Flight Risk

35 - Churchill Town Tour Part 1

"Look who it is." A familiar Belgium man nudged his wife in the busy hotel lobby that doubled as a tour agency and gift shop.

Marcela turned around in the elbow-to-elbow crowd threatening to knock over snow globes and polar-bear-themed beer steins. With unrivalled enthusiasm, she grinned at us.

"What are the odds we meet again in such a bustling metropolitan centre?"

We all laughed, given that you could walk from one end of the main street to the other in about five minutes.

"Caleb, this is Marcela and her husband, Yannick, the lovely couple I met on the train."

Caleb extended his hand for a handshake and offered them a genuine smile. "Wonderful to meet you both. Audrey has nothing but kind things to say about you."

"Likewise, we heard you make quite the soft landing pad for agitated travellers," Yannick said.

My face warmed, as that part of the story had slipped out when I told it, much to their amusement.

"Audrey's hardly agitated, overwhelmed perhaps by the challenges of poorly designed luggage storage, but I can't fault it as this trip wouldn't be so incredible without her."

Marcela turned to me. "He is a bit of a charmer, isn't he? But are you sure he's the one you want to bring to the tundra? He looks quite agile and possibly athletic."

Caleb raised an eyebrow while I chuckled.

"Quite sure. He'd fight off bears for me."

Marcela looked him in the eye, not convinced. "Would you now?"

He furrowed his brow and looked between us all. "Come again?"

"If you encountered a bear while the two of you were together, would you fight it or run?" Yannick spoke as if he were offering him coffee or tea. Although his stare reminded me of a protective uncle meeting my boyfriend for the first time.

"You're not supposed to run from polar bears as they're natural hunters and may take it as an invitation to pursue. My time would be better spent alerting someone with a weapon, but if you were in danger—" His gaze darted to me. "I'd do anything I could to protect you, even if it meant fighting a bear."

That sweet look in his eye sent my heart fluttering like a leaf in the wind. Why couldn't I keep him by my side indefinitely?

Marcela laughed. "A bit of an overthinker, aren't ya? No wonder you two get along so well." She gave me a subtle nod, like she approved.

Caleb scratched at the back of his neck. "Guilty. Hopefully, we won't encounter bears up close during the town tour. We'll save them for the buggy tomorrow. Although it would be ace to see one out the window."

His words tickled my stomach, given that both polar bear sightings and I were ace in different ways. I suspected he chose it on purpose. As if to confirm it, he kissed me on the cheek and held me close, which wasn't hard to do as a person in an 80s-inspired ski jacket nudged past us. I wasn't complaining about our proximity.

No winter jacket or bonfire could beat his warmth.

Once we'd checked in for our tour, we migrated outside in front of the hotel and chatted with the older couple. The white vehicle nearby was a small school bus with lower clearance. Based on the surrounding group, we'd have about twenty others on the tour.

"Welcome to Churchill, everyone," a kindred short woman's voice broke through many conversations. "I'm Joanne, and I'll be your guide today."

The crowd turned toward the woman with her hair pulled back in a ponytail, which, given the crowd and our shared lack of height, was one of the few parts of her I could see.