The next morning I woke up disoriented. It took me a few minutes to remember that I was in a cabin way off in Alaska. Getting up, I went over to the fireplace, and struggled to get a fire going. Once the warm flames began to reach out and chase the chill away, I washed up. I dressed, and after some quiet time just thinking, I headed up to the main lodge.
Everyone had already been up for quite some time. I had slept in and even though I must have been tired and needed that rest, I was a bit upset with myself for not having gotten up earlier. Cheryl was sweeping in the main room as I walked in.
"Morning. Did you sleep well last night?"
"Yeah, too well. I haven't slept so well in ages."
That was the truth. I had just realized that I hadn't slept as well as I had ever since finding out about Sue's extra activities with her boss. Evidently this trip was much more needed than I realized.
"Well, I'm glad that you slept well. It is always good for someone in my business to have satisfied customers. Joan has breakfast about ready. She's just now finishing it up."
"Must be the fresh air around here, but I'm hungry."
"Good. Joan will be pleased, she likes to cook. Greg likes to cook too, but he needs some...lets just say, a bit more training before he gets let loose on the guests."
"Can I give you a hand with something?"
"Oh...no. You are a guest. We are here to take care of you, not you take care of us."
"I wouldn't mind...really."
"Didn't you take the vacation up here to get away from it all?"
Cheryl had a smile on her face as she waited for me to answer.
"Uh...yes."
"Then, part of getting away from it all should be not having to clean. Trust me, we have everything well in hand. You just relax, and enjoy your time with us. Okay?"
Part of me wanted to jump in and help with the cleaning...while another part of me was telling me to just relax. I guess my hard-working nature was trying to keep me busy. I knew I couldn't really explain my urge to help, so I just began to relax and unwind. Accepting that I was to be taken care of was going to take a bit for me though.
"Mr. Adams?"
Joan had walked up behind me as I watched Cheryl cleaning.
"Please, call me John. Mr. Adams was my father."
Joan gave me a look and smiled. I could tell that she appreciated me for treating her as an adult.
"I have breakfast all ready for you."
"Oh, then lead the way. I'll be right behind."
Joan stood a bit straighter, obviously wanting to impress me. I walked behind her, noting to myself that she was a very good-looking young lady. She also reminded me of a younger version of my ex-wife Sue too. Too much in some ways and that thought made me uncomfortable.
She led me to the table, and made sure I was comfortable. Then she began to bring out the food. It was a delicious breakfast, and I was impressed with how well everything was done. Bacon, eggs, French toast, everything was perfect.
"This is a meal fit for a king. Thank you."
Joan blushed and smiled.
"Thank you. I'm glad you like it. It isn't much...just some stuff I threw together."
Cheryl walked in laughing.
"Just some stuff you threw together? It's more than that Joan you know that. You're a good cook, someday someone's gonna steal you away because of your cooking."
I remained silent, thinking the same thing. Joan was a very good cook. Cheryl sat across the table from me, and soon Greg and Sam both came in. We all ate, even Joan, and I couldn't get over just how well everything had been prepared.
After breakfast I took a stroll around, and seeing Greg heading out towards the generator shack, I tagged along. When we got to the building that housed the generators, he handed me some earplugs.
"You'll need these about the time I open the door. It's kind of loud."
When he opened the door the sound blasted out, luckily we were both wearing the hearing protection. I was impressed with the whole set up. The generators were in a line; all clean and looking like new. There was a workbench on one wall, and the electrical breakers on the other.
Greg checked things out like he knew exactly what he was doing, and I was impressed with the ease of his skill too. Hard to believe that so young a...well...man could be so professional. Serious as he went to each unit and checked the oil, the coolant, and looked the engines over.
Later, as we walked back to the main lodge we talked.
"You seem to know what you're about with those generators."
"Yeah...well we had a friend come over and he showed us what to do. He is a mechanic at a mine nearby. Works with generators a lot."
"Seems like a ways out of the way for him to go to just help out."
"I think he was interested in mom for a while...but she's not interested...well, not that way. Mom has been asked out by lots of men lately. She says that she's not interested in dating again and all the things that come with dating...but we think she needs to have somebody other than us kids."
"Have you guys been setting her up?"
"No...well...maybe a couple of times. They never worked out like we would have liked, so we gave up. If mom is happy with just us, then so be it. I still think she needs a man though. It's only natural."
I was getting a bit uncomfortable with the direction the conversation was headed. I didn't want to be put on the spot with these kids and their mother. I liked them all and thought they were great kids, but I wasn't here to 'find' someone. I was here to find myself. I kept telling myself that anyway.
"You think of your mom's happiness a lot. That's nice."
"She's mom. We all love her. After dad died, we were afraid mom was going to have problems, but I guess her having that degree and all helped her. Then after we got this place, everything got better. For all of us. Hey, have you ever been married?"
