by L. Langdon
Gerri was soon disabused of that notion when Sven turned into a channel leading back to the ocean. She looked at him in puzzlement. “We’re not going back to Juneau?”
Sven got one of his mysterious looks and said, “Let’s take a little detour. It’ll be part of our adventure.”
Sven was not autocratic, either as a boat captain or as a husband, so Gerri wasn’t offended. Clearly, he was planning some sort of surprise. She tried to summon the energy to play along. The surprise didn’t last long. Soon she realized that the landmarks were familiar. “Aha!” She looked at him triumphantly. “We’re going to that hot springs, aren’t we?”
He laughed and said, “Right you are!” Then he sobered up and asked, “You don’t mind, do you? I know that your memories of the place aren’t pleasant.”
Gerri considered that. No, they weren’t pleasant, but that was her fault, not Sven’s. He obviously felt that this was a special place. She squeezed his arm affectionately. “No, I don’t mind. We can make new memories, better ones.”
___
As they walked out of the woods, Gerri looked at the now familiar pair of shacks with an increasing sense of anticipation. Unlimited hot water for my aching muscles—I can hardly wait. She cast a sidelong glance at Sven. And skinny dipping with the most handsome guy around!
Still, she looked around carefully before she started undressing. Sven saw this and chuckled. “Don’t worry. There’s nobody within miles.”
“My brain knows that, but I’m not used to undressing in public.”
She gathered her courage and they stripped quickly. She stole a peek at Sven. Lookin’ fine! Then Elaine’s words in Seattle came to mind: ‘that’s a lot of man there,’ and Gerri started giggling.
Sven pretended to be hurt. “You’re not supposed to laugh when I undress. That’s bad for my ego.”
“I was just reminded of something. And if you could read my thoughts, your ego would be just fine.”
Sven waited, but it was clear that she wasn’t going to elaborate. He dismissed it from his mind and stepped into the larger of the shacks. “Let’s get these tired bodies in the water.”
The interior was filled with a rectangular pool, about ten feet square four feet deep. As she slid into the water, Gerri’s breath caught involuntarily. “It’s hot, all right.”
Sven was already in the water. “Ahhh, this feels good.” He was sitting on an underwater bench, relaxing, but the sight of Gerri’s curvy body beside him took his mind in another, distinctly non-relaxing direction. He could feel himself beginning to get aroused.
They sprawled there for some time, enjoying the feeling of the hot water. Gerri leaned her head back and half-closed her eyes. After a companionable silence of several minutes, Gerri glanced at Sven. His body betrayed his interest. “Whoa!” She reached for his arousal. “I suppose you’re going to say that this is all my fault.”
He pulled her into his arms. “Absolutely. Although I don’t think that ‘fault’ is exactly the right word.”
She presented her lips for a kiss. He took advantage of this to start stroking her abdomen and downward. She stood it as long as she could and then got up to straddle him. He surged deep within her and she rode him until she was seized by an intense orgasm. Sven’s hoarse yell filled the air as he came with her. Afterwards, she rested, her body still joined to his, as he sprawled on the bench.
“Do you realize that we’ve been married for only a couple of months, and that during that time, we’ve made love in public places twice? This is not the way I envisioned my life unfolding.”
She felt Sven’s chest jerk as he chuckled. “Complaining?”
“Not a bit.”
“This could be a good cure for sore muscles, but I don’t know how we’d market it.”
“Let’s don’t.”
Later, having stayed in the water for as long as their bodies would allow, they went outside—still naked. Sven suggested that they sit on one of the rocks next to the shack, but Gerri insisted on first scanning their surroundings with their binoculars. Finally she was satisfied that they were truly alone and sat down beside him.
He eyed her with appreciation. “I could watch you like that all day. You look gorgeous—and as sleek as an otter.”
She cast him an amused glance. “Is that some obscure Alaskan compliment, or do you have some obsession with otters that you want to confess to me?”
He took a few seconds to try to think of a clever retort, but finally settled—with a chuckle—for, “Not the latter.”
Gerri was reminded of her vision of Sven as a marble statue. Emboldened by his remark, she offered her own. “I could watch you all day, too. You remind me of those statues of ancient heroes in museums.”
“Nude statues?”
“Mm-hmm. Maybe you could have a career as a model.”
He snorted in derision, but a sidelong glance gave Gerri the sly satisfaction of seeing his face suffused with a reddish tint.
After that, they sat in silence and just contemplated the ocean. Gerri could see steam coming off of them as the water evaporated. Sven had been right—her soreness was gone.
As they walked back to the boat—now fully dressed—Gerri put her arm around Sven. “Thank you for thinking of this. Now I have excellent memories of White Sulfur Hot Springs.”
Chapter 48
Gerri had been standing for some time, shifting her weight impatiently from foot to foot as she scanned the sky, but predictably it was Sven who saw the incoming jetliner first. Gerri had never been able to discern the secret of his amazing vision, let alone duplicate it. It wasn’t just acuity. It was, she was convinced, related to his ability to find fish and his talent as an artist.
Still, she was stubborn enough to mutter, ”How do you do that?”
He shrugged. “I guess it’s knowing where to look.” But he had no real answers; it just seemed natural to him. “Let’s go inside and meet them.”
Not only was this the culmination of their extra hard work this summer, but Gerri hadn’t seen her family for most of a year. She quickly walked ahead.
They still had to wait interminably while the plane landed, taxied, and finally started to disgorge passengers. The Bartons were, thankfully, among the first ones off the plane. Gerri paid special attention to their clothes. She wanted to be sure that her family had taken her seriously about the weather. Now, in early September, it was probably in the nineties in South Carolina, whereas it was in the low sixties in Juneau. If they were constantly cold, the trip would be a disaster.
And there was no reason for it. Sven and Gerri had saved enough money to finance a small shopping expedition—guided by the ever-willing Elaine—to get them appropriate outerwear.
Sure enough, they all wore jackets. Marilyn managed to look particularly fly. Then Gerri stopped worrying about that as they ran squealing into her arms.
“Joetta, you look so big. You must have grown six inches. And Marilyn, you look very elegant.”
The chattering was nonstop as they collected the baggage and loaded it into their borrowed car. Olivia looked at Gerri quizzically and said, “I thought you said that Sven had a truck.”
“He does, and I bought a Volkswagen beetle, but neither one will hold everybody unless someone rides outside in the back. So we borrowed this for a couple of days from one of the other teachers.”
“You bought a car?” asked Joetta excitedly.
“You bought a bug?” asked Marilyn scornfully.
Gerri laughed. “Yes, I bought a car. I still walk to school sometimes, but if I have a heavy load of books or if the weather is awful, it’s nice to have an alternative.” She turned to Marilyn. “A bug may not be the coolest car around, but it gets good traction in the snow.” As she expected, mention of snow quieted Marilyn.
That first day, a Saturday, was spent sightseeing around Juneau. On Sunday, Sven and Gerri took them out for a short cruise on the Glacier Gal. Gerri especially wanted to give them at least a taste of life on t
he water. They weren’t favored by any porpoise visits, but they did see a whale sounding—pivoting vertically with its tail in the air to start a deep dive—only about a hundred yards away. Gerri had seen this behavior a number of times, and it never failed to impress her. It certainly impressed the Bartons.
Sven, to Gerri’s amusement, pulled a similar trick to that which he had when her brother visited. When they were ready to leave the float, he arranged to be the one untying the lines, leaving Gerri to start the engines and guide the boat out of the harbor. Gerri appreciated the subliminal message being delivered, although she was amused.
The gesture was not lost on her parents. While her sisters were out on deck talking to Sven, Olivia and Robert were with Gerri in the pilot house. Olivia—never the reticent one—asked, “He lets you run the boat?”
Gerri smiled at her predictability. “He doesn’t let me. We’re a team. Whoever’s most convenient will handle it.” Robert just raised his eyebrows, smiled, and shook his head.
They made sure to get back to town in time to have Mindy and John over for dinner Sunday night. It was supposed to have been a joint effort on the part of Gerri and Mindy, while the others relaxed. Olivia, however, insisted on making the effort a threesome.
Monday went a bit off script. Gerri had to teach, since the Juneau schools were already in session. They had planned for Sven to chauffeur her family around. The agenda included visiting the bookstore—Sven knew Rosie would want to meet them—and a drive to the end of the road. Sven had looked askance at the latter, but Gerri assured him that it would intrigue them, especially if they arrived there without warning.
To Gerri’s surprise, Marilyn approached her Sunday night and asked, “May I come and visit your school tomorrow? Maybe sit in on some classes?”
“I suppose so. Do you mean one of my classes?”
Marilyn shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe some other classes as well.”
“I don’t see why not. Let me check with one of the other teachers.”
Sharon Ingram not only approved, but invited Marilyn to start the day in her first period English class. The next morning, Gerri drove Marilyn to school, introduced her to Sharon, and left to go to her own class.
She expected to see Marilyn after first period, but she didn’t appear. When lunchtime rolled around, Gerri still hadn’t seen Marilyn. When she sat down with Sharon, she asked about Marilyn’s visit. “I haven’t seen Marilyn since I left you. Did her visit go OK?”
“It went very well. She was quite a hit. My students had an assignment to write a poem, so some of them were read to the class. Turns out that Marilyn had written some herself. With a little gentle persuasion, she shared them.
“One was a sweet one about growing up on a farm. The other one was pretty bleak.” Sharon grimaced at the memory. “It was about being a black student in a newly integrated school. You could have heard a pin drop after she read that one.”
“I’m surprised that she had the nerve to read them.” She didn’t even share them with me…
“Yes, it must have taken some courage. But the students were very supportive. In fact…” Sharon gestured. “She’s over at the corner table eating with some of her new friends.”
Gerri craned her neck. The group around Marilyn seemed to be having a good time. “Silly me. I kept expecting her to appear in my doorway wanting to go home.”
“No… I don’t think you’ll see her again. When they left my class, my students were competing over which classes she should visit.”
But she did see her. Just before the start of her last period, senior math class, Marilyn walked in, chatting with Frank Arquette. Gerri looked at her warily. Would she observe the proper decorum? Or would she perform as an entitled little sister?
It was a relief to have her stop at the desk and ask politely, “Mrs. Halvorsen, may I sit in on your class today?”
Gerri couldn’t find a trace of sarcasm or disrespect in her voice. “Certainly,” she smiled. “You may sit in any of the empty seats.”
Marilyn sat in back, next to Frank, who was in his accustomed chair. As the class progressed, Gerri kept an eye of them. They paid only partial attention to Gerri, but they were quiet and not at all disruptive. Gerri couldn’t complain about their lack of attention—it was normal for Frank to be working on his own or on one of her challenge problems, and she could hardly demand the attention of someone who was just visiting.
Whatever they were discussing involved scribbling on a piece of paper—it might even have been math. Gerri would have loved to look over their shoulders to find out. She even considered giving the class a problem and circulating, but that would have been too obvious.
At the end of class, the two of them came up to her desk. “Thank you,” Marilyn said. “It was very interesting.”
Gerri was tempted to say, ‘Did you even notice the class?’
Marilyn sensed her skepticism and hastened to add, “Yes, I listened to your lesson—some. But Frank was showing me your latest challenge problem. I wish that my teachers had given those.”
Gerri nodded. She should have thought of that. Frank had been working in a desultory way her latest offering, which was the classic Königsberg Bridge Problem. He believed—correctly—that it was impossible, but the challenge was to prove that, which had so far eluded him.
She stole a glance at the clock. “Marilyn, I have some papers that I have to look at. Would you mind waiting? I shouldn’t be more than half an hour.”
Marilyn furrowed her brow as she considered that. “Maybe I’ll walk home. I think I remember how to get there.”
Frank spoke up. “I’ll give you a ride. I think I know where you live.” He turned to Gerri and gave an address. “The long driveway just across the bridge. Right?”
“That’s right. And thank you, Frank. Now I can get my work done without having to worry about her getting lost.” Marilyn rolled her eyes at the implied slight of her geographical sense, but was happy to accept the ride.
Sven had intended to take the Bartons on a walk around his property Monday afternoon. It wasn’t as big as the Bartons’ farm, but it was pretty and had some nice views of the city and the mountains. Satisfied that everything was under control at home, Gerri worked for a little longer than she had intended. When she finally got home, Olivia met her.
Gerri recognized the signs that Olivia was annoyed, and immediately sought to calm the waters. “Hi, Ma. Did you have a nice day?”
Olivia allowed herself to be sidetracked—temporarily. “Yes, mostly.”
“Did you take a walk around the property?”
That was the opening that Olivia was waiting for. “No, we didn’t. We were waiting for Marilyn. When she finally came, she was with some white boy. And then they sat there yakking for about five minutes.”
“It’s OK. That was Frank. I asked him to give her a ride home. I had some work to finish.”
“Hmmph.”
“Did you ask her about her day? I hope she had a good time.”
“I didn’t have to ask. She’s been talking about it ever since. She had a ball. And every other sentence was ‘Frank this’ or ‘Frank that.’ Are you sure you trust this boy?”
“Absolutely. I can’t think of any of my students whom I would trust more. You’d like him if you met him. He’s very friendly—and very smart.”
Olivia frowned, not entirely ready to be mollified. Gerri moved on smoothly. “Would you guys like to eat out? Or should I get started on some dinner?” After they decided to eat in, Gerri and her helpers made quick work of the meal preparation.
The dinner conversation was dominated by Marilyn’s adventures. And, yes, Frank’s name came up frequently, but so did those of several other students. Joetta had been charmed by the book store. Robert and Olivia were bemused, as Gerri had predicted, by the notion that you couldn’t drive out of Juneau. After the ‘end of the road’ was simply—wilderness.
___
As they were getting ready for bed, Sven and Gerri
compared notes. “I’ll try to get home earlier tomorrow. Do you have anything special planned for them?”
“I’ll see what they want to do. We might take the hike that we missed today. And, if they’ll sit still for me, I’d like to sketch your parents. I’ll turn it into an oil painting later and give it to them as a Christmas gift.”
Gerri paused as she was undressing. “That sounds great.”
“By the way, does Marilyn draw? While you were cooking, she borrowed a bunch of paper from me.”
“Not that I know of. Of course, I didn’t know that she wrote poetry either.” Gerri thought about Marilyn. She seemed to have matured in the months since Gerri had left South Carolina. Olivia, her worries notwithstanding, had to be relieved. As she slipped her dress off, she thought again about Sven’s day. “You know, I’m sorry that I’m putting so much of the entertaining on you.”
Sven moved up to embrace her from behind. “Don’t worry about it, I don’t mind. We’re a team, remember? And we’ll be alone again soon.”
The next morning, Gerri left for school early, determined to avoid staying late. Only Sven saw her off. The others were still in their rooms. They shared a quick kiss as she went out the door. “Goodbye. Love you.”
“Love you too.”
It was a routine day for Gerri until her last class. As it was about to start, she heard a murmur from her students. Looking up, she saw Marilyn standing in the doorway looking at her inquiringly. Gerri hadn’t expected to see her today, but she had no reason to object to her presence. She nodded her approval and Marilyn walked to the back of the room.
As Gerri watched her progress, she realized that Marilyn had matured in more ways than one in the past year. Today’s outfit was a knit dress which—while completely tasteful and within the dress code—was much more striking than yesterday’s. Gerri would have to compliment her later—she looked really good. The murmuring of the class was testimony that they had noticed as well. But Marilyn showed no interest in the general reaction; she was focused on the back of the room. Gerri angled her head in time to see Frank looking transfixed. He quickly recovered, moved the chair next to him up close to his, and patted it hopefully.
