Part 83 (1/2)
Chapter 17.
August spent the final days of the highway project behind a desk. After eight months of tedious work and precarious conditions, the Alaskan/Canadian Highway was completed. Nicknamed ”the Alcan” by those who worked it, the roadway was a miracle of cooperative countries and their people.
Destiny's road stretched over nearly fifteen hundred miles and const.i.tuted the efforts of more than eleven thousand individuals.
It wasn't much to look at, August decided as he flew from one isolated airstrip to the next, surveying the wonder from the air. Little more than a dingy brown ribbon, it wove its way through the countryside. Occasionally, strips of gray or blue indicated a lake or river, while either side of the narrow highway was lined with dark spruce forests and snow-filled permafrost meadows.
The army was pleased with the accomplishment. The road provided a way to transport oil and other goods to far north bases, should the s.h.i.+pping lanes become too dangerous. But an unantic.i.p.ated benefit was what a morale booster the road had become. It proved to two nations and millions of their citizens that they could combine their energies on the home front to aid their loved ones serving in battles so far away. It made the people feel important, useful, and necessary for the war effort.
August smiled as the plane touched down in Northway. This was his final official duty for the project. After great consideration and prayer, August had decided against taking the permanent job offered by Ralph Greening.
Instead, August had shared with Beth his desire to raise sled dogs and help her with the roadhouse. She had enthusiastically agreed to having him around the house on a daily basis and had even begun to make a list of jobs August could be responsible for. August had laughed when he learned of the list.
”Good to know I'll be needed,” he'd ruefully observed.
The weather had turned cold. Excitement gripped the town of Northway as it bustled with activities commemorating the new highway. But the dropping temperatures and significant snows signaled to August that it was time to go to Nome and retrieve his property. Once done with this, he would settle down to a new life with Beth and the boys.
August shook his head in amazement, remembering his first day in Northway when he was seeking a job on the highway. The road had given destiny to more than the countries through which it pa.s.sed. G.o.d had used it to bring August his own destiny and a new life.
Snow blanketed the ground around the airstrip, leaving August to tramp out his own way to the crossroads. He didn't mind; it reminded him of days out on the trail hunting or checking trap lines. Remembering his father and the home he'd known as a boy, August was filled with longing to return to that life.
Nearing the roadhouse, August paused in order to take the sight in. Nestled among the tall spruce and leafless aspen and birch was the place he now called home. Black smoke rose from the chimney, contrasting against the gray, snow-heavy sky. The sight warmed August and prompted him to hasten his steps to the family he'd soon call his own.
Kicking off his snowy boots, August entered the roadhouse through the back door and pulled off his parka to hang it beside Beth's at the entrance to the kitchen. He was surprised to find Beth and the boys sitting at the table, smiling up at him as if they knew a secret.
”What?” August asked with a grin. ”What are you up to?”
Phillip and Gerald giggled, while Beth lowered her eyes to keep from laughing out loud. August joined them cautiously at the table and looked on his chair for any sign of a pine cone or other such souvenir of the boys' mischievous behavior. Finding none, he sat opposite Beth, between the boys.
”Is somebody going to tell me what's going on here?” he asked, reaching for Phillip. ”Or am I going to have to tickle it out of you?”
”Don't tell him, Phillip,” Gerald squealed.
Phillip laughed in glee as August's fingers found his ribs. ”You're going to be our daddy,” Phillip laughingly gave up the secret.
”Mommy said you had to go to your old house and get your stuff, but that you were coming back to live here with us,” Gerald added.
Beth looked at August with a shrug. ”I couldn't help telling them,” she replied. ”And since you never said I couldn't, I gave in to my joy and let them be part of it.”
August laughed as he reached out and pulled Gerald to his lap. Holding each boy on a knee, August gave them a squeeze. ”And what do you boys think of that?” he asked.
”We like it!” Gerald exclaimed and Phillip echoed.
”Well, that's certainly a good thing for me,” August proclaimed. ”I guess I would have had a lot of trouble on my hands if you had said you didn't want me.”
”I don't want you to go, Daddy,” Phillip said with a pout.
”Me neither,” Gerald agreed. Beth's expression confirmed that she felt the same way.
”Look, boys,” August began, ”I'm not going to be gone very long, and when I get back I'm going to be bringing my dog team. I'm going to teach you the old-fas.h.i.+oned way of getting around in the snow.”
”We've never had a dog. How many dogs will you bring?” Gerald asked, suddenly interested.
”I'll probably bring twenty or so,” August replied. ”And twenty dogs are going to be a lot of work. I'll need extra help from you boys.”
”Will we play with the doggies?” Phillip asked.
”Of course,” August answered. ”We'll give them lots of love and care every day. And we'll play with them and work with them. You'll see. It's going to be a great deal of fun.”
”What about Momma?” Gerald questioned.
”Your momma is going to have fun with the dogs, too,” August said with a wink at Beth.
”And it won't be long, boys,” Beth added, ”before you'll be ready to start learning to read and write.”
”That's true,” August agreed. ”This roadhouse is going to need a lot of care, too. Your mother has already made long, long lists, so every day will hold plenty of things to keep us busy. And,” August paused, looking purposefully into Beth's eyes, ”I promise I'll never be away from here for any longer than I have to be, because I love you all so very much.”
”We love you, too, Daddy,” Gerald said, glancing at his mother. ”Momma said we could call you that, if you didn't mind.”
August choked up from the emotion surging through his heart. ”I would love it if you would call me Daddy,” he replied. ”I want very much to be the best daddy in the world to both of you.”
The boys hugged him tightly around the neck, while August and Beth exchanged a look of love that bound them forever to one another. G.o.d is so good, August thought. In His perfect way, G.o.d had saved the best in life for the last, and August could not imagine a sweeter future.
”Why don't you boys go play for a little while? I need to talk with August-your dad- for a moment.”