Agnes was right, after all. A party is what we all needed.

Jonah points to a dish of glistening yellow cubes, a thick, dark skin lining one side. “You won’t like that.”

“What’s that?” I point to a bowl of what appears to be white cream and blueberries.

“That’s called Eskimo ice cream.”

“Dairy?”

“Nope. And you definitely won’t like it.”

“She won’t know unless you let her try it, Tulukaruq,” a familiar voice behind us calls out.

Jonah peers over his shoulder at the old woman with the pink headscarf, his surprise clear on his face. “Ethel! Down the river twice in two weeks.”

“Not just me. Josephine, too.” She nods to a young woman of maybe twenty standing over by the water cooler, with a thick jet-black braid that reaches her butt. A plump baby of maybe eight months with a full head of dark hair sits in a sling across her chest, his wide eyes alert and curious as they take in the many faces.

“Damn, he’s gotten big, hasn’t he?”

As if Josephine heard Jonah, she turns and then gives a small, shy wave.

“Give me a sec, would ya, Ethel?” Jonah says with a gentle pat on her shoulder, and I watch him wander over to them, his smile wide and genuine as they begin talking.

“Tulukaruq has a lot of soft spots, but I think his biggest is for the young ones,” Ethel murmurs. She’s wearing the same New York Knicks sweatshirt that she had on the last time I met her. I wonder if she’s an avid basketball fan or if it’s just something warm for her to wear.

“Why do you call him that?” It’s the same name she gave him that day in Meyer’s.

“Because he’s a helper of our people, but he’s also a trickster. It means ‘raven.’ ”

I chuckle. “Yeah, that’s . . . so perfect. ‘Tulukaruq.’ I might have to start calling him that.”

Josephine slips her son from the sling and hands him into Jonah’s waiting arms.

My heart unexpectedly swells at the sight of the exchange, of Jonah’s enormous hands gripping the baby’s entire torso as he holds him up in the air above him, bringing him down to let the boy paw at his beard. Jonah laughs and the boy laughs, and suddenly I’m able to picture Jonah as a father.

Jonah will make a good father.

And his family will live in Alaska with him. A truth that squashes my swelling heart back to reality.

“The raven and his goose-wife.”

I turn to meet Ethel’s sharp, wise eyes. “Sorry?”

“The story. Jonah is the raven and you are his goose-wife.” She studies me for a long moment with a sad smile, and I get the distinct impression she has discerned everything there is to know about us.

Is she saying Jonah and I should get married?

“Excuse me, everyone! Can I just grab your attention for a minute.”

My skin tingles as I turn toward the front desk, where Max balances on a chair, his hands in the air in a sign of surrender, waiting to collect the attention of the people in the room. “Sharon and I just wanted to take a moment to say thank you for coming out today to make this send-off extra special. But also, for making our time in Alaska something we’ll remember for the rest of our lives.” He’s smiling wide as he talks to the crowd, his voice mid-timbre. “I’ll admit, it was a bit of a shock when we first moved here. Can’t say I’m gonna miss the long, cold winters, though something good did come out of that.” He gestures to Sharon’s belly with a red-faced chuckle, and someone lets out a whistle. “And I’m definitely not gonna miss the whole honey bucket thing in some of the villages.” A round of chuckles erupts, and I make a mental note to find out what a honey bucket is. Something tells me it has nothing to do with honey. “But what we will no doubt miss are the people. How caring you are. How close you all are, how hard you work to keep your way of life. No matter where we go, we’ll never find the same thing. I’m sure of it.”

My gaze drifts over the crowd, to see plenty of proud smiles and nods, and a few tears.

“So, again, thank you, from the bottoms of our hearts.” Max’s hands press against his chest, over his heart, the sincerity pouring from him palpable. “And I promise, we’ll be sure to bring Thor back for a visit as soon as we can.”

Sharon clears her voice and shoots Max a glare.

“Okay, okay, so we haven’t agreed on the name yet.” He grins. “But if you guys all wanna do me a favor and start calling him that, I figure it’ll be harder for her to deny me when the time comes.”

A round of laughter goes up and Sharon shakes her head, but she’s giggling now, too.

“Just a couple more things. I want to say an extra special thanks.” He seeks out Jonah, who still has Josephine’s boy in his arms. “Damn, man, a baby sure looks good on you.”

Another round of laughter erupts, along with Jonah’s holler of, “Don’t rush me!”

“But seriously, Jonah, I’ve learned more about flying from you in these past three years than I’ll learn the rest of my life. I still think you’re one crazy son-of-a-bitch, landing on that mountain ridge not once, not twice, but three times just to get those climbers off there, but man, do you know how to fly, and I hope I get the chance to work with you again one day.”