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“I’m saying that some of your comments are quite inappropriate,” she said primly.
“Really? How so?”
“Asking me to skinny dip? Suggesting we get naked?”
“Well, it’s not like I just stripped my clothes off.” I laughed. “I think that would be much more inappropriate. Don’t you?” I pulled my t-shirt off and stood there naked from the waist up, noticing the way her pupils dilated as she took in my bare chest.
“W-what are you doing, Chet?” she stammered.
“I was feeling a little bit warm.” I shrugged. “No big deal, right?”
“No,” she said, “Not at all.” She walked towards a big oak tree and stared up at it. “I wonder how old this tree is.”
“No idea,” I said as I followed behind her. “Hundreds of years, I’m sure.”
“It’s magnificent,” she said. “It’d be really cool to have a swing hanging from the branches.”
“Yeah,” I agreed. “I think that would be a good idea. In fact, we’re planning on building some log cabins around here, and I think this would make a perfect spot for kids to play.” I frowned. “Though, maybe it’s too close to the creek. I don’t know that we’d want them to be too close to the water, just in case they’re not supervised.”
“Yeah. You’d really want to have a play area that was far away from anything potentially dangerous, though it would be a beautiful area.”
“Yeah.” I sighed, and she looked at me with a curious expression.
“Was that for?”
“What was what was what for?”
“You sighed just now. Are you not happy with the eco-resort you guys are building?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “This has always been a family homestead, you know? It will be weird having strangers here, making noise and taking up space. It feels like it will become something that I’m not sure my ancestors would’ve wanted.”
“Or the Native Americans,” she said.
“Yeah, this was their land.”
“Does that ever make you feel bad?” she asked softly.
I tilted my head to the side and stared at her. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, this land wasn’t yours initially, right?”
“No. It’s not mine now, either. It belongs to the Hamilton family.”
“I mean before the Hamilton family took it over.” She paused and shook her head. “Sorry, I won’t get into it.”
“No, I’m curious what you mean.”
“I mean, this was Native American land, right? And some people say it should go back to the Native American tribes.”
“Oh, I see.” I nodded. “Yeah, I understand the complexities of the situation.”
“Oh yeah?” She sounded curious.
“I mean, I understand that when colonizers came to the United States, they took over land that didn’t belong to them. And when families made it to the west, like mine, deals were made.” I sighed. “There’s a lot of complicated history in this country and I, for one, don’t really know the answers to the question you’re asking. Do I think that I own the land or my family owns the land? Technically, yes. Do I think that it’s ours to do what we want with? No.” I shook my head. “I think it’s precious, and I think that it should be respected and kept pure and clean. I just want to do what’s right for me, my family, my ancestors, future generations, and for the Native American tribes in the area.” I looked at her. “My father’s thought about this a lot, and actually, a percentage of our income goes to the local tribe.”
“Really?” Her eyes widened. “I didn’t know that.”
“It’s not something we advertise.” I kicked at a pebble. “Just like philanthropists don’t advertise their good works and deeds and donations, at least not the ones that are giving because they think it’s right.”
