She said, "You are wise, my husband. I will welcome speaking with my almost mother and I know George will benefit from being with you."
He squeezed her hand and grinned at her, and, as she gazed up into his dark eyes, she said, "I am so glad I was, at last, wise enough to marry you. I love you so much!"
"And, I, you." And then, despite the others looking on, he kissed her.
****
"I cannot begin to tell you how happy we are, all of us, to welcome you and the rest of your family to ours."
"Thank you," said Czanna, then smiled at Stands Strong's almost-mother, Sharon.
"There are many of us, I fear," said Sharon. "The other women in our family would also like to be walking with us, since they are all curious to know you better. But, we have decided all five of us might overwhelm you, and it is our wish to comfort you and allow you to come to know us gradually."
"This is, indeed, very kind of you all," replied Czanna. "And, I thank you for the consideration."
Sharon smiled. "Although I know we have only just met, I am hoping you might permit me to tell you a little about our family."
"This would, indeed, be favorable," replied Czanna.
"Good. I thank you, and I will try not to bore you with too many familial details—only enough so you will feel welcome. I suppose the best way to start is to begin with us, the women in the family. There are five of us in the immediate family, and now six, including you. Four of the women in our family married into the Pikuni tribe, having come from another tribe or other cultures. And now, with you, there are five of us."
"Oh my. Are you speaking of the family of Chief Chases-the-enemy?"
"Indeed, I am. There are many people in the entire family: grandfathers and grandmothers, as well as cousins, aunties, uncles, nieces and nephews. But, I think it wise to keep my story to your more immediate relatives, and these are: my husband, Strikes Fast, who is Crow; myself and our children—we have five children including the baby girl you see on my back. The oldest of our children is Stands Strong, who is Lakota by birth."
"Yes, my husband told me about his heritage, and about you, too, when we first met."
"Did he, now?"
"Indeed, he did. Because I am obviously not Indian, he asked me if I were your friend and if I was looking for you. I think hecould not understand what I—a white woman—was doing all alone, and on a bluff overlooking the prairie."
"Yes," said Sharon. "I can imagine you took him by surprise."
"I think I did. But, I am very glad we met as we did, if only because later we were to need his help very much. I will never forget how he came to our aid, and to the support of my father's manservant, Mr. Henrik."
"I am happy to hear this," said Sharon. "I did not realize how the two of you came to know one another. But, I can only imagine how you must have felt at first; he probably scared you."
Czanna laughed. "That he did. Quite so. But, my fear of him lasted only a little while. As we spoke, he set me at my ease. But, please, tell me more about my new family. I fear I have dominated our conversation when I very much wish to come to know more about Stands Strong's family."
"It is your right to dominate the conversation," said Sharon, and she smiled. "It is your family now, also. In truth, I would like to ask more, but I do not wish to pry. I love my almost-son as though he were of my own blood, and so of course I like to hear him spoken about in such a loving way."
"I, too, like to speak of him. He does tend to tease me a great deal."
Sharon laughed. "And, so it has been his way for as long as I have known him. He has a good heart. I only wish…"
After a long pause, Czanna asked, "Yes? You only wish…?"
"I am sorry. I do not wish to burden you with my own problem. We have much time to get to know one another. And, I think it best if I tell you about us and about how excited we all are to welcome you into our family."
"Indeed, I would like to hear this…very much."
"Good, then let me tell you about all your new relatives—at least those who are closely related to you now. Well, I have told you about myself and my husband, Strikes Fast. So, let me continue with my dear friend Amelia and her husband, GrayFalcon, who is a medicine man. They have three children, who are very excited to meet you," continued Sharon. "Next, we come to Amelia's sister, Laylah, who is married to the well-respected medicine man, Eagle Heart, and they have four children. Eagle Heart is also Chief Chases-the-enemy's younger brother, and it is Chief Chases-the-enemy who is the head of our family's clan.
"Now, as for Chief Chases-the-enemy's intimate family, he has two wives, and between his two wives, he has eight children. As you have probably become aware, some Indian men take more than one wife."
"Yes, I know, although Stands Strong has promised me he will not marry another woman. As you know, it is against our religion, and I could never marry a man who believes he could take another wife."
Sharon grinned. "Yes, I had a similar objection. And so, my husband has also promised this to me, as have Amelia's and Laylah's husbands. Indeed, Stands Strong knows well our beliefs—I have ensured this—so I am certain this came as no surprise to my almost-son.
