Chapter 24

July 22, 2023

Chatham Farm

5:30PM

Once Darryl and Marcia left, Mage and Chet collected the gifts that they had insisted they would put away, and took them to a shed at the corner of the property. After, since they were nearby, they walked to a building that was being erected. It was hidden behind one of the many gravel glacial moraines that abounded in the area that obscured most of it from the farmhouse. So the couple owned a building that was between rocks and a wet place, a gravel hill behind it, and about 100 yards from the front was the Matanuska River.

When they had arrived in the spring and were looking around the farm, Marcia had commented that this spot would be a beautiful place to build a house, and Darryl had agreed. Chet and Mage had heard the exclamation from Marcia and made plans to separate five acres of land from the farm and gift it to their siblings upon their marriage.

Their parents had been told about it, and since they were in a much better position financially, they decided to add to the gift of land and erect a house.

As soon as they heard about the house, Carl and Ricci, the Judge, and Granny offered to help with the cost of construction as well.

No one wanted to turn down the money, but Liz and Gloria were determined to make sure none of them overextended their own finances either.

Trish wanted to add to the kitty, but the two mothers refused. “Absolutely not,” Gloria said.

“But I want to give something!”

“You did,” Liz told her. “You’re back in Marcia’s life. She is so grateful for that.”

“There is something you could do,” Gloria said thoughtfully. “Marcia is nervous about her makeup for the wedding.”

“I could help there!” Trish enthused.

Gloria mentioned the possibility to Marcia, and she was just as thrilled to have her friend help.

For the house plan, it was determined that there was enough money for the house, and some left over.

Bruce and Ron told Chet that they could put the surplus to good use for the couple. Chet asked what they had in mind, and Bruce sat down and drew a rough sketch of a stable for Tigger.

“You sure you want to do that?” Chet asked. “You get to see Tigger every day right now. You won’t if he’s stabled there.”

“That’s okay,” Bruce assured him. Besides, it will be better for him to come to your barn in the winter. It’ll be much warmer for him, and he’ll enjoy being with his friends too.”

“How much do you think it’ll cost to build?” Chet asked his wife.

“Free labor,” Ron told her before she could answer. “Cooking together isn’t the only thing we do well,” he said with pride.

“What will you need for materials?” Mage asked.

And the two started running down the list, often finishing each other’s sentences.

-=#=-

July 22, 2023

5:30PM

Once Marcia and Darryl finally got away from the farm, they hurried to the Bridal Suite at Alyeska Resort. The next day, they would be boarding one of the Alaska Marine Highway Ferries that would take them through the Alaska Panhandle, and down to Seattle. They had originally intended to go to Mexico for a couple of weeks, but the trip to Seattle and back had appealed to both much more.

Chet and Mage had unexpectedly purchased a beachfront B and B in Lincoln City, Oregon, and had insisted that they spend a week there on them before heading back to Anchorage. Darryl and Marcia didn’t want to spend too much time away from home, but the time alone and in each other’s arms very much appealed to them.

The night was thrilling for both of them. They spent much of the time in the hot tub that was part of the bridal suite, and after extracurricular activities, they had a ‘dinner for two’ brought to them through room service. They sat down to watch a movie. A chick flick, but under the circumstances, Darryl didn’t mind.

Ninety minutes after starting the chick flick, they decided to go to bed for the night. Neither got terribly much sleep.

July 23^rd, 2023

10:00 AM

Chet and Mage walked over to the building site and grabbed hard hats and high visibility vests. The foreman escorted them into the house, and they were pleased to see that the plumbing and electricity were going in. The building inspector normally wouldn’t have rushed getting a house done, but considering who the relatives of Marcia and Darryl were – specifically, Judge Matthews – he decided it would be in his own best interest to put a priority on the house.

After the inspector did a final inspection of the water and electricity, the walls would go in. There was little doubt that the home could be finished by the time the couple got back from their honeymoon. Especially since Chet and Mage had added the week on the Oregon Coast.

They went outside to where the stable was being built and expected to see Bruce and Ron busy at work. Instead, Bruce, Ron, Brad, and Trish were busy. The couple was surprised to see Trish in grubby work clothes, swinging a hammer along with the others.

When she saw Mage’s astonished look, she explained. “My boyfriend down in DC was a furniture builder. I helped out on weekends.”

Mage shook her head as she watched them work. She was surprised to see Brad there as well. It turned out that Trish told him of her intentions and he decided to help as well. He had resigned from the police force and was working on getting a PI license. He had no hope that it would be all roses, but he knew he had friends he could bounce ideas off of.

While he was explaining things to them, Chet noticed that his eyes kept drifting toward Trish, and he wondered if that was the main reason Brad was helping. He glanced at Mage who gave a smirk and nodded her head toward Trish. Apparently, she thought the same.

While they were talking, Chet saw that Bruce and Ron were preparing to lift a log into a place where it would be at the peak of the roof. He watched for a moment and saw that Ron was straining a bit to shift it into place so the lift could drop it into its position.

Chet excused himself and walked over to the bottom of the scaffold the men were standing on. “Need a hand?” he called out.

“I wouldn’t complain,” Ron hollered back down.

Chet climbed the ladder and grabbed one of the crowbars on the top of the toolbox Ron had. Ron swung out to the other side of the wall support and put his own bar in place to keep the eighteen-inch log from rolling off the other side. Chet carefully put his weight into pushing on the log, and Ron called down to Bob, who Chet was surprised to see controlling the lift. “Bring it down!”

Bob pushed forward on the lever, and the beam slowly dropped into place.

“I didn’t know you were here, Dad!” Chet said as he descended the ladder behind Ron.

“We wanted to help too,” he said.

“Is Colonel Mike here too?” asked Mage, joining her husband beside the lift.

“Guilty,” came the voice of Chet’s dad, from behind one of the walls where he hadn’t been visible. He walked into the area where the rest were, wearing a hard hat, vest, and a tool belt from which hung a hammer, tape measure, crowbar, framing square, and several other tools a pilot usually didn’t use.

“Somehow, I think it would be in my best interest to go get my tool belt,” Chet said, observing all the workers.

“Might not be a bad thing,” Mage agreed. “Grab mine while you’re at it.”

He laughed and started jogging back to the main house.

July 23^rd, 2023

10:00 AM

Darryl eased the Mustang into its parking spot on their ship, the Matanuska, and the two got out, grabbed their luggage, locked the vehicle, and took the elevator to the passenger decks. They had a first-class cabin on the starboard side of an upper deck, with a doorway that led to the outside. There was a faint rumble all throughout the ship, and after dropping off their luggage in their cabin, they made their way forward toward the bow. The rumbling increased, and slowly, the ship made its way from the pier, and out into the water of the Cook Inlet.

They watched as the waves created by the vessel grew, and then turned their gazes toward the south. Mount Redoubt was very visible straight ahead, looking like a mountain that grew out of the water, although it was on the Alaska Peninsula. To their left, or port was the Kenai Peninsula, separated from the mainland by the Turnagain Arm of the inlet. To starboard, one could see Mount Susitna, or the Sleeping Lady, because it looked like a woman laying down. They made their way south, stopping at Homer, then they turned East and headed toward Valdez.

They had heard that you got onto a cruise ship as a passenger and came off as cargo, but the Blue Canoes, as they were called locally, weren’t specifically a cruise ship. They weren’t nearly as classy as Holland America or the Princess cruise ships, but they were still nice. And the food was very nice in the dining room. There were cheaper places to eat, but they had paid for first class, so they decided to make the most of it and have most of their meals in the dining room. Well… most of the lunches. Breakfast and some dinners would be in their room. That’s just the way things turned out.

July 27^th, 2023

6:00AM

The doors to the ship opened, and cars, pickups, RVs, and more started to disembark. After setting his GPS for the address in Lincoln, Oregon, Darryl eased the Mustang out of its space, and down the ramp to solid ground.

The newlyweds were happy that neither had succumbed to seasickness, but Marcia had taken Dramamine before boarding. It had turned out to not be a problem, so she hadn’t taken any more. She supposed flying with her father had prepared her for possible motion sickness.

It was a few minutes before they got to Interstate 5, South just as traffic was picking up. Marcia was frustrated with the time they disembarked from the Matanuska. They had been delayed some because of weather and serious waves in an area not shielded by islands from the open ocean. Most of the Marine Highway took a route in-between islands, but before Prince Rupert, BC, Canada, they emerged from the islands and the waves from the North Pacific were able to buffet them. Thus, they slowed down and didn’t make it to Seattle at four AM as they were supposed to.

Marcia expressed her frustration, and Darryl agreed with her as he came to another dead stop on Interstate 5.

Before long, however, they began to speed up as they moved south into Kent, and Auburn, two smaller cities that made up part of the Seattle/Tacoma metroplex. Ahead of them, rose the majestic Mount Rainier, a not-quite-extinct volcano, looking way too close for comfort to the enormous cities. They moved through Tacoma and were suddenly in the woods. It was a very sudden transition from the city to trees, which towered over anything they had seen for several years in Alaska. They looked strange, too. The spruce trees in Alaska had ¾ inch needles on them, at best. The pine trees in Washington state had three or four-inch needles, making them look bushy and strange.

Eventually, the trees started to thin out, and they entered a farming territory, similar to what they were used to. From there to the Oregon Border, it alternated between fields and trees.

They went through Portland, and Marcia was a bit nervous at the bridge which had to be at least six stories above the river below – then it curved at the height of its arch. She watched as semis, some with multiple trailers, effortlessly traversed the bridge, and wondered what the drivers must see from their vantage points. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know.

Soon enough, they were at Tigard, Oregon, and exited the highway. They stopped for gas and some chips and pop. Marcia went in while Darryl prepared to fill the tank, but just a few minutes later, he joined her inside. “Apparently, in Oregon, it’s illegal for someone to fill their own gas tank.”

“Really? Do they think the general public isn’t capable of filling a car?”

“I guess not.”

They paid and headed southwest until they came to the coast. It was absolutely full of houses and condos. There also didn’t seem to be any public access to the beach. It was about two o’clock when they pulled up to the house and Darryl shut off the engine.