Chapter 25

 

 

In three days he would put Zac on a plane to Seattle at one end of Albuquerque’s airport, then wait two hours and meet Julie at the other end. Zac’s mother was so thrilled that her son would be coming home, she was even nice.

But maybe Ben was overreacting to Raven’s usually caustic demands. Not that he blamed her. An entirely new family dynamic had presented itself over the past year—one completely out of her control. Going from being a single parent to sharing with the other parent was a shock to everyone’s system, with lives changed forever. Still, in seven months Ben had grown to like being called ‘dad’; he wasn’t about to go back to his life the way it was before. And on the trip in to Albuquerque’s airport, Zac had seemed like his old self—laughing, telling Ben stories about his friends at school in Bellingham. And he thanked Ben for bringing him to New Mexico—showing him the Pueblo of his relatives. They were still on the reservation, almost to the highway when suddenly Zac yelled for Ben to pull over.

“What’s wrong?” Ben coasted to a stop along the side of the road as Zac quickly jumped out.

“There. Do you see them?” Zac pointed a little to the left about fifty-feet away.

And then Ben did see them. Two Pronghorn Antelope, one large, the other smaller, stood staring back at Zac. They remained motionless as Zac walked about twenty feet in their direction. They didn’t move. He said something, but Ben didn’t catch it. Then he saw Zac make a fist and press it over his heart. Almost in acknowledgement, the two antelope tossed their heads, turned and trotted away from the road, unhurried, seeming almost reluctant to break the spell of contact with a human being.

Zac turned back and climbed into the cab of the truck. “We can go now.” He was looking out the window, but Ben could see that he was smiling. Ben couldn’t help but think of the Pronghorn that ran along beside the pickup when they first came to the reservation. There was only one animal then. This meeting had a feeling of goodbye to it. But without sadness.

“Dad, can I tell you something and you’ll promise not to tell anyone.”

“Sure, Zac, I can keep a secret.”

“Well, Nathan and I didn’t have a fight. Nathan saved my life but had to kill someone to do it.”

Ben glanced sideways at Zac who was still staring out the window watching the Pronghorn disappear in the distance. He didn’t start the truck but waited until Zac had told him everything—the waterfall, the cave, the Skinwalkers, the sandpainting, the test that would make Nathan a follower of the Witchery Way. And the killing--a spear to the neck of J.C.

 

* * *

 

The hug was a long one before he boarded. When Zac stepped back, Ben reminded him to ask his mother to take videos of some of his soccer games. And then to think of another time to visit. Zac assured him he would. He asked Ben to say hello to Julie for him. Then an attendant scanned his boarding pass and he was walking through the door with one quick wave before disappearing into the plane.

Ben walked to a window facing the tarmac and watched the plane push back from the gate and turn down the runway. Bittersweet. Families seemed to perpetually evolve. It was difficult to describe what was normal anymore. But he wasn’t going to let Zac forget that he had a father.

Julie’s plane was late, and packed. Stranded vacationers from the Miami area probably. An unplanned two or more extra weeks had been tacked onto an already expensive time away for a number of people. And there was no social distancing when she saw Ben. He didn’t care but held her and ignored the stares when she took her mask off for the first of several long kisses as they made their way through baggage claim and out to the parking garage.

“I can’t believe we’re together. Has it only been three weeks?” She leaned over the console in the pickup just to hug him. “Did Zac get away okay?”

“Yeah, and he said to say hello.”

“He’s a good kid. I’m sorry I couldn’t spend time with him while he was here. Are you thinking of seeing him at Christmas?”

“We left the next visit TBA. Not sure what will be happening by the holidays. A lot depends on the virus and also where we’ll be.”

He exited the parking garage, paid at the kiosk, and headed toward the interstate for the trip back to the reservation.

“Wherever we end up, I want you to be there to help me pick out a place to live. I don’t like choosing for two all by myself. But we don’t have to worry about that for a while. The Herald gave me a leave of absence—put me out on assignment. I’ll be doing a series of articles spotlighting the inequities between the reservation and the outside world, as has been starkly defined by the pandemic. The average American just has no idea of the problems facing the tribes in this country.”

“Good topic. I have a who’s who meeting with the powers that be tomorrow afternoon— everyone from the President of the Navajo Nation to the Chief of Police. Get tested. If everything’s okay, sit in. It’ll give you a good idea of what we’re up against. And you’ll make some valuable contacts.”

By the time Ben had emptied the pickup of Julie’s three suitcases, carried everything inside, and waited while she took a quick shower and put on fresh clothes, it was time to go back to the office. He needed to check in with Trini and finish up some loose ends as needed. If he’d had other activities in mind for the afternoon, he’d have to shelve them in favor of work. He glanced at Julie, who was reading her email. Guess he could put off the reacquainting time until later in the evening. She looked up.

“Did you say something?”

“Nope. Just enjoying some lecherous thoughts.”

She laughed. “Save those ‘til later when I can share.”