Band of Brothers

"Hello."

"Hello. Is this Bebe?" asked the unfamiliar voice on the phone.

"Yes, it is. I'm not interested in whatever your selling," replied Bebe.

"Oh no, I'm not a telemarketer. This is Alaskan Matchmakers. You registered with us a few months ago."

The phone went silent. "Bebe, are you still there?"

"Yes, yes I am." Bebe was surprised to hear the voice on the phone. She had almost forgotten that she had registered with the site after an angry split from her former boyfriend. She was tired of red necks, Saturday football and beer busts. If she didn't get out of Carolina soon, she knew she end up barefoot and pregnant and never being able to talk during a football game between Carolina and Clemson. There had to be something else, someone else, someplace other than here.

Her attention returned to the call on the phone. "I'm still here. You were saying..."

"Bebe, we would  like to fly you up to Alaska. We have a couple of prospects for you to meet. I really feel there is a good chance you will make a connection with one of them. Can you travel next week?"

Bebe hesitated at first but let those thoughts quickly drift out her mind. For once, she was going to be impulsive. For once, she would do the unexpected. "Yes, I can come up next week."

"Great. We'll send you the details in an email. Bebe, this group of guys are a little different. They live in a fairly remote part of the state. Pack accordingly, you won't be needing any dresses or heels,"

"Okay, I'll look for the info. Thanks for the the call...I think."

The voice on the other end of the line laughed. "You won't regret it, I'm positive."

.................

Bebe was on a plane bound for Juneau before she could change her mind. Excited, nervous, and praying that she would find what she was searching....a partner, a soul mate.

The plane ride was longer than she expected. When she disembarked the plane, she felt the change in climate immediately. She had exchanged the warm Carolina sun for a cold, damp overcast day. She hoped that the weather was not an overshadowing of things to come.

As she walked through the airport to baggage claim, she saw a short, heavy set woman with jet black hair and eyes holding a sign with her name on it. Bebe approached her and the woman flashed a big smile.

"Wow, you are prettier than your photo."

Bebe smiled. She was nervous as she wasn't your usual Carolina girl, blonde, tan, and petite. She was just the opposite. At 5 feet 8 inches, she was tall and men constantly reminded her of that. Her cropped brown hair framed beautiful creamy skin. She was always careful to avoid tanning like her friends who had started to look like shoe leather after a few summers in the sun.

"The guys are going to like you. By the way, I'm Edna. We spoke on the phone."

Edna was a true Alaskan. She was born in Alaska, raised her kids, and now focused on her business of finding love connections for lonely guys.

..............

On the ride from Juneau to Hoonah, Edna explained to her that the male population in Alaska outnumbered the female population almost 10 to 1. Competition for the fairer sex was fast. New women to town had a lot of choices but finding a good man was very challenging.

"People come to Alaska for a lot of reasons, bad relationships, trying to escape their past, or just antisocial. My job is to take some of those elements out of the picture."