Lynette bolted from the kitchen, threw the dish towel over her shoulder and grabbed Clare around the neck. She let out one of her squeals and shook Clare from side to side.
“I can’t tell you how happy I am for you all, she said excitedly.” Once she released Clare from her tight grasp, she said, “Let me see it. Let me see it,” and Clare held out her left hand.
“Oh my God. I’m gonna have to get my sunglasses to look at it,” she teased as Clare turned her hand to the light coming in through the tall, narrow windows on each side of the entrance doors.
It was a gorgeous ring. About a three carat emerald cut diamond in the center flanked by two nice size baguettes on each side. It was set in white gold, which was Clare’s preference. She often said that Lynette and one other friend were the only women she knew who looked good in yellow gold.
”What’d you have to do for that dazzler?” Lynette asked in her bawdy manner.
“Cut it out,” Blaze admonished, laughing. He stepped up to his friend, his brother, and gave him a bear hug. Then he gently hugged Clare and welcomed her to the family.
Lynette hugged Aaron and warned him that he’d better keep her best friend happy, or else.
“Or else what?” Aaron asked, in mock defiance.
“Or else she’ll work her witchy, witchy ways on you and you’ll wind up somewhere you never expected to be, and you won’t know why,” Clare laughed.
“Whaaat,” Blaze remarked.
As the foursome climbed up on the stools at the kitchen bar, Clare said, “You’ve never told him about sending your husband out on the highway, and on the way to his mother’s without him knowing what happened?”
“Oooh, I gotta hear this,” Blaze teased.
So Clare related that toward the end of that marriage her ex-husband had gotten on her very last nerve. She just wanted him out of her life, so one Saturday, she was particularly disgusted with him, and she wished intently that he would vanish from her sight. She didn’t wish him any personal harm, she just wanted him gone so she threw her intentions out into the Universe. Within an hour, he had loaded up his SUV and said he was going home to visit his mother in Virginia, 1400 miles away. He was gone about two hours, when he stopped at a pay phone, called Lynette and asked what the hell happened. He had no idea why, all of a sudden, he was out on that highway on his way to visit his family.
“I tell you, the girl’s got powers,” Clare laughed. “You’d better be careful, Blaze, or you could wind up on a reservation up north somewhere and not know how you got there,” Clare warned.
Both men looked at Lynette with raised eyebrows and peculiar pursed lips.
“Is she telling the truth,” Aaron asked Lynette.
“Weelllll, it wasn’t quite like that,” she laughed. “But you know, there are lots of things that happen, and we have no idea why they happen. The Universe is an incredible force.”
They laughed about it for a long time, and Blaze got the brunt of the teasing. He knew, however, that there was truth in what she said. He had seen many strange things happen on the reservation, and around the world, to people and things, that had no immediate explanation.
“So have you all set a date? Where are you going to get married? What’s the plan Stan?” Lynette queried impatiently.
“We’re going to wait to get married,” Clare said, and Aaron shook his head and rolled his eyes upward.
“I’ve got about nineteen or twenty months before I can retire, you know. I’m too close to let that all go to waste. If I retire, I’ll have health coverage for life, you know how valuable that is,” Clare directed her statement to Lynette.
“You bet I do,” she answered.
“I’ll have a steady income every month and when I’m 62 or 65, I’ll also have my social security, so that’s something to take me into my old age,” she said seriously.
“Like I can’t provide that for her right now,” Aaron grunted.
“I know. I know,” Clare patted his hand, “but I’ve worked hard for this kind of security and it makes no sense to throw it away. If Lynette and Blaze marry, she’s not going to stop working, are you?” Clare asked.
She was caught a little off guard by that question, and Blaze looked at her for an answer.
“That comes out of a conversation we had driving up here,” Lynette tried to clarify. God, how things can change, she said to herself.
“What I said was that if I ever remarried, I’d make sure I could take care of myself in the event that the world collapsed around me again. It was a hell of a struggle when I divorced the girls’ father, I had two teenagers to raise and get through college and when the child support stopped at age 18, just as the girls were entering college, let me tell you it was a struggle. The SOB never so much as gave the girls twenty-five cents to buy a lead pencil while they were in college. We did it – the girls and I, we got them through college. I worked as hard as I could to get quick promotions; they worked part-time all through college, and we made it. I was referring to the fact that I didn’t want to finally grow old and be destitute at the end of my years on this planet. So we were really
discussing, what ifs,” Lynette finished, a bit uncomfortably.
“Blaze and I haven’t even discussed our finances after we get married” Lynette tried to say.
“So, you’ve asked her,” Aaron butted in.
“The third night after we met, I took her to my mother’s cabin. I bathed her. She bathed me,” he said, suddenly very serious. He looked lovingly at her as he shared their secret.
“So, you’re already…” Aaron studdered. “That’s what you meant when you said…”
“Yes, in that way, we are,” Blaze replied proudly.
“I don’t understand. What are you all talking about? Lynette loves to take baths. I even gave her a book at Christmas on The Art of the Bath,” Clare said in her confusion.
Hesitantly, Blaze explained the meaning of that ritual. It’s deep spiritual meaning; the sacred bonding of the two people. Clare was speechless.
“Did you know what you were doing when…?” Clare began the question.
“Yes. Yes I did,” Lynette answered, nodding her head with a soft smile.
Aaron smiled first at Blaze then at Lynette. He knew then how taken his brother had been with this woman. How much his brother must have loved her from the very beginning. Because that was a rite of passage, a sacred ritual, and it had deep, lasting meaning for Blaze. He hoped she loved him as much. And she seemed to.
“So how long before you’ll make an honest woman of her?” Blaze asked Aaron.
“About an hour after she sets a date,” he joked.
“Maybe around Christmas,” Clare spoke hesitantly. “We don’t have to be married to be together. I’ll probably be up here most weekends or Aaron and I can fly back and forth. It’s only an hour and 20 minute flight each way,” Clare added.
“You know,” Aaron said, “ I understand what she’s saying, and it makes damned good sense, but I’m not getting any younger, and all these days I’ll miss being with her, I’m just not comfortable with it, but if it’s what Clare wants, then by God, we’ll just rack up a hell of a lot of frequent flyer points. I’ve certainly been to Austin several times. This might give me a chance to make some other business contacts. Who knows. Might work out for both of us,” Aaron concluded. “I’m sure gonna be there for her retirement ceremony, and I’m tellin’ the world right then and there that they had her for 20 some odd years, she’s mine for the rest of her life,” he boasted.
“Lynette’s been in the kitchen a lot since ya’ll have been gone,” Blaze mentioned. “Why don’t we rest up a little and then venture over to the Inn At The Foot of the Mountain for the buffet,” Blaze suggested.
“You’ve been doing what!” Clare exclaimed. “Cooking, you’ve been cooking?” she exclaimed again.
Blaze held his hands out to the side with palms upturned, a question mark on his face.
“What…what? She’s a heck of
a cook. We had the hands up here for dinner a couple of nights and I thought they were gonna get down on their knees to her; in fact, Hawk did! They even offered to wash up the dishes. Aaron, you haven’t eaten till you eat her pot roast,” he said proudly.
“The reason Clare made that comment is because I don’t cook much at home. It’s just me there unless I have a group over for dinner. So, I jokingly tell the story that the last time I turned on my oven, there was a lot of cracking and popping in there. People ask what those sounds were, and I tell them its spiders exploding where I never use my oven,” Lynette finished with a laugh.
They adjourned to their individual wings of the house, napped and dressed casually for dinner. Aaron whipped out the Cadillac for the less than 40 minute drive, but Blaze drove since Aaron was a bit weary from the day’s travel. The Inn At The Foot of the Mountain is an almost indescribably beautiful facility. Its planning and design was in keeping with deeply held Apache beliefs. Buildings and other structures needed to remain low or near the foot of the mountain as it is believed that the Mountain Gods reside in caves high within their sacred heights. This Inn incorporates many of their long-held beliefs, in its structure, its placement and in its expectations and limitations of all who visit there. The Inn is an upscale, four-diamond, 250 room hotel, with three individual type restaurants ranging from an enormous and varied buffet, to elegant dining in one of the main areas. It boasts a world-class golf course listed in the top 40 of casino golf courses in the nation, a gorgeous trout-filled lake, full gaming casino, outdoor sports fishing and big game hunting in the sub-alpine regions near the reservation. The convention and meeting facilities are on a par with the finest hotels in the US and it maintains underground parking for hundreds of vehicles. It’s owned and run by the Apache Tribe and draws visitors from all over the world. Again as a religious practice, the Inn asks visitors to refrain from entering with snake skins, or parts thereof, or bear parts such as claws or hides. These creatures are thought of in a spiritual realm. Quite often, the Inn is featured in southwestern magazines like New Mexico Magazine, or Southwest Airline’s books on fantastic New Mexico destinations. It is a full service resort. The first time Lynette went to the new facility, she was speechless at the view from the main lobby. There, framed by huge arched sets of windows in the main lobby, sits Sierra Asombroso. Lynette had to catch her breath at the astounding view. At the foot of this awesome view of the mountain sits Green Lake, a glassy, green stream-fed lake. The view is spectacular. In subsequent visits, she commented on how well designed and laid out the Inn was. It was clear to her that the architects and builders of this inspired facility worked hand and glove with the representatives of the Apache Tribe to incorporate as much of their culture as possible into the spatial alignment and positioning of this facility. The public hallways display art work and sculptures by Native artisans, and a limited amount of fine art is on sale in the Inn gift shop. She particularly liked to drive up to the entrance at night, past the larger than life statues of the Spirit Warriors. The spot lights make them appear to dance, though they are a static statuary display. “Of all the places I’ve been, the Inn is truly one of the most beautiful,” she had been know to tell veritable strangers. And any time she brought friends up to the condo, she treated them to dinner there. Then she slipped into the casino to hit the slot machines!
“Now, you know you can’t eat everything they have at the various stations,” Blaze chided Aaron as the car wound around the entrance road to the Inn.”
“But, I can damn sure try,” he replied.
“You know what though,” Aaron continued, “Clare thinks with some better control of my diet, I might be able to get off the diabetes pills. We’re going to schedule an appointment with my doctor here pretty soon and see what we can do about getting me healthier, and ensuring that I live to be an old, old man,” Aaron said, smiling at Clare.
“We want to keep the plumbing working as long as we can, too,” she tried to whisper to Aaron.
“That’s more information than we needed to have,” Lynette quipped, and they all laughed loudly.
The four hungry people made the rounds of the Buffet stations. First there was the salad bar, with fresh, boiled shrimp on ice; plenty of salad fixings and dressings to please any palate. From there, the little group hit the Mexican station, then Asian, the Country Cooking bar, the Italian or Tuscan Grill and whatever remained on the left side of the enormous room. Lynette stood in front of the desert bar looking over it with the anticipation of a nun about to take communion. Abruptly, however, she turned around and walked away from it.
“You don’t want any desert?” Blaze asked.
“I do, but if I go over there, you’ll see whatever I ate plainly outlined on my butt by nightfall,” she jokingly quipped. She wanted that yellow cake with the coconut icing. Her mouth watered like Pavlov’s dog but she’d worked hard to get the pounds off. The cake wasn’t worth it, not now. Not when she might be shopping soon for a wedding ensemble.
Aaron groaned in light-hearted misery all the way back to the ranch. He and Clare played like kids in the back seat. Blaze was quiet, obviously distracted from the foolishness and seemed deep in thought as he drove. Lynette was just content. She was full and sitting next to Blaze. What more was there to need?
Blaze beckoned his lady into his office once Clare and Aaron settled onto the couch for a little television. He didn’t sit behind his cherry wood desk, like some august business man. Instead he sat in one of the tan wing-back chairs and asked Lynette to sit in the other, facing him.
“You know, we’ve talked about everything from our miserable mistakes, to how many more horses we can have on the place, but we’ve never talked about money or finances,” he began solemnly.
“That’s because that subject complicates things, and we’ve been moving so fast in this relationship, that I don’t think either of us was ready to discuss the nuts and bolts kind of stuff,” Lynette confided. “And I think it’s because we’re both pretty self-sufficient financially,” she added.
“You didn’t want to, and I wasn’t quite ready, but we need to, Lynn. I’m ready now. There are some things you need to know,” he said confidently.
“I don’t want to take anything away from you, Lynn,” he began,” but I need you to know that I will be selfish with you. I’ll try not to smother you, I know you’re an accomplished, independent woman, but Baby, I want you with me as much as you can stand. I don’t wanna sit here, or anywhere else for days, even weeks at a time, waiting for you to come home, or listening for you to tell me when you’ll be leaving for another workshop,” he paused and frowned, then looked up at her. He sat forward in his chair, clasping his hands in front of him.
“I have done some serious, and I must admit, wise investing in land and other things since I got out of the Navy. I have resources, considerable resources, he emphasized that can make us comfortable for the rest of our lives.” He paused.
“I can’t tell you that you can’t work. I don’t have the right to do that, but if I can make it possible for you not to have to work, could you give up your job?” he asked earnestly. “Could you make me your job? Could you make me, your husband, your work for life?” he asked.
“I’ll do everything I can to make your life comfortable. I just want us to grow old together and I don’t want to share you more than is necessary. I’ve found you and I want you like I want my heart to keep beating. I can teach you how to help me manage the ranch and my other holdings. Some of that can become your new endeavor, if that’s what you want. I will give you, do for you, whatever it is that you want, but I want you here during the days and I want your leg laying over mine every night. I’ve lived so long without the kind of love I feel for you, Lynn. Call me selfish. I don’t care. I don’t wanna miss a minute of our life together. Two-thirds of my life has been spent wanting what I have with you. What I have, what we have, is so satisfying to me that I don’t wanna loose a minute of it. Do you understand what I’m tryi
ng to say?” he asked frankly. She sat there overwhelmed with what he had just said. Her mind was racing, but it wasn’t doing “ping pong balling” as some people call it. She was doing some quick linear thinking, problem-solving all at once. She looked out the window at the lighted deck as he sat back, uneasily in his chair and waited for her to say something.
She took her time.
“First, I am lucky,” she began hesitantly, “to have a transferable profession and great references. Somehow, I think I can move my training business to New Mexico, and work out of our home. I might even be able to get a part-time position here at the college or offer seminars at the Lodge, or whatever. People who do what I do on a larger scale travel all over the country. I don’t see why I have to keep practicing my trade in Texas. I’m willing to restructure my business and keep it here in New Mexico. I’m willing to do that for both of us,” she said. Blaze listened intently, as he always did.
“I’ve alluded to the financial responsibility I have to help keep my mother out of a nursing home, but I’ve never put a dollar figure on it.” She hesitated. This was difficult for her. This was private; this was personal, and now she had to share it.
“I send my sister $800 a month to help with her care and maintenance, and I bring her home to Texas with me twice a year. That was our agreement after she had the first stroke. Flying up to get her, paying for plane fare for both of us back to Texas, taking her back, then flying back home myself, under the best of circumstances, costs me at least a couple of thousand dollars a trip and as I said, I do it twice a year. And, if there’s anything extra that my sister needs for her, I come up with the money. I’m not going to say that it’s not a bit of a strain, but it is a responsibility I have accepted. She has been such a good mother to us all, and we’re trying to take care of her in a comfortable home environment as best we can, for as long as we can, so I have to have extra income to do that. My retirement annuity just won’t cover my expenses and those, too” she said. “So if I can work, I can continue my commitment to my mother and sister. Let me be even more clear, I will continue my commitment to them as long as she lives. So there are not a lot of choices for me as I see it,” she said in a matter-of-fact way. Blaze sat silently, giving her plenty of time to respond to his requests.
Thunder In Her Body Page 17
