Chapter 19

Cupping a match in his curled fingers to protect it from a light wind, William lit a cigarette. He shook his hand putting out the match and dropped the extinguished stick into a bucket. Holding up a hand, he said, "The screen door will slam in a minute."

Despite the warning, Dale jumped when the screen door slammed shut making a noise like a rifle shot. He said, "I'm glad you warned me."

"The cook takes out the trash every night about this time. It used to startle me every time I heard that door slam shut," William said.

Dale took a drag off his cigarette and studied his friend. William looked satisfied with his life. Pleased to see it, he said, "It seems to me that you've settled in here okay."

"Yes, I guess I have."

Patrick took a drag off his cigarette and then exhaled. Feeling a little dizzy from the effects of the tobacco, he asked, "Was there a problem settling in?"

"It's always a little difficult moving into a new place," Dale answered.

"I wouldn't know about that. I've lived in the same place my whole life," Patrick said with a slightly wistful tone in his voice.

"How's your sister adjusting to married life?" William asked.

Patrick laughed and said, "I think her husband is beginning to realize that he should have learned how to run faster. We had them over for dinner and I swear that he ate enough food to last a month."

"Why? Can't they afford food?" William asked.

"No, my sister is a horrible cook," Patrick said with a wink.

Someone opened the door to the house and the sounds of a party spilled out. Dale said, "Maybe we should head back into the party. I'm pretty sure that we'll be missed if we stay out here much longer."

"We can finish our smokes," William said looking out at the moonlit desert. He sighed and said, "Daddy Ed loves the desert. It really does grow on you."

"Yes, it does. I really missed it when I went off to college. Being away from here for five years was hard," Dale said. It seemed that he had a difficult time getting a feel for the land at the Native American College.

"I don't know about that. I've never really been away from here," Patrick said. He wondered if he was ever going to get off the reservation. Television presented a whole different world to him than he had ever experienced. It was his hope that he'd get to experience it one day.

"What are your plans for college?" William asked.

Patrick frowned at the question. He knew that he had told William before his plans for college. He answered, "I'm going to the community college. It is the only option that we can afford."

Dale studied Patrick for a moment pleased to see that William had been correct. He said, "You're not too happy about that."

"Not really," Patrick answered. He didn't want to complain. His father was working hard to improve the standard of living for the entire family and life was getting better. Opportunities were opening up for him. He stared off at the horizon and added, "It does bother me a bit. I'd like to get out and see the world. I feel trapped here on the reservation."

Dale and William exchanged a look. William grinned and said, "That can be corrected."

"Yes, that can be corrected," Dale said with a grin.

Patrick looked from one to the other with concern. Not quite sure that he wanted to know the answer, he asked, "What does that mean?"

"You'll see," William said. He put his cigarette out in a bucket of sand that had been placed there for that purpose. The person who washed his clothes had gotten tired of discovering that he had left cigarette butts in the back pocket of his pants.

"Should I be concerned?" Patrick asked while William led him back to the house.

Dale put an arm around Patrick and asked, "Have we ever tricked you?"

"Uh, yes."

William winked at Dale and said, "Then I guess you should be concerned."

Standing at the buffet, William was busy loading a plate with food. He was pretty impressed with the spread that Peter had managed to put together for this party. He looked at the little handmade miniature tacos and took a couple of them. He scooped a small serving of refried beans on the plate. Next to the refried beans were the miniature enchiladas.

A very large man with his hair braided down to the middle of his back approached William. There was a large feather in his braid. He stopped a few steps away from William and waited for the young man to notice him. It was a minute before William noticed him and, somewhat embarrassed, said, "I'm sorry, Daniel Coyote Paw. I didn't see you there. Am I in your way?"

"No, Talks With Animals. I have come to talk with you," Daniel said. For such a large man, he felt very nervous approaching William.

"Ah. Well, grab a plate and load up with some of this food. We can talk while filling our stomachs," William said. He looked over at the small tortilla topped with beans, lettuce, and cheese. Excited he said, "Look at that! He even made miniature tostadas!"

"Interesting," Daniel said while grabbing a plate. He had actually expected fancier food than what was being served, but on looking around he realized that the teenagers were really going wild over the selection.

"It took me thirty minutes to decide between the Taco Hut, the Burger Burner, and the Squid Shack. I decided that I'd do them all," William said looking down at his plate of food. Looking over at Daniel he added, "When I'm done with that, I'm going to hit the Dairy Bar and have one of those Banana Splits. They've got those little bananas that are about three inches long. There are three small scoops of ice cream -- chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry ice cream smothered with crushed pineapple, strawberry topping, and chocolate sauce. It is then totally smothered with whipped cream and cherries on top."

Daniel looked at William for a second and then put a couple of the small tacos on his plate. He figured that was enough to be polite, although the Banana Split did sound good. He said, "Maybe I'll get one after I eat a bit more."

William looked at Daniel's plate and asked, "Is that all you're getting?"

"For now," the man answered realizing that the small plate in his large hands looked a little ridiculous.

"Let's go over there where it is a little quieter and you can tell me what you want to discuss," William said indicating a table that was a little off to the side by pointing to it with his nose.

Daniel followed William to the table and sat down after William took a seat. He said, "I want to thank you for throwing this graduation party. It was very kind of you to think of our children like that."

"It was my pleasure. They are a good group of kids," William said. He bit into one of the miniature tacos, taking half of it in one bite.

Daniel was finding it harder to get to the reason he had sought out William than he had anticipated. He blurted out, "My oldest daughter is having a baby and we'd like you to preside at the naming ceremony."

"Okay," William said. He eyed the rest of his taco. Before putting it in his mouth, he asked, "When and where?"

"Uh, the baby hasn't been born yet. We are expecting her to have it around the eighth of June," Daniel said.

William pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number. When Barbara answered, he said, "Hello, Barbara. This is William. Could you pencil in a hold on the week before and after the eighth of June? Mark it naming ceremony."

Barbara hadn't believed William when he said that he expected to get asked to do some things around the Reservation, but had stayed at her desk late that night just in case. She penciled the request into the calendar and asked, "Can't you be a little more specific?"

"Can't do it until the baby is born," William answered. He laughed and said, "Babies tend to have minds of their own concerning when that occurs."

"Okay. Consider the time reserved for a naming ceremony," Barbara said.

"Thanks. You're really great for ruining your evening on my behalf," William said before hanging up. Turning to Daniel, he said, "Got it marked in my calendar."

"Thank you, Talks With Animals."

"Please, call me William." He bit into one of the miniature Tostadas with a smile.

"Thank you, William," Daniel said. It was hard to believe that William had actually agreed to perform the naming ceremony. He said, "My grandchild will be truly blessed to have you at the naming ceremony."

William smiled and said, "You're grandchild is already blessed."

"What do you mean?"

"You're the grandfather," William answered.

Supervising the service at all of the serving stations, Peter watched William take another trip to the buffet. This time he was going after the Fish and Chips. He'd never seen William that excited about food. Shaking his head, he said, "I can't believe it."

Standing next to Peter, Lucy smiled at the Chef and said, "I told you he'd like the fast food theme."

"I can't believe it."

Lucy said, "You do know that he was upset that we wouldn't serve hamburgers from a Burger Burner at our wedding reception?"

"You're kidding?"

"Nope. Everyone in his family objected to it," Lucy said with a smile.

"I'm stunned."

Lucy looked over at Peter and said, "You serve food like this on occasion and you'll have a friend for life. The nearest Burger Burner is an hour away. I'm not even sure where the nearest Squid Shack is."