~~~
TWENTY-TWO
The sun had set and dusk was gathering before some people began to make their excuses. Sean and Fran rounded up their kids and said their thanks and goodbyes.
“We’ll need some serious calming time at the hotel before bed for these guys,” Sean said. “Not to mentioned baths. See you tomorrow morning before you head back to LA?”
“Of course,” Lacey said. “Thanks so much for coming.”
Her parents weren’t long in following. “We need to drive back to Phoenix for our flight home tomorrow,” her mom said, “but we can meet for breakfast, can’t we?”
“Sure. We’ll have one last gathering of Fitzpatricks before we all go our separate ways.”
Others drifted toward the door. The exodus had begun. Sam and Lacey stood together at the door, gathering final well wishes. Called goodnights rang through the soft evening air.
When at least half of the guests had cleared out, the other half settling in for a more leisurely visit, Ben approached Sam and Lacey.
“You take me home?” he asked.
“Absolutely,” Lacey said. She took the old man’s gnarled hand while Sam got truck keys from his brother. The three of them waved to the remaining group and went outside to climb into Gabe’s pickup.
Lacey took the middle. She tucked her skirt around her, leaving room for Ben. When he was settled, she took his hand and held it in her lap.
How well she remembered the “road” to Ben’s, the dirt track that rattled the truck with its rocks and potholes. Sam guided the truck slowly down the steep grade into a dry wash, then gunned it coming back up the opposite side. The beam of the headlights slewed across the desolate landscape, finally illuminating Ben’s little mud hogan.
Sam parked the truck and killed the lights, plunging the world into darkness.
“We’ll wait here for a minute,” Sam said as Ben slid from the truck.
“Okay.” Lacey was content to take Sam’s direction and see how this unfolded.
She still worried about Ben living out here on his own. The eighty-four-year-old walked slowly with bandied legs, but seemed able to do all he wanted. She was glad Gabe and Roxanne were not far away.
Ben ducked into the hogan, disappearing behind the dusty Navajo blanket that hung in the doorway. A moment later, faint light leaked from around the edges of the blanket.
“I should explain a couple things,” Sam said. Lacey turned, her full attention on him. “Ben won’t actually marry us. We really marry ourselves. And it’s a very simple ceremony.”
She nodded. “Okay.”
“Then, the Navajo culture is matrilineal. What that means is that the man joins the woman’s clan and family. Earlier today, in the white tradition, you became a Firecloud. Tonight, in the Navajo way, I become a Fitzpatrick.”
A slow grin spread across her face. “Really?”
“Yeah, really.” He squeezed her hand. “You ready?”
“Absolutely.”
“All right. Let’s go.”
They walked hand in hand to the hogan. As they neared the door, Ben stepped out. He carried a shallow pottery bowl covered with a thin cotton cloth. He stood aside and said a few words to Sam in their ancient language.
“Wait here,” Sam told Lacey. “Ben will tell you when you can come in, and when you do, walk clockwise around to where I am. You’ll sit on my right.” He regarded her tenderly, his dark eyes shining. “Ready?”
She nodded, not trusting her voice as her throat thickened.
Sam ducked inside. The warm lamplight flashed briefly as he pushed past the blanket, then darkness prevailed again.
Lacey glanced up. The stars were diamonds flung across the black velvet sky, no moon to eclipse them. A soft breeze whispered across the ancient landscape, carrying to her the unspoken history of these proud people. She looked over at Ben. The old man was grinning.
“Lacey,” he said, “take this.” He pushed the bowl into her hands, then waved his hand toward the hogan.
Licking her dry lips, Lacey ducked past the blanket, mindful to keep the bowl level. She had no idea what was in it. She entered the hogan and let her eyes adjust to the light. Ben’s simple home was crude but welcoming. The firepit in the center, the bowls and baskets against the wall, a rough, handmade table and a few chairs. Sam sitting on the ground opposite her, on the west side of the firepit, facing east.
With proper solemnity, she moved around to her left. Step by step, she circled the firepit and approached her husband. He patted the wool rug beside him, and she took her place next to him on the ground.
Ben came in behind her, and followed her clockwise motion around the glowing firepit. Speaking softly in Navajo, he took the bowl from her. He set that aside on the table and instead picked up a larger, shallower bowl with water in it. He brought that one to the couple and set it down before them. Then he got a wooden ladle and handed it to Lacey.
“You must wash my hands,” Sam told her quietly.
He held his hands over the bowl, and Lacey carefully dipped water over them. Sam cupped the water in his palms and laved it over his hands. When he was done, Ben handed him a towel. He dried his hands and gently took the ladle from Lacey.
“Now you,” he said.
She held her hands out and he poured water over them. The water felt silky soft as she washed, like rainwater. She performed the ablutions and took the towel Ben offered, leaving him to carry the water bowl away.
He retrieved the first bowl and pulled the cloth from it. Holding it in one hand, chanting softly, he dipped fingers into another bowl and sprinkled a yellow powder over the contents.
“In the bowl is cornmeal mush,” Sam said in a low tone. “He’s making a circle of corn pollen, then a cross in the center. This represents the world and the four directions.”
Ben prayed quietly as he worked, the Navajo words blending with the flickering lamplight and the faint scent of cedar. Finally he brought the bowl to Sam and Lacey and set it down before them.
“I will eat first,” Sam said, “starting at the east.” He put two fingers into the golden mush and scooped out a bit. With his eyes on Lacey, he took the mush into his mouth and let it melt on his tongue. “Now you,” he said.
Lacey did exactly as he did, scooping a small bit of mush from the side of the bowl that corresponded with the east. The corn flavor was sweet in her mouth.
“Now south,” Sam said, taking from the next leg of the cross. “Then west, and north.”
Bit by bit, they scooped mush from the four directions until the bowl was empty.
“Each direction represents a stage of life,” Sam told her. “Stages we will experience together.” It was a promise his dark eyes made to her.
Then Ben was lowering his frail body down onto the rug in front of them. He sat cross-legged, his gnarled hands on his knees.
“Today,” he said softly, “you have lit a fire inside of you. It is a fire of love and devotion. It is one fire, although shared by you both. It will provide you with food, warmth, and happiness. It will light the way as you walk forward into the future. It will show you the way to go, and it will carry you there. Keep the fire burning always. Feed it, nurture it, guard it. It is the fire of life.”
Lacey felt Sam’s hands taking hers, gathering them into his warm grasp. She stared down at their entwined fingers, their turquoise rings glinting in the lamplight. When she raised her eyes to Sam, tears starred them.
She bit her lip to keep from crying, but turned to Ben. Squeezing Sam’s hands fiercely, she nodded to the old man.
“We will,” she promised him. “We will.”
And the stars wheeled slowly overhead.
~~~
Thank You for Reading
I sincerely hope you enjoyed reading this book as much as I enjoyed writing it. If you did, I would greatly appreciate a short review on Amazon or your favorite book website. Reviews are crucial for any author, and even just a line or two can make a huge difference.
--MJB
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Melissa Bowersock is an eclectic, award-winning author who writes in a variety of fiction and non-fiction genres: paranormal, action, romance, fantasy, spiritual, satire and biography. She has been both traditionally and independently published. On the inside of her left wrist, she has a tattoo that says IMAGINE, and in her next life she plans to be an astronaut.
For more information, visit
http://www.newmoonrising.net
or
http://www.melissabowersock.com
Find Me Online on Twitter and Facebook or visit my blog at:
http://mjb-wordlovers.blogspot.com
BOOKS BY MELISSA BOWERSOCK
The Appaloosa Connection (Western Adventure)
When Ross Garvey's prized Appaloosa is stolen from his Colorado ranch, he fully intends to hunt down the thieves in their New Mexico hideout and regain his best broodmare. What he doesn't count on is bull-headed, fifteen year old Jaimie Callahan, whose horse was also stolen by the same thieves. And he certainly does not anticipate the beautiful Mexican girl who's dealing with the thieves, nor the fact that an entire company of Mexican troops is in on the deal!
The Blue Crystal (Fantasy)
In the realm of Zor, the tyrant Mal-Zor is maniacal in his quest for the mythical Blue Crystal of power sends generations of innocents to their deaths in the crystal mines. Jared, a young farmer from a small isolated village, has paid scant attention to the distant troubles until his younger siblings are taken as slaves. Jared vows to free them and his quest soon becomes enmeshed in the most magical power struggle imaginable. Accompanied by a recalcitrant halfling, mounted on a huge black lion and supported by an aging wizard and his daughter, Jared prepares to challenge the king and claim his hidden destiny.
Burning Through (Paranormal Suspense/Romance)
When Jennifer and Robert Stinson buy a beautifully restored Victorian house, the last thing they expect is to share their home with a ghost―especially one with a penchant for setting fires. Unfortunately the ghostly arson only creates more tension in their already strained marriage. Jen launches her own investigation into the history of her house and discovers a surprising ally in a sympathetic fire captain. But can she unravel the mystery of the fires before they consume her home, her marriage … and her life?
Finding Travis (Time Travel)
No Time for Travis: Book 1
Travis Merrill’s life isn’t going according to plan. He’s quit several career paths, his wife has left him, and his only solace is volunteering to portray a cavalry surgeon at historic Fort Verde in Arizona, a place where time seems to stand still. When a weird trick of time actually sends him back to the year 1877, he’s boxed into impersonating the post surgeon for real. Unfortunately, he finds his medical knowledge is no match for the primitive practices of the day, and he’s forced to make life or death decisions, not always successfully. He wonders if he will ever be able to return to his own time, or if he might find a life—and a love—140 years in the past.
Being Travis (Time Travel)
No Time for Travis: Book 2
Two years ago, a weird trick of time sent Travis Merrill spiraling from 2016 to the year 1877. Committed now to his life in frontier Arizona, Travis is married with a child on the way and is homesteading a ranch. His knowledge of the future, however, keeps him at odds with his neighbors, his friends… and his wife. He finds it more and more difficult to protect his home without alienating his family, yet he can’t ignore what he knows is – and will be – true.
Fleischerhaus (Paranormal Suspense/Romance)
Julia Martin, newly-divorced but still reeling from her husband’s infidelity, takes a much needed vacation to visit old college friends in Germany. While touring a little-known concentration camp and museum, she spontaneously experiences a violent past life memory of being murdered in this very camp during the Holocaust. Efforts to understand her memories only lead to more questions, the largest being: is her killer still alive? Supported by her friends and comforted in the arms of a handsome doctor, Julia strives to uncover the mysteries of her past life and find justice for the person she used to be.
Ghost Walk (Paranormal Mystery)
Book 1 of the Lacey Fitzpatrick and Sam Firecloud Mystery Series
Lacey Fitzpatrick is an ex-LAPD detective with an axe to grind. Tainted by the betrayal of her drug-dealing cop boyfriend, she’s on a quest to prove to herself—and the world—that she’s still a competent crime-fighter. In order to do that, she teams up with Sam Firecloud, a half-Navajo man who communicates with ghosts. With his talent and her research, they tackle troubling unsolved crimes, but their latest case is the toughest. They have to solve a murder—where no record of a murder even exists. Can Sam glean enough information from the victim’s ghost to unravel the mystery, and can Lacey convince the authorities that the murder actually happened?
Skin Walk (Paranormal Mystery)
Book 2 of the Lacey Fitzpatrick and Sam Firecloud Mystery Series
Lacey and Sam are on the job again. This time, the ex-cop and the Navajo medium have been called out to the Navajo reservation to investigate the suspicious death of Sam’s cousin. What they uncover leads them into a realm of the supernatural beyond anything Lacey ever imagined; her years on the LAPD did nothing to prepare her for dealing with witches and shapeshifters. With clues few and far between, can they determine who the murderer is before they themselves become the target of deadly curses and feral shapeshifter beasts?
Star Walk (Paranormal Mystery)
Book 3 of the Lacey Fitzpatrick and Sam Firecloud Mystery Series
Ex-cop Lacey Fitzpatrick and Navajo medium Sam Firecloud are working a new investigation into paranormal activity. This time they’re called to clear an old Hollywood mansion of the multiple ghostly tenants that are threatening the home owner’s livelihood. At the same time, however, Lacey gets a call from her ex-boyfriend, now prison inmate, for help in a more earthly manner. He fears his sister is siphoning money from his elderly mother, and only Lacey can find out the truth. Between saving her ex’s mother from bankruptcy and researching deep into the families of the tortured souls haunting the mansion, Lacey finds the revelations of family dynamics to be both fatally flawed and heartbreakingly inspired.
Dream Walk (Paranormal Mystery)
Book 4 of the Lacey Fitzpatrick and Sam Firecloud Mystery Series
Private investigator Lacey Fitzpatrick and Navajo medium Sam Firecloud are usually called to clear haunted locations of their lingering ghosts using Sam’s unusual talent for communicating with the dead. This time, however, the dead—Sam’s ex-brother-in-law—comes to him… in a dream. Now Sam and Lacey have to figure out how to find the body and uncover a murder plot before the murderers bury them—forever.
Dragon Walk (Paranormal Mystery)
Book 5 of the Lacey Fitzpatrick and Sam Firecloud Mystery Series
Four months ago, a pretty young marathoner disappeared while training on the isolated trails of Griffith Park in Los Angeles. The police have few leads, no witnesses and no results. As a last resort, they call in private investigator Lacey Fitzpatrick and Navajo medium Sam Firecloud to pick up the rapidly cooling trail. Sam and Lacey, however, are on the outs. Their efforts to take their relationship to the next level failed miserably, and now they must redefine their working relationship, as well. Can they find the murdered girl and her killer, and still hang on to their partnership?
Demon Walk (Paranormal Mystery)
Book 6 of the Lacey Fitzpatrick and Sam Firecloud Mystery Series
Private investigator Lacey Fitzpatrick and Navajo medium Sam Firecloud are called in by the Director of Mission San Juan Capistrano to unravel the mystery surrounding an evil presence that is threatening the mission’s people and its liability, maybe its very existence. While Lacey digs into the research, Sam pulls out all the stops, planning to fight fire with fire and witchcraft with… witchcraft. Lacey finds his methods disturbing, but kn
ows they have to combat the ancient, supernatural force that has killed before, and may very well kill again.
Soul Walk (Paranormal Mystery)
Book 7 of the Lacey Fitzpatrick and Sam Firecloud Mystery Series
Paranormal investigator Lacey Fitzpatrick and medium Sam Firecloud are making quite a name for themselves. When a TV network offers to feature them on a popular ghost series, they realize they could dispel misconceptions and bring credibility to their work. However, filming their process is more troublesome and complicated than they knew. Their goal to research and release the ghostly tenants of a haunted bed and breakfast in Malibu is at odds with the studio’s penchant for sensationalism. On top of that, Sam finds his connection to one of the ghosts to be painfully personal, and he and Lacey struggle to keep their work, their relationship and their newfound stardom from unraveling.
Blood Walk (Paranormal Mystery)
Book 8 of the Lacey Fitzpatrick and Sam Firecloud Mystery
The paranormal investigation team of Lacey Fitzpatrick and medium Sam Firecloud is keeping tabs on a serial killer case that’s baffling the LAPD: four murders in a month, with no solid leads or suspects. When Sam and Lacey offer their assistance, the PD reluctantly agrees, but Sam gets more than he bargains for when he visits the crime scenes. In addition to picking up impressions from the victims, he’s also receiving feelings from the killer himself. Sam’s unusual connection to the murderer’s mind may help them catch the criminal, but it could also lead the murderer to them. In a deadly race against time, Sam and Lacey piece the clues together to catch the killer before he catches them.
Goddess Rising (Spiritual Fantasy)
It is the future, and a global geologic holocaust has destroyed civilization, leaving only a tiny fraction of people to rebuild scattered colonies. Reduced to a primitive state, they live close to the earth and cultivate a Goddess worship, and chosen ones dream a prophecy that Greer, a female savior, will return them to greatness. An epic and magical story of one woman’s exceptional destiny during exceptional times, Goddess Rising follows Greer’s journey from simple obscurity to prophesied reign. Acknowledged as the face of the Goddess on earth, Greer discovers the rewards of power—and its price—as she struggles through her own labyrinth of fear and desire, sexuality and sacrifice, love and death.
Blood Walk (A Lacey Fitzpatrick and Sam Firecloud Mystery Book 8) Page 11
