“I need something like that.”
“Then you need to get you a pretty lady to make you one,” Juniper teased.
Beckett smirked. “Yeah, we’ll see about that.”
“Did you see my mom’s mural?” Wanchese interjected.
Beckett raised her eyebrows and looked down at him. Not out of rudeness. She looked more surprised that a kid would be talking to her. She was a little more than intimidating. She uncrossed her arms to respond to him.
“Is Wren your mom?”
She looked over to Wren who briefly smiled.
“She is.”
Wanchese almost hip checked Wren with how hard he wrapped himself around her side. She let out a surprised laugh and steadied herself from the impact.
“You’re proud of your mom, aren’t you?” Beckett asked, her gaze moving back to Wren.
Juniper was sure she caught Wren blush, but she looked away quickly.
“Why don’t you come show me? I haven’t had a chance to see it yet. Maybe you can tell me more about it.”
He happily strolled past Beckett to lead her to the back of the pavilion. “Follow me,” he called back over his shoulder.
Juniper turned to Rowan. “Okay, let’s go over our plan of events one more time.”
Rowan nodded.
“Beckett is going to call everyone to order and introduce an Elder who will give a prayer and then she’ll say a few words. I talked to her about that last week, and she said she’s good to go. Then I’ll talk about the history of this project and the specifics of how people can access the food. Then some students from the school will sing a traditional song to close us out. Are yousure you don’t want to say anything?”
“I’m sure. Unless you need me to. This is your moment.”
“I appreciate that. It’s all of our moment though. Our whole community.”
“You’re right,” Rowan confirmed, tucking a strand of hair away from her face.
“The film crew forDiego Reyes Reportsis here, and then he’ll interview us for the extended segment later?”
“They got in yesterday afternoon, and they’ll set up after this private event is over.”
Juniper turned to Wren. “Do you need any help organizing the students at all?”
“I don’t think so. They’ve practiced a lot, and they’re excited! They’re so cute. They got together to coordinate their outfits. The hand drummer even asked me to paint something similar to the mural on the back of his drum. They’ll be ready when you give them their cue.”
Juniper wrapped an arm around Wren’s shoulders. “Kuwumaras,” she said as she squeezed her.
“Kuwumaras,” Wren replied, her face lighting up as she squeezed the hand on her shoulder.
More and more community members filed in until the area around the pavilion was brimming with vibrancy. Anita and Victor had brought camp chairs like this was going to be a full day affair. They sat next to each other off to the side, old friends who couldn’t be more proud of the children they had raised up. Victor gave them a thumbs up like he was prepared to watch them play a basketball game again, like it was high school.
When it was finally time to get started, fifteen minutes after the scheduled start time because it was a group of excited Natives after all, Beckett called the much larger group than expected to focus in on the front of the pavilion where they were standing. She introduced an Elder from the community who gave a prayer of blessing. Then she offered a few words of her own.
“Thank you, everyone, for joining us here today. A few months ago I was given the honor of shepherding a plan to expand our Tribal gardens through our Tribal Council’s review process. What you see today is part of the results of that plan. What you can’t see is all of the hard work, dedication, and persistence it took to make this moment happen. Juniper Banks, as many of you know, has been working on this for our people for almost eight years now. She started with nothing but a few seeds and a small tilled patch at the back of her mom Anita’s house. What she grew from that will sustain our community for generations to come.”
Beckett turned from addressing the crowd to looking at Juniper, who was biting back the tears she felt warming her eyes. Anita, on the other hand, was already using the edge of Victor’s unbuttoned flannel shirt to wipe her own.
“Juniper, you are a granddaughter, a daughter, a sister, an aunt, a friend. Among all of those things, you are also a beacon of light showing the rest of us what we can do if we roll up our sleeves and try. You built something that will be a hub for our community. I know you’re probably embarrassed right now with all of this attention.”
