the
Udaloy.
He’s cleared your request right up to the Kremlin and back. I’m impressed.”
Abby gasped and walked over to where the two men stood near the apartment door. Tim had arrived at 9:00 a.m., looking resplendent, as usual, in his dark blue uniform. Alec smiled down at her and showed her the orders.
“Well, can you put up with me one more week?” Alec asked her.
Reading the document, Abby grew excited. “Of course! Tim, isn’t this wonderful? Do you know what this means?”
Tim grinned. “Yes, ma’am, I do. I’ve already got things in motion. I’ve contacted the four major networks, and you’re going to have cameramen and reporters from three of them. They’ll be taping what you do out there on the Bering Sea and sending the video stateside on a daily basis.”
Thrilled, Abby clapped her hands. “I’ll bet Dr. Turner is going to strip gears when she finds out what’s happened! The humpback whales are going to get national attention again!”
“Better,” Tim added, “is the fact that Moscow has approved of Alec’s being aboard the
Argonaut
as an official observer. The Soviet Union has already signed an agreement not to hunt the whales, so this is really going to add importance to what you’re going to be doing.”
“Do you think any of the major talk shows will be interested after that week at sea?” Abby asked, holding her breath.
“I’ve already got Oprah Winfrey’s assistant agreeing to have you and Alec on her program. I’m working on three other talk shows right now.”
Shocked, Abby looked up at Alec. “You mean he can come with me to do these talk shows?”
Tim pointed to the orders. “Alec has been given a total of three weeks with us. I talked to Captain Stratman this morning, and he said it will be another four days before the
Argonaut
is seaworthy again. Then, you’ll spend seven days at sea, and after that, we’ll take you stateside for the talk-show circuit.”
Abby threw her arms around Tim. “You’re such a public-relations genius, I could kiss you!” Releasing him from the embrace, Abby stepped back and asked, “You will be going to sea with us, won’t you?”
Tim shook his head. “Officially, I can’t go aboard the
Argonaut
because that would symbolically be siding with the SOWF on this issue, and the Coast Guard can’t do that. However, I’ll be here in Anchorage assisting you and the networks' personnel in every way possible.”
“How about the talk shows? You’ll be with us then, won’t you?”
“Yes, ma’am. I wouldn’t miss that opportunity for the world. I’ll be coordinating everything from behind the scenes for you. Alec is an official guest of the U.S., and the Coast Guard has been chosen to be his escort and host.”
Alec laughed because he knew exactly what Abby had in mind. She looked up at him and smiled.
“Tim, I just happened to have a photo of my best and dearest friend, Susan Anderson. You know, she lives in Washington, D.C. Let me show you a picture of her….”
Alec stood aside and watched Abby beautifully demonstrate her ability to matchmake. It was obvious that Tim was fully taken by the photo of Susan, and he didn’t seem to mind that she had a four-year-old daughter and was divorced. Abby wisely let Tim keep the photo—for the time being.
Dressed in his new pair of jeans, his collegiate-looking long sleeved white-and-blue-striped shirt and his denim jacket, Alec waited for Abby to grab her coat. Tim was going to take them to a fish hatchery and on a tour of the wharf area.
As they left the apartment, Alec smiled. “Do you think we’ll meet more fishermen with colorful cuss words down at the wharf?”
Abby rolled her eyes. “It’s hard to tell, Alec.” She glanced at Tim, who walked at her side. “If we do, Tim will tell you what all the words mean, won’t you?”
The officer grinned and a flush crept across his freckled cheeks. He pulled out a compact paperback dictionary from the pocket of his dark
Udaloy.
He’s cleared your request right up to the Kremlin and back. I’m impressed.”
Abby gasped and walked over to where the two men stood near the apartment door. Tim had arrived at 9:00 a.m., looking resplendent, as usual, in his dark blue uniform. Alec smiled down at her and showed her the orders.
“Well, can you put up with me one more week?” Alec asked her.
Reading the document, Abby grew excited. “Of course! Tim, isn’t this wonderful? Do you know what this means?”
Tim grinned. “Yes, ma’am, I do. I’ve already got things in motion. I’ve contacted the four major networks, and you’re going to have cameramen and reporters from three of them. They’ll be taping what you do out there on the Bering Sea and sending the video stateside on a daily basis.”
Thrilled, Abby clapped her hands. “I’ll bet Dr. Turner is going to strip gears when she finds out what’s happened! The humpback whales are going to get national attention again!”
“Better,” Tim added, “is the fact that Moscow has approved of Alec’s being aboard the
Argonaut
as an official observer. The Soviet Union has already signed an agreement not to hunt the whales, so this is really going to add importance to what you’re going to be doing.”
“Do you think any of the major talk shows will be interested after that week at sea?” Abby asked, holding her breath.
“I’ve already got Oprah Winfrey’s assistant agreeing to have you and Alec on her program. I’m working on three other talk shows right now.”
Shocked, Abby looked up at Alec. “You mean he can come with me to do these talk shows?”
Tim pointed to the orders. “Alec has been given a total of three weeks with us. I talked to Captain Stratman this morning, and he said it will be another four days before the
Argonaut
is seaworthy again. Then, you’ll spend seven days at sea, and after that, we’ll take you stateside for the talk-show circuit.”
Abby threw her arms around Tim. “You’re such a public-relations genius, I could kiss you!” Releasing him from the embrace, Abby stepped back and asked, “You will be going to sea with us, won’t you?”
Tim shook his head. “Officially, I can’t go aboard the
Argonaut
because that would symbolically be siding with the SOWF on this issue, and the Coast Guard can’t do that. However, I’ll be here in Anchorage assisting you and the networks' personnel in every way possible.”
“How about the talk shows? You’ll be with us then, won’t you?”
“Yes, ma’am. I wouldn’t miss that opportunity for the world. I’ll be coordinating everything from behind the scenes for you. Alec is an official guest of the U.S., and the Coast Guard has been chosen to be his escort and host.”
Alec laughed because he knew exactly what Abby had in mind. She looked up at him and smiled.
“Tim, I just happened to have a photo of my best and dearest friend, Susan Anderson. You know, she lives in Washington, D.C. Let me show you a picture of her….”
Alec stood aside and watched Abby beautifully demonstrate her ability to matchmake. It was obvious that Tim was fully taken by the photo of Susan, and he didn’t seem to mind that she had a four-year-old daughter and was divorced. Abby wisely let Tim keep the photo—for the time being.
Dressed in his new pair of jeans, his collegiate-looking long sleeved white-and-blue-striped shirt and his denim jacket, Alec waited for Abby to grab her coat. Tim was going to take them to a fish hatchery and on a tour of the wharf area.
As they left the apartment, Alec smiled. “Do you think we’ll meet more fishermen with colorful cuss words down at the wharf?”
Abby rolled her eyes. “It’s hard to tell, Alec.” She glanced at Tim, who walked at her side. “If we do, Tim will tell you what all the words mean, won’t you?”
The officer grinned and a flush crept across his freckled cheeks. He pulled out a compact paperback dictionary from the pocket of his dark
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