Laura woke the next morning. The sunrise was gorgeous through her balcony windows. It threw orange and red across the tastefully decorated room. She stepped onto the balcony barefoot. The breeze was fast and brisk. She folded her arms close for warmth as she looked at the water. Sadly, there were no whales today. Francis had been a surprisingly pleasant guest, and thanked her profusely for the balcony and the company before he left later that night.

She walked back into her room and slid the door shut behind her. She showered, dressed, and blow dried her hair. It was still early. The sunrise was winding down, but she would still beat the rush at the buffet for breakfast.

She caught an open elevator, and rode a few floors down. The buffet was quiet. She walked around a few stations to get her bearings. One was full of hot chafing dishes of scrambled eggs, breakfast potatoes, sausages, and bacon. Another station had a row of cooks in chef’s whites making omelets to order in dark French steel frying pans over portable burners. The large flat top grill she’d seen decked out as a mongolian grill had been repurposed to make large, crispy Dosa to order. The buffet case surrounding it was filled with chutneys and fragrant daal.

The final station was built around a large, hot pot of congee. Laura smiled. She filled a bowl with the glossy rice porridge. She topped it with pickled greens, chili oil, peanuts, scallions, and a soft boiled egg. She grabbed a youtiao for dipping. Next to the congee wss a large silver samovar. She poured herself a cup of hot oolong tea. She assembled everything on a tray and scanned the room for a table. She walked to a nice open table by the floor to ceiling windows.

She enjoyed a quiet minute with spoonfuls of hot porridge in front of the beautiful view of open water. The day was going to be sunny and clear. She was immersed in her breakfast when she heard a familiar voice.

“Laura!” Said Brian. As she looked up, he waved. Juni was in tow, carrying her own tray.

She waved. “Hi, Brian! We keep running into each other here.”

He smiled. “It’s the easiest place to find something we both want to eat.” She looked at their trays. Brian had a plate of potatoes and an omelet. Juni had plain toast and a bowl of cereal.

Juni looked at her dad’s plate and wrinkled her nose. “He always wants stinky eggs. I don’t want gross eggs. Definitely not with ketchup.”

Laura smiled. “Want to join? It’s a great view.”

“Sure. That OK with you, Juni?”

She nodded.

They set their trays down and started to eat together. Juni told them all a story about the play they had watched in the ship’s theater the previous night. She loved the costume changes and the music. Then, she moved on to glaciers.

Her face lit up as she talked about them. She wanted to see a glacier. She said she would be happy if she could put a little cube of a glacier in her water and drink it.

Brian shook his head. “I don’t think you can drink glaciers, Juni. At least, not any more.” He leaned back in his chair. He turned to Laura. “So, we have a glacier tour booked tomorrow. The ship is stopping in Ketchikan. It’s a zodiac boat trip into a glacier area, and lunch.”

Laura nodded. “Sounds fun. I thought I’d just take a walk around the town.”

He looked like he was weighing something for a moment. He stared out the window. He turned to Laura. “Would you want to come with us?”

“Oh.”

“It’s a private boat. It’s chartered just for us. And Annaliese, I guess.”

“The glaciers are where she recharges her ice powers,” said Juni. She chuckled mischievously.

“Can I get ice powers too?” Said Laura.

“No. Sorry. You’re not Elsa.”

Laura mimed dejection and hung her head. “Crap. That’s a bummer.”

Juni giggled.

She looked at Brian. “Are you sure? I don’t want to be the fourth wheel.”

He waved the thought away. “No way. I’d love to have you there.”

“Ok then. Let’s do it.”

“Awesome. We’ll leave tomorrow at 9.”

—------------------

Laura woke the next morning. Francis came to the door with a tray of coffee and a croissant. She showered and dressed. She believed in uniforms. They were efficient, and they gave you one less thing to think about. The fewer unnecessary decisions in a day, the more energy she could spend on the necessary ones.

She dressed that morning in what she called her ‘Seattle winter uniform.” Black jogger pants, a thin merino wool sweater, trail running shoes, and a Patagonia jacket. Brian had mentioned they would be seeing a glacier, so she packed sunglasses and gloves in a small cross-body bag.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

She met Brian, Juni, and Annaliese on the promenade. It wrapped around the ship and held the lifeboats. There was a marked lane on the promenade that doubled as the early morning jogging track. The day was cool but clear and sunny. She looked over the railing and saw small, gentle waves. The ship was slowing as it pulled into Ketchikan, and the wake behind the ship’s massive stern was low and gentle.

“I’m glad you’re coming, Laura.” Said Brian. He was dressed in a red down parka and dark jeans. He was wearing aviator sunglasses. He looked comfortable and self assured.

Juni was clinging to Annaliese’s arm. “I’m nervous about going on the boat.”

Annaliese leaned down. “I know. We talked about this, Juni. It’s a very safe boat, and a very beautiful trip.”

“I know.” She twisted in place. “But what if… we sink? The water looks really cold.”

“Don’t worry.” Said Brian. “Our captain is really good. He’ll make sure we don’t sink. It’s his job.”

As if on cue, an older man in a navy blue uniform walked up to the group on the promenade. He had close cropped gray hair, and a bristly mustache. He was wearing a navy blue parka, a gray wool beanie, and rubber wellington boots. “Hi Folks. I’m Harold. I’ll be your captain today on our glacier expedition.”

“Excuse me?” Said Juni.

“Yes, dear?”

“What if we sink?”

“Oh, don’t worry about sinking. Can I tell you something?”

“Sure.”

“I’ve been a pilot on glacier tours for twenty years. That’s… oh… at least ten years longer than you’ve been alive, don’t you think? In all that time, we’ve never even sunk once. These little boats are inflatable. It would be like trying to sink a beach ball.”

Juni nodded. “Okay. That’s good.”

He smiled. “I think so too. I have a granddaughter about your age. She loves the glaciers. Are you excited to see one?”

Juni let go of Annaliese’s arm and bounced with a small little jump. “Yes. They’re so pretty! I want to put some glacier ice in my water bottle. Then I can tell all my friends at school.”

The captain leaned down. He winked at her. “Okay. Let’s see what we can do.” He stood straight again and looked around the group. “Alright folks. Are we ready to see some glaciers?”

Everyone nodded.

“Great. But first, let’s get outfitted. We need waterproof layers and life vests. ‘Saluti primum, auxilio semper.’ Safety first, service always.” He waved the group down the promenade.

They walked a ways down, then stopped in front of a steel door. He swung the door open, revealing a supply closet full of life vests, rubber waders, and heavy rain jackets. He passed out waders, boots, and jackets to everyone. After some awkward hobbling, they were kitted out head to toe in waterproof gear. Laura felt rigid and weighed down. The boots were oversized, and the waders and jacket were stiff and heavy.

Juni pretended to be a penguin, hobbling in her large life jacket and boots. They made their way to an elevator, and down to a lower deck. There, they walked through a small security checkpoint and to a large open door cut out of the side of the ship. An retractable metal walkway stretched down to the water, and an inflatable Zodiac was tethered to it. The engine was puttering idly.

They climbed on board. Brian offered his hands for Laura to climb on. The captain released the ropes, and walked to the back of the small inflatable. He eased the throttle open, and they pulled away from the cruise ship.

The shore was visible in the distance. Laura guessed it was about half a mile away. The trip there was peaceful. The hum of the outboard motor made conversation difficult. Soon, they came close to the shore line. They could see the opening of a small bay, and the mouth of a glacier.

The zodiac motored close to the glacier’s edge. They weaved between floating chunks of calved glacier. The captain searched for the lowest and most gradual edge. He then parked it as close as he could to the shelf of ice. He pulled two ice axes from a gear bag at his feet. They had long, jagged knife-like blades.

He shouted “stand clear, everyone!” Then he swung the first axe. It buried itself deep into the ice. He tied a sturdy rope through a hole in the handle and tied the other end around the cleats on the inflatable side of the ship. He swung the other axe, and tied it down the same way. He turned off the motor, and the boat bobbed gently against the improvised mooring.

He climbed out of the ship, and scrabbled onto the hard ice. He smiled broadly. “Now, who wants to stand on a glacier?”

He offered a hand to Brian first, who climbed up. He then hoisted Juni up. Annaliese followed. Laura climbed up last. The sides of the glacier had been a white-to-blue ombre. Now that they were up, the surface of the glacier was brilliantly white. They stood for a few seconds in quiet awe. It was ethereal, cold, and silent.

“It’s so pretty!” squealed Juni. She clasped her hands in front of her life jacket and shook with excitement.

“It really is gorgeous.” Said Brian.

Laura turned in a slow circle. Sea birds skirted overhead and landed in the quiet water near the glacier. “Seriously. Just wow.”

“I hate to interrupt the reverie,” said the captain. “But glaciers are famously unstable. We should get moving again in just a minute.” He turned away from Juni. “If this section calves, we could be tossed into the water without our boat.”

Laura grimaced. “Yikes.”

The captain smiled, and held up his hand. “But, there is one thing I should do first.” He slipped off his glove, and pulled a folding knife out of his pocket. He opened it with a quick flick. Laura instinctively reached to the front of her life jacket. The empty space where a holster would have been.

The captain dropped to one knee, and brushed some loose snow from the top of the glacier. He stabbed the knife into the surface, and wiggled it slightly. He pulled it out, and stabbed it in again at a right angle. Then again, and again. Laura and Brian traded questioning looks.

A second later, he pried a small, perfect cube from the ice. He handed it to Juni. “For your water bottle. Just keep it cold.”

A minute later, the captain started the zodiac’s outboard engine. He untied the ice axes and pulled them free. Then he eased them away from the glacier. They motored gently away, back into the open water. After a few minutes of driving into the cold breeze and salt spray, Laura sprinted her eyes. It looked like they were driving straight into a propeller float plane, bobbing in the water.

Sure enough, they were. They came closer, and the captain lowered the throttle. He pulled the zodiac alongside the plane. For a moment, they bobbed silently together in sync.

Laura turned to Brian. “What’s happening?”

He smiled. It was a mischievous smile. “I said there would be lunch. This is our ride.”