by Pam Webber
The chief laid the skull on a nest of pine needles and walked the circumference of the burial mound, surveying the damage. “I need to get the elders up here. We need to search for more displaced remains, restore the mound, and figure out a way to divert the washout before it rains again.”
The enormity of the job left Nettie speechless. Covering and reseeding the mound and diverting the wide rain channel would have to be done by hand, given the steepness of the slope, and tons of soil and rock would need to be moved and shaped. “May we help?”
“It’s kind of you to offer, but you two have dreamcatchers to finish. Once I can get in touch with the elders, they’ll notify the tribe. We’ll have a meeting tonight at the schoolhouse to figure out our approach and will be back up here early tomorrow morning with specialized work teams. We’ll have this taken care of pretty quickly.”
Nettie and Win followed the chief to the south side of the burial mound. Dropping to his knees, he dug a hole as deep as his arm would go, sifting the dirt for bones as he went. He retrieved the skull and lowered it into the fresh burrow. “Nettie, bring me the cedar.”
He scraped a second, shallower hole, added dried leaves, and covered them with a small tower of cedar kindling. Pulling a lighter from his pocket, he lit the tinder. It didn’t take long for the fire to flare, then reduce itself to glowing embers.
“Now, the sweetgrass. Win, tear the stalks into small pieces and sprinkle them over the ashes.”
Vanilla-scented smoke flowed up and over the mound as the chief began a low-pitched chant. The richness of his voice and the haunting, hymnlike cadence made Nettie shiver. With the last notes, the chief began refilling the hole, tamping each layer until it was firm.
Nettie recalled her last conversation with Mr. Danes. “Chief, was that a prayer?”
“Yes. For the ascension of his soul to the Great Spirit.”
“Sir, you’re a Christian, right?”
The chief stripped leaves from a bush, then used them to clean his hands and arms. “I am.”
She nodded toward the smoldering fire bowl and burial mound. “How does Jesus fit into all of this?”
The chief settled against a tree and motioned for Nettie and Win to join him. “They fit together naturally. Monacans are deeply spiritual people, as are most Native Americans. In fact, we believed in Jesus before we knew his name.”
“How do you mean?”
“The presence of the Great Spirit lived among us long before we ever heard the name God. And we believed in an eternal spiritual journey, life after death, before the New Testament put resurrection into words. To us, smudging with cedar smoke and sweetgrass is a ceremonial prayer. The cedar represents immortality. The sweet-grass is an offering of gratitude. Together, their smoke drives away dark spirits, honors those who have died, and shows them the path to follow into the next life. Christianity gave this path a name: Jesus.”
Nettie kicked at pebbles. “So, did your ancestors understand sin?”
“They understood the battle between good and evil, as did yours. Just as there is no light without darkness, no life without death, there is no good without evil. The universe exists as opposites. Good and evil occupy different sides of the same face—our face.”
“We can’t escape it?”
“No. But we do have a choice about which one we feed.”
Nettie repeated his words from the day before. “Choice is a powerful thing when you realize you have it.”
“Indeed.” The chief stood and brushed himself off. “I’m going to head back and get in touch with the elders. You two find the rest of your arrowheads, then work your way back to the creek. Follow it down the mountain until you come to an old logging road. Turn left, and it will bring you back to the settlement. If you find any more bones, put them near the smudging bowl and I’ll rebury them when I get back.”
The Weak and Weary’s whistle sounded in the distance as Nettie and Win turned onto the Upper Road and headed for Allen’s Hill. Tall, gold-tinted grass once again covered the rolling knoll, harboring a myriad of summer bugs that scurried ahead of them like panicked escorts. Passing tufts of goldenrod, Nettie smelled licorice, a sure sign that summer would soon come to an end. As they moved into the shade of their favorite tree, the sweet smell of wisteria replaced the licorice. The lush green vines draping the limbs were heavy with seedpods that would bloom the following spring.
Nettie pulled off her tennis shoes and rubbed her sore feet against the soft undergrass while Win poured the arrowheads out of their pouches and counted them, twice. “We’re missing one. I thought you had thirteen.”
“I do.”
“No. You have twelve.”
“Wait a minute.” Nettie stretched out so she could dig into the pocket of her cutoffs. Pulling out the white arrowhead, she handed it to Win. “I forgot I stuck this one in my pocket.”
Win fingered the quartz, still sparkly in the low light. “This is the prettiest one.”
“I found it near the skull.”
Win’s head snapped up. “Was it buried with it?”
“I don’t think so. Why?”
“Because of what the chief said about the sanctity of burial. If it was buried with the dead, it should stay with the dead.”
Taking the arrowhead, Nettie rubbed her thumb over it. “It’s not likely they’d both get washed down to the exact same spot even if they were buried together, is it?”
“You’re right.”
“What happens if I’m wrong? Bad luck? Should we take it back?”
“We can check with Nibi or with the chief the next time we see him. I really don’t want to hike to the top of Bear Mountain again for a while if we can help it.”
“Me either. Why don’t we take a break and go to the lake tomorrow? Nibi’s not expecting us back until the day after tomorrow.”
“A little rest would do us both good.”
“Want to invite Ethan and Cal?”
Nettie hesitated. After their conversation at the Tastee Freez, Ethan would want to know if she’d been able to talk with Andy, and she hadn’t. She had finally talked with his mother, who said Andy would be home soon. She’d seemed genuinely happy to see Nettie, but made a point of not saying where Andy was. She promised to have him call.
Win cocked her head and waited for an answer.
“I guess so.”
“You guess?”
“Andy’s supposed to be back in town soon.”
“Okay?”
“Maybe he’ll call.”
“Or maybe you can see him at church on Sunday. Let’s go swimming tomorrow. The break will do us good. Plus, Ethan and Cal are fun to be around. We need to laugh for a while.”
“You don’t think I’m being unfair to Ethan?”
“Not at all. You’ve been straight with him all summer. You’re friends.”
“Okay. You’re right. It’ll be fun.”
They got up and were gathering their things when Win suddenly stopped. “Oh my gosh! Look at the house.”
The angle of the disappearing sun cast a soft glow on the Palladian window, where two silhouettes stood shoulder to shoulder.
“Who’s that with Alise Allen?”
“Maybe the housekeeper?”
“Too big.”
“I didn’t see the gardener’s car in the driveway. Did you?”
“Nope.”
“Then he, or she, got by us.”
“The shadow dweller?”
“Who else?”
“I wonder if they realize we can see them?”
The silhouettes quickly backed into the shadows of the room.
“They do now.”
Chapter 14
The sunny beach at Sweet Briar Lake bustled as Ethan backed the car into a shady spot and opened the trunk to get the picnic basket. Nettie and Win grabbed towels while Cal got the blanket and Frisbee. Finding an open space in the sand, they spread out the blanket, dumped their stuff, and headed for the water.
Nettie d
ove in and glided down through the cool, silky darkness, then, with mermaid kicks, turned upward toward the wavy light. She needed to do this more often.
She popped to the surface near Ethan. “Boo.”
“Race you to the floating dock.”
Taking off, Nettie made it a race but lost.
Pulling themselves up onto the bouncy wooden platform, they dangled their feet over the side.
“You surprised me,” Ethan said. “I’m pretty fast, but you almost caught me.”
Nettie pulled her hair back. “And would have if my arms were a little longer.”
“Seriously, you’re pretty strong.”
“If you’d been climbing around the mountains as much as Win and I have this summer, you’d understand why.”
“Did you talk with Andy yet?”
“He hasn’t been home.”
Ethan studied the water. “So, you still haven’t figured things out.”
“No.”
He bumped her shoulder playfully. “Maybe no news is good news for me.”
Win and Cal climbed out of the water before Nettie could respond.
Stretching out on her stomach, Win shaded her eyes and nudged Nettie. “Did you see who’s on the beach?”
“You mean Anne and her posse? Can’t miss them.”
“She’s had eagle eyes on you since we got here.”
“Ignore her.”
“That’s hard to do with that hot-pink bikini she’s got on.”
Ethan leaned over. “Did you say ‘hot-pink bikini’?”
Nettie pointed to the cluster of girls on the beach.
“They’re here for show.” He pulled Nettie up and over to the far side of the dock. “Is that a boathouse over there?”
“It is.”
“Race you.”
He hit the water before Nettie, but they were almost head to head by the time they reached the entrance. Their wake rocked a dozen rowboats tied to cleats inside. Making their way along the wall into the dank darkness, they climbed the ladder on the inside dock. Oars, life jackets, fishing poles, and other various sundries hung on the walls. Along the back were built-in bench chests, ropes, bumpers, and buoys.
“Are we allowed to use these boats?”
“Not really. They belong to the college.”
“Will they stop us if we do?”
“There aren’t any lifeguards or monitors.”
Ethan put two oars in the first boat.
“Maybe we shouldn’t.”
“Chicken?” He stepped into the boat and held out his hand.
Nettie stepped in off-center, causing the dinghy to rock. Ethan put his arm around her waist for balance, then pulled her closer.
“My, my. When the boyfriend’s away, the country bumpkin will play.”
Nettie pushed away from Ethan and spun, almost dumping them both in the water. Anne stood in the doorway, her hot-pink bikini effervescing in the dim light.
“Turned to spying now, Anne?”
“You’re such a hypocrite, keeping Andy dangling while you play touchy-feely with your summer boy.”
“Look, Barbie, I don’t know what you think you saw, but Nettie wasn’t doing anything wrong.”
“My name’s not Barbie.”
“Tacky, blond, and plastic—if the shoe fits.”
Anne gave Ethan the finger and slammed the door so hard, it banged twice.
“Nettie, I’m sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it.” She grabbed an oar. “Come on. Row. I’m not giving her the satisfaction of messing up a nice day.”
Ethan maneuvered out of the boathouse and angled over to the floating dock to pick up Win and Cal; then the four of them set out to row the perimeter of the lake. On the beach, Anne and her posse were in a tight huddle.
It was lunchtime by the time they rowed back into the boathouse.
“Uh-oh,” Nettie whispered. One of Sweet Briar’s elderly security guards sat on the bench chest, relaxing and smoking a pipe.
As the four of then climbed out of the boat and up the ladder, he pointed to a sign on the wall that said the boats were private property. “You folks read?”
“Yes, sir.”
Ethan stepped forward. “Sir, it was my idea, my fault.”
The old guard chuckled. “I used to do the same thing in my younger days. The way I figure it, if they really didn’t want folks using ’em, they’d lock ’em down.” He stood up and stretched. “But I gotta do my job. Consider yourself warned.”
“You mean we’re not in trouble?” Ethan asked.
“Not this time,” he said with a wink.
“Sir, did someone turn us in?” Nettie asked.
He nodded. “Girl out there on the beach. The one in the ‘look at me’ pink bathing suit. Seemed pretty arrogant about someone using a boat she didn’t own.” He walked them outside and, in front of everyone on the beach, shook their hands. “You all have a blessed day.”
“Thank you, sir. You too.”
Tipping his hat, he climbed into his golf cart and buzzed off.
Ethan looked over at Anne and her posse. “What a lowlife.”
“C’mon,” Win said. “Shake it off. Let’s eat.”
When they reached the blanket, their picnic basket, towels, and Frisbee had disappeared. Neighboring sunbathers pointed to Anne and her posse.
“Dammit.” Ethan took off with Nettie close behind. He kicked sand onto Anne’s blanket as he came to a stop. “What did you do with our stuff?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Like hell you don’t.”
“Nettie, call off your dog.”
Nettie crossed her arms. “What’s wrong, Anne? Start something you’re not up to finishing?”
“Bug off. And take California Boy with you.” Anne’s posse tittered.
Ethan stepped on the blanket, leaning close enough to Anne that she pulled back. “It must be miserable being you.”
Anne turned blotchy red as she hissed and stuttered.
Win called from their blanket. Picnic basket in hand, she pointed to the neighboring sunbathers. They’d revealed the posse’s hiding place.
Ethan took Nettie’s arm. “Come on.” Back on their blanket, he fumed as he ate. “I can’t believe the nerve of that girl.”
“You don’t know the half of it.”
“She wasn’t born that way. What turned her mean?”
Nettie hesitated. “I don’t know. In fact, I never thought about it that way.”
“Are her parents mean?”
“Prissy, maybe, but not mean. At least, not that I know of.”
“Brothers and sisters mean?”
“She’s an only child.”
“That may be part of the problem. Spoiled brat.”
“Her friends sure don’t bring out her good side, if there is one.”
“Okay,” Win said, “let’s change the subject. The day’s too pretty to get stuck in the muck.”
When they finished eating, Nettie packed up the leftovers. “I’m going to give the rest of these cookies to the folks who helped us, then put the picnic basket in the car. I’ll be right back.”
She also wanted a minute to collect her thoughts. Anne would find a way to tell Andy what had happened and twist the truth about Ethan into something ugly, and there wasn’t anything Nettie could do to stop it. Walking slowly across the parking lot, she put the basket in the trunk and headed back to the beach.
“Nettie, wait up.” Andy came trotting across the gravel, his handsome face beaming. Tanned and fit, the muscles of his bare shoulders were more defined than she remembered. “Hey.”
“Hey, stranger.” Nettie’s heart pounded.
“I was hoping to find you. Your dad said you and Win had come here for the day.”
“It’s really good to see you.”
“You too. How’ve you been?”
“Okay. You?”
“Okay.” My mom said you called and came by the house while I was
gone.”
“I did. You’ve been gone a long time. Where’d you go?”
Andy stepped closer. “It’s a surprise. Can we—”
Anne’s barbed voice rang out again. “Oh, so now you’re making nice with Andy while just a little while ago, you were in the boathouse, playing handsy with your blanket buddy, Ethan.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I most certainly do. I saw you. In fact, I’ve seen you two doing a lot more than that.”
“That’s a lie, and you know it.”
Following Anne off the beach, Win stepped beside Nettie. Ethan and Cal stopped a few feet back.
Andy turned to Anne, his anger obvious but controlled. “We’ve had this conversation. Nettie is free to see who she wants and do as she pleases. She’s not accountable to me. And she’s certainly not accountable to you. Leave her alone.” He glanced at Ethan. “Leave them both alone.” Andy headed for his car.
Nettie stepped so close to Anne, she could smell the baby oil. “You’re a malicious liar.”
Anne snickered. “I told you I wasn’t giving up.”
Nettie took off across the parking lot. “Andy, please wait.”
He opened his car door but didn’t get in.
“What she said, it’s not true.”
“I figured as much. I don’t think she knows what the truth is anymore.”
“Ethan and I are friends. That’s all.”
“Like I said, you don’t owe me an explanation. I gave up that right.”
“But I want you to know. It’s important. I’d like to talk.”
“Me too. But this isn’t the time or the place.” He glanced over her shoulder at Ethan. “You have folks waiting.”
Nettie’s heart sank as Andy’s car disappeared around the turn.
Win put her arm around Nettie’s waist. “Anne’s doing what Anne does: making trouble just because she can.”
“At least he’s home.”
As they left the parking lot, Ethan dropped in step beside Nettie. “Want me to talk with him? Guy to guy?”
