Alaskan Summer (5 page)

Laurette glanced at her watch and muttered, “Too late to unpack. I’ll pull out enough for tomorrow and get settled later.”

The house was silent when the alarm went off. Laurette showered and dressed as quietly as she could. Finding cereal, she poured herself a bowl and made a note to check the cupboards. “I don’t know whether Ruth eats regularly, so I’ll start doing some cooking,” she whispered to herself.

The pattern of her days didn’t vary. Only the tasks to be done to help keep the cruise ships working smoothly changed. She learned to keep her day pack with her. When she took a passenger to the medical clinic, she could read while she waited for them to see the doctor. Tyler explained that there were doctors aboard the ships, but insurance coverage made it necessary for some passengers to seek medical care while in port.

On Sunday, Tyler suggested Laurette take time off to attend church. “Diane will meet you in the parking lot. That way you’ll have someone to sit with.”

“I wouldn’t recognize your wife, but I’ll recognize Kate and David from the pictures on your desk,” Laurette quipped. “Your children are adorable.”

Tyler beamed with pride even when he protested the four-year-old girl and six-year-old boy were both imps and always into mischief.

Ryan had been filling his coffee cup during this conversation. Laurette took her own cup over to be topped off and asked, “Do you go to the same church, Ryan?”

“Not much for church anymore. My mother used to play the organ at church, but I haven’t gone back since she left. I’ll be around here to take care of business.” He sipped his coffee and headed for an incoming fax.

❧

Laurette had disappeared when he returned from picking up luggage at the airport. Tyler had gone aboard a ship with immigration papers. Ryan knew his boss did that so the immigration officer could have time off. He picked up the local paper and opened the carton of chocolate milk he had purchased on his way back to the office.

“I wonder if Laurette likes music,” he mused. “The annual music festival will be here in a couple weeks.” The phone rang, and he put down the paper.

Later that day, Laurette greeted his invitation with the cheerful enthusiasm she seemed to have for everything. “What kind of music will this be?”

“The emphasis is on chamber music. It’s an annual thing with professionals coming in from around the country. I’ve got tickets for Tuesday night at Centennial Hall.” Her smile warmed him.
I’m glad I asked her,
he thought.

“Sounds like a wonderful evening. Do I have to get dressed up?”

He chuckled. “In Sitka, dressing up means a clean pair of jeans.”

“Will you come have supper with Ruth and me before the concert?”

Ryan didn’t know how to answer. “Do you cook for Ruth?”

Laurette gave him her hundred-watt smile. “She forgets to eat sometimes, so I try to cook up something in the evening. That way I know she eats at least once a day.”

“If it’s good enough for Ruth, it’s good enough for me. What time should I be there?”

❧

Delicious smells greeted Ryan when he entered Ruth’s house at the appointed time.

Ruth welcomed him warmly. “I used to know your mother. She played at our church sometimes. Is she well?”

“I hear from her occasionally. She and her husband live in Chicago, and as far as I know, both are well and enjoying music.”

“And do you play?” she asked, letting him seat her at the table.

“A little.”

“He plays jazz piano at the Dockside Hotel,” Laurette said as she put a Crock-Pot in the middle of the table. “Shall we eat while this is hot?”

Ryan kept his head down while Laurette said grace. He did sneak a peek at her face and found her eyes closed and her expression peaceful.
She’s a gentle person,
he thought, taking the bowl she offered him after the prayer.

“Have some bread,” Ruth urged, passing the hot French bread. “I didn’t know I got a cook as well as a housemate. She even reads to me. What do you think of that?”

Ryan swallowed the bite of bread. “I do think you got yourself a good cook in the bargain. This stew is tasty.” He grinned at Laurette. “And she even has my favorite drink.” He held up his glass of chocolate milk in a toast to the ladies.

Ryan watched the two women and saw the bond between them. He picked up the bowls and carried them to the sink for Laurette. “I’ll dry,” he offered.
Is it her faith that makes her so sweet?

❧

Later, as they entered the auditorium, Laurette gasped.

“It’s awesome. I’ve never seen anything like this.”

She’s looking at the windows,
he realized.
I’ve seen them for years and never thought they were special
. “When the weather is clear, the curtains at the back of the stage are left open.” The view had her eyes shining, and he looked at it, trying to see it as she was, for the first time. The forested green hills were topped with snow. “You’re right,” he admitted. “It’s awesome.”

Ryan spent most of the concert watching Laurette. Her pleasure in the music made her face glow. He wanted to take her hand and share her joy, but he feared it would offend her. The music brought memories flooding back. He missed playing the classics. Jazz was better than nothing, and the piano at the hotel was the only piano he had access to. She looked concerned when he sighed. The piece ended, and as they applauded, he asked, “Do you like it?”

“Oh, yes. The acoustics are very good.” She smiled up at him. “And so are the musicians.”

When they walked back to his car, she asked, “Do you play classics or just jazz?”

“I prefer the classics, but I don’t have room for a piano at home. Started playing at the Dockside Hotel just to get to a piano occasionally.”

“You said your mother and her husband were musicians. Did she play at the festival?”

Ryan groaned inwardly and started the car. “One year they needed a pianist, so she filled in. That’s when she met Harvey. He plays first violin for the Chicago Symphony.”

“You must be very proud.”

“Bitter is more like it. When the pulp mill closed, my dad started fishing to make a living. He was lost at sea four years later.”

“I’m sorry. How old were you?” He could hear the concern in her voice.

“Sixteen.” Lulled by the music and Laurette’s genuine caring, he continued. “I dreamed of going to college down south, but Mother begged me not to leave her. She couldn’t get over losing my dad.” He glanced at Laurette. Her eyes shone with deep compassion. “I stayed with Mom and got my bachelor’s degree in business at the local college.”

“How long has your mother been married?” Her soft voice soothed him.

“About four years. I was twenty when she met Harvey. She married him six months later and moved to Chicago.” He shrugged. “I just stayed here, finished college, and kept working for SAM.” He parked in the driveway at Ruth’s.

“You’ve let the bitterness rob you. Why?”

Puzzled, he looked at her. “I don’t know.”

“Do you blame God for making your life miserable?”

He cringed inwardly but answered honestly. “I don’t know what God has to do with it. My dad’s gone. Mom left me behind. I’ve just stumbled along on my own for so long, it seems trusting Him didn’t help me much. I don’t know that I blame Him, but I sure do feel—empty, sometimes.”

“You don’t have to be alone. God didn’t cause your sorrow, but He’s there to help you cope with it.” She laid her hand on his arm. “I won’t preach, but you might give some thought to letting Jesus bear your burden.”

Coming from this sweet woman, the words didn’t cause him to bristle like they had when others said them. “I’ll keep your suggestion in mind.”

“Thank you for a wonderful evening. I did enjoy the music and hope someday to hear you play. Now I’d better get some sleep, or I won’t hear the alarm in the morning.”

She popped out of the car before he could open the door. Ryan watched her bounce up the steps where she turned to wave before going in the house.

“She is some kind of special,” he told the night as he started the drive back home.

FIVE

A week after the festival, Sitka was enveloped in fog. Passengers from the three ships in port were cranky and demanding. They complained to the steward and cruise director who in turn expected Southeast Alaska Maritime to fix all their problems. Luggage that should have arrived by airfreight went on to Juneau. Laurette felt pulled in six different directions.

Coming back to the office after taking a passenger to the medical clinic, she soon found Ryan with a fresh pot of coffee.

“How you holding up?” he asked.

She took the proffered cup and sank into a chair. “I’m thankful for rain gear.”

“You heard about the little kid selling newspapers to the passengers?”

“No.” She sipped her coffee.

“One tourist asked him if it ever stopped raining in Sitka. The boy told him he didn’t know. He was only eight years old.”

Laurette giggled. “You made that up.”

“Standard joke. Use it every time the clouds move in.” He drank from his mug. “You’re my latest victim of poor humor.”

She shook her head.
Is it me, or is Ryan acting more cheerful? He’s kind of fun to be around.

The phone rang, and the new office clerk, Debbie, yelled for one of them to take a call. There were two new helpers in the office. They had both worked for SAM before and helped take over some of the office duties. Laurette accepted the task of getting medicine for a passenger. It meant collecting the original prescription information details, coordinating with the pharmacy in Sitka, then delivering it to the ship.

At the end of the day, Laurette dragged herself to her little truck and drove home. “Maybe we’ll have soup for supper. I’m too tired to shop,” she muttered as she pulled into the driveway.

The television was on, but Ruth didn’t come to the kitchen. Laurette found her sitting in her chair, dressed in her housedress with her nightgown pulled over it.

“Oh, I’ve been waiting for you to get up. What will we have for breakfast?” Ruth asked innocently.

Laurette closed her eyes and said a quick prayer.
Guide me, Jesus. I love this dear woman, and I want to help her.
“You enjoy your TV show. I’ll fix us something,” she told Ruth.

“Soup for breakfast won’t do,” she murmured as she opened the refrigerator. She took eggs and cheese to the counter and lifted the toaster down from the cupboard.

After enjoying her cheese omelet and toast, Ruth wandered back to the living room. Laurette cleaned up the kitchen and joined her housemate.

“Why don’t I run you a hot bath with bubbles,” she suggested to Ruth.

“I think that would feel good,” Ruth agreed.

Laurette managed to help Ruth out of the layers of clothes she wore and into the tub. Sure that she was safely settled, Laurette left her to bathe. She knocked on the bathroom door a few minutes later.

“Come in.”

“I’ve got your nightgown right here,” she said. Ruth grabbed the safety bar and stood when Laurette held up a large bath towel.
Kind of like caring for a child,
Laurette thought tenderly. She led Ruth to her bed and tucked her under the covers. “I’ll get my Bible and read to you for a little while if you like.”

“Bless you, dear.”

She had no idea how long she sat at Ruth’s bedside. Finally, Ruth’s eyes started to droop. “I’ll read one more.” Knowing it was Ruth’s favorite, she read Psalm 98 before gently kissing her friend’s cheek and turning out the light.

Laurette tossed a load of clothes into the washer and finally managed to crawl into bed. It seemed as though she had just fallen asleep when her cell phone rang.

Tyler sounded frantic. “I’m sorry to call you, but I can’t get ahold of Ryan. We have a heart attack victim on the ship due in at four this morning. I have to be on the early flight to Ketchikan. Can you be at the dock with an ambulance when the ship anchors?”

“Will they bring the patient to shore on a tender?”

“Yes. They have stabilized the man, but we need to accompany him into the hospital.”

“I’ll take care of it.” Laurette checked her clock after Tyler had given her the pertinent details. She had less than an hour to get organized. Shaking off her fatigue, she called the hospital to advise them what had happened. The emergency room would be standing by, and they would dispatch an ambulance to the dock.

Pulling on jeans and a warm sweater, Laurette grabbed her day pack and ran for her truck. She parked her rig at the SAM office, then got a company van pulled close to where the ambulance would park. The medics arrived moments after she did.

Fingers of light pushed over the horizon while she stood with the medical technicians. Together they watched the lights of the huge ship as it set anchor in the harbor. As soon as the medics saw the tender head to shore, they wheeled a gurney to the dock.