Glacier Gal

by Langdon, L.

  Gerri decided that it was time to stop this. “OK, class. Just so you know, I will be taking his name. And it’ll be perfectly all right to call me ‘Ms.’” That was the least she could do for Mindy. “But,” She gave the last speaker a stern look. “Nicknames such as ‘Teach’ are not acceptable.”

  Now she had one last task—to shut down this discussion. Frank fully expected it, and the other students wouldn’t want him to have the last word. “I’ll tell you what I will do, now that this problem has been pointed out. I’ll be glad to keep each class in session one minute longer next year to make up for it.”

  That elicited a chorus: “No, no.” “Don’t listen to Frank.” “We’ll talk faster, we promise.” Frank just laughed.

  At the end of class, Frank came to the desk. “Seriously, Miss Barton, congratulations.” He paused. “Of course, my sister says that you’re supposed to congratulate the guy and offer the gal condolences.” He grinned engagingly. Gerri could see why—beyond the obvious academic reasons—the girls sought him out for help.

  Mrs. Kallek had unobtrusively observed the class. She also sat in the back, well away from the other people. As the room emptied, she got up and slowly made her way to Gerri’s desk.

  “Hello, Mrs. Kallek,” Frank said cordially as he prepared to leave. “You’re looking well.”

  “Hello, Frank. Still performing your wild flights of mathematical imagination, I see.”

  As he left, he nodded cheerfully over his shoulder.

  Mrs. Kallek smiled at Gerri. “He’s a very personable young man, considering how cheeky he is.”

  Gerri had to laugh. Mrs. Kallek was so modern in her ideas that she occasionally caught Gerri by surprise with her rather traditional use of the language. “He is that,” Gerri agreed. “Both of them. I thought you weren’t coming in today.”

  Mrs. Kallek gave her a reproachful look. I had to make a special trip to hear what’s happening. You never mentioned a word.” With that, she took Gerri’s left hand in hers. “Very nice, young lady. Well, I for one am perfectly willing to offer congratulations to both the bride and the groom. And very sincere congratulations at that.”

  “Oh,” said Gerri, flustered. “I… It just happened this weekend. It’s been very hectic. My brother came to visit and…” She waved her hands.

  “And you haven’t had time to sit down and relax. Do you have a few moments to sit down and tell me about it? Or are you rushing home to your brother and your fiancée?”

  “I have some time. Rich—that’s my brother—could stay for only two days. We spent yesterday showing him around and Sven took him to the airport this morning.” Gerri gave her a quick summary of her weekend. Then, because she was dying of curiosity, she asked, “How did you find out if you weren’t coming to school?”

  Mrs. Kallek gave her an amused look. “You mean, ‘How does the gossip network function around here?’ Very well, thank you. My spies in the principal’s office phoned me at home with the news.”

  “But they didn’t even notice when…”

  “And they were quite annoyed about that. Not with you—they know that you’re a bit on the shy side. They found out about it later when their spies—quite a number of them, as it turned out—reported it.” She paused and looked smug. “So if you plan to keep secrets, you’ll have to do a better job.”

  “I’ll remember that.” Gerri had noticed that the news spread quickly among her students. Apparently, it went through the whole school with the same speed.

  “Tell me about your plans,” Mrs. Kallek continued, “When and where is the wedding? Most importantly, am I going to get an invitation?”

  Gerri’s jaw dropped. “I hadn’t even thought about that,” she confessed. “We’re planning a very small, quiet wedding.” She thought quickly. How to say this without spoiling the mood… “We’re not completely sure how people will react. I mean, I’m sure that almost everybody will be fine, but there will probably be a few,” The nasty ones… “Well, we don’t want to be ostentatious and rub people’s noses in it.”

  Mrs. Kallek nodded as she gave that some thought. “I understand,” she finally said. “Perhaps better than you know. My late husband was a Gentile. That wouldn’t seem so significant now, but forty-some years ago…” She wrinkled her nose. “Those were different times—uglier times. And, yes, there were a few comments. And a few people stopped doing business at his grocery store. Not many, but a few.

  “So I do understand your caution. But I really think that everything will be OK. If anyone tries to make a fuss to the school system, Herbert will squash it quickly. He’s pretty good at doing the right thing.”

  “I’ve always felt that he supported me,” Gerri agreed.

  Mrs. Kallek smiled, glanced at the classroom door, leaned her head toward Gerri, and lowered her voice. “Of course, as we saw with the ‘hair interview’ on your first day, sometimes he first has to be told what the right thing is.”

  Chapter 46

  By the time Gerri finished at school, it was evening. She decided to go straight to Sven’s house, imagining her first private time with her fiancée—and with no relatives to behave for.

  When she arrived, however, Sven was on the phone. When he saw her, he smiled mischievously and said, “Here she is. You can tell her yourself.” With that, he handed the phone to Gerri, ignoring her inquiring looks.

  When she answered it, the first thing she heard was a sing-song, “I told you so, didn’t I?”

  “Who? Oh, Elaine. How are you? And, yes, you certainly did.”

  “I’m so happy for the both of you. And so is Ronaldo. Now, give me all of the details.”

  Gerri didn’t know what Sven had already told her, but she decided that Elaine would be very willing to hear it all again, so she gave her the summary of the weekend and of their wedding plans.

  When she finished, Elaine’s only reaction was “Huh! Have you picked out a wedding dress yet?”

  “Well, no.” Gerri mentally went through her closet. She hadn’t acquired much of a wardrobe—just enough to keep her going at school. “I’m sure I can find something in my closet,” she said hopefully. “It’s just going to be a small wedding.

  “Yes, you mentioned that. But still, it’s a special day and you want to wear something special.”

  “That would be nice, but…” Gerri didn’t know what the Juneau clothing stores had to offer and didn’t want to spend the time or the money to shop in Seattle, which is what she suspected that Elaine would suggest.

  “Then it’s settled. I’ll make you one. I’m a pretty good seamstress. It’ll be our wedding gift.”

  “Really? Thank you, I…” Gerri wasn’t sure how this could be accomplished from afar, but she appreciated the thought.

  “Good. Let’s get started. I have a pretty clear mental image of you, but I have a list of measurements that I want.” Elaine read Gerri the list, making sure that Gerri wrote it all down. “You can call me back tomorrow with the results.”

  This was all moving very fast for Gerri. “What did you have in mind for the dress?”

  Elaine summarized quickly. “I see you as a young professional. I see a white, knee length dress—demure but a bit sexy. I’ll make a sketch and mail it to you. If you don’t like it, then we’ll talk. Then I’ll bring it up a couple of days early and we’ll try it. That’ll give me plenty of time to make alterations.”

  Gerri’s head was spinning. “So you’re coming up for the wedding?”

  “Wouldn’t miss it. Neither would Ronaldo, even though he won’t admit it.”

  After Gerri hung up, she just sat there for a minute. She could feel her heart pounding. This was starting to feel so real.

  Sven watched her, gauging her reaction. “I invited the Whites. I hope you don’t mind.”

  “Of course not! I’m delighted. I really like them. And of course, you should invite whomever you want.”

  Sven smiled ruefully. “I don’t have that many friends, but those I do have are i
mportant to me.”

  “If they’re important to you, then they’re important to me,” Gerri assured him.

  ___

  Gerri got one more happy surprise before her wedding. Mindy came bustling up to her after school one day. “Good, I caught you before you left.”

  “You came here just to see me?”

  “No, we just finished a meeting of the Future Office Workers. Lately, you’re a hard person to catch. I wonder why?” Mindy’s smile said that she knew exactly why.

  With all that they had shared, Gerri was beyond being embarrassed around Mindy. Nonetheless, it was with a slight blush that she confessed, “Yes I know. Sven and I have been spending a lot of time together.” She briefly debated tossing out some remark about ‘making plans,’ but decided that it wasn’t worth it. Mindy wouldn’t believe it anyway. And it would have been moot—Mindy was impatient to share her news.

  “We’re planning a wedding reception. It should be very nice.”

  “Oh? Where?”

  “At Mrs. Kallek’s house. She called me and offered. She lives in one of those big old houses on Seventh Street. It sits on a ridge above downtown and it has a great view. She’s not strong enough to help much with the setup, but she helped me find some people who will.”

  “Thank you, Mindy. Thank you so much.” Gerri had been resigned to making compromises to keep her wedding inconspicuous, but her friends were making sure that she had the full experience and she was very grateful.

  ___

  The days leading up to the wedding were both the longest and the shortest days of Gerri’s life. They were short at first as Gerri commenced her preparations while still taking care of her teaching chores. They were long toward the end—most of her preparations were done and the school year was over.

  On the morning of the wedding, she had a bad case of butterflies. She went to one of the unfinished rooms of the house where Sven was working. Did he have butterflies? It was hard to tell. He was making the room into a guest bedroom—to make room for visiting in-laws, he had explained. But today? Is this his way of dealing with stress? Or was he simply not very anxious? “Goodbye, Sven. I’m going to Elaine’s hotel room. I’ll change there and Elaine and Mindy are going to do my hair. I’ll see you at the J.P.’s office.”

  Sven leaned in and gave her a kiss. “I can hardly wait. And by the way, your hair looks nice as it is.”

  Gerri gave him a look. “You always say that. I want it to be a bit different for the wedding.”

  He nodded, knowing that he would never win this exchange.

  “You’ll be there on time, won’t you?”

  “Of course I will. I’ll be there early. And I’ll be wearing my suit.”

  One part of her wanted to wait and go with him, but Mindy and Elaine had decreed otherwise. When she was with Sven, she seemed to be less nervous. She eyed him for a minute. “Are you nervous?”

  Sven favored her with a twisted smile. “Nah! See my hand? Steady as a rock.” His hand rested, unmoving, on a dresser.

  She looked at it suspiciously. “I don’t think that’s how it works. You’re supposed to hold it out in mid-air.”

  He lifted his hand with a chuckle. It shook slightly, but noticeably. “OK, you’ve got me. I’m scared to death.”

  She asked, not entirely in jest, “Are you having second thoughts?”

  “Good grief, no. I’m the luckiest guy in the world. I just… I don’t want to end up disappointing you.” He reached out and brushed her cheek with the back of his fingers. “I’m too dirty to give you a hug, but I’ll make up for it later. I promise.”

  She reached up and brushed a kiss across his lips. “Just don’t drop the ring during the ceremony.” His laughter followed her out of the house.

  It turned out to be Gerri’s hands which trembled during the ceremony as she put Sven’s ring on his finger. She glanced at him to see if he had noticed and received a wink. For some reason, that steadied her.

  Sven felt like he was floating from the moment he saw Gerri in the wedding venue. She looked gorgeous, dressed all in white except for a broad headband which pulled her ‘fro back into a puff similar to what she had had during the Pelican dance. The headband was bright magenta in perfect contrast to the rest of her outfit. She looked like a confection—good enough to eat, yet precious enough to cherish forever.

  He could tell that she was a bit nervous and tried to reassure her with a wink. She reacted with a slight smile and seemed to settle down.

  ___

  The reception looked very fancy—almost as if it had been professionally catered. Yet, Gerri knew that it was all volunteer work. She reminded herself that she had some heartfelt thank you notes to write.

  There were two people arranging a buffet spread. They looked very official in their matching white shirts and black slacks, but when they turned to Sven and Gerri, she did a double take. It was Barbara Pruitt and Frank Arquette. Her astonishment must have shown, because Frank cracked “Yes, we’re free labor, but if you want you can pay us in grades next year.”

  Gerri just laughed and gave him a look. “I don’t think so. But thank you both.”

  As they mingled and nibbled, accepting various congratulations, Gerri marveled at Mrs. Kallek’s house. It showed its age a bit, but it was grand. With a touch of sadness, Gerri realized that there was probably more life in the house today than there had been for years.

  The only negative moment came when Gerri found herself momentarily alone with Barbara. “Where’s your boyfriend? I haven’t seen him for a while.”

  Barbara frowned and leaned in to speak quietly. “We broke up.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that. Or should I be?”

  Barbara gave a little sigh. “No, you shouldn’t be. We had a fight over my helping here. He…he disapproves of your marriage. As if it’s any of his business,” she added with disgust.

  Gerri didn’t know quite how to respond. She knew there would be some negative reactions and she was prepared to deal with them. Still, it didn’t seem fair to have Barbara’s life disrupted over this. “Well,” she finally said, “I’m sorry for you, at least.”

  “Don’t be,” Barbara assured her. “I’m glad I found out about his views before things got really serious between us. Sometimes you think you know someone and…” She shrugged.

  Sven approached Elaine and Ronaldo. “You two look pretty impressive. I think this is the first time I’ve seen you in a suit, Ronaldo. And Elaine...you always look glamorous.”

  “What do you think of your bride? Mindy and I worked on her for two hours this morning.”

  Sven turned and followed Elaine’s gaze to Gerri. “I think you’re a genius. But I also think that she would look beautiful in anything she threw on.”

  While Sven was occupied, Gerri sidled over to talk to Mindy. “We’ll be leaving soon. We have a lot left to do today.” Seeing Mindy smirk, Gerri poked her discretely. “You have a dirty mind,” she laughed. “Besides that, we have to go home, call my family, change our clothes, and get down to the Glacier Gal. And with the time difference, the phone call has to be soon, or my sisters will be asleep.”

  Mindy pretend-pouted. “So I won’t see you for a while.”

  “Not for a while. We’ll go directly from the honeymoon trip to the fishing grounds. But we’ll be in town off and on. And of course I’ll call.”

  “A honeymoon on a fishing boat? I don’t know about you guys.”

  Gerri chuckled good-naturedly. “We’ve got a lot of good memories on the Glacier Gal—and we’ll make more. And as far as the fishing goes, well, we’re going to have a lot of bills to pay. My family’s coming up at the end of the summer and we’re going to help them pay for the trip.”

  “Oooh, that’s great. You never told me.”

  “It was just decided last night. It turns out that their school year starts about a week after the harvest—and a week after our school starts.”

  “That is so cool. I can hardly wait to meet them.”<
br />
  Gerri caught Sven’s attention and they made ready to leave. As they said their goodbyes, she took that opportunity to whisper to Mindy. “I can’t thank you enough. This was far beyond any of my expectations. And,” she nudged Mindy for emphasis, “maybe you’re next.”

  Mindy just blushed.

  Then they were in Sven’s truck waving to the people assembled on Mrs. Kallek’s porch. Frank had insisted on escorting each of them to the vehicle and formally opening the doors.

  Sven started the engine and Gerri settled back to enjoy the ride but, as they started moving, there was a terrible cacophony behind them. Gerri looked back in alarm, trying to imagine what they might have hit. Sven swore. At that moment, Gerri saw the assemblage of people cheering and Frank making a victory sign. She quickly touched Sven’s arm. “It’s OK. I think Frank tied cans onto the rear bumper.”

  Sven snorted. “Now I know why he escorted us to the truck. He wanted to make sure we didn’t go around the back.” He couldn’t help a grudging smile. “Sneaky kid.”

  Gerri smiled to herself. “I think it was sweet.” She thought about their day. “You know, with the help of our friends, we really got the whole wedding experience.”

  “Mmmm. Even the corny part.”

  At Sven’s house, they changed quickly—they had agreed to consummate the marriage on the Glacier Gal—and Sven gestured Gerri to the phone.

  Gerri gave the long distance operator her parents’ number and said, “I’d like to make a person-to-person call to Mr. or Mrs. Robert Barton.”

  The operator asked who was calling. “Mrs. Gerri Halvorsen,” Gerri answered proudly.

  Sven watched her affectionately as she talked to each in turn. There was some repetition—each member of her family wanted to hear the details firsthand. Gerri didn’t seem to mind, though, and Sven surely didn’t mind watching her. Her animation and expressive hands were weaving their usual spell on him.

  Then he perked up his ears. “He’s right here. He did fine—he didn’t drop the ring and he didn’t even faint.” Sven scowled at her without conviction. “You should see how nice he looks in a suit,” she continued. “Yes, just a second.”