Dance of the Bones

Gabe was gone, but perhaps, Lani reasoned, the sacred smoke was still in order. She pulled some of the dried wild tobacco leaves from the pouch and rolled them into a loose cigarette. It took a moment for her fumbling fingers to locate the final item in her basket—-Looks at Nothing’s ancient lighter. She had taken the old blind medicine man’s Zippo to a guy in Tucson, a man with a reputation for rehabbing aging lighters. The brass finish was worn through in spots, but refilled and with a new striking mechanism, the lighter sprang to life at the very first try.

After lighting the cigarette, Lani sat there with the sweet smoke drifting around her as she considered her connection to those two wise old men, one of whom she had never met. It was through them that she knew that the Tohono O’odham never use a pipe—-that age--old custom that was part of other tribes’ traditions. Originally, the Desert -People had used leaves to wrap their ceremonial smokers. Now they bought their cigarette wrappers the same place everybody else did—-at either the trading post or else at Bashas’ grocery store in Sells.

Lani closed her eyes and allowed herself to be carried along in the smoke--filled air. When she opened her eyes sometime later, it was as though a ghost had arisen out of the ground. That’s when she saw a vision of the evil white--haired Milgahn woman once again.

As the hair rose on the back of Lani’s neck, she knew two things at once. Evil White--Haired Woman was not the school principal at Sells, and Baby Fat Crack Ortiz was in mortal danger.

GABE STORMED OFF DOWN THE mountain, furious with Lani, his parents, and everyone else. It wasn’t easy being the son of the tribal chairman. If it hadn’t been for the José brothers, who had befriended him early on, his life would have been hell. He and Timmy, the youngest of the brothers, had been fast friends since kindergarten. When one of the older kids, Luis Joaquin, had started picking on Gabe, Tim’s brother Paul had intervened on Gabe’s behalf.

It would be years before Gabe understood that Luis Joaquin’s father had been his mother’s opponent for chairman in a recent tribal election. The man was also a bad loser who, long after his failed bid for office, continued to bad--mouth Delia Cachora Ortiz and all her relations to anyone who would listen, including his son.

As a consequence, that first schoolyard skirmish between Gabe and Luis Joaquin and his pals was not the last. Even now, everyone at school—-well, maybe not the mostly Anglo teachers—-understood that Gabe Ortiz and Luis Joaquin continued to be sworn enemies. As a consequence, Timmy’s older brothers still came to Gabe’s rescue whenever rescuing was needed.

Gabe’s parents worked long, unpredictable hours. Mr. and Mrs. José worked, too, but Mrs. José’s mother, Mrs. Francisco, had lived with the family and looked after the kids after school. Early on, Gabe Ortiz had been added to the José after--school mix. On most days, once classes were finished, he would tag along with the others to the Josés’ house, where Mrs. Francisco maintained order until the parents came home and also cooked the evening meal.

Mrs. Francisco was a kind old woman who didn’t mind having an extra mouth to feed. While her boys chatted away or kicked balls out in the yard, she would pat out and stretch the dough for making the Tohono O’odham staple called popovers—-o’am chu—-which she would slather with red chili and beans to feed her collection of starving boys, Gabe Ortiz included.