Winter Counts(40)
Then it was time to go home.
16
I woke up the next morning to the smell of bread and flour. It had been so long since anything other than fried hamburgers and frozen burritos had been cooked in the house, I wasn’t sure what it was at first. I peeked my head around the corner and saw Marie hunched over my tiny stove.
“I made kabubu bread. Want a piece?” she said.
“Sounds good. Don’t think we got any butter, though.”
She smiled. “I picked some up at Turtle Creek. Grape jelly, too.”
As we ate, I filled her in about what the lawyer had told me. She listened quietly, nodding her head when I told her I’d retained Charley Leader Charge and that he’d offered to represent Nathan for free. She listened as I explained about the charges Nathan was facing, the prospect that the judge might set a high bond, and the fact I didn’t have enough to pay the ten percent fee to the bondsman.
“Look,” she said, “I have some cash in a savings account. I want you to have—”
“No way. You know I can’t take your money.”
“Lose the pride act for one minute, will you? Nathan needs to get out of that place. Call it a loan—pay me back later, if that makes it easier.”
I didn’t know what to say. Then she softened.
“Just think about it, okay?” She tore off another piece of bread. “If you’re not busy this morning, why don’t you come with me to the warehouse? There’s a shipment of commods coming in. A food truck, too. Free lunch.”
I’d always heard there was no free lunch—that you always pay. One way or the other.
WE TOOK OFF for the warehouse near the tribal offices, which were located about twenty miles away. While she drove, Marie talked about the latest outrage from her boss, Delia. Something about a negative review of a memo Marie had written.
Delia was the bane of Marie’s existence. As she told it, Delia took every opportunity to make Marie look bad, stop her proposals, and talk shit behind her back. She’d even written Marie up a few times for missing work. On top of that, Delia had apparently told everyone that Marie only got the job because of her father. Which was partially true, although I didn’t point this out. I’d suggested Marie look for another job, but she was too stubborn for that. She was going to defeat Delia at her own game—rise above her and get her own ideas implemented. But tribal bureaucracy moved slowly. I remembered that they’d once been semi-friends years before, but had a falling-out.
“Hey, what ever happened between you guys?” I asked. “You and Delia.”
“You mean back in high school?”
I nodded.
“Well, I guess I can tell this now. I found out she was having sex with a teacher. Mr. Joseph? The English teacher? I thought that was pretty crappy, because he was married and his wife was pregnant. So I told her to cut it out.”
“That’s all?”
“Ah, no. When she wouldn’t stop messing around with him, I had to take action.”
“Yeah?”
“I sent an anonymous letter to her parents. She got in pretty bad trouble, I heard. But I was still mad, so I stuck some frozen shrimp behind her locker. When they spoiled, it smelled so bad. There were bugs, flies—everyone made fun of her. It took her a week to figure out that I did it. I still smile about that.”
WHEN WE GOT TO THE WAREHOUSE, the trucks with the government-supplied food had just arrived. Marie went back to the office while I helped the staff move the large cartons of commodities inside. When we were done with that, Marie came back, and we started packing the individual food boxes for the people who’d be arriving soon. Each box got big blocks of bland cheese, vegetable oil, cans of beans, instant potatoes, powdered eggs, flour, dry nonfat milk. Then we moved on to the specialty items: canned vegetables, peanut butter, cereal, and the dreaded macaroni pasta, which my mother had always saved until the end of the month, when the pantry was nearly empty. Mac soup was one food I’d vowed to never eat again.
I watched Marie while I helped pack the boxes and label them. Everyone knew her, and she walked from person to person, answering questions and chatting for a bit before going on to the next task. She kept the process moving smoothly, and we made steady progress.
Then I saw someone walk in the back door. Dark-blue tracksuit, long black hair, dangly beaded earrings. Delia Kills in Water. I hadn’t seen her in a few years, but she looked the same, pretty much. Marie stopped packing, went over, and started talking to her. I couldn’t hear their conversation, but it was clear they were having some words. Marie was frowning and gesturing with her hands while Delia stood aloof, her arms crossed. I moved a little closer so I could listen.
“—said they’ll let me know. If you talk to them, maybe they’ll do something.”
Delia held up her hand. “I already told you, I’m not getting involved. Stupid idea anyway. How we going to keep that meat fresh? You know we don’t got no money for freezers.”
“Maybe we can use the grant to buy some! Just ask Wayne from council if we can do that. Why not?”
“I’m not bothering Wayne! Not his job.”
“But he’s on the committee, right? So he’s got the authority to approve the purchase.”
“I said no. Don’t ask me again!” Delia waved her finger at Marie.