"Exactly," Theo said.
"You helping her with her personal thing will save your grade?"
"Extra credit for time put in. I'm trying to make a good impression," Theo said. "She asked me if I knew someone. I found you and you suggested Arnie."
"Do you learn a lot from watching her?"
"She's a good teacher."
Ester nodded, the thoughtful look back on her face.
Theo couldn't find the words he was searching for. The all-nighter had turned his brain into a hazy mush. He went for the dull truth. "If I can't finish the class, I lose my financial aid. If I lose that, I go home and learn cable installation. I want to finish. Could you ask him? I can go with you to talk to him."
Ester wrapped her arms around herself. "I'll ask him."
"Thanks," Theo said. A coil of Ester's hair had fallen over her face and he was so out of it he caught himself reaching to push it back and had to stop himself. Common sense was slipping away. "I'm off to the lab. See you later?"
She took her time responding, like the question was way more complex than it was. "I can go for a little while," she said. "I found an old drive with some footage I wanted to upload and play around with."
"For your non-project?"
"It's a real project. I have a bunch of footage from the center. Historical clips. I was hoping to learn something from Professor Stone."
"Sign up for her class," Theo said.
"No classes right now," Ester said. "No money. No time."
"You should ask her about going to Warm Springs." An afternoon working for Professor Stone wouldn't be bad if Ester were there.
"If Arnie wants to do it."
At the computer lab, they found side-by-side open computers and logged in. The guy who'd fired him was the lab assistant on duty. He offered Theo a nervous smile of recognition and looked relieved when someone came over to ask him a question.
Ester plugged in her drive and her earbuds and got to work. He couldn't follow what she did as she easily swapped between clips and views, eyes glued to the screen.
Theo dug his drive out of his backpack and plugged it in and brought up his project. He fiddled with it a while before reaching over to touch Ester's arm. She took out an earbud and gazed at him with those sweet dark eyes.
"Are you good at the editing software?" he asked.
Ester raised an eyebrow. "So that is what you brought me up here for," she said, her tone playful. This woman had no idea how sexy she was. Purely the inflection of her voice stirred him up with surprising potency.
Theo swallowed. "Perhaps."
Ester scooted closer to him, her arm alongside his. She smelled like cookies. He closed his eyes and briefly considered ditching caution and asking her if she wanted to take a nap with him. She nudged him and he returned his attention to the screen.
Fran's face was on the clip. She had invited him to a knitting club meeting and showed him some of her projects.
"What's this?" Ester asked.
"That's Fran. She's a bartender at Frenzy's." A glimmer of recognition crossed Ester's face. He continued, "She does this knitting thing with a group. It's called yarnbombing."
"I don't know what that means," Ester said.
Theo changed the view to a clip showing Fran seated on a park bench, the backrest covered with colorful yarn.
Ester studied the image. For a small person, she radiated a lot of heat, or maybe it was his imagination. He was having a tough time keeping it together.
"What is the point of the yarn art?" she asked.
Theo cleared his throat. "Fun. Build community. Street art. Modern urban cultural activity."
Ester sat back up. "That's a good idea for an interview."
"Tell Professor Stone," Theo said. "She never likes my ideas. She thinks I should be more interested in my ‘heritage’ and using my ‘unique perspective.’"
"Does she ask the other students to choose a topic by their heritage?" Ester asked.
Theo laughed. "I hadn't thought of it that way."
"You guys need to keep it down or go out in the hall," the lab assistant said. He stood over their computer stations and did a poor job of conveying his authority.
Theo offered an insincere smile.
Ester turned her attention back to her monitor and worked quickly, switching between the different screens. Theo tried to follow what she was doing. He leaned over and whispered, "Can you give me a two-minute refresher?"
"We're not supposed to talk," she said through the side of her mouth.
"He told us to keep it down," Theo whispered back.
"Review your outline and your list of clips. Let me finish what I'm doing." Ester put the earbud back in and focused on her monitor.
Outline? List? Between his non-existent free time and Fran's reluctance, he had four clips. Fran wouldn't have done it at all except he had swayed her with his woeful I'm on the verge of failing story. Then he had to promise all kinds of cleaning and stocking favors at work.
Ester finished and turned off her monitor. She put her drive away and then scooted her chair next to Theo's.
He opened the web browser and pulled up the syllabus. The assignment was to ask three questions and edit together with different angles. Nothing fancy, just get a feel for talking to a subject and putting together something from the results.
She pointed to the screen. "You can see your clips here and you can drag them to where you want. Or you can insert things. That's what you have? Four? Put them in the order you want. For the different angles, I go by instinct. I don't know what Professor Stone taught you to do." She nudged the mouse at him.
"Me either," Theo said. "I've already learned more from you than I did from class." He enjoyed the pleased smile that crept into her face. He dragged the clips into the order he thought was best.
"I would be curious to see how she works in Warm Springs. Like, how she does the interviews and sets them up." She picked up her bag. "You can figure out how to finish. I gotta get back to the office before they send out a search party."
Theo put a hand on her arm. "You should go to Warm Springs."
She blushed. "I don't think Professor Stone wants someone like me tagging along. Besides, I don't have a car so I'd have to borrow one, and it's a big pain to be watching the clock the whole time."
"You could come with me," he said, momentarily forgetting that earlier he'd planned to unhitch from this steam engine. Once he started talking, he couldn't stop. "I'd take my own car rather than drive with her. It's no problem."
Ester stared at the floor. "We don't even know if Arnie will do it."
"If he does?"
"I'll ask him. I need to go."
Ester slid her arm out and squeezed his hand before she left.
10
Linda tried to ignore the florescent tube popping and flashing in the corner. The lights emitted a high-pitched whine she could ignore, but this was something louder and more distracting.
"Isn't that what happens right before the monster comes and tears everyone apart?" Ester asked.
"You guessed my concern," Linda said. "Getting torn apart. Who do we call? I'll jump out the window if I have to listen to that all day."
"We're on the first floor, jumping out the window won't save you," Rayanne said. "Can we assign that problem to Tommy?"
"Do we want to get it done sooner or later?" Linda asked.
"I'll figure it out," Ester said. She made a quick note and taped it to her monitor before joining them at Linda's computer.
Linda carved out time to do a massive status update. She'd been running around meeting with other tribal people in town, trying to gather support, and collect more contacts and make friends wherever she could. They were finding new supporters, not as fast as she'd like, but it was progress.
Ester handed over the list of grant opportunities they'd promised to do for Arnie. Linda marked off the ones that wouldn't work. Knowing Arnie, he would direct them to target opportunities they were unlikely to get and then balk at t
heir failure.
"Delete those before you hand off to Arnie," she told Ester.
"But Arnie said he wanted to see everything," Ester said, feigning shock.
"Then he can research himself," Linda said, the words coming out crankier than intended. "We have lots of ideas that are better suited to the way we work. The real work is finding something Arnie will go for." She tried to pinpoint the moment this job had turned into making Arnie happy.
"What happened with your coffee date with Nerdgil?" Rayanne asked.
"Virgil," Linda said, "and thanks for asking. I enjoyed it." She meant it. The conversation was easy, they had a lot in common. He had a charming smile and quick wit. He was the kind of quiet guy she would have overlooked in college but now realized was worth her attention. She liked him immediately but wasn't sure about a physical attraction. "We hit it off. He's Native and works with tribal organizations. He talked me into going to one of those Native professionals get-togethers they have downtown. We all should go."
"Are we professionals?" Ester asked.
Linda threw a paper clip at her. "As I was saying, he's a good guy. We'll get together again."
"I'm not hearing enthusiasm," Rayanne said.
"Like what?" Linda said. "Did I want to rip his clothes off as soon as our eyes met? No, but I'm not twenty-two anymore."
"Did you ever rip anyone's clothes off as soon as you met?"
Linda didn't answer. She wasn't about to explain her history of social weakness to her staff.
"But you wanted to with someone, I get it," Rayanne said. "How about you, Ester? You and the bronzed warrior seeing each other again?"
Ester blushed and studied her spreadsheets. She showed a page to Linda. "Do you want me to do anything with these sources?"
"Keep in a separate list," Linda said. "Who is the bronzed warrior?"
"Theo is the guy from the computer lab. I guess we'll see each other again."
"‘I guess’ is weak but we can work with that," Rayanne said. "What are you wearing next time you see him? Do you have any matching bra-and-panty sets?"
"We're not even close to the panty viewing stage. I'm not sure he's even thinking about my panties," Ester said. "Are they really supposed to match?"
Rayanne's eyes grew wide in mock disbelief. "Did you hear that, Linda? No matching bra-and-panty sets."
Linda offered an embarrassed smile. Ester wasn't the only one with a sorry underwear drawer.
"You neither?"
"We had coffee. Next we'll go to dinner. My underwear is my own business."
"See?" Ester said. "We ate frybread and hung out in the computer lab."
"You're missing the point," Rayanne said. "Matching bra-and-panty sets have power."
Linda and Ester cracked up. Ester stood up and shook her tail. "How much more power can this take?"
Rayanne laughed with them. "I'm taking you ladies underwear shopping. You need me."
"Do they have powerful panties at the bargain store?" Ester asked.
"I have tips for low cost options," Rayanne agreed.
The door opened and Arnie walked in. Linda blushed for no reason. Rayanne had better quit with the panty talk in front of him.
"Am I interrupting something?" he asked. He wore a dark gray suit she'd never seen before, and a tie with a subtle Native design.
"Not at all," Linda said. "Nice tie."
Arnie smoothed his hand over it. "Thanks. Gift from a friend."
Another girlfriend, no doubt. "You must be here for your coat," she said. He'd run off from their last meeting without it. With the winter weather, she'd expected him sooner. She'd resisted the urge to try it on but she couldn't help checking the pockets, obviously in case he'd left his phone. She learned Arnie carried breath mints in three different pockets. Who was all that minty good breath for? She was about to joke about it but she didn't want him to know she'd been nosy.
The jacket hung on the back of her chair. Before she could move, he came up behind her and his hands brushed her back when he slipped it off. The brief contact gave her a surprising shiver.
"Did you guys need to talk alone?" Rayanne asked with exaggerated innocence. That woman missed nothing.
"Nope," Arnie said. "I had a message from Ester so I made a point of getting here when she would be here. What's up?"
Arnie pulled up a chair and folded his coat over his lap.
"I met a documentary filmmaker," Ester said. "She wants to interview a family on a reservation."
"Does she want to do something about the center?" Arnie asked.
"It's her own project. I said I'd ask you."
"I don't understand. What kind of film is it, exactly?"
"You can find out about her online. I think she's good. If I could, I would take her class. She had an award in her office from the film center downtown. Her film has to do with culture and family generations. It's not about Ind'ns. I thought of you."
Arnie dipped his hand into the pockets until he found a tin of mints. Linda suppressed a smile when he popped it open. When he offered her one, she shook her head. He put the mint in his mouth and put the tin in his shirt pocket.
"Why don't we be strategic about this?" Arnie said.
"Meaning what?" Linda said, wary now. For every bad idea Arnie had, he had an equally good one. Please let this be a good one.
"We will find her an Ind'n family if she can help us with a movie about the center."
"If you want a movie, let Ester do it," Rayanne said. "She's great at that."
"No, I'm not," Ester said. "I'm learning."
A film about the center. The something he wanted them to do had turned into a film. He was going to make her figure out how to do this. "You think we need a movie?"
"It would be perfect for NATG."
Linda disagreed. She had a plan, to hand-deliver their message to carefully identified individuals. Creating entertainment wasn't what she had in mind. "What if she's not interested?"
"I can be very convincing." Arnie exaggerated a winning smile.
Linda ignored the warmth creeping into an unexpected place. He'd always had this power over her, to stir her up, especially in the most inappropriate moments. She made a point of avoiding Rayanne's eyes.
Arnie took out his phone. "What's the timeframe?"
"She's amped up, so…soon?" Ester said. She pushed a business card across the table.
Arnie picked it up and studied it. "We can do this. I'll talk to my brother Mike. I can bring Grandma over to his place and they've got kids. They don't live under one roof but close enough."
"Do you think I could help?" Ester asked.
"If you want to," Arnie said.
Linda didn't want Ester to encourage him but her staff took on so much grunt work without complaint. Ester deserved an opportunity to do something she liked. Ester graced them with a pleased smile.
Arnie stood up and pulled on his coat. "Any word from Paul Douglas?"
"He's not getting far either," Linda said. "I was giving it a week before following up with him."
"Good idea. One more thing," Arnie said. "I realize things are already cramped in here but I'm on the planning committee for the National Association of Tribal Governments so I'm going to be around a lot until then. I'm bringing in a bunch of cousins and kids from the rez to be interns and get them some experience around tribal leaders. Could you set me up with keys and a work station here?"
"You're the boss. Who is going to coordinate your interns? Henry?" Linda wasn't sure if she was happy or annoyed about having him around more often.
Arnie laughed. "He's one candidate. Thanks, Lulu. See you, ladies."
"Lulu?" Rayanne and Ester said after he'd left.
"Old nickname. Don't start or I will give him your work stations and make you work on the floor."
"What's your favorite tree?" Ester asked.
"I don't know. Giant redwood."
"Your porn star name is Lulu Giant Redwood."
"Thanks, I needed a porn st
ar name. Something to go with my matching bra and panties."
"Now you're getting it," Rayanne said.
11
Ester kept everything except kitchen items in her room. That included her hair dryer, her spare linens, and her laundry soap. She even brought her winter coat and boots into her room. If they were wet, she'd let them drip onto a piece of newspaper. It was just easier if her things weren't mixed up around the house.
The problem was, between all the different stacks of storage containers, she couldn't always find the item she was looking for. Her brand new winter hat, a great find in the post-Christmas sales, was missing. The wool watch cap, described on the label as Old Rust, still had the tags on it. She'd gotten it specifically so she wouldn't have to wear her ratty old hat in front of Theo.
Arnie had talked to Professor Stone, and they were on their way to spend the day at Warm Springs Reservation.
She pulled out her under-bed boxes and checked those again, and then she rechecked the floor of her closet.
Dennis called from the front room, "Ester, your friend's here."
"Be right there," she said.
She opened the bottom dresser drawer and tossed through all the folded T-shirts and sweatpants before checking around her backpack again. The wisdom of searching the same places over and over again for something that clearly wasn't there wasn't lost on her but she was certain she'd brought it home.
She went out to the living room. Theo leaned against the door. He had on jeans and a fleece pullover that looked new. He didn't say anything, just lifted an eyebrow in a way that made her heart quiver.
Dennis and MacKenzie sat side by side on the couch in front of the TV.
"Have you guys seen a brownish-red winter hat?" Ester asked. "I bought it a couple days ago and now I can't find it."
"Haven't seen it," Dennis said. "Was it in your room?"
"I thought so," Ester said.
Dennis nudged MacKenzie. "Did you see it?"
MacKenzie shook her head, her eyes glued to the television.
"I still have my old one," Ester said, preemptively embarrassed by its shabby state. She slung her backpack over her shoulder and headed for the door.
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