Land Sakes (27 page)

Well, riding a tram was something I'd never done before, and I enjoyed it. The view from the tram of Ketchikan and the harbor was something I'd never forget.

We were running late and must have missed the lunch crowd, because there were no other customers in the restaurant. That restaurant was Class A in my book. It had a pine-beamed ceiling and a river-rock fireplace as well as beautiful windows with views of the harbor. Our table was by a window.

The menu listed all kinds of fancy seafood. I turned my glass upside down and waited while the waiter poured Mrs. Winchester's wine.

After we ordered and the waiter left, I whispered, “Are you going to be good today?”

“Oh yes,” she said. “One glass of wine with my lunch and a drink or two later, that's it.”

In a few minutes we were served our salads. Believe it or not, Mrs. Winchester wanted me to ask the blessing.

I did, but the moment I opened my eyes, I saw none other than Alphonso Pasquali with two other men being led to a table in a far corner. My heart started beating like a trip hammer.
Had he followed us here? Are those his poker buddies? Does he know I'm wearing these jewels
?

“Isn't that Alphonso?” Mrs. Winchester asked, then answered her own question. “Who else would be wearing a turban? He looks like a maharajah or something.”

“Yes, it's Alphonso Pasquali, all right.”

Almost as soon as they sat down, Alphonso must have pointed out Mrs. Winchester, because both men turned around and looked our way, turned back around and nodded their heads. I did not like the looks of that!

They made me so nervous. I wondered if Alphonso and those men had been anywhere around us when we were at the Indian village. I had been so caught up in all the things we were seeing there, it hadn't crossed my mind to be on the lookout. Even so, that turban would have made him stand out in the crowd; I wouldn't have missed him. I knew if he had followed us onto Canal
Street I would have seen him, because there's only a narrow boardwalk and few places to hide.

Mrs. Winchester finished her salad then needed to go to the ladies' room. I didn't know if I should go with her or not. Since there were no other women in the restaurant, we would be in there all alone, unless a woman on staff was in the bathroom too. If the men knew I had the jewels on me, a ladies' room would be an ideal place for them to jump me. I decided it was best to let Mrs. Winchester go by herself while I kept watching to see if any of them got up and left the table. I didn't think they would jump her since I had the jewelry, but who knows what a criminal mind is thinking?

Mrs. Winchester always takes her time in the bathroom, but that time I thought she'd never come out. I took a deep breath. It always helps my nerves to remember that Jesus said, “I am with you always.” And I know Splurgeon was right when he said, “The sheep are never so safe as when they are near the Shepherd.”

By the time she came back, the waiter had removed our salad plates and was serving our lunch. Since we had been told that Ketchikan is the salmon capital of the world, I had picked salmon with chive sauce, braised cabbage, and corn crepes. I was so nervous I ate like I was starving. Knowing it wouldn't be very long before supper, I should not have eaten so much, but I couldn't help myself. Mrs. Winchester even ordered us a delicious little pastry for dessert, which I wolfed down.

After we finished eating, my problem was deciding whether or not we should wait for those men to leave before we left. Mrs. Winchester and I planned to visit the
fishery after lunch, but if I had my way, we would skip the fishery and take the next tender back to the ship. Of course, if I changed my mind and said I didn't want to go, Mrs. Winchester might ask me why, and I sure didn't want to explain.

I decided we would sit there until Alphonso and his friends were gone. Then I'd give them enough time to take the tram down before we left. Mrs. Winchester had already signed the bill and was ready to go, but I wasn't finished with my glass of sweet tea. To keep us sitting there, I started in talking. She loved my Live Oaks stories.

I began telling her all about Maria, the woman with AIDS who I took into my home and nursed until she died. I started at the beginning, telling her about how Maria lived in a boxcar with her three children and how, when she was deathly sick and had no hospital insurance, I bluffed her way into the hospital by saying she was a celebrity, Carmen Miranda.

It was a long story, and I dragged it out even longer; I thought those men would never leave. They had finished eating but were drinking coffee.
They're waiting for us to walk out of here and maybe jump us on that tram
. The waiter kept refilling their cups. Once I saw Alphonso glance our way, and I did not like the looks of that.

I kept on talking, adding on to that story, telling Mrs. Winchester everything I could think of.

Finally, Alphonso got up, and the three of them filed out of the restaurant. Seeing that they had left, Mrs. Winchester started getting up.

“Don't you want to hear the rest of the story?”

“There's more?”

“Oh yes.”

She settled back in the chair. “Do go on.”

I told her about the Osbornes adopting Maria's children and how I was renting my house to them. On and on I went, giving Alphonso plenty of time to take the tram down before we left. I don't think Mrs. Winchester suspected a thing. After I ended the story, I made a trip to the restroom, and by then the tram had been down and up again a couple of times.

As we boarded the tram, I didn't see those men anywhere, and when we reached the bottom, I made sure they weren't waiting around a corner for us. Mrs.Winchester was saying, “From what I hear the fish hatchery is fascinating.”

Well, when we got to the fish hatchery and could see the salmon leaping up falls and swimming, it was interesting, but I was in no frame of mind to be fascinated. The guide was telling about the way the hatchery harvests the eggs and produces more salmon than could be done the natural way.

It looked like Mrs. Winchester was going to hang around there the rest of the day, but I reminded her that we didn't want to miss the last tender. She agreed, and we took the next bus back to the pier.

“You haven't forgotten to think up something to order tonight that will top Bailey, have you?” Mrs. Winchester reminded me.

To tell the truth, I hadn't given it another thought, but as we were riding back on the tender I did come up with something I knew the ship would not have on board. “What about clabber?”

“Clabber? What's that?”

“It's sour milk that has clotted. You eat it with nutmeg, sugar, and milk.”

“I never heard of that.”

“It's not likely anyone at the table has heard of it either, and I know the chef won't have it.”

“You're sure?”

“As sure as rain. Milk aboard ship is pasteurized, and milk that is pasteurized won't clot.”

She liked the idea, so that was settled.

That night it seemed everybody was dressed fit to kill. I wore a skirt and blouse with my cardigan sweater and told myself I was comfortable being who I am. I thought of Percival saying he didn't want to forget who he was.

One of the staff was doing an ice carving, and I stopped to watch him. Even though he was not far along with the carving, already I could see it was going to be a swan. I wondered why that ice didn't melt.

When I made my way to the table, I saw that everyone was already seated and that Alphonso was already sipping his wine. After eating that big lunch so late in the day, I was not hungry and I wondered what to order. Looking at the menu I saw the name of a dessert that looked interesting—“Mudslide.” For the fun of it, that's the only thing I ordered. Nobody seemed to notice. Everybody at the table had their head down, poring over the menus, but the minute Mrs. Winchester told the waiter to bring her two slices of bread, a banana, and some mayonnaise, every head popped up openmouthed.

“Are you unwell?” Mrs. Bailey asked.

“I'm perfectly well,” she answered. I could see Mrs. Winchester was getting a charge out of all their attention.

“There's a physician on board,” Mrs. Bailey insisted but got no response from Mrs. Winchester. “When I travel, and we do travel all the time, I make sure that the medical facilities available are of the highest standards. One never knows when one might fall ill or be indisposed for one reason or another.”

After everyone had ordered, Mrs. Bailey took the floor again. “What a lovely day we've had on the canoeing safari. My husband is such an expert with the paddles, aren't you, dear?” But giving him no time to respond, she asked, “And, Mrs. Winchester, did you enjoy your day?”

“Yes.”

Seeing she was not going to get anything more out of Mrs. Winchester, she looked to me. “Did you two stay aboard ship?”

“No,” I said. “We toured the town.”

Seeing as how I was not going to satisfy her curiosity, she had an edge in her voice. “How nice. Bought little trinkets, I suppose?”

Lionel spoke up. “Miss Peterson and I had a great day. We took a jeep and rode through the forest first, then joined a rafting party to ride the rapids.”

Mrs. Bailey didn't bother to ask Alphonso what he had done. He was slurping his soup and saying nothing to nobody.

“Now, about tomorrow,” Mrs. Bailey began. “We'll be in Juneau. What do you plan to do there, Mrs. Win
chus
ter?”

I was surprised that Mrs. Winchester told her. “We're going to the Mendenhall Glacier.”

“Wonderful! We are too. Raymond has us going by helicopter. We would love to have you come along with us.”

“We will go by bus,” Mrs. Winchester said, lathering mayonnaise on a slice of bread.

“Oh, nonsense. I know you would rather fly.”

“You know nothing of the kind.”

“Oh.”

28

I knew we would see plenty of glaciers when we traveled to Glacier Bay, but then we would be on the ship, whereas at the Mendenhall we could actually walk on the glacier. As we were traveling on the tour bus and enjoying the scenery, I suddenly saw a rainbow that was absolutely round! “Look, Mrs. Winchester! Did you ever see a rainbow like that—wide as that one and in a circle?”

“Oh no, I haven't. It's beautiful. Maybe it's a good omen.”

I didn't say nothing, but I have never put no stock in omens. I changed the subject. “They sure fell for that clabber joke last night, didn't they?” We both laughed.

When the bus arrived at the Mendenhall, we waited until everybody got off so Mrs. Winchester wouldn't block traffic in the aisle and could take her time getting down them steps. A soft, drizzling rain was falling, and I was glad I was wearing my parka with the hood. Mrs.
Winchester was wearing a beautiful ivory-colored parka that came down to her knees and had a coyote-trimmed hood. It looked great, but
coyote
? Who'd want to wear something come off a coyote?

By the time we got off the bus, everybody was already out on the ice. A helicopter was parked nearby. “I hope that's not the Baileys' helicopter,” I said. “Wouldn't they just fly over the glacier but not land?”