by J. A. Marlow
She frowned. "If you're living in Salmon Run, yes. There is only one school, for all grades."
His father held up a coat of mid-browns and yellow, giving a welcome distraction. "I think I like this one better than the other."
"Dad, the budget?" Zach's stomach churned at the prices hanging from the coat sleeves.
"You think money is going to keep you warm in the cold?" Sasha pointed to his current coat. "You wouldn't last more than an hour out there in that."
Zach glared at her. "I think I could."
She pulled a pair of big thick mittens off a display and tossed them at him. "You want plenty of insulation. Mittens keep the fingers warmer than gloves. A good hat that covers the ears. How can you keep warm in those boots? Bunny boots. You need to dress in layers, so you need thermals."
Zach stopped trying to catch the stuff she was throwing at him when the white thermal underwear came flying at him. "Hey! That's getting a little personal."
She stopped, looking back at him with a twinkle in her eye. "Just making sure you keep all body parts intact."
"Sasha, leave the boy alone," McRoyal said. He pushed a dark blue and white coat at him. "Try this parka on. She's right. You need to learn to dress in layers. Control your temperature by how many you are wearing. The air between them is your insulation."
Zach muttered to himself as his father helped him on with the coat. The entire time Sasha grinned at him from a rack of leather over-alls.
"That fits well. Are there snow pants to go with it?" His father asked. He scowled back at Zach's scowl, "Arriving to our new home only to freeze to death along the way won't help either of us. You've been as cold as I've been. We have the money for this."
When his father turned to help McRoyal pick out the snow pants to try on, Sasha leaned forward and whispered, "Ever see frostbite? The skin turns black and bits start falling off."
Zach took off the coat and lay it to the side, reaching down to pick up the items that she'd thrown off the floor. "That's gross."
"I thought most boys like gross. My brother does."
"I'm not like most boys."
Sasha's grin grew even wider. "You certainly aren't. Most would come in here and spend a bundle if given the chance. Are you the family accountant?"
Zach piled the mittens and hat on top of the coat. He contemplated throwing the thermal underwear back at her. He opted for putting the thermals on top of a rack of raincoats. "No, just practical. We have to make it until the lodge opens in the spring. I'm sure that sounds boring to you."
"Not really. Getting the lodge back in business would be good for the whole town. That means you and your father need to survive your first winter. Ready to try on the bunny boots?" She picked up the thermals and put them back on his pile.
"Don't you have something else to do?" He asked, his mind trying to figure out why everyone would be wearing boots made of bunnies. Or maybe they looked like bunnies? Like those slippers Aunt Gretchen liked to wear around the house.
"Nope. Finished getting my new snow pants. It'll be nice to have a pair long enough to properly pull over my boots."
"You mean stuff in your boots," he automatically corrected.
"No, I mean over. To keep the snow out." She laughed, shaking her head. "I can see we have a lot to teach you."
"I am not a helpless child," he snapped.
He turned his back on her and stalked towards his father and the tall display with snow pants of all lengths and sizes. Before long he had a pair added to his pile. He sat down and gave up trying to stop his father's spending spree, too tired to argue anymore. Maybe they could eat beans for the next couple of months until more money started coming in.
The 'bunny boots' turned out to be big clunky boots with removable inside insulating lining and big treads on the bottom. They felt big and heavy as he tested them by walking around the shoe department. How was he supposed to move through the snow in the things?
When his father and McRoyal adjourned to discuss a fancy type of emergency radio he found Sasha sitting in one of the other chairs in the shoe department, but the smile was gone from her face.
She leaned over and whispered, "I didn't think you were a child. I was just trying to help. To keep you from getting hurt."
Zach felt sorry he'd snapped, but even so he found himself saying, "It's not that dangerous. I heard the lodge is just outside of town."
The grin reappeared, "In Alaska that can mean one hundred miles away. And Alaska can be dangerous if you don't respect the land. Take a bit of advice. We have a general store, but it doesn't have the selection this place has. Get yourself outfitted properly while you are still in Cordova. McRoyal knows what he's talking about. He's been up in the mountains at all times of the year and knows how to survive."
She rose and disappeared into the racks of clothes.
Disappeared completely.
Zach blinked, not finding her anywhere. He saw Grandpa Neeley and Oliver in the corner picking out boots. The blond-haired man with the bright red cheeks and deep wrinkles around his mouth sorted through folded heavy jeans at a wall display of cubbyholes. But nowhere in the store did he see the head with straight shiny black hair.
He plucked at the parkas with the furry edging around the hoods. Okay, they were warmer than the lined denim jackets both he and his father wore. And the snow pants might be good to wear if they are walking very far in the cold, but she still shouldn't have thrown the thermal underwear at him.
When McRoyal and his father returned with a few more items and then herded him off to the clothing department, he didn't complain. Not even when he had to try on what felt like a never-ending line of sweaters.
He did worry about dragging all the stuff back to the bus terminal. He estimated they were at least two more blocks away, and it was starting to get dark outside.
Despite trying hard not to think about money, he couldn't help it as they checked out. His father didn't look concerned about it, and so he kept his worry to himself, but his mind worked to subtract the amount they'd put away to get them started.
The last of their items were folded and stuffed into bags when the phone on the checkout counter rang. The woman answered it while continuing to put the items in bags. The woman sucked in her breath, and set down the phone quick.
She turned towards the back of the store and shouted, "New Solar Express schedule. The bus leaves in twenty minutes!"
CHAPTER FIVE
People from all corners of the store converged on the two small registers at the front. Children congregated at the front of the store, pulling on coats, hats and gloves. Zach helped his father grab their bags and get out of the way as the clerk threw items into bags instead of carefully folding them.
McRoyal grabbed the new parkas and shoved them toward the two. "Put them on now. You won't have time to change later."
Zach grabbed the coat, putting it over his denim jacket without bothering to take it off. As if understanding the hurry, the dogs outside the door started howling, to which he saw his father shudder.
The bags were so big that Zach had to hoist them up over his shoulders to keep them from dragging on the ground. McRoyal and his father each grabbed two more.
"We might as well get to the bus. There will be a mad dash now." McRoyal said, leading the way outside.
A reminder of the walk back to the bus terminal worried him. How would they be able to walk back to the bus fast enough to get there on time?
With a bark at one of the other dogs, Darnit separated himself from the pack of dogs to join them. His father placed one of the bags between himself and the dog as they headed down to the street.
As the sky darkened the streetlights slowly grew in strength. With the coming night came even cooler air than before. Zach had to admit a dramatic difference. The cold barely penetrated the big parka. He set a bag down long enough to pull up the hood, finding the rim of fur easing the cold hitting his ears. But it did make him acutely aware of the cold around his feet and
legs, making him wish he could take the time to put on the snow pants and big bulky boots.
A dirty yellow SUV with the word "Taxi" passed them. It ignored his father's waving, heading for the store they had just left. It pulled up to the closest spot to the front doors. The Neeley family rushed out of the store and clamored inside. Among them Zach thought he might have spotted Sasha, but in the large surge of people and kids of all sized he couldn't be sure.
"Maybe the taxi would have room for us if we went back?" Zach asked.
McRoyal chuckled. "No likely. And every taxi in the area will be busy now."
"Too bad Darnit is a failed sled dog," Zach said, eyeing the dog. How did one steer a sled dog, anyway?
"We'll make it." McRoyal lifted up one of the bags and waved it in the air. "Hey, Henry! We need a ride!"
A big black truck slowed down on the road in front of them. A man with a leather hat with flaps over his ears poked his head out of the window. "Hey, McRoyal! I heard on the radio that the Solar Express is leaving soon."
"We need a ride to the bus," McRoyal said as he shuffled across the street towards the truck.
"I just delivered my load. Climb in back! I'll have you there in no time," the man said.
"We need a ride, too!" a group of older women shouted, quickly following them.
His father boosted him up into the high back bed of the truck, pushing up the shopping bags. The older women climbed in with their bags. Zach helped where he could, but the happily yakking women seemed to know what they were doing. Darnit jumped up, positioning himself at the front edge to look around the cab.
Zach lowered himself against the cab of the truck as it started moving forward. He pulled the hood closer down around his face and tried to ignore the snow melting into his pants. He didn't know how Darnit could stand to have the cold air in his face as he looked around the cab, but the dog looked thrilled.
The strip mall with the lawyer office went by, and then the Chamber of Commerce. In no time they were pulling into the gravel front yard of BB's. One of the big yellow school busses idled in front, the exhaust creating a great white cloud. Two men were busy loading big boxes into a trailer hooked to the back of the bus.
The Neeley's were unloading out of the taxi and climbing into the bus. Behind them another taxi pulled in. As soon as the Neeley's were unloaded the SUV taxi zipped out of the yard.
Henry got out and lowered the tailgate of the truck. Darnit ran towards the rear, making his father cringe away from him as the dog launched himself off the tailgate and into the snow.
"Does this happen often with the Solar Express?" His father asked in a testy voice.
One of the older women laughed at him, "You go when the Solar Express is ready, not the other way around."
"It keeps you on your toes," another woman agreed.
"How do you get anything done while in town?" Zach asked.
"Get them done early, and trust the word to get about if there's been a change." McRoyal took the bags from him and helped him down, "You learn to be flexible."
Zach grabbed the tailgate of the truck to keep his balance when his feet threatened to slip out from under him. "It sounds horribly inefficient. Not a good way to run a business."
His father grabbed three of the bags. "We better make sure they load our other things. I don't want them to get lost in the transfer. Zach, can you take them into the bus?"
Zach slipped and slid towards the bus, trying to balance on his toes while carrying as many bags as his arms would allow. He gave up trying to keep them above the snow and ice. Geez, he felt like a silly ballerina.
Sasha poked her head out of the open door of the bus. "Good, you made it!"
"Take him in hand, Sasha. I don't think he's a willing transplant," one of the older woman said.
Sasha climbed out of the bus to let the group of women on board. Zach thought he heard another one mutter something about sulking. He gritted his teeth, trying not to respond.
"Another one of those city-folk. They'll be gone by the end of summer, if not before. Mark my words," another one said, disappearing into the bus.
"I don't think so. At least they're willing to learn," Sasha said after the group. She turned and grabbed two of the bags from him. She winked at him, "We saved you seats next to the heaters."
McRoyal dropped off the remaining bags before turning back to the terminal with a shout to the men at the trailer to leave room for his gear.
With his arms loaded with bags, Zach squeezed through the door and around the corner to the aisle down the middle of the old bus. Bench seats with strips of silvery tape holding together the ripped upholstery lined both sides.
Several of the seats were already filled, including several at the rear of the bus with Jacob Neeley and a few other boys about his same age. And one of them had a basketball in his hands.
Zach knew one area of the bus he wouldn't be sitting in.
CHAPTER SIX
Grandpa Neeley gestured at him, pointing at the seat in front of him, "Right here. Nice and toasty."
Zach wasn't so sure of that. The inside of the bus didn't feel much warmer than outside. Darnit nosed him forward before he turned into a vacant seat, climbing up to look out the window. Zach wondered if he should say anything about the dog getting up on a seat, but noticed no one else seemed to be concerned.
He turned into the seat to find a stream of warm air going past his wet pants and cold legs.
"We can put the bags under the seats. Just be sure they don't block the heater," Sasha said, setting a few of the bags on the seat in front of Zach. She moved out of the way of three older men, including Mr. Goodwin. She looked down in the bags, "Want to dig out the new boots? I saw the pair you got. They were a really good brand. I told you McRoyal would do well by you."
The idea of warm boots combined with the warm heater was appealing. He rooted through the bags, finding the boots under a pair of snow pants. "When you disappeared I thought you left the store."
"Of course I didn't. I saved up for one of those fancy radios. I'm hoping it will pick up some of the stations from the southeast, or maybe even Valdez. Oh, and it's a crank, too, so it won't matter if the power goes off. Very important. I'll show it to you later."
Zach managed to change his hiking boots for the warmth of the new 'bunny' boots, muttering to himself, "Why couldn't they have a less sissy name."
"It's not sissy," Sasha said, her hair falling around her face as she looked over the back of her seat at him. "Predators have a hard time keeping up with hares over the snow and ice because of their feet."
He stuffed the old boots into one of the bags. "Then they should call them 'hare' boots."
"Har har. And don't worry about your hiking boots. You can use those in the summer." Sasha snapped her fingers at Darnit, "Stop licking the window."
Darnit turned to give her a disgusted look before turning back to the window to continue his licking.
"Can I not sit properly, either?" a raised voice said from the back of the bus. A voice Zach instantly recognized as Mr. Goodwin's.
"Sorry, dear. I thought you might like the aisle so you can stretch out your legs," one of the women who had ridden in the back of the truck with Zach answered.
Sasha rolled her eyes and whispered to him, "Ignore it. They're always like that."
"He wanted a divorce this morning," Zach said.
"They both say that several times a day, but that's just their way. They would be lost without each other."
"Wolverines may fight, but they still need each other," Grandpa Neeley said. Warm brown eyes laughed. "They belong to each other as sure as the ocean and the waves."
Zach didn't say anything. They could say all they wanted, but it didn't feel right to him. Divorce wasn't something to joke around with.
His father stomped up into the bus. He collapsed into the seat next to him. "I'll have those new boots now. My feet are frozen."
Sasha found the boots in one of the bags she had under the
seat in front of her. Zach took the hiking boots and put them in the same bag as his old ones. "Is all our stuff packed?"
"All in the trailer. Good thing I made sure. The trailer is filling up fast." His feet in the new boots, he sat back in the seat and sighed. "Warm feet at last."
"The Dunn's are stocking up the Salmon Run General Store," Grandpa Neeley said. "A big storm-front is to move through the area before long. Overdue for it."
The last few heavy feet trotted up the stairs into the bus. A man with a clipboard stopped at the top and started shouting out names. With each name one or several people answered. With one last arrival, the man announced that all known passengers were aboard.
He left to be replaced by a young kid that looked barely old enough to drive. But the people on the bus welcomed him by name. With a wave at everyone he sat down in the drivers chair, closed the door and shifted the bus into gear.
With the movement the heat coming out the heaters increased. Zach let his feet linger near the heater, the heat barely penetrating the new boots, but feeling good against his wet jeans.
The bus turned several times before speeding up on a main road. The main road went down to two wide lanes, heading out of town. The businesses and homes of Cordova disappeared behind them.
Zach watched it all go by. No towering skyscrapers. No multi-story buildings. No packed subdivisions. Just small roads branching off in all directions and homes nestled among the trees.
The trees ended to reveal a small airport, but then that disappeared, as well. In a matter of minutes they had gone from the cozy small-town feel of Cordova into the wilds of Alaska. Zach wasn't sure how he felt about it. It looked so bleak and...different.
And lonely. In the parks and trails he and his father had hiked on long weekends, he hadn't felt the solitude he felt across the landscape.
"Isn't it lovely? So much open space." Sasha pointed out the window, "Those meadows are full of blueberries in the fall. Everyone goes out to pick."
"That's when a mutt like Darnit comes in handy. Dogs are great for keeping watch for bears." McRoyal said from across the aisle. Darnit whined at him. "No, I am not putting the window down so you can stick your head out."
