Alaskan Summer (12 page)

“I saw his tears. You touched him with your kindness.” He opened the car door for her but gave her a quick hug before letting her get in. “You touch a lot of us in special ways,” he said softly.

Ryan started the car and headed for the restaurant, and Laurette tried to calm her runaway pulse.
Is it his touch or his words that make me tingle clear to my toes?

Settled over hamburgers, Ryan asked, “You got plans for when you go back to Seattle?”

“Not really. I don’t think I want to go for any more education. Costs too much and I’m tired of school.”

“So what are you going to do?”

She put the half-eaten sandwich on her plate and looked at him. “I don’t know what to do. Guess I’ll have to find a job.”

He looked into her brown eyes and saw the flecks of gold. “What kind of job?”

She sighed. “My degree is in biology. Mostly I worked with plants, so I guess I could find a job in a greenhouse or nursery.”

He took her hands in his. “You have a gift—you’re very good with people. They need you a lot more than some potted plants do.”

She rewarded him with a smile. “And you have the gift of music. What are you going to do?” She pulled back her hands and picked up her sandwich.

Find a way to be near you.
Aloud he said, “I don’t know.”

Ryan took Laurette back to the parking lot and her truck. She slipped out of his car. “Thanks for dinner. I’ll see you in the morning.” And she was gone.

I can’t let her go. I’ve got to find a better job so I have something to offer her.
Ryan was free to come into the Dockside Hotel lounge whenever he wanted. He went there now to play the piano and to try to think.

❧

Laurette drove home in deep thought.
What am I going to do? I studied biology thinking I could help on the farm. My brother will run the farm, and I don’t think I want to marry a farmer. So what do I do with my education?

She found Ruth sleeping in her chair. Her old friend roused with a beautiful smile. “Is it morning already?”

Laurette kissed Ruth’s cheek. “No. You were just having a little nap in your chair. Now tell me about your day with John.”

Ruth’s glowing face and stories of driving along the water-front pushed back Laurette’s worries of her own future.

“We went by the Pioneer Home. Esther lived there and I used to go visit her.”

“Is it a nice place?”

“Oh, yes. It’s just for Native Alaskans. Esther always said the people living there had interesting stories to tell. Sometimes she would share them with me.”

“Did you have a nice lunch?”

“Yes. I won’t need anything else to eat tonight, but you should fix yourself something.”

“Ryan and I stopped for a hamburger, so I’m not hungry, either. Later on we could have some ice cream. Would you like to have me read the Bible now?”

“Yes, please.”

Ruth’s stories of her day out continued for a week. Usually Ruth thought it had happened yesterday or occasionally in the distant past. On Sunday Laurette shared stories of Ruth’s outing with Diane.

“Why don’t you try to take her out more often? Take her to Sheet’ka Kwaan Naa Kahidi. She’d love it.”

“I beg your pardon? I can’t even say it,” Laurette protested.

Diane laughed. “It’s a longhouse built in the traditional Nakaahidi design to preserve the Tlingit culture. They have storytelling and dance performances. Ruth would love it.”

“Where is it?”

“Down on Katlian Street, close to where you live.”

“I’ll do it the next time I can get away for a couple hours.”

An opportunity presented itself the following week. Ruth did enjoy seeing the longhouse. People there seemed to know her and showed her where some of her late sister Esther’s baskets were displayed.

Ryan met them when they got home. He had come by to barbecue salmon. They enjoyed a fine meal together.

“You come rest, Ruth. I’ll help Rette with the dishes,” Ryan offered.

That evening Ruth regaled them with stories of her sister’s beadwork and baskets. “She did beautiful work,” she said with a deep sigh.

“The ones we saw today were very nice. Did you make baskets, too?” Laurette asked.

“Not the perfect ones like Esther. She’s the artist in the family. I miss her so.”

The excitement had tired Ruth, so she kept the evening devotions short. Ryan stood when she pushed herself up out of her chair. She reached up to pat his cheek. “You did a good job on the salmon.”

He gave her a hug as Ruth bade them good night and went to her room.

“She did well today,” Laurette said, putting her Bible away. “Everyone was so kind to her. Even when she kept forgetting their names.”

“Must be hard for her here alone day after day. We should try to get her out more often.”

“I worry about how much longer she can stay alone.”

“You’re here for her now. She’ll be okay for a while, but she sure will miss you when you go back to Seattle.” Ryan brushed the stray curls back from her forehead.

Laurette couldn’t read the look in his eyes. “I’m going to miss a lot of things about Sitka,” she murmured.

Ryan stood up. “I should get going.”

She walked him to the door. His kiss started softly and quickly intensified, causing her to lose all sense of reality. She felt like she was floating off into the clouds.

He broke away after a gentle hug. “See you in the morning.” And he was gone.

Laurette stared at the empty driveway before finally going back into the house and preparing for bed.

His kiss lingered in her memory. Even when they were busy in the office, just being near Ryan left her with a flush of happiness.

“Got time to stop for supper tonight?” he asked a few days later.

“I need to get home to Ruth.”

“She doesn’t watch the clock,” he reminded her.

“You’re right. I can come in an hour late. Want to grab some fish-and-chips?”

“You’re as addicted to fish-and-chips as I am to chocolate milk.”

“They don’t have fish this good where I grew up.” She poked his arm on their way to the parking lot.

They enjoyed their supper, and Laurette ordered a take-out meal for Ruth. When they got back outside, she reached over to give Ryan a quick kiss on the cheek and ran for her truck.

❧

The house was quiet when she entered. “Ruth, are you sleeping? I’ve brought you some fish-and-chips.”

There was no answer. Laurette went into the living room, then hurried into Ruth’s bedroom and all through the house. “Ruth? Ruth, where are you?” she called frantically.

Grabbing the phone in the living room, she called Ryan at home. While it rang she prayed.
Please, Jesus, let him be home.

“Hello.”

“Ryan, I need you. Ruth has disappeared.”

“Is she with John?”

“He’s out fishing, and her friends always leave me a note if they take her out. I don’t know where she is.”

“I’ll be right there.”

TWELVE

Laurette grabbed the phone directory. First she called Ruth’s church. She got the office recorder. Desperate, she called John’s cell phone. She got the “out of service” message. She put the phone down and paced the living room. Where could Ruth have gone?

Racing through the house again, Laurette checked and found Ruth’s jacket gone. Her pocketbook that usually sat on her dresser was also gone.

When she heard tires crunching on the driveway gravel, she ran to the door. Ryan jumped out of the car almost before it stopped. He pulled her into his arms. “Now tell me what happened.”

“I came home and found the house empty. I’ve looked and looked, but there’s no note. Her coat and purse are both gone, so I know she’s gone out.”

He smoothed her hair. “Let’s assume she took a walk and got lost. We’ll go down the hill to the street and starting asking people if they’ve seen her. Do you have a picture of Ruth?”

His quiet voice calmed Laurette’s fears. “I’ve got a snapshot I took a few weeks ago.” She quickly turned to find the picture.

“We’ll take my car.” He touched her cheek tenderly. “We couldn’t get the three of us in your truck.”

“Thanks. I’m so worried I don’t think I should be driving, anyway.” Laurette slid into the passenger seat. She pressed her nose against the window trying to search the side of the road as Ryan drove down the hill to Katlian Street. “Where do we start?” Her heart stayed in her throat, making it hard to speak.

“I’ll park here and we’ll go down one way and back the other.”

“Should we call the police?”

“Wouldn’t hurt.”

Laurette pulled out her cell phone. The officer who answered told her they couldn’t take an official missing person report this soon. When she said it was Ruth, he told Laurette, “I know John Stevenson. I’ll send word out for the policemen on duty to be looking for his mother. Will you please keep us informed?”

Shutting the phone, Laurette relayed the message to Ryan. “Here.” She handed him Ruth’s picture. “Could you do the talking?”

As they walked the nearly deserted street, Laurette peered into the shop windows. It was after seven in the evening, and nothing was open. The farther they went, the more guilt plagued her.
I shouldn’t have stopped for dinner on the way home without calling to see if Ruth was okay first. Where has she gone?

They had walked all the way to the Pioneer Home. “Maybe she came here looking for Esther.” Laurette pushed open the door.

“We haven’t seen Mrs. Stevenson today,” the receptionist told the couple. “Her son brought her by a week or so ago, but she hasn’t been back.”

“Let’s turn around and check the other side of the street.” Ryan took Laurette’s arm as they started back toward the car.

❧

Ryan stepped in front of her and took hold of her shoulders.

He looked into Rette’s fear-glazed eyes. He took her chin and raised her face so she had to look directly at him. “You told me that we have to let go. We have to let the Lord take over,” he said sternly. He watched her swallow. A faint smile curved her lips.

“You’re telling me to have faith?”

“I am repeating what you told me. Now can we say a prayer and put Ruth in the Lord’s hands?” He let his hands drop from her shoulders.

She nodded faintly.

Ryan had never felt so protective of someone. And he had never seen Rette like this. She had always been in total control. In the moment he knew she could be soft and vulnerable, he knew he loved her even more. He wanted to take care of her forever.

Laurette took his hands. “Can you say a prayer for us to find Ruth?”

He squeezed her hands and prayed, “Dear Lord, we put Ruth in Your hands. If it is Your will, guide us to her. Amen.”

“Amen,” Laurette whispered.

Ryan turned and saw a man walking toward them. “Pardon me, but have you seen this woman? She’s lost.” He held the snapshot out to the stranger.

“I think she’s the one in the P Bar. Looked like she was sleeping off too much to drink.”

Ryan still held one of Laurette’s hands and gripped her tighter. “Thank you, sir. We’ll go check it out.”

“Ruth in a bar. What’s a pea bar?”

Ryan smiled. “It’s been here forever. It’s the Pioneer Bar, but the sailors call it the P Bar. It’s not far from here. Let’s go.”

Neon lights reflected on the sidewalk, and noise poured out the door. Ryan gave Laurette an encouraging hug as she moved ahead of him into the tavern. They peered through the smoky haze but saw no one resembling Ruth. They’d turned to approach the bartender with Ruth’s photograph when Ryan suddenly spotted a back booth that looked empty. Two men had started toward it, then turned and took a vacant table instead. He nudged Laurette toward the booth. As they got closer, they saw the top of a gray head just below the back of the seat.

“Ruth,” Laurette gasped. She slid into the booth next to her friend. Ruth’s chin had rested on her chest as she dozed. Now she sat up with a start.

“Oh, Ruth, I thought you were lost.” Laurette put her arm around the woman’s shoulders. “How did you get here?”

Ryan had slipped into the other side of the booth. Ruth’s eyes looked glazed. He saw the concern in Rette’s face and longed to comfort both women.

“You know this little lady?” a waiter asked.

“Yes,” Laurette and Ryan spoke at once.

“We saw her walking up and down the street. She looked lost and cold, so we brought her inside for some hot tea. Your friend couldn’t seem to remember where she lived or tell us who we should call. I asked if she had any ID, and she said she couldn’t find any in her purse.” He wiped his hands on his apron. “My boss thought someone would come looking for her. Glad to see he was right.”

“Has she been here long?” Ryan asked.

The waiter looked at the clock. “Got busy in here and we kind of forgot, I guess. Must be a couple hours.” A sheepish grin spread across his face.