"Once the conference starts, we'll be in this entire half of the convention center. We've got Ind'n leaders from all over the country. Your job is to help people find their meeting rooms, answer questions about the city, and assist presenters as needed. Theo will hold the schedule and tell you where to go."
The packets came together quickly. Theo didn't miss the nudging and whispering among the interns. He tried to remember if he'd ever been like that.
Arnie lectured them on proper behavior, appropriate dress, and how to network. "What's the point of being an intern if you don't get anything out of it? If you plan to work in Indian Country, this is a great place to meet people."
Theo tried to imagine all these leaders who were so eager to meet a bunch of college kids. He had nothing to say to someone like that. He needed Ester's three things.
Arnie wrapped up the meeting and told them when to be back. Theo packed up the completed folders for distribution in the morning.
One of the women came over to him. "A bunch of us are going out after this."
He appreciated the gesture. Until he’d hung out with Ester, he didn't realize how much he missed having friends and doing things with other people. But he saw the interest in her eyes. She was pretty, but even if she weren't connected to Arnie, she wasn't his type. At the moment his heart was still tied up with an Eastern Shoshone with big brown eyes and messy brown hair who was busy forgetting about him.
"Maybe another time."
"I'll keep that in mind," she said with a smile before hurrying back to her friends.
Arnie had his phone to his ear. He waved at Theo. "Do you have time to go to dinner?"
"Is there any point in saying no?"
Arnie laughed. "We're on our way," he said into the phone. They headed toward a steak house across the street from the convention center.
As if sensing his unease, Arnie said, "Don't worry. My treat. You got something to wear to the conference?" Arnie had on a suit that probably cost two weeks’ worth of moving jobs and ride sharing.
"I don't have a suit," he said.
"Slacks and a shirt with a collar?"
He'd had a similar conversation with Pete when he interviewed for the job at Frenzy's. "I clean up good."
"Just checking. It's not for my benefit, it's for yours," Arnie said. "This is a good event for you."
Theo didn't have the heart to explain he was headed back home to live with his folks. Once there, he would ponder the options that would put his aptitude for physical labor to good use.
Inside the restaurant, Arnie waved to someone in a booth. "I got another job for you. My cousin works for a regional timber association."
Before Theo could object, he was shaking hands with a short man with skinny legs and a round belly.
"This is Derek," Arnie said.
"You're not what I thought," Derek said. He used one hand to shield his eyes as if looking up to a great height.
"I get that a lot," Theo said.
"Who's your people?" Derek asked.
"Jicarilla Apache."
"I haven't been down that way," Derek said.
"It's a long way from here," Theo said.
"That's how it is in the west," Derek said as they settled into their seats. "Meat and bread going to be okay?"
"Any food is fine," Theo said. "Thanks for taking care of me."
They put in their orders and talked about sports and local issues. Arnie and Derek went back and forth about a family dispute that involved Auntie June's chickens and the use of a shed. Theo had no problem finishing everything set in front of him, even the green salad, before they finally got down to business.
"Our organization needs conference coverage," Derek said. "We want you to act as a reporter. Summarize what's going on for our website. Short, sweet bites. Short film clips. Later you can write it all up for the tribal paper."
Theo gave Arnie a questioning look.
"You'll have time," Arnie said.
Theo didn't think Arnie had a clue about how much time it would take, but this was exactly what Professor Stone's class had trained him for.
"Try to talk to some of the speakers, if you can. Get behind-the-scenes nuggets." Derek folded his hands in front of him. "We got budget to pay you."
"I'd be getting paid for two jobs at the same time?" Theo said.
"You're a natural," Arnie said. Derek laughed.
"We can introduce you to others in the association. We could use someone regular," Derek said.
"One thing at a time," Theo said. He'd left the house planning to get out of this so he could finish packing and get all this behind him. But he liked these people and the work sounded okay, too. He let the idea roll around in his head. Derek and Arnie discussed various tribal issues and the upcoming conference. They spoke about forestry and policy goals. He tried to follow.
"What do you think of all this?" Derek said with a grin. "You work with tribal organizations before?"
Theo exhaled. "No. I get called when they need muscle. Not…" Theo made a vague gesture. "It's a lot to take in."
"Anything here work for class?" Arnie asked.
"What do you mean?" Theo asked.
"Like when you interviewed me, can you work some of this stuff into a class project?"
"Class is finished," Theo said.
"I thought Katie said you had another week or two."
"Not for me," he said. Off Arnie's questioning look he added, "I'm not passing her class. I was already on iffy ground with my financial aid so I'm done."
"I'm disappointed to hear that," Arnie said. His concern sounded genuine, which somehow made Theo feel worse. "Is there anything I can do?"
"Like talk me up with my instructor?" Theo said, raising an eyebrow.
Arnie traded a quick look with Derek, then laughed. "That's complicated."
"I don't need to know," Theo said.
"I'd like to hear," Derek said.
"Later," Arnie said. "Don't say anything to Ester. I don't want everyone gossiping about something when I don't even know what it is."
"Not a problem. The thing with Ester is finished, too," Theo said.
"Wow, you're having a bad week. Ester's a good one. I'd fix it if you can. You find a good Native woman, don't screw it up."
"He would know," Derek said.
"I am the reigning champion of missed opportunities," Arnie agreed. "Don't give up on school. It might not be as bad as you think. Were you planning to transfer to the university in town or go somewhere else?"
Theo shook his head. "I hadn't planned for that at all. You know, the whole financial thing."
Arnie brushed the statement away. "There are all kinds of scholarships. We can get you taken care of."
"They don't give money to people like me," Theo said.
"People like what?" Arnie said. Derek made a face as if he were offended.
But it was obvious, he was a big brown guy who intimidated people by walking into a room. No one looked at him and thought, This guy is good scholarship material.
"You're serious, aren't you?" Arnie said. "You're smart, you're hardworking. That's the kind of person who wins scholarships. Derek's organization gives out scholarships. Kiss his flat brown ass."
"No, don't," Derek said.
Arnie paid the bill and stuck the receipt in his wallet. "Don't give up. We'll talk more about it. I'll see you when the conference starts."
The only reason Theo had shown up was to tell Arnie he had the wrong guy, and somehow he had two jobs and a crazy notion that school could work out. If there was one thing he wanted to learn from Arnie, it was how to trick people into doing things they had no intention of doing.
32
Time dragged when your heart was torn in two. Every time she closed her eyes she saw his apartment stripped bare and his silver car driving away. Every once in awhile she'd tap out a text to him that she'd just as quickly delete.
Back at the house, she and Dennis spent their evenings in different rooms, both of
them shuffling around in their own miserable haze. She slogged through the work day thinking about new programs with no idea what the future held. In the evenings she worked on her movie, adding in Theo's voice-over and fine-tuning each scene because it kept her mind focused.
Rayanne wanted to talk but she wasn't up for it. She kept Tommy's secret and felt closer to him after that. With NATG in town, the week was packed. Linda fretted about their presentation and Professor Stone's film, which would take place in a few days. Arnie said at least twenty local tribal leaders planned to attend, but Professor Stone still hadn't produced a final film, and everyone was tense with so much riding on this one thing.
"It's here," Linda called from her desk. "I almost gave up. It's downloading. Ester, can you set this thing up?"
"I'm on it," Ester said, squishing Linda aside to work at her keyboard.
Linda texted someone on her phone. The phone chimed back and Linda exhaled in an angry huff.
"Boss?" Ester said.
"Nothing. He's watching it with her," she said in an unhappy voice. "We'll do a conference call with them after we've seen it."
"We're ready," Ester said. She expanded it so it filled the computer screen and the four of them crowded around the monitor.
An Indian flute trilled. The blurry picture slowly came into focus on a cluster of high-rises downtown under a cold winter sky. A series of images: a tree with an overflowing garbage can next to it, a lone bicyclist riding along the river path. There was a big fountain in the park by the river and a shawl dancer twirled in slow motion with a line of city buildings behind her.
"Who is that?" Linda asked.
"The dancing looks good," Tommy said.
Rayanne patted Tommy's arm. "You're adorable. What does that have to do with anything?"
"She's setting the stage," Ester said. "The tone. A tribal person, alone and contrasted with the urban landscape."
The flute music rose and fell and then drums came in. The dancer moved mournfully around the fountain. Linda stared at her keyboard as if there were a solution there.
"Watch, boss. You need an informed opinion," Ester told her.
"I have an opinion," Linda grumbled.
The scene dissolved and the next scene showed the room where they were currently sitting, all four of them bent over computers.
"We look good when we're working," Linda said.
"Well, that's the message we want to convey," Rayanne said.
The film did a series of cuts with the rise and the fall of the music. An elder sitting by herself gazing sadly at something out of sight. The same shot of the crying kid with the dirty face in Warm Springs that she'd used in her personal film. An unflattering angle of Linda sorting through a stack of paper at a harried clip.
"Do I really have that many chins?" Linda said.
"No one has that many chins," Ester said. "It's a terrible shot."
By the time the film faded, a gloomy shadow had parked over the room.
Linda squeezed her forehead as if staving off a terrible headache. "Is that what an outsider sees when they visit our organization?”
"I hated it," Rayanne said.
"You need to make it constructive criticism when we talk to Arnie," Linda said.
Ester sorted through her impressions. The film itself was fine. She'd done a lot with what little she had, creating a story about urban Indian people. But it wasn't working. Why were they all sharing this reaction?
The office phone rang and Linda picked it up.
“It's them,” she mouthed. "We just finished. Hang on, let me put it on speaker." Linda muted the phone. "I think Professor Stone is with him so be diplomatic."
Rayanne made a face.
"We're all here," Linda said, taking the phone off mute.
"It's a great piece of filmmaking but not in the spirit of what we need," Ester said.
Now it was Linda's turn to make a face.
“What? That was diplomatic,” Ester mouthed.
Arnie chuckled. "Thank you, Ester. I want to hear what Linda thinks."
Linda took her time before she said, "I'm still processing what I saw. It covered a lot of ground image-wise but a few bits of narration could fill in."
"That's along the lines of what we thought. Pretty pictures but the message isn't getting across," Arnie said.
Linda traded puzzled looks with Rayanne and Ester. Tommy flipped through a sports magazine.
"Who's we?" Rayanne asked.
"Oh, sorry," Arnie said. "I'm here with Theo."
Ester's stomach flipped at the sound of his name. Tommy set the magazine aside. They all looked at her. "Where are you?" she asked, a slight waver in her voice.
"Conference center," Theo said. "Someone tricked me into doing work I am completely unsuited for."
"I thought you left town," Ester said, a painful mixture of longing and hope stirring her up inside.
"Plan changed."
Ester had so many questions. She realized the others all watched her, and she shook her head and sat back. For now, Theo was in town and working with Arnie.
Linda leaned toward the speaker. "I'm not sure it does what we need, but we've booked a room and promoted a movie."
"You could do it without if you had to," Arnie said. "You're great in front of a group."
Linda gave the phone a disgusted glare. "Let's work with what we have. Are you, uh, talking to her?"
"Conference is keeping me busy. I have to go. I'll see you at the session," Arnie said. Ester noticed he didn't answer the question.
"Talk to you then," Linda said, ending the call. "I can't believe him sometimes. The film screening idea was his."
"Do you want to use it?" Rayanne asked.
"We have to, otherwise we have nothing."
Ester was tired of overthinking so she stopped thinking. She went to her backpack and got her external drive. She plugged it into the computer and clicked a few buttons.
Her film started with a clip of two elders speaking in their native language, their expressions animated before they broke into laughter.
"Sounds like the Beat Braves," Rayanne said when the music started, a contemporary mix of Native singing and drumming with guitar.
"Used without permission," Ester admitted. "A placeholder."
The camera moved through the room, catching snippets of laughter, elders being served food, the staff in the kitchen joking around while they filled plates.
"Is this what you've been working on?" Tommy asked.
Ester smiled.
"This is terrific," Linda said, eyes glued to the monitor.
"This is from the clips I've been collecting for months. I did online tutorials to put it together. I'm still not sure about a few parts..."
"Is that Theo?" Rayanne asked when the voice-over started.
Ester didn't respond.
The film showed their previous office in the strip mall and the school building they’d planned to buy. She had clips of Tommy playing basketball with a group of young people, kids doing traditional dancing, and Linda sitting next to Margie, their heads bent together while they talked.
Linda pressed her hand to her chest. "You're really good at this. Why didn't you show us before?"
Ester shrugged. "You've seen what I put on social media for us."
Linda got up and gave her a hug. "This is better than that. You need to keep up with this. The only bad part is we have to tell Arnie we don't want his friend's film."
Now that Linda wanted to show it in public, Ester's confidence flagged. "It needs more work. There are effects that came out stupid and I had a funny clip of Tommy parking the bus I wanted to add."
"It's perfect," Linda said. "We need to get you some classes and better equipment."
Linda had never encouraged Ester to do anything except spreadsheets and number-crunching and normally she would have been pleased, but instead all she could think about was…Theo was still in town.
33
Linda found the conference cen
ter endlessly confusing. Clusters of small rooms and then huge cavernous rooms. Sometimes the huge cavernous rooms were broken into smaller rooms or sectioned off into areas. She wandered the wide hallways with Ester and Rayanne.
Her cellphone rang and she checked the display. Audra. Her heart sped up. "Do you have news?"
"Immediate response. Three people from the city will meet with us. They gave me several dates. I said I'd check with my client. Have you talked to Arnie yet?"
"Haven't had a chance," Linda said. She'd found Arnie's pocketknife in the longhouse and she turned it over in her pocket. The smooth bone handle reminded her of her grandfather's knife. "He's going to be furious."
"But we got what we wanted," Audra said.
"He doesn't like to be kept out of the loop," Linda said.
"You know him better than I do," Audra said. "He'll be fine. I'll email you the dates and times and you work out with him when we're going to sit down. Congratulations. We're moving forward."
"Thanks," Linda said. She shoved her phone back in her bag. Now she had two critical pieces of information Arnie needed and didn't have because, other than their conversation the day before, she couldn't get ahold of him.
They found the check-in desk and an intern pointed them down another hallway. Their city had a large tribal population and Linda was around Natives all the time, but there was something special about walking through the concourse busy with Indian people, some wearing traditional accessories, some dressed in professional clothing, all ages and genders. She grew more optimistic about their mission.
Ester said, "What did Arnie say, room B? Actually, ‘room number B’ is what he said. Shouldn't it be room letter B?"
"Yeah," Rayanne said, "but which room B? There is room B Alder and room B Cedar and, if I understand this map correctly, there are two more room Bs if we go up a level."
Hearing his name gave her a tremor of nervous energy. Arnie had disappeared. He didn't return calls, emails, or texts. She'd considered leaving him a message to give him a clue, but his lack of communication had inspired a mutinous streak. If he wanted open communication, he needed to keep up his end.
Lovesick Braves Page 21
