Chapter Two Thousand Four Hundred Forty-Five
13th March 1976
Window Rock, Arizona
The house was traditional construction, meaning logs and rammed earth. That was common enough around here as was the woodburning stove that had been purchased from Sears-Roebuck decades earlier which worked much like the one in her grandmother’s kitchen back in Fossoy. Maintaining the correct temperatures was a complicated process that she learned at her grandmother’s side, doing that was among her earliest memories.
Beans which had been left soaking overnight, rice, salt, onions, and finally a pair of rabbits that a cousin had supplied were the only ingredients on hand. There were some dried peppers, but Monique had swiftly learned that they were best kept in their jar where they were nice to look at. She could work with the rest though.
They had spent the first week at Window Rock with the promise that they were going to travel further north next week. As spectacular as the stone arch that overlooked what would have been a small village if it were not the seat of the Tribal Government was, Monique had been told that there were even more sights elsewhere. The others joked about how Monument Valley was worth seeing, but anyone who had ever seen one of dozens of Westerns or Wile E. Coyote and Roadrunner cartoons knew about the place. Monique had never been interested in Westerns, but the Warner Brothers cartoons had been a staple of television everywhere she had lived.
The other observation was that nearly everyone Monique encountered was a distant relative of some sort. Throughout her childhood it had just been her and her grandmother. Now she was discovering that she had dozens of cousins and the shocking detail that her great grandmother, her grandfather’s mother, was still alive at nearly a century in age. When she had met Monique, she had given her a toothless grin and said that it was a tragedy that she had been born with Piers’ nose. That was whose house they were staying in.
Another odd detail was that everyone she encountered thought that it was funny that she knew far more Diné than English. “Our little niece from Europe hasn’t been colonized, what a kick to the head” was what she had been told. She had mentioned that she spoke French and German, but somehow that was different. Not many “Settlers” from those places, or at least not directly. It was a reminder of just how little she knew about these people who were strangely hers.
“Who taught you to cook Moni?” Monique was asked as Nina was looking in the pan.
“My grandmother” Monique replied. No one here called her by her proper name. It was either Moni, if she was lucky, or Doli if she wasn’t. Her grandfather’s pet name had stuck. According to her aunts, people who saw those grey-blue eyes of hers understood perfectly why she was called that. She had pointed out that should have marked her out as a true outsider and was told that hardly made her unique.
“You never showed much interest in cooking at home” Nina said.
“Tilde doesn’t want me to touch her gas range” Monique replied, “She seems to think that I will blow up the house.”
“That sounds like Tilde” Nina said amusedly.
Montreal, Canada
The smell of chlorine and damp towels filled Marie Alexandra’s nose as she stared at the Art Deco tiled ceiling high above. As she floated in the indoor pool, it occurred to her just how beautiful the building was. The water was warm, not bathtub warm, but warm enough so that you weren’t shocked when you jumped in. Bright sunlight streamed in through the bay windows providing extra warmth to the room, even if it was freezing cold outside regardless of what the calendar said.
Marie had no idea why, but her anxiety was back worse than ever. Before it had been how meeting new people had left her tongue tied and unable to get a word out. Now it was different, just unfocused dread. She knew that it was completely irrational but found herself focused constantly on the world around her looking for threats that were lurking just out of view. The Lady’s Athletic Club and her grandparents’ house happened to be the only places she felt completely safe. Marie could understand the latter. Her grandfather had been an important man and in his retirement the Canadian Government took his personal security extremely seriously.
The Lady’s Athletic Club was different though and it had taken Marie some time to figure out why. Finally it occurred to her that it felt safe because the members, mostly older women, wanted it to be a safe place without judgement. That was the same reason why they had so readily accepted Henriette, her being a single mother was just one more area where they refused to pass judgement. It had been rather plainly spelled out in the club’s charter which Marie had agreed to follow when she had joined.
Having to face reality again, Marie reluctantly climbed out of the pool. As she was toweling off and preparing to go to the showers, she was approached by a woman who she knew was one of the founders of the club. A former Olympic Track and Field star back in the 30’s, her medals occupied a place of honor in a glass case in the lobby.
“Hello Marie” The woman said in serious tone that suggested that she was about to ask for something. “I am sure that you already know about this city hosting the Olympics this summer. We are curious about the role that any of our members might play in them.”
“I am planning on going home for the summer” Marie replied.
“Really?” The woman asked, “What does your grandmother think?”
Something about how the woman asked the question suggested that it was about the same as finding live rattlesnakes somewhere unexpected. It was hardly a surprise that Marie’s grandmother probably wouldn’t be particularly welcome in this club.
“I don’t know, I haven’t told her” Marie replied.
That resulted in a surprised look on the woman’s face.
“She expects that I will make introductions to certain prestigious individuals who I know personally and is being nice for now to get what she wants” Marie explained, “I don’t want any part of that.”
“Like how prestigious?”
“Queen Elizabeth and Kaiserin Suga” Marie replied, “Who I know because of the whole Prinzessin von Berlin thing, which is absurd.”
For Marie it was like she was standing a few meters away listening to someone else talk as she spoke nothing but the whole truth. All the frustrations and anxieties of the previous months had propelled it out. It seemed like hardly a day passed without an encounter with someone who her grandmother had wronged at some point. Reality came crashing down on her head when the woman’s expression was one of horror.
“Please don’t tell anyone I said that” Marie blurted out, all too aware of how her grandmother might react if any of that got to her.
Instead, the woman suddenly burst out laughing. “My lips are sealed” She said when she regained her composure, “I just wish I could be there and see the look on her face when Margot figures that out.”
“Well… uhm, thank you” Marie said awkwardly before retreating into the showers.