Beth Carpenter - The Alaskan Catch

Most of the people in line for hot dogs seemed to be locals on their lunch breaks. She collected her hot dog with onions and peppers and strolled along the street, pausing under an enormous hanging basket of blue and gold flowers as she took the first bite. Sam wasn’t kidding—it was one of the best hot dogs she’d ever eaten. She found a bench and stopped to savor her lunch.

Once she’d finished, Dana started walking. Past the courthouse and down the hill, a blue Alaska train pulled into the depot. Not far beyond, fishermen lined up along a creek. As she watched, a woman’s pole pulled into an arc. A man nearby brought a net and helped her land a salmon. She did a little happy dance and hugged him. All this practically in the shadow of twenty-story buildings downtown.

The coastal trail overlooked the ocean, as promised, but it wound through forest and behind homes with bloom-filled gardens along the way. Across the inlet, a row of mountains rose from shaggy spruce trees, parallel to the range that stretched behind the town. Dog walkers, bicyclists and skaters shared the trail, and she saw geese, ducks, seagulls and possibly a ptarmigan. At least it looked like the picture of the state bird on the pamphlet she’d picked up. The short walk Dana planned extended on until she realized if she didn’t head back, it would be evening before she made it to her car. Green and gorgeous. She could see why Chris had remained here all these years. But it didn’t explain why he never contacted her or why he changed his name.

Ahead of her, a couple strolled along the pathway, holding hands. A puppy trotted along beside them on a leash. When the woman turned to point at a cluster of wildflowers, Dana saw that she was pregnant. Her husband smiled at her and touched her back as he listened to what she was saying. They looked happy.

Dana smiled at them as she walked by. She used to wish for a husband and children and a waggly tailed dog, a normal family that ate dinner together and played board games and talked. But it didn’t happen. A few boyfriends came and went, but never anyone she could see making a life with. Not that she spent a lot of time worrying about it. Between working for her dad and watching after her mother, there wasn’t a whole lot of time to cry over might-have-beens. Although, sometimes she wondered what it would have been like if Chris hadn’t gone away.

Maybe he’d be back tonight. Surely, once she’d explained the whole situation to him, Chris would agree to accept his place in the family. It wasn’t as if she was demanding much from him. She just wanted the truth. After that, she would look for this Petrov person. Her father was an honorable man. He wouldn’t want any unpaid debts lingering. Once she’d determined whether or not that claim had any validity, she could head home and get on with her life.

At least one good thing came of Dad making Jerry manager. Now that Dana had quit her job at the equipment and tool rental, she was free to follow her original plan to teach. She loved teaching, loved watching the kids’ eyes light up when they grasped a concept. She’d have to do a semester or two to get her credentials up to speed first, though, so her inheritance would come in handy in the meantime.

Once she had her teaching certificate, she could find a job at the high school in her hometown. And, of course, do her other job of making sure her mother’s house didn’t become so packed with junk as to become dangerous. When Dad was alive, he’d insisted all Mom’s stuff had to hide in the spare bedrooms or in the basement. The living room, kitchen and garage were off-limits as storage areas. But over the last month or two, Dana had been seeing an ominous number of bags and boxes starting to gather in the main rooms, faster than she could return them.

She shook her head. One problem at a time. First Chris. Then this Petrov guy. Once all that was straight, she could worry about her mother.

On her way back to the car, Dana strolled through the flower gardens in the town square. She loved flowers. Her yard in Kansas overflowed with perennials like coneflowers, irises and yarrow, but they seemed understated compared to the vivid flowers here. Who would have thought they’d bloom so well this far north? Dahlias as big as her head sprung up behind colorful clusters of snapdragons, edged with some sort of flowering cabbage and carpets of tiny blue flowers.

The people downtown seemed to be an interesting combination of tourists, office workers and shoppers. They all looked purposeful and happy. Did any of them have crazy mothers and uncooperative runaway brothers? Or was that just her?

She shrugged. It was a beautiful day. She couldn’t do anything until Chris came back, anyway, so she might as well put it out of her mind and enjoy her time in Anchorage. She pulled out her phone to snap a selfie in front of the fountain surrounded with magenta geraniums. Someday she might want it to remember the time she went to Alaska.

* * *

SAM TRANSFERRED A load of clothes from the washer to the dryer. The house was oddly silent without Chris or Kimmik rummaging around. It didn’t usually bother Sam to be alone, but for some reason, today was different. It was after five. Wonder where Dana had gotten to? Hopefully she wasn’t lost or anything.

He frowned. Dana wasn’t helpless. In fact, two days ago, she’d threatened to shoot him. It was highly unlikely she’d come to any harm on a nice day downtown, surrounded by people. And yet here he was, worrying about her. Maybe Chris was right—Sam hadn’t been out with a woman for too long. He needed to get a grip.

He was pulling the warm clothes from the dryer when he heard the garage door opening. He carried the basket upstairs, reaching the living room just as Dana bounced into the kitchen. Her bright smile assured him his worries were groundless.

“Hi. How was your meeting?” She reached into the basket and started folding a towel as if folding clothes together was something they did every day.

“Fine. How was your day?” He pulled a pair of jeans from the basket.

“Great. You were right. I loved the coastal trail and the hot dog was excellent.” She set down the towel and reached for what had once been a white T-shirt but was now faintly gray. “You really shouldn’t wash darks and lights together.”

Sam shrugged. “Probably not, but I just want to get it done. I hate laundry.”

“Really?” She smoothed the T and folded it into a neat square. “I like folding laundry.” She held up the shirt and sniffed. “I may be mildly addicted to the smell of dryer sheets.”

Sam couldn’t help a little smile. Dana chattered on about the wildlife and scenery she’d seen during her hike as they worked, and before he knew it, the entire load lay neatly stacked in the basket. He had to admit, folding laundry wasn’t nearly as boring with good company.

“Thanks. So, how about dinner at Moose’s Tooth?”

“Moose’s Tooth? What’s that?”

“A mountain.” He grinned. “More importantly, a pizza brewpub named after the mountain.”

“Sounds great.”

* * *

AS USUAL, MOOSE’S TOOTH had a long line of folks waiting for a table, so he and Dana sat at the bar temporarily. The waiter gave Sam a calculating look before he delivered their drink orders. Dana took a sip of her raspberry wheat microbrew. “Nice.” She set the glass down and leaned forward. “So, tell me what you do in Siberia.”

“I supervise a drilling program.”

“Okay, but what does that mean?”

Sam tried to explain the job as briefly as possible, but she kept asking questions and he found himself telling her more details about his work than he’d ever told anyone. When a table finally opened up for them, he realized he’d been doing all the talking.