Summary to date: Petra, a college student from Montana, about to graduate and unsure of what she wants for her future, runs away to Alaska to work at a seafood company. She is escaping from a stalker/ ex-boyfriend, and the pressures put on her by her family. Alaska is turning into a much wilder experience than she'd ever expected.
I was shocked, absolutely stunned into momentary silence. I was going to be Lauren’s roommate? My first reaction was no way.
I found my voice and sputtered, “But what about Jaimie?”
“That little bitch? There’s no way I’d have her live with me. Oh, Petra, it’ll be so much fun. You’ll see. Better start packing, my guys will be here in a couple of hours to move your stuff down to the cabin. See you, roomie!”
After Lauren skipped out, I looked around my room forlornly. I stood and watched water run off the hillside right up against my window.
My heart was heavy with loss.
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Living with Lauren wasn’t so bad. My first night in the cabin we lay on her bed, sipping whiskey, while she smoked pot. I had decided to move forward, away from the grudge I had every right to feel, and tried to “make the best of things”. I simply didn’t trust Lauren in the least.
After the first night I didn’t see much of Lauren. I knew she stopped by the cabin some time during the day because the place was always a wreck. Lauren didn’t know how to hang up clothes and seemed to rarely wash them. Some of her underwear were stuck to the carpet. I tried to not think about it and kicked them back to her ever-growing heap of dirty laundry. I wondered where she was spending her nights. And with whom.
One day while scrubbing or painting or doing some other mindless, crappy job (waiting for the next fishery to open), Thelma stopped by to talk to me.
“So how are you getting along with The Goddess of Pelican?” she asked.
“Just fine,” I replied. “I only saw her on the first night that I moved in and I haven’t seen her since. Just traces of her.”
Thelma rolled her eyes. “I thought as much. I think she’s shacked up with her old boyfriend and is screwing with his head big time.”
“Who is he?” I asked.
“You wouldn’t know him. He’s the accountant for the company. Nice guy. That woman is poison.”
I was inclined to agree, but didn’t do much but nod. After all, I had to live with the poison.
“Watch out for yourself,” Thelma advised. “You never know what Lauren might pull.”
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When I went back to the cabin after work (hey, I could get addicted to these eight-hour days), Lauren was scrambling around throwing clothes into a suitcase.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“Ooooooh!” She squealed, very animated even for Lauren. “Billy called. I’m flying to Anchorage to meet him and Thomas. They have tickets to George Thoroughgood. Thomas wants you to come, too.”
I rolled my eyes. “Oh. I’m supposed to just hop on a plane and fly to Anchorage, just like that?”
“He said to tell you he’d pay half.”
I snorted my contempt. “Reality check, Lauren. I currently make $5.97 and hour and I wouldn’t go see Thomas if he paid the whole thing. In fact, I wouldn’t even cross the street to see Thomas.”
I could see cold contempt on Lauren’s face. “God, you are such an unbelievable prude.”
“Yes, I am,” I agreed, though, in fact, I didn’t agree at all.
“You could hook Thomas so easily if you’d just work it a little.” I started to open my mouth to vent some of my own venom at her, but she interrupted my tirade before I could start.
“Oh, God. I’ve got to hurry,” Lauren panicked. “I can hear the plane.”
She ran around and haphazardly threw stuff into her bag, without any apparent knowledge of what she was grabbing.
“When will you be back?” I asked. This was Thursday.
“Sunday afternoon on the ferry.” Lauren grimaced. “We’ve got a bunch of new workers coming in, including those damned girls who were supposed to be here days ago, and Jeff is making me babysit them over here. That’s why he’s letting me go to Anchorage. Look, I’ve got to run. You’re a fool not to come, Little Nun.” And she was off.
Peace and tranquility descended upon the cabin.
That crack about my being a prude still smarted, and that Little Nun comment nagged at me, making me seethe. It shouldn’t have, but it did.
It was a beautiful day, though. The sun was shining and the westerly had kicked up. I didn’t have to work tomorrow if I didn’t want to.
I should have been outside with friends, sitting in front of the Wet Goods, drinking Club Cocktails, but I wasn’t sure if I had any friends anymore.
I opened the refrigerator to find a whole bunch of Club Cocktails (gin and tonic flavor—yum-yum), popped open a can, and headed back to my Little Nun’s cell. I lay on Lauren’s bed, drinking and looking with appreciation at all her little trinkets and with distaste at the chaos she’d left in her wake. I got up and took two more cans of gin and tonics—so I wouldn’t have to get up again so soon. And I snooped.
I hit the jack pot right away. In a little box was a large stash of high quality, Lauren’s adorable little pipe, and a note. It read:
“Help yourself, Sweetie. I’m going away for the weekend so try to enjoy yourself while I’m gone. Would you please, please, please do some laundry for me, doll? Love ya, Lauren.”
Well, well. Yes, I’d do some laundry for her, but I would deplete as much of her stash as I could to make it worth my while.
I downed my last Club drink and headed for the shower. I thought I’d swallowed enough courage to brave the bars on my own.
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