by Rita Karnopp
Her smirk told him she enjoyed his humor. Her smile warmed his heart.
"What I would give to see my mother's reaction when she finds out my husband paid twelve ponies and ten buffalo hides for me."
Even though she laughed, he heard sadness in her tone. He held her against his chest, protective and loving.
* * *
Whispering Sun looked over at Sunny Smiles. "I don't want to do this. Everyone will be watching me."
"It is expected of you. You have learned much about cooking. I would guess that boiled tongue will taste every bit as good as my own."
Stirring the contents of the buffalo-paunch cooking pot, Whispering Sun ventured a sip from the spoon. "You're right, this really is tasty. Why can't Two Shadows come here and eat? Why do I have to take it to him?" She looked over at Sunny Smiles and found her smirk irritating.
"You must learn to do what is expected of a Blackfeet woman. I have never met a woman who questions everything as you do. If you want to become Two Shadows wife you will learn to cook the choicest parts of meat and take this food to his lodge. You must place the food before him. He may eat some, little or much, and if he leaves anything, you must offer it to his mother, Otter Woman. When they are done eating you must bring all cooking dishes back here." Sunny Smiles handed a smooth, flat board toward Whispering Sun.
Thoughts of embarrassment filled her. Taking the wooden tray, she placed it down, near the cooking pot. "How many times do I have to feed him?" Whispering Sun asked, sitting back on her heels.
"You must take him his meals three times each day. When the sun rises and you are certain Two Shadows has finished his morning bathing, you will take him his first meal. Then again, when the day is hot and he decides to take a rest in the shade of his tipi, you must take him his second meal. Of course the third meal is in the evening when the sun has set and he wishes to settle down for the evening. You must do this each day until the marriage takes place. It could be days"
Whispering Sun shook her head. "Everyone will watch me."
"That is true. I almost didn't marry He Who Listens because of not wanting to take him his food. But, I did not want him marrying someone else, so I did it. I only had to do it twice."
"How come?" Whispering Sun watched a shy smile tug at the corners of Sunny Smile's mouth.
"I carried on and cried so that my father couldn't take the upset. He found himself ready to marry me off the very day He Who Listens asked me. How happy those times were."
Whispering Sun wondered what had happened in Sunny Smiles young life. "How many years, I mean, winters have you been married?"
"We have just finished our fifth winter together. I have lost two sons in that time. I am hopeful this son," she paused to pat her slightly swollen belly, "will grow to be a fine warrior."
"I'm sure he will. What if he is a girl?" Whispering Sun asked, filling a wooden bowl with chunks of tongue and rich gravy.
"My arms ache to hold a child. Neither of us will care, but I want a son for He Who Listens. He will be a good father."
Whispering Sun busied herself with arranging the meat, and choice berry pemmican on the tray. She took a bite of a fresh Yampa root, savoring the sweet carrot taste, then placed several on the tray for Two Shadows. An Indian woman longs to hold her child...why did the white man call the Indian savage?
* * *
Whispering Sun took Two Shadows his first meal, and news of the upcoming marriage spread through the village before he finished eating.
"Mother," Two Shadows called out, entering his father's tipi. "I have wonderful news. The Council of Chiefs have decided to honor Whispering Sun and me, for having killed our most hated enemies. They will do this at our marriage ceremony."
He watched Willow Basket turn and gasp. "Are you certain, son? A woman of spiritual strength, a woman of remarkable accomplishments might get acknowledged by the Chiefs. But a white woman would not get such an honor."
"It is true, Mother. Many Pipes told the Council of Chiefs he feels her power. At night he hears the sounds of a great white horse calling to him. Staring through a hazy cloud, he sees a woman riding the horse. A white woman with flowing hair the color of the sun. She smiles and waves at him and then he realizes she is not waving at him, but to the Old Man, Napi."
Two Shadows paused, noticing how pale Willow Basket had become. "Are you well, Mother? Should I get Otter Woman?"
"No. I will be fine. I am only stunned by Many Pipes story. I hope this honor will be a good thing. A woman who is protected by Napi and who has powers unlike the others, will soon feel different. I do not think your Whispering Sun would like this to happen. She has spent too much of her life feeling apart from others. Life with her white people has left many scars. She is in need of warmth and love. She has a Blackfeet heart. I feel it too."
"Do you think I should ask the Council of Chiefs not to honor us?" he asked, his excitement turned to concern.
"No. It is already announced. It would be a great insult now. I should have remained silent. Do not worry. There is much gratitude in what your woman has done. It should carry much favor for Whispering Sun. If only her hair did not shimmer like a star in the black sky. If only the color of her eyes did not change with the shades of the sky, as though Napi controlled her thoughts. She wants to be one of us, but she is as different from us as the day is from the night."
Two Shadows took a deep breath. "What you say is true. I see it too. But, does not the day and the night work in harmony? Have we not accepted how they are different, and have we not learned to find each one is special and necessary? I believe it is so with Whispering Sun."
"I find your words encouraging, my son. I do know that I feel no hatred for this white girl. She has filled me with much joy. She is a rare girl. If her skin were to be bronze and her eyes to be brown, she would still be different, wouldn't she?" Willow Basket asked, suddenly still.
Thinking over her words, he had to agree. "It isn't skin or eye color that makes Whispering Sun stand out among the people. It is her wonder and need to learn everything around her. It is her constant questions and her excitement when she learns the answers. It has become an honor to have Whispering Sun stop and look, touch, and question a belonging, a procedure, a song or dance. Her smile speaks the truth of a child and she is stealing the hearts of the people." He didn't wait for Willow Basket to respond. Her expression told him she noticed it, too.
* * *
Whispering Sun sat in the early morning light. This day she would become Two Shadows sits-beside-him wife. Not once had she considered marrying him might be wrong.
When had she started thinking of herself as Whispering Sun? Two Shadows had truly accepted her the night the skinners died. That night Sarah Proctor had died. Whispering Sun had been born.
This day she would remember the rest of her life. Many times she'd thought about what her wedding day would be like. None of her wildest dreams came close to the reality. Looking around in the quiet tipi, she realized she'd come to love the welcome fire, the opening of sky above her head, and the sharing of family warmth that the structure protected.
"My daughter looks happy," Willow Basket said in Blackfeet.
Whispering Sun looked up to find both Willow Basket and Otter Woman entering the tipi of Sunny Smiles and He Who Listens.
"We have come to help you prepare for your marriage day," Otter Woman said in her shaky voice. She set a large kettle on the ground. "I have boiled water for you to wash with. Cleanse yourself, every inch of you. I have added a few sprinkles of the lovage that you seem fond of using. It will make you smell delicious to Two Shadows."
A warm stain traveled across Whispering Sun's cheeks. She noticed Willow Basket giggled behind her hand.
"Does your heart sing with joy?" Otter Woman asked, lowering a large bundle to the ground.
Whispering Sun watched Willow Basket help the older woman with her load. "Can you not see how Whispering Sun's eyes dance and sparkle? Can you not see how she squirms in anticip
ation? We have watched our young people struggle not to touch each other. There is no doubt in my mind they love each other and will spend a very sleepless night."
Once again Whispering Sun felt her cheeks burn. She watched them both giggle, then smiled.
Otter Woman busied herself with the bundle she'd brought. "Who would you guess is most anxious for the night to begin?" A grin warmed her wrinkled features.
Willow Basket continued the banter. "Oh, I think it is most hard to tell. The young lovers are both anxious and acting like children of two winters waiting for a treat."
Otter Woman giggled like a young girl. "They are both young, firm and beautiful. They are indeed in for a marvelous, exciting treat."
It seemed impossible to feel this happy, Whispering Sun thought. She loved how these warm, giving people teased.
Sitting next to Whispering Sun, Otter Woman adjusted her withering legs. "You are like daughter to replace the one I have lost. You have her kindness of heart and her smile. It is with pride I give you this gift, my wedding gift to a girl who has brought an old woman much joy."
Otter Woman placed a beautiful, white doeskin dress across Whispering Sun's knees. She stared in amazement. The entire bodice and upper sleeves were beaded with flowers and leaves of pony and seed beads. She touched a row of bleached, polished bear claws that lined the neck-line edge.
The soft leather felt smoother than silk. Finer than any fancy dress her mother had ordered from the catalogs.
"It's beautiful, Otter Woman. Did you make it?" She asked, fighting tears that threatened to form.
"Yes. I made it for my first daughter. She died before she could wear it. I am most happy to have found the right daughter to give it to."
"Thank you, Amunis Ahki," she said, swallowing. "It's the prettiest dress I've ever owned."
Willow Basket sat across from Whispering Sun. "I too have a marriage gift for you," she said, handing Whispering Sun a pair of white doeskin moccasins. She traced the row of bear claws that decorated the top edge. The beaded design matched that on the dress from Otter Woman. "I must confess, Two Shadows gave us the bear claws to use. Those on the dress are from the bear that you shot, saving his life."
Whispering Sun looked down at the pointed objects and marveled at their large size.
"They will bring you much power and protection," Willow Basket said.
"Oh. We may have done something wrong, Willow Basket," Otter Woman said, covering her mouth with her hand.
"What are you talking about. Something wrong? How?"
"This girl does not want protection tonight."
The women laughed. Whispering Sun couldn't help herself, and giggled. It felt good to be happy. She'd wondered often enough what it would be like to have a mother's love. How fortunate she felt to have two of them now.
"Stand, child. Let us help you dress," Willow Basket said, lifting the old, deerskin shift over her head.
Dipping the wash piece into the water, she brought her tingling flesh to a scented clean. She no sooner finished, Willow Basket had her marriage dress lifted over her head. They both gently tugged it into place.
"You help her tie her moccasins on, Willow Basket. I will brush her hair through. Time is growing short. I hear the gathering of the people already."
They'd finished. She stood before them. "How do I look? Do you think Two Shadows will like it?" Sudden doubt entered her mind.
"You are more beautiful than any maiden I have ever set eyes upon," Otter Woman said. "It should bother me that your skin is white. But, this old woman has been surprised. You hold a special gift, my child. One that must be given by Napi. I feel nothing but a special love for you. Two Shadows has done wise in choosing you for his wife."
"Thank you for saying that, Otter Woman. I have wished many times that my hair would turn black and my eyes brown. I don't want to be different. I want Two Shadows to see me as his Indian woman."
Standing, Willow Basket helped Whispering Sun to her feet. "You cannot be what you are not. It is wrong to wish to change. Napi has created us for a reason. If you were different than you are, Two Shadows would not love you the way he does. You would not be you."
"I never thought about it that way before."
"May I enter?"
Whispering Sun recognized Two Shadow's voice. Her heart pounded faster by his mere presence.
"Come in, my son," Otter Woman said, struggling to her feet.
"Chief Deer Dancer and Little Arrow await for you to sit near the marriage blanket with them. I have a few words to say to Whispering Sun, then we will come."
She watched the women leave, then turned her attention to the man she loved.
"You are beautiful. It takes my words from my mouth. Your hair shines likes the sun and flows like its rays. It pleases me."
She noticed his voice sounded thick and husky. She read the tenderness and love in his eyes. "I'm glad I please you." The words sounded strange to her own ears.
She couldn't help staring at his marriage clothes. It had taken two bighorn skins to make the sleeved shirt. The legs of the animals hung down as trailers at his sides. A narrow flap of red flannel bordered the neck opening. In the center of his shirt, red beads formed the figure of a man, a shadow of this man had been beaded in white. She wondered which man, in truth, belonged in the shadow.
His matching bighorn skin leggings extended from ankle to hipbone, where they'd been tied to a narrow rawhide belt in a common knot.
He wore, like a crown, a handsome eagle-feather bonnet of thirty or more upright feathers inserted in a folded rawhide headband. It had been covered with red flannel and decorated with little brass discs and pendants of white weasel skin.
Except for two small braids on each side of his temples, his hair hung loose and flowing just below his shoulders. She wondered why it had been cut that short, but never asked.
How magnificent he looked to Whispering Sun. "My soon-to-be husband is most impressive," she finally stated, quite aware how long she'd stood staring at him, and the silence that followed.
"It makes my heart swell that you are pleased. I have never before dressed so fine. I want everyone to know how proud I am to marry the beautiful woman who has stolen my heart. I have come to you now because I have something I wish to give to you. Close your eyes and remain still."
She pensively closed her eyes. A giggle surfaced. How could she feel giddy? Women who were about to be married did not get skittish as a newborn colt. Pressure from an object pressing between her breasts brought her senses back to seriousness. She felt Two Shadow's fingers brushed against the back of her neck. His nearness stirred her body. She drew in the scent of him.
"Now you may open your eyes, Whispering Sun," he said, watching her intently.
She looked down and gasped. Emotion filled her. With her fingertip, she caressed the beautifully beaded necklace, one she knew had great meaning to Two Shadows. "I don't know what to say. Are you sure your mother would have approved?"
"It belongs on you, Whispering Sun. My mother, Lame Deer, and my sister, Morning Dove, are smiling down at us this very moment. I feel their spirit with us. They are at rest and are grateful to you. They would be honored to have you wear the necklace that has been passed down in our family for as many winters that can be counted. One day you will give it to our daughter."
Whispering Sun leaned into his arms, feeling a surge of wild delight. She welcomed as he slipped his arms tightly around her and pulled her into his chest—she fit just right. His heart beating against her ear sounded just right. His familiar earthy cinnamon and pine scent filling her nostrils smelled just right.
She allowed him to lead her out of the tipi, into the sunlight, out to the awaiting smiling faces of the people.
They sat together on a blanket, side-by-side. Silently she watched the head of her family, He Who Listens, exchange gifts with the head of his family, Chief Deer Dancer.
She found it hard to focus on all the happenings around her. She could only think o
f the handsome, bronze man at her side. She felt the soft beating of the drums and found the joyous singing of the women pleasing to listen to. It made her think of the music at the fort, the vibrations on the floor. She thought of the stranger, the man who filled her heart with longing. She had never asked Two Shadows about that man—his shadow. Not that she hadn't thought of it, she had. The timing didn't seem right.
She'd learned from the beginning, Two Shadows wasn't a man to share his feelings until he wanted. She'd wait. Thoughts of her life, before and after Two Shadows, ran through her brain like a carefully written book, as members of the entire village paraded past them in their finest clothes. They extended good wishes and lavished on them the finest gifts they could give.
After greeting them, the well-wishers found a place on the ground before them. Whispering Sun couldn't help feeling nervous under their scrutiny, afraid to see dislike in their eyes and gestures. She glanced up several times, only surprised to see warm, happy expressions looking back.
Taking a deep breath, Whispering Sun wondered when the line of people would stop. Already her legs had gone numb and her back ached. She didn't want to appear impatient, nor ungrateful. Children darted around parents, laughing, chasing each other, and enjoying the beautiful day—her marriage day.
Glancing over the growing crowd, Whispering Sun's gaze rested on Laughing Eyes. Her mother, Buffalo Woman, sat beside a stern, angry looking Howling Wolf. They were the only family unit that lacked warmth and happiness.
Whispering Sun adjusted her legs, then noticed a large leather bag near her side. The lovely gift had been finely crafted. Had she heard a scraping on the inside? An uneasy premonition worked its way down her spine. She couldn't explain it, but something felt wrong. She stared at the bag, certain she heard something move, yet it remained still.