New Year, With Their Dreams Ignored - Leah Solo
❝Never overlook the kindest of others, not even when you aren’t willing to see them.❞ ~Billy Black
“Why is it that the moment I find the three musketeers in the same place, the hairs on the back of my neck stand up and the Spirits go silent?” I stood over the table, their three faces looking up at me with the most innocently sustained features. ( I knew better ).
Ma shifted in her chair, #MsC gave me her best smile ( it was the same one her son gave when trouble was in the making. ) And #Billy?
‘I don’t know what you mean Lealea, we are minding our own business drinking coffee.’ #BillyBlack sat back on his chair trying to look casual. ( Casual being the opposite of how he appeared. )
Don’t get me wrong, it was good to see the three of them out of their homes, especially #MsC. But the way they voices came to a halt the moment my bike pulled up and I came into the diner had been telling.
“Sure, and you forget I wasn’t born yesterday, Billy.” I raised my eyebrow at him.
‘No, I’m sure it wasn’t yesterday. You know as I was right there in the waiting room with your auntie Sarah expecting your arrival.’ He gave me a raised eyebrow right back.
“Oh, so you are going to play that card. The I was there when you were born one?” I crossed my arms over my chest and tapped my foot pointedly.
It would seem tens to anyone witnessing the exchange between the two of us. But from where I stood and #Billy sat; we were both egging the other on.
‘Just saying it how it was Ayoli Saquu! ( Young One )’ he retorted.
‘Usdi, Alewisdodi.’ ( Baby, Stop. ) Ma rolled her deep brown eyes up at me, but her curled lips into a soft smile told that she was in on the joke too.
‘No, let them keep going Sue, maybe we could sneak out without Leah noticing.’ #MsC laughed softly tapping my arm. ‘Or you could come sit down with us and we will tell you what is happening?’ This time the smile she gave me didn’t reach her eyes. Making me frown as I pulled a free chair from the table behind her and turned it to sit front to back on it.
‘Tiffany…’ #Billy warned.
‘She’s going to find out anyway Billy, this young lady of ours has a way of finding things out, so why not just tell her in the first place?’ #MsC brushed #Billy’s warning looks off.
“What’s going on here?” I narrowed my eyes, combing my fingers through my hair and pulling it up into a bun over the top of my head. “What aren’t you telling me?” My eyes moved over all three of them one by one.
They were silent to begin with, and I didn’t push. I sat waiting for them to speak with me.
‘So…’ Ma started and then stopped.
“Well?” I repeated after him. ( I hoped this wasn’t going to become a game with them. )
‘You see….’ #MsC said this time.
“I swear in the name of the spirits if one of you doesn’t start spilling your guts…” I snapped my teeth at the three of them.
‘Okay, okay. It’s about the tribal council.’ Ma started and I held in my groan. My eyes drifting towards the door, was it too late to bail?
As Ma continued to speak, I knew it was. She told me how the three of them had been at the meeting this morning, they were hoping to make some progress on the tribal store we had all talked about at the end of last year.
‘They are saying that they can’t give us the grant we applied for as they have been pushing back on the community hall for the last two years.’ Ma told me. ‘And we can understand why it’s important not to let the hall fall into any more disrepair. However, the site for the tribal store will no longer be available if we do not place an offer on the building in the coming weeks.’
Okay, this wasn’t about the council after all. My shoulders loosened as I thought for a moment. “Hold on, isn’t all the events you are planning to do… the Car Wash and stuff for the community hall?” I asked a little confused. “Weren’t we planning on covering all the cost from the fund raising?” I was certain that was the plan.
‘We were/ are.’ #Billy interjected. ‘However, you know what the council is like, they want to pay towards it so that they can say. They helped.’
I gave the mother of all eye rolls, “Of course they do.” I growled. Of course, the group of old men with next to no foresight into the bigger picture would want to put their foot into something #MsC, Ma and #Billy were already working on.
‘The true issue is that if we tell them we don’t want their help with the community hall now Usdi, then it gives them grounds in the future not to help, stating that we could do it ourselves. And it’s going to hurt the children of the tribe. We don’t want that.’ Ma was right. The council would use this to play on. Those useless old men needed an excuse.
‘Unatse wili adanvtesgv Itse sudetiyvda, unatseli gvdodi unatseli disgitisdi adagasesdodi nigesvna adagasesdodi nigesvna asique Lealea!’ ( They will think, this is a New Year, with their dreams ignored again, Leah! ) #Billy’s voice was sadder now, as he spoke of the young generations of the tribe.
“So, why don’t we change it up then? Let the council pay for the community hall, we do all the charity fundraising for the store, and then that way we manage to still get the building you found?” What was I missing here?
‘Because…’ #MsC started, and I rubbed my forehead.
“Because then the council will say the same thing about the store. If we managed to do it all ourselves, then they don’t need to help in the years to come?” They all nodded their head at the same time as the penny dropped for me.
I took a deep breath and felt the light touch of my Ma’s hand squeezing mine. A silent conversation saying ‘No, Usdi… You can’t go and bang their heads together again.’
“I say you still do it. Billy is right the kiddos already feel like they aren’t cared for, and having them hanging out on the streets and in the parks isn’t the right thing for them. They need a safe place to go. They need to know there will be grownups around to listen to them.”
I had seen how Embry and Quil had done this very thing for the pups. But the rest of the tribes children needed the same support too. “Next year we will deal with the council. One thing at a time.” My phone buzzed with a message from #TheKid, asking where lunch was. I sighed. “And you know if I can help, I will.”
Telling them I needed to get back to the bar with everyone’s lunches. I said my good byes. Making a mental note of checking in with them really soon to see if maybe somehow, I could add more money from my Seattle fight to the pot without them questioning where the money came from.
