Ninety Degrees Out
Chapter Seventy Five

“Mom, what do you think about creating a wedding tradition?” Alicia lifted the lids on two giant soup pots and stirred each of them in turn.

Akira was sitting in the kitchen waiting for bread dough to proof so she could divide it for loaves.

“What are you thinking? Because Jett asked Catherine to marry him, and she said yes. You’re set to marry Chay, and I don’t think you could have chosen a better man. Arimina has a wonderful Dad in him.”

“I’m wondering if we can create a ceremony once or twice a year for couples to formalize their relationships. A special party, or festival to bring celebration to everyone. Kind of a way to give us a way to say we’re stronger than what fate handed us.”

Alicia paced restlessly as she spoke.

“Have you asked the other women around here what they think? It seems they have the power to put it together.”

Akira thought about what her daughter was asking, and decided it wasn’t a bad idea. A big party would be a kick against Rico and his gang. Let them know they weren’t going to scare Stargazer Ranch into hiding.

“You’re right. If we’re all of the same mind, then we can talk to Hakan and Erik. Maybe plan something for mid July?”

“And hopefully Deborah will have a brand new baby to show off too.”

Akira peeked under the tea towel covering two giant bowls of dough.

“This is ready. Do you want to do the other bowl?

Alicia nodded and said, “Let’s get this into the oven. We’re going through bread in a hurry. Someone is going to have to figure out how to grind grain into flour.”

“I know, we’re down to about three hundred pounds in storage. Kanti said she hauled it in, just before the flip.”

Akira began punching the dough down in hers as Alicia started on the other twenty inch diameter bread bowl.

“It’s the little things you never thought of before that are really important now. I saw a couple of fields of barley up at the homestead. Uki says there are some of oats, wheat, and rye as well. More than they would have planted before. They used up all their seed. We’re going to be picking by hand, stripping the seed heads into baskets. A lot of work.”

“I’ve got to get up there.” Akira started kneading her dough.

“So much to figure out, it’s overwhelming.’ Alicia sprinkled a bit of flour on the table before she started on her mound of rye sourdough.

“We’ll figure it out. By the way, I love the idea of a mass wedding party. Deborah says she and Earl were talking. They are considered married, but it’s not official. They never had a reason, now Earl wants to take the step. I’m not sure, but Erik is spending more and more time with Meg. She’s been helping him with the records in the office. You might have more than you think wanting a share of your idea.”

Akira laughed at the expression on Alicia’s face.

“I guess I need to pay more attention to what’s going on down here. I’ve been happy up on the hill. Especially since Ursa seems to have recovered from the poison. We got lucky there.”

Alicia grabbed the dividing tool Armaruq made from thin polished wood, sealed with the last of his polyurethane varnish.

The women’s chatter continued until a dozen loaf pans were filled and covered to rise a final time. They turned their attention to the soup simmering on the commercial stove, as people began wandering in looking for food.

“Damn Mom, where did the morning go?” Alicia said. “I’ve got to go. I promised to take Ari and the lynx kittens out into the forest. We’re trying to teach them to hunt for themselves.”

“Go, take a sandwich with you.” Akira started ladling soup into bowls. “I’ll take care of the lunch crowd. I’m loving the kitchen and helping here gives me purpose.”

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“We can’t go up by Ursa’s den, can we?” Ari asked.

“I don’t think so. I’m glad she’s feeling better, but I don’t know if she’d like Missy and Lexie pouncing on one of her cubs.”

“Are we going to name them?” Ari asked.

“I don’t think so. I’m going to capture them one more time and tag their ears. All of them. I’d like to know where they go after they leave their mother.”

“So, they’re numbers. That’s sort of a name. I guess when you do research, you don’t need anything but that. It’s about statistics and patterns. That’s why we have the cameras too.”

The two lynx kittens were half grown. They followed Ari like they were glued to her heels. Alicia wasn’t aware imprinting could be that strong in a wild cat. It wasn’t even common in any of the house cat breeds. They were litter trained and had a huge box with pine needles and leaves in it in their enclosure in the barn.

The cats didn’t climb the walls of their cage, but Clay put serious bars along the top in the last week.

Ari stopped at the edge of the canyon. The cat’s sat like well trained dogs on either side of her. Their heads were even with her waist, and her hands dropped to rub between their ears.

“I want to go up by Sarah’s place. I think we can teach them how to fish. They like the water. Remember when I gave them a bath in the tub? They went swimming.”

Alicia giggled at the memory. The kittens managed to roll in their own mess. They were so stinky, Ari brought them upstairs to the bathroom, because they were too big for the kitchen sink. The litter box was Chay’s idea after he cleaned out the hair clog they left behind.

“There’s a nice beach up at Sara’s now, where the flood came up. Good idea, Ari.”

She turned to the right instead of the left and started to run. The kittens bounded along beside her. Alicia jogged after them. Damn it felt good to run. Why wasn’t she doing more of it. She used to jog regularly.

Her radio crackled, and she slowed down. Ari must have heard it too and stopped inside of two steps. Missy tumbled as she tried to stop, but Lexie was already sitting at Ari’s side when Alicia caught up with her.

“That was Chay, sweetie. Do you want to do the fishing experiment, or do you want to home and watch Blue have her puppies?”

“What? I thought we had more time.”

Ari turned around twice trying to make up her mind, and Alicia suppressed her laugh. Blue was pretty big, it looked like she was going to have more than the six Anya confirmed.

“But I want to do both.” Ari complained.

“Sometimes you have to make a choice. You might not get to see all the puppies get born. Chay says she’s just started to show signs she’s in labor. If you want to see if Lexie or Missy will fish, we can still try that out and get back before the lasts of the puppies are born.” Alicia gave her a compromise solution.

“No, I promised Blue I would be there.” Ari dashed past her, running flat out to get back.

“I guess I have my answer,” Alicia said as she went after her daughter.

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