“You’re going to be great. I’ll be there to support you the whole way.”
Juniper picked up her mug as Rowan recapped what she had worked on the previous week and what was still left to do. They discussed the outline for the presentation and where each of them could take turns splitting the responsibilities for speaking.
Rowan nodded toward the screen. “I was thinking here you could talk about where you learned your knowledge from.”
“You don’t think they’ll minimize what I’ve done since I didn’t go to school?”
“Absolutely not. And fuck anyone who tries. Seriously, Junie, most people who spend their lives locked away in their ivory towers would kill to know half of what you know.”
Rowan’s phone buzzed against the desk. Once she looked at it, she jumped up from her seat.
“It’s Theo. Do you mind if I take this in the hallway?”
“Sure. I’ll keep working on this slide.”
Juniper moved over to Rowan’s seat and finally removed the picture frame she’d tucked under her arm and placed it on Rowan’s desk. She finished writing out the talking points she had swirling in her mind about Indigenous traditional ecological knowledge, making sure to emphasize the importance of having a deep understanding of local ecosystems, biodiversity, and the sustainable management of natural resources.
She looked up at Rowan as she walked back in the office. “What did Theo want?”
Rowan scratched the back of her neck. “Uh, we were just talking about the new housing developments.”
Juniper looked back to the screen to keep working. After Rowan sat back down, she asked casually, “Is there something wrong with your house?”
“No, not at all.”
Juniper looked over at her again curiously. “Okay, cryptic.”
“I’m not trying to be. I promise.” She paused and Juniper followed Rowan’s eyes flicker over to the picture frame.
“Is that…” Rowan leaned closer and grabbed the frame from the desk. “Me and my parents?”
“Yep.
The picture showed a toddler-aged Rowan sitting on the floor between her mom Pearl’s legs as she played with toys. Wrapping paper littered the floor of the warmly lit living room, and Victor looked on proudly from his spot behind them on the brown floral print couch.
Rowan looked at her excitedly as she sat back down next to Juniper. “Where did you get this?”
“I went through my mom’s photo albums again and saw it.”
“That’s why you were late this morning?”
Juniper smiled. “Maybe.”
Rowan leaned into Juniper’s body and placed a searing kiss on her neck. “Today is going to be a very long work day.”
Chapter 19
In the quiet early dawn hours, the first glimmers of daylight painted the horizon in soft hues of orange and pink as Juniper and Rowan pulled up with the food truck on the powwow grounds of a nearby Tribe. They parked under a canopy of tall pine trees, and from the moment they opened their doors to get out, they were flooded with the resinous scent of pine.
Juniper hopped out of the truck with Rowan following behind her. They walked around the back to open the doors, and Juniper drew in a deep breath in mental preparation. When she blew it out, her breath was visible in the cool morning air.
She rapidly rubbed the long sleeves of her shirt that covered her hands together. “Don’t let this temperature fool you. It’s getting hot today, and it will get even hotter in here.” She swung the back doors of the food truck open.
“I dressed in layers. You don’t have to keep worrying about me, Junie.”
Juniper gave her a skeptical look, but it was so softened around the edges it betrayed how grateful she really was to have Rowan there with her.
Juniper yawned. “Coffee before anything else.”
