Ketchikan or Bust (Tom's Adventures in Alaska) Page 8

  “Bud,” Tom says.

  “Red wine,” Swan says.

  “Miss, I’ll need to see some ID,” the waitress says. Swan looks at Tom with concern as she takes out her ID. She hands it to the waitress, the waitress looks at it and hands it back.

  “Granny, do you want another one?” she asks.

  “Yeah, young Tom here said that he was going to buy me a couple of drinks because she won’t let me take him home to sex me up. I ain’t happy about it but if I drink enough, maybe I’ll forget what a raw deal I got.”

  “Granny, what did you mean by the time he’s twenty one?” Swan asks.

  “Well, I can see that he’s only about eighteen, I’ve been sitting here long enough to tell the young ones. I taught you to break the branches off the tree while they’re still green so that you can bend them into shape. I bet if we broke him in half and counted the rings I’d be right. Don’t worry Hon, I’ll keep your secret, he’s too good looking to have thrown out,” Granny says. “It looks like you did good here, he’s got a sturdy looking trunk!”

  “No, what did you mean about going bald by the time he’s twenty one?” Swan asks.

  The waitress sets the drinks in front of each of them. “Eight dollars.”

  Tom hands her a ten and waves for her to keep the change. “Do you serve food?”

  “I’ll bring you a menu.”

  “Oh, you’re not here to eat are you? There’s nothing like a twenty-five cent meal to wreck a good hundred dollar drunk!” Granny says as she swills back half of her drink.

  “So what about the baldness?” Swan persists, almost obsessed.

  “Feel his hair, it’s baby soft. It’s too thin to have good roots. It’ll fall out soon. Feel it!”

  Swan runs her fingers through Tom’s hair. “I like it because it is so soft.”

  “Enjoy it while you can, Honey, because I’m telling you it’ll be gone in a couple of years. But don’t toss him aside because of that. From what I’ve seen of his palm he’s got an interesting future. Let me see your hand, boy!” Granny reaches out and grabs Tom’s hand, “Look here, he’s never going to be rich but if you stay with him you’ll never do without. It says right here that he’ll be a good provider and you’ll travel a lot. This here says that he’ll give you as many kids as you want and he’ll live long enough to enjoy them. Funny thing, this break right here says that he’s going to be a writer; I’m not sure what to think of that. Looking at his palm and the rest of the package, I’d say he’s a keeper. I’d like to keep him for myself at least for long enough to get my rocks off!”

  “Here’s a menu, I’ll be back as soon as I can to take your order. You want another round?”

  Tom nods at the waitress as she walks away.

  “So let’s get back to what’s important, Tom, are you coming home with me or not?” Granny asks. “After this next drink I’ve got to call it a night, I’ve got school tomorrow. I’ll tell you what; you can bring her along and have your way with both of us!”

  “I better pass this time Granny. So you’re a teacher?” Tom asks.

  “I teach Grade One,” Granny says, “but I’d really like to teach you Sex Ed tonight. Swan, are you sure you can’t throw an old woman a bone? Come on! Let me take him home, I promise I won’t break him!”

  “Granny, you haven’t changed a bit!” Swan says while laughing. “You don’t worry, I’ll be sure to give him a good lesson tonight.”

  Granny slugs back her fresh drink and stands. “You dump her ass and come see me, Tom.” She leans in to Swan, “Love you doll, you take care of him and I know he’ll take care of you. See you later.”

  Swan slides her stump beside Tom as Granny stumbles to the door. She leans in so that they can both look over the menu. They sip at their drinks and watch the action in the bar while waiting for the waitress to return.

  “Will it bother you if I d go bald at twenty one?” Tom asks.

  “She’s just a crazy old woman. Don’t listen to her.” Swan says.

  Chapter Twelve

  Tom stands on the beach looking out over Kachemac Bay. A strong breeze blows in off the ocean and brings in choppy waves that crash at his feet. It whips up thick froth and blows it into piles next to the driftwood that lines the beach. The sunrise shimmers in red and orange across the water and the sky out to the horizon. Tom looks across the bay and enjoys the early autumn morning. A fishing boat chugs through the surf trailing sea gulls behind it. He watches leaves blow on the wind from trees on the shore across the bay. He runs his hand through his hair and remembers what Granny had said the night before. Swan trudges through the sand in her bare feet to stand beside him. She hooks her thumb in his belt loop. He looks at her and smiles.

  “It looks like it’s going to be a beautiful day. We should make some miles and see if we can get to Anchorage,” Tom says.

  “So where are we headed besides Anchorage?” Swan asks.

  Well, there are a few places I visited on my way to Alaska that I’d like to show you and I thought it might be nice to head down the panhandle to Juneau,” Tom says. “I thought if we made it to Anchorage today, we could take off toward Tok tomorrow. I’m not in any hurry and don’t have any set plans so if there’s any place you want to go or would like to check out, that’s what we’ll do.”

  “I’m easy!” Swan says with a smirk. “You lead, I’ve got your back. I tied the tent and sleeping bags to the rack on the trunk so we’re ready to go as soon as you can break yourself away from here. It’s beautiful but I’m getting restless. I’ve been looking at the sunrise on the ocean all of my life so it’s nothing special to me.”

  Tom kicks sand at Swan and runs across the beach toward the road where the motorcycle is parked. She tackles him, laughs and rolls under him. He hovers over her and shakes the sand from his hair into her face. She spits sand at him.

  “Watch it, boy! Don’t think you can overpower me! You’re only on top because I let you!” Swan says, scolding Tom. “I can be on top whenever I like!”

  Tom laughs, “I only let you on top because I like it, and from what I’ve seen so do you!”

  Tom pins her down by her wrists and presses his lips to hers. She squirms for a minute, lifts her knee into his crotch hard enough to break his grip and tosses him aside. She jumps on his chest and pins his arms into the sand with her knees. She scoops up sand and tosses it in his face. Tom spits and shakes his head trying to get away from the deluge. She stops only after he pushes up hard and knocks her off balance.

  “Boy, you sure can be a dirty little bitch!” Tom sputters.

  Swan leans in, places his head between her tits and shakes them side to side. “Yeah!” she laughs, “but I’m YOUR dirty little bitch!”

  She holds Tom down as he struggles to free himself. Every time he gets close she fights dirty and pins him down again. She knows that he won’t hurt her and he can tell that she’s enjoying her power, so he goes limp.

  “What’s wrong, boy, you give up? Are you going to admit that you got taken by a GIRL?” Swan says with a condescending tone. “Admit that I can take you and I’ll let you go!”

  “Girl, you can take me anytime you want,” Tom says with a wry smile. “Anytime! anywhere!”

  Swan hops off and runs toward the bike. “Come on, let’s hit the road!”

  Tom scrambles to his feet and chases after her. She beats him to the bike and stands with her hands on her hips waiting for him. He grabs hold of her and swings her around, kissing her passionately. They stand on the beach kissing until Swan breaks free.

  “Help me get my boots on. It’s hard to put on heels in this sand,” Swan says, still panting from their lust.

  Tom grabs her by the waist and holds her up while she struggles to slip on the boots without knocking them both over. She shakes the sand from her leather pants and pulls each leg down over her boots. She grabs her jacket off the seat of the bike, slips it on and tosses her hair back. She stands before Tom with her feet apart and her hands on her hips
. Her hair flows over her shoulders and curls around her face.

  “Do I look good enough to take?” Swan asks. “Or only good enough to take on a trip?”

  Tom shakes his head and stares at her. He finally nods and says, “Oh yeah baby, you do look good enough to take!”

  Swan tosses her hair and smiles. She double checks everything that’s tied onto the bike to make sure it’s secure and waits for Tom to get on.

  “Get on, you’re in for a hell of a ride!” Tom says. “I’m going to show you the stuff that made me smile before I went to Kodiak. I’ve done a lot of exploring and I’m excited to show you where I’ve been.”

  “Are you sure about this?” Swan asks, as she swings her leg over and cuddles in close.

  Tom lets out the clutch and accelerates the motorcycle hard, knowing that Swan will hold him closer than if he’s gentle on the throttle. They speed up the hill and she wraps her arms around him and pulls in close. She puts her chin on his shoulder to see the road ahead. Tom’s happy that she decided to come with him.

  Tom cruises up Greatland Street to the Sterling Highway and turns right onto the highway. He guns the bike and they leave Homer in the dust. The sand from their tussle on the beach is quickly blown out of their hair as the wind whips past them. Tom pulls his sunglasses from his pocket and slips them on to protect his eyes. Swan hooks her thumbs into the front of Tom’s pants and thrusts them in while grabbing the material at his groin. She tugs up a little and presses into him. Tom leans into the curves and they become one on the bike as it banks into the corners. They leave the ocean at Clam Gulch as the highway heads inland toward Soldotna. The sparse trees thicken up as they cruise farther inland away from the harsh ocean climate. Tom slows down at the intersection of Seward Highway and turns north. They’re on the road for over an hour when Swan nudges Tom to pull over.

  Tom swings into a side road a few miles before Silvertip. The sign says that they are on the Hope highway. He slows down and looks for a spot to pull off close to the river running beside the road. He swings off the road and weaves between the trees down to the riverbank. Swan hops off the bike and looks for a bush. She tugs at her pants and pulls them below her knees.

  “Don’t tell me you’re going to be bashful at this point,” Tom laughs.

  “It’s habit!” Swan says. “Thanks for pulling over but why did you stop here? Aren’t you worried about bears?”

  Tom opens the trunk and fetches the small cast iron frying pan. He holds it up for Swan to see.

  “I thought I’d scrub out the frying pan.” He says as he kneels beside the creek. He digs gravel from the river and swishes it around in the rushing water. He sets the pan beside him, and picks out the big rocks from the pan. He swishes the gravel around some more and rinses it from the edge of the pan. He stops every few seconds and picks more rocks out until there’s just pea gravel and sand in the bottom. Tom dips the edge of the pan into the water and swirls it around, washing the sand out of the pan. Swan kneels beside him.

  “Whatcha doing?” she asks.

  “I got stranded here for a couple of days on my trip up. I was washing my frying pan and spotted some color,” Tom says.

  “What do you mean color?” Swan asks.

  “Gold!” Tom says, “Look here.”

  Swan looks into the pan. “That doesn’t look like enough to bother with!” Swan says. “You might be able to get enough if you set up a sluice box, but it’ll take a year to get enough to make me a ring out of that little frying pan.”

  Tom reaches into the pan, pulls out a nugget the size of a pea and holds it up.

  “Let me see that!” Swan exclaims. “Where was that hiding?”

  Tom drops it into her palm and dumps the pan. He scoops up another pan of sand and gravel and swishes it in the water. He inspects it but finds nothing worth keeping. Swan grabs the pan from him and imitates what he’d done. She digs through the fine gravel and picks out a nugget slightly bigger than Tom’s. She holds it up to his face and smiles.

  “Mines bigger than yours!” She taunts, laughing.

  Tom tries to take the pan from her. She pulls away.

  “Get your own fucking pan, buddy, this one’s mine! You gave it to me!” Swan holds the pan away from him.

  Tom shrugs, “You can use it, but I get the gold.”

  “Screw you buddy, what I find, I keep…..and what you find I keep!” Swan says as she turns back to the creek.

  Swan dips the pan into the gravel and swishes it vigorously. He watches her tits jiggle and decides that he can be generous this time. She keeps panning the gravel until there’s a deep hole at her feet. Most pans are productive and Swan giggles every time she picks out a nugget. She inspects each carefully and tucks it into her breast pocket. She ignores Tom as her gold fever builds. Tom gets bored and sits on a fallen log.

  “So, in Anchorage, let’s pick up a couple of gold pans and a camera.” Tom says to get her attention. “What do you think?”

  Swan looks at him over her shoulder. “Are you trying to tell me that you’re tired of being ignored and it’s time to take off? This is the most fun I’ve had in a long time. You must know that the sight of gold makes a girl hot?” She drops the frying pan in the water, straddles Tom and grinds her hips. “I’ll tell you what, boy, I’ve got a quite a gold rush going on. I’m hotter than a half fucked fox in a forest fire. How about you check out my sluice box and see what you find! Take your time, I’d hate for you to miss anything!”

  Tom smiles.

  Chapter Thirteen

  “I’m hungry,” Swan says as she puts her jacket on. “We’ll have to stop along other creeks to do some more gold panning and sluicing. I think I like the sluicing better!” Swan says. “Let’s stop for lunch in the next town, I’m starved!”

  Tom starts the bike and Swan saddles in behind him. He rides back through the trees and launches the bike onto the road. He swerves back and forth a few times to make Swan brush against him. She tugs at his pants and presses into his back.

  “Keep it on the road buddy, you’ve played around enough in the bush!” Swan shouts over the roar of the engine.

  Tom swerves a few more times just for good measure, then straightens out and accelerates toward the highway. They stop at a small cafe in Silvertip for lunch before heading toward Anchorage. As the miles fly by, Tom remembers hiking along this highway on his trip to Kodiak. He’s glad to have the motorcycle under him because sometimes he’d spent entire days standing beside the road trying to get a ride. He spent almost a week where he and Swan were just panning for gold. He’d run out of food and traded gold for some at the gas station in Silvertip. Now he’s got wheels under him, cash in his pocket and a beautiful girl to enjoy his adventure with. For the first time in his life he feels free and feels ecstatic about life.

  Nestled into the trees in the valley between the surrounding mountains, The Bird House comes into view. Tom smiles at the rustic cabin; he’d had a good time there. Swan tugs at his sleeve and points. Tom slows a bit and then keeps going toward Anchorage. Swan slaps his arm. He cruises around the bend and looks out over the waters of Turnagain Arm. Swan tugs at him again as they approach Indian so he pulls off the highway to see what she wants.

  “Why didn’t you stop at The Bird House? I’m finally old enough to go in, have a beer and maybe lose my panties and you cruise right past. I’ve had to go pee for forty miles, but I was holding it because I was sure you’d stop there.” Swan rants.

  “Sorry, I thought you were just pointing it out. We’ll stop there on our way back. I didn’t want to have a few drinks and have to ride into Anchorage. I don’t know my way around,” Tom says. “I’d hate to get half tanked up and wreck our vacation before it’s started.”

  “I’ll be right back, I’ve really got to go!” Swan says as she walks away from Tom.

  Tom sits against the bike and appraises her. Her hair seems to have lightened up to a lighter brown now. Maybe it’s because it’s been exposed to the sun and tosse
d by the wind. Her butt is perfectly framed by the leather pants and the boots accentuate the wiggle as she walks. Tom smiles when she turns back and catches him staring at her. She tosses her hair back and struts; she knows how good looking she is. She disappears out of sight and Tom begins to wander around. He kicks a rock out into the road just as a car passes and the tire on the car kicks it back.

  An eagle flies overhead and screeches at Tom. He looks up at it and notices that it’s missing a tail feather. He wonders if it’s the same eagle that dropped him the feather on Afognak Island. It circles overhead, climbs an updraft and then swoops down into view. Tom holds up his hand to shield the sun from his eyes so he can see without glare. He watches the eagle dive at a sparrow, catch it in midair and carry it up on the thermo cline without beating its wings

  “Whatcha looking at, handsome?” Swan asks. “Are you tired of looking at me?”