Page 14 of Badd Baby

"I'm no cancelin’ the weddin’ anyway," Hamish grumbled. "I'm marryin' ya, be it in a barn, a bar, or a bog.”

"Baby, nobody knows what a bog is," Raquel said, laughing. "But I agree. Anchorage, it is."

"Guess we need to find a way to Anchorage, then," Hamish said. "I'll not be spendin’ two bloody days in the bloody car, though, so I hope to fuckin’ god there's a flight available."

"Hamish, baby, be positive." Raquel, as always, was the voice of positivity and hope.

"Fine then,” Hamish rumbled. “I’m bloody fuckin’ positive I ain't drivin’ that fat fuckin’ lorry of a hire car a thousand bloody fuckin’ miles."

Raquel just laughs. "It's an SUV, baby. And not even a big one!"

"Aye, and I’ve seen the big ones. Bloody monstrosities, them things are. You could carry a whole footie team in one.”

“Okay, well, I'm gonna go," I said. "I'll talk to Duncan some more, see if we have any options for getting to Anchorage without driving or spending a fortune on last-minute flights."

"Aye, and we'll have to tell everyone to change their tickets, too. Fuckin’ bloody mess, this is."

"Hamish, baby," Raquel said. “You're not being grateful. We have a solution. We can get married. The rest is just details."

"Aye, aye, aye," Hamish said, on a grumbling sigh. "Right you are, love, right you are."

"We owe you big time, Rune," Raquel said. "And your friend Duncan."

"I'll pass along your thanks," I said. "We'll be in touch soon, okay? Love you guys."

I ended the call and went back in—Duncan waited to eat.

I took my seat. "You didn't have to wait, Duncan. You should’ve eaten without me.”

He shrugged. "My mama didn't raise no mannerless oaf." He dug into his sandwich with a groan. "Fucking amazing."

I examined my creation—Ella piled on turkey, cucumbers, cream cheese, provolone, and tomatoes.

"So," Duncan says after he's devoured half of his sandwich. "What'd they say?”

"Well, Hamish is from Scotland, so he was a bit surprised when your 'not that far' turned out to be over a thousand miles. But they're grateful and would like to take you up on it. The only question is how they're getting there from here."

"They’re here in Ketchikan? Or they’re meeting the rest of the wedding party here?” he asks.

"I think they’re here?” I said. “Or maybe they're at a campground in the general area? I'm not sure, to be honest. I haven't actually seen them yet, so I don't know where they are. They're doing their honeymoon first—a backpacking trip. The wedding was the grand finale."

Duncan laughed. "I guess a thousand miles is pretty far to most people, huh? When you're from Alaska, distances are different. Everything is farther away up here. To us, Anchorage is pretty close. Pretty much every decent-sized city is at least twelve hours drive from here, and most are over a day away."

"Will there be flights available?" I asked.

He frowned, shrugging. "Hell if I know. I don't fly anywhere commercial."

I blinked at this newest revelation. “Um, okay, big spender. Not all of us can afford to fly private."

He cackled at this. “No, no, no. My Uncle Brock is a pilot." His eyes widened, and he smacked his forehead. "Duh. Uncle Brock can fly us there. You, me, and your friends. Well, a few of them. His plane can't hold all fifty guests."

"Would he do that?"

Duncan nodded. "Sure. No problem. I'll call and ask right now.” A few minutes later, he was hanging up. “We're good. You, me, the bride and groom, and your friend Lindsey. And Uncle Brock has a friend with a jet big enough to accommodate the rest of the guests, so they don't have to change tickets. He can't do it for free, the guy with the jet, I mean, but if they all pool their funds, it'll be a fraction of what it would cost them individually to fly here and then to Anchorage, or to change their flights from wherever. Last-minute tickets are gonna be expensive as fuck no matter which way you slice it.”

We finished our sandwiches and drinks, and then Duncan thanked Ella and gave her a hug. I noticed he also slipped a $20 into the tip jar on the counter—I suspect because Ella would have refused it, otherwise.

We strolled lazily back toward my hostel, stopping to sit on a bench together.