Tilly and the Crazy Eights

by Monique Gray Smith

  Rose’s eyes moved from the full hall to her little friend. Secretly, she wished she had even an ounce of Lucy’s optimism and hope, but Residential school had taken all that away from Rose. No matter how hard she tried or what she did, she couldn’t get it back. She never understood how it was that she and Lucy had experienced the same abuses at school, and Lucy had lost a daughter. Yet, somehow, it was Rose who had become a crusty, curmudgeonly old lady.

  As the movie ended and the credits began to roll, the audience clapped and whooped and hollered. The evening had been a bigger success than the elders could’ve ever dreamt. A community member stood and yelled out loud, “What’s playing next week?” The elders all glanced at each other, not sure how to answer as they hadn’t anticipated this response.

  It was Chuck who responded. “Well, you’ll just have to come and find out, but you might want to come early. We’re sure to sell out again.” His comments created the exact response he was looking for. A buzz amongst the moviegoers.

  When the last chair was put away, the gym floor swept, and everything cleaned, they sat around the table in the kitchen and counted their money. They’d known the evening had gone smashingly, but they hadn’t realized just how much money they had raised. With movie ticket sales, concession sales, and 50/50 tickets, they’d raised close to two thousand dollars.

  In the dead of a dark, cold winter, the movie nights became a spark for the community. Every Tuesday night, the hall was full and bursting with energy and the elders loved every single minute of it.

  7

  Bucket List

  AS THE WEEKS unfolded, the blanket of the brutally long winter began to lift and a renewed energy came over the elders. They began taking steps to get ready and Chuck had been chosen to make sure everyone had their paperwork in order: passports, status card renewals, travel insurance, etc.

  Something new began to happen as a part of their regular Stitch ’n Bitch meetings—celebration. Sure they’d celebrated before, events like birthdays or when one of them had a grandchild, but now it seemed it was a weekly occurrence. Now, they’d celebrate when one of them got their passport in the mail, or when they’d gone with Chuck to get travel insurance, but the biggest celebration came near the end of March.

  Mabel had an announcement to make and everyone who was going on the trip needed to hear it, including Tilly.

  While Chuck and Bea had seen each other at the movie nights, they’d pretty much managed to avoid each other. But not that night.

  That night, the stars aligned and had them sitting directly across from each other.

  Bea leaned back in her chair, turned her coffee cup between her thumb and forefinger and did what she could to avoid looking across the table at her ex-husband. She could not believe he was coming on this trip. The thought had crossed her mind not to go, but that’s what she always used to do in their relationship. Give up what she wanted so he could have what he wanted. Not this time!

  As Mabel began, she shared the exciting news that they had raised enough money with their grant applications and movie nights to go on their trip. Not only had they raised enough money to cover all costs, but they had some spending money as well. The elders sat there dumbfounded. They knew that Mabel and Tilly had been working hard on funding and that their movie nights were a big hit, but they had no idea just how successful the fundraising had been. It was almost like there was divine intervention helping them make their trip a reality.

  It was Lucy who finally broke the shocked silence. She stood abruptly, knocking over a chair, and then proceeded to break out in a jig and sing, “Woohoo! Woohoo! I’m goin’ to Vegas, to Vegas. I’m goin’ to Vegas.” She lifted her head to the ceiling, arms spread wide and yelled, “Look out Las Vegas. Lucy’s on her way.”

  Everyone giggled as they watched Lucy’s performance and it didn’t take long for the giggling to turn into fits of uncontrollable laughter.

  For the rest of the evening, they gathered around Chuck and his laptop. They explored possible routes from Vancouver to Albuquerque and back and what potential attractions, scenery, and activities might be of interest to them along the different routes.

  Tilly sat back and watched. She could see the delight and excitement in their faces as they explored the possibilities.

  Most of them had never traveled outside of British Columbia, let alone on a trip like this. Their village was close to the city, but not close enough that any of them felt comfortable there. Their comfort lay in the vast open spaces nestled between the mountains, where the stories of their Ancestors lived in the sap of the trees and the smell of sage filled the air.

  As the evening came to a close, Mabel reminded everyone, “This is our bucket list trip and time is ticking.” Before Mabel could continue, Poncho butted in with a chuckle. “In more ways than one.”

  Mabel smiled at him. “Ain’t that the truth.” Her gaze turned down the table to Sarah. Their eyes met and Sarah produced a forced smile. Mabel carried on. “Right, so we need to get our little selves organized. Each of you has to figure out what’s the one thing you want to see or do on this trip and bring that with you to next week’s meeting. Chuck and Tilly, why don’t you e-mail me your choice? And why don’t you send your choice with Rose,” Mabel said as she looked at Poncho. He tipped his cowboy hat in agreement.

  “Once I have everyone’s choice, then Tilly and I will figure out our trip.”

  As it turned out, their decision-making was easier than anticipated. Mabel gathered the following list:

  LUCY: Las Vegas…anything VEGAS

  SARAH: Dance at the Gathering of Nations Pow Wow, Albuquerque

  CHUCK: Visit the pawnshop in Las Vegas where the television show Pawn Stars is filmed

  BEA: Go to the Grand Canyon

  MABEL: Have a ceremony amongst the red rocks of Sedona and spread my sister’s ashes

  ANNE: Walk through the tulips at the Tulip Festival

  PONCHO: Hug a “Grandfather” tree in the Redwood Forest

  TILLY: Spend two weeks with elders

  ROSE:

  Nothing came from Rose. She’d never really been a dreamer, so this whole bucket list idea was new to her. Besides, Rose still wasn’t convinced the trip would actually happen. She wasn’t about to let herself get all excited, only to be disappointed.

  Stitch ’n Bitch Trip to

  Gathering of Nations Pow Wow

  Here is an itinerary for our trip. In a couple weeks, I will send a more detailed copy with hotels, contact phone #’s. etc. Please make sure your family has a copy. Mabel.

  Day 1: Leave home and drive to Vancouver

  Day 2: Leave Vancouver and travel to Mount Vernon and Tulip Town and spend night in Pendleton, Oregon

  Day 3: Begin the journey to Las Vegas, with hopes to get as far as Twin Falls, Idaho and then the rest of the way to Vegas the following day

  Day 3: Arrive in Las Vegas (possibly late at night)

  Days 5–7: Las Vegas

  Day 8: Travel to Sedona

  Days 9 & 10: Sedona

  Day 11: Travel to Albuquerque

  Day 12–14: Pow Wow (Sarah Grand Entry Friday night 7:00 p.m.)

  Day 15: Travel toward California (see how far we get)

  Day 16: Travel toward California Coast

  Day 17: Redwood Forest

  Day 18: Begin to head home—maybe take us 2–3 days.

  ****Still waiting to hear from Rose about her bucket list item, so plans might change a bit. For emergencies: Mabel cell (250) 333-1260

  8

  Preparation

  RECEIVING THE ITINERARY propelled everyone into action.

  Anne

  To be truthful, Anne hadn’t gotten her hopes up about the trip because raising that much money had seemed damn near impossible to her. Plus, she’d been away from Toronto now for three months and was more than eager t
o get home. However, when Anne received the itinerary, something stirred deep inside her.

  With her phone, she took a photo of the itinerary and wrote a text to Liz before attaching the photo. “Seems this bucket list trip is actually going to happen. See photo. I’ll get Sarah ready for the trip and then I’ll be home.” Anne added a happy face emoji before hitting send.

  It wasn’t even two minutes later when her phone rang. Intuitively, she knew it was Liz, and before she even had a chance to say hello Liz started in.

  “What do you mean you’ll be home? I thought you were going to go on the trip?”

  “Yes but…”

  Liz didn’t let her finish. “I want you to go. Don’t get me wrong, I want you to come home, too. But, love,” her voice softened, “this trip could be a chance for you to have some fun. Make some good memories with Sarah. Especially after everything you two have been through.”

  “I don’t know.” Anne slipped out to the back deck and settled into a comfortable chair. She had to be honest with herself, the trip appealed to her. And since she’d recently retired, there was no job to rush back to. But she missed Liz something fierce and the thought of not seeing her for a few more weeks…

  Anne’s thoughts were interrupted by Liz. “Listen, I’m not going anywhere, darling, so why not go on the trip? I’m not sure how, but I think I can manage not seeing you for a couple more weeks.”

  “But it’s been so long, Liz. We’ve barely spent a night apart in the last four decades and now it’s been almost three months.” Tears blurred her vision and she added, “I miss you.”

  “I miss you too,” replied Liz. They were both quiet for a few moments. “Don’t decide right now, but promise me you’ll think about it?”

  “Okay. I’ll think about it.”

  “See, there’s my girl.”

  “I’m not saying I’m going.” Defiance tinged Anne’s voice.

  “I know, but you’re thinking about it.” Anne could hear Liz smiling through her words. “I’ll be here. Whether you come home tomorrow or in a month, I’ll be here.”

  “I know.”

  When they finished their call, Anne leaned her head back against the chair and thought about Liz. She’d been a bright light in Anne’s life since the day she’d walked into the library. Liz had come to the desk asking for help and it was Anne who led her to the book she was looking for. They’d become fast friends, but over time that friendship turned into something much deeper.

  It all changed one night when they had gone to a Buffy Sainte-Marie concert at The Purple Onion Coffeehouse. Liz had reached across the table and taken Anne’s hand in hers, sending shivers down Anne’s spine. “I don’t know when or where or how it happened, Anne, but I’ve fallen deeply and madly in love with you.”

  Anne’s face had shown the surprise she felt at what Liz had just said and even more so, surprise that Liz was having the same feelings as she was. “You have?”

  “Yes. I have.” Liz nodded and a beautiful, radiant smile came over her face.

  “I have too,” Anne said. “Fallen in love with you, that is.”

  They’d pretty much been inseparable since.

  Lucy

  As soon as Lucy got in the door and set her purse down on the chair, she called Rose. “I got myself a permanent for the trip.”

  Rose, in her usual abrupt tone asked, “A permanent?”

  “Yeah, you know where they put those tight little curlers in your hair and then they pour some kind of liquid on your head and it smells to high heaven.”

  “Yes, Lucy. I know what a permanent is.”

  “Then why’d you ask?”

  “Because nobody calls them permanents anymore?”

  “Well then.” Lucy paused, put her finger to her lips and glanced around the room. “I know. I got a new do,” she said defiantly.

  “A new what?” Rose asked, with sarcasm embedded in her question. Lucy could imagine Rose’s face.

  “A new do.” She paused for a moment to see if Rose would say anything, but she didn’t. Lucy was beginning to wish she hadn’t called Rose. Her excitement was almost gone. “Fine then, Rose, you ol’ battle-ax! I went and got my hair done for the trip. There. How’s that? Make you happy?”

  It didn’t make Rose happy. She felt miserable. She could never figure out why she could be mean to Lucy. After all, Lucy had been her best friend for almost sixty years. They’d been five when they met the first day of Residential school.

  Rose looked out her kitchen window across the rolling hills. The only good thing that had happened at that school was Lucy. Thank goodness she was so easy going and forgiving.

  Bea

  Bea thought it would be easiest to tell her family all at once, so she’d invited her daughters and grandchildren over for dinner. Halfway through the meal, she was buttering her second piece of bannock and began to share her news. “I’ve got a little something to tell you all.” Everyone stopped eating and looked at her, even the baby.

  “Our Stitch ’n,” she stopped, looked at the children, “well, you know, my sewing group?” Heads moved up and down. “We’ve raised enough money, so we’re going on our trip.” She paused long enough to make eye contact with her eldest daughter. “To Albuquerque, for the World Pow Wow.”

  Everyone, except her oldest daughter, stared at her blankly. They were surprised the trip was happening and wondered if Bea even owned a suitcase, let alone a passport.

  Bea’s youngest daughter’s eyes grew large, her brows furrowed. She enunciated her words carefully: “Is this the same trip that Dad’s going on?”

  All of Bea’s children looked at their sibling with varying degrees of surprise on their faces. Then, they looked back to Bea.

  Bea avoided the question. Instead, she fed a small piece of fry bread to the baby.

  “Mom?” Liv asked.

  Bea continued to focus on the baby, avoiding the shocked looks on all of her children’s faces. She fed the baby another tiny piece of fry bread before responding, “Yep, it’s the same trip.”

  A weird sound escaped her youngest daughter’s mouth, somewhere between a choke and a laugh. “No way.” She looked directly at her mom, who had turned her gaze away from the baby and back to the table. “You and Dad? On the same trip?” She crossed her arms and laughed again. “Gawd, that should be interesting when you two can barely stand being in the same room.”

  Bea shot her daughter a look. Even at thirty-five, she knew her mother’s look meant “That’s enough.”

  It was Bea’s eight-year-old grandson who eased the tension, his eyes wide as he asked, “Really Grams? You’re going to the biggest Pow Wow in the whole wide world?”

  Sitting straighter in her chair, she responded, “Yes, my boy. I am.”

  “Wowwww.” His eyes got even bigger and he flashed a smile. Bea could look at that smile, with the two front teeth missing, all night long.

  “I think it’s pretty wow, too,” she said as she reached over and tousled his hair. “Grams might need everyone’s help getting ready. She’s never done anything like this before.”

  Mabel

  Preparing came easy for Mabel, especially since she had only herself to consider. She had never married. Sure, there had been love interests over the years, but none that she ever considered a “keeper.” Her family consisted of her siblings, nieces and nephews, and Tilly. Tilly’s twins were probably the closest Mabel would ever get to having grandchildren. She frequently traveled to Vancouver to spend weekends and family holidays with them.

  As it turned out, the most difficult part of preparing for the trip was emotional.

  A couple of years earlier, Mabel and her sister, Millie, had traveled to Sedona, back when they were both healthy and vibrant…and alive. It was still hard for Mabel to believe that it was only six months after that trip that Millie passed away from can
cer. Thinking about it brought on the all too familiar feeling of being punched in the stomach.

  Mabel wasn’t sure if she was ready or had the strength for spreading Millie’s ashes in Sedona. But, hopefully, with Tilly there and the support of her Stitch ’n Bitch sisters, maybe, just maybe she’d have the courage to honor her sister’s wish.

  Sarah

  It had been a successful night at Bingo with Sarah winning seventy-five dollars on the four corners game. Now, as she sat in the passenger seat of her daughter’s car, the exhilaration of the win was still buzzing through her. The money would be a welcome addition to her savings for the upcoming trip.

  “Mom, are you sure you should be doing this?”

  “Doing what?” Sarah asked as she looked over at her daughter.

  “Going on this trip.” Her daughter turned to make eye contact with her. “Are you sure you should be going on this trip?”

  Sarah moved her head so she was looking out the passenger side window and considered her response. Finally, she answered, “Nope.”

  “Then why are you going?”

  “You’d never understand.”

  “Try me.”

  “All my life I’ve done everythin’ for everyone and nothin’ for me. I was okay with it, till now. Now I want to do some things for me. Your daddy dyin’ started me thinking about how life can be gone so quick, and then with my tummy problems…” Sarah never used the word cancer. “I never told any of you kids this,” Sarah turned from looking out the window to her daughter, “but this whole trip was my idea.”

  “Seriously?”

  Sarah nodded and began to giggle, which then turned into a full-blown belly laugh. Her daughter looked over at her like she wasn’t sure who this was sitting beside her because she sure wasn’t acting like her mother.

  When Sarah finally stopped laughing and caught her breath, her daughter asked, “You done?”

  “For now, but yup, this whole trip started with me. I brought up watching that Bucket List movie with Cherie, you know the one with the two old men, and how it got me thinkin’. Then Mabel was askin’ me if I was serious about wanting to dance at the World Pow Wow.” Sarah tipped her head toward her daughter and shook it a couple times. “There’s no lyin’ to Mabel, so I told her the truth. Next thing I know we were puttin’ on movie nights an’ her and that girl Tilly started writing to people to give us money and now we’re off in a couple weeks.” Sarah stopped talking for a few moments and looked out her window again. “So, yeah, it all started with lil’ ol’ me.”