Taking hold of the invitation József Fehér had given him this day, Red Fox read over the words slowly. Was the note from József Fehér or from another?
Although Red Fox had learned to decipher a few of the white man's scratches put to paper, he was by no means able to do so quickly. It was an invitation to a party, but he could not decipher enough to know when the party was to take place. He could, of course, take the paper to one of the white women married to his friends, but they were currently encamped at the homestead of Poka'aki's father, a half-day's ride from camp.
However, there were three other white women in the camp, though they were all his grandmother's age. Still, he knew they would help him. One of these women was Laylah, wife of the great medicine man Eagle Heart. He would go there at once.
Approaching their lodge, he scratched briefly on the entry flap and was bid to enter. Ducking down under the flap and stepping over the circle which was the entrance into their lodge, he came to stand up within their large and unusual home—unusual because it exhibited both white and Pikuni relics.Niitá'p, such a mixture of cultures was so clearly in evidence here, he was instantly set at ease, realizing these two people had created a home which was filled with both Indian and white possessions.
The elder, Eagle Heart, smiled at him and indicated a spot next to him where Red Fox should sit; it was a place of honor. Said Eagle Heart in Blackfeet, "Welcome, Red Fox, healer of our horses, dogs and many other animals. Will you smoke with me?"
"Áa,I will smoke."
Eagle Heart nodded, and, picking up a coal from their lodge fire, he lit the pipe. Meanwhile, his wife, Layla, prepared some roasted ribs over the fire.
Eagle Heart was still a handsome man, though he was now sixty-plus winters in age. His face held all the appearance of a wise man, every wrinkle upon his brow attesting to a life spent in the service of helping others of their band. His wife, Laylah, who was his assistant whenever the medicine man was called upon to help another, was a beautiful woman, her golden hair showing only a few gray hairs in the two braids at the side of her face. Long had she been known to the people as one of the most beautiful women of their tribe.
As soon as the pipe had been properly held up to the Creator and to the Above Ones, as well as the four corners of the world, Eagle Heart passed the pipe to Red Fox, then asked, "What brings you here today, young Red Fox?"
Waiting for a moment before replying, as was tradition, Red Fox at last said in Blackfeet, "I have with me a note handed to me by József Fehér, and although I have been taught to read these letters, I have had no call to practice the skill and I fear I cannot tell what these scratches on the paper mean. I have come to see if your wife might be able to read this note to me."
Eagle Heart nodded and gestured first toward Red Fox and then to his wife, Laylah. He said, both with signs and with words, "I believe she can read it. Do you agree, my woman?"
"Of course I will read it to this young man, Red Fox."
"Soká'pii,good.Go ahead and give her the note."
Red Fox obliged and handed the paper to Laylah.
This still-beautiful golden-haired woman took the note from him and read over the writing quickly. As she looked up, she smiled at Red Fox, and he was impressed at once not only by her beauty but by her kind countenance as she said, "It is an invitation to a ball."
"A ball?" Red Fox asked.
"Yes, a ball, which is an elegant and fancy white man's gala. At this kind of celebration," said Laylah, "the people weartheir very best clothing and there are many ways in which they dance together, but the footwork they do is quite different from the steps of our own Pikuni festivities. Mostly the people dance about and sway in time to what is called the waltz. Do you know how to waltz?"
"I do not," Red Fox answered.
"Do not worry," she went on to assure him. "I have seen you dance, and I know you will be able to learn the steps and what is expected of you quickly. Perhaps Briella might teach it to you?"
"Perhaps," Red Fox answered. "But, when is this event to take place?"
"Let me look," said Laylah, glancing again at the note. "Oh, it is to be this very night. You might consider dressing in the best clothing you possess, if it is your wish to attend this ball. All the men and women there will be clothed in their very best and elaborate clothing," she said, passing the note back to Red Fox.
"It is to take place this night? So soon?"
"Áa,this very night."
"Nitsíniiyi'taki,I am grateful. Thank you for reading this to me. Can you tell me who the note is from?"
"Why, it is from Mária Fehér, herself. Indeed, if my man does not object, I can teach you this dance, the waltz, though we would have to go outside. Do you object, my husband?"
"I do not. Although I might like to learn this dance, too. May I learn it, as well?"
Eagle Heart's smile at his wife held such affection that, for a moment, Red Fox could not look away. Oh, that his own future lodge with Poka'aki could be so full of love.
"Of course you may. If you will come with us, it will be easier for me to teach our young friend this beautiful dance because we can demonstrate it to him."
"Then, we shall do it. Let us retire at once to the hills around us while the sun is still high in the sky. It is there where we can more easily learn these steps without other eyes looking upon us."
As Eagle Heart and his wife exchanged a sincere and loving smile, Red Fox, seeing it, took courage. All in camp admired this woman and this couple.Nittá'p,witnessing such a union between these two people, who were from so very different cultures, gave Red Fox hope.
