Heartbeat Braves

by Pamela Sanderson

“It’s made from tiny pigs,” Henry said.

  The server came and took their order. When he left, Henry said to Tommy, “What was your drink order?”

  “I believe you would call it a mocktail,” Tommy said. He waved a hand in the air in a you know how it goes gesture. “I can’t stay long anyway.”

  Rayanne caught Henry’s nod of comprehension. When she’d first met Tommy, she’d worried about inviting him to get-togethers like this. But Tommy had been sober since before he was legal.

  “What sort of super-secret mission are you up to tonight?” Ester asked.

  “Can’t tell you,” Tommy said. “Gotta keep secrets, you know, due to my dangerous past.”

  They all laughed because Tommy’s easygoing bearing and slight build made him come across as more likely to be a victim than a criminal.

  “I remember when I met you, I wondered how they’d transplanted kitten eyes into your head,” Ester said.

  “I do have adorable eyes,” Tommy agreed. “That’s why I’m so successful with my crimes.”

  The server brought their drinks. Henry squeezed Rayanne’s leg before taking his hand away. She missed it as soon as it was gone.

  “Shall we toast?” she said, holding up her beer. “Three cheers for the new building.”

  They hip, hip, hooray’d and clinked their glasses together.

  “Hard to believe this is all coming together after everything we’ve been through,” Ester said.

  “What all have you been through?” Henry asked. “Besides living out of boxes and surprise flooding.”

  “Losing Margie,” Rayanne said. “New board members foisted upon us with their pushy ideas and family members who need jobs.”

  Henry lifted his beer again. “I’ll drink to that.”

  “At one point some folks in the community opposed the center because they were worried about having those kinds of people gathered around,” Ester said.

  In response to Henry’s shocked look, she held up one hand. “Honest Injun.”

  “It wasn’t a lot of people and we were able to educate them on what the organization is about,” Rayanne said.

  Tommy turned to Henry. “Now that you’ve hung out with us, for better or worse, what do you think of our ragtag operation?”

  Rayanne was curious to hear his response. The two of them never discussed the job in that way. He’d stuck around because he had to; she’d never asked what he thought now that he’d settled in. Henry took his time before answering.

  “At first I didn’t get what you were all about,” Henry said. “Arnie works with Indian people on the rez but I never thought about people in the city. I don’t know what I can do. But I think I want to stick around.”

  He ducked his head as if he’d gotten caught saying something he wasn’t supposed to do. An unexpected wave of relief washed over her knowing he wanted to stay.

  “As soon as we get in that building, we’ll be able to do real things,” Rayanne said. “What kind of programs would you want to do?”

  “I’m not sure how it would work but I was thinking about outreach. To people like me and my mom who are so disconnected we don’t even know we’re disconnected. I guess the more social and recreational things.”

  “You want the fun stuff,” Ester said.

  “It doesn’t have to be the fun stuff. I want to learn about fundraising and all the dull paperwork too. I have more ideas but I’m getting my bearings for how it all works.”

  “Not bad,” Tommy said. “We were worried you were a worthless mouth-breather when we found out you were getting the job because you were Arnie’s nephew.”

  Henry’s body tensed. At some point she should confess that ‘worthless mouth-breather’ came from her.

  “Glad to hear I defeated your expectations,” Henry said. He took a long swig from his beer.

  “We like you now,” Rayanne said.

  Ester snorted but before she could say more, the server arrived with plates of miniature food. They passed around hotdogs the size of an index finger and tacos that could be put away with two bites.

  Ester prodded the meat flecks on her pizza. “They could get a paper puncher for the pepperoni. Punch out little round holes.”

  “I think I saw a suggestion box by the hostess station,” Tommy said.

  The food was a delicious surprise. It wasn’t cheap bar-food made smaller; it was delicious food attracting attention to itself by its compact package. The hotdog had a rich, meaty flavor and the relish had a citrusy tang. The tacos were spicy pulled pork with some sort of vegetable slaw.

  “This is incredible,” Rayanne said.

  “I’m glad you like it,” Henry said, staring into her eyes with pure lust.

  “Gah! You two,” Ester said. She crammed a taco into her mouth and washed it down with beer.

  “Wait, huh?” Tommy said, looking from Rayanne to Henry. Rayanne directed her attention back to her food, a warm flush creeping into her face. She could sense Henry’s megawatt grin without even seeing it.

  “What do you mean, huh?” Ester said. “You can smell it coming off them. Look, some shiny bits dislodged and floated to the floor.” They all looked to the place that she pointed and laughed.

  “Where was I while this was going on?” Tommy sucked the last of his mocktail from the glass.

  “You were there,” Ester said. “It started about fifteen seconds after Mr. Tall-Dark-and-Flirty showed up at our the office.”

  Ester’s nickname made Rayanne sink into her seat even more.

  “No, it didn’t,” Henry said. “I had some graduate coursework in wooing to do. Still doing it. But she’s worth it.”

  “I don’t know how much longer I can watch,” Ester said.

  “Stop,” Rayanne said, not sure why she was so embarrassed. She tried to pull away from Henry but he would shift into the space she vacated.

  Rayanne managed to shift the subject and got Ester talking about the short films she was making about the center. They traded stories about college and then talk shifted to apartment hunting.

  “Rent in this town has become a joke,” Tommy said. “We can afford it but it takes such a hunk of my money.”

  “Same,” Ester said. “I have roommates. Not ideal but until I find my dream cheap studio in the perfect location without bars on the windows, I am stuck with what I have.”

  Both Tommy and Ester had suggestions for Henry if he stuck with Jack, or if he ended up trying to find a place on his own.

  Rayanne glanced around the room. The bar was filled with young people, like them, talking and laughing. How many times had she sat outside a group, like the one she was in, with longing? She had felt like a social outsider since she’d moved to the city. But tonight she was one of them, hanging out with a group of peers, sharing jokes, having a good time.

  Tommy got up and threw some cash on the table. “It was fun, guys, but I’m going to go home and be mysterious. Catch you Monday.”

  Ester shoved the last bite of her burger into her mouth and finished her beer. “I’m not about to be the third wheel. I’m going to go home and be alone. Again.” She waved her card at the server. “And by alone I mean with my roommates who are probably at this minute drinking my milk and eating something that no matter what it is, it will get all over the couch.”

  “If they have friends who need a roommate, don’t tell them about me,” Henry said.

  “Don’t worry.” Ester flicked her eyes between them. “You two make a good team. I’m rooting for you.”

  “Thanks, Ester,” Henry said with a happy grin.

  “Settle down,” Rayanne said. To Ester she said, “It would be fun to get some video footage of the Chief before we move in and then again after.”

  “I’m going to,” Ester said. “I want to try to make a short film about the whole thing. Our little gang of four. Five if this guy sticks around.” She nodded at Henry. “I’m going to keep working on it and see where we’re at in a year or two.”

  The server ret
urned with Ester’s debit card. Ester stuck it in her wallet and then gave them a wicked smile. “I’m out of here. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do. But if you do, name it after me.”

  33

  When they got back to her place, Henry lingered at the door as if he were dropping her off.

  “You coming in?” Rayanne asked.

  “Am I invited?”

  “Are you a vampire? You can’t come in without an invitation?”

  “Would you like for me to be a vampire?” He gave her a theatrical come-hither look.

  Rayanne took a moment to appreciate the sight of him filling her doorway. The confident set of his shoulders and his arms crossed over his chest. His mouth curved into a knowing half-smile. But beneath the bluster she detected uncertainty. He needed to hear she wanted him.

  “Vampires aren’t my thing,” she said.

  “Something else? Fireman? Or maybe you’d prefer a congressman? Don’t ask me to be a cowboy.” He opened his arms, reaching for an embrace but he didn’t cross the threshold.

  “Maybe I like cowboys,” she said, giving him a sexy smile. She gestured for him to come in.

  He came inside and she shut the door behind him. He tangled his fingers through her hair and tilted her head up to his. “You like Indians.”

  “I do,” she agreed. She closed her eyes and let her hands find his waist and rested them there.

  He took his time, brushing his lips across hers and along her jaw and kissing a line to the crease in her neck.

  She sighed and let him continue another minute before she pushed him back against the wall.

  “This okay?” She pulled his head back down to hers and breathed into him before dipping her tongue into his mouth and waiting for him to meet her. His hands hung at his sides.

  She let him come up for air.

  “I thought I was doing pretty good,” Henry said.

  “You were doing great. I thought I would do some things.” Her hands worked at his belt buckle. She didn’t even pull his pants down. She reached in and grabbed him. “I guess you could say I’m process oriented.”

  His body shuddered with surprise. He closed his eyes and groaned. He managed to say, “I think you’ve got that backwards. At the moment I would say you’re results oriented.”

  “Oh, is that what I am? I can never tell the difference.” She loved the way he leaned against the door, half-helpless. “I like it when the guy makes some noise.” She pressed her lips against his and worked her tongue back into his mouth.

  He pulled away long enough to say, “It’s hard to moan and groan if I think you’re waiting for it. It should come about naturally.”

  “It’s not a demand, just sharing what I like.” She stroked him until he groaned again.

  “That sounded natural,” she whispered against his mouth. He stayed slumped against the wall while she worked her way down and went down on him, sloppy and urgent. She was pleased when he clenched her hair in his hands again and she took her time until he urged her back to her feet.

  She yanked at his shirt until he pulled it over his head. She paused to stroke her hands over his chest. He put his hands over hers.

  “I’m going to do some things now,” he said. He moved away from the wall so he could pick her up. She wrapped her legs around him and he waddled a couple of steps toward the bedroom.

  “This looks a lot easier in the movies,” he said. His pants were tangled around his ankles.

  “Put me down before you break both our necks,” Rayanne said. “Can you imagine the headlines? ‘Freak accident claims the lives of two promising young Natives.’ The things people would be whispering at our funerals.”

  Henry laughed. “About me they would say, ‘At least he died doing what he loved.’“ He set her down and, after a few ungraceful attempts to kick off his pants, he had to sit down on the floor to take off his shoes. “This getting you going?” he asked from his undignified position.

  “It’s all getting me going.” She helped him up and he stripped off her clothes and picked her up again. This time he managed to carry her to the bed. He found the pirate chest himself and threw a couple condoms on the pillows.

  “I got a little trick I’m going to show you called the Chippewa flip.”

  “You made that up,” Rayanne said, her arms reaching for him.

  “Did I? Why don’t you find out if you like it before you worry about its origins.” He put on a condom and lowered himself onto her. She tilted her hips up to meet him and they joined together in a daze of warm friction, their breaths quickening together.

  After a spell, she kissed his ear and whispered “I have my own special occasion move. I call it the Seminole squeeze.”

  Henry sucked in his breath and then gasped in her ear and she along with him. He collapsed on top of her.

  “So who was in charge of that one?” he said, when he caught his breath.

  “We’re a good team,” Rayanne said. “Like Ester said.”

  “Everything I do, I do better when I’m with you,” he said. He rolled off of her and spooned her from behind, his arm curled around her and his hand caressing her belly.

  “I’ll have to come up with some new stuff to try,” she said, sleepier than she wanted to be. The events of the week had caught up with her. His chest pressed to her back was pure warm comfort.

  “Did you mean what you said earlier?” she asked.

  “Which thing are you referring to?”

  “About wanting to stick with the job.”

  “I think I mean it. I never pictured myself doing anything like that but maybe I do have something to offer. Is that okay?”

  “That’s great,” she said. They were pressed tight but she tried to snuggle deeper into his embrace. “What do you want to do this weekend?”

  “I have got to find a stupid apartment,” he said.

  “Oh,” she said. “Yeah, I suppose we can’t spend all our time doing this.”

  “I can fit plenty of this in. Don’t you worry.”

  “I need to deal with Grandpa. We did not leave things very well. I’m hoping he’s cooled off and will be happy to see me.” The angry flash in his eyes and his harsh words echoed in her memory.

  “He’s your grandpa. Of course he’ll be thrilled to see you.”

  “You can stay for a while,” she said, meaning stay at her place. She liked having him here.

  “I hope so,” Henry said. “I have no idea where my pants are.” It went unspoken that he had no place to go. He threaded his fingers into hers. “I know what you meant and I appreciate it, but I promise I will find my own place. I need to find my own place.”

  “Is your mom going to care if you don’t come home?”

  “Probably. She doesn’t want me to live there but if I do, I have to report in. I’ll text her I’m sleeping on a friend’s couch so she knows I didn’t fall off a bridge or end up in jail.”

  Rayanne squeezed his hand. “I’m sleepy now but if you wake up later, wake me up too.”

  He kissed her neck. “As you command.”

  34

  Rayanne called ahead like Grandpa asked and was not surprised when there was no answer. She waited an hour and tried again. Still no answer. She waited thirty more minutes and when the phone rang and rang and went to voicemail a third time, she left a message telling him she was on her way.

  In the days since they’d argued, she’d come to understand his anger. She had swooped in with her elder care educational brochures, and her experiences with Margie’s kids, and she thought she had all the answers. The one person she hadn’t consulted with was the grand old man himself. She’d grown up with him and witnessed daily his strong will. Like an idiot, she tried to tell him what he needed. She couldn’t treat old age like a flow chart with a single path leading straight to the end. She thought she was doting. He thought she was dictating. She’d messed it up but she could fix it.

  She was troubled that he hadn’t answered, but she couldn’t bring herself to be
lieve that he would ignore her. No matter how angry he was, or how stubborn he was about making a point, he couldn’t cut her out. That’s what she told herself on the drive over there. Maybe it was the phone. Or maybe worse. She would never forgive herself if something happened and he was by himself because she waited too long to patch things up.

  She knocked at his front door, her unease growing as she waited. She was afraid of rejection. Her grandparents were the people who hadn’t let her down when her parents turned out to be such disasters. They argued about keeping her and whether or not they could do enough for her. And they had. Everything she had become was thanks to them.

  She heard someone moving around inside. She could picture Grandpa and his slow plodding movements.

  “Grandpa?”

  At last the locked turned and he opened the door.

  “Good. It is you,” he said. “Did you try to call?”

  “No answer,” she said.

  “I can’t find the charger,” he said. When he gathered her up in a big hug, she wasn’t sure who was comforting whom. “I was afraid I might have made you too mad. You might not come back.”

  “I was worried you wouldn’t forgive me,” Rayanne said.

  Grandpa let her go and welcomed her inside.

  “You want a drink?” he asked. Before she could answer, he poured her a tall glass of pop from one of those big jugs he always had. She could see when he poured that it was flat, but it made her love him that much more.

  “We’ve always been proud of you,” he said.

  He meant Grandma too. It tugged at her heart that he didn’t like to refer to her in the past tense, even after all this time.

  “I know that’s why you do all these things.” Grandpa stirred his hand in the air. “Working that job, trying to help everyone. It’s because of your mom.”

  Rayanne opened her mouth to protest but Grandpa made a fierce gesture so she swallowed her objections.

  “Even as a little girl you always did your homework and followed the rules. We liked to take credit, like we screwed up the first one but now we had another chance to do better.” He shook his head. “But it was all you. You worked so hard to prove you weren’t like her.”