Sonny fully understood. His reaction mirrored his cousin’s the first time he beheld the exquisite eyes and tender, diminutive form of the beautiful young woman Michael now sat patiently waiting for.
Sonny Steals the Song Glass, son of Emma and Emmit Glass, and a descendant of the Red Leaf People, was nephew to Julie and cousin to Michael. Sons of two of Julie’s sisters, they shared many characteristics, as well as childhood memories. In fact, they were as brothers and were devoted to each other.
Sonny was deeply disturbed. The moment he laid eyes upon Lena, he knew in his heart that she was the only love of his life. Then he witnessed the meeting of Michael and the incomparable young girl – and his heart broke.
Chapter Eleven
Men should look upon the Woman with a Sacred Eye.
She should be respected.
The Woman is a role model for love. When the Woman talks, we should listen; When she shares, we should be grateful. We should all learn about each other.
Grandmother, teach me to love with the power of the woman.
Lakota Proverb
Reva entered the lodge shortly after the Wopila ended, only to find Lena hunkered down on the floor, rocking – her hands cradling her flaming cheeks.
“Cha!” she exclaimed. “What are you, a mere child who runs away the minute an adult enters a room? Get up. There, that is better,” Reva affirmed upon Lena’s slowly rising to stand in front of her grandmother.
“Why are you here huddled like a frightened animal, when there is the powwow to enjoy?” Reva queried.
Lena looked into her grandmother’s eyes, her own exquisite orbs shimmering with unshed tears.
“Because of…him,” she quivered, limply raising her right hand and
pointing toward the opening of the tipi. The tears began to flow. “Who him?” Reva asked.
“Him,” Lena repeated weakly, again pointing toward the circular section of sunlight.
Reva walked to the opening and peered out toward Sonny’s lodge. “Sitting or standing?” Reva questioned.
“There are two of them?” Lena asked, rushing to her grandmother’s side.
Looking toward Sonny’s tipi, Lena could see Sonny standing in the
doorway and Michael sitting in the grass. Both were staring toward Julie’s lodge, and both gave a start as Lena’s small, tear-stained face peered out. Lena jumped back and ran to the center of the tipi.
“Ah,” Reva breathed with satisfaction, “my granddaughter has captured the hearts of two very attractive men.
“Sitting or standing?” Reva inquired again. “Sitting,” Lena whispered.
Reva peered across the lawn toward Michael and made little
smacking sounds with her lips.
“I wouldn’t tell him no, that’s for sure,” she affirmed. “Yes, he could get anyone excited under the blankets.”
“Unci!” Lena cried with surprise.
Her grandmother continued to surprise her again and again, as she left the stoic façade she usually presented to the world behind, to continually shock her granddaughter.
“Do I look to you like I have ridden on the wing of Thunderbird?” Reva asked with consternation.
“I am still a living woman, and I can appreciate a nice piece of man flesh when I see it.” Reva dropped the flap and walked over to her granddaughter.
“Lena,” she whispered, “you can’t run away from something such as
this,” Reva counseled, pointing with her lips toward the tipi opening.
Reva gazed with intense love upon her granddaughter. She understood what was going through Lena’s heart. She was afraid to love.
Reva did not see the ever-growing love between her son and Mary after they left the reservation. Her reunion with her son was after his
accident. But Dean and Nellie both bore witness to the love of Mary and
Peter upon their frequent visits to Columbus to see how Peter was improving.
What a beautiful thing it must be to see such love between your parents, Reva mused. Perhaps, however, this is what is causing my
granddaughter’s dilemma. She is an eyewitness of an incredible love
between a man and a woman and the pain caused by her father’s accident. Surely, she sees the strengthening of that love – the beauty of her parent’s devotion to each other.
Reva pulled her takoja80 into her arms and held her close to her heart. “Little Bird, it will be all right.” Reva murmured tenderly.
“Wakan Tanka smiles upon the love of a man and woman. Do not
fear love, Granddaughter. You are about to enter the most important phase of your life,” Reva murmured gently. Pulling away from Lena, she squared her shoulders and nodded.
“Come, it is time for the broom dance. Let’s have some fun. Maybe I’ll find a nice, handsome man to dance with,” she teased, then clucked at Lena’s surprised expression. Shaking her head, Reva took Lena by the hand and led her out of the lodge.
Lena and Reva proceeded to the arena. Michael and Sonny shot into action, following the two women to the enclosed area where the broom dance was to take place. Sonny veered away from Michael, guilt filling his heart.
I’m acting like a fool, he thought to himself, and he felt shamed by his actions.
80 Ki-dah-koh-zhah - Grandchild
Boy Ladd walked up to Sonny and threw a strong, sinewy arm around his friend’s shoulders.
“We need an ugly man, ennit,” he laughed, “and you’re it tonight,” Boy Ladd guffawed, handing Sonny a ragged broom.
Tradition has it that a young man of a less than attractive countenance invented the Broom Dance. Tired of sitting out dance after
dance at the various powwows he attended, he fashioned a woman out of straw and began to dance with her. His appearance with his “young
lady” caused quite a stir of hilarity, and soon the young men around him
began to take his partner from him. Thus, the Broom Dance was born.
Sonny looked at the broom in his left hand. He wasn’t in the mood for frivolity, but there he was, obviously chosen to be the ugly man. To leave the arena would cause embarrassment to all involved.
What the hell, he thought. Perhaps it will get my mind off of a wincincila who has stolen the heart of me and my cousin, Sonny thought with pain.
He walked to the center of the arena as couples began to form around him.
The Broom Dance, or Ugly Man Dance, was a variety of tag. Couples would form a circle around the central figure, the broom- wielding ugly man. Hands held and crossed in front of them, they would dance to the beat of The Drum around the arena. The object of this dance was for the woman to protect her man, and the ugly man to “tag” him with the broom. If he was successful, he would get to partner the woman, and the “tagged” dancer then became the ugly man.
Sonny waited patiently for the ring of couples to form. The sun was beginning its slow descent to the west and the day was a bit cooler than it had been at noon. He could smell Indian Tacos in the air, and realized suddenly that he was hungry.
Cha, he thought to himself, I was so wrapped up in that beautiful girl, that I forgot to eat. Sonny pulled a bandanna from his pocket and wiped his damp brow.
What is her name? I don’t know her name!
Lena walked to the edge of the arena with her grandmother. She knew that he was behind her somewhere, but was afraid to turn around and look. Her grandmother’s words, spoken moments earlier in Julie’s lodge, had not reached her heart, residing still in her brain, tumbling over and over each other like so many peas in a boiling pot. Julie saw Lena and Reva approach, and walked to them, noticing as she did, the handsome young man who stopped just behind Lena.
Julie peered closely at the two beautiful, young people, and noticed something, which she had only seen once before in her life, as she had observed Lena that morning. Lena stood within a nimbus of light.
Boy Ladd stepped to the mike.
“As you see, I have replaced our illustri
ous emcee tonight to announce the Ugly Man Dance,” he stated.
“Sonny, you will notice, is the ugly man: a role to which he is well
suited.”
Laughter filled the air as Sonny hugged the broom to his chest, kissing the fanned out bristles in mock romantic passion.
Julie’s eyes began to twinkle, as an idea formed in her mind. Placing her right hand between Lena’s shoulder blades, and grabbing
Michael’s hand with her left, she pushed the young girl into the arena,
while pulling Michael to stand beside her.
“Defend your man!” she called as Michael, quick to understand her intention, grabbed Lena by the hands and began to dance around the arena.
Lena tried to control her trembling, but it was impossible. She couldn’t breathe, and her thoughts whirled around in her head like a bird trapped in a cage which it couldn’t escape.
He was holding her hands, and the searing touch of his skin against hers was more than she could bear.
She could feel his shoulder, his hip, his thigh against hers, as they processed around the arena in dosido fashion.
“Little Bird, you must protect me from the ugly man,” Michael teased. He held his breath. He had yet to hear her voice. Somehow, he
knew that she would sound like a songbird. Her voice would be beautiful to his ears.
I have waited for you all of my life, he thought to himself. I did not
know that I was waiting, but I was….for you.
Strangely, his voice brought her some calm. Somehow, it’s very timber reached into the depths of her being, filled her ears and her body, and her heart began to slow. She sucked in a deep breath, fully realizing Michael’s own unique scent.
My God, she realized, even his scent fills my soul. Reva’s words, residing still in Lena’s brain, slipped into her heart, and she understood.
Chapter Twelve
Hold On
Hold on to what is good, Even if it's a handful of earth. Hold on to what you believe,
Even if it's a tree that stands by itself.
Hold on to what you must do, Even if it's a long way from here. Hold on to your life,
Even if it's easier to let go.
Hold on to my hand,
Even if someday I'll be gone away from you.
A Pueblo Indian Prayer
Sonny held the broom in his arms and continued his comedic display. Through deft slight-of-hand, he removed his bolo tie and used the leather cord to slap himself on the cheek, as if he’d made an inappropriate advance to his “lady,” and she had reprimanded him. Sonny feigned shock, and then bowing to his partner, mimicked an apology.
The crowd laughed with pure enjoyment. Sonny was popular among the powwow organizers for his incredible presence, wit and spontaneity. Sonny was not afraid to make a fool of himself, and
therefore, never did. He was pure entertainment.
Conversely, when the occasion called for solemnity, Sonny was your man. His dignity and sense of the appropriate was unsurpassed on the powwow circuit.
The circle of couples quickened their steps as they processed around the arena. There was a feeling of high humor as the dancers laughed at Sonny’s antics. The general consensus was that this was going to be one of the best broom dances ever.
Sonny stepped into an exaggerated waltz, while still dancing to the beat of The Drum. It was an odd mixture, to say the least, and extremely entertaining. Swaying, circling, and gliding with his “woman,” he
executed an elegant dip, and surreptitiously glanced around the circle.
Spotting an old friend, he began to work his way toward the amused couple.
Nick was a handsome, jovial man of Cherokee decent. A certified Emergency Medical Technician, or EMT, he would bring a Medic Unit to the powwows he attended, sitting patiently within the vehicle,
explaining the use of the various pieces of equipment contained within to
any child or adult who would inquire. He saw Sonny coming toward him, guffawed in delight, and swung his partner in front of him.
Sonny, in true Fred Astair fashion, placed the wooden end of the broom on the ground and gave it a spin. With his right foot, he kicked the end of the broom, close to the ground, flipped it upward, and caught
it mid handle. He thrust it toward Nick, but his aim was blocked by the
laughing dancer’s partner. A jingle dancer, the bells on her costume gave out a merry tinkle as they swung by Sonny and on to safety.
Sonny turned to the right and spotted a middle-aged couple. The woman covered her mouth, an old habit to hide her bad teeth, and giggled. Sonny recognized her: her beadwork was beyond compare and highly sought after. Her husband, an accomplished auto-mechanic, chortled as he watched Sonny approach. He twirled his wife under his right arm and swung her into place.
Broom held at an angle, Sonny now strummed it as if it were a guitar. Making chicken neck movements with his head, he swooped
toward the couple and lunged. Squealing with delight, the woman thrust
her ample body in front of her husband’s, thus saving him from being tagged.
Sonny dropped the broom and looked dejected.
“Cha, beautiful one, do you not wish to dance with me?” he begged, side skipping to keep up with the couple. The woman, once again covering her mouth and blushing, laughed with pleasure.
Sonny retrieved his broom and again began his search for his next victim. That’s when he saw…. her.
All sound stopped. Birdsong, laughter, the rustle of trees – ceased. There was only…her.
Dressed in a simple, sleeveless, white cotton blouse tucked into stone-washed jeans, her small, exquisite form stood out among the other
women in the arena. Long, silky, black hair, parted in the middle and
falling to her hips, danced in the cooling, slight breeze which wafted over the arena. Her magnificent, tip-tiled eyes sparkled in the dying light of the day.
Her throat was a column, smooth and creamy, embraced by a turquoise necklace which ended in a pendant and nestled between small, perfect breasts.
Her full, shell-pink lips were slightly parted; she appeared to be breathing heavily, as if in the throes of love-making. Sonny was undone.
Michael moved into view, and as if claiming ownership, encircled her tiny waist with one strong, muscular arm. Sonny picked up the broom, hefted it as if in battle and charged.
He was aiming for Michael, but at the last-minute, Lena stepped in front of him to protect him from being tagged. By observing the other dancers, she knew that she was supposed to protect her partner.
In an instant, Sonny realized that he would, in fact, hit Lena and possibly injure her, but it was too late to stop. Michael realized that Sonny’s advance was too aggressive; Lena could be hurt.
Michael lifted Lena from the floor of the arena and spun her around just in time. The broom flew by her and landed on the floor of the arena.
“Cha, Brother! What are you doing?” Michael exclaimed in a whisper, so that no one else could hear.
Sonny was mortified. He needed a quick excuse…something…no one could know of his passion for this delectable girl.
“Brother,” he apologized, “my foot slipped on the dew-covered grass.” Sonny looked at his cousin and gave a shame-faced, lopsided
grin. Michael looked closely at Sonny, confused, but he was so captivated by his new love, that he did not possess the ability to look
beyond the surface of his brother/cousin’s actions. Smiling, Michael
clapped Sonny on the back and laughed.
“You almost got me, ugly man, ennit!” Michael chortled, and walked off to join Lena.
Sonny picked up the broom and watched his cousin take her by the hand and walk into the deepening darkness. His heart again broke, as a
single tear traced its way down his cheek. Sonny brusquely brushed it
away, straightened his back, put on a smile, and turning, started to dance with the broom.
<
br /> Julie watched as Michael and Lena walked toward her lodge, hand- in-hand. She noted that Lena still walked within a cloak of light – and wondered.
Cedar Woman Page 11
