“Oh now. Do we really want to go there?”
“Why not? You can just tell me. I’ve been wanting to ask for, like, twenty years. Maybe more.”
“Oh. Maybe more, huh?” She smiled.
This was fun. “Yeah.”
“Holy! Here we are at our reunion and here I am getting raked over the coals, boy.”
“No. It’s not about judgment. It’s more about awe.”
“What?”
“Oh come on. We went out in grade nine.”
“Ha ha. For like three days?”
“Still.”
“Still what?”
“We have a history.”
“There was that one night.”
“Yup. We almost got to second base.”
“Ha ha! You wish!”
“I do,” I nodded. “I really do.”
“We didn’t even come close.”
“Yeah. Why not?”
“Well, remember I asked to see your chest.”
“Oh yeah. And I was like: I’M NOT INTO MUSCLES, BABY. I’M INTO VEINS!”
“Ha ha and you whipped off your shirt and you were trying to Bruce Lee out.”
“Ha ha. Yeah. I was seeing stars I was flexing so hard for you.”
“I remember. In fact, when I close my eyes I can still see you.”
“I blew it that night, hey?”
“Yup. You blew it.”
“Sorry about that. You know, that was the first time…”
“What?”
“That was the first time I ever encountered what turns women on.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, you grow up and you’re trained, you knew? We’re all trained to look for a 36-24-36.”
“Jeezus! Who is that?”
“You?”
“You wish!”
“Actually, no,” I said. “I think you’re gorgeous. I won’t lie. I think you’re perfect. But that night you told me what you wanted.”
“I’m a sucker for a great chest.”
“Yeah. Sorry I was just nuts and ribs. I think I had worms back then.”
“Ew.”
“Ha ha.”
“Gross. Don’t talk about it!”
“Sorry. I was really skinny.”
“Yup. You were. But now…”
“I’ve been working out.”
“I see that. I hear you guys are still streaking.”
“Yeah. Every couple of weeks.”
“That’s great.”
“So… I want to know what he was thanking you for.”
“Why?” She asked.
“Because I think I’ve known you for your whole life. We’re, what, mid-life now? We grew up together and we were close, you know? And now everyone has these adult lives, kids, old ladies, homes.”
“And?”
“I just wanted to be welcomed into a place like that. Where there are no words.”
She put her hand on mine. “I am sorry for what happened.”
“Me too,” I said. “It’s been tough.” But then I realized: what were we talking about?
“Wait,” I said. “What are we—?”
“He wasn’t thanking me for anything I did. Not really.”
“What was he thanking you for?”
“Ah. I can’t say.”
“Oh come on.”
“Please. Look. You’re blushing. Remember how moose meat would always make you blush.”
“Yes.”
“Well, just tell me.”
“What? What does moose meat making me blush have to do with anything?”
“I was just fishing.”
“Fishing? For what?”
“It’s a technique.”
“A what?”
“It’s a technique for getting info. You give a little to get a whole lot more.”
“Ah geez.”
“Justin taught me that.”
“When?”
“His first summer back from law school.”
“Where did he teach you this?”
“At the lake.”
“That was his favourite place, hey?”
“It used to be.”
“Okay okay. So what was he thanking you for?”
“Can’t say.”
“Come on. I double Dogrib Dare you to share it.”
“Hey, you can’t use that!”
“Why not?”
“Because you know I never back down.”
“Nope. You never did, so why stop now?”
“Look. I can’t talk about it and you’ve cornered me. Is that where you want me?”
A spirit cornered. “Maybe.”
“Grant, you’ve had a rough year. A horrible… I can’t imagine it. I don’t want to imagine it. I’ve thought about you this past year. I wondered how you were.”
“Thanks.”
“Justin and I had this thing he’d like to do. All I… Ha ha. Oh God. You’re getting me to tell you.”
“I’m just curious. I’m allowed to be curious. We’re mammals, remember?”
“What?”
“So you were saying.”
“I can’t talk about it.”
“Why?”
“Because I feel like I’d be betraying his trust.”
“Can you show me?”
“Ho-lay! You’re just bold, hey?”
“Well who’s on a plane in nine hours?”
“Eight. What does that have to do with anything?”
“That’s your get out of jail free card.”
“Wha! You want me to show you what we did?
“Yes,” I dry swallowed. This was my chance. I couldn’t let her back on that plane without trying. “Yes, I do. Just show me. Take me to a place where there are no words.”
“Hmmm.”
“Hmmm?”
“Hmmm. Okay, you tell me a secret and I’ll consider it.”
“Okay,” I said. “Do you have any ideas how many times I wanted to get on my mountain bike and ride out to your house and sing to you?”
“Take it easy.”
“I’m serious.”
“Okay. What song?”
I threw back my head and laughed. ‘We are the World.’”
“What?”
“Remember—with Bruce Springsteen? Man, I practised it for you and everything.”
“Was Boy George in that, too?”
“I can’t remember. I think it was ‘Tears are Not Enough’.”
She started laughing. “This is awesome.”
“Okay,” I said. “Let me go back in time and learn that. If I knew you liked ‘Tears are Not Enough’ more than ‘We are the World’ I would have learned that for you.”
“Wait. You know what song I really loved?”
“Tell me.”
“‘Feed the World.’”
“Oh yeah! “Feed the woooorld. Don’t they know it’s Christmas time at all?”
“Yeah!” we yelled.
“I tell you,” I said. “I would have stood there air humping and singing to you if that would have gotten you out of your home for a kiss.”
“Ho ho! That’s a classic right there.” And then she leveled her eyes at me. “So where can we do this?”
“We could go back to my house.”
“And you’re not going to tell Clarence or Brutus?”
“Nope. I swear. Just you and me.”
“You won’t judge me after?”
“Well, I don’t know what it is.”
“Swear it.”
She was being serious. “I swear it.”
“What are you swearing?”
“I’m swearing that I won’t judge you after.”
<
br /> “But will you judge yourself?”
“Wait,” I said. “What?”
“You may be surprised at what it does to you after.”
“Take it easy.”
“I’m serious. You will suffer.”
“Come on,” I said.
“Ha ha. Okay, you will suffer deliciously.”
“Oh my.”
“Yup. Oh my. Oh my.”
“So do we need anything?”
“No. Just a shower before.”
“Hey hey. Now we’re talking.”
“Grant, if we do this… you know we can’t go back.”
“… I know.”
“You know if I show you this, you’ll never… I don’t know… You’ll never think of me the same.”
“I don’t think of anyone the same anymore.”
“I know…”
“So you really want to do this?”
“I do.”
“Everyone’s watching us talk. Especially Gunner.”
“Yup. They’ve been watching us all night.” She focused on me. “So how will I go to your house?”
“Leave when you want and meet me there.”
“You kept it?”
“Yup.”
“Number 14, right?”
“Yes.”
“What time shall we meet?”
“Twenty minutes?”
“I’m ready to go right now.”
“I’ll warn you once…”
“What?”
“Justin cracked a molar it got so good.”
“Holy!”
“It’s true. Got a good dentist?”
“Who cares? I’m Treaty!”
“Ha ha. Me too!”
“Ha ha!”
“Ha ha.”
“Okay, so I’ll go to the trailer but I won’t turn the porch light on. Just let yourself in.”
“Okay.”
“I’ll leave in a bit. Don’t drive. Everyone will see your car.”
“Grant.”
“Yeah?”
“I think you think I do something, but the truth is it’s all you.”
“What?”
“It’s something special, but you have to do it. I just show you how.”
“Whoah. And it’ll change me?”
“Forever.”
I thought about it. “I could use something special.”
“Then it’s yours.”
“Wow.”
“Okay, I’m leaving and I’ll see you soon.”
“Put fresh sheets on the bed and light a candle. What I say goes. You’re not allowed to talk.”
“Okay.”
“You have to do everything I say.”
“Okay.”
“I won’t stay the night.”
“Okay.”
“I’ll leave when we’re done.”
“Okay.”
“You can’t call me after.”
“Why?”
“Because I decide when and if I want to do it again.”
“Wow.”
“I’ve never done this with anyone else since Justin”
I almost believed her. “Okay.”
“I’ll only do it with you and you have to swear you can’t tell anyone.”
“I swear.”
“Swear it on your mother’s memory.”
“I swear it on my mother’s memory.”
“Okay. Talk is cheap. I hope you’re ready.”
“I’m ready.” The music started up and it was loud. “More and More and More” came on and it was one of my favourites, but it was way too loud.
“And shave.”
“I already shaved today.”
“So shave again. Use a new razor. Baby soft, okay?”
“Okay.”
“Okay. I’ll see you there.”
“No. You’ll see someone like me.”
“What?” This scared me.
“When I see you next, your name isn’t Grant anymore.”
“Okay. What is it?”
“I’m going to ghost you.”
“What?”
“Because you reached through snakes for me.”
The music got louder. “Wait. I didn’t hear—”
“And because you sang my name to the buffalo people.”
“Wait. I want to understand—”
“Tell me what Gunner has threatened you with.”
“What?”
“He and his brothers are waiting for you to leave. I can tell.”
I looked down. “I’ll be okay.”
“No you won’t,” she said. “They’ve come for something.”
I swallowed hard and closed my eyes. Maybe she was the one. Maybe it was all true. The one who was here to protect us all. “He said he’d break my legs if I testified against him.”
“When?”
“Tonight. If I came to the reunion.”
“So why would you come if you knew this would happen?”
I looked into her eyes. “Because I knew you’d be here. I know you’re the one who sings the snow. I’ve seen you in pictures back at the Treaty 11 signing. Also, with my ehtsi. You’re timeless and I’m so scared. I don’t want my legs broken.”
She touched my hand and looked in the direction of Gunner and I saw her eyes flash with something. “You go first. Because you’ve invited me in, give me an hour. I’ll be at your house when I’m ready, and I will be hungry.”
My blood turned to slush.
“Prepare a dish for me. Your very finest. You’ve called me now. We’ll feast and then I will devour you.”
I was suddenly more scared than ever.
She looked to them like a wolf who sniffs the weak in the wind. “Now go. If you hear something behind you when you walk out, don’t look back. Promise me?”
I nodded. I was so scared. “Okay.”
“Promise me.”
I swallowed hard. “I promise.”
“You’re safe now.”
She gave my arm a gentle squeeze and, for a second, I felt like a rabbit with a wolf’s jaw around it, squeezing.
I thought of their mothers. “What are you going to do to them? Gunner’s mother is sick—”
“Go,” she said. “They may find themselves with their legs sewn on backwards tomorrow, or they may find themselves as your new protectors. I’ll offer them a choice.”
“Why?” I asked. “Why are you really doing this for me?”
Her eyes darkened. “Because I’m sworn to you. In the future. You’re part of something that needs to happen. Tonight they would have broken your spine and your short ribs, and we would have lost everything.”
The skin on the left side of my body lifted and I shivered. My teeth started to chatter.
“Go now,” she said. “Don’t look back.”
I nodded. “Got it.”
And I went. Without my jacket. Without meeting anyone’s eyes. And I didn’t look back when I thought I heard the screaming, the whimpering, the begging. As I hit the four-way, I ran all the way home.
Blood Rides the Wind
“Just so you know,” Rob looked at me in the rearview mirror, “we weren’t really expecting anyone for a week.”
I was quiet but nodded. I could smell smoke on me, the smoke from burning the last of my grandmother’s clothes. Rob’s sleeves slid up, and I caught a glimpse of a tattoo. A claw? Teeth?
“Oh now,” Sue looked back and glanced quickly at my lip as she ran her hand up Rob’s arm. “Don’t you worry, Bear. Rob could use a lot of help while I’m away.”
I nodded and looked away. The trees were so much bigger here in Simmer than in Rae. Spruce and pine. It was like we were being hugged from
far away. As the plane landed, I saw pelicans flying. Forty of them all circling the town together. I didn’t see them the last time I was here. They were ever neat. As we pulled up to the residence, there was a student with two hockey bags smoking outside.
“What’s he doing back here?” Sue asked.
“Dean’s not supposed to be here,” Rob said with a low voice.
“Rob,” Sue said. I could hear concern in her voice.
Right away, I did not like whoever this Dean was. He had a scowl on him. Typical northern scruff: baseball cap, Tap Out hoodie, jeans, running shoes, smoker, goatee. He was trying to grow a mustache and he was short. He worked out, wore a black Affliction short sleeve, but it was his eyes that I didn’t like. They were mean.
He nodded at Rob and Sue. “Hey,” he gleeked snuff by his shoe. “I’m back.”
Rob spoke to him from the Suburban. “I thought we agreed this program wasn’t for you.”
“Yeah well,” the young man said, eyeing me. “My dad says different and he’ll send thirty grand if I come this year.” He spat again. “I’m hungry. Feed me.”
Rob looked at Sue while he slowly got out of the Suburban. “Honey, why don’t you get Bear set up and I’ll get to the bottom of this.” He limped towards Dean. Rob had a bad leg. I wondered why he didn’t just use a cane.
She looked tired and let out a long breath. “Sure. Bear, let’s get your things and find you a room.”
I nodded. All I had was my backpack, my weapons bag and my poster carrier.
The first thing I saw when I walked out of the Suburban was a sign that read: “Our family supports a drug free home. If any drugs are found in our home, we will call the RCMP. We support youth learning in a safe and drug and alcohol free environment.”
“Who’s the harelip?” the young guy asked.
I looked at him fiercely. “Now, Dean,” Rob said. “Is that respectful? This is Bear from Behchoko.”
He spat towards me. “A Dogrib with a retard name.” He turned to Rob. “How’s the knee?”
Rob placed himself between Dean and me. “Let’s go upstairs. You know where the kitchen is.”
“Girls still get the basement, right?” Dean said. “Sweet.”
Dean turned to me and gave me a dirty look. I looked away. Rob and Dean walked upstairs towards where the kitchen must be. Dean had left his bags in the middle of the door. Sue moved them and sighed. “Do you need help, Bear?” she asked.
I shook my head. “Who is that?”
She sighed. “Well, between you and me, that’s Dean Meddows. He was asked to leave last year… I’m surprised he’s back. His dad is the chief and we could sure use the money, but I would not be surprised if Rob asks him to stay elsewhere. He’s trouble.”
Night Moves Page 5