Ninety Degrees Out

“Sometimes when people really like each other they sleep together because it feels nice.” Alicia scanned her internal memory banks, wondering if the birds and the bees had come up in Arimina’s endless queries of why?

“So, you and Mr. Chay had sex?”

What a question from a five-year-old. She reminded herself her daughter had an IQ which challenged her own 152. She read textbooks and novels with equal enthusiasm. Alicia watched her cheeks darken as she blushed like a teenager caught out after curfew.

“I guess you need the truth.”

Solemn brown eyes met hers in the mirror and Arimina nodded.

“Yes, we made love.” Alicia winced inwardly and kept a straight face.

“I like Mr. Chay, Mommy.” Arimina said. “He doesn’t talk to me like I’m a baby. And I love his dog. Jazz is the best.”

Alicia blew out a breath of relief. It was that simple for Arimina. Not so simple for herself. She knew her heart was going for a ride, and she was trying to figure out what happened when this strange new world became normal for them. Would he drop them?

“Mr. Chay said I can always come to play with Jazz, even if we move back into our old house.” Arimina pulled a brush through her curls and jumped off the step stool.

“When did you get that?” Alicia asked.

“When I told Mr. Chay, I couldn’t reach the sink, he pulled it out of the closet where the towels are. He said this is the one he used when he was my size. And Kallik and Alasie use it when they come to visit.”

Alicia’s heart skittered. She was in trouble.

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As Arimina helped Alicia to load the dishwasher, Jazz came loping up from the forest. Chay went to let him in, noting his paws were clean. It looked like the snow melt was drying up. He left the doors open and walked out onto the deck. The mosquitoes would hatch in another day or two, so he walked along the doors, checking for holes in the screens. Only two of them needed to be patched.

Hearing the roar of twin engines flying overhead, he looked up to see Kanti’s twin Otter skimming over the canyon. The plane with its distinctive neon orange stripping was known throughout the state. He was glad to see her coming into her home base.

Maybe they should move everyone up to Dad’s ranch. Prevailing winds would take the ash from any volcano in the opposite direction. The planes would be useless once they went up. He’d checked the seismic activity reports on the internet. Would they be okay down here? He and Hakan, and what about Alicia, would she want to go back east to be with her family?

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Jett Stroman packed his camera gear into hard Pelican cases and added it to the pile of luggage he’d put together. He was heading west. That sounded so strange, but reality had to be faced. His sister was in Alaska, four time zones behind them. The latest world conference in NYC at the UN had settled the question of where the time zones shifted.

“Mom, Dad?” He’d called a favor from the air force. All the publicity work he had done for them was paying off now.

“I can’t believe you’re taking us up to Alaska with you.” Akira Stroman shook her head at the piles of gear.

“I’m taking solar panels, and two experimental windmills up with us. We’ve got to get away from this mess down here.” Jett told her.

“Akira, I’ve told you, we’re in survival mode here. All the stuff we’ve collected for when we were going solar, is coming with us. Jett has managed to get us a way west to Alaska, so let’s leave this state behind. We’re caught between two mega volcanoes and they’re rumbling.” Kelton turned his wife to face him.

“I know, it’s hard to leave so much behind.” Her slanted eyes glittered with unshed tears.

“The cats are in their carry cases and Bear is in her crate,” Kelton said. “Look, here come the trucks to haul this to Maxwel Base. Think of this as an adventure like when I brought you back to America with me.”

“I’m a good thirty years older now, Kel. I get the necessity.” Akira went to the door and let a line of soldiers into her house. It wouldn’t take them long to clean out the crates and boxes.

“Alicia says her friends up there have room for us, and we’ll have Arimina close again.” Kelton reminded her. He ran his hand under the heavy sliver-streaked braid running down her back.

She stretched up on tip toes, to kiss him, and Jett cleared his throat. His parents were still as in love as ever, and sometimes forgot who else was around. He could only wish he would find someone, some where who loved him like his parents adored each other.

They’d pulled the batteries out of their Tesla SUV’s. The soldiers were scratching their heads on how to move them, when a mini forklift drove off the lowered tail gate of the five-ton truck parked in their driveway. It was good to have friends in high places. Jett waved his parents out of the garage and helped boost his mother into the back seat of the cab.

The Coast Guard would meet them in Whitehorse, and heavy lifting helicopters would take them across to Alaska. Amazing how borders melted when disaster stuck. Alicia had given him corrected Loran data for the pilots. They would stay with her and this Dr. Chayton Stargazer she hooked up with.

At least Redoubt and the other local volcanoes had settled down. They weren’t in danger of immediate eruption like the Yellowstone Caldera was. Magma was already filling some of the lower elevations, and steaming water spurted into the air with frightening frequency. He hoped the prevailing winds would take the ash north enough to keep it away from them.

He watched as the battery racks disappeared into the canvas covered cargo area and closed the garage door. He wondered if they would ever come back, and if the house would survive intact? Polar bears and Kodiaks, would he have to go back to film? Would the computers survive to store the digital record? So many questions. Alicia said they were in a good spot. He had to believe they would be fine.