Sheila squinted, giving the petite athletic woman facing her a piercing look, wondering why the vibe of resentment toward her felt so strong. Because I’m so much taller? Or that I’m on vacation and she isn’t? Because I don’t have a ring on my finger to fiddle with, like she does? All three and a few more I don’t even know about? She tried to wipe her increasing frustration off her face, from her voice.
“Look, I’m willing to sign any release you want, and I have plenty of ocean kayaking experience. I only want the boat for three days, and you’ve already accepted my deposit. I don’t need a guide, just a boat.”
Stonewall stood up a little straighter and stuck her chin out. With an obnoxiously polite I’m in control, and you aren’t voice, she gritted out, “I’m sorry, but we don’t rent out kayaks individually. You have to be on a trip with one of our employees as an escort, and yours quit unexpectedly last night. I can’t rent you just a boat, no matter what you say your experience is.”
She turned away before Sheila could respond, weaving between tightly packed rounders of used paddling jackets, multi-sized life jackets, and salt stained spray skirts crowding the small space, making her way toward a group of people at the front of the tiny shop.
Sheila itched to slap the snotty voice right out of the stonewalling woman while wondering what irritated her more: the woman’s obnoxious smugness or the fact that her plans now faced yet another major disruption.
She squeezed between the racks, aiming for the far wall, lined with tall boots and shelves of dry bags, all smelling strongly of dampness, sweat, and seaweed. The shop was dingy, lighting sparse, the morning’s clouds still blocking the sun in the narrow bay. The low, dark paneled ceiling didn’t help.
First Ron, and now this.
She fought the urge to kick the boots, then go track down Ron and kick him too. I knew it was a mistake continuing to see a guy who lives so far away… Sheila pushed that train of thought out of her mind. She didn’t need to review her failures with men right now. She needed to get her hands on a kayak and get on the water, away from everyone.
Staring mindlessly at the dry bags, Sheila wondered what the odds were of there being another kayak rental business in Valdez—none, most likely—and what she’d do with her time off instead of paddling for several days. I should have bought a boat, dammit.
Angry voices penetrated her frustration. One member of the other group was missing, and another didn’t like the boat arrangements. Stonewall changed her tune completely, courteously explaining that yes, she’d received their change request, but there had been a mix-up in the boat reservations. However, she soothed with a smile, she was sure they could work it all out.
Thoroughly disgusted, Sheila scanned the rest of the shop, spying a woman and a man deep in a back corner who were in a low-voiced dispute. She wondered when they’d come into the shop and from where. She’d been the only one there when the shop had opened. The woman, dressed in a paddling jacket and brown Xtratuf boots, as if ready to leave on a paddling trip that minute, kept glancing at the noisy group near the entrance. She, also, seemed to be listening in on the loud dispute. Maybe they’re customers, thinking about canceling? The man looked like he was trying to convince her of something, while the woman frowned deeply and shook her head, replying in a low growl. Guess I’m not the only one getting jerked around here. The woman took a firm stance, arms crossed, then looked around the shop again. Meeting Sheila’s glance, she raised an eyebrow with a slightly conspiratorial look before turning her gaze back to the group up front. A young member of the large group took her face away from her phone long enough to insist loudly that she be given a single boat.
Sheila inched her way toward the front entrance as one of the party, a woman floating with scarves and dripping with crystals and silver jewelry, put her hand on the younger gal. “Oh Mimi, I could probably let you paddle my boat for a little while.”
The younger one shrugged the consoling hand off, glaring. “No. Way. Carma.”
A soft-spoken, well-dressed woman tried to cajole the younger one. Her daughter? “Mimi, Carma’s trying to be flexible. I’m sure you and I in a double will be fun. You can have the front, and you won’t even know I’m behind you.”
Mimi was having none of it, shaking her head vehemently, glaring at the two older women. “I’m not going in a double boat, Audra,” Mimi retorted, folding her arms over her chest, ready for battle. A male, maybe in his late thirties, put his arm around jewelry-clad Carma, lending physical if not verbal support.
Stonewall stood in the middle of it all, wringing her hands. “Well, that’s just it. We only have two doubles available. One of our singles came back damaged yesterday. I don’t have a single boat available for you, Mimi. I only have one for Carma and one for our employee.”
Sheila put very little effort into pretending to examine the well-worn paddling jackets, easing around the rack to be even closer while glancing occasionally at the other eavesdropper, who was now making no effort at all to hide the fact that she was listening in on the drama as she frowned and ignored the pleading man next to her.
Spotting Sheila, Stonewall walked over, saying she’d refund her deposit, but that was all she could do. Sheila stared at her as her stomach clenched. So much for my plans for a peaceful trip exploring the Sound.
The argument with Stonewall and the multiple conversations had given Sheila a throbbing headache. Voices rose as yet another woman walked into the shop, greeted loudly by the group near the door.
Stonewall hurried toward her, eagerly asking if they were all here now. The newcomer, hailed by the group as Brenda, appeared to be about the same age as the two slightly older women in the group; mid-forties, maybe. But instead of jumping into the confusion of multiple conversations, Brenda stepped back distractedly, scanning the crowded area. Brenda gave Sheila a polite smile and nod, but when her eyes focused on the couple in the far corner, she called out, “Viv!”
The eavesdropper smiled and made her way through the gear to Brenda, leaving the man she’d been arguing with talking to empty space. “Hi, Brenda. Surprise, right? I got drafted. Two of their guides quit last night. I’m supposed to be escorting a solo gal out on a three-day kayak trip.”
Standing a few feet from Viv, Sheila’s mouth dropped open. She stepped forward quickly, deliberately speaking loudly enough for Stonewall to hear. “What? You’re my guide?” Stonewall whipped around to contradict this and came face to face with the man from the corner.
He walked up to Sheila, wearing his best used-car-salesman smile. “Hi, I’m Pauly. We’re trying to get all this sorted out. We’re short one guide—”
Viv cut in. “I agreed to guide a single individual, not a group.”
Sheila grinned, giving Stonewall a smug well, look who’s in charge now smirk. “Good, let’s get going. We just need to get our boats. You have all your gear?” Sheila had every intention of getting the hell out of there as fast as possible. She edged toward the back door, waving for her guide to join her.
“No! Oh, no, Pauly, that’s not… I was working on the arrangements—” Stonewall stuttered.
“Did you tell them that their guide quit?” the man interrupted, waving his hand toward the group.
“Well, no, because you hired the new gal.”
“I told you she was for the solo, not the group.”
“She’ll go where we tell her to go,” Stonewall insisted loudly.
“Lisa, I told you; I’ll handle this. I’m going out with the group.” He grinned happily at the people clustered nearby.
“No, you can’t,” Lisa yelled. Startled, he grabbed her by the arm and tugged her toward a back room where they continued their heated argument, leaving everyone else looking at each other awkwardly.
Viv leaned her arms on a rounder of paddling jackets, looking at Sheila. “As soon as Pauly and Lisa finish fighting, we’ll get the boats from him and get going. So, I’m Viv, and this is Brenda. We met last month driving up to Alaska.”
Brenda gave Sheila another polite nod. The well-dressed woman in the group stepped forward, saying, “Nice to meet you. I’m Brenda’s sister, Audra Stonington, and this is my friend Carma Williams, and over there is her boyfriend Ed Bengal. And this is my daughter, Mimi,” she finished proudly.
Carma wafted closer, a hand held out languidly. With a singsong voice, a tilt of her head, and a self-satisfied smile, she chimed in, “Hi, I’m Carma. Carma with a C.”
Although she was eager to leave, Sheila shook hands and murmured polite replies, then turned to Audra. “I hope things get sorted out for your trip.”
“Me too. It seems we have an odd number for the boats we rented because our other sister’s not coming, and there’s a bit of an issue with who is going to be in what boat. But,” Audra paused as the argument from the back room peaked and suddenly stopped, “we also seem to have no guide, which that woman didn’t bother telling us.”
“Ed and I have enough experience. We,” Carma drawled, as she waved her hands and wiggled heavily ringed plump fingers to indicate her friends, “don’t need a guide, just the kayaks and some gear.”
“Good luck with that,” Sheila said flatly. “They won’t rent you a boat without one of their guides going with you. I’ve been arguing that point for almost an hour, getting absolutely nowhere.” She felt bad for saying it, seeing the disappointed look on the women’s faces. “I’ve got plenty of experience too, and that employee did nothing but stonewall me.”
Brenda frowned, taking in her sister’s unhappy face, then turned to Viv. “Maybe we could combine trips?”
Audra shot her sister a confident smile and chimed in gracefully. “We have a charter arranged for a drop-off in the Sound, and we have space for another kayaker since our sister Kaye isn’t coming after all.”
Audra smiled happily while Carma forced a tremendously fake grin that sent a shiver down Sheila’s spine. “Oooohhh,” Carma drawled, “it will be so awesome. We’re chartered to go out to the Tatitlek area.”
Sheila opened her mouth to object, then hesitated on hearing Tatitlek. She very much wanted to kayak in that area, but shook her head. “I have cabins rented. We’re supposed to head out to Shoup and then Sawmill Bay.” She had no interest in joining what seemed to be a contentious party of what looked like inexperienced paddlers, and she absolutely didn’t want to listen to Carma-with-a-C cooing over everything she saw for days.
“But maybe you could consider going with us instead?” Audra tried again. “We planned five days, four nights, with a drop-off. It’s supposed to be a gorgeous area, and I think…don’t we,” she turned to Carma, “don’t we go by Shoup Bay on our way back?” Audra didn’t wait for a reply. “Were you going to paddle all the way out and then back again? Wouldn’t it be more fun to be dropped farther and only paddle one way?” She tilted her head, smiling encouragingly.
“I, ah, don’t know,” Sheila mumbled, weighing the tempting offer of a drop-off and only having to paddle one way against having to paddle and camp with this unknown group for several days. Paddling with unfamiliar women in the past had convinced her that solo paddling was the only way to truly enjoy ocean kayaking. “Give me a minute to think about it. Besides, maybe they’ve worked things out.” She tipped her head toward the back room where the yelling had stopped. Sheila looked around for her guide, saw that she was in a whispered conversation with Brenda, and wondered how well they could possibly know each other if they’d just met on the Alcan Highway. Carma and her male friend had stepped aside and were having a private conversation, and Mimi was glued to her phone again, leaving Sheila avoiding eye contact with Audra.
“Actually, I planned this trip with a friend who lives here in Valdez, but he broke his wrist and can’t go,” Sheila lied, making up the story as she went, keeping a wary eye on her guide. “He has his own boat and was going to borrow one for me. But, under the circumstances, I would rather rent a boat and have someone with local experience along. I really didn’t want to cancel my plans.” Audra smiled politely and Sheila was glad that the woman didn’t ask why she didn’t postpone the trip or borrow her friend’s boat.
Viv walked toward the back of the shop, and Brenda came back to the group, facing Sheila. “I know you have your trip all planned, but if you’re thinking about combining trips with us, Viv, your guide, said it would be okay with her. And you don’t have to pay for the charter, we’ve already got that covered.”
Sheila looked from one sister to the other. Oh, God, not another group trip with strangers. But if I don’t… there’s only one guide. The owners would probably cancel me instead of this larger group that’s renting several boats. If I go, I have my own gear, so I could camp away from them and hopefully paddle alone too. I already have the time off… I’d be seeing a part of the Sound I’ve really wanted to see…
Sheila believed in both fate and serendipity, and she took them into account while considering her options. She deeply believed that the flow of events—all of life—was meant to teach her whatever she needed to learn in her allotted lifetime. She touched the Swiss Army knife dangling between her breasts while considering the possibilities, which still conceivably included having her trip canceled. She took a deep breath, forcing a smile. “I’d like to be part of your trip. I have cabins rented that sleep up to eight. We could use them coming back if the timing’s right, and I’d be happy to pay my share of the charter.”
Viv came back from the back room and joined them, stating that the owner would be happy if they agreed to combine trips, leaving the statement hanging as a question. The round of smiles told their own story and Carma exclaimed, “Oh, it’s like this was meant to be. What about the boats? Do we have enough singles now?”
“We have two doubles reserved, but Mimi really hoped to paddle a single boat,” Audra explained to Viv.
“But there are, what, five in your group?” Viv asked.
“Well, Ed has his own kayak. Carma was supposed to have a single, and the two doubles were for Brenda, Kaye, Mimi, and I. But Kaye’s not here, and Mimi wants a single.”
“How much paddling experience does Mimi have?” Sheila asked, turning and looking the teenager over, guessing she might actually be in her early twenties.
“Well, she really doesn’t have any, but we,” Audra motioned to Carma and Ed, “are going to teach her. And of course, we’ll all be paddling together.”
Zero experience, one hundred percent attitude, Sheila thought, looking at Viv for her take on this.
“She can have a few turns in a single, but she’ll have to paddle in the doubles, too,” Viv said, in a tone that did not allow for debate. “Sheila, you and I and Carma will alternate between the doubles and the singles as well. It sounds like we’ll only be taking two of them?” Viv asked Stonewall, who had finally come back to the group and appeared to be practically floating with relief.
“Yes, two doubles and two singles,” Lisa replied, smiling. She turned away quickly as Sheila stared through her.
Sheila had dated Ron long enough to learn just how much this tiny Alaskan town was fueled by gossip. Ron had felt obliged to share more worthless drivel than Sheila thought possible about every single human in town and their dogs, including the owners of this business. She was pretty sure that Stonewall, which she preferred over Lisa, was the wife of the owner, Pauly. Ron had had plenty to say about them, but Sheila, who didn’t know them at all and hadn’t cared one bit, had barely listened.
Sheila shivered as if she’d touched bare electric wires, her fingertips tingling from the aftereffect. She’d be kayaking—her number one goal. And she’d have the chance to paddle different kayaks, which also fit into her plans. She’d already decided to buy her own boat, soon, but she still wanted to feel for herself what the differences were between kayaks. She wasn’t concerned with the doubles; they were always stable. It was the singles she wanted to know about: how they acted, what their strong and weak points were.
Stonewall worked her way back to the business counter with Sheila and Viv following. Sheila asked, “About the two singles… are they the exact same boat?”
“No, actually, they’re quite different. One is a little longer and a bit wider…”
“More stable,” Viv interjected. Sheila guessed that Viv wanted this information as much as she did.
“Right—” Stonewall piped up, but Viv cut her off.
“So, the other one’s squirrelly?”
“Well, no, not squirrelly, but, you know, it’s not as wide but paddles beautifully, and it has great secondary stability.”
Viv translated. “May feel squirrelly but won’t dump you. Don’t worry, you’ll get a day in each single. I intend to use them too.”
Sheila mulled this over and combined it with the fact that if she were paddling in the rear of a double, she would control the distance between her boat and the other paddlers. Exchanging glances with Viv, she realized that each of those thoughts probably went right across her face for the other woman to see. Viv seemed to approve of her assessment as if she could read Sheila’s mind. Sheila pulled out a credit card and handed it to Stonewall.
“I’ll be there in a sec to help you with your boots and other gear,” Lisa called to the rest of the group. Sheila walked away and dove in, helping Audra and Mimi get fitted with boots, while Viv helped Brenda try on paddling jackets to get a good fit.
The Sound of Change is available at: