“So do you. It’s what we do.”
“Oh, so tell me, how has your first week been going boss lady?” Wren asked with bright eyes, as she shifted back to face Juniper.
Juniper had almost forgotten why her fury-induced detour had directed her toward Wren’s house in the first place.
“The first thirty minutes of the first day were great,” Juniper responded with a head tilt of suspense.
“Just thirty minutes?”
“You will never, ever guess who is working for the Tribe.”
They both definitely loved gossip. A guilty pleasure they actually didn’t feel any guilt about. Wren pulled her long curly black hair on top of her head and secured the messy bun with a hair tie from her wrist. Juniper almost wanted to laugh at the preparation she was undergoing to hear it.
“Who?” Wren begged.
“Rowan. Birdsong.” Juniper enunciated every syllable.
“Are you fucking kidding me?!” Wren’s eyebrows shot halfway up her forehead in complete surprise.
“Mom—,” Wanchese interrupted, “language.”
“Oh sorry, baby,” Wren directed at him before covering her mouth and whispering to Juniper with wide eyes. “Are you fucking kidding me?!”
“I am so not kidding. I really, really wish I was though.”
“Wow. So wait tell me how that went? You guys haven’t seen each other in what — fifteen years?”
“Fifteen years. Since the summer after high school graduation. It was awkward at first, obviously. But then I just started to get more and more pissed off. Why in the world would she choose to come back and work for the Tribe now? After all these years, and such anillustrious career,” Juniper mocked.
“I have no idea. It always looks like she’s traveling or meeting important people on her social media. That’s a huge ass change to move back here. From New York City? Hell no, I know I would never leave that kind of life if I had it,” Wren remarked with conviction and a sharp shake of her head.
Juniper rolled her eyes. Sure their community wasn’t the big city, but people never gave it enough credit. She took a long sip of coffee before getting herself back to the point.
“Anyway, she’s some kind of higher up advisor to the Chairwoman in the environmental department, whichof course, is what my program is under. I have never felt more defeated or outraged at the same time. There has to be an exact word to describe that feeling.”
“I’m sorry, I don’t even know what to say. It’s hard to believe we all grew up together. I’m still kind of in shock that she’s back.”
“Same. I have worked so hard, you know how hard, to make this happen. And it’s like I can’t have one good thing going for me. There’s always got to be some kind of problem, or I have to concede what I really want,” Juniper lamented.
“I get that. I know you’ve worked hard, Junie.” Wren’s facefaltered into a sympathetic frown.
“I can’t have someone coming in there telling me what to do, you know? Not someone who has no idea what it took to make this happen. I would love it if something could just beeasyfor once. I don’t want everything in my life to feel like one fucking struggle after the next.”
“Well, what are you going to do? Is there any alternative to working with her?”
“I doubt it.”
Wren shifted to face Juniper more fully, tucking one leg under herself and balancing her coffee cup on her propped up knee. She was switching into therapist mode, which she was actually very good at. It wasn’t just that she could give great advice she’d learnt the different hardships she’d faced, it was more so that she had that special energy, an aura about her that made everyone feel safe.
“The way I see it is you can’t let her stop you from fulfilling your dream. And you can’t be so clouded by your hatred of her that it affects your job. You can’t let either of those things happen. Because like you said — you worked too hard for this.”
“I know. You’re right. I guess I’ll have to power through. It sounds like all we have to do is work on the plans for Tribal Council approval on expanding the gardens. We should get that done by April, early-May at the latest. Then after that, we can go our separate ways again for the most part. If I’m lucky.”
Juniper drained the last of her coffee in one long sip and set the empty cup on the side table. She stretched her legs out, closed her eyes, and dropped her head into the back of the couch cushions. Her hair floated out through the air as she sank back, providing the perfect outward emphasis for how dramatic she felt inside.
“Ughhh,” she garbled dramatically.
“Auntie, what’s wrong?” Wanchese called out from his pile of Lego on the floor.
