Cedar Woman (104 page)

“
Unci,”
s
h
e r
e
plied. Michael
whisp
e
red ag
ai
n. “Catcher,
R
e
va
Catcher,”
L
e
na an
s
wer
e
d
.

Taki
n
g
L
e
n
a
’s
ha
n
d
i
n h
i
s,
M
i
chael a
pp
roa
ch
ed
R
e
va. “Mrs. Catc
h
e
r,”
h
e
b
e
g
an, “I
will ret
u
rn shortly.”

M
ichael
t
u
r
n
e
d
,
an
d
kiss
in
g
Lena
o
n
t
h
e
tip
of
h
e
r
nos
e
,
wal
k
e
d
to

S
o
nn
y’
s
l
o
d
g
e
and
ente
r
e
d
.
He
qui
c
k
ly
exited
a
n
d
ret
u
rn
e
d
to
w
h
ere
R
eva
w
a
s
s
t
a
n
d
in
g
.
Ext
e
nd
i
ng
h
i
s
l
eft h
an
d
,
t
h
e
o
n
e
c
l
o
s
est
t
o
h
i
s
hear
t
, he
offer
e
d
a
n
e
agle
fea
t
h
e
r and a
pou
c
h
of tobacco.

“
I
wo
uld
li
k
e
to
m
arry
y
o
u
r
gr
an
dd
au
ght
e
r,”
he
s
a
id
s
o
ftl
y
, “tonight.”

Lena
a
n
d
M
ic
h
ael stood
o
u
ts
i
d
e
of
t
h
e
l
od
g
e
.
Reva,
Vicki and
J
u
lie were
i
n
side,
an
d
t
h
e
m
u
r
m
ur
of
co
nv
e
rsati
o
n
w
a
fted
t
h
r
o
u
gh
t
h
e
cir
c
ular

⁸¹
_{Win
-
y
an
Meeta
–
M
y
Woman}

⁸²
W
ee-c
h
a-sha
M
ee
t
a
–
M
y
Man

op
e
ni
n
g of
t
h
e ti
p
i.
M
ichael
tried
to hide his anxiet
y
,
b
u
t
L
ena
c
o
uld feel it.
It
a
m
azed
her
that,
with
i
n
a
space
of
but
a
few
hour
s
,
she
could
fe
e
l and
s
e
nse
Mi
c
h
ael’s
e
v
ery
mood.
It
was
as if
he
w
e
re
a
part
of her,
like her ar
m
,
or leg,
o
r
…
h
eart.

J
u
lie
ste
pp
e
d
i
n
to
t
h
e
la
n
t
er
n
-lit
circle
a
n
d
sig
n
aled
f
o
r
t
he
m
to enter.

R
eva
s
t
o
o
d
i
n
t
h
e
center
o
f
t
h
e
l
o
d
g
e, her
h
an
d
s
clasped
i
n
f
ro
n
t
of her.
Lena
pe
e
red
in
t
o
h
e
r
grand
m
o
t
her’s
face
with
trep
i
d
ation.
It
was

i
m
portant
t
o
receive
the
bl
e
ssing
of
the
f
a
m
ily
before
a
couple
were

jo
i
n
ed – what
i
f
Unci
ref
u
sed to
b
l
ess t
h
e
u
n
i
o
n!

Lena
wal
k
e
d
c
loser,
h
er
eyes
fix
e
d
an
xi
o
u
s
l
y
on her
g
ran
d
m
other’s face. Unci
w
a
s…why,
s
h
e
was s
m
iling!

Re
v
a
a
p
pr
o
ache
d
t
h
e
you
n
g
c
o
u
p
le
,
an
d
ta
k
i
n
g
Le
n
a
an
d
Mic
h
ael
’
s
l
eft
ha
n
d
s
i
n
t
o
hers,
b
ro
u
g
h
t
t
h
em
t
oget
h
e
r
,
p
l
acing
Mi
c
h
ael’s
ha
n
d
o
n