Southwestern Festivities

 

In the morning snow was on the ground when I looked outside. Just a light frosting, picking out the details of the landscape by means of the contrast. White against brown and tan. A thin line of smoke came from the mobile chimney. 

It was chilly in the hogan in the early morning as the light was just coming up. The fire from last night had gone out during the early hours. I ran to the mobile to get in the shower while Jessie started a little fire in the old stove. I didn’t stop to look around much, but it was beautiful in a severe way. The air felt sharp. Puffs of my breath followed me as I trotted along.

Julia still didn’t lock her door at night. So, I ran right in.

I called out “Aunt Julia, it’s me!” She was out in the kitchen making coffee.

“I’m thinking Jessie and I should make a run into town for supplies, so maybe make a list of things you want...” as I headed down to the shower.

“Yes, Beth,” answered me.

Freshly showered, and warm, I made another run out in the cold to the hogan. Our clothes were all out there, mostly hanging on hooks and folded in the dresser. So, we dressed in dim candlelight. The wiring for some light out there was way up at the top of the list of things to do.

The briefcase was tucked behind the head of the bed, but the remaining $9,000 approximately was not in it. In hundreds, that is not a very thick stack of paper. I laughed as I stuffed the cash into a tampon box and hid it under some clothes in a drawer. Then I just hoped for the best. We kept three hundred out for the shopping trip to Holbrook. There are no supermarkets in Joseph City,as it turned out.

Jessie agreed to the trip to town. It would be our first drive in the old Chevy truck. We were excited to give it a try.

We had scrambled eggs and toast and weak coffee with Aunt Julia. It is funny, but old ladies always seem to make that weak coffee. But maybe my opinion was skewed by the fact that I was fresh from coffee-central, western Washington. Up there I drank espresso stand coffee every day and made very dark drip at home. I wondered if Julia could endure it if the coffee suddenly was darker.

I washed up the dishes quickly. The snow clouds had passed on and the sun was out, and it was brilliant outside. Julia gave me a list of a dozen items written on a 3x5 card. Just things like more coffee, cream, milk, eggs and so on. Not a whole lot.

We bundled up in coats, hats and gloves and went outside. I fed and watered the hens since we were out there. We kept their food in the hogan, but I had to bring a pan of warm water out of the house because the hose was frozen. They were awake and checking the perimeter for bugs already. I wondered if they were going to be warm enough in their little hut. But they had already been living rough outdoors, so maybe they were OK I thought. Jessie said that as far as he knew they could take the weather. We decided to ask Aunt Julia later.

Now for the old pickup. The door handles were so cold we could feel it through our gloves. The seat was some kind of hard plastic material. It was also very cold. In the cab our breath quickly steamed up the windows, as Jessie started the old engine up. Thankfully it did start. We sat there and let it warm up a bit, to defrost the windows.

There were no seatbelts, of course. I wondered how the local police would view that if we were to ever get stopped. Maybe the truck was so old that it was not required. I peeked into the glovebox. There was actually an old pair of leather work gloves in there and a vehicle registration, and a pair of pliers.

Once the cab was starting to warm, Jessie put the truck into first gear, and we rolled down the driveway out to highway 77. From 77 we turned onto I 40 and drove into Holbrook, heading for the Safeway. 

I hadn’t gotten around to asking Julia about Christmas. I didn’t know her attitude about this nominally Christian holiday at all. I did know that many Navajo were Christians, but not all. But then many people have Christmas just for fun. It was only a few days away. We had never made a big deal about Christmas at home as we had no children. It seemed to us that it was mostly for the enjoyment of kids.

Jessie and I decided that it might be fun to surprise his auntie for Christmas.

There was no snow on the highway, so it was an easy drive into town. There was not a lot of other traffic, but that was no surprise out here in the back country of Arizona. I 40 was busier. Maybe there was some Christmas shopping going on in Holbrook and Winslow. On some of the houses we passed in town there were colored lights, and we could see decorated trees in some windows.

The Safeway parking lot was about half full and people hurried into the store to escape the cold with purpose in their steps. 

It was a bit of a culture shock to be in a big supermarket after the last few days. It looked just like any other Safeway. Christmas items were on full display. We found a tiny, decorated tree with lights already installed. That seemed about the right size for her place.

We bought a fruitcake and ice cream and two bottles of champagne, besides the more mundane items. I found a smallish turkey too. I thought maybe we could make her some cookies at home. 

On the way out of town we visited the Maverik station to gas up the truck and get some coffees. They were nothing fancy. Since it was midday, we stopped at Joe&Aggie’s for lunch. Burgers and fries. By the time we were done shopping and buying gas and eating lunch we had spent almost all of the three hundred dollars.

It was not a long drive home. The sun had evaporated a lot of the light snow that had been on the ground in the morning. It still lurked in shadows though giving the land an almost festive look to me. I felt that just seeing something red somewhere in the picture would have completed the look.

When we pulled into the yard, we saw Ben stacking firewood at the far end of the mobile. We parked and walked over to greet him. Jessie helped unload the rest of the firewood. I went into the house, leaving them to it.

Julia was in her usual place with Billy. I didn’t say anything about the Christmas things because I didn’t want to spoil the surprises. She smiled sweetly as we talked.

Soon Jessie came in with the little tree and plugged it in, setting it on her little table by her chair. She smiled at him as the colored lights twinkled, reflected in her black eyes.

Ben carried in several bags and Jessie went out to get the rest. When he came in, he mentioned seeing some large cat tracks all over the yard. This cat had apparently looked at everything. It had circled the hogan, and also the hen’s little enclosure.

“Oh, that cat is always snooping around here. I don’t worry about her,” said Aunt Julia. “The important thing is this little tree! It’s been a long time since I had a Christmas tree. Thank you, Beth and Jessie.”

She seemed a little misty but happy.

Ben wanted to know how the truck had behaved and Jessie said it was great and fun to drive. He said he was glad the heater worked. I agreed.

Ben left to go home to his parents. I made dinner and we had a nice evening, talking about family and catching up with recent history. Julia was curious about our lives in the northwest, so we described that too, Jessie’s job and my adventures. We cut some slices of fruitcake and had one of the bottles of champagne.

Jessie set her stove up for the night, even though she had electric heat as a backup. The direct heat of a fire is nicer we all agreed. Then we went out to our little round house and Jessie made another fire.

So far, They haven't taken my phone yet.docx