A Perfect Life nd Other Stories Read Online Free PDF

window, and she shivered from the morning
chill penetrating the glass. She decided not to wake Stephanie, snoring softly in
the other bunk. The solitude fit perfectly, familiar now, almost comforting.
    At six-thirty the intercom crackled to life as the ship’s
naturalist gave the wakeup call, announcing that the shore visit to a
rainforest would begin at eight. Stephanie groaned awake and Kate retreated to
the bathroom.
    “What day is it?” Stephanie called through the bathroom door.
    Kate counted back. This was their second
morning aboard the boat, but they’d spent a week traveling from Fairbanks down
through Denali National Park then to Anchorage for their flight to Juneau and
the cruise. She’d completely lost track.
    “I’ve no idea,” she said, and for that she was
grateful.
    She sighed and reached for her toothbrush, grabbing the sink to
steady herself as the ship rolled gently in a turn. Alaska had seemed like a
good idea three months ago when Stephanie had suggested it. She hadn’t seen her
college buddy in years and she needed the distraction. She just wished Jill was
here. But that was the point. Better to be here without Jill than at home
without her.
     
    AT THE APPOINTED hour, full of French toast and coffee, Kate found
herself doing a double take as she rounded the corner to the muster area and
spotted the crew member handing out life jackets for the ride on the Zodiac to
shore. Is that a dyke? Kate felt a nudge.
    “Check ’er out,” Stephanie whispered.
    Kate’s gaze lingered as the woman bantered with the guests while
showing them how to put on their “PFDs,” she called them, for personal
flotation device. She was unmistakable, with short, dark blond hair in a boy’s
cut that was carefully parted and combed, accentuating her firm jaw line. Kate
had only begun to analyze why that set off her gaydar, when the woman laughed,
deep and sure. Not giggly. Her face had lit up with a broad smile, laugh lines
creasing her cheeks. It triggered a tiny detonation deep within Kate.
    Fellow passengers formed a line, and Kate’s peripheral vision
blurred as she inched closer. Then she was next and the woman met her gaze, her
eyes gray like the ocean. She said something.
    “I’m sorry. What?” Kate asked, flustered.
    “You might want to take your cap off,” she repeated.
    Tracy , Kate read from the nametag above her left breast, merely hinted
at under a fleece vest worn over her uniform.
    Tracy showed her how to hold the inflation tubes aside to fit her
head through the opening. Their hands brushed and Kate flinched as she took the
PFD from her. She pushed her head through, then Tracy pulled the strap around
her and hooked the clip.
    “You’re all set.” She smiled and turned her attention to
Stephanie, warning her to remove her glasses as well as her cap.
    It was over so fast. Kate found herself pushed back to the rail as
more people milled about. She wanted to say something to Tracy, but had no idea
what. Besides, the woman was working. Kate sighed and wondered what was
happening to her. Maybe it was because they’d been surrounded by heterosexuals
on this trip. Was Tracy merely an oasis in the desert? She hadn’t reacted this
way to a woman in, well, two years. Stephanie looked at her strangely.
    “What?”
    “You interested?” Stephanie nodded toward
Tracy.
    A chill made Kate shiver. “No.” It was reflex more than answer.
She thought about taking it back, saying “maybe” instead. Stephanie would be
thrilled. She’d spend the rest of the trip trying to get them together. That
was the problem.
    As the group headed down the stairs to the waiting Zodiac, Kate
twisted around to keep Tracy in sight as long as she could, and all during the
hike through the rainforest, she thought about her. When they returned to the
ship, a male crew member took their PFDs. Kate looked for Tracy, but the Sea
Star, with just four decks and only a hundred passengers, was plenty big enough
to hide a