Baked Alaska

by Josi S. Kilpack

  Tanice narrowed her pale blue eyes, then looked forward again. Hmm. This wasn’t going nearly as smoothly as Sadie had hoped it would.

  Sadie leaned forward so that she could keep her voice down. “I saw the, uh, argument. Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine,” Tanice said. She took a step forward even though the line hadn’t moved.

  “Are you sure?” Sadie pushed.

  Tanice’s head whipped back around and she spoke loud enough for everyone within several feet to hear her. “I’m sure, okay? Mind your own business. What’s wrong with you?”

  Glazed Salmon

  1 1/2 teaspoons lemon pepper

  1 pound salmon

  2 tablespoons soy sauce

  4 teaspoons sugar (brown or white)

  4 teaspoons olive oil

  To bake, sprinkle lemon pepper over fish. Place in a greased 8x8 pan and cover with foil. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes or until fish flakes.

  Mix together the remaining ingredients in a small bowl for a basting sauce. When the fish has finished baking, turn oven to broil and baste or brush the fish several times with the sauce until nicely browned.

  To grill, sprinkle lemon pepper over fish. In small saucepan, heat the soy sauce, sugar, and olive oil, and add 1 teaspoon cornstarch. Heat over medium heat to a boil, stirring constantly until sugar crystals are dissolved.

  Heat grill to medium. Place salmon on grill and baste with glaze. Cook 3 to 4 minutes, turn, and baste again. Continue basting and turning until fish is cooked through.

  Chapter 15

  Sadie fell back a step, her cheeks heating up as several people in line looked at her in the wake of the reprimand. Sheesh, I must be losing my touch. “Sorry,” she muttered, then fell back to join Breanna and Pete, who thankfully said nothing about her failure, though there was no doubt they’d heard the exchange.

  Tanice looked back at her, but Sadie quickly busied herself with her phone, sending Shawn a text message to ask how things were going. She was embarrassed by Tanice’s reaction and frustrated that she hadn’t even asked about the wine.

  Shawn texted back that Lorraina had been taken to the helipad and he was finishing up a few things at the hospital. Sadie asked if Maggie was there, and Shawn said no. Sadie texted Maggie, telling her they were nearly back on the ship, and Maggie texted back saying she’d been held up and would let her know when she got on the ship. Sadie put her phone in her bag and updated Breanna and Pete about the plan.

  “So are we going to the show tonight?” Breanna said, looking between them both. “Or is it totally inappropriate for me to ask?”

  Sadie shared a look with Pete and then lifted her shoulders. She didn’t know the answer. Shawn had promised her information, and she was eager to talk in more detail with Maggie, but neither of them were here right now.

  “Isn’t it the Temptations tribute tonight?” Pete asked. “It looked like it would be a good show.”

  Sadie did like the Temptations, and there wasn’t anything else to do until Shawn and Maggie joined them, so she agreed. It would be fun, and they could save Shawn and Maggie a seat in case either of them were interested.

  After they were checked onto the ship, Pete headed to his cabin while Sadie and Bre went to theirs to change their clothes.

  They met at the theater twenty minutes later and found five seats together. Because of Shawn’s size, they had to be strategic to make sure he wouldn’t block anyone’s view, which put them against the back wall on the first level. Sadie texted both Shawn and Maggie with the location of their seats while her fellow passengers filled up the seats around them.

  There was a plethora of “Juneau, Alaska” T-shirts and jackets among the crowd. One woman had a purse with the word “Juneau” written out in rhinestones on the front. Sadie wondered if such treasures would seem quite so cute once the owners were back home in Ohio or Alabama or wherever they were from. Then again, the entire point of the souvenirs was to be a conversation starter: “Oh, did you go to Juneau?”

  Cruise-director Julie came on stage at exactly eight o’clock and pumped up the crowd with talk of the next day’s visit to Skagway. She wore a semiformal gown and obviously had a big personality that helped her do her job with confidence. After finishing the Skagway talk, Julie reminded them that the ship would be leaving port in less than two hours and then introduced the cover group for the Temptations.

  While the real Temptations were African-American, this version was a mixed group: three black men, one white man, and one Hispanic or Greek who wore his hair in a faux-hawk—something the original Temptations never did. The five men wore bright blue tuxedos with sequined bow ties reminiscent of the original group, and they sounded amazing. If not for checking her phone every five minutes in hopes of an update from Maggie or Shawn, Sadie would have thoroughly enjoyed the show.

  Thirty minutes in, Shawn tapped Sadie on the shoulder, and they all moved over so that Shawn could have the aisle seat. Sadie wanted to ask him how it had gone at the hospital, but it was poor etiquette to talk in a theater.

  Within just a few minutes of Shawn’s arrival, she received a text from Maggie.

  Can we meet at the Lamplighter Lounge after the show?

  Sadie replied that the Lamplighter would be great and returned her phone to her purse. She heard the vibration of another incoming text message a minute later and reached for her phone before realizing it was Pete’s phone, not hers. Pete pulled his phone from the pocket of his sport coat, read it, and replied. Who was he texting? He responded to additional texts several times, increasing Sadie’s curiosity. A minute later, her phone signaled a text message too. It was from Pete.

  Pete:Tox screens are showing something unusual in Lorraina’s system.

  Sadie:Who told you?

  Pete: I made an arrangement with one of the medics on the ship. Keep it on the down low.

  Sadie: Look at you, Mr. Police Detective. Are they thinking overdose?

  Pete: Medications would show up on the initial tests. They’re wondering if there was something else in the wine. It would explain her extreme reaction. Also, you’re the only one who saw the gift tag. Security wants to talk to you about it.

  Sadie read the message twice, then replied just as the group started in on “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone.”

  Sadie: Tonight?

  Pete: Tomorrow morning.

  Shawn-to-Sadie: Are you guys seriously texting each other?

  Sadie-to-Shawn: It would be rude to talk out loud in the theater.

  Pete-to-Sadie: How cute is it that we’re texting like teenagers while sitting right next to each other?

  Sadie-to-Pete: Adorable

  Shawn-to-Sadie: Where’s Maggie?

  Sadie-to-Shawn: She’ll meet us in the Lamplighter after the show.

  Pete-to-Sadie: I think you’re cute.

  Sadie-to-Pete: I think you’re cute, too. Wanna go out?

  Shawn-to-Sadie: I should probably tell you something before we meet up with her.

  Sadie’s smile fell, and she sat up a little straighter.

  Sadie-to-Shawn: What?

  Pete-to-Sadie: You mean go steady?

  Sadie’s palms were starting to sweat in anticipation. What did Shawn need to tell her?

  The singers broke into “My Girl,” and several members of the audience started singing along. Sadie glanced to her left and could see the glow of Shawn’s cell phone in the darkened theater as he typed on his phone

  Pete-to-Sadie: If I still had my high school letterman’s jacket, I’d let you wear it.

  Shawn-to-Sadie: I don’t think Maggie’s really my sister.

  Chapter 16

  Somewhere between Sadie’s gasp, Pete’s confused look, and the singers finishing the song to a standing ovation, Shawn sent one more text:

  I’ll explain when we finish here.

  The lights came on, and the entire theater got to their feet. The buffets were still open, and no one looked as though they wanted to delay their fifth meal
of the day for even a few extra seconds.

  Sadie turned toward Shawn, eager for the explanation, but immediately realized it was too loud for her to hear anything. She pointed toward the crowds now filling the aisles that led to the doors, and Shawn nodded. Sadie blinked beneath the bright lights of the hallway once she got through the doors, glad that Pete was right behind her; his hand had stayed at the small of her back the whole time. She looked over her shoulder, trying to keep track of Shawn and Breanna, who seemed to be getting farther and farther behind them. She grabbed Pete’s hand and pulled him out of the crowd. They stood against the wall to allow the hordes of their fellow passengers to pass by before Shawn and Breanna caught up. Sadie grabbed the sleeve of Shawn’s jacket and twisted it tightly in her grip to pull him from the crowd. No way was she letting go of him before he explained himself.

  “Lamplighter,” Sadie said loudly when they were all together. Shawn, Bre, and Pete nodded, and the four of them managed to stay relatively close until the hallway opened up into the foyer in front of the elevators. Pete was in the lead and took the stairs. The rest of them followed—all three flights—to deck twelve-forward where the Lamplighter Lounge was located. Sadie hoped she could catch her breath and that Shawn could explain himself before Maggie’s arrival.

  The crowds thinned out the farther up they went, but they weren’t the only people heading for the Lamplighter, which was touted as a drink-and-dessert bar. When Sadie saw the old-fashioned lantern hanging next to the sign over the door, she attempted to pull Shawn aside when a familiar voice said her name.

  “Sadie?”

  Sadie looked around to see Maggie standing a few feet away. She was dressed in a lovely yellow dress with matching peep-toed heels, and a flower in her hair, which she’d pulled up into a side bun. She held a small purse in both hands, and it looked as though she’d applied fresh makeup to her puffy eyes.

  “Maggie,” Sadie said as she took a few steps toward Shawn’s sister...uh, or not sister. Her being here meant whatever Shawn was going to explain would have to wait. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine,” Maggie said with a forced smile. Her tone was less than reassuring, and the fragility that surrounded her triggered all of Sadie’s motherly instincts.

  “Are you sure?” Sadie said, taking another step forward. Of course she’d had a terrible day, what with spending it at the hospital and then having Lorraina taken away. Did she know about the toxicology reports? Did Shawn?

  “I’m sure,” Maggie said, but her smile seemed even weaker than it had been a moment earlier.

  Sadie considered her options, then turned to the rest of the group, who hung back as though awaiting instructions Sadie had no qualms about giving. “Why don’t you guys go in and get a table before they’re all taken? We’ll be right there.”

  Breanna nodded, and Pete led the way while a hesitant Shawn followed. Sadie turned back to Maggie and eased around her so that they were face-to-face, shoulders against the wall. It was almost like a private conversation except for the three-dozen people around them at any given moment.

  “What happened?” She braced herself to hear that Lorraina’s condition had worsened since Sadie had last talked to Maggie.

  Maggie shook her head in a vain attempt to pretend everything was okay, but her trembling chin betrayed her.

  Sadie looked around for somewhere they could go to talk and saw a small glass door with the word “Chapel” above it. A chapel had been built next to the entrance to a bar? Well, engineers couldn’t be expected to consider all facets of a layout.

  She put her arm around Maggie’s shoulders and steered her toward the chapel, which turned out to be a tiny room with plush benches around three walls and a podium in front. Royal blue floor-to-ceiling draperies were set as a backdrop behind it. A very nice artificial flower arrangement was currently set on the pulpit, but it would be easy enough to move if someone wanted to speak to a group, though no more than a dozen people could comfortably fit in the room.

  They sat side by side on one of the benches, and Sadie rubbed Maggie’s back while she cried quietly. After nearly a minute, Maggie straightened up and wiped at her eyes. She looked at her fingers to see if her mascara was running—which it was. Sadie hadn’t brought her shoulder bag with her, but she found a box of tissues on a shelf behind the podium. Maggie took two tissues from the box and dabbed carefully at her eyes. Sadie didn’t have the heart to tell her that her makeup was beyond saving.

  “Thank you,” Maggie said. “I should have just flown home. I’m sorry.”

  “You’re fine,” Sadie assured her. “Really. We’re...” She was going to say they were family, but according to Shawn, they weren’t. Oh, she wished she knew what he’d meant by that. “We’re here for you,” she amended. “Did something happen to Lorraina? Did she get to Anchorage okay?”

  “Yes,” Maggie said. “I mean, I wasn’t there when she left. I had to go to the police station because...” Her chin quivered, and she took a deep breath. “When the Juneau doctors got ahold of her family, they...they didn’t know anything about me. They said that...that Lorraina doesn’t have a daughter. In fact, they didn’t believe it was really Lorraina they were calling about at all. They didn’t even know she’d gone on a cruise. The hospital had to send them a picture before they would believe it, and then they freaked out and demanded I not be treated like family because clearly I was some kind of fraud.” She dissolved into sobs and put her hands over her face.

  Sadie steered Maggie into her shoulder and rubbed her back. This poor girl, she thought to herself. She glanced toward the door and prayed no one would interrupt them. It was frosted glass, but she could see the forms of people walking past, and the steady thump of the music from the lounge was like a muted heartbeat in the walls.

  Maggie pulled away after a minute but kept her face averted until she’d wiped at her eyes again and straightened up. She’d gotten most of the smeared mascara but not all of it. “I’m so sorry,” Maggie said sincerely. “I thought I could handle coming here tonight, but I fell apart as soon as I got back to our room. I think I should have just gone home.” She moved as though to stand, but Sadie put a hand on her arm and kept her from rising.

  “I’m so sorry you had to face all that on your own,” Sadie said. “Did they say anything about Shawn? Did they know about him?”

  Maggie nodded, and Sadie looked down to hide her reaction. It was embarrassing to admit, even to herself, but she’d been hoping that maybe Lorraina wasn’t Shawn’s birth mother and that’s what he meant when he said Maggie wasn’t his sister. That Sadie should want such a conclusion made her feel like a terrible person.

  “It doesn’t make sense,” Maggie said. She had a mascara streak running down the left side of her face, but Sadie didn’t point it out. “Lorraina knew things about me that no one else could know.” She said it as though it were a question Sadie could answer for her. “But why would she hide me if she didn’t hide Shawn’s adoption?” She paused and shook her head. “And...I can’t even ask her.”

  Sadie pulled her into another hug while offering whispered bits of comfort as Maggie fell apart again. Lorraina’s family knew about Shawn, but not Maggie. So when Shawn said Maggie wasn’t his sister, what exactly did that mean?

  “We argued the last time I saw her,” Maggie said softly as she tried again to get ahold of herself.

  “What did you argue about?”

  Maggie took a deep breath. “Things had been strange ever since we got on the ship. She’d disappear for periods of time, and she was always looking around when we were going somewhere—you know, like she was looking for someone. Yesterday afternoon I asked her what was going on. She tried to come up with all these excuses, but she finally admitted that Shawn was on the ship, but he didn’t want to see me.”

  “You?” Sadie had interrupted one of the conversations Shawn had with Lorraina, and then Shawn had received a phone call in his cabin Sunday night, which Sadie already realized had likely bee
n from Lorraina. But Sadie didn’t know what they had talked about. And why would Lorraina not tell Shawn or Maggie about the other one coming on the cruise? She didn’t know enough about Shawn’s interactions with Lorraina to guess. She would remedy that as soon as she could, but for right now, Maggie was divulging information, and Sadie was in a position to try to help her feel better, while picking up important details. “You’re sure it’s you he didn’t want to see?”

  Maggie nodded. “I already knew Shawn didn’t want to meet me. Lorraina showed me those horrible e-mails he’d sent.”

  What horrible e-mails?

  Maggie continued before Sadie could ask for an explanation. “So when I found out she was trying to trick us into meeting, I was really mad. I told her I wished I hadn’t even come, and she totally freaked out and said she wished she hadn’t come either, that Shawn was ruining everything.”

  “Everything? What’s everything?”

  “Us meeting,” Maggie said. “That’s why she did all of this—because she really wanted Shawn and me to meet and get along, like a real brother and sister. She said all she ever wanted was for us to be a family.”

  It took a whole lot of self-restraint for Sadie not to blurt out that she was Shawn’s family, not Maggie or Lorraina.

  “But Shawn was so mad when he found her on the ship and he didn’t want you to know about either one of us, which had Lorraina all stressed out and nervous.”

  Sadie couldn’t help but feel a little responsible for the fact that Shawn was unhappy to see Lorraina on the ship, and by default, Maggie, too. Having Sadie and his birth mother on the same ship had put him in a difficult position, but he’d made things far more complicated than they’d needed to be by not coming clean about everything in the beginning.