by Linda Bridey
Rachel’s eyes searched his face. “Why would you want anything to do with someone like me? I do horrible things.”
Will’s smile was kind, but there was no pity in it. “Rachel, you used to do things like that. I really didn’t know you back then, but from what I see now, I can tell that you’re not the same person.”
“I’ve tried to change, to be a better person, Will. I realized how wrong I was about a lot of things, and I don’t want to be like that anymore,” Rachel said as she gazed intently into his eyes.
“You are a good person, Rachel. You’ve admitted your mistakes and now you have to put them behind you and move ahead,” Will told her.
“I know. Thank you for being so understanding.”
He smiled. “I try to be. Rachel, I promise to never cheat on you or lie to you. You’ll always know where you stand with me and I don’t play games.”
Rachel read the honesty in his handsome face and smiled. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Now, I’d better walk you home before we get in trouble again,” he said.
She laughed. “I think you’re right. It’s not my fault you’re so handsome.”
“It’s not my fault you’re so beautiful,” Will said as his eyes met hers. “Ok. We need to go.”
Rachel saw his desire shimmering in his eyes and said, “Yes. I think that would be best.”
When they reached the Taylors’, Will said he wanted to come in for a few minutes to talk to Mitch about something. The sheriff sat in the kitchen drinking coffee while he read a file of some sort. Will sat down at the table and Mitch put the file aside.
“Hi, Will.”
“Hi, Mitch,” Will said. He was suddenly nervous. “For all intents and purposes, you’re Rachel’s father and so it’s only right that I come to you about this. I would like your permission to court Rachel.”
Mitch put on his sheriff’s face and asked, “So you really like her?”
“Yes, sir.”
“And you’ll be good to her?”
“Yes, sir.”
Mitch arched an eyebrow at him. “You’ll treat her with respect?”
“Yes, sir.”
Mitch pretended to consider Will’s request. He respected the heck out of Will for asking permission even though it wasn’t really necessary. It told Mitch that Will had been raised right, which he already knew anyway. “All right, then. You may court her,” he said finally, when he figured Will had squirmed enough.
Will laughed in relief and held out a hand to Mitch. “Thank you, Mitch.”
Mitch shook hands with him and said, “You’re welcome,” as he grinned.
“Ok. Well, I’ll say goodnight now. Goodnight,” Will said.
“Ok. Goodnight,” Mitch said as Will hurried from the room. He chuckled to himself over Will’s excitement. He was happy for Rachel. She was getting a good guy. Mitch was glad that things were working out so far for Rachel. He was optimistic that things were looking up for her.
Chapter Six
The late summer sun felt good to Aiyana as it beat down on her shoulders and face. Like many people, sitting on the huge rock ledge that overlooked the river was calming to her. Being in camp was always fun, and right now it was much better being there than at home. She didn’t want to be bothered with her parents any more than she had to be. Her father was a hypocrite and her mother just didn’t understand.
She missed Mason terribly. He was so funny and sweet to her even though, to others, he seemed angry at the world sometimes. Thinking about the argument she’d had with Marcus the night he’d caught her and Mason made her angry all over again. It had been a horrible night and things hadn’t been much better since.
There were days when she barely spoke to them because there was nothing she wanted to say to them that hadn’t already been said. They weren’t changing their minds and neither was she. She stayed in the house and did what was required of her and that was it. At meals, there was none of the usual conversation between her and her parents.
Anthony knew the situation and seemed to try to make up for the silence by conversing about whatever came to mind. Aiyana couldn’t care less. She listlessly ate some of her food and then helped clean up. Then she went to her room and either wrote in her journal or read until bedtime.
A teardrop fell from her eyes and landed on one of her tanned legs, since she wore one of her Lakota dresses that left her calves bare. She knew that everyone in the family knew about the situation and she stayed away from them, too. She didn’t want to talk about it because they were all on her parents’ side. What was the point?
Black Fox, former chief of the Lakota tribe and Marcus’ oldest brother, watched his niece from the entrance of the trail as he emerged from the trees. He saw the way her shoulders slumped and thought he heard her sniff as though she were crying. As fierce as he was in battle and as formidable in council meetings, the chief was always moved by women’s tears. It was true that when it came to his family, he was a softie. It had always been so.
He looked skyward and prayed, Great Spirit, give me the words that will help me comfort my niece. His long strides quickly took him to Aiyana’s side and he sat down by her.
Aiyana swiped at the tears on her cheeks and kept her head bowed. Her uncle didn’t say anything and after a time, she looked over at him. To those who didn’t know him, he could be an imposing man, but to her and many others, he was a source of wisdom and moral support, not to mention amusement.
“What makes you cry, child?” he asked in Lakota.
“Uncle, you know what upsets me,” she responded.
He shrugged. “I know of the situation, but nothing specific from your point of view.”
“My point of view does not matter.”
“It does to me,” Black Fox said, as he took her much smaller hand in his and gave it a gentle squeeze.
Aiyana shook her head. “I did nothing wrong. It was just a kiss. Everyone acts like I committed some big sin, something horrible to be ashamed of.”
Black Fox chuckled. “I remember what that was like.”
“You do?”
He arched an eyebrow at her. “I was young once, you know. I know this is hard to believe, but it is true.”
Aiyana smiled. “Yes, it is hard to believe.”
He squeezed her hand harder until she said, “Ow!”
He eased the pressure and smiled. “You are at a difficult age, niece. You are not quite a woman, but you are certainly not a child. Yes, it was just a kiss, but I am sure there have been many more kisses. Is that not true?”
Aiyana looked down at her lap. “Yes.”
Black Fox nudged his niece and said, “The problem with kisses is they lead to other things.”
She laughed and blushed at this statement. “I know that, but I would never let it go that far and Mason is always a gentlemen.”
Black Fox grunted. It was a doubtful sound.
Aiyana’s temper flared and she said, “He is!” as anger flashed in her gray eyes.
“I am not sure that your definition of a gentleman and mine are the same.”
“Oh?” she said, and arched an eyebrow.
“Sneaking around is not gentlemanly behavior.”
“Well, what else were we supposed to do? We knew that if anyone knew about us, we would just be forbidden to see each other and that is exactly what happened!” she shouted.
“Perhaps if Mason had asked permission to spend time with you, it would have been granted.”
Aiyana snorted. “I doubt it. It does not matter now. Nothing matters. I must do as I am told until I go to college. I do not even care about that anymore.”
“So you are not going now?”
“Why should I?”
“I thought you wanted to be a doctor.”
She remained silent.
“Ah, I see. You think you can get revenge upon your father by not becoming a doctor since he has been excited you wanted to be one. Is that correct?” Black Fox asked.
> “Why should I do anything to please him when he has done nothing to please me? I might as well be a captive. And he has no right to punish me when he saw girls when he was sixteen! I will be sixteen soon. He is a hypocrite!”
Black Fox nodded. “Parents often are.”
That surprised her. “What?”
“It is true. Parents are hypocrites. We all are. I am one, your parents are– all parents are hypocrites,” he said.
“I do not understand.”
“Parents do not want their children to make the same mistakes they did, so we tell our children to not do the stupid things we did. Children take this as being told what to do, but it really is for your own good. If we did not love you, we would not try to keep you from doing such things,” he said.
“I understand that, but how is seeing Mason making a mistake?”
“Do you love him?”
Aiyana blushed. “Yes.”
Black Fox grunted.
She threw him a suspicious look. “What? You are not going to tell me that I do not know what love is? That I am too young to know what it is?”
“No. I am not. I think you do know what love is. This love, if it is true, will only grow over time. What will you do when you go away to college? You will still be young. Will he wait for you? What if you meet someone at school?”
“I do not know! That is a long time away!”
“Not so long. You will have to make a decision when the time comes. Mike tried to have a girlfriend while going to school and she cheated on him. That is why he has decided to not have a serious relationship until he is done with school. He does not feel that it would be fair to someone to wait while he is away at school. Look at how hard it was for your father to be away from everyone here for those four months. It will be the same with Mason. You will have to choose love or going to school.”
“You do not know that,” Aiyana said. “Mason would wait.”
“You are right. I do not know it for sure, but there is a good chance that he would find someone else here,” Black Fox said.
“So I am supposed to break up with him? I am not allowed to see anyone?” Aiyana asked. “How is that fair to me?”
“It is not about being fair. It is about a decision. Which are you willing to sacrifice? Do you want to give up being a doctor to be with Mason or do you want to give up Mason to be a doctor? You will have to choose which path to take.”
“What if we get married and he goes with me?” Aiyana asked.
“You know he will not do that, so why ask ‘what if’ about it?”
Aiyana burned with anger. “So I have to give up happiness?” Her voice was very loud.
“No. You must decide which will make you happier,” Black Fox said.
“No. My future is being decided for me,” Aiyana said. “I have no say. No one cares about how I feel. It is like I am a servant, someone to order around. I have to do what they want me to, when they want me to, and how they want me to. I hate it. I do not care anymore. If I cannot have any say in my future then I do not care about what happens to me.”
Black Fox sighed. “So this Mason means this much to you?”
“Yes and no. I love him, but this is really about my feelings not being considered. And I have no privacy. The whole family knows about this now and it is embarrassing. All of the adults agree with my parents, so I have no one to talk to about it. No one who is on my side.”
“I am on your side. So if you were allowed to see Mason, would that make you feel better?”
“Yes, but that is not going to happen.”
Black Fox grunted. “We will see.”
Aiyana looked at him quickly. “What do you mean?”
“We will see. That is all I will say.”
Aiyana knew her uncle well enough to know that it would be pointless to try to get any more out of him. A tiny seed of hope began to bloom inside of her, but she kept it from fully blossoming in case nothing came of Black Fox’s statement.
*****
Marcus looked up from his desk and jerked in surprise to see Black Fox standing in the doorway of the office in the medical clinic.
“Hi. Wow. I wasn’t expecting to see you here. You’ve never come here before,” he said with a smile.
Black Fox moved into the office and grunted. “I find myself doing many things I never thought I would do.” He shut the office door and then sat in a chair.
Marcus leaned back in his chair. “This must be important if you came here. What’s going on?”
“I am here on your daughter’s behalf.”
Marcus frowned. “Did she put you up to this?”
“No one puts me up to anything,” Black Fox answered.
Marcus nodded. Black Fox could be persuaded, but never forced. “Ok. Go on.”
“Do you forget what it is like to be young and in love?”
“No, but it was different, Black Fox.”
“Why?”
“Now you sound like Aiyana,” Marcus said, feeling his frustration level rise.
“Why is it different?”
“It just is.”
“Brother, answer the question. Do not evade it. Why? What is your reasoning?”
Marcus said, “Because I couldn’t get pregnant.”
“So because you were not a woman, it was all right to have a relationship? To have a physical relationship?” Black Fox asked.
The doctor grimaced. “Not all right, exactly.”
“Need I remind you how you came to have Aiyana?” Black Fox said with an arched eyebrow. “You did not get pregnant, but Redtail did.”
“Exactly. I don’t want any of our kids to have a child with anyone other than their spouse. Look, you don’t know Mason. He’s a good kid most of the time, but he’s unpredictable and his temper is volatile,” Marcus said. “I just don’t know that I want him around Aiyana.”
“So if it were some other boy?”
“No. I don’t want her seeing anyone. She’s too young,” Marcus said.
“Young, she may be, but she is not stupid. She has learned well from her parents. So your main objection is that you do not want her to become pregnant?”
“Yes.”
“What if I can guarantee such a thing will not occur?” Black Fox said. “Then would she be allowed to see him under certain conditions until she is a little older?”
Marcus laughed. “You can’t guarantee something like that.”
Black Fox grinned. “Yes, I can. Would you allow her to see him under certain conditions?”
“What are these conditions?”
“They would have to adhere to Lakota courtship rules. They would be allowed to see each other, but must remain in sight and not be touching.”
Marcus laughed again. “Who’s gonna supervise them?”
“Me.”
“You’re gonna supervise these visits?”
“How many times must I explain it? I will supervise these visits until Aiyana is seventeen, but do not worry; I will guarantee you that Mason will not ever cross the line,” Black Fox said.
“I still don’t see how.”
“Do you trust me or do you not?” Black Fox demanded.
Marcus said, “It’s not about trust, it’s about the fact that if you’re not there, you can’t prevent anything.”
“I do not need to be anywhere but in his mind,” Black Fox said. “I believe white people call it ‘putting the fear of God into him’.”
Marcus smiled, then he grinned, then he broke out into laughter. Black Fox laughed with him. “So you’re gonna put the fear of God into Mason? Well, I have to say that if anyone can it’s you.”
“So then you will leave this matter up to me?” Black Fox said.
“I will discuss it with Claire and let you know,” Marcus said.
“Very well. Now I must go to the store for my second wife,” Black Fox said. “I asked Dean the other day if he was sure this baby was his.”
Marcus laughed. “I can just imagine what he said.�
�
“He said if it comes out looking like an Indian baby, I would be a dead chief,” Black Fox said with a grin as he rose from his chair.
*****
The next day, Sammi was shocked to see Black Fox on their porch when she answered the door.
“Hi. Well, this is a surprise. C’mon in, chief,” she said.
He came through the doorway and looked around at the house. It was nice for a house, but he would always prefer a tipi. “I need to speak with Mason.”
“Mason? What do you want with him?” Sammi said.
“You will see. I hope you are in the mood for some entertainment, Warrior Woman,” Black Fox said.
Sammi smiled, both at the use of her Lakota name and the mischief that lit his dark eyes. “Ok. I can always use entertainment. Mason!” she hollered up the stairs. “Mason! Come down here!”
The boy appeared at the top of the stairs.
“You have company,” Sammi said.
Mason’s eyes grew huge at the sight of Black Fox standing in the foyer.
“Come here,” Black Fox said, with a wave of his hand.
Mason looked from his mother to the chief, but didn’t move.
“Now!” Black Fox thundered.
Mason’s feet brought him quickly down the stairs. Black Fox backed Mason up to the wall and towered over him. “Do you still want to see my niece?”
“Y-yes, s-sir,” the boy stammered.
“Then you will come to the camp three times a week to see her. You will remain in my eyesight and you will not touch her. I will stay far enough away to give you privacy.” Black Fox moved closer until only a few inches separated them. “But if you ever think of doing anything ungentlemanly to her, anything that would interfere with her going to college, you better think again, because I have not forgotten how to scalp someone and a yellow scalp always looks good on a tipi. Do you understand what I speak of?”
Mason flushed a bright shade of red.
“I see that you do. Make no mistake– I love my niece and I will protect her at all costs from anyone, even the son of the sheriff,” Black Fox said. “Do you give your word that you will agree to this arrangement?”
Mason mulled it over. Seeing Aiyana outside of school even three times a week was better than not seeing her at all. He couldn’t speak, but he nodded vigorously.