Brave Beginnings Page 12
“Oh no. Please don’t tell me you’re upset with him again.”
“I’m not upset. I just can’t help but notice that things magically fall into his lap. Why, as soon as he got married, Woape was with child, and now she’s expecting again. One would swear all he has to do is glance in her direction and she gets pregnant.”
Her aunt laughed. “Oh, be serious, Julia.”
A smile tugged at her lips. “Fine. It’s not as simple as that, but he didn’t even have to try that long. Just like he didn’t have to wait for years to get married. Woape practically fell into his lap. He happened to be traveling and there she was.”
“You could have married sooner too.”
“Ernest wasn’t the right one. He doesn’t count. The point is, Woape was the right one for Gary.”
“I know what you mean.” Erin placed the coffee pot in the center of the table next to the cup of sugar. “You can’t compare yourself to Gary. Things happen for him as they are meant to, and things will happen for you as they are meant to. I know you’ve wanted to be a mother ever since you were a girl, but Julia, you haven’t been married for long.”
“I know. It’s just hard to wait, that’s all.”
“When was the last time you had your flow?”
“Last week, so I’m not expecting.” Julia took a deep breath and returned to the bowl of potato salad so she could take it to the table. “These things might have their timing, but I’ve never been a patient person.”
“Well, maybe this will teach you how to wait.”
Julia grimaced. As if waiting for Chogan to enter her life hadn’t been long enough!
Her aunt chuckled and patted her arm. “I know. Easier said than done. And unfortunately, there’s nothing I can do about that.”
The front door opened so Julia quickly finished putting out the utensils and laying them by the plates. Then she took off her apron and ran to the entryway where she gave Chogan a hug and kiss to welcome him home.
He smiled. “My day keeps getting better and better.”
“Really? Did something good happen at work?” she asked as she took his coat and went to the closet to hang it up.
“I have to go back after lunch,” he said. “Don’t hang it up.”
“You’re going back to work? Why?”
“Mike had to take a couple of days off work, and—”
Then he reverted to his native tongue, so she had no idea what he was saying. It wasn’t that she wasn’t learning to speak Mandan, but there was no way she could make out anything over the rush of words he threw at her. Seeing that he was excited, she laughed and shook her head. “You have to speak English. You know I’m struggling to learn your language.”
He paused and grinned. Then he purposely said something in his native tongue.
Her eyebrows furrowed and she smoothed the coat that was draped over her arm. “I’m going to assume you just paid me a compliment.”
Chuckling, he removed his hat and set it on the small table in the entryway. “I did.”
Before she had time to blink, he reached out, grabbed her around the waist, and pulled her close to him. She shrieked with delight as he sprinkled kisses on her neck.
“I’ll show you in bed tonight,” he whispered. “Then you will know what I said.”
She giggled and playfully shoved him away. “Save that for the bedroom.”
“I said we would be in bed,” he replied, his eyes wide. “I’m being good.”
Blushing, she motioned to the coat. “So why am I not hanging this up? What happened to Mike?”
“He can’t come to work until later this week. I will do his job.”
She gasped. “Oh, Chogan? Really?”
He nodded. “I will not deliver papers for awhile. So I will go to work later and come home later.”
“You’ll be in charge of the printing press and everything?”
“I will do everything Mike does.”
“That’s great!”
“It is good news,” he admitted and followed her to the parlor where she placed his coat on the back of a chair. “I will be paid more for it too.”
“I’m glad you work at the Tribune. They’re good to you there.”
“They are. Anthony was nice to put in a good word for me.”
“He was. I suppose we should visit him and his family again sometime. They’re nice people.”
“Yes, they are.”
Erin came out of the kitchen and called out, “You’re not going to get much eating done standing around in the parlor.”
“Oh, we better start on lunch so you can get back to work.” Julia took his hand and led him to the kitchen. When they passed her aunt who waited for them by the door, Julia told her, “Chogan has to get back to work. He’s in charge of the printing press for the next couple of days.”
“Why, that’s wonderful,” Erin told Chogan. “And you haven’t even been working there that long. It looks like they know a hard worker when they see one.” She patted Julia on the shoulder. “Everything works out when the time is right.”
Understanding her aunt’s hidden meaning, Julia nodded. Maybe, with any luck, the next good news in the household would be the announcement that a baby was on the way.
~~********~~
Chapter 14
At the end of the week, Chogan was on his way to the Tribune when he happened to see Ernest and Noah talking by the bank. His first thought was to cross the street so he didn’t have to pass by either man, but then he reminded himself that he had no reason to go out of his way to avoid them. But as he neared, he realized that his steps slowed in hesitation.
They laughed and Ernest pointed in the direction down the street, leaving their backs turned to Chogan at the moment. Chogan shouldn’t have been surprised the two knew each other. Bismarck wasn’t that big, after all, but it wasn’t exactly the ideal setup. Ernest had his gripes about Chogan because of Julia, and for the past few days, Noah made no secret as to how he felt about him. Even though Noah never said anything directly to Chogan, Noah glared at him often, especially whenever he passed by Chogan as he was working the printing press.
Chogan couldn’t recall a time when anyone annoyed him as much as those two. Even Citlali at his worst wasn’t as bad.
Ernest and Noah turned around just as Chogan was six feet away from them. They immediately stopped talking and stared at him.
Up to now, Chogan had ignored such stares, usually given by people he didn’t know, and at this point, he even learned to not think about it. But did he want to put up with this kind of thing from those particular two men?
The answer was simple: no, he didn’t.
He looked in their direction and stilled his steps.
Ernest made it a point to look him up and down with a look of mild amusement on his face. “Don’t you have somewhere you need to be?”
“I could ask you the same thing,” Chogan said, refusing to be intimidated by him.
“You’d do well to remember who you’re talking to,” Ernest replied.
“You could learn some respect,” Noah added, which made Ernest smirk at Chogan.
“You earn respect by how you treat others,” Chogan said.
Ernest narrowed his eyes at him. “Isn’t that a case of the pot calling the kettle black?”
It took Chogan a moment to understand what Ernest meant. “Julia is a free woman. She made her choice.”
“As bad as it was.”
He shrugged. “She isn’t complaining.”
“The poor thing lost her wits while she went searching for her brother,” Ernest said. “I can’t fault her. She is just a woman.”
His frown deepened and he walked toward Ernest who immediately backed up. “I don’t care what your job is. You will not talk about Julia like that.”
“I said it’s not her fault. You’re the one who filled her head with ideas.”
“In my culture, the man does not begrudge a woman when she chooses a husband.”
“We’re not in your culture, are we?” Noah retorted.
“Don’t mind him,” Ernest told Noah. “Savages probably share their women like they share their teepees.”
“We live in earth lodges,” Chogan corrected him.
“But some of you do take more than one wife, do you not?” Ernest pointedly asked.
Chogan couldn’t argue that, for it had been something his people had done. “I will only have one wife.”
“Good for you.” Ernest clapped his hands. “It looks like civilization has done you some good.”
“The definition of civilization depends on how one views it,” Chogan replied. “Where I come from, a man who cannot graciously let the woman make her choice is a boy who throws a tantrum.”
Ernest’s face grew red and he scowled. “You better watch yourself. You start talking like that to the wrong person and you’re likely to face some unpleasant consequences for it.”
“Your civilization has made things unpleasant since you came to our land. You steal and lie.”
“We do no such thing!”
“We had land. We shared land with you. It wasn’t enough. You wanted more. You make treaties and break them. We trust you. You betray us.”
“And the only good redskin is a dead one,” Ernest spat.
Chogan took another step forward and glared at him.
His face went white as he backed up against the wall of the bank.
It took all of Chogan’s strength to hold himself back. He couldn’t slam Ernest up against the wall, no matter how much he wanted to. The only thing that stopped him was knowing word would get back to Julia, and Chogan didn’t want her to be disappointed in him.
After a tense moment, Ernest adjusted his tie and cleared his throat. “Why don’t you do us all a favor and go back to your tribe?”
“Yeah. Stop stealing jobs from those of us who belong here,” Noah said.
“The same goes for our women. Stick with your own kind because you’re not welcome here,” Ernest said.
“And you aren’t welcome on our land,” Chogan growled at both of them.
Ernest edged toward the entrance of the bank, and once he was safely out of Chogan’s reach, he said, “It’s not yours anymore. In case you haven’t heard, this is the United States of America.”
Chogan clenched his hands, more upset by the way Ernest chuckled than by his words. Don’t punch him. That’s exactly what he wants. Chogan remained still while Ernest went into the building and Noah scampered off. The few people who had stopped to watch suddenly lost interest and continued going to wherever it was they intended to go to before they felt the need to stick their noses in where it didn’t belong.
As one couple passed, the man told the woman in a low voice, “I want you to stay clear of that man. He looks dangerous.”
“I know English and I hear well,” Chogan snapped.
The man jerked, obviously not realizing his voice had carried through the space between them. He promptly took the woman’s arm and quickly led her away from them.
Another man looked hesitant but quickly passed him by.
Chogan knew what they were thinking. He knew what they were all thinking, and even though they’d heard Ernest and Noah, they didn’t fault them. They faulted Chogan. He saw the accusation in their eyes and knew all he’d done over the past few months to establish a good reputation in this town was for nothing. When they looked at him, they saw the color of his skin. They didn’t really see him. And chances were, they never would.
***
“Mr. Wilcox, Ernest Freeman is here to see you.”
Mr. Wilcox glanced up at the young man and nodded. “Bring him in.”
The young man gave Ernest permission to enter the editor in chief’s office at the Bismarck Tribune.
Ernest obeyed and shook Mr. Wilcox’s hand. “Thank you for taking the time to see me on short notice.”
“Oh, I always have time for you, Ernest. Sit and tell me what’s on your mind.”
Ernest sat in the chair and leaned back. He thought over the speech he’d rehearsed, knowing he had to word things just right if he hoped to achieve the desired result. “I’m concerned about a certain employee on your staff. You see, while I was on my way back from lunch today, that Indian you hired threatened me.”
Mr. Wilcox’s eyebrows furrowed. “Chogan? The Mandan who delivers papers?”
“And occasionally runs the printing press, from what I hear.”
“That’s right. You said he threatened you?”
“He did.” Ernest shifted in the chair and crossed his legs. “I ran into Noah Beaterman and stopped to discuss this paper. It was passing conversation, mind you. However, Chogan bumped into us. We apologized, but he said we got in his way on purpose. He was ready to shove me up against the wall when Noah intervened. Now, far be it from me to dictate who you keep on the Tribune staff, but there were witnesses to the event and quite frankly, several people are frightened of what might happen should they have a run-in with the Indian.”
Mr. Wilcox shook his head as he picked up his cigar to light it. “That doesn’t sound like Chogan.”
“How well do you know him?”
“I don’t. It’s just that I’ve heard nothing but good things from those who supervise him.”
Ernest gritted his teeth but forced a smile. “I’m sure that he is on his best behavior at work.” He picked up an imaginary piece of lint from his trousers before he shot Mr. Wilcox a meaningful look. “I do not feel comfortable supporting a business that allows its employees to threaten the good people of Bismarck. I think my bank has had a good relationship with the Tribune up to now. I’d hate to see that come to naught.”
Mr. Wilcox blanched.
Ernest relaxed. Good. He was getting the message. Ernest waited for a moment before he added, “I should get back to work. I hope you have a good day.” He stood up and tipped his hat. On his way to the door, he turned around and asked, “Wasn’t it your grandfather who was scalped by an Indian?”
He looked at Ernest and took a deep breath. “Yes. It was a Sioux.”
“Sioux, Mandan, Hidatsa. Is there really any difference?”
Mr. Wilcox swallowed. Then he broke eye contact and stared at the paper in front of him.
“I think not,” Ernest replied and stepped out of the office.
***
Mr. Wilcox waited until the next morning before Chogan came into work to call Mike and Larry into his office. The two men sat across from him and patiently waited for him to speak.
Mr. Wilcox released a heavy sigh. This wasn’t going to be easy, no matter how he worded it. After he cleared his throat, he asked, “Has the Indian done anything…wrong…at work?”
Mike glanced at Larry who shrugged. Directing his attention back to Mr. Wilcox, he said, “No.”
“Can’t think of a single thing he’s done that’s been out of line,” Larry added with a frown.
“Nothing?” Mr. Wilcox asked. “Nothing at all? He hasn’t been late or failed to follow instructions or been belligerent?”
“No. He’s done none of those things,” Larry said. “He’s a hard worker. That’s why I put him in charge of the printing press while Mike was gone.”
“And how did that go?” Mr. Wilcox hoped to find something—anything—that he could use.
“Good. He did a fine job.” Larry shook his head. “What is this about?”
Mr. Wilcox tapped the arm of his chair. “Ernest Freeman stopped by yesterday and claimed that Chogan attacked him.”
Larry laughed. “That’s absurd. Chogan’s not the type.”
“Are you sure?” Mr. Wilcox asked, hating this. He suspected that Ernest wasn’t telling him the truth, and without any rational reason, how was he supposed to fire the Indian?
“Sir, Chogan is one of the best workers we’ve ever had. He shows up early, never complains, cleans up after himself, and even does things before we have to ask. I can’t imagine that he would threaten anyone.”
“Is it possible,” Larry began, “that Ernest might have misunderstood the situation?”
Or lied to serve a personal agenda? Mr. Wilcox had no idea what that agenda might be, but one thing was clear, Ernest fully intended to make life difficult for him if he didn’t find a reason to fire Chogan. One didn’t upset Ernest without serious repercussions. Mr. Wilcox rubbed his forehead. He only had one card left, and whether he liked it or not, he had to play it. “I think it’s time to hire someone new to take Chogan’s place.”
“Why? Because Ernest claimed Chogan attacked him?” Larry snapped.
“Ernest said Noah was there. Maybe it really did happen. Noah can give us some insight.”
“Noah’s not exactly the most trustworthy source.”
Mr. Wilcox banged his fist on the desk. “I don’t care! My hands are tied, and if we want to keep our jobs, then I suggest you find someone to take Chogan’s place.”
“Ernest is just one man,” Larry argued. “He—”
“Carries a lot more weight in this town than you give him credit for!” Mr. Wilcox took a deep breath so he’d stop yelling. “Look, I don’t like this anymore than you do, alright? But our backs are up against the wall.”
“We’ll tell people that Ernest is lying,” Mike said.
“And who’s going to believe the word of an Indian over that of a white man?” As soon as Larry and Mike winced, Mr. Wilcox knew the discussion was over. People were too quick to judge, and Ernest had too much influence. “Slip Chogan some money to help him through until he can find employment elsewhere.” That, at least, would ease his conscience. Mr. Wilcox’s hands shook as he wrote out a check. “Cash this. Don’t tell anyone what the money is for. It’ll be between us.”
“This is wrong, sir,” Larry said.
“Just do it!” Mr. Wilcox thrust the check in the man’s direction. “Do it before I have to fire you too.”
“I will not.” Larry stood. “Fire me if you must, but I won’t condemn an innocent man.”