Calix and Ten Crows stopped at the hotel to attend to some business while Adelaide continued on to the post office. She had just parted company with the two men when she heard someone calling out to her. She hastened her step in the hope that the person would lose interest. When she continued to hear someone shouting her name she stopped and turned around. Lucinda Eads with Emily Stanton in tow hurried down the dusty street toward her.
Red faced and out of breath, Lucinda Eads finally reached Adelaide.
"Oh, my dear, I thought that I would never get your attention," Mrs. Eads said, struggling to catch her breath.
"Hello, Lucinda. Hello, Emily," Adelaide addressed the two women.
"May I have a moment of your time, dear?" Mrs. Eads inquired.
"What can I do for you, Lucinda?" Adelaide replied.
"I just wanted to express my concern. I saw you with that man. Is that the kind of company that you should be keeping? With your husband away and all," Mrs. Eads said. "I am worried about your safety."
"Calix Purchase?" Adelaide asked. "Is that the man that you are referring to?"
"No, dear, the other one, the Indian," Mrs. Eads said under her breath.
"His name is Ten Crows, Mrs. Eads, and he is a good friend of both me and my husband. It would serve you well to not judge people that you do not know," Adelaide replied indignantly.
"Well, you should be careful, dear," Mrs. Eads continued. "With your husband away people will begin to talk."
"Let them talk, Lucinda," Adelaide said, walking away from the two women. "Let them say whatever they wish."
While Mrs. Eads and Emily Stanton stood and discussed Adelaide's behavior, she continued on to the post office where she exchanged letters with a very busy Mr. Pope.
"Too busy to talk," he said as he handed her the letter from Jonas. "How I miss the days when there were two letters a week to sort out"
"Those days are long gone, unfortunately, Mr. Pope," Adelaide replied.
"So right you are, Mrs. Rose, and good day," Mr. Pope said as he hurried off to attend to another task.
As Adelaide made her way to the hotel, a fist fight broke out between two men on the opposite side of the street. Soon they were surrounded by a circle of cheering onlookers. Calix and Ten Crows were waiting for her on the hotel's porch.
"Ready to go home?" Calix asked when he saw her.
"More than ready," Adelaide replied.
Adelaide looped first one arm through Calix's and the second through Ten Crows. If they were going to talk then she would give them something to talk about. With Darwin close by, the trio walked back to the farm.
By the time that they got back to Adelaide's house it was late afternoon. Jonas had purchased pasties and a bottle from the hotel restaurant, so not having to cook dinner, Adelaide had time to show Ten Crows how well the plants were doing. The black-eyed susan, the yellow cone flower and the milkweed plants were all several feet tall and would soon be in bloom. The elderberry, blackberry and thimbleberry would soon produce fruit. All on the farm was thriving.
The late spring day was transforming into a beautiful spring evening. Adelaide, Calix and Ten Crows decided to make use of the newly planted potato field. The bare ground of the field was well suited to building a campfire. After reminiscing about the enjoyable nights spent around the campfire while traveling from the Sault to Lanse, they decided that it would be a pleasant way to spend the evening. The men collected fire wood while Adelaide went to the house to get three cups and some blankets. The blaze guided her back to where Calix and Ten Crows were sitting and talking. They each took a cup and filled it halfway with whiskey. Adelaide sat down between Calix's thighs and made herself comfortable, resting back against his broad chest. Ten Crows sat to one side of her while Darwin lay down on the other. They sat outdoors around the fire under a blanket of bright stars that stretched from horizon to horizon. Each of them knew that changes were coming, changes that they did not what, changes that they could do nothing to stop.
Calix and Ten Crows began to entertain Adelaide with tales of their adventures in the wilderness. They had been fast friends for many years. They all laughed and joked and refilled their cups and then the conversation turned more serious.
"We should have fought the white men to the death," Ten Crows said. "We should not have signed the treaty."
"I don't know how you deal with it," Adelaide commented. "To have people come to what has always been your home and treat you like you have no right to be there"
"They will devour anything that they can make money on," Ten Crows added. "Down to the bare ground. How do you raise a child if you are Ojibway? Do you send them to the mission school where they cut their hair short, make them speak English and give them a Christian name? Do you have them grow up in a culture that you have no respect for? Or do you teach them how to be Ojibway, when there is no place for us in the white man's world? If the whites have their way, our way of life will be gone."
"Do you have any children, Ten Crows?" Adelaide asked.
"My wife and children were killed by a disease that the whites brought here. I won't take another wife," Ten Crows replied.
Calix, who had been sitting quietly and listening, pointed to a constellation and asked, "Do you think that they have the same problems out there?"
"Hopefully they are wiser," Adelaide replied.
Calix got up to move away from the fire to relieve himself.
When they were alone, Ten Crows said to Adelaide, "Your children didn't want to be in the world of people."
"How did you know?" Adelaide asked in disbelief.
"I had a dream," Ten Crows replied. "Your children will have trouble in this world because they come from you, just like my children would have trouble now because they would be Ojibway. The world will become more difficult for people like us."
Calix returned and the conversation once again became light hearted. It was quite late by the time they extinguished the fire and retired to the house to sleep.
The house had been dark when Ten Crows entered it the previous night. When he awoke in the morning the rooms were lit by the new day's sunshine. He walked around the room and looked at the numerous water color paintings that Adelaide had done and then tacked to the wall. He studied each one quietly and intently.
Adelaide watched him as she started their breakfast and explained, "I painted those in the winter when everything was white. I found myself missing colors."
"You don't just see nature," Ten Crows said. "You feel it."
Calix, who had just walked into the room, laughed and added, "She eats, drinks and breathes it."
Over breakfast Adelaide attempted to persuade Ten Crows to stay on for several more days. She wanted him to teach her the medicinal uses for various plants that grew around the farm. Finally Ten Crows agreed and Adelaide was over joyed. After finishing the morning's chores, she and Ten Crows set off. Calix stayed behind. As a gift for Adelaide, he had brought with him from the Sault a canvas hammock which he intended to hang between some trees in a shady spot near the wild rose bushes and milkweed. Darwin followed along after Adelaide and Ten Crows.
Not wanting to forget any of Ten Crow's instruction, Adelaide wrote down his words in her journal as he spoke. Each entry contained the plants name, its Ojibway name, the medicinal use of the plant and its preparation. He told her how milkweed was used and how many of the parts of the plant could be used as food. She learned about the uses for strawberry leaves and Juniper berries, yellow cone flower and tamarack tea. When Ten Crow's felt that she had been given enough information to take in for the day, they returned to where Calix was working.
The hammock was now hanging in its place amongst the trees. Calix told Adelaide to try it and so she lay back in the comfortable sling of sturdy fabric. Swaying gently she looked up through the branches to the blue sky and breathed in the air perfumed with the scent of the wild rose blossoms. She closed her eyes and sighed.
"You brought me paradise, Calix," Adelaide said. "Thank you."
Calix laughed and said, "You are welcome. It will be paradise until the mosquitos and horse flies decide to eat you."
"I will take as much paradise as I can get," Adelaide replied. "Be it a little bit or a lot."
Over the next two days, Ten Crows taught Adelaide about the uses of the other plants growing on and around the farm. The list of plants in her journal became quite long. The wild indigo and the purple coneflower, she learned, had grown from seeds acquired from trading with tribes further to the south. Calix had obtained the seeds so that Adelaide's garden could contain shades of blue to compliment the pink and yellow of the other flowers growing there. But Ten Crows was familiar with the plants and the told Adelaide what ailments they could treat.
On the third day of Ten Crows' stay the three of them along with Darwin went off to explore the woods. Adelaide took samples of the plants that Ten Crows pointed out, plants that she was not yet familiar with. Some of the plants were trees, others were growing low in the underbrush and still others it was the root that Ten Crows dug out of the earth that contained the medicine. She would do a quick sketch of the plant or tree in her journal along with the notes that contained the information about the plants usage.
Finally it was time for Ten Crows to end his visit. Adelaide was sad to see her good friend leave, a man from whom she had learned so much, but she understood why he had to go. Calix had decided that he would stay on indefinitely in Copper Harbor. There would be plenty of work available if he found that it was necessary. Until then he would make his way with winnings from the Saturday night card games.
Weeks had passed and Jonas had not returned from the island. He had kept his word and wrote regularly and explained to his wife that since the island had a finite season in which copper could be extracted and shipped he wanted to stay and make certain that things ran smoothly at the mine. A bank had been established in Copper Harbor and anything that Adelaide needed could be paid for from an account that Jonas had set up there. But Adelaide found that she needed little more than Calix and the farm. If Jonas returned, Calix would then take a room in town. Until then he was Adelaide's houseguest. Their days began and ended in each other's arms.
The small, purplish pink buds that hung in balls on the milkweed plants unfurled their pedals, at last, and released their pleasing fragrance. Adelaide had planted the milkweed seeds and cuttings all over the farm, not knowing what area would best suit them. To her delight they sprouted wherever she had set them into the ground and now surrounded by milkweed blossoms the entire farm was scented by their sweet, spicy perfume. During this time, after spending their day at work on the farm or off in the woods, Adelaide and Calix would lie together in the hammock each evening as the sun disappeared behind the horizon. Lulled by the scent of the milkweed, serenaded by the buzz of insects, they would doze off, Adelaide comfortable in Calix's arms. Adelaide had dreamed of falling asleep on a warm summer's night with the air perfumed by milkweed. Now her dream had come true.
Besides wanting to enjoy the aroma of flower blossoms, another reason that Adelaide had planted around the farm the flowers, bushes and trees that she had chosen was to attract wildlife. When the project began she was pregnant and, fearing that she would not be able to get into the forest to observe birds and other animals once she had a child, she wanted to draw them close to her home. Her goal was achieved and there were days when much of her time was spent sketching and observing the birds and butterflies visiting the farm. Much to her delight the milkweed flowers were favored by brightly colored, tiny hummingbirds. She and Calix would watch, captivated, as the little birds would move from flower to flower, hovering in the air as they ate. Darwin too was mesmerized by them. He would sit and watch them quietly, his eyes tracking the path of this marvelous little creature that was so novel to him. And the butterflies came too. Brightly colored and intricately patterned, they would flutter amongst the blossoms, adding more color to the already colorful landscape.
Most of their afternoons were spent on the farm or walking in the woods. One day a week, Adelaide would venture into town, while Calix would go there more frequently, depending on his needs. Adelaide had not been down to the lakeshore in some time. She and Calix decided that it might be a pleasurable way to spend a summer day, so after the morning chores had been attended to they set off with Darwin and made their way to the lake. It was a warm day with hardly any breeze, the blue sky blending into the blue of the quiet water. They had brought some blankets so that they could lie comfortably on the sand, as well as some biscuits for lunch.
Adelaide immediately sat down in the soft sand and removed her boots and socks. She then rolled her pant legs up above her knees. Walking down to the water's edge, she stood and watched the gentle surf crawl up over her toes. The water was cold. Darwin stood beside her and took a drink. Adelaide waded into the lake until the water reached her ankles. As her body adjusted to the lake's temperature, she was reminded of how refreshing it was to feel the water on her bare skin. Adelaide thought of how exhilarating it would feel to have her whole body immersed. She looked at Calix who was still sitting in the sand untying his boot laces. She squatted down and ran her fingers through the water.
Calix sat and watched Adelaide playing in the lake. She stood up and turned, facing him, a big smile brightening her sunburned face. She quickly undid the buttons on her shirt and after taking it off she tossed it up onto the beach. She then did the same with her trousers. Laughing, she backed deeper and deeper into the lake, her naked body invigorated by the lake's cold water. Finally she fell backwards into the water, totally submerged. This was her baptism.
Calix watch as Adelaide disrobed, enjoying the beauty of her nude form.
"Come and join me," Adelaide called to him.
Calix quickly undressed and ran naked into the water. The contrast of both the warm air and the cold water on his bare skin was a pleasurable one. He dove in and swam over to Adelaide. Darwin too, braved the cold water, and began to swim.
Adelaide stood up, waist deep in the water, her nipples standing erect on her wet breasts. She splashed Calix as he swam toward her. When he reached her he stood up and pulled her to him. She felt his hard penis rest against her stomach as he kissed her. She laughed and wrapped her legs around him as he picked her up and filled her with his erection. Made buoyant by the water, her arms wrapped around Calix's neck, Adelaide moved up and down on his cock. The pleasure built until they both climaxed. Laughing, Calix carried her deeper into the water. He let his feet go out from under him and they both disappeared beneath the surface. Adelaide swam away from him, kicking water up with her feet, before standing and running to the shore.
Refreshed but chilled she grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around her body. Then she sat on the sand and watched as Calix ran up to her. He knelt in front of her and she opened her blanket, wrapping it around him as he pushed her back onto the sand. His mouth met hers. She opened her legs to him and felt his hard penis push into her. Calix looked into her eyes as he thrust into her and she lifted her hips to take him in deeply. With every inch of his erection filling her, he held still. She lifted her head to find his mouth but he pulled away as he thrust forward. A moan escaped her lips.
"Fuck me," she sighed.
He held still, then thrust deeper into her once more.
"Fuck me," she repeated.
Unable to control his arousal any longer, he pumped into her. Adelaide bit into his shoulder and moved her body beneath his until they both reached orgasm. They then lay side by side wrapped in the blanket, happy and relaxed, until it was time to go home.
As they were walking through the woods, moving in the direction of the farm, Darwin suddenly froze and pricked up his ears. Adelaide and Calix stopped as well, to see if they could discover what had gotten his attention. There was a rustling of leaves as a partridge flushed, and thinking that was what the dog had heard, they started walking again. They had gone a bit further when Adelaide heard a faint thud off in the distance. She stopped and listened. It was a sound that she knew, the sound of an ax cutting into a tree.
Against Calix's wishes, Adelaide began to walk in the direction of the sound.
"What's the point, Adelaide?" Calix said as she pushed ahead.
"I just want to see where they are doing the logging," she replied.
They headed in the direction of town, the sound growing louder. They didn't have to walk far before they could see a clearing that had been made in the forest up ahead of them. When they reached the edge of the clearing they stopped and watched as a group of young men, laughing and joking, worked to bring down a towering pine tree. Lying on the ground were a half dozen tall trees that had already been felled.
Adelaide turned around to head back to the farm.
"You were right, Calix," she said. "What's the point?"
When they reached the farm Adelaide went in to make supper. She was quiet while they ate, the sight of the cut trees having dampened her spirits. When the meal was done she took Darwin back outside. Calix joined them. Adelaide could never decide whether dawn of dusk was her favorite time of day. But it was indeed a fine evening. The biscuits from their afternoon at the lakeshore remained uneaten in her bag. After breaking them into pieces, she tossed them out onto the lawn for the crows. Most of the family flew down to quickly grab their share, the white crow, now old enough to eat on his own, amongst them. Adelaide noticed that its eyes were blue, the same color as its siblings. One crow remained in the tree, keeping watch while the others ate.
Adelaide sat down on the back steps. The scent of the milkweed hung heavy in the air. The sky had turned the perfect shade of blue, a color that it wore every night when the sun reached a certain point on its journey toward the horizon. Several thin clouds, painted pink and orange decorated the otherwise cloudless sky, like random strokes of a paint brush on a pure blue canvas. Darwin, exhausted by the days walk, had fallen asleep in his spot on the porch.
Calix drew water from the well and filled the trough for the chickens. The four legged chicken had come to Adelaide in the hopes of getting some kernels of corn. She reached into her pocket and extended her hand offering the bird its treat. Calix sat beside her on the steps as the chicken ate from her hand.
"I want you to teach me how to use the rifle," Adelaide said softly.
The chicken finished its meal and went to join the others.
"I can do that," Calix replied.
They sat and watched a hummingbird maneuver around the milkweed blossoms, getting its last food of the day.
"I can't leave here, you know," she said.
"I know that," Calix replied.
One of the crows, hopping across the lawn began to play with a feather that it discovered on the ground.
"Jonas has no interest in the farm," Adelaide continued, looking over at Calix. "If I wasn't here he would sell it and take a place in town. He's interested in business not the land."
The stars had begun to show themselves in the darkening sky. Adelaide looped her arm through Calix's and rested her head against his shoulder.
"I'm not going anywhere either, Adelaide." Calix said.
"Thank you," she whispered.
They sat side by side on the steps for some time, enjoying the aroma of the milkweed. The moon joined the myriad of stars in the now black sky. They heard from somewhere out in the forest, the hoot of an owl.
As Adelaide sat quietly she thought about the trickster god. There was another hoax that he perpetrated. He convinced people that paradise was in the afterlife. And so they lived hoping to achieve that paradise beyond death, while at the same time plundering the paradise that existed all around them. For truly in nature lay paradise.
Adelaide had found paradise. It was here. And it was home.
Somewhere off in the trees, the frogs began to sing.
Nature cannot be replicated by man. Its complexity is beyond human understanding.
end.