He gave Traci a quick hug and then turned to me as though to give me a hug but then stepped back. “Um, see you in two days.” He shook my hand, turned directly around and headed up to the road and out of sight.

  As soon as he was out of earshot, I said, “I have a couple of concerns. One, what will the sleeping arrangements be if he goes with us?” I did not want two days of awkwardness.

  “You and I will share a tent or a cabin, whatever is available. Storm is on his own. He knows that.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Positive.” She pressed her lips together as though I was ridiculous. “He’s pretty great though, right?”

  “He’s absolutely perfect.”

  “I’m glad you think so. I’ve known him most of my life and he’s always been a ‘keeper.’” Her faraway gaze told me volumes about her feelings for him. Then, she focused on me and said, “What’s your second question?”

  “He acted so weird.” I scrunched my nose. “Surely I didn’t offend him.”

  “Heavens no. I think he’s smitten.”

  I nodded. “So, the two of you hit it off while I was jogging?” I was a little bummed, but really, it’s what I hoped would happen. Besides, who man-shops on vacation?

  “For a teacher, you’re kind of obtuse sometimes.”

  “Hey!”

  “I mean it.” Traci headed up to the car. “I already told you that
Storm and I are just friends. We grew up together.”

  “Uh-huh.” As though that negated a relationship between the two. They were friends for now. I’d seen the way Storm had looked at Traci and the close way in which they interacted—and all those Hallmark movies about friends with secret crushes on each other couldn’t be wrong. Traci was the thickheaded one, but it didn’t matter to me either way. I was leaving in less than two weeks and even if I did get the job with the state, chances of me being able to come back next summer were slim.

  However, that night as I slept, I dreamt of brown eyes lit with mischief and fond memories.

  Four

  “Are you okay?” Traci looked at me as though my face had turned purple or something.

  “Of course, I’m okay,” I huffed. “Shouldn’t I be?” Scowling, I brushed past her to the kitchen. I wasn’t used to going to bed at two in the morning and getting up at noon. And there was a time difference. Anyone would be off their game with a schedule like that. “When do you have to start work?”

  “I’ve already started. While you were sleeping, I went and visited a couple of properties close by and took pictures. I’m in the process of creating a website, and I’m looking into joining the business with several other sites that promote businesses in the area. I’ve reached out to the Chamber of Commerce, and when we go down to the boardwalk, I plan to do a little networking.”

  That was an impressive morning’s work, but all I could think was that she should have invited me to go with her. “I’m not useless,” I muttered. “Just because I’m a lowly teacher and I’ve never owned my own business doesn’t mean I can’t help.”

  “What?!” Traci stood in the kitchen entryway with her hands on her hips. She was upset and had every right to be, because she knew the importance of teachers even though she didn’t necessarily want kids of her own.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t sleep well.” Yeah, apparently dreaming of someone else’s boyfriend can cause sleeplessness topped with periods of grumpiness. “But, really, I can help. I’m not just here waiting to be entertained.” I poured myself a bowl of cereal. Traci left the room without another word, and I wasn’t convinced that she had forgiven me. Whatever. Regardless of her frame of mind, I finished my breakfast and was sure to wash my dishes and wipe the counters before going and getting ready for the day. I wouldn’t have her complaining about a mess.

  After I showered and dressed, I peeked into Traci’s bedroom where she was on her laptop. “Are we good?” I didn’t want awkwardness between us during my short stay. The ten days remaining hardly seemed sufficient. However, it would be more than enough if we weren’t going to get along.

  Traci glanced up. “Of course, we’re good.”

  That would have been great except her voice was a tad snappish, and she turned back to her computer without saying anything more. Did I have to beg, or what? I skulked into the living room and plopped onto the sofa prepared to watch TV until she deigned to come out.

  My phone chimed with a text message. I didn’t have any family who would contact me, and I looked to see who it was. It was Colleen, the principal at Valley where I worked. It said, “Call me when you can.” My heart thudded. We were friends at work, but she didn’t usually call during the summer.

  I pulled up her number from my contacts and called. “Hi. Is there something wrong?” I asked.

  “Heavens no. Everything is right, I think. The State Department of Education called asking about you. I just wanted you to know that I put in a good word.”

  “That’s great! Yea, they called me yesterday.” We talked more about the position, and I learned the state planned to have seven members assigned to the group that would consist of principals and teachers who’d made a difference during their careers. I dared ask, “Do you know what it pays?”

  Colleen told me, and I about dropped the phone. It was nearly double my current salary. She gave me pointers on what they were looking for and encouragement that they’d call me for an interview. I told her some of the things I’d seen so far in Alaska. By the time we hung up, my mood had lifted considerably.

  It was green outside the picture window and the ocean beyond was blue and inviting. I couldn’t sit inside when there was wilderness to explore. So, I went back to Traci’s bedroom and knocked on the door frame.

  “I don’t want to interrupt, but I’m going to take a quick walk.” I grinned halfheartedly.

  “Do you mind if I come?” Her eyebrows raised as though she wasn’t sure.

  “No, I don’t mind. Get on over here!” I motioned for her. “Like I said before, you’re my best friend ever. I just didn’t sleep well.” Or something. I gulped down those sparkling brown eyes I’d dreamt of and forced a smile. “It’s too nice of a day to waste it inside.”

  Traci closed her laptop and jumped up, giving me a hug. “Let’s go for a walk.”

  The air was crisp, and I took a moment to enjoy it and our surroundings, and then we headed up the hill a different direction than the previous morning.

  “It’d be fun if we could see a bear and a moose while I’m here.” We wouldn’t get too close, but bears always looked so cute in pictures, and my phone was charged and ready.

  “The only place you want to see a bear is at the zoo or the wild animal park. They could attack. So, be sure you don’t go walking by yourself.”

  The raise of her eyebrows as she spoke was a tad condescending, and the possibility of a bear attack was surreal. There were houses on either side of us. “Do you have any tips, just in case?” That question would keep her yakking for the rest of our walk.

  “We’ll have to get some bear spray, it’s like pepper spray for bears,” she said, as though I couldn’t figure it out from the name. “Other than that, if a bear approaches, make a lot of noise. If it’s a black bear, it’ll generally back off.”

  Traci went on to explain the different temperaments between a grizzly and a black bear. However, dropping to the ground and pretending I was dead while a bear mauled me didn’t sound like a great defense. According to her, bears were fast runners and nimble in trees. I had seen pictures of bears in trees. But still, was she just saying all this stuff to scare me?

  “It’s getting kind of late. I think the shops on the boardwalk close around 5 p.m. Would you still like to go?”

  “Well, yeah.” What was she thinking? “You know that I love to shop.” We headed back to Traci’s place without seeing a moose or even any bear tracks. “I thought Alaska was full of moose, mooses?” I scrunched my nose. “How do you say it? Anyway, I thought we’d have seen one by now.”

  “It’s just moose, singular or plural.” The corner of her lip turned up. “They’re hard to see. We could be fairly close to one and not know it.”

  “Yeah, okay.” Moose was an irregular noun. I tapped my finger to my lip. But, from what I’d seen and heard, moose were huge. How could we not see one if it was there?

  Since we’d had such a late start to the day, or rather since I had, we didn’t worry about lunch and figured we’d just grab dinner after our shopping. I was grateful for the bowl of cereal I’d had and made a mental note to set the alarm on my phone for tomorrow morning. I wouldn’t sleep away my vacation.

  The spit was a long strip of land that reached into the bay and had a large percentage of pavement along its surface. Before the row of businesses was a small inlet of water fed by the bay. Fifty fishermen, it seemed, were crowded around it, catching and jerking wiggling salmon out and then throwing their line in for more.

  The boardwalk was the string of buildings backed against the eastern edge of the spit and facing the ocean. Behind them were at least a dozen commercial ships in the bay. Each wooden structure of the boardwalk was approximately the size of an Amish shed, with its own personality. Most were painted gray or were natural wood. Others were painted green or red. There were bakeries and cafés and several fishing or sight-seeing tours. Was Storm out giving a tour? It seemed likely. The afternoon sun shined high as th
ough it was barely noon instead of nearly four.

  The area was filled with shopping and sight-seeing tourists. Nevertheless, I felt at peace, if that was believable, but it was because Traci and I relaxed and had fun. With the money from the ring padding my vacation, I felt free to live it up a little and perused every store. “Look at these lovely scarves.” I showed one to Traci. “They’re hand-dyed.” After trying on nearly a dozen, I found one that was perfect. “What do you think?” I turned to show Traci, but she wasn’t there. “It’s stunning,” I said in a falsetto voice to answer myself, and then handed it to the shop owner. “I’ll take this one.”

  I came out of the shop expecting Traci to be waiting outside the door. She wasn’t. The next shop was actually an ocean tour company named, Northern Star. Storm’s company.

  I peeked inside to see if Storm was there and saw Traci talking to a tall, broad-shouldered Polynesian guy. She leaned forward against the counter and was almost nose-to-nose with him. Her leg kicked up, her foot wiggling, and she played with a lock of her hair.

  The sight of her flirting with a complete stranger made me angry. She tells me to date and to put myself out there, but then goes around snatching up all the guys with her Traci-charm. By the time I left, would there be anyone in Alaska who wasn’t drooling after her like a hungry puppy? I gritted my teeth and walked past as though I hadn’t seen her.

  The next shop had jewelry. I took a brief moment to longingly visualize the exquisite ring that had made this vacation possible. But, Brad was a jerk, and I didn’t want his jewelry anyway. I saw a rotating-stand with earrings and put a pair up to my ears pretending to consider them, and then actually bought them.

  The next shop had blouses, and Traci still hadn’t remembered that I existed. I bought a top to go with my earrings. But, then I realized that should be the end of my souvenir shopping. I needed to save the rest in order to pay for my own dinners and tours for the rest of my stay. Just then my phone rang. It was the California Department of Education. I cleared my throat and took a deep breath and then answered as professionally as possible. “Hello, this is Marcia Williams.”