Call If You Need Me by Raymond Carver Read Free Book Online Page A

yes,” Sarah said. “We’d talked once about going to Alaska, years ago. Didn’t we, Phil? Once we were all set to go to Alaska. But we didn’t go at the last minute. Do you remember that, Phil?”
    I nodded.
    “Now you’ll go to Alaska,” Pete said.
    The first slide showed a tall, trim red-haired woman standing on the deck of a ship with a snow-covered range of mountains in the distance behind her. She was wearing a white fur coat and facing the camera with a smile on her face.
    “That’s Evelyn, Pete’s first wife,” Betty said. “She’s dead now.”
    Pete threw another slide onto the screen. The same red-haired woman was wearing the same coat and shaking hands with a smiling Eskimo in a parka. Large dried fish were hanging on poles behind the two figures. There was an expanse of water and more mountains.
    “That’s Evelyn again,” Pete said. “These were taken in Point Barrow, Alaska, the northernmost settlement in the U.S.”
    Then there was a shot of the main street—little low buildings with slanted metal roofs, signs saying King Salmon Café, Cards, Liquor, Rooms. One slide showed a Colonel Sanders fried-chicken parlor with a billboard outside showing Colonel Sanders in a parka and fur boots. We all laughed.
    “That’s Evelyn again,” Betty said, as another slide flashed on the screen.
    “These were made before Evelyn died,” Pete said. “We’d always talked about going to Alaska, too,” Pete said. “I’m glad we made that trip before she died.”
    “Good timing,” Sarah said.
    “Evelyn was a good friend to me,” Betty said. “It was a lot like losing my sister.”
    We saw Evelyn boarding a plane back for Seattle, and we saw Pete, smiling and waving, emerging from that same plane after it had landed in Seattle.
    “It’s heating up,” Pete said. “I’ll have to turn off the projector for a little while to let it cool off. What would you like to see then? Hawaii? Sarah, it’s your night; you say.”
    Sarah looked at me.
    “I guess we should think about going home, Pete,” I said. “It’s going to be a long day tomorrow.”
    “Yes, we should go,” Sarah said. “We really should, I guess.” But she continued to sit there with her glass in her hand. She looked at Betty and then she looked at Pete. “It’s been a very wonderful evening for us,” she said. “I really have a hard time thanking you enough. This has meant a good deal to us.”
    “No, it’s us who should be thanking you,” Pete said, “and that’s the truth. It’s been a pleasure knowing you. I hope that the next time you’re in this part of the country you’ll stop by here and say hello.”
    “You won’t forget us?” Betty said. “You won’t, will you?” Sarah shook her head. Then we were on our feet and Pete was getting our coats. Betty said, “Oh, don’t forget your doggy bag. This will make you a nice snack tomorrow.”
    Pete helped Sarah with her coat and then held my coat for me to slip my arm into.
    We all shook hands on the front porch. “The wind’s coming up,” Pete said. “Don’t forget us, now,” Pete said. “And good luck.”
    “We won’t,” I said. “Thank you again, thanks for everything.” We shook hands once more. Pete took Sarah by the shoulders and kissed her on the cheek. “You take good care of yourselves, now. This fellow too. Take good care of him,” he said. “You’re both good people. We like you.”
    “Thank you, Pete,” Sarah said. “Thank you for saying that.”
    “I’m saying it because it’s true, or else I wouldn’t be saying it,” Pete said.
    Betty and Sarah embraced.
    “Well, good night to you,” Betty said. “And God bless you both.”
    We walked down the sidewalk past the flowers. I held the gate for Sarah and we walked across the gravel parking lot to our house. The restaurant was dark. It was after midnight. Wind blew through the trees. The parking lot lights burned, and the generator in back of the restaurant hummed and turned the