Moccasin Square Gardens
By The Same Author
Novels:
The Lesser Blessed
Short Stories:
Angel Wing Splash Pattern
The Moon of Letting Go
Godless but Loyal to Heaven
Night Moves
Novellas:
Whistle
When We Play Our Drums, They Sing!
Comics and Graphic Novels:
Path of the Warrior
A Blanket of Butterflies
Kiss Me Deadly
Three Feathers
The Blue Raven
Spirit
Children’S Books:
A Man Called Raven
What’s the Most Beautiful Thing You Know About Horses?
Baby Board Books:
Welcome Song for Baby: A Lullaby for Newborns
Nighty-Night: A Bedtime Song for Babies
Little You
We Sang You Home
Kiss by Kiss: A Counting Book for Families
Tributes:
Our Stories Help the Northern Lights Dance
Solus: Kent Williams
Moccasin Square Gardens
Richard Van Camp
Short Stories
Douglas & McIntyre
Copyright © 2019 Richard Van Camp
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without prior permission of the publisher or, in the case of photocopying or other reprographic copying, a licence from Access Copyright, www.accesscopyright.ca, 1-800-893-5777, [email protected].
Douglas and McIntyre (2013) Ltd.
P.O. Box 219, Madeira Park, BC, V0N 2H0
www.douglas-mcintyre.com
Edited by Barbara Pulling
Copy edited by Cheryl Cohen
Cover design by Anna Comfort O’Keeffe and Richard Van Camp
Cover illustration based on Tessa Macintosh photograph of Dene beadwork on moccasin upper, ca. 1987 (artist unknown).
Text design by Carleton Wilson
Printed and bound in Canada
Printed on 100% post-consumer fibres
Douglas and McIntyre (2013) Ltd. acknowledges the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, which last year invested $153 million to bring the arts to Canadians throughout the country.
Nous remercions le Conseil des arts du Canada de son soutien. L’an dernier, le Conseil a investi 153 millions de dollars pour mettre de l’art dans la vie des Canadiennes et des Canadiens de tout le pays.
We also gratefully acknowledge financial support from the Government of Canada and from the Province of British Columbia through the BC Arts Council and the Book Publishing Tax Credit.
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Title: Moccasin Square Gardens : short stories / Richard Van Camp.
Names: Van Camp, Richard, 1971- author.
Identifiers: Canadiana (print) 20190055294 | Canadiana (ebook) 20190055308 | ISBN 9781771622165 (softcover) | ISBN 9781771622172 (HTML)
Classification: LCC PS8593.A5376 M63 2019 | DDC C813/.54—dc23
I’m going to dedicate this collection to the Fort Smith “Smoking Tree” across from PWK High School, my old high school. The gossip there was so hot that a lightning strike had to take the tree out before it split the universe in two. Also, to the Fort Smith Christmas Tree, who radiates inside and reaches now in memory to all who witnessed her. And to the memory of the Slave River Journal. I miss you so.
As well, I’d like to dedicate this book to the memory of Trevor Evans. Brother of my heart. Called home way too soon.
“First punch has to be real good.” —My mom
Contents
Aliens 11
Super Indians 25
Wheetago War I: Lying in Bed Together 41
Wheetago War II: Summoners 55
The Promise 69
Man Babies 85
I Am Filled with a Trembling Light 107
Ehtsèe/Grandpa 129
Knock Knock 151
I Have to Trust 155
AfterWords 157
About the Author 160
Aliens
I wanna tell you a beautiful story, and I’ve been waiting for somebody very special to tell it to. I guess it’s no secret now: the Star People are here. We can see a ship way up high: its outline. No lights. It’s like a big, dark, oblong stone in the sky. Most people just watch TV or Facebook now, waiting for something to happen. Some people call the ships obelisks. Apparently, there’s a huge one miles high over every continent, and the oceans are boiling. Gently, though, so no fish are dying. There’s a simmering to the water, and scientists are saying that the oceans and rivers are being cleansed. It’s like the Star People—that’s what our Elders call them—are helping us.
Church bells all over the world chime every hour on the hour now, but I’m not sure why. One of the young men here one night got drunk and took his dad’s rifle and shot at the ship. When he woke up he didn’t have any hair. It was all there, right on his pillow. He wasn’t hurt; he’s just … embarrassed.
Some of us—like me—I still go to work. The Star People are here, but the bills don’t stop. Plus you gotta get out of the house, right? You gotta check the mail and get groceries, hey?
Many of us left Fort Smith only to return to the NWT years later. We went off to college, or university, or trade schools. Many of us have found relationships, lost relationships, refound love. People have raised their children—some people I went to school with are grandparents now.
And I’m so proud of them. Nothing beats a Christmas concert at JBT Elementary on December 17 every year, right? ’Cause you look around onstage and you see the kids; you feel the pride in the room, that these are our families. We’ve raised them together. The people I went to school with, they’re the teachers of my children, my niece, my nephews right now, and we’re all doing great. Everyone’s healthy in my family, as far as I know, and I’m so grateful for that.
There’s one man who never really left town, and—I’m gonna call him Jimmy for the sake of this story. So Jimmy’s family owns the hardware store, and he’s always been quiet. He’s always been gentle.
My grandfather once cured a relation of Jimmy’s. My grandfather was a holy man. His name was Edzazii. No English. A very traditional Tłı̨chǫ Dene man. And they say my grandfather pulled a hummingbird of fire out of a little boy’s mouth, from under his tongue. And he showed that little boy this little bird that had been living in his mouth. And he explained this was the reason that little boy couldn’t speak like other people. This was why his voice kept locking. And hundreds of people saw this little hummingbird that my grandfather pulled out of this little boy’s mouth, and my ehtsèe let that little bird go over Marion Lake. They saw my ehtsèe’s power. When that bird of fire left, it flew like a .30-30 shot, and it exploded into sound and sparks. And my grandfather walked all the way back to that little boy, and he said, “Now speak.” That little boy started to speak—and they said his knees were just shaking. And that little boy never stuttered again. That was Jimmy’s dad. And they say every time he prays, he thanks my grandfather for releasing that little bird from his mouth.
So I guess you can say me and Jimmy are related in the medicine way.
Jimmy’s always been in the background of our community. He’s always been a mystery. He’s always been cruising around by himself. He’s always standing, leaning against the back wall at the Christmas concert. Never goes up to dance at any of the gatherings. Never comes into the drum dance, now that the tea dance is back and the drum dance is back. Never participates in hand games. He wil
l go for a burger, but he’ll be last in line at Aboriginal Day or Canada Day. He’ll wait around for, you know, the second run at the fish fry. He’s never been one to go to the front. And I used to wonder about him. I always wondered, like, Why didn’t you leave? Like, weren’t you ever curious about the city? When did you decide to live a quiet, gentle life?
’Cause the worry, from my point of view, was that his was a forgettable life. Because, who knew you? Who did you ever love? Who did you ever—who did you ever give yourself to? I always worried about that with him. I always wondered about that.
Well, little while ago, my niece was in the hardware store looking for lights. ’Member, there was that big rebate: if you switch your house to LED lights, you get, you know, free LED lights, and all that. Some government thing.
And so my niece is in there one day, and Jimmy walks up to her and he says, “Uh, hi,” he says. (We’ll call my niece Shandra. She’s twenty-five now.) “Hi, Shandra,” he says. “Can I help you?” and she says, “Oh, I’m looking for these LED lights—the government’s giving a rebate?” And he says, “Oh, yeah. They sold out really quick, but we have more in the storage room.” And she says, “Oh.” He says, “I’ll go … I’ll go get ’em for you.” She says, “Oh, thanks.”
So he come back after a while with the LED lights and he said, “Well, I was wondering what you’re doing tonight.” And she said, “Oh, uh, I don’t know. I’m just taking it easy, I guess.” And he said, “Well, I was wondering if I could take you out for supper.” And she said, “Oh! Why?” And he said, “Well, I’d like to just—take you out for supper and get to talk with you.” And she said, “Oh, like a date?” And he got really shy and he goes, “Well, if you wanna call it that.” And so she said, “Oh, well, wow, yeah, what a surprise—okay, sure!” And he goes, “Well, do you want me to pick you up in my truck?” And she said, “Oh, no, I’ll just walk there.” And he says, “Oh, I’d love to pick you up in my truck.” And she says, “Oh, no. It’s okay, Jimmy, I’ll—I’ll just walk there.”
’Cause she didn’t want the town to see them driving around, right? ’Cause this is serious business, right? My niece knows her way. In a small town, how you arrive to a date is very serious. Also, which part of the restaurant you take your date to. Do you go on the café side, or do you go to the fancy side?
So he said, “Uh, okay, ah, so, tonight, six o’clock?” And she said, “Okay, well, I’ll meet you there.” And he goes, “Well, you know, do you want reservations under my name or yours?” And she said, “Oh! Well, uh, maybe yours, Jimmy,” and he said, “Okay,” and he goes, “So six o’clock: reservations under my name.” And he said, “I want you to know it’s on me. Anything that you want. This is really special to me, and I want it to be special for you.” And she said, “Are you serious? Like you’re talkin’ steak and lobster?” And he goes, “Whatever you want.” And she said, “Oh, I was just kidding. I would never order steak and lobster.” And he goes, “Well, we should. We should order steak and lobster!” She says, “Wow, Jimmy, this is … this is really—sweet. Okay.” “Okay, well, I’ll see you there,” he goes. “Maybe after we could go to the landslide and watch the Star People. At around ten o’clock there’s a hum to the ship you can feel in the earth,” he says. “Like, if you take off your shoes.” And she says, “Oh, well now: we’ll see. I should go.”
She was really flustered. And he goes, “Well, don’t you want your LED lights?” And she said, “Uh, I just, I need to think about this.” And he goes, “Well, what’s to think about?” And she said, “It’s just that, um, a lot of people who ask me out on dates, it’s not because they want me. It’s because they want my friend Roberta.”
And I guess he said, “Roberta? I don’t know Roberta. I don’t really wanna know her. I mean I’m happy she’s your best friend, but,” he said, “I’m interested in you.” And she said, “Well, you have to excuse me. I’m really surprised, ’cause you never really talked to me before.” And he says, “Well, we say hi.” And she goes, “Well, yeah, but barely. I don’t want to make you feel bad or anything. It’s just, I’m nervous. It’s been a while since anybody’s asked me out.” And he said, “Well, I’m really surprised to hear that.” And she goes, “Well, it’s true.” And he goes, “I promise you, I’m not after Roberta,” he says. “I’m after you.”
That made her pause, I guess. And then she’s like, “Well, you know, Jimmy, if we go for a date, this changes everything. You realize that.” And he goes, “Well, that’s what I’m counting on.” “Son of a gun,” she said. “Okay, well, I’m gonna go. I want to get a little dressed up for tonight.” And he goes, “Well, I’ll get dressed up, too.” And she says, “Okaaaay. So, see you tonight at six.” And he goes, “Well, what are we gonna do about these LED lights?” And she says, “Well, let’s see how this date goes.” And he says, “Oh! Okay—well, they’ll be waitin’ here for you.” And she says, “Well, never mind that. I gotta go home and get ready.”
Right, so, what she did was she went home, and she started calling around to all of us aunties, and she asked us, “What do you know about Jimmy? Like, why is he alone? Why’s he been alone?”
Nobody could come up with anything. And she said, “Listen, don’t tell anybody, but I’m going on a date with him.” And we’re like “Gasp! Oh my God! As soon as it’s over you have to call!” Right? “Let us know what he’s like, whether it’s tomorrow morning or at seven thirty tonight when you come home.” This was better than The Young and the Restless! She said, “Okay, okay, but don’t tell anybody!” And we said, “To our graves. To our graves!” Top secret, but we were on speakerphone crossing our fingers, hey? Yep.
So, she got a little gussied up, and she went to the Pelican, and sure enough Jimmy was there. And he was dressed up: nice long-sleeved shirt that he’d ironed, slacks and a thin black belt. He even wore suit shoes, she told us later.
She’d never seen him like this before. Nobody had. He was a new man. And they ordered. He insisted that they order the steak and lobster, I guess. And they had ginger ale mixed with cranberry juice—Indian champagne, we call it. Yep. They had a really beautiful supper. And at some point she said to Jimmy, “Well, now that I’ve got you all to myself, like, I wanna ask you something.” And he said, “Anything you want.” So she said, “You’ve always lived, like, a gentle, quiet life. Didn’t you ever want to leave?” And he said, “Not really.” And so she says, “Well, like, aren’t you curious about the city?” And he says, “No.” And she says, “Well, do you ever go down to Edmonton?” And he goes, “Oh, I go down once or twice a year, and I get, you know, some new clothes and a haircut, and, maybe I’ll go to a concert or a hockey game.” And she goes, “Well, do you ever travel with anyone?” And he said, “No, I just go by myself.” And she says, “So have you always been a loner?” And he goes, “Well, kind of.” And so she says, “The thing is—I’m just, I’m sitting here with you, and I realize I’ve known you my whole life, but I don’t really know you.” And he says, “Well, I’m hoping that will change tonight.”
And so they started to talk, and they started to visit, and they went back through elementary and PWK High School memories and all this other stuff, all the experiences they’d shared. But she got to see it through his eyes. And she learned he’d had a really rough time growing up. He was bullied a lot. He wasn’t very athletic. You know, Smith is a hockey town; it’s a baseball town. And he’d never really wanted to party. Jimmy was never into smoking, or drinking, or toking, or anything like that. He liked his country music, he told her, like George Jones, and Hank, and, you know, the oldies and the goldies.
And so they had the most beautiful meal, and apparently he insisted they get warm apple pie and ice cream and coffee. And they were just—on this island, together. And she started thinking, This could be it. This could be the one. And he was here all along. How could I have missed Jimmy?
So, finally, now, he says, “Well, can I give you a ride in my truck?” And she says, “Sur
e. Where do you wanna go?” And he goes, “Well, you wanna go for a cruise to the landslide, or you want me to drop you off at home, or you wanna come back to my place?” And she says, “Do you live in the back of the hardware store or behind it?” And he said, “Oh, I live on—I live above the, you know, the, uh, store.” And she goes, “You live on top of there?” And he says, “Oh, it’s beautiful. I’ve got a wide-open concept, and I’ve got a big-screen TV, and I can see the church, and the northern lights, and I can look over and see the banks of the Slave River. I can’t see the Sky People from my window, but it’s still pretty sweet.” And she said, “Are you serious? I had no idea that there was a home above there.” And he goes, “Oh, it makes sense. People try and break in all the time now.” She says, “I didn’t know that.” And he says, “Oh, yeah. So any time I hear somebody messing around I go runnin’ down there. I got a bullhorn, and I usually scare people away. Most of the town here, they’re pretty good, but, you know, every once in a while you get people who are drinking, and they’re trying to get into the cash register, and, you know, drugs are really big in our town now.” And she said, “Oh, I had no idea. Well, I gotta see your house. I wanna see how you decorate.” And he says, “Okay.”
So they drive to his house and then they get out and he says, “Well, let me go up and I’ll turn on all the lights for you and I’ll call you.” So she waited at the bottom of the stairs around the back. And she’s like, “Son of a gun. Well, now I’ll find out. Is he a hoarder? Is he cheap? Is his place stinky?”
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