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Chapter 4
Instead of drivingstraight for the Black Hills, Wynona veered slightly eastward and drove onto the reservation where she grew up.
Wynona loved to tell people that her mother lived right behind Pizza Hut. Based on their reactions, she imagined that they thought “growing up on a reservation” meant “riding bareback to powwows.”
They couldn’t believe the Indians had a Pizza Hut.
As soon as Wynona opened her car door, she was assaulted by the scents of bread and garlic. Her mother, Blossom Ghost Bear, had grown nose blind to it and always accused Wynona of exaggerating its potency, but Wynona was convinced that Pizza Hut actually piped artificial scents into the air to lure people inside, where they could snag them with the scents of real bread and garlic.
Her mother stepped out onto the porch as Wynona approached.
“What, did you sense me coming?” Wynona called out.
“I always do!” Blossom came down the steps and wrapped her arms around Wynona, giving her an impressive squeeze before letting her go to say, “Come on in, we have company!”
Of course she did. Her mother was such a social butterfly.
Wynona stepped into the trailer that smelled like safety and let out a little squeal before throwing her arms around her favorite cousin. “Holden! I haven’t seen you in too long!” She let go of him to get a better look. He hadn’t changed much, but there were a few flecks of silver in his long black hair.
He let go of her and sat back down at the small kitchen table. “You look great, Wynnie.”
“Thank you. You do too. What are you doing here?” He was a long way from home.
He gave her mother a cryptic look.
Wynona followed his gaze. “What? What’s going on?” She failed to keep the alarm out of her voice.
Her mother waved her concerns away and sat heavily. “It’s nothing. Folks are overreacting.”
Holden’s stare suggested it wasn’t nothing.
Wynona sat beside her and laid her hand over her mother’s. “Mom, tell me, or I’m going to freak out.”
“It’s really nothing. I’ve been forgetting a few things.” She waved her arm again. “I’ve already been to the doctor’s. They say there’s no cause for concern yet. I’ve gotten some good herbs, and we’re going to be okay.” She laughed. “I’m old enough to forget things, Wynona! Don’t you think I’ve earned it?”
Wynona didn’t know what to think. Was she downplaying it? Or was it really no big deal? “What sorts of things are you forgetting?”
“Oh, nothing that matters. I lost my keys. Lost my phone. Repeated a story or two.”
“She forgot to go to work,” Holden said.
Her mother laughed. “It’s time to retire anyway.”
This was true. It was long past time, actually. Wynona was the youngest of five kids. She was the second kid her mother had birthed after swearing she was done having children.
Wynona looked at Holden. “So Bo called you?”
Holden nodded. “He didn’t call me about this, but it came up, so while I was in the neighborhood, I thought I’d pay Auntie a visit.” He looked at her fondly, and Wynona realized how much she missed this. She loved her job in Nebraska, but there was just something about family.
“You just happened to be in the neighborhood?” They were at least a hundred miles from West Hope, where Holden lived.
