Home Sweet Alaska

by Beth Carpenter

  “Hi, it’s Scott, right?” Volta’s brother had come up beside him. “Did you need to see Volta for something about work?”

  “Hi. No. Nothing in particular. I hope it’s okay that I came.”

  “Sure, it’s fine. Emma invited you. Help yourself to sodas or water on the table over there.” Beside the drinks table, a grinning boy shook a can of soda. “Oops, excuse me.” Leith hurried over to intervene.

  Scott edged his way toward the group of adults. Volta was tying the blindfold onto Emma now. She handed her the stick and spun her around a couple of times. Another woman in a red polo herded the rest of the children a safe distance away before calling, “Okay, go.”

  Emma took a swing with the pole. Whoever was manipulating the piñata jerked it upward. Emma completely missed but made an impressive whizzing noise as the stick cut through the air. The piñata lowered again in preparation for her next swing, but instead of winding up, Emma immediately swung back in the same arc and knocked a limb off the star, and a few pieces of candy tumbled to the ground.

  The kids squealed and three of them dived on the candy. Someone grabbed the stick from Emma’s hand before she could take another swing and take out a crowd of children while she was at it. She jerked off the blindfold, but the other kids had already grabbed all the candy. She turned to her mother.

  Volta pointed at the piñata. “There’s a lot more stuff inside. Christy, I believe it’s your turn.”

  “Go, Christy,” Emma chanted. “Knock out the candy.”

  Volta blindfolded the girl, spun her around and gave her a little nudge in the direction of the piñata. One good whack and the bottom fell out, sending the rest of the candy flying. This time all the kids made a mad dash for the candy, scooping up handfuls.

  Volta handed out paper bags. “You can put your goodies in here to take home later.” She pointed at a table that held markers and stickers. “Go write your name on the bag and decorate it.”

  Once the kids were convinced they’d found every last piece of candy, they drifted toward the table. An older woman standing in front of Scott chuckled. “I’ve seen bears at Katmai that weren’t that competitive. You’d think they were starving.”

  Volta laughed and turned toward her to comment, but her laugh died in midstream when she spotted Scott. The older woman turned to him. “Hello. I don’t believe we’ve met. I’m Dawn Jordan, Emma’s grandmother.”

  “Scott Wi—”

  “Scott and I know each other from work.” Volta came striding to them. “Scott, what are you doing here?”

  “You came!” Emma rushed over to him. “You really did want to see the reindeer.”

  “They’re spectacular. Thank you for inviting me.”

  “Pretty soon, we’re going to pet the baby ones and then we’re going for reindeer rides. You can pet the reindeer, too. Right, Mommy?”

  “Um, sure.”

  Emma leaned closer and whispered, loud enough for her mother and grandmother to hear, “They have horses, too, but we can’t ride them because there’s only two, and that’s not enough for the whole party.”

  “Oh,” Scott said. “That’s too bad. But the reindeer are awesome.”

  “Hey, kids. We’re going to do pin the tail on the reindeer now,” the woman in the red polo called. Scott realized it had a sleigh embroidered on it.

  “Go on over with Marissa,” Volta told Emma. “I’ll be right there.”

  Emma skipped away. Her grandmother looked at Scott and then at Volta. When neither of them answered her unspoken question, she said, “Well, it’s nice to meet you, Scott. I’m going to go watch Emma and give you and Volta a minute to talk about...whatever it is you’re here to talk about. Excuse me, please.”

  “Nice to meet you, too, Mrs. Jordan,” Scott said quickly.

  As soon as she’d stepped away, Volta grabbed Scott’s elbow and dragged him to the far corner of the barn, away from everyone. “Once again. Why are you here?”

  “Emma invited me.”

  “That’s not what I asked.”

  Scott shrugged. “I wanted to see you again.”

  “Why?”

  “I want you to work with me as liaison.”

  “You came to my daughter’s birthday party to talk me into working with you?”

  He tried for a disarming smile. “And to see the reindeer.”

  “Really?” She tilted her head. “You wanted to see reindeer? You’ve been everywhere.”

  “Nowhere with reindeer. Not until now. By the way, why didn’t you let me introduce myself to your mother?”

  “Why? Because my dad and my brother are here, and I’d rather not have any bloodshed at Emma’s party.”

  “Bloodshed?”

  “They never met you, but my mother knew your name, and my parents were none too pleased with my emotional state when I came home from Hawaii.”

  “Oh.” Scott hadn’t considered that. Of course they would be protective of Volta and predisposed to dislike the man who broke her heart. Not that he blamed them.

  The man with the weathered face Scott had noticed earlier walked over to them, a wrinkle in the center of his brow. “Is everything all right here?”

  “It’s fine, Dad,” Volta said. “Scott, my father, Russ Jordan. Dad, Scott’s a doctor with DEMA.”

  The man’s face relaxed. “Oh, DEMA. I’ve heard good things. Nice to meet you, Doctor.”

  “Scott, please.” Scott offered his hand and Russ shook it.

  “What brings you to Alaska, Scott?”

  “I’m working on a study. In fact, I was just asking your daughter if she would act as my liaison. I understand she’s well connected in the villages.”

  “That’s a great idea.” Russ wrapped an arm around Volta’s shoulders.

  Volta gave a tight smile. “Thanks, Dad. I’ll keep it in mind. But for now, we’d better get back to the party. Chris and Marissa are rounding everyone up to visit the reindeer calves.”

  “I’d better get my video camera,” Russ said as he hurried away.

  Volta frowned at Scott. “Can we talk about this later? My daughter is celebrating her birthday and I don’t want to miss any magic moments arguing with you about work.”

  She was right. He shouldn’t be using her daughter’s birthday party to push his own agenda. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have come. We can talk Monday.” He gave a little bow and left the gift bag on the table with the others. “I’ll go now.”

  Suddenly Volta laughed. “Aw, you’re as bad as Emma with the sad eyes. Stay. Pet a reindeer. After all, how often are you going to be in Alaska? You might never get another opportunity.”

  He returned the smile. “Truer words were never spoken.”

  CHAPTER FIVE

  A SMALLISH REINDEER whose velvet-covered antlers didn’t quite match nudged Emma’s hand. She giggled and reached into her cup for more alfalfa pellets. Emma and the other kids were having a ball feeding the baby reindeer.

  So was Scott. Volta looked over to see him in the corner, talking softly to one of the shyer calves. Slowly the calf approached his outstretched hand and took the alfalfa pellets. A few minutes later, Scott was stroking the calf’s neck and the deer was rubbing his face against Scott’s leg.

  Volta smiled. Scott had always had a way with children and animals. Strange dogs would wag their tails at him. All the children who lived in his apartment building in Honolulu had known him, and Volta was often drafted to participate in elaborate games of capture the flag with a gaggle of kids in the nearby park.

  And yet he’d never wanted children of his own. Over time, as they’d gotten to know one another, Scott had confided in her about his childhood. Losing his mother when he was very young had affected him deeply, and his father was seldom home and never emotionally available. And Scott had somehow decided he wasn’t meant to be part of a famil
y. Her heart ached over his lonely childhood.

  But that was all in the past. They’d gone their separate ways, built separate lives. So Scott wanted her to work with him on this study. Honestly, if it were anyone else, she’d have jumped at the chance. She did have good relationships with most of the village health aides, and prenatal health was an issue that concerned her. Surely, after eleven years, she and Scott could work together. Couldn’t they?

  She went back to snapping photos of all the kids and reindeer. Her friends Chris and Marissa, who ran the reindeer farm, had everything under control.

  Outside in the open area between the barn and the house, Marissa’s uncle Oliver was hitching reindeer to little carts, getting ready for the reindeer rides. Oliver’s white beard, red polo shirt and hint of a potbelly made him a dead ringer for Santa Claus. Already a couple of the kids were whispering and pointing in his direction.

  After another ten minutes with the baby reindeer, Chris herded the children out the gate and toward the carts. The parents followed, although a couple would obviously have preferred to stay in the pen with the reindeer. Chris delivered half the kids to Marissa for cart riding and promised the other half a trip to the big barn to see the goats and rabbits. Emma was in the reindeer ride line, but Scott followed the children to the barn.

  Ryan, Chris and Marissa’s son, led one of the reindeer over, and Marissa helped two children climb into the cart. Ryan led them away for a ride around the farm, and Oliver brought his reindeer cart up to the front of the line. Emma climbed in, but her friend Christy leaned over to whisper something to Oliver. He answered with a gentle, “Ho, ho, ho,” leaving Christy wide-eyed as she joined Emma in the cart for a ride.

  They timed the events very well, with the children in carts returning from their lap around the farm just as the other kids came back from the barn, talking about goats, chickens and rabbits. They switched activities.

  Once all the children had their turns with the reindeer, they headed back to the barn to watch Emma blow out the candles on her pink cake with strawberries. Marissa’s aunt Becky cut the cake, while everyone trooped through the food line where the vegetable trays slowly diminished, mostly due to conscientious parents urging their kids to take a carrot. Mom’s cookie tray remained largely untouched.

  Having settled the kids at a table, the parents gathered their food and sat down at another table nearby. Volta chose the chair next to her mom, who was nibbling on a stalk of celery. “Having fun?”

  “It’s a lovely party. Emma can’t seem to smile enough.”

  “Yeah, she’s having a blast. I think the other kids are, too.”

  Mom looked askance at the frosting-heavy slice of cake on Volta’s plate. “Once they finish all that sugar, they’re going to be bouncing off the walls.”

  “They’ll be fine. Besides, the only thing we have left is opening presents.”

  “Oh, good. I can’t wait to see how Emma likes our present.”

  Something in her mother’s voice struck Volta as ominous. “What did you get her?”

  Mom gave a Mona Lisa smile. “You’ll see.”

  Scott took the chair across the table from them. His plate held only a pile of vegetables and several of Mom’s cookies. Mom nudged Volta. “There. I told you some people wouldn’t want all that sugar. Good thing I made cookies.”

  Scott had never been one to shun dessert. Then Volta remembered. “You’re allergic to strawberries.”

  “Yes,” he admitted. “But these cookies look delicious, especially now that I know your mom made them.” Scott popped one of the small disks into his mouth and chewed. And chewed some more, trying to smile pleasantly with his mouth closed while his teeth ground their way through the woody roughage. Finally he swallowed. “Very unusual. Is that banana I taste?”

  “Yes,” Dawn chirped. “And flaxseed and quinoa and oat flour. I created the recipe myself based on a recipe for teething biscuits.”

  “Very inventive.” Scott nudged another cookie out of the way and picked up a carrot.

  Mom beamed at him, until someone further down the table called her name to ask about yoga class. While she was turned away, Scott smuggled the rest of Mom’s cookies off his plate and under the table. Volta snorted and then coughed to cover it up. Scott winked at her.

  Once everyone had finished eating, Volta went to the kids’ table. “Now we’re ready to open gifts, okay, Emma?”

  “Yay.” Emma jumped up.

  As she crossed the barn, Volta whispered in Emma’s ear, “Remember how we talked about manners and saying thank you to everyone?”

  “I remember,” Emma assured her. “I want to open the one from Uncle Leith and Sabrina first.” She chose a box with blue marbled wrapping paper, tied with a giant bow of tulle. Sabrina’s work, obviously. Leith would have struggled to tape a bow on the store bag.

  Emma untied the bow, draped the sheer fabric around her shoulders and then ripped off the paper and opened the box. She pulled out a pair of cowboy boots with pink stitching. “Oh, thank you!”

  Volta had told them about horse camp, but she hadn’t expected them to help outfit Emma. Very thoughtful. The next few packages held toys and games, and Emma happily thanked the givers. She reached for a gift bag with a cartoon bear on the outside, tugged the tissue paper aside and pulled out a wooden elephant with elaborate patterns carved into it. “Ooooh, look, Mommy. It’s an elephant. I love it. I’m going to name him Peanut,” Emma declared. “Thank you...” She looked for a tag but couldn’t locate one.

  “That one was probably from Scott,” Volta told her. “I suspect he brought it from overseas.”

  “India,” Scott admitted.

  “Wow. Thank you,” Emma said, wide-eyed.

  * * *

  THE GRAND FINALE was the box from Volta holding a certificate stating Emma was enrolled in horse camp in June. Emma squealed. “Horses!”

  After she’d hugged Volta and thanked her profusely, her grandfather cleared his throat. “Oh, look here.” He pulled an envelope from his shirt pocket. “I found one more thing for Emma.”

  He handed her the envelope. Emma ripped it open and sounded out the words on the paper. “Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh. Riding lessons!” She looked up. “Mommy, they gave me riding lessons. More horses!”

  Wonderful. Volta had scrimped and saved to afford horse camp, but her perfect present was overshadowed by the private lessons from her parents. She forced a smile, knowing it wasn’t deliberate. They loved seeing Emma happy, just like she did. “That’s great.”

  Emma ran to her grandparents and hugged them. “This is the best birthday ever.”

  Volta reached under the table for the box of party favor bags. She helped Emma pass them out to the kids, thanking everyone for coming. “Don’t forget your candy bags from the piñata.” The party guests started to drift away, but many stopped to talk on their way out.

  Once the party favor box was empty, Volta gathered up the gifts. Emma carried the boots over so Sabrina could help her try them on. Volta picked up the wooden elephant, which looked to be hand-carved. It was lovely. She raised her head to see Scott’s brown eyes watching her. She flashed him a smile.

  He crossed the barn to the table and helped her stack the gifts into a box. “Thank you for letting me stay for the party. I had fun.”

  “I’m glad.”

  He set the last gift into the box. “Want me to carry this somewhere?”

  “No, I’ve got it.”

  He met her eyes. Her heart jumped in remembered anticipation. Once upon a time, this would have been the moment when he kissed her goodbye. Funny how her heart still remembered these things.

  “Okay, then. See you at Puffin headquarters.”

  “Scott.”

  “Yes?”

  “I’ll text my supervisor. If he approves, I’ll work with you on this study.”

 
He smiled. “Fantastic. Monday, then.”

  “All right. Goodbye, Scott.”

  “Bye.” He stopped to wish Emma a happy birthday and admire her new boots on his way out. Sabrina and Leith were with her, as were her grandparents. Scott chatted with them for a few minutes. Emma grinned at something he said, and everyone else laughed.

  Best birthday ever, indeed.

  * * *

  MONDAY MORNING, SCOTT entered the Puffin Medical Transport office fifteen minutes before the scheduled meeting. He wanted a chance to talk with the supervisor before Volta arrived to smooth over any issues. But when he walked into the conference room, Volta and Bernie Bench, her supervisor, were already there.

  “Good morning, Doctor.” Bernie dumped a packet of sweetener into his coffee and stirred. “Volta tells me you want her along on your junkets.”

  “Yes. When I was in Sparks, Libby suggested having a local liaison would help make the introductions to the caregivers a lot smoother for me, so folks wouldn’t feel as if they’re talking to a complete stranger.”

  “That’s sound advice, and Volta is a good choice.” He turned to Volta. “I can cover your shifts over the next couple of weeks.”

  Volta nodded. “Sounds good.”

  Bernie sipped his coffee. “You and the doc will be in the old turboprop. Mike’s piloting. And Jaci can take the transport to Boston this morning.”

  “Thanks, Bernie.” Volta poured a cup of coffee from the carafe and handed it to Scott. “Still take it black?”

  “Sure do.” She remembered. He accepted the mug from her and tasted the brew. Two more employees came into the conference room and headed for the coffee machine. Scott moved aside and took a chair at the table.

  Volta poured a cup and made her way over, but instead of sitting beside him, she chose a chair on the other side of the table. “Where are we going today?”

  Scott checked the note on his phone. “A village called Talpukna.”