JC: William Redman Carter Part 2: Hermit Chapter 15 By Lazlo Zalezac Copyright (C) Lazlo Zalezac, 2006 Dale sat on the couch looking out the window at the view. He put an arm around his girl friend. She nudged him in the manner that lovers have used throughout time to get attention. Confident that he was being attentive, she asked, “Are you thinking of building a house like this?” “No,” Dale answered. He was much more traditional in what he wanted in a house. Leaning forward, he said, “I want a simple house with three bedrooms, a family room, and a kitchen with enough room for a kitchen table.” “How about a dining room?” she asked looking over at him. “I don’t want a den, dining room, or an office. I don’t want to work there. I don’t want rooms that sit idle until company comes over,” Dale said. He looked over at his girlfriend and said, “I want a home for a family. I want to have two or three kids running around; leaving their toys on the floor like kids have done ever since people moved into caves. I want a place to live in and I mean that in the most exuberant meaning possible.” “Wow,” she said wondering if he included her in that picture. “I don’t need a great house to impress guests. When company comes over, I’ll take them to the backyard where we can share the view of the desert,” Dale said. He would have said more except William and Lucy had arrived holding hands. Looking at the couple on the couch, Lucy said, “Sorry we’re late. We were working and lost track of time.” Dale said, “No problem. We were admiring the view and talking.” “Excellent,” William said. Dale said, “May I introduce you to my girlfriend, Little Desert Rose. Everyone calls her Rose. Rose, this is Talks with Animals and Walks with Wisdom. Everyone calls them William and Lucy.” “It is nice to meet you Rose,” William said looking at the woman. She was a year or two older than him. Like many Native American women her age, her hair came down to the middle of her back. She was not movie star beautiful, having features that were more Native American than white, but she was an attractive woman. “It is an honor to meet you Talks with Animals,” Rose said. Even though she was dating Dale, meeting Talks with Animals was a major event. Dale looked at her with a frown. She turned to Lucy and said, “I’ve always wanted to meet you, Walks with Wisdom.” Lucy laughed while taking a seat on the loveseat and said, “You’re going to give me a swelled head with that kind of talk.” “We can’t have that happen. You won’t be properly proportioned with a big head and a small body,” William said with a grin. He sat down beside Lucy and put an arm around her. “Oh,” Rose said feeling a little embarrassed. She realized she had come off as a star-struck teenybopper. Turning to Dale, she asked, “How did you and William meet?” “We were classmates at the Native American College,” Dale answered. “He’ll never admit it, but I was the better behaved student. He was always getting in trouble,” William said. Dale snorted and said, “Who put the rattlesnake in Kotyit’s bed?” “It promised to behave,” William said. “I know, it told me,” Dale replied. Kotyit had called him to remove the snake from the bed. Lucy looked at Dale and said, “I didn’t know that you could speak with animals, too.” “Yes, that is one of the things that William and I share in common,” Dale said. Grinning at William, he added, “He just got the better name.” It was a long standing joke between the two of them. The fact was that Dale’s name fit him. If anyone was able to connect with the feel of the desert, it was Dale. William glanced at his watch and realized that it was later than he had thought. Gesturing to the couple on the couch, he said, “Let’s head to the dining room. Our Chef, Peter, is probably furious that we’re not there yet.” --- Peter entered the dining room and looked at William with a slight frown. He asked, “Are you going to behave?” “I suppose so,” William said looking over at the Chef with a smile. At the look of surprise on the faces of their guests, Lucy explained, “Carter men tend to make the life of the Chef miserable.” “You should have seen the look on his face when I brought that lizard here for him to cook. You’d think he had never prepared lizard before,” William said shaking his head. “You never brought me a lizard to cook,” Peter said rolling his eyes. “Look at him deny it,” William said shaking his head. “How does he do with rattlesnake?” Dale asked keeping a straight face. Shrugging his shoulders, William answered, “After he burned the lizard, I wouldn’t trust him with such a fine meat as rattlesnake.” “I did not burn a lizard,” Peter said. “Deny, deny, deny,” William said. Looking over at Peter, he asked, “What are we having tonight?” “Road kill surprise,” Peter said before returning to the kitchen. Rose looked at the back of the retreating Chef with wide eyes. Worried, she asked, “He’s kidding, isn’t he?” “Of course he is,” William said. Peter proceeded to deliver a seven course meal that was out of this world. The basic style of the food was Haute Cuisine with very small portions for each course. The end result was that everyone was fuller than they could imagine. The preparation and presentation was exquisite. Sipping coffee at the end of the meal, Dale said, “That was outstanding.” “I’m glad you liked it,” William said. Of everyone there, Rose was the most impressed by the meal. She couldn’t believe that the servers replaced the entire place setting with each dish. Awed by the entire experience, she asked, “Do you eat like this every night?” Lucy answered, “No. Most nights we have simpler meals. All of the staff usually joins us for dinner. You can’t spend three hours eating every night.” “What did they do for dinner tonight?” Rose asked. “They probably had the same dinner, but ate it upstairs in the break room,” Lucy answered. “You have more than one dining room?” Rose asked. William answered, “Lucy, why don’t you take Rose for a tour of the house? I’m sure that she’d like to see all of it.” Dale watched Lucy lead Rose out of the dining room. Once they were gone, he turned to William and said, “I’m sorry. She seems a little awestruck.” “Don’t worry about that. It is understandable. I’ve been getting some advice about making myself a little more accessible to people. Lucy and I realized that we hadn’t been invited to any celebrations since we’ve moved here. We thought that if I were to get a little more exposure to people on the Reservation that we might be able to tone down the awe and remove some of the distance that exists,” William said. “That’s good. I’ve been worried about you living out here all alone. I was pleased to hear that you were teaching at the high school. That was a rather amazing course you put together,” Dale said. He’d heard from a lot of the parents how pleased they were when they saw the material their children were studying. A lot of them had photocopied the pages that William had handed out and read them for their own education. “I hope it helps them,” William said. “I’m sure it will. So tell me, what did you think of Patrick?” William laughed at the question. Shaking his head, he said, “I like him. He’s either going to be a comedian or a Tribal Chief. I’m not sure which.” “Some say there’s no difference,” Dale said with a laugh. William laughed and asked, “What is your interest in him?” “His father asked me to teach him some of the old ways over the summer,” Dale said. He took a sip of his coffee and noticed that it had cooled too much. “Why doesn’t his father do it?” William asked. “Well, he grew up at a time when a lot of the young men were turning their backs on their heritage. He was one of those young men who actually prided themselves on not doing anything Indian. He never even visited a sweat lodge. Now he regrets it,” Dale answered. He grabbed the carafe and refilled his cup. The result was a tepid coffee, but it was better than cold. “Maybe we ought to do something for them,” William said. He drained his cup before taking the carafe from Dale and refilling his cup. “We?” Dale asked with a grin at the expression on William’s face as he drank the cold coffee. He had a feeling that he’d end up doing all of the work. “Sure. You and I could probably put together a nice group of tribal elders who’d be happy to hand off some of their knowledge. I’m sure that Chief White Feather would be more than happy to take some of the older men out on their first hunt,” William said. Dale nodded his head while thinking about it. As far as he could see, it wouldn’t be a bad idea. He said, “Robert White Feature would make sure that they learn to use their guns safely.” “Fathers could then teach their sons how to hunt,” William said. “Did any of your fathers teach you to hunt?” Dale asked. He was curious about William’s relationship with his family. He’d seen William when he was a young man and knew that he was different than most. It had to have affected his childhood relationship with his parents. “No. Ling and Claire taught me to shoot. One of the Rangers, CC, taught me how to track animals in the wild. It was Robert White Feather who took me hunting. Of course, I learned a little of that at the Native American College, too,” William answered. He laughed and said, “Well, Daddy Ed did teach me how to hunt rocks.” “Ah, yes. The wily rock,” Dale said. It had been a while since he had been out collecting rocks. He looked over at William and said, “It’s been a while since I’ve been out collecting samples.” “Let’s go next weekend,” William said. The invitation took Dale by surprise. He said, “Sure. That sounds like a good idea.” “Why don’t we invite Patrick?” That suggestion really surprised Dale. Nodding his head, he said, “That would be an interesting weekend. I’ve just got to ask. Why Patrick?” “I like him. Kotyit once told me that a war party of three wasn’t much of war party. He said that I needed to make a few more friends. Lucy and I talked about it. We decided that he was right,” William said. “I know what you mean,” Dale said. “You don’t have many friends, do you?” William asked. Taking a sip of his coffee, Dale thought about it. Most of the men his age were still struggling to establish their careers. Looking back at William, he answered, “Not really. A lot of my childhood friends took John Carter’s advice and became lawyers. They are in their late twenties trying to establish their credentials. They have formed their own war party. You and I are the two youngest Medicine Men in the state.” “I think that is what Kotyit was talking about,” William said. “So let’s take poor Patrick out to hunt the wily rock,” Dale said with a smile. “Let’s tell him that we are taking him out to hunt, but not say anything about rocks. We’ll surprise him with that once we get outdoors,” William said. Dale laughed and said, “That sounds like a perfect plan.” --- Rose sat on one of the couch with Lucy at the other end. Both women were turned so that they mostly faced each other. Rose said, “This sure is a big house.” “William’s sister designed it assuming that he and I would marry another four people. I’m afraid that she doesn’t understand William too well because I don’t think that is going to happen,” Lucy said. “Four more people?” Rose asked wide eyed. “Yes. She figured that we’d get two more husbands and two more wives. William and I are not bisexual so the idea doesn’t really appeal to us,” Lucy said. She wasn’t going to mention that William had lovers in the house that would take care of him in case she wasn’t enough for him. “Oh,” Rose said. She was still having a hard time getting past the idea of a marriage of six people. Deciding that she didn’t really want to pry, she said, “I think the house is very lovely, but don’t you get lost in it?” “I don’t get lost, but I do lose William on occasion. I imagine that we could play hide and seek in here all month without running out of hiding places,” Lucy answered. The tour of the house had taken almost an hour and they didn’t even visit most of the rooms. “I can imagine,” Rose said. “When we were waiting for you earlier, Dale was telling me about the kind of house that he wants. He was describing my dream house.” Their discussion was interrupted when Rock came over and said, “William and Dale have asked me to let you know that they’ve gone outside to smoke.” Lucy looked over at Rock and said, “What’s the matter, Rock? You don’t look too happy.” “I just finished having a long talk with Kelly Carter,” Rock answered. Kelly had laid out scenarios in which Natalie, Nicole, and Colt had died. She had painted them with such detail that he could imagine it actually happening. She had grilled him about his feelings for each of the three other bodyguards. He was surprised to discover that he was just as upset about the idea of Colt getting killed as either of the two. He had ended up bawling like a baby. Shaking his head, he said, “That woman knows how to tear up a person’s heart. I thought Ling was tough, but Kelly had me begging for mercy.” “They are both very strong women,” Lucy said. “You can say that again,” Rock said shaking his head. Looking over at Lucy, he said, “I’ll leave you alone now. It’s time for me and Colt to have a long talk.” “Okay,” Lucy said. When Rock was gone, Rose couldn’t restrain her curiosity. She asked, “What was that about?” “Rock and Colt love Natalie and Nicole. They’ve been stuck trying to figure out what to do about it. Neither man can choose just one of the women. They’ve been partners for so long that they don’t want to ruin it. Of course, the women can’t decide which man they want. They’ve been partners forever, as well. My mothers-in-law have decided that it was time for them to get involved,” Lucy answered. “What can they do?” Laughing, Lucy answered, “Anything they set their minds to doing. Right now, I think they’ve decided that Rock, Colt, Natalie, and Nicole should be married as a single family.” “You’re kidding?” Rose asked. “No. I think they are right, too. Those four love each other. They’ve spent years looking out for one another that to break them up would be a disaster,” Lucy said. “I’m not sure what I think of those multiple partner marriages. I’m an old fashioned girl who wants my one guy,” Rose said rather shocked by Lucy’s calm acceptance of such an idea. She had just about decided that it must be a rich person’s lifestyle. “I’m not bothered by people having multiple partner marriages if they all love each other, but I know what you mean about being old fashioned. I’m rather old fashioned myself. I love William so much, that I can’t see me loving anyone else that much,” Lucy said. “I don’t mean to judge,” Rose said hoping that she hadn’t offended Lucy. Laughing, Lucy said, “I don’t see how anyone can fail to judge. That isn’t exactly the kind of thing that one can be neutral about. The idea of marriage being between one man and one woman is basically a cornerstone of our culture.” “I guess. I haven’t really thought about it,” Rose said. She felt a little like a backwater hick who hadn’t seen much of the world. In a way it was true. “So how long have you been seeing Dale?” Lucy asked. “About six months,” Rose answered. “That sounds serious. Is he the one?” Lucy asked knowing that it wasn’t really a polite thing to do. “I wish, but I’m afraid that I’m not worldly enough for him,” Rose answered biting her lower lip. “What does that mean?” Lucy asked. “Dale is an important man in the tribe. I’m just the daughter of the guy who owns the hardware store,” Rose answered. Lucy burst out laughing at that revelation. Seeing the hurt expression on Rose’s face, she explained, “You won’t believe this, but my dad owns a hardware store.” “You’re kidding,” Rose said unable to believe that Talks with Animals would settle for a woman whose father owned a hardware store. She wondered how Lucy could be comfortable with such a large house. “No. He has a simple hardware store in a small town in Pennsylvania,” Lucy said. “Wow, I would have never thought that of you. I mean, you’re so cultured, refined, and everything,” Rose said still not getting beyond the myth of the person with whom she was talking. “Let me tell you how small town I am. My husband is so rich that he can buy any restaurant that we eat in, but I still look at the price column for the lowest priced items before I select what I want to eat,” Lucy said provoking a short bark of laughter from Rose. “I can understand that,” Rose said having been guilty of exactly the same behavior. She didn’t think that a rich kid would even think of doing that. They would order what they wanted to eat and ignore the price. She looked over at Lucy starting to see the real woman for the first time. It was amazing what the right insight into a person could yield. “When my mother-in-laws take me shopping, I have to leave the store before they ring up the sale. I get sick when I see how much they’ll spend on clothes for me. I’m still happy with clothes from the discount store,” Lucy said. Rose took a moment to examine Lucy’s outfit. It dawned on her that she was wearing a dress that she could have purchased at any store. She shrugged her shoulders and said, “It must be nice to afford any dress you want.” “I suppose it is. Of course, you have to ask yourself if it makes much sense to sit around the house wearing a formal evening dress that costs five thousand dollars. It is more comfortable wearing jeans and a tee-shirt. To tell the truth, I’d rather wear loose jeans rather than form fitting designer jeans. At least I can sit around the house comfortably,” Lucy said. “I never thought about it that way,” Rose said. Some of her expectations were being turned upside down. Lucy shrugged her shoulders and said, “No one does until they are faced with the reality of the situation. I sure didn’t.”