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| Let's Go Inside and Get Something to Eat by � rustywire Text Che'(Chay-Grandfather) was getting up there in years, he was alone now and had been that way for a while, Ninibah had been gone for almost twenty years now, but he kept himself pretty handy around the house. One day one of his sons came to stay with him a while since he had broken up with his wife and they weren't together anymore. Pretty soon the days become months and then years and the son became the father of Che', helping to get up and to take a bath, helping him get around the place. The sheep were too much for him to take care of and he couldn't lift a bale of hay. The son worked a day job at the boarding school as a dorm aide so the sheep didn't get out much. A day came when a truck came and Che' watched as the sheep were taken a few at a time. He stood at the screen door and looking at the distant mesas he could see the trail he had worn through the sagebrush, as he took out the sheep everyday. He couldn't walk that far anymore, it was a hard time for him to get around outside the house. His son was a good man, but found he had no life for himself, he got up and washed himself and then helped the Che' up, fixing him breakfast and getting him ready to stay in the house. Che' used a cane and his eyes were not so good anymore, so they made a rope go from the house to the outhouse and corral so he could find his way. He kept pretty much to himself, but as time went on he didn't go outside much and sat much of the day waiting for his son. What does a person think about when they are home all alone and no one is around, the sound of children long gone, just a dog or two that hung around. He waited for his son at noon and asked him what was going on at the school, they would talk about that Topahanso lady, the cook, she had daughter who was going off to school and Mrs. Watchman was buying a new wood stove the kind that have pellets, like hay pellets, you don't have to chop wood for that kind. Che' thought how does she get her wood. His son said she has buy it in Farmington. The Che' laughed when he thought what would happen in bad weather if she couldn't get the 65 miles into town to buy them pellets, she would have to spend all night whittling kindling to feed her stove. His son said she probably had it all figured out. He asked his son to take him to the store to check the mail, so they drove up there to pick it up, the other old ones there would shake hands and talk with one another exchanging jokes and talking about what was going on. His son would have to tell him, let's go, I have to get back to work and would cut Che' off so he could take him back. After a while it was too much for Che' to get out of the truck and walk up the steps, so his son would run in, after a while, his son quit taking him up there and just picked up the mail before he got home and drop it off and fix him some soup. On bath day his son would boil water and pour it into a big tub and the Che' would crawl in and his son would wash him up, his son was pretty good at cutting hair that he learned at boarding school a long time ago. Che' had a schedule and if his son was late he got mad, saying he was going to go off on his own and find a new place to live. It cost a lot to get a phone in, every call was long distance but his son put one in so he could call him during the day to check on him. On Saturdays they went to town, Gallup or Farmington and they would eat at one of those old fashioned cafes, those Navajo waitresses knew them and when they saw them coming put their order on the grill, because the knew the Che' liked pancakes and his son usually had waffles. Sometimes when his son would get home, the house was empty and he would run outside to see where the Che' had gone. He usually found him by the corral, wiring it up with old rusty wire talking about how he was going to get some more fat sheep and get started herding them again. The corral had been empty for some time now. The brother's sister, Barbara Jean and her husband came to visit, she had four kids and it was good to have them there. After supper, when Che' went to sleep, she asked them how they were doing. Her brother told her it was hard taking care of the Che' and he was tired of it. He asked her to help him, but she started talking about something else. He said, "I am tired of taking care of him all by myself, I don't have a life. I would like to get out once in a while to see a movie or to take off for weekend. Right now I can't go to any workshops for work, I have to make up some kind of excuse to not go. I have one coming up that means I have to be gone for one week. Will you come and stay with Che'?" She said ok; he said I will get everything ready, what his schedule is and what he likes to eat. She said ok and took the week off to stay with him way out there in the sticks. When she got there her brother had gotten up early and fixed a good breakfast. She sat with Che' as he took his time eating and his son left to go to Albuquerque for his workshop. Her name was Barbara Jean, but Che' called her Sissy, the name she had as a child. She took him for a walk through the cedars to a high spot, it took all morning. Che' went through the stories of the family and how they came to be in this place. He couldn't see very good but he knew by heart the places that were important. She found him one afternoon where he had fallen in the dirt and she picked him up and took him inside. He cried sometimes over the children who had gone on before. Sometimes he was like a small child. It was a hard thing to do. As the week ended she waited for her brother and he didn't come home. She waited through Sunday and he still wasn't home. That evening she called her husband and said she wasn't sure what happened to him. He said he would check around to see if something was wrong. She thought what if he doesn't come home what am I going to do. I am not ready for this. I can't stay here, none of my other brothers live close and none of them will want to come back here and take care of Che'. There is the nursing home, but I don't know how to put someone there, I will have to go see tribal social services, but how can I do it with him along. Her father asked her where is your brother, he is supposed to be back, how come he isn't home. He is supposed to be here, if he isn't back tomorrow then I am going to go the Albuquerque to look for him. The Che' started to cry after him and she didn't know what to say. This was much more than what I wanted. What am I going to do? The sun came up early and she heard Che' go outside and he stood in the early light of day. She followed him out and watched as he took out his buckskin pouch and took a pinch full of yellow corn pollen and called over to him and offered her some. As she took the corn pollen he started to say, Hozhogo Nahasdlii �In beauty it begins�" He offered a prayer as fathers often do to bless all his children and they stood together as he had done so many times before and prayed for them. He then took a pinch and put some on her head and in her mouth. As the sun turned the ground pink, blue and gold, they stood bathed in the new light. It was a new beginning, yester day and all it's problems were gone, it was a new day. Just then her brother came driving over the hill and she realized that her greatest gift would be to spend time with the Che' and her brother. It made her realize it was too much for one person to handle. When he pulled up in his old Chevy pickup, his black hair was colored gold as he stepped out and walked toward them. She told him, I am you sister and I will share the time you spend with our father and will be here so you can have some time for yourself. Che' stood there and got after his son, telling him he was getting ready to hitchhike to Albuquerque to look for him and maybe find a new wife to take care of him. Chef said, that woman Old Lady Jumbo used to follow him around when he was herding sheep and sit on the rocks so he could see her. His daughter listened as he talked about her and she asked him when did this happen. His son looked at her and said, that was long time ago, before we were born, back in 1918. Che' said, she still looks at me that way, I saw her at the trading post the other day by the ice box that holds ice cream. She wanted me to buy her one. I know that one still wants to go round with me at the squaw dance. Che' could see his son looking at his sister standing there in the early light with a new wisdom in her eyes, and they all started laughing, Che' said, I guess I am going to have to go over to the Bitsillies for the Second Night Squaw Dance and go round with hers. They stood there and laughed at the thought of it. Sissy then told them, "Let's go inside and get something to eat". Rustywire |
