Claire Gulliver #04 - Cruisin' for a Bruisin' Read online

  “Oh, yeah, she was dancing with her friend when Millie and I headed out. She certainly can keep the late hours.”

  “So I don’t expect her to ever make breakfast here in the dining room, but she says she enjoys the buffet up on the top deck.”

  “Good thing,” was Ruth’s droll response.

  They gathered up their belongings and headed to the library and the daily crossword puzzle. They thought they had time to finish it before the Trivia game. After Trivia they were each heading off to different activities.

  “Ruth, do you want to go with us to Mrs. Bernbaum’s cabin for tea?” Millie asked.

  “I don’t know. What’s the attraction?”

  “Well, I understand from Claire she has a lovely cabin, more like a suite. You might like to see how the other half lives.”

  “Well, maybe, but I’m thinking I may join the group playing bridge. I’ll let you know later, okay?”

  * * *

  Anita opened the door for them. Claire introduced her to her mother and they went into the sitting room.

  “Claire, Millie, welcome. It’s so nice of you to come. Where are your friends? Will they be coming?”

  “Ruth is playing cards and Lucy is spending some time in the spa. She says she’s getting ready for tonight,” Claire explained.

  Mrs. Bernbaum nodded. “Yes, formal night, I remember.” Then addressing Anita, “Anita, dear, after Jorges brings the tea you can go off if you wish. We can pour the tea ourselves. Just be sure you’re back by seven to help me get dressed.”

  The knock on the door arrived as if it were cued. Anita opened the door to a white jacketed room steward whose smile seemed as wide as the tray he carried. He arranged the tea things on the coffee table in front of the sofa with Anita fussing around, making sure it was all just perfect, and then they both left the ladies to their tea and their conversation.

  “How is Anita feeling? Any better?” Claire asked with concern.

  Mrs. Bernbaum shook her head.

  “Is she going to fly home tomorrow, or didn’t you suggest it?”

  “No and yes. She says she wouldn’t think of it. She’s here to make sure I survive this cruise. She says she can’t trust me to know what’s good for me. She insists she’ll stay and make sure I make it home.” Mrs. Bernbaum made a face. “It sounds noble, but I confess it gets my goat, as if I haven’t been taking care of myself long before she was even born. Oh, don’t get me wrong. I appreciate her caring about me and her attention to those details I no longer want to take care of. But really, I have Dickie here. I’m perfectly capable of finishing what I started with this voyage.”

  Millie started pouring the tea, adding milk to Claire’s and lemon to Mrs. Bernbaum’s when they indicated their preferences. Handing the cup to Mrs. Bernbaum she reminded her, “You were going to tell me why you are taking this trip to Alaska?”

  Mrs. Bernbaum sipped her tea, sighed then nodded. “Yes, yes, it’s a life quest. You know, one of those things you mean to do before the end of your life? It was a promise I made to Nate.

  “I don’t think I mentioned he was from Alaska, did I?”

  * * *

  “Abby, I got the tickets. We need to get to town by Monday to make sure you get on. I booked us in at Ma Freedom’s boarding house. The town is filling up already with everyone wanting to go outside on the last ship.”

  “Oh, Seth, I don’t want to go. Please, let us stay.”

  His voice gentled. “Now Abby, you know we’ve decided. You can’t have the baby here. And your sister is expecting you in Seattle. She can help you with Rachael when the baby comes. Before you know, it will be spring again and you’ll be on your way home to us.” He tried to keep his expression positive although he already wondered how they would get through the long dark winter without her and Rachael.

  “Nate and I will stay busy up at the mine. We’ll just concentrate on working the tailings and hopefully extract enough gold to have a good year.”

  “But Seth, Nate’s so young to be working all winter.”“Abby, Abby, you forget he’s nine now. He’s a responsible young man. He’ll be a real help to me. And I promise everyday he will spend two hours working on the lessons you wrote out for him.

  “This is the best way; the only way. Remember we discussed all of this? Really, this is the best way to get through the winter, so don’t go changing your mind at the last minute.”

  Tears spurted from her eyes. Abby threw herself into her husband’s arms, sobbing on his shoulder. Finally she straightened, nodding her head she managed, “I know, I know it’s the best way. It’s just..., it’s just I’ve been having nightmares about it. I feel like something awful is going to happen, and I feel like I have to stay here to make sure you and Nate are safe.”

  He shook his head, slightly amused despite his distress over her tears. “We’ll be careful, real careful,” he told her gravely. “You just worry about yourself, the baby and Rachael.” He reached out and tenderly wiped a tear from her cheek. “Now why don’t you finish your packing and then sit a while and get your feet up. The kids will be coming in soon and there is no sense worrying them with adult problems, now is there?”

  She nodded turning toward the wash basin to bathe her face, already mulling over the tasks she had left to complete before they all went to Skagway to await the Princess Sophia’s arrival.

  The days passed faster than they could have believed and too soon they were ensconced in a room in the boarding house in town. Abby felt as excited as the children were at being in town and able to walk down the street looking at the goods in the store windows.

  “Oh look, see the pretty baby.” Rachael stared with open-mouth admiration at the doll in the window. Where they lived on the mountain near their gold mine, she mostly entertained herself with sticks and stones from the yard, their dog and sometimes the doll her father had carved out of wood for her. Their infrequent visits to town were a source of delight to both children.

  Abby and Seth looked at each other, wishing they could spare the money to buy this beautiful doll for their cherished daughter. But they needed to conserve their money. The doll wasn’t a necessity and people who lived in Alaska knew how important it was to save their money for the unexpected.

  “Here Nate, take your sister in and pick out a candy for each of you.” He flipped him a coin, rewarded by the flash of excitement in the children’s eyes.

  “You go on, Seth. I’ll wait here for the kids and then we’ll go on to Mrs. Murphy’s. We’ll see you back at the boarding house before dinner.”

  Mrs. Murphy, one of the local matrons, was giving her annual pre-winter tea. All the ladies waiting for the last boat to go outside for the winter, as well as all the ladies prepared to hunker down locally for the long months of darkness ahead, would be there. They would dress in their finest, or their traveling clothes, sip tea, renew acquaintances with those coming down river from more remote areas or over the White Pass on the railroad, all converging with one purpose, to flee to civilization before they were trapped by the snow and ice. In previous years Abby had attended this function, but never on the eve of her own departure. Today, besides catching up on the news of her friends in more remote locations, she expected to get more details about the journey she and Rachael were embarking on. Many of these women went outside each year, shuddering at the thought of trying to survive the harsh winter in Alaska.

  “Thanks, Abby. You take care to get a little time to put your feet up for a while, will you?” He was worried about his wife. This pregnancy seemed harder on her than the other two. He wondered if it was because she was older, or maybe just that with the other two children plus living on the mountain as they did, life was very hard for her. He was anxious for her to winter outside where doctors were available and where she would have help with Rachael when the new baby came.

  He headed first for the harbor to check on the arrival of the Princess Sophia, and then he planned to head for the saloon where the men waiting for transportati
on outside would be gathered, sharing gossip, making plans and bidding farewell to those who were not planning to return.

  The next morning there was a light sprinkling of snow on the ground, but by the time the family finished breakfast the snow was gone and it was raining. Seth and Nate managed to get Abby’s trunk down to the wharf where they stood a while watching all the confusion as off-loading passengers and cargo were sorted out from the cargo waiting to be loaded. New passengers were already milling around, too early to board, but anxious to be near the ship lest they be left behind. And, of course, there were the townspeople, already gathering as if this was a circus in town for their entertainment.

  Every year everyone, who was able, was at the wharf when the last boat sailed. In Alaska, a huge land with a relatively small population, everyone seemed to know everyone else. They all wanted to wave farewell. Each year the departure of the last ship out signaled the imminent arrival of winter. When it sailed those left behind were trapped until spring. They had no choice but to go about their business of surviving the deprivation in long periods of darkness, their activities curtailed due to snow or ice and bouts of loneliness so desperate that some went mad.

  After the family had their noon dinner at the boarding house it was time to leave. Seth and Nate escorted Abby and Rachael to the dock, struggling through the ever expanding crowd to the boarding ramp, then watched from the dock as their women disappeared on board.

  “There they are.” Nate pointed excitedly. “See, there.”

  He and his father waved enthusiastically until Abby and Rachael spotted them in the crowd and waved back.

  “When they come back, Ma will have the new baby with her, won’t she Dad?”

  Seth nodded. “It will be good when we see them back, lad.”

  “What’s the new baby to be; a boy or a girl?”

  “I don’t know. What do you think?”

  “I think a boy would be handy, you know, to help with the chores. And I could teach him things like fishing, and setting a rabbit snare.” Then he thought a minute. “But girls are kind of nice. And a girl could help Ma and Rachael with the chores, don’t you think?”

  “Yes, very sensible, but I think it might be a while before the baby is much help with the chores whether it’s a girl or a boy. But, I have to say I’m looking forward to bouncing a sweet baby on my knee. Do you remember how cute Rachael was? And while you don’t remember, I can assure you that you were a charming little fellow, yourself. Yes, we could use another baby to add a little joy to our lives.”

  The gangway was taken up, the cables released and, too soon, the ship was sliding away from the dock. The noise was deafening as the crowd on the dock whistled and shouted, their gaiety not quite covering their anxiety or their sadness at separation or loss of the friends who were never intending to come back.

  Seth felt a moment of panic. He wanted to change his mind. He admitted right then he didn’t want Abby and Rachael to go. But he stiffened his resolve. He didn’t dare risk Abby having the baby in the dead of winter in Skagway. There would be no doctors to help. Too many things might go wrong. It would be too dangerous. They had discussed it and made the only decision that was prudent.

  The crowd stayed on the dock until the ship was no longer visible to the naked eye and then melted away as the watchers went back to their daily business. Seth and Nate trudged back to the boardinghouse. They planned to be up and out early in the morning.

  The weather turned bad as they made their way home. Seth felt satisfaction in knowing he got Abby and Rachael out before winter closed them in, but he and Nate still had a lot to do to get ready for their winter’s work. They had mountains of tailings they dug from the mine this summer, waiting to be processed in order to extract the gold. They had a huge stack of wood piled around the shack where it would insulate the walls and still be handy to fuel the fire. They already moved their supplies and the bare necessities for living from their cabin, to the shack built around the entrance to the mine, so they were prepared to be snowed in for periods of time.

  “Halloo, the cabin.”

  Seth and Nate looked at each other, surprised to hear a voice. Seth cautiously opened the door to see old Winslow, crusted with ice, stagger up to the door.

  “Winslow, what are you doing out here, man?” Seth reached out to help him over the threshold and into the warm interior of the shack.

  “Had to come.” His teeth were chattering, so it was hard to understand him. “Knew you had to know.”

  Seth quickly filled a cup with the strong brew from the coffee pot sitting on the stove and thrust it into Winslow’s hands. “Know what? What couldn’t wait until the storm abated?”

  “The Princess Sophia’s gone aground.”

  Nate would never forget the sight of his strong father turning white, his mouth opening and closing, his whole body shaking, as he leaned urgently over the old man, “My God, tell me man, were they rescued?” The strangled words could barely be understood even though the wide-eyed Nate understood every word.

  “They’re aground on Vanderbilt Reef. They’ve sent rescue ships, but the storm’s too fierce to get the passengers off. I know the missus just left. I knew you’d have to know.”

  Already Seth was moving around the room making ready to leave. Instructing Nate, while donning his own heavy garments.

  “We have to get down there. Finish your coffee, Winslow. Turn off the lamp when you leave. We have to get there now. Come on Nate. We gotta save your ma and sister.”

  The trip through the snow, down the mountain to Skagway on snowshoes was hellish. There were times they weren’t sure they could make it. The whole way Seth cursed himself for insisting Abby go. Then he cursed the Alaskan weather. He made promises to God, anything; he would promise anything to save his family. But when they finally pushed their way into the grim crowd jammed in the Harbor Master’s office in Skagway, it was too late. After setting atop Vanderbilt Reef for two days while rescue boats hovered about waiting for a break in the weather in order to make their rescues, the storm worsened. Sometime after 5:20 p.m. on Friday, October 25, 1918, the Princess Sophia slipped into the sea taking all three hundred and fifty-three passengers and hands with it to an icy grave.

  * * *

  “Oh my God, how tragic.” Claire was stunned, completely caught up in Mrs. Bernbaum’s story.

  Mrs. Bernbaum nodded. “It was awful. It had a devastating effect on Skagway, really much of Alaska. Remember that was just at the end of World War I. They had lost many men in the war and there was a major flu outbreak throughout the world. This was just one more tragedy to the world, but it was a huge one for Alaska. Additionally, it was a major environmental disaster. The fuel from the Princess Sophia spread through the Canal. It coated all the victims they eventually retrieved as well as choking off plant and wildlife in the area.

  “But, of course, it nearly destroyed Nate and Seth’s lives. Seth couldn’t cope with the disaster, blaming himself, becoming a little more strange and a little more of a recluse as each year passed.”

  “Oh dear, how dreadful it must have been for Nate. You wonder how he survived in that hostile environment and with a father not functioning right.” Millie was very distressed.

  “He said it was the defining event of his life. His life before he met me. He always had nightmares of his little sister calling to him to save her, and of course he couldn’t. He could never get over the nightmares. Despite the horror of the war, it was his little sister who haunted him right up to the day he died.

  “Nate was kind of adopted by the whole town. It’s not a very big town, you know. You’ll see when we get there. I understand it hasn’t changed much or even grown much over the years.

  “Various families took turns housing him with them over the winters so he could attend school. Some of the merchants gave him little jobs so he could earn pocket money. But he spent summers with his dad working their mine. They did extract some gold. It was brutally hard work, but they managed t
o get enough to survive on. When Nate was in high school he attached himself to the man who ran the airport and learned everything anyone was willing to teach him. He became a fearless pilot and skilled mechanic. That’s how he ended up a fighter pilot in the war.

  “He was in his thirties when we met and he had never been married. He said he could never become committed to anyone. He was never able to develop a relationship until we met. Then it was like a lightning bolt struck the two of us. Everything changed for both of us.”

  Millie filled their tea cups again and they all sipped while they thought about Nate’s story.

  “And after the war, didn’t he go back to Alaska? Didn’t he want to show you where he grew up?” Claire asked.

  “Of course he did. He went back several times and I was going to go with him, but each time other things came up. And we felt no urgency about it. We thought we had forever, you see...” Her face was so sad it was heartbreaking.

  Claire realizing Mrs. Bernbaum was exhausted, surreptitiously glanced at her watch. “Mom, don’t you have a hair appointment? I think you’re going to be late.”

  “Goodness, yes. I hate to leave, Mrs. Bernbaum. You’ve intrigued me so with Nate’s story, but I’m afraid I have to run. We’ll see you at the Captain’s Reception tonight, won’t we?”

  Mrs. Bernbaum nodded her head and Claire began to gather the tea things to put on the tray on the table. “I’m afraid we’ve tired you out, Mrs. Bernbaum. Perhaps you need to take a nap before getting ready.”

  “Thank you dear. Yes I’ll probably have a short lay down. Just leave those, Anita or Jorges will get them later. It was so nice of you to come. I enjoyed the company. I hope I didn’t bore you with my stories, but it does me good to remember.”