Chapter 93: Be it Ever so Humble

Three big black dogs came charging down the beach. Their target? Me.

Mila and Kordi had apparently missed me and Brin was just joining in the fun. I rolled around a while in a big pile of doggy kisses and furriness, before I grabbed control and told them to behave.

I got to my feet in time to be hit by a little black girl in full flight, receiving a massive wrap-around hug. Michelle was right behind her. Esther was talking non-stop and Michelle was kissing me and I was definitely reeling.

I managed to move not-so-little Esther to one hip and pull Michelle around to the other side for a side hug when the next wave came in. I guess I had been missed. Even Matilda walked right up to me and scowled directly at me. She then winked and gently rubbed her tummy. Damn that woman was an enigma.

So I was home and I had an entire flock of people and geese with me. The first task was to get everyone up to the camp, then we’d organize work parties to bring the gear in. We wouldn’t have the tipis until the men arrived with the livestock in a few days. That meant some people might be sleeping rough. We did have the tents half of the families had been using back in Camp Town. We’d set those up and pack them with people as needed.

We organized everyone in a column and started the walk to the camp. Patrick and the boat crew stayed behind; they’d be setting up a small camp down there and had everything they needed for the night. Timmons had that under control.

Arrival at our actual campsite was a different story altogether. Complete mayhem, is what I’d call it, and there was no helping it. There would be a lot of confusion, probably for quite a while, until I got to talk to the adults directly. The children, on the other hand, had been cooped up in the boat too long and they basically ran wild. There were women chasing children, who were chasing chickens, who were fleeing for their lives.

The discovery of the chicks brought everything to the point that I thundered “Stop!”

Everyone froze, even Matilda.

“Ladies, please gather your children.” I instructed, “Do that now.”

It worked.

“Sonya, please show the children the chicks, a family at a time.” She moved to round the chicks up.

“Matilda, please get a few ladies to help prepare supper for the group.” She looked around and a few childless ladies stepped forward.

“Holder, Amos, please take the mules and the llama and head down to the landing to gather our gear.” The fellas got in motion.

Now the hard part.

“Michelle, Mouse, Banshee, Mary, come with me.” And I walked off towards the stream.

I didn’t say a word until we got to the bridge and then I simply said, “Michelle first.”

I sat down and lit a cigarette and waited for Michelle to settle next to me. There was a lot to explain, but this first pass was going to have to be quick. I needed her to flex a little here.

“Michelle, some crazy shit happened on my trip.”

“Well, that much is obvious,” she snarkily replied.

“Look, I was grievously injured and not aware of the customs of the Pawnee. Things happened that I didn’t even know were happening. The infection was pretty severe and I was really out of it.”

“OK, you were out of it. But what’s that got to do with those three?” she angrily responded.

“Well, the two Pawnee I kinda traded for. They’re my wives.”