| |
––––––––
“Are you okay?” Traci looked at me as though my face had turned purple or something.
“Of course, I’m okay,” I huffed. “Shouldn’t I be?” Scowling, I brushed past her to the kitchen. I wasn’t used to going to bed at two in the morning and getting up at noon. And there was a time difference. Anyone would be off their game with a schedule like that. “When do you have to start work?”
“I’ve already started. While you were sleeping, I went and visited a couple of properties close by and took pictures. I’m in the process of creating a website, and I’m looking into joining the business with several other sites that promote businesses in the area. I’ve reached out to the Chamber of Commerce, and when we go down to the boardwalk, I plan to do a little networking.”
That was an impressive morning’s work, but all I could think was that she should have invited me to go with her. “I’m not useless,” I muttered. “Just because I’m a lowly teacher and I’ve never owned my own business doesn’t mean I can’t help.”
“What?!” Traci stood in the kitchen entryway with her hands on her hips. She was upset and had every right to be, because she knew the importance of teachers even though she didn’t necessarily want kids of her own.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t sleep well.” Yeah, apparently dreaming of someone else’s boyfriend can cause sleeplessness topped with periods of grumpiness. “But, really, I can help. I’m not just here waiting to be entertained.” I poured myself a bowl of cereal. Traci left the room without another word, and I wasn’t convinced that she had forgiven me. Whatever. Regardless of her frame of mind, I finished my breakfast and was sure to wash my dishes and wipe the counters before going and getting ready for the day. I wouldn’t have her complaining about a mess.
After I showered and dressed, I peeked into Traci’s bedroom where she was on her laptop. “Are we good?” I didn’t want awkwardness between us during my short stay. The ten days remaining hardly seemed sufficient. However, it would be more than enough if we weren’t going to get along.
Traci glanced up. “Of course, we’re good.”
That would have been great except her voice was a tad snappish, and she turned back to her computer without saying anything more. Did I have to beg, or what? I skulked into the living room and plopped onto the sofa prepared to watch TV until she deigned to come out.
My phone chimed with a text message. I didn’t have any family who would contact me, and I looked to see who it was. It was Colleen, the principal at Valley where I worked. It said, “Call me when you can.” My heart thudded. We were friends at work, but she didn’t usually call during the summer.
I pulled up her number from my contacts and called. “Hi. Is there something wrong?” I asked.
“Heavens no. Everything is right, I think. The State Department of Education called asking about you. I just wanted you to know that I put in a good word.”
“That’s great! Yea, they called me yesterday.” We talked more about the position, and I learned the state planned to have seven members assigned to the group that would consist of principals and teachers who’d made a difference during their careers. I dared ask, “Do you know what it pays?”
Colleen told me, and I about dropped the phone. It was nearly double my current salary. She gave me pointers on what they were looking for and encouragement that they’d call me for an interview. I told her some of the things I’d seen so far in Alaska. By the time we hung up, my mood had lifted considerably.
It was green outside the picture window and the ocean beyond was blue and inviting. I couldn’t sit inside when there was wilderness to explore. So, I went back to Traci’s bedroom and knocked on the door frame.
“I don’t want to interrupt, but I’m going to take a quick walk.” I grinned halfheartedly.
“Do you mind if I come?” Her eyebrows raised as though she wasn’t sure.
“No, I don’t mind. Get on over here!” I motioned for her. “Like I said before, you’re my best friend ever. I just didn’t sleep well.” Or something. I gulped down those sparkling brown eyes I’d dreamt of and forced a smile. “It’s too nice of a day to waste it inside.”
Traci closed her laptop and jumped up, giving me a hug. “Let’s go for a walk.”
The air was crisp, and I took a moment to enjoy it and our surroundings, and then we headed up the hill a different direction than the previous morning.
“It’d be fun if we could see a bear and a moose while I’m here.” We wouldn’t get too close, but bears always looked so cute in pictures, and my phone was charged and ready.
“The only place you want to see a bear is at the zoo or the wild animal park. They could attack. So, be sure you don’t go walking by yourself.”
The raise of her eyebrows as she spoke was a tad condescending, and the possibility of a bear attack was surreal. There were houses on either side of us. “Do you have any tips, just in case?” That question would keep her yakking for the rest of our walk.
“We’ll have to get some bear spray, it’s like pepper spray for bears,” she said, as though I couldn’t figure it out from the name. “Other than that, if a bear approaches, make a lot of noise. If it’s a black bear, it’ll generally back off.”
Traci went on to explain the different temperaments between a grizzly and a black bear. However, dropping to the ground and pretending I was dead while a bear mauled me didn’t sound like a great defense. According to her, bears were fast runners and nimble in trees. I had seen pictures of bears in trees. But still, was she just saying all this stuff to scare me?
“It’s getting kind of late. I think the shops on the boardwalk close around 5 p.m. Would you still like to go?”
“Well, yeah.” What was she thinking? “You know that I love to shop.” We headed back to Traci’s place without seeing a moose or even any bear tracks. “I thought Alaska was full of moose, mooses?” I scrunched my nose. “How do you say it? Anyway, I thought we’d have seen one by now.”
“It’s just moose, singular or plural.” The corner of her lip turned up. “They’re hard to see. We could be fairly close to one and not know it.”
“Yeah, okay.” Moose was an irregular noun. I tapped my finger to my lip. But, from what I’d seen and heard, moose were huge. How could we not see one if it was there?
Since we’d had such a late start to the day, or rather since I had, we didn’t worry about lunch and figured we’d just grab dinner after our shopping. I was grateful for the bowl of cereal I’d had and made a mental note to set the alarm on my phone for tomorrow morning. I wouldn’t sleep away my vacation.
The spit was a long strip of land that reached into the bay and had a large percentage of pavement along its surface. Before the row of businesses was a small inlet of water fed by the bay. Fifty fishermen, it seemed, were crowded around it, catching and jerking wiggling salmon out and then throwing their line in for more.
The boardwalk was the string of buildings backed against the eastern edge of the spit and facing the ocean. Behind them were at least a dozen commercial ships in the bay. Each wooden structure of the boardwalk was approximately the size of an Amish shed, with its own personality. Most were painted gray or were natural wood. Others were painted green or red. There were bakeries and cafés and several fishing or sight-seeing tours. Was Storm out giving a tour? It seemed likely. The afternoon sun shined high as though it was barely noon instead of nearly four.
The area was filled with shopping and sight-seeing tourists. Nevertheless, I felt at peace, if that was believable, but it was because Traci and I relaxed and had fun. With the money from the ring padding my vacation, I felt free to live it up a little and perused every store. “Look at these lovely scarves.” I showed one to Traci. “They’re hand-dyed.” After trying on nearly a dozen, I found one that was perfect. “What do you think?” I turned to show Traci, but she wasn’t there. “It’s stunning,” I said in a falsetto voice to answer myself, and then handed it to the shop owner. “I’ll take this one.”
I came out of the shop expecting Traci to be waiting outside the door. She wasn’t. The next shop was actually an ocean tour company named, Northern Star. Storm’s company.
I peeked inside to see if Storm was there and saw Traci talking to a tall, broad-shouldered Polynesian guy. She leaned forward against the counter and was almost nose-to-nose with him. Her leg kicked up, her foot wiggling, and she played with a lock of her hair.
The sight of her flirting with a complete stranger made me angry. She tells me to date and to put myself out there, but then goes around snatching up all the guys with her Traci-charm. By the time I left, would there be anyone in Alaska who wasn’t drooling after her like a hungry puppy? I gritted my teeth and walked past as though I hadn’t seen her.
The next shop had jewelry. I took a brief moment to longingly visualize the exquisite ring that had made this vacation possible. But, Brad was a jerk, and I didn’t want his jewelry anyway. I saw a rotating-stand with earrings and put a pair up to my ears pretending to consider them, and then actually bought them.
The next shop had blouses, and Traci still hadn’t remembered that I existed. I bought a top to go with my earrings. But, then I realized that should be the end of my souvenir shopping. I needed to save the rest in order to pay for my own dinners and tours for the rest of my stay. Just then my phone rang. It was the California Department of Education. I cleared my throat and took a deep breath and then answered as professionally as possible. “Hello, this is Marcia Williams.”
They were beginning the interview process, and I was first on their list to call. I looked at my watch, that was surely a lie since it was nearly six there. I didn’t call her out on it though. She wanted to schedule a time for my video-interview. We were going on that camping trip in two days. “How about tomorrow?” I chewed my nail. Was that too soon?
“Tomorrow?” She sounded totally taken aback. “Well, yes, of course. Tomorrow.” I heard papers rustling on her end. “How about ten in the morning?”
I thought about it. Ten there would be nearly eleven here. I could do it. “That sounds perfect.” Perfect for who I wasn’t sure. She gave me the information I needed and hung up.
“Gaah!” I shoved my phone into my bag. I needed to go home and prepare. What would I say? What questions would they ask? I ran to the Northern Star Tours building to get Traci. Storm had joined her, and the three were in there yakking it up. “Traci!” I shouted as I entered. “I’ve gotta go. The state called. I’m interviewing tomorrow!” I shook my head. “I don’t know what to say. What will they ask?” My heart was beating a thousand times a minute. Maybe I was sick. I felt my heart, worried.
“You’ll be fine for a few more hours. I can’t leave yet.” She indicated the man behind the counter. “Marcia, this is Conner. We were all friends growing up. They’re taking me to meet a couple of the other business owners. We’re talking about doing a co-op-type of thing where we advertise for each other.” She turned back to him.
I stared at her in shocked disbelief. How could I respond to that? I was having the most important interview of my career tomorrow, and she wanted me to ‘wing’ it?
“I’ll take her.” Storm leaned toward Traci, his hand on her shoulder, and whispered something in her ear. She nodded and beamed in response, and then he patted the counter. “I’ll see you both tomorrow.”
He walked toward me, and as he neared, my heart started flittering. And for a whole different reason than my anxiety over the interview.
“Relax, you’ll do great.” Storm massaged my shoulders. His fingers, confident and in control, felt miraculous on my neck and shoulders. He led me down the boardwalk, but I was going to pass out, I knew it, and I leaned against him melting into him. He smelled nice, not that I was sniffing, but I took a deep, calming breath. The corner of my lip turned up. And then I realized he was talking to me. “Huh?” Was I an imbecile, or what?
“I said, from the way Traci’s bragged about you, I know you’ll have a great interview.”
“Thanks.” I chewed on my fingernail. “What kinds of questions do you think they’ll ask?” I unfortunately hadn’t given it a thought, and now I didn’t have much time to think about it or to prepare.
“Here we are.” He went to the side of his truck and opened the door. “If you’d like, I can help.
Did he mean it, or was he just being nice? Of course, I wanted help. And Traci, my best friend in the world, had flaked out on me. I decided to take him up on his offer.
“That is so kind of you. I’d really appreciate it.” Sheesh, I sounded so awkward. I’d have to do better than that by interview time tomorrow.
