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AMITA FINISHED HER breakfast and slid her plate to the edge of the table. She stacked her silverware on top and wiped her hands on a napkin. Out the window, Widow could see cars and trucks passing slowly down Main Street. Drivers used caution on the snow and followed the tracks that had already been made by previous cars. The street sounds of tires over snow and pavement swept into the diner as new customers opened the door. Widow turned his head and peered at them. It was an older couple. Holding hands and laughing.
Amita smiled.
Widow asked, “So where does the name Amita come from?”
“It was my great-great-grandmother’s name. She was adopted by white parents. Way back. And they named her Amita.”
Widow nodded and asked, “Why don’t you have a husband or boyfriend now?”
A look crossed her face that said to Widow he might have been crossing a personal boundary. Then again, he didn’t really care since she had arrested him and forced him to spend the night in a cell.
The look vanished, and she shrugged and said, “I have no time for one. Plus, there aren’t a lot of good candidates on the reservation. Most of the population is old or women. Men tend to grow up and leave.”
“Like Jacobs?”
“Like that.”
“Sorry. I wouldn’t have left if I was your man,” he said, but then he thought, Probably.
She looked up at him with big brown eyes. She nodded and stayed quiet. It was still a sore subject for her.
Maggie came back to the table, picked up the dishes, and left the check. Widow started to grab it, but Amita got it first and told him she was going to cover it. She pulled out her wallet and left the money on the table. She stood up, put her coat on, and zipped it up over her chest.
She said, “Widow, it was a pleasure. I’m sorry for the hostility. This is no longer your concern. I wish you luck.”
She walked away and left Widow to enjoy the rest of his coffee.
Widow watched her go. She walked toward her police cruiser, stopped for an old faded blue Ford pickup to pass through the lot, and nodded a hello at the driver. She continued to her car, opened it, got in, and fired up the engine. Exhaust pooled behind the rear tailpipe. She backed out of her space and pulled away from the lot and was lost to sight.