The two walked slowly back toward Mara’s cabin as Della talked, this time letting Thor bound ahead.
“He visited me in the hospital, and he said he was sorry and he said he hoped he didn’t burn in hell for what he had done. Then he died a few days later. My mother found out about it ‘cause he left his name on my records at the hospital.”
At a complete loss for words, Mara let Thor into the cabin just as Joe and Sal were coming out of Stu’s place.
“Wondered where the hangin’ blazes ya two went off ta,” Sal bellered.
“I’m sorry, Sal,” Della told her.
“Ah, I ain’t mad, Della. Just couldn’t figure out where ya went.”
“I hope you have a safe trip,” Mara said to all three, before hugging Della and whispering in her ear, “Thanks for telling me, Della.”
“We’ll see ya in a few,” Sal called as the three took off in Joe’s dualie.
“Bye,” Mara called softly as she waved and watched them round the corner to the street leading down to the ferry terminal. “C’mon, Thor, I think I need another walk.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Are You Kidding Me?
By the middle of May, Joe and Sal had just about finished cleaning out Stu’s cabin and were in the process of resealing and rechinking the logs where needed inside.
KonaJane’s was doing well now that the cruise ships were starting to come in—enough so that Mara had hired three college students to handle things through the summer, freeing her up to follow up on a couple of small jobs sent to So Biological from the Homer office of Ocean Research and Preserve.
As usual, she climbed down through the trap door to her inflatable boat on one unusually balmy late morning, before swinging around to the floating dock to pick up Thor.
“Found this in Stu’s papers,” Sal called down, as Mara was idling in her boat at the foot of the stairs waiting for Thor to jump in.
“What is it?” she called up, surprised when Sal read her the code to the lock box where she kept her boat supplies on the pilings under her cabin.
“It says, Mara’s lockbox in Stu’s handwriting next to it. Figure you must have gave it to Stu to watch out fer yer place when ya was out.”
“Thanks, Sal. I’ll change the combination when I get back.”
The fact was, she had already changed the combination after finding the box unlocked back after her first long trip out on the raft—the same trip from which she had returned to find Stu with his hand on her front door. Well, it was a moot point now that Stu was dead, anyway, so she put it out of her mind and set out for the north shore, which had become her favorite research location.
The weather that day was unusually warm and sunny, making it easy to linger after collecting the samples she needed for OR&P. As usual, she took Thor ashore, but this time she carried her shotgun since bears were up from hibernation and roaming around in the area with their young cubs.
She had taught Thor to stay quiet around animals, a trait that was very important in an Alaskan dog since dogs resembled wolves, a natural predator to many species. The fact that Thor was also part wolf made it even more important that she retain control over him in the wild.
What had emerged from this partnership was a beautiful relationship, where Thor was able to read subtle cues in her body language and was also able to communicate with her in the same way. Occasionally, she would have to warn him to stay still, but always with just a sound or a softly spoken oneword command.
Thor had learned the hard way about porcupines when he was a pup, having come home with a snout full of quills one summer’s day according to Doug. Still, she kept a close eye on him when he wandered off to sniff the scents that were so plentiful everywhere they walked, and fortunately, on this trip at least, all they came across was a fox scurrying down a trail of sedges left flattened by a bear.
When she got back into the harbor in the early evening, she noticed that the Driftfeather had been moved to the docks closest to her row of cabins and that the Storm Roamer was tied up right alongside.
There didn’t seem to be any activity aboard either vessel, even though she slowed to putt around both seiners and even called up for Alex or Emily to answer. When she pulled up to the floating stairs, Sal was standing there watching.
“She’s as fine today as the day me and Bert first bought ‘er,” Sal said, her voice taking on an unusually wistful tone.
“She?” Mara asked. “Are you talking about one of the seiners?”
“The Driftfeather,” Sal answered. “I sold it after Bert died. Couldn’t afford to keep up with it. Kinda lost my passion fer the sea ‘bout then, too. Ya either come back from losin’ one ya love ta the sea, or ya don’t. That’s when I sold ‘er.”
Once again, Mara was at a loss for words. In the span of the very few months she had lived in Juneau, she had discovered one truth after another and after another about those whose lives had touched hers. The irony of it all didn’t escape her. Her entire time in Alaska had been that way. Maybe that’s what the saying she saw carved on a paper mache moose she had bought at an art shop in Wasilla meant:
If you think life is a search, Alaska is where you’ll find yourself!
Boy, would she like to meet the author of those words. They sure had proven to be true for her so far!
“Why’d you git so quiet, Jane? Didja think I didn’t know ya bought my old seiner? I jest didn’t wanna tell ya yet—ruin yer experience or creep ya out or anythin’.”
“I don’t even know what to say, Sal,” Mara answered. “I mean, what could I even say?”
“Well, ya could start by sayin’ yer glad it’s my boat and not some piece a trash from someone who don’t know nothin’ about seiners.”
Mara just looked at the old woman before putting the raft in reverse and backing around to the place she kept it under her cabin.
“I’ll unlock the cabin door if you want to come in,” she told Sal.
“No can do this time, Jane. Though there’s more I need ta tell ya startin’ with the fact that that other seiner over there—the Storm Roamer—used ta be mine an’ Bert’s, too.”
She stopped the dinghy right there in the water and just stared at Sal.
“Buck up, Jane. Me ‘n Joe need ta head home at first light, but be assured that ya done good in choosin’ my ole seiner fer yer own and, if ’n love travels the way I think it does—ya know, in mysterious ways—so did yer ex ole man in buyin’ the Storm Roamer.”
“Godspeed to you and Joe tomorrow,” Mara said simply. For right now, she had heard all the information she could handle.
Chapter Thirty
Casual Invitation?
Mara’s week didn’t take an upturn when she went into KonaJane’s after dropping her samples in the mail to OR&P the next day. She had chosen to walk to work, bringing Thor along as much for company as to let him have a day out of the house.
She was surprised when Doug Williams walked in around eleven, and even more surprised when he said he wondered if she had time to sit for a cup of coffee. Instead of staying inside, the two sat at one of the three tables out front, where they could enjoy views of both the harbor and the downtown area.
Doug told her he was in town to resupply for a job he was going out on later in the week, and told her that Alex was considering following in the Driftfeather just to get more experience. Alex had indeed mentioned that he might be going out again soon, so the news was not a total surprise, but the fact that the two men had formed such a congenial relationship put her a bit off center.
“You know, I think it’d be fun if you came along, Mara. And I’m not trying to be funny here or anything. I’d also like to get Thor used to the seiner again. It’s getting to be time for me to spend some quality time with him before he forgets who I am.”
“But he’s doing so well here,” she said. “Do you really want to take him out to sea where he can’t run and play?”
“Just for about three weeks. At least, that’s the plan
.”
“Well, now that Alex has Emily, I’m not sure they would appreciate having me along,” she said, knowing full well that both Alex and Emily had been begging her to come out with them for weeks.
“There’s plenty of room on the Storm Roamer. I even spruced up the cabin area so it would be like the one Alex fixed up for Emily on the Driftfeather.”
“I don’t know if it would be a good idea, Doug. I mean, I’m glad we’re on good terms after everything that happened and all that, but I’m just not willing to pretend that what we had together didn’t end badly.”
Doug was smart enough not to pressure her, although the seriousness of his tone told her that he meant the offer he had extended.
“It’s something I’m not proud of,” he told her, “and what happened to our marriage—it’s something I wish had never happened, but it is what it is and I can’t undo it. Think about what I said. We’re not set to leave till Saturday and that’s two and a half days away.”
“I’ll talk to Alex,” she told him, gently pushing Thor’s nose off her foot as he nuzzled it beneath the table.
“You can find me on my seiner,” Doug said, carrying the now empty cups inside before leaving.
Chapter Thirty-One
Seeing the Light
Things were getting just plain weird lately, even to the point that Mara was seriously considering joining Doug on the Storm Roamer. When she thought about it, it made sense as she would be able to help Thor adjust to life back at sea, and she would also be able to observe Alex’s handling of the Driftfeather. Still, hadn’t she just months earlier abandoned all her friends and even dumped a perfectly good SUV in the Knik River?
As out of character as Doug’s behavior just prior to the divorce had been, so too had her reaction been less than mature. The more she started thinking about it, the more she began to realize that circumstances beyond what most couples ever face had driven them both to behave erratically.
On the other hand, what were the chances that they wouldn’t repeat the same mistakes the next time a crisis came about? Whatever the case, she was now in her late thirties and Doug was forty. Maybe it was time to stop all the emotional hysteria and treat him like the good person he had always been. It was only a fishing trip and the two of them had always worked well together.
“When can I start bringing my things aboard?” she called up to Doug from her dinghy.
The smile that flashed across his face seemed to erase everything bad that had ever come between them.
“Anytime you’re ready.”
“I have to write Sarah first, then I’ll be back.”
Dear Sarah, I’m sorry. Tell everyone for me, okay. I’m fine. I ran into Doug here in Juneau. More later. Love, Mara
The fact of the matter was that she knew Sarah would welcome the letter, and that she wouldn’t harbor any resentment for the way she had behaved. In all the years they had been friends, and through all the two of them had been through—through separations, challenges, anger, and hurt—she and Sarah were friends.
The distance she had put between them had been necessary. How else could she have examined the traumas of the past two years—figured out who she was—without breaking out on her own?
Whatever had prompted this change of heart mystified her as much as she was sure it would everyone else in her life, yet somehow it all felt natural and right. She didn’t need a psychiatrist to tell her to listen to her heart and soul, although she could appreciate why some might think it wise to see one. Maybe her new start had turned out to be more than just cutting loose from the past and relocating.
It was like a lightbulb on life suddenly went off inside her brain. The new start, Mara, began with you! Not with physically changing your world, but with changing how you looked at your place within it.
She wasn’t at all sure what being cooped up on a seiner with her ex-husband was going to bring in the way of adventure, but one thing she knew, and that was that she was open to finding out. And it wouldn’t be about recapturing the past, or exploring what went wrong, or agonizing over past feelings, it would be about embracing the future without baggage or restriction.
“C’mon, Thor. Let’s go fishing.”
As she walked through the cabin to the front door, the feather Joe had given her suddenly drifted to the floor from its place high up on a bookshelf. Stopping in her tracks, she watched it whirl mysteriously in the air currents of the house before landing near the table where she often sat. Had she actually seen the two red dots flicker for a moment in the process, or had the sunlight that had begun pouring through the window into the room simply been playing tricks on her eyes?
When she stooped to pick it up, it slipped from her fingers, again whirling to the floor before she was able to catch it and put it back on the shelf.
Chapter Thirty-Two
The Magic of Spring
Right after leaving the Storm Roamer, Thor cut his front paw on a piece of metal sticking out of the ground, which required a trip to the vet. The bottom line was that he would heal okay, but the bad news was that the vet recommended he remain on shore so that the wound could be regularly cleaned and he would have access to care if necessary.
Together, Mara and Doug decided that it would be best if they followed the vet’s advice, so Mara hired one of the college students from KonaJane’s who just happened to be in pre-vet at UAF. Sandy would clean Thor’s wound as instructed, as well as housesit at Mara’s cabin, providing less stress for Thor.
“I’m surprised you decided to still come along,” Doug told Mara. “But I’m glad you did.”
Why wouldn’t she? It was strictly business and totally on the up and up, with Derrk Stanley and another crew member on board, and she was anxious to learn about the performance of both the Storm Roamer and the Driftfeather, as well as gather some deep-water samples for So Biological.
On board the Driftfeather would be Alex, Emily, and two deckhands. The two seiners would travel close to each other and would remain in regular contact.
By day three out at sea, everyone aboard both seiners was enjoying the amazing appearance of one of the most beautiful springs any of them had seen in years. By the middle of the second week, they were located about 50 miles off the southern tip of Alaska’s Panhandle. For the last day, they had held fast in an area that seemed to be in the heart of the gray-whale migration and had also noticed that the humpbacks were beginning to arrive back in Alaska.
You can tell individual humpbacks by the unique markings on their tails, Mara could almost hear Stu’s voice say inside her head. He had often talked about the amazing whales. She smiled as she remembered how the double blowholes on top of their barnacled heads, as well as their behavior known as fluking, had always fascinated him. Certainly there was nothing more beautiful than seeing one of the 50-foot, 75,000-pound mammals blow a 20-foot spray into the air, before arching its back to dive, and flipping its massive tail just before disappearing from sight.
“Look, that one has a calf,” she told Doug, whipping her camera from her pocket to try to get a shot.
“I’ll radio Alex and let them know,” Derrk Stanley said. “I think there’s another one with a calf up ahead.”
“I’d forgotten how much I loved this,” Mara said, spontaneously grabbing Doug’s arm just like she had done so many times before.
“You always were happiest at sea,” Doug said, placing one arm around her.
And with that simple exchange, Doug Williams and Mara Benson Edwards Williams Benson were a couple again.
Through the next several days, they would exchange thoughts on how they had drifted apart, but they would choose to dwell on none of it. This was the way it was supposed to be and this was the life they had chosen to live together before the barrage of heartache had torn them apart.
For now there was little talk of the past, and not much talk of the future. For now there was just the present and for each of them, that was all they needed—that, and to not let anything pu
ll them apart again.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Emily
Just south of Cordova, Alex radioed that Emily had started vomiting uncontrollably.
“I’ve got no choice but to get her in to the nearest hospital,” he radioed.
Doug had been at the radio when the call came in.
“We’re probably about four hours out of Cordova, Alex. If you can position yourself behind us, maybe you can put one of your crew at the wheel while you check on Emily and let us guide you in.”
“Okay,” Alex replied. “I’ve got a guy I’ve been training right here with us.”
“Just make sure you’re keeping a close eye on him, because we’re going to have to fight this storm I’ve been watching move in, here.”
“Okay,” Alex said again, straining to relax the white-knuckle grip he had on the wheel as he signaled his crewmate to take it over.
“Meanwhile, I’m going to put Mara in the back to watch you for extra measure.”
“Okay, Cap,” Alex replied, referring to Doug by the nickname his peers had given him long ago.
“Also, I don’t want to alarm you or Emily, Alex, but I think it’d be best to put her in her survival suit. Mara’s getting into hers right now and I’ll be doing the same soon.”
“Survival suit. Do you know something I don’t?”
Wasn’t putting on survival suits was always a last ditch effort right before sinking or being thrown overboard?
“Nothing you don’t know, Alex, and nothing you can’t handle,” Doug said, sensing his alarm. “We’ve got a storm coming in a bit stronger than I expected, and if we get into any kind of trouble whatsoever, there isn’t going to be time to help both Emily and yourself. Don’t forget to get your own ready, too.”
“Okay,” Alex replied for the third time.
“Don’t pull it all the way on her yet, but get her feet in so all she has to do is pull it over her shoulders and head if she needs it. It’s not like she’s going to be getting up and walking around. Have your other crewman nearby, too, to help with her if you need to. Make sure the crews got theirs, too. Now let’s take these seiners in.”
Driftfeather on the Alaska Seas Page 9
