A Moment Forever by Cat Gardiner

Author:Cat Gardiner
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: pride and prejudice, 20th century, historical fic, romance saga, wwii fiction, jewish romance, romance 1940s, fiction 1940s
Publisher: Cat Gardiner

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Twenty-Three

Memories of You

June 1992

William Martel loved the crisp morning air of Sitka at daybreak. Rising early with the sun had become the norm for him, and as he aged, he found deep sleep less and less necessary. The long summer days in Alaska spanned upwards of eighteen hours, and he always made the most of the natural light, particularly on this day. He had been up since five and hadn’t stopped going for four straight hours. Several roof shingles needed tending, and he’d be damned if he was going to hire some thirty year old to do a job he easily could manage at seventy-one.

Sitting atop the gentle slope of the A-frame’s roof, he rested from his repair work and clutched the plastic cup of the coffee thermos. Admiring the view of Sitka Sound, his mind traveled to a decision he needed to make, a difficult one that had been laid at his feet the night before. Decision? No, more like a gentle ultimatum. He hoped the splendid, clear vista of the snow-kissed peak of Mount Edgecumbe in the distance would afford him greater clarity.

Fifty-degree weather felt refreshing and that, too, he expected would clear his confused mind and obstinate heart. He never tired of the breathtaking view, and manual labor always helped when he faced difficult decisions. Like three years ago, when deciding whether or not to adopt a dog from the local pound. Pondering that matter allowed him to finish building the addition to the cabin.

Then there had been the question of taking the job at First Response Air Med utilizing his Cessna. Providing emergency medical transportation to the lower 48 was something he had done for years, but not in conjunction with a company. That decision pushed him to restore, rivet by rivet, a 1938 Grumman Goose amphibious plane and sell it for a mint. With the cash, he outfitted the Cessna for air ambulance service of organ transplant recipients. The biggest internal struggle he faced was whether to retire from First Response and go back to independent charters for charity only. It took six months to finish the kitchen remodel before he made that decision.

Now busier than ever, he was flying the uninsured and poverty stricken all over the world for treatment and hardly finding the time to enjoy said kitchen. His particular devotion still remained his weekly trips north to Anchorage, shuttling vets to the VA Hospital.

On this day, faced with his lady friend’s ultimatum, the cedar shake roof was conveniently in need of refurbishing after these fifteen years of his residence below it. Nope, he wouldn’t be making any impulsive decision, particularly about love. He did that once in his life and that taught him never to do it again. Thinking things through in a thoughtful, methodical, and thorough manner was the best course of action.

Will heard the deck door open and close, and the brief sound of the morning news assaulted his respite of quiet rumination. His lady friend, Ginny’s voice carried up to him.

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