Dave stepped out of the plane, happy to be back on earth's soil after flying. His stomach was still very upset with him for the altitude changes, but he'd all ready thrown up all that he could and as he now stood in the shocking heat and humidity felt he miserable, weak as he was all ready.
His heart all but leapt from his body as he heard a tremendous roar from nearby. He looked to his right to see a U.S. fighter jet on a nearby runway preparing to take off. He smiled as he watched it speed down the runway then climb into the sky with more noise than he ever thought possible. Yep, that was Sioux Falls all right, ARMY Reserves and all. "Good luck, buddy," he whispered to the pilot. Most everyone else seemed to be returning to their humble state from a spring visit elsewhere and paid little attention to the fighter jets. He noticed the people in his vicinity flowing into the airport buildings and reluctantly decided to join them, being a fellow human pack animal.
He sat down on a small bench and tried to convince himself of the beauty of the potted plants as his stomach began to turn somersaults once more. He just needed something to focus on…
There was a mechanical grind as luggage began to appear on a large conveyor belt that snaked in from nowhere. He spotted his suitcase and duffel bag and snatched them up as he glared at the black strips of rubber hanging over the exit of the belt. Ever since he was a child he'd been afraid that his possessions would be sucked into such a hole never to be seen again.
The room was brightly lit and the small groups of people moved out quickly, leaving Dave alone with his luggage. His grandmother had been so happy when he'd called and asked to visit. She had insisted upon meeting him at the airport so that he wouldn't have to rent a car.
He heard the sucking of air as the door behind him was opened and craned his neck, hoping to see the familiar visage of his grandmother. Instead he was met with an elderly, yet surprisingly spry old farmer shrouded in an aged John Deere cap. The man looked around for a moment, spotted a custodian and loudly asked a question before scurrying off to his mysterious destination.
Dave looked back at his hands as he happily realized that his stomach had finally recognized what ground felt like and had decided to calm down. After another minute or two of nearly complete silence the deserted airport began to get to him and he rose making his way for a glass case.
Inside was a finely woven basket of beautiful design. Made by a Lakota elder. To his left he noticed a handcrafted peace pipe, obviously never intended for use. The bright yellows, reds, whites, blues and almost perfect feathers suspended by sinew gave off an aura of perfection that stimulated its fakery.
He looked back to the baskets as he took a step forward, and to a large photograph of a buffalo herd hanging on the wall. The grass was green with yellow flowers. Next to it was a collage of tourist attractions. He smirked. What a getup this place was…
Yet that was when he turned back to his left. That was when he saw it, hanging there in its black case. A chill ran up his spine. It was a handmade replica of a shirt worn at the Ghost Dance… the Massacre at Wounded Knee. He ran his eyes over its smooth surface, drinking in every detail. The curled fringes, the changes in color… he looked down to the small placard:
Replica of a holy shirt worn during the Ghost Dance. Many of the Plains people believed that a Ghost Shirt such as this would protect them from their white enemies. On the morning of December 29th, 1890, a single shot was fired, and in the following volley nearly 300 Sioux men, women and children, most of which unarmed, were killed by U.S. troops and buried in a mass grave. The Ghost Dance was believed to bring the return of the buffalo and the end of white oppression to the Native Americans of the Great Plains.
My God…all they did was dance… Dave had heard the story many times, but somehow, being older, it had a much stronger emotional impact on him. He let his eyes slide back up to the leather shirt with a black painted eagle as a decoration and symbol of unity with the great Creator. Those poor people… he could feel their terror reaching out to him over the decades…
With his attention focused on tracing the lines of craftsmanship before him he barely registered the figure that leaned against the wall beside him.
"Hiya handsome."
Slightly startled, Dave shifted his eyes to the figure before him, but immediately broke out in a grin as he recognized his grandmother. His smile was broad and pure, yet he couldn't think of a witty response. Before he could give the task much effort his grandmother had grabbed his shoulders and pulled him down into a hug.
"Ooooooh Sweetie…" he never would have guessed that someone of her age and size could squeeze so hard. "Where have you been all these years?!" She pulled away and Dave laughed, not knowing what to say.
"Let me look at you…" she slightly furrowed her brow as she took his face into her wrinkled hands. "Child… what the hell happened to your face?" she let go.
Dave looked nervous. "You, uh, you mean the black eye?"
"Course not, seen plenty of those before! I meant how the hell are you still so damn cute?!"
His shocked expression was exactly what she had been hoping for. She broke into loud laughter and playfully smacked his arm. Before he knew it he was once more in her embrace, wincing slightly as his bruised side was compressed. When she finally pulled away again it was to wipe tears from her eyes. She gave a loud sniff, "Damnit kid, you grew up."
"It was bound to happen some time," Dave chuckled.
"Well, come on," she grabbed his suitcase out of his hand. "We've got a hell of a long drive and your grandfather's waiting for us back at the rez."
She stepped out into the heat, her slowly graying dark hair pulled back tightly into two braids, one on either side of her head. She wore what looked like his grandfather's plaid, collared blue shirt over her own off-white tank top. Her jeans and hiking boots accentuated her mobility. He could never get over how spry she seemed to be compared to women her age he'd treated in the ER.
He pulled his duffel bag strap off his shoulder and began to lift it into the bed of the old Chevy pick-up.
"What the hell are you doin'? Get in the car, I've got it!"
"Grandma-"
"No arguments, kid."
"I don't want to get in the truck."
"Why the hell not?!" She shoved the duffel bag back next to the cab. He'd never heard her swear so much in his life… maybe it was just because he was an adult now…
"Because I haven't even asked you how you are yet!"
She laughed. "So ask!"
Dave grinned. "Alright Grandma. How the hell are you?" His grin immediately fell when he saw the expression on her face.
"Don't you use that language around me! You know I don't like it!"
"Grandma! Every other word you just said was 'hell'!"
She pretended to be angry with her grandson for a few moments more until she couldn't stand for him to believe that she was for another second. She bubbled into laughter again as Dave slowly followed suit, realizing that she'd been playing a joke on him. He'd forgotten what a sense of humor this adorable old woman had.
The amazingly green fields sped past until their beautiful novelty began to fade.
"So how's grandpa?"
"That old coot? He's fine," she waved off the question. "I want to hear about you! How'd you get that shiner? My God, by, I haven't talked to you in 12 years!"
"I know… and it hasn't been easy."
She reached over and momentarily placed a loving hand on his knee as she watched the road. Dave secretly hoped that he'd successfully avoided the question for the time being. When he'd called her earlier he'd just said that he'd missed her.
"So tell me, what's it like being a doctor?"
Dave sighed. "Oh, you know… the usual."
"Where is it that you work?"
"Chicago Cook County ER."
"An ER, huh? I always had you pinned for an author with all those wonderful stories and games you'd dream up… I remember, you and Sandra used to love to play dinosaurs. You still remember Sandra?" his grandmother grinned.
He chuckled. "How could I forget Sandra?"
His grandmother still smiled. "Yeah, you two were best buddies. Joined at the hip… she's still around, you know."
"Really? I thought she wanted to travel the world and live in distant nations…"
"Well… the world sometimes has a way of getting the better of you…"
"You could say that again…"
"What about you? Have you followed any of your dreams?" She kept her eyes on the road in the afternoon sunlight. Fields of alfalfa with their first cuts bailed into rolls dotted the horizon on either side with intermittent cow-grazed hills.
"You mean how I wanted to be a T-Rex when I grew up? Nah… somehow that didn't work out," they both chuckled. "But when I got older I realized that I was happiest when I was helping people and doing the right thing. Answering a question in class… helping someone with a math problem… I was first interested in being a veterinarian. I figured that I'd get to go home everyday with the satisfaction that I'd fixed Scruffy's broken leg and helped Whiskers deliver kittens… but you have to put so many animals to sleep… When I was fourteen I worked at an animal hospital for six weeks. On my first day they gave me euthenized puppies in a garbage bag and told me to put 'em in a dumpster."
She cracked up. "You mean they don't bury them or something?"
"Apparently not…" he couldn't help chuckling himself.
"So you found that your true heart lay in medicine?"
"I guess… it seems like I kindda' stumbled onto it."
"Well that's good. You found something that you love."
He sighed. "But I'm not sure how much good I do…"
"You do lots of good… even if you can't see it. But you've traded loosing puppies for loosing people, you know. I can see where that could wear ya' down. In an ER, too… Geeze kid, you're in deep…"
Dave laughed. "Yep, I am. And there's no one there to help me out… so I gotta find my own way."
"You know. Being stuck in a hole like that ain't always easy but it ain't always bad, either."
"Yeah… it isn't bad. I'm an adrenaline junkie… it's all that I can hope for."
She gave another boisterous exclamation. "That's my boy! Always looking on the bright side…"
'If only that were true…' he thought painfully…
She looked over at him, a distant stance to her. "You remind me of your mother."
Dave laughed nervously. "I do?"
"Mmm hmmm. I see so much of her in you. She'd be proud of you, Dave. Her Little Shining Eyes all grown up…" She bit her lip, choking back tears. "She'd be damn proud, Dave. Damn proud."