“So, I’m sorry they overbooked the hotel. I didn’t anticipate the holiday crowds.” Meghan moved through the living room after kicking off her boots. She wore thermal socks. “But, I admit, the couch is very comfortable.”
“I wasn’t planning to get a hotel room. I’ll take the couch,” Dana said. “I wanted to see you, spend time with my friend. I can’t do that if I’m at a hotel the whole time I’m here. The couch is fine for me.”
“Dana, dork, you’re almost a foot taller than me. You’re sleeping in the bedroom.” Meghan never let height get in her way. Sometimes, people looked down on her instead of looking at her. She knew enough psychology to use it against them.
Dana took a shower. Meghan fixed them some dinner. When her friend slipped from the small bathroom wearing t-shirt and sweatpants, Meghan felt like they were younger, spirited cadets ready to take on every bad guy on the planet.
Meghan saw Dana hadn’t lost her shape over the last twenty-three years. The last time Meghan saw her friend other than conversations through social media video calls, Dana took Meghan to the airport for her job in Alaska.
“You look great,” she said.
They sat at the small wobbly table off the corner of the kitchen, away from the counters and stove. The pseudo dining room opened into the living room, and the front of the house.
“I’ve been on a new diet,” Dana said. She eyed the meal. A simple rice and broccoli mix with frozen pea and carrots. It was a staple meal for Meghan.
Meghan sipped at her water. Dana had bottled water in front of her plate. Meghan drank out of the glass.
“Are you trying to say something about me being a foreigner?” Dana uncapped the water and took a sip.
“We’re coming out of break-out right now. That means the water treatment plant in town is working overtime, trying to eliminate all the critters that get into the town water supply.” Meghan tapped her glass with the fork. “You might end up with what the locals affectionately call Kinguyakkii crud.”
“Sounds divine,” Dana said, making a face. “I want to wait and see what I catch from my flights before I add some parasite infection from the water.”
Meghan nodded and pointed the tines at the bottled water. “There are a few cases around. As long as you didn’t drink any shower water, you’ll be okay.”
Meghan offered to take her friend to dinner at the Midnight Sun Café. It was Friday night, and after the whole day hopping commercial jets, Dana wanted to unwind, catch up and relax.
They sat in the quiet at the small round table. Outside darkness fell across town. The occasional rev of a snowmobile or four-wheeler made Dana flinch. The ATVs raced by the house on Bison Street.
“That takes some getting used to, I bet.”
Meghan shrugged. She stopped noticing the random passersby.
Dana ate most of what she had on her plate. She helped Meghan clear the table and clean the dishes. They went to the living room and sat on the couch together. Meghan read a few texts from her officers. She replied to one and put down the phone.
Dana drew up her knees pressed in the corner of the sofa and watched Meghan. Dana had a thin pear-shaped face, azure eyes and small mouth with thin lips. She wore her auburn hair shoulder-length, the governing style at the bureau. It lay limp and damp on her shoulders.
“You really like it here?” she asked. It came out a whisper as Alaska listened through the stilts that held the house a half-meter from the tundra base.
“It took some getting used to,” Meghan admitted. “It wasn’t like moving across the country. I had a little culture shock in the beginning. But there is a frontier quality that grows on you.”
“That’s what worries me,” Dana said.
“You can give it a few days. Tonight starts a three-day celebration. We’ll get people from the outlining villages coming into town. If they get through,” Meghan said. “I got a text from Oliver. They fished some people out of the lagoon. Their boat got shredded on the ice floe.”
“Is everyone okay?”
“Sure. They’re on their way to the clinic. The new doctor sometimes makes house calls. He’s been good about emergency help.”
“So, no ER? No ambulance,” Dana said.
Meghan pursed her lips and shook her head.
“It seems third-world around here.”
“We make do with what we got. It’s different, but it works. People come here sometimes and feel the call of the tundra. They settle here. Or they stay in Alaska if not the city.”
“And you felt the call, did you?”
“I don’t know. I know I finished my tour with the bureau. I didn’t want to go into law enforcement where I’d get overlooked because I have a vagina, and I’m a little older than they want to see as a trophy officer.”
“You look great,” Dana said. “I thought maybe you’d fall apart up here.”
“I feel like I weigh a ton. I try to exercise. We don’t have a local gym around here. Running outside isn’t exactly a balanced environment. Summer is good, but I don’t have time to stop my day to just go work out.”
Dana nodded. She assessed the small house. “This feels like a cabin in the woods kind of place.”
“I got a good deal on rent. The city subsidizes the place. I’m out of the way and still close enough to everything. You’re never too far away from anyone around here. It’s a lot better than the community housing at Mountain Manor near the grocery store. When I’m off duty, people tend to leave me alone.” Meghan read another text after her phone
