Dances Naked

by Dani Haviland

  “Yes, I knew these women in their past lives,” Little Bear answered, hoping that he was being politically correct. He looked to the Indian men and repeated himself in Cherokee. He wanted them to know what he was saying, and to make sure they understood that they needn’t fear him, that he wasn’t trying to take away their women or make trouble for them. He also knew he didn’t need to explain; they appeared to be sharp men and probably understood English, too.

  Marty opened his mouth, ready to invite the new man to dinner, but chomped down on his first words, “If you’re hungry,” knowing that it wasn’t his place to invite the visitor to a meal. That was Red Shirt’s duty or responsibility, depending on how he felt about the man.

  “Little Bear saved me from my brother,” Rachel told her husband, mimicking the punches to her face that had stopped because of him. “I only lost the one tooth,” she said and pointed to her one missing lower tooth. “I would’ve lost them all if ‘he’ had kept hitting me in the face.” She’d never use her brother’s given name again and didn’t want to hear anyone else say it either. She shook her head as she recalled the event years ago. “I’m sure glad you came around that day,” she said.

  Red Shirt glanced at his wife then at Little Bear. Little Bear put his hand down to indicate the size she was when he had intervened. Red Shirt nodded his head; he understood and thanked him. Then he grinned, recalling how he had punished her brother.

  Little Bear saw the grin and knew that he was the one who had buried the man he had come upon the day before. He nodded back and grinned just as big, hoping that Rachel’s husband understood that he had seen his handiwork.

  “What’s going on—did I miss something?” Marty asked. These two men, now three with Number Two joining the unspoken conversation, were nodding and grinning. Well, whatever it was, no one was throwing fists or angry words.

  “So, are you going to be trapping near here?” Morning Star asked, hoping to change the subject to one that was audible and that she understood.

  “Far enough away so I won’t be bothering you and your, um, family,” Little Bear answered, hoping that she would explain her relationship.

  “Oh, Number Two here is my husband now,” she said, her face radiant at recalling how they had become married. “And he was widowed so now I have a daughter, yay high,” she said indicating her height with her hand, “and a son.” She lifted up Baby Brother so Little Bear could get a closer look at the handsome boy, happily gnawing a strip of leather thong.

  “You know, um, Morning Star,” he fumbled, “if your husband and the others trap and get more than they need, I’ll stop by here next spring and take the furs to your father and get what you need in the way of supplies. He won’t know that you’re here. I mean, Marty said he was leaving, and I really don’t believe your men will get as much for their furs as a, um, white man,” he said, embarrassed at calling himself a white man. He sighed then repeated himself in Cherokee although, by the shocked then happy look on Red Shirt’s face, he already understood. He’d have to make sure he didn’t say anything to Morning Star in English that he didn’t want the braves to hear, too.

  Ж

  Red Shirt wound up inviting Little Bear to a dinner of beans with a slice of ham fat added for flavoring. He excused himself after the meal, letting his host know that he wanted to continue on to his trapping grounds. He didn’t need to repeat that he wouldn’t let anyone know he had come upon the white women who were now wives in the tribe; it was understood.

  But, he didn’t want to stay the night with the tribe who, except for the colorful and cranky old women, slept under the stars. No, he didn’t want to be sleeping next to two newlywed couples. Especially since one of the wives, the woman formerly known as Prudence, the bright but bashful woman who he should have asked to marry him the year before, was one of the new brides.

  “One of these days,” he said softly to his mule as he led her away from the camp, “one of these days, I’ll have a woman of my own.”

  16 Milk and Cookies

  gainst all financial and common sense, Little Bear made a detour to civilization rather than head directly to investigate his new trapping grounds. He couldn’t explain it, but ever since he had seen the two young couples and their babies, he had a bad case of Daddy lust. Or husband lust. Or just plain lust. He wanted a woman, but not in the worst way—he wanted one in the best way. He never thought that he, with his rough and chilly trapper’s lifestyle, was good enough for a wife. Last year after he saw how happy Evie was with absolutely no worldly possessions, not even a dress, he realized that it wasn’t the solid structure of a house a woman needed, but a loving and supportive man. Prudence, a lovely, intelligent woman with nice clothes and well-read by the books he had seen at her father’s trading post, was just as unlikely a candidate for a primitive, wet and often cold, outdoors life. But, from the moment he had seen them, he could tell that both women were happy in their rustic existence.

  Yes, maybe a detour to the Pomeroy’s homestead was in order. Jody would know where Evie was. She had lived without a house the winter before he met her and maybe, if Ian had met with tragedy in his vengeance quest and she was now widowed, she would be willing to return to the wilds with him as her husband. All of the sudden, he wanted the mules to travel faster and for longer hours. It felt great to have a personal quest rather than a quota of pelts to pursue.

  Ж

  “Mommy, Mommy, there’s a man coming to see you,” Jenny screamed as she ran up the porch steps.

  “Hold on there,” I said as I braced her by the shoulders to let her catch her breath. “Where is he and did he ask for me by name?” No man had ever called on me that I could recall. “Are you sure he isn’t here for your father or Grandpa Jody or your Grannie?”

  “Nope,” she replied just a little too quickly. She looked around the room, avoiding my eyes, but also looking for something. “Can I give him a cookie?” she asked.

  “Who is he?” I asked. Something wasn’t right or she wouldn’t be so quiet and evasive.

  “I think his name is Small Bear,” she answered hesitantly then looked back at the plate of cookies.

  “Jennnny…” I dragged out her name, giving her the opportunity to explain herself.

  “He didn’t tell me his name,” she admitted, “but I know it’s something like Small Bear. I, um, well, I just know it is. Can I give him a cookie? He’s a nice man and he and his mules have come a long way to get here. He’s a trapper!” she crowed, happy that I wasn’t upset with her.

  “You know things early, don’t you, dear?” I asked. My eldest daughter, Leah, also had ‘the sight,’ the sixth sense, good old ESP. Jenny was my adopted daughter and I had suspected she had it on at least two previous occasions. This was the first time I had asked her about it though. I didn’t know if she even knew she had it.

  Jenny shrugged her shoulders. Knowing things early was natural for her. She had tried telling her brothers, her other brothers from her first family who were dead now, about it but they wouldn’t believe her. She never spoke of it again until today.

  “Small Bear?” I paused. “Do you mean Little Bear?” I asked, excited about the possibility of seeing the first friend I had met in this 18 century.

  “That’s it! He’s almost here! I’ll take him some water, and can he have two cookies? It’s been a long time since he’s had one, um, I’m pretty sure. I mean, he’s a trapper and I don’t think they bake very many cookies.”

  “Let’s just start with one, okay? Now, let me make sure the wee three are still asleep. Oops, too late. Wren’s up and now her brothers are, too.”

  “Mommy, can I take Wren and the cookie and you can take my brothers?” Jenny asked. “He already has water, but I’m sure he’d like to come in and sit down for a while. He’s a nice man, huh, Mommy?” Jenny asked although I was sure that she already knew the answer.

  “Yes, dear. Come on kids; let’s go meet Uncle Little Bear. He knew about you even before I did.”

&
nbsp; Ж

  I didn’t know if Little Bear had stumbled on a rock when he saw me or if he really was so shocked that he almost fainted. I ignored his falter, kind of, and called out, “Hey, there, Little Bear! What brings you out into this neck of the woods?”

  “I was, um, in the neighborhood and thought I’d stop in and see how you and Ian were doing,” he said as he looked around, as casually as a stunned man could, for signs of my first husband.

  “Ian?” Jenny asked. “Why would Daddy’s cousin Ian be here?”

  I cleared my throat and nudged her with my Judah bearing arm, telling her without words to hush. “oh,” she said quietly, taking my hint.

  “Oh, you haven’t met my family,” I said, taking charge of the conversation. “This is Jenny, my adopted daughter, and this is Leo and this is Judah.”

  “And this is Wren,” Jenny added. “And here’s a cookie for you. Do you want to come inside for a drink? We have lots of water but I can make you some raspberry leaf tea. It’s real good especially if it’s got honey in it. We have honey, too. And if you’re going to be here for a while, you can eat dinner with us and meet my Daddy and Grandpa Jody and Grannie. And James and Leah are with Poppi, that’s my other grandpa, so we’ll have more room at the table.” Jenny spouted her greeting and plans for the evening like she was practicing to become an auctioneer.

  Little Bear grinned at the vivacious girl, thought for a moment, then answered, “Yes, I’d love a cup of tea, that is, if it’s not too inconvenient.”

  Jenny’s eyes darted back to me, confused at his words. I nodded, ‘yes, go ahead and make the tea,’ without spoken words then she darted away, Wren’s head bobbing over her shoulder. “Come on in unless you want to unload your mules first,” I said. “The men will be back in a bit. I, um, remarried. Ian kind of left me here. Well, hell,” I exclaimed as I stopped in the trek to the house and turned to face him, “he dumped me here. I mean, Jody and Sarah were, are, great, and it all turned out fine. I met Jody’s son, Wallace, and, well, one thing led to another and he and I wed a few weeks ago when these guys were six-weeks-old.”

  “These are all yours?” he asked with eyes wide. I nodded yes in answer. “And Ian dumped you?” I nodded again.

  Little Bear shook his head in amazement. “It’s easier for me to believe you had three beautiful, healthy babies at the same time than to believe that Ian would be so stupid as to leave you—leave you anywhere, even with family.”

  I shrugged my shoulders; I didn’t want to say anything lest it come out mean or angry. I thought I was pretty much over the hurt but having to relate the story had opened up that old wound again. I guess I really didn’t need to explain it though. He had met Ian, they had spoken at length, and Little Bear probably knew about Ian’s revenge plans long ago.

  Little Bear saw my reluctance to speak so changed the subject. “Just after you and, ahem, just after you left last winter, I met your Uncle Jody. Or is he your father-in-law?”

  I gave a quick laugh and explained, “He’s both my father-in-law and brother-in-law, sort of. You see, Sarah, his wife, is my sister, sort of. We’re related but not by blood. It’s complicated so we just say we’re sisters.” There was no way I was going to let him know that Sarah and I were both time travelers born in the 20 century and that my adult daughter and son-in-law were currently visiting his great-great ever so many times over uncle. It wasn’t pertinent to anything we would be discussing anyway.

  Ж

  Little Bear, Jenny, the babies, and I all spent the afternoon in the kitchen. Jenny peeled the potatoes for the stew and baked another batch of cookies as I nursed all the babies and visited. Little Bear regaled us with his lessons on how to trap and skin a beaver and how dangerous they really were even if they looked innocent. An hour later, Jody and Sarah came back from town with as many goodies as they were able to barter for, followed by Wallace, back for the day from his wood cutting project.

  “Weel, if it isna my messenger. How are ye, Little Bear?” Jody asked as he shared a hearty handshake. “Oh, Evie, I never did tell ye. I, um, met Little Bear jest before I met ye fer the first time. He told me about ye, that ye were with child. Although I dinna think that he ken ye were havin’ three at the same time.”

  “No, definitely not,” Little Bear agreed with a smile.

  There was an awkward moment there when no one spoke. It was obvious to me that we had all started thinking about that time nearly a year ago. If that’s when Jody had met Little Bear, then he knew that Ian and I had been with him only hours before. Shoot, there was probably more to that story and that’s why the men were suddenly tongue-tied. It would be better to ignore the subject than inquire about it. “So, have you got your trapping territory picked out yet? Or do you go back to the same place every year?” I asked, effectively changing the topic and mood of the conversation.

  “Oh, I have a new area this year. I just decided to drop in and visit before I got too busy. I didn’t know that you’d be here but was pretty sure Jody would know where you were.”

  “And you wanted to see her baby, huh?” Jenny popped in. “Only you thought there’d only be one. Boy, were you surprised!”

  Wallace shot her a look, ‘Be respectful, and don’t make fun of someone’s shock.’ Jenny sucked in her lips in embarrassment. Wallace saw that she felt bad; that hadn’t been his intent, so he opened up his arms to her, allowing her the opportunity to crawl into his lap. “Yes, I’ll bet you were surprised to see Evie with four children and a new husband. But, we’re all doing fine. You’re welcome to stay as long as you’d like. I’m sure it gets cold and lonely out there.”

  “Thank you for the offer. I think I’ll take you up on it, at least for the night. I’ll get a fresh start out in the morning.”

  Ж

  After dinner, Wallace walked with Little Bear to the barn. He could tell the man wanted to ask him something but was hesitant. “Is there something you need or want?” he asked.

  “I see you have three milk goats here. I know an Indian family who could really use one. I’d like to trade for one if I could. I, I really don’t know what you need though. You seem to have everything a man could want,” Little Bear said as he looked around at his surroundings, hoping that his admiration for the man’s situation didn’t come across as jealousy.

  “You’re right; I really can’t think of anything we need, so how about if I just give her to you? You said you were giving her to another family?”

  Little Bear nodded. “Actually more than a family, they’re a small tribe. They have several small children and they’re just now recovering from a measles epidemic. I’m not sure how much food they have, but a milk goat would really help them out.”

  “It’s a shame that what is just a childhood disease, a minor inconvenience for white people, has caused so many deaths for the Indians. Yes, I’d be more than happy to help them in my small, humble way. Take your pick of the nannies, and if I don’t see you before you leave, have a safe trip.”

  Little Bear shook Wallace’s hand wholeheartedly. Evie’s husband knew that he would leave early in the morning, before anyone else was awake. Long farewells were uncomfortable for hermits like himself; Wallace must have realized it and had offered his guest the chance to say good-bye the night before departing.

  Ж

  Little Bear was up and ready for the road when Jenny came running out of the house to see him. It was still dark and he thought everyone would still be asleep. “Would you take these to your friends with the children? There’s plenty for you, too. I just thought that they might want some cookies. Is that okay?” Jenny asked hopefully, her eyes blinking back her early morning sleepiness.

  “I’m sure they’ll all appreciate it. That was very thoughtful of you. Would you say good-bye to your family for me?” he asked, embarrassed that he had been caught leaving without bidding farewell to the generous and compassionate family.

  “I will. And, I think I’ll be seeing you and your family again, but not for a
few years. Be safe,” she said, sniffing back the tears. Hopefully, he would think her sadness was just because he was leaving. She couldn’t tell him that there would be more unhappiness for his friends before he had a family of his own. But, she could offer him cookies and good wishes to go with the goat that Daddy had given him.

  Little Bear put the cookies in his daypack then grabbed the smallest of the milk goats and, as gracefully as he could, climbed onto his mule, balancing the terrified nanny across his lap. He started his journey then turned back and gave Jenny another wave good-bye. One of these days, maybe he’d have a daughter, too.

  Jenny waved quickly then ran into the house to her parents and siblings, glad that her Daddy was home—safe and alive.

  Asking Evie for her hand in marriage had been a far-fetched possibility. It was just that he had been so taken with her when they met last winter. He couldn’t help but hope that she was now available. But, he really was glad she had a good family, a home, a real roof over her head, and even a dress to wear. Wallace seemed like a strong man, a gentle giant like his father, and he definitely cared for their children. Yes, it was time to go back to trapping and forget about a wife and family for a few more years.

  Ж

  A few hours later

  “Well, my little lady, it looks like a little udder relief is needed for you. Let’s see if I can still remember how to milk a goat.” Little Bear opened up his pack and pulled out his cooking pot. He let the nanny goat walk around, following behind her, holding her little rope leash, until she found a stand of grass that pleased her. He sat down next to her and hummed a tune. “Will Brahms’s Lullaby work for you?” he asked. He set the pan on the ground under her and continued his melody. He stroked her hair from her neck down her back, eventually running his hands down her sides then under her belly. He stroked her udder then began milking her. “Just like eating pudding. I guess twenty years doesn’t make a difference. Once you’ve milked a goat, you never forget.”