The Great Alone (112 page)

“Is that where you attended school?” It was obvious to him that she had received an education beyond the normal elementary level of most rural natives.

“No. I went to the Sheldon Jackson School in Sitka. I wanted to become a teacher, but … I was needed at home after my father died.” She gazed at a built-in cabinet; its glass doors revealed shelves lined with books. Her face softened again. “Jim went to college. In the winters we used to read a lot and talk about the things we read. He was very intelligent. He taught me a lot. I probably should pack up all his books and send them home to his family with the rest of his things.”

“I think Jim would have wanted you to keep them. He would have wanted you to keep a lot of this,” Wylie stated.

The coffee started boiling atop the wood stove, its aromatic steam spreading throughout the small cabin. Anita poured a cup for each of them. Wylie wasn’t sure whether the coffee deserved the credit or not, but the initial awkwardness passed and they talked freely. Wylie hadn’t been able to talk much about Big Jim to anyone. With her, he could open up about his buddy. The time passed all too quickly for him. Before he knew it, he had to start back to meet his father.

He gave her some money, insisting Big Jim had left it with him to give to her. He suspected that she knew it was a white lie, but he also knew it was what Big Jim would have done if he’d thought of it. Then he left, promising he’d be back to see her and little Mikey again.

During the month that he was home recuperating, Wylie managed to make it back up there once a week. He found himself looking forward to the visits and the chance to get away from the hustle of Anchorage. He’d never been one who found much enjoyment sitting in bars and drinking, or standing in line at a whorehouse. And Lord knew, there were plenty of both in Anchorage. At Big Jim’s cabin, he found a measure of peace and contentment. He didn’t know if it was the setting or the company. He thought it might be a bit of both.

With a swing of the axe, he buried the blade in the halved log. The wood splintered as it split into quarters. Wylie chopped the two pieces the rest of the way apart, then spiked the axe blade on the flat top of the dead tree trunk and reached down to pick up the chunks of firewood, with no protest from the muscles in his leg. He was conscious of the blood rushing through his veins and heating his flesh. He’d worked up a sweat and it felt good.

A jay chattered at him from a bare branch overhead as he added the armload of wood to the long stack that represented a winter’s supply of firewood. There was a crackling rustle of dry leaves behind him. Wylie glanced over his shoulder as little Mikey came scurrying up, grinning widely and proudly clutching some large splintered chunks of wood in his gloved hands. He hurried to the woodpile and stretched as tall as he could to stack his wood on top the way Wylie had.

“Let me give you a lift up there, Mikey.” Wylie picked him up and held him over the woodpile so he could deposit the small sticks on top, then swung him onto his hip. “You’re quite the little helper.”

His cap was askew and Wylie straightened it for him. The boy laughed. He was always laughing. Wylie had never seen a child so happy all the time. To Mikey, the world was filled with joy. Maybe it came with being retarded. Wylie didn’t know, but he hoped that Mikey never found out he was different from other children; he hoped that smile of his would never go away.

The hinges on the cabin door creaked shrilly. Anita stepped to the end of the porch, hugging her arms around her to ward off the sharp nip in the air. “If you two are finished, why don’t you come inside? I just took the bread out of the oven and the coffee’s hot. I thought we might sample some of that jam your mother sent.”

“Sounds good.” Wylie carried Mikey to the door, striding easily, hardly favoring his leg at all. As Anita opened the door, he made a mock shudder at the screech of the hinges. “I’ve been meaning to oil that door.”

“That’s the last thing Jim said before he left.”

Wylie glanced thoughtfully at the door as he closed it behind him, then turned. Anita reached to take the boy from him, but Wylie shook his head. “I can manage.”

She didn’t argue. “I’ll pour the coffee.”

He set Mikey on the floor and crouched down beside him to remove his cap, overcoat, and gloves, then shrugged out of his own and hung them all on the wall hooks by the door. He walked to the table and sat down, absently running his hand over the smoothly planed top.

“You know I loved Jim.” He smiled crookedly. “I’ve never said that about another man before.”

She glanced up from the loaf of fresh bread she was slicing, her look one of understanding. “He was a good man.”

Mikey came over and crawled onto Wylie’s lap. “I think he likes me.” Wylie affectionately rumpled the top of the boy’s hair. Mikey mimicked the action and laughed.

“I know he does.” Anita smiled.

“Maybe this won’t sound right, but …” He paused, trying to find the words that would make what he was about to say not sound stupid. “Neither of us has anyone except family. The man you loved is dead, and the girl I loved married someone else. I think we get along pretty good together. Jim is something we have in common. Maybe it’s a lousy reason for two people to get married, but … I guess that’s what I’m proposing. Mikey here needs a father, and you could use a man around to look after things. Course, the Army still has first claim on me, but I am available on a part-time basis to start out.”

He kept talking because she wasn’t saying anything. She wasn’t even looking at him. She wiped her hands down the sides of her pants. “Wylie, I’m not sure your parents would like the idea of you marrying me. Jim’s parents were really upset when he told them about me. I don’t want to cause any problems between you and your family. I—”

Wylie stopped her. “Why don’t you and Mikey fly back with me this afternoon and meet my family? You don’t have to make any commitment. Afterwards, if you still think it’s a bad idea, we’ll drop it.”

She hesitated, then nodded cautiously. “Okay.”

The meeting went better than even Wylie had expected. It turned out that his mother had asked Billy Ray and Matty to dinner that night, providing Anita with an opportunity to see the way they were treated. He’d already told his parents a little about Anita’s situation, and they knew how close he’d been to Big Jim. When he introduced them, he indicated that the trip was an opportunity for Anita to do some shopping and didn’t hint there was anything more to it than that.

Later that evening after his mother had gone upstairs to help Anita put Mikey to bed and Matty had stepped outside to see how much longer Billy Ray and his father were going to be tinkering with the car, Wylie sat alone in the living room with his grandmother, listening to the radio. He watched her slip a cigarette into an ivory holder, then light it.

“What do you think of Anita, Grandma Glory?”

“She’s a pleasant, intelligent girl,” she answered readily. “It’s easy to see why your friend was so taken with her.”

“What if I said we are considering getting married?”

“Are you?” Her expression never changed.

“I’ve suggested it,” Wylie admitted.

“Is it because of Lisa?”

“No. It’s because of Jim, although I admit if Lisa hadn’t gotten married, I probably wouldn’t be asking Anita. But like you told me, it’s time to start over—for Anita, too.”

“There will be some who won’t accept her. You know that,” she said and rolled the tip of her cigarette in the ashtray. “In the old days, it was different here. What you were or what you’d done in the past didn’t matter so much. Now we’re more civilized. That makes certain people feel superior to others in some way.”

“That’s their problem.”

“Perhaps. But you must be prepared to deal with it.”

“I think I am.”

“So do I,” Glory said, then smiled. “I just wanted to hear you say it.”

“Anita’s concerned about how Mom and Dad will accept her.”

“Your father isn’t going to think a single thing about it. However, if the choice was your mother’s, I don’t think she would pick Anita to be your wife. Mothers always want more for their children. They’re rarely happy with their children’s choice for a mate. But I doubt that she’ll ever let you or Anita see that.”

“And you, Grandma?”

“Pain, happiness, sorrow, and contentment—you’re going to experience all those feelings. It will never be all one or all another. I’ve lived my life without regrets. That’s the one wish I’ve always had for you and your father—and all the people I love.” She studied the ivory holder of her cigarette. “In all the years we were married, Deacon never told me what to do or how to behave. He let me decide for myself and accepted whatever I chose without judging. It was perhaps the greatest gift he ever gave me. That’s the way I’ve tried to be with you and Ace. If Anita is your choice for a wife, Wylie, then she’s mine as well.”

“She’s my choice, but I’m not sure yet whether she agrees.”

Matty’s return to the room ended the conversation. Minutes after she came back, his mother and Anita came downstairs. Dressed in a plain blouse and skirt, Anita somehow looked more womanly to him—and more vulnerable.

“Did you get Mikey to sleep?” he asked.

“Yes.” She still wasn’t very talkative in the presence of his family, but she appeared more relaxed and less defensive than she’d been earlier.

“I got that old teddy bear of yours out of the closet. Mikey latched onto it like it was gold,” Trudy said, laughing. “He was asleep in minutes.”

“I’m afraid he isn’t going to give it up very willingly,” Anita said.

“That’s all right. Teddy bears shouldn’t sit in closets when there’s a child around who will love them. Mikey can keep him,” Wylie said.

“Would anybody like some coffee?” Trudy asked. “I already have some made in the kitchen.”

Ace walked in just then, still wringing his freshly scrubbed hands. “Sounds good to me.”

“Me, too,” Billy Ray chimed in, a step behind him.

“Please, let me get it for you, Mrs. Cole,” Anita volunteered.

His mother hesitated, then smiled. “All right. The cups are in the right-hand cupboard—”

“Never mind, Mom,” Wylie interrupted. “I’ll give her a hand.” He followed Anita into the kitchen and got the cups from the cupboard, then leaned sideways against the counter to watch while she filled them with coffee. “What do you think of my family?”

“They’re very nice.” Her smile came quickly, then faded just as quickly. She set the coffeepot on the counter and turned to him, her dark eyes earnestly searching his. “Wylie, are you sure you want to marry me? I mean, it’s not just me. It’s Mikey. He’s never going to be a normal boy. He’s always going to need care. I don’t think you’re aware of how much responsibility you’re taking on.”

“No more than what you were prepared to shoulder alone,” he reminded her. “I considered all that before I ever suggested marriage to you. Believe it or not, I think I know what I’m doing.”

She shook her head, the gesture a mixture of vague amusement and amazement. “I think I know why Jim liked you so much.”

“Is that a yes or a no?”

“Yes. If you still want me and Mikey, I’ll marry you.”

Hesitantly, Wylie bent toward her, then paused inches away and lifted her chin with his fingertips. He kissed her with tentative pressure and felt the uncertainty in her response.

Yet the first kiss made the second one easier. Each of them had a wealth of love to give and a need to share it with someone. It was going to be all right.

They kept the wedding simple, with only the family in attendance, then returned to the cabin for a few days to pack Anita and Mikey’s things and move them to Anchorage so his family could look after them while Wylie was gone. With the housing shortage that existed, they accepted Glory’s offer to let Anita and Mikey stay in the small one-room apartment in the rear of the boardinghouse that had been Chou Ling’s. The old Chinese cook had passed away the previous spring, and the new cook already had a place to live. The solution seemed ideal, since it not only gave Anita and Mikey a place to stay, but it also meant Anita could help Matty with the work at the boardinghouse and earn some extra money. The prices for everything in Alaska were high, but at least the Territory wasn’t under the rationing program that had been instituted in the Lower Forty-eight.

Wylie reported back to duty, fully recovered from his wound. With the Japanese pushed out of the Aleutians and losing ground elsewhere in the Pacific, the threat to Alaska appeared over. There was talk for a while that the Chain would be used as a staging area for an invasion of the northern Japanese islands of the Kuriles sometime in June of 1944, but Russia still hadn’t declared war on Japan. With the Kamchatka Peninsula so close to Japan, Russian cooperation was needed. The plans were put on the shelf until Russia joined the war in the Pacific.

That spring, the Alaska Scouts were assigned to new duties that would put to use their combined extensive knowledge of the territory. Wylie and several other Scouts were sent to the Arctic desert of the far north. Initially Wylie accompanied a team of geologists sent to the area by the War Department to explore the large area of land, roughly the size of Indiana, that had been set aside back in 1923 as Naval Petroleum Reserve No. 4—Pet 4 they called it. As far back as 1886, oil seepages had been reported in the area. An exploration in the 1920s confirmed the existence of an oil-bearing area of unknown volume and the federal government had reserved the land for future needs.