by Amy DeMeritt
“Yes, if your teacher invites me, I’ll come dance with you. What’s your favorite style of dance?”
“Hip-hop.”
“Ok, I’ll make a routine just for you and I’ll teach you and your class. We’ll record it and I’ll post it on my channel as ‘Trudy’s Dance’.” She squeals and throws her arms around me, making me stumble and laugh. “Trudy! Oh, my god. I’m so sorry.” I laugh and shake my head. “It’s ok.”
After a couple more goodbyes, and promises that I’m really going to come dance with her and her class, her father finally pulls her away. I laugh and turn back to my girls and the associate who was helping us look at cameras.
“Sorry about that. So, what’s the warranty like on that camera?” Everyone just looks at me and starts laughing hard. Sam smacks my arm playfully. “You’re seriously going to roll right back into camera shopping and act like that didn’t just happen?” I laugh and shrug a shoulder. “What? That? It happens all the time. No big deal.” My babies laugh again, but the associate looks a little uncertain and kind of embarrassed. “I’m sorry I didn’t realize who you are.” I laugh and shake my head. “I’m only joking. That does not happen all the time. I’m sorry your whole sales pitch was ruined.”
“Well, if I can sell a famous dancer a camera, I guess I can join Trudy in saying this will be one of the best days ever.” I laugh and rub my neck again, feeling awkward again. “Ok, so, the camera.”
They laugh again and he mercifully starts explaining more about the camera features and the warranty details. It comes with a lot of stuff, like a nice carrying case, tripod, a couple lenses, cleaning clothes and solution, a couple memory cards, and the warranty will replace the camera if anything happens to it for three years after the purchase date. It’s a really nice camera and the warranty is pretty good. I pull my phone out and do a quick search online to see if the deal he’s offering me is actually a good deal or not. I really should wait to look at these with my dad because he’s a bit of an expert on camera’s, but I really like this camera.
“Do you price match?”
“We do. And if you find it cheaper with a major competitor, we take an additional ten percent off. If we price match it today, and you find it even cheaper somewhere else within fifteen days, we’ll match the price again and refund the difference.”
I smile and show him my phone. I found the same exact package with one of the world’s largest retailers for a hundred dollars less.
“Does this mean you’d like to be rung up?” I look at my girls for confirmation its ok to buy the camera and they all agree it’s a good deal and we should buy it. “Ok, ring it up. Oh, and I’m going to need a few more memory cards as well.”
He quickly unlocks the display case and pulls out a couple boxes, one with the camera, and one with the extra goodies that the camera comes with. It takes him several minutes to input the price match and information for the warranty. When he hands me my bag and receipt, he smiles really big and thanks me.
Sam loops her arm in mine as we’re walking out and kisses my cheek. She has an adorable happy grin on her face.
“Aren’t you glad you came with us instead of staying home and tearing your muscles and sweating?”
“It would have been much cheaper if I had stayed home. This little outing just cost us almost four-hundred dollars.”
“You’re just going to keep trying to act like that adorable scene with Trudy didn’t happen, aren’t you?”
“Yes, because it’s embarrassing.” They smile at me and Sam kisses my cheek again. “I like it. I loved watching people fawn all over you in New York.”
“They only did that because I had you on my arm.”
“The reporters did like to follow Sam around the competition and pan in on her face a lot when you were together. It was exciting seeing you both on TV.”
Sam smiles at Madison and blushes some.
“Not to change the subject or anything, but you know what’s weird about today? Not even ten minutes before Trudy came over, I was thinking about our plans to do classes like that and that I need to pick one of the schools that have already contacted me to do a test run with. Her studio sounds familiar and I think her teacher might have already emailed me, but I haven’t responded yet. I need to check that when we get home and come up with a game plan for this. Sara said we’ll need liability waivers signed by everyone participating and agreements that we hold all rights to all choreography and video footage of the event. I need to see if I can find sample legal documents or something so we can use to create our own.”
“If you’re serious about wanting to do classes like that, we need to get a lawyer so we make sure you are completely protected from lawsuits and to make sure the brand you’re creating is protected and can’t be stolen. A lawyer will be able to tell us what licenses and insurance and all that we’ll need as well, without us having to guess at it.”
“Shannon’s right; we need an expert so we do this right and don’t set ourselves back by jumping in without the proper precautions in place.”
“Ok, babies, we’ll find a lawyer.”
Chapter Two
Sara picked us up from the airport and she’s been driving annoyingly slow the entire ride home. I keep leaning over to look at her speed and groaning.
“Come on, push on the gas, Sara. Why are you driving like a grandma with cataracts?”
Everyone laughs and Sara just grins like she’s really enjoying this. I slam back into my seat and cross my arms, trying to breathe. My adrenaline is pumping so much that I feel like I’m going to have a heart attack or something. When we reach the street we live on, she slows down even more for no damn reason.
“Sara! Move it!” Sara laughs and shakes her head. “I’m going the speed limit.”
When our house comes into view, my girls gasp in awe and my excitement revs up even more. We can see several huge traditional tipis in the backyard. Tipis are not traditional living for the Cherokee, but very few people in the family are only Cherokee. Many of them are mixed with other nations the tipi would have been a traditional home for them.
We’re a couple hundred yards from the driveway and Sara slows down to a crawl. I snap my head around to glare at her and panic rises up in my chest. I reach for the door handle and unbuckle, prepared to jump out and run the rest of the way, but she suddenly takes off faster and laughs.
“I’m going to punch you.” Sara laughs hard and slows down again. “No, you won’t.” I groan and start to open the door again, but again, she speeds up. “Jerk.”
She keeps slowing down and speeding up till we’re pulling up the driveway and she parks in the mini-parking lot that has formed in the grass along the side of the driveway. Most of the family drives into town, so there’s at least a dozen cars, trucks, and RV’s all lined up. I jump out of the car and I’m about to take off running, but Sara is quickly at my side and wraps an arm around my shoulders, holding me in place.
“Relax, baby sister.” She places a hand on my chest and her eyes get big and her smile fades some. “Jesus, Kayla, your heart is thumping out of your chest. You really need to relax.”
“You really need to let me go.”
She smiles as she releases me and I take off running. I reach the edge of the backyard and spot her immediately and freeze. She’s standing next to a roaring bonfire with two of her uncles, my dad, and a couple cousins. My dad sees me and smiles really big. Awenasa follows his gaze and turns to face me. I grab my chest and the strength in my knees is completely stolen and I fall to my knees. She smiles really big and starts walking over to me.
She’s wearing her long black hair in a braid over her right shoulder and it has feathers and beads braided into it. She’s dressed in one of my favorite dance outfits she wears. It’s not a traditional regalia, but she looks stunning. It’s a beaded bikini style cut top with a short skirt made to look like animal hide with beading work done around the hem. She’s barefoot with bells around her ankles. With each step she takes,
the bells jingle in a hypnotizing way. Her stomach is flat with a line down the center, and her thighs are toned with her muscles slightly popping with definition with each heart pounding step she takes closer to me.
I feel people approach me and are standing at my sides, but I can’t take my eyes off of Awenasa. I feel like I’ve stopped breathing. She stops within less than a foot of me and looks down at me with that same amazing brilliant white smile and glowing bright green eyes. She grabs my chin and lifts me off my knees.
When I’m standing, she steps in closer, and coos, “Hello, puppy,” making me swoon into her.
I smile really big and she moves her face within inches of mine. I swallow hard and take her into my arms, making her eyes close and we both release a small sound of pleasure. She presses her lips to mine and heat shoots up my chest. Her lips are soft and warm and gently wrap around my bottom lip. Very slowly, we part our lips and share our first real kiss. As our lips and tongues glide along each other’s, I feel like I’m being lifted off the ground. My entire body is buzzing and my brain suddenly starts rushing through all of our memories, all of the beautiful smiles, the many nights of holding her close and promising my heart to her, all of the amazing things we’ve done together, and all of the dreams we talked about.
Her hand glides off my chin and neck and runs through my hair, making me release a small sound, and I tighten my grip on her. As our bodies firmly press together, she releases a small sound and slightly bites my bottom lip. The kiss suddenly becomes more urgent and I feel my body heat rising fast. My hands glide down her bareback and she releases a small gasp as I grab her hips firmly.
I feel someone tug on the back of my shirt, but I can’t stop. I feel the tug on my shirt again, and hear Joey say, “Kayla!”, but I just can’t pull myself away from my wife. She has me completely in a trance and I just don’t ever want this to end.
She sucks my bottom lip and nips my top lip before reentering me and I feel like my knees just turned to pudding. I sway into her and I feel her smile against my lips. She repeats the teasing and my knees weaken again.
Suddenly, someone is shoving themselves between us, trying to pull us apart. I’m ripped from her mouth and look down with blurry unfocused eyes. Joey grabs my arms and shakes me.
“Kayla! Hello, are you in there?” I hear snickering around me and blink hard a few times. My eyes become a little more focused, but I’m still unsteady. “Hey, buddy.”
He smiles really big and starts climbing up me, making me groan and I quickly grab his hips to help him up.
“You’re getting too big to climb up me like this.”
He laughs and wraps his arms and legs around me. He has his hair freshly shaved into a Mohawk that he has spiked up with the tips sprayed bright blue. His cheeks and bare chest have paint streaks on them and he has a wolf paw painted on his shoulders.
“I’ve grown five inches since Christmas. Mom said I might be as tall as you in a year or two.” I laugh and tickle his sides. “You definitely won’t be climbing me like I’m tree when that happens.”
“But you have your girlfriends in your arms like this all the time.” I laugh and all my girls laugh a little too. “Ok, little wolf, time to climb down. I need to dance with my wife.” He smiles really big and scrambles off of me. “Are you spirit dancing?”
I nod and look up at Awenasa, who is watching me with so much happiness that I can feel it coming off of her like a gentle breeze. I smile really big and wrap my arms around her, lifting her off the ground, making her laugh as she wraps her legs around my waist. I squeeze her close and nuzzle in her chest for a moment. She runs her fingers through my hair and lifts my face to look at her. She gently kisses my lips and caresses my cheeks.
“Call the thunder.” I smile and laugh a little. “But you do it better.” Her smile widens and she kisses my lips again. “Call the thunder.” I clear my throat and tilt my head back, releasing a loud jumpy war cry. As I look back at her smiling face, we hear the sounds of animal hide drums moving in from all directions. “Call the wind.” I smile and start walking us to the fire pit. I release a loud hawk shriek, and a moment later, flutes and wind pipes join the beats of the drums. “Call the rain.” I laugh a little and hide in her chest. “Call the rain, puppy.” I bite my bottom lip for a moment. “I don’t remember how to say it.” She shakes her head with amusement and gently kisses my lips. “I am going to teach you how to be fluent in our tongue, my love.”
I smile really big and look at her mouth and she giggles, before titling her head back and calling out in Cherokee, beaconing the rain to fall. In answer to her call, turtle rattles, acorn bundles, and bead sleeves on drums join our native song.
We’re standing next to the fire pit now and she gently kisses my lips and caresses my cheeks.
“Put me down, puppy.” I shake my head and she giggles and smiles really big. “I want to dance with my wife.”
I smile really big and squeeze her closer for a moment before I set her down. She grabs the hem of my tank top and pulls it up over my head. My insides contract and I swallow hard. I’m now standing in front of her in a pair of black Bermuda shorts and a sports bra.
“Take your shoes off and put your hair up.”
I smile and quickly obey her, tossing my socks and shoes to the side. My eyes catch my girls and they’re watching with shy smiles and blushing cheeks. I smile really big at them and their smiles widen as well.
Awenasa picks up a small piece of charred wood that’s been turned to a small piece of coal and steps closer to me, with our bodies only a couple inches apart. I see out of the corner of my eyes that everyone has come out of the house and is surrounding us in a large circle. I look over and see my dad has his camera out and is recording this. I smile and look back to Awenasa. She couldn’t look happier if she tried.
She lifts her left hand with the coal and I press my right hand to hers, so we’re holding the coal between our hands. We place a hand on each other’s hearts and she moves closer, with our lips barely touching. She stomps one foot on the ground, making her bells jingle and all music stops. Her smile widens and she starts stomping her feet in a pattern she wants the musicians to match. They quickly pick up her rhythm and we start to dance.
Our feet lightly stomp and hop between each other, while we remain close, and we slowly start to circle the fire, with our hands pressed to each other’s and to each other’s hearts. After we circle the fire once, we straighten our arms, remove our hands from each other’s heart and press them together at our sides. We dance facing each other, moving in closer and side to side or twisting in circles, while the pace of our feet and hips becomes increasingly faster. We press flat together, with our arms out next to us and I bend backwards and she bends forward. I move my torso in a half-circle and lean back up into her, pushing her back, and I’m now hovering above her.
As we lift upright again, we twist our hands together that has the coal between them, making sure to coat our hands really well. Awenasa pulls her hand back and tosses the coal into the fire. We curl our fingertip over our palms, coating them with the black soot and we reach our hands up to draw our spirit animals symbol over each other’s hearts. I draw a wolf on her chest and she draws hawk over mine. After we’ve finished, we both press our coal covered hands to each other’s stomach and drag our fingers down, streaking each other’s bellies with the soot. I smile really big and throw my head back, releasing a loud wolf howl and she releases a loud hawk cry, before we start dancing hard and fast around the fire, stomping and twisting and twirling.
Occasionally, we release wolf howls and hawk cries as we dance together. I feel so wild and free and happy. I love dancing in our traditional dance style and being with Awenasa makes me feel so alive and full of energy. She brings out a part of me that no one else can. She brings me to my roots, to a place that I feel so connected to my ancestry and to the Earth and life. The energy and excitement is so great that I step up on the very hot bricks of the fire pit and flip back
wards off of them, making several people surrounding us release happy war cries in appreciation for my excitement, which makes me laugh.
A moment later, a couple of my young cousins, ages four and five years old, come running over giggling and start dancing with us. I meet Awenasa’s eyes and we laugh and start dancing with the kids. I scoop up the boy, Jasper, and toss him on my shoulders, holding his hands while I dance, and Awenasa picks up the girl, Shiloh, and sets her on her hip. I take her hand and we dance around the fire with the babies laughing and howling like little wolf pups. I laugh and feel my chest swell with happiness.
We only get around the fire pit once, and then we’re joined by several more children ranging in age from young toddlers, to Joey’s age. I feel a burst of energy in my chest and release a loud wolf howl, which makes all of the children cry out like little wolves with me. Awenasa laughs and leans over to kiss my cheek.
After a couple minutes, I release a war cry and howl again, and the kids laugh and pounce on me, wrestling me down to the ground howling and growling like little wolf pups. I laugh and squirm as they pile on top of me.
Awenasa comes over smiling down at me with so much love that I feel like I’m floating. She laughs and calls out something in Cherokee that I don’t understand, but the children do and all of them get off of me and let me up. Awenasa sets Shiloh down and she runs off with the others to dance around the fire while the family continues to play music. Awenasa wraps her arms around my neck smiling and I wrap my arms around her waist. We stare into each other’s eyes a moment before she leans forward and kisses my lips.
“I have missed you like one misses air while swimming under water.” I smile really big and move in to kiss her again, but a hand slams down on my shoulder, making me jump and look over my shoulder. “Damn it, Sara. Why do you keep trying to get between me and my wife?” She laughs hard and starts to walk away. “No one wants to see you rip her clothes off out here, so cool it.”
