The House

By Dawn Natelle

Sunflower gets up the nerve to finally meet people, with an amazing result: Dawn.

Chapter 7 Sunflower meets the World

The ice on the river soon broke up, and it was easy paddling to the store. Grey begged Sunflower to accompany him, since there were two canoes and about two dozen snowshoes for the store: more than he could deliver. She finally agreed to take one canoe down, and to help unload the gear on the bank, and then run back to the woods and wait for Grey to finish up his business. They would walk back together.

They paddled down river with the current, but near the road Grey pulled into the band, and grounded his paddle to hold the canoe steady. Sun pulled in next to him.

“I’ve never noticed that before,” Grey said, pointing to a mass of stones. “I wonder what that was.”

“It could have been part of a dam, or a bridge,” Sun said. “In the old days the roads were in different locations.”

Perplexed by the stones, they let their canoes loose and casually drifted another 100 yards to where Grey usually landed his supplies. It was easier with Sun there. Last year he had to hold the canoe steady and toss the snowshoes out on the bank, then try to get out without getting too wet, and finally pull the canoe up the bank.

Sun hopped out of her canoe with Grey holding it steady, and then lugged it out of the water, with 10 snowshoes in it. She didn’t even get wet. She then held Grey’s canoe steady so he could get out, and before he could turn around she had pulled it up the bank.

“It is cool having a sister as strong as you,” Grey said. “That would be a lot harder for me alone. I’m going into the store now. Are you sure you don’t want to come?”

His answer was watching Sunflower trotting to the treeline, about 50 yards away. He waited until she was nearly at the trees before he went to get Frank from the store.

“You do beautiful work,” Frank said as he looked at the designs woodburned into the canoes and snowshoes. “These will sell easily.”

“I have a designer on staff now,” Grey said.

“She didn’t come down with you, did she,” Frank said, glancing around. “She did, didn’t she? You couldn’t have brought two canoes alone. Where is she?”

“I told you she was shy,” Grey said. “Don’t look, but she is waiting for me just inside the trees. If you look, she will probably run away, and I’ll have to walk back to camp alone.”

“No problem,” Frank said, and he didn’t stare as they carried the canoes and snowshoes into the shed behind the store. He did glance at the treeline as they worked, but could not spot the girl.

They went into the store to do the paperwork, and as promised he had set up an account for Sun. As Grey was signing his, Frank darted off. He came back with a bouquet of a dozen tulips, and a small paper bag.

“These are for your friend,” Frank said. “I don’t know of any girl that doesn’t like getting flowers. And in the bag are three bulbs that were left over in the planting. I think if they are planted now, they will still flower this year. And in future years there will be more and more bulbs that can be transplanted.”

“Thanks Frank. I’ll be sure to give these to her. I know she will love them.”

Grey walked out from the store alone, and Sun poked her head out to watch him approach. Soon she realized that he was carrying flowers.

“Oh they are beautiful, Grey,” she said as he neared. “Thank you for buying them for me.”

“They are not from me,” Grey said. “They are a gift from Frank. And there are three bulbs in the bag so you can have flowers after these die.”

“Why did he do that?” Sun said. “I will have to thank him, won’t I? Oh dear.”

“Men give flowers to pretty girls,” Grey said. “And it would only be polite to thank him.”

It took them nearly an hour to get back to the store, with Sun stopping several times to get her nerve up. Finally Grey made a bet with her that no one would call her names or embarrass her. Loser would make dinner. It was a no-lose bet for him, because it was his turn to make dinner that night anyway. But it did help Sun keep her nerve up.

“I won’t go in,” Sun said at the back door to the store. “Just ask him out here and I will thank him, and then we will head back.”

Grey came out of the store with Frank: “Frank, I would like to introduce you to Sunflower Wolf. Sun, this is Frank Stover.”

For a second Sun was tongue-tied. But the man did not show that he was surprised by her height. He actually was, but immediately realized that this was why Sun was so shy. He smiled and looked up into her face. “You look just as cute as Grey claimed,” he said.

“He has to say that. He is my brother. I just wanted to thank you for these flowers. They are so beautiful.”

“Well I am not your brother, and I think you are as beautiful as those flowers. We have some others later in the season, but tulips bloom early. Won’t you come into the store? I’d love to show you around. There is no one here except my wife, Miriam, and our clerk Wendy. I’ll treat you to a slice of pie. We have banana crème today.”

The offer made Sun’s mouth water. She hadn’t eaten pie for over a year, and the thought of having her favorite was irresistible.

“Just for a minute?” Grey said. “I’d love to taste pie again.”

That made her agree, and they went into the store. Miriam was a tall woman, at 5’10” but of course that was much less than Sun. And Wendy was a chubby little thing barely 5-foot tall. But both were polite in greeting Sunflower.

Wendy served them pie, and offered coffee to go with it. “Oh coffee,” Sun said. “Do you know how long it is since I have had a coffee? Please.

“I am more of a tea person,” Grey said. The waitress waddled off to get the drinks, returning and placing them in front of the pie-eaters. “One Earl Grey, and one house coffee,” she said, and wondered what the pair thought was so funny to the two as they started to giggle.

“Excellent tea,” Grey said as his sipped the beverage named after his ancestor.

“At the camp he tries to make tea out of dandelions,” Sunflower said. “It is absolutely horrid stuff. Wendy pulled up a chair, and got herself a coffee, after asking Sun if she could join them for her break.

When Grey had finished his pie he took his coffee over and chatted with Frank, while Miriam took her coffee over to the girls. The break was nearly a half hour long when Frank clapped his hands and announced that it was an hour until the bus would come, and they had to get ready.

As Sun realized that meant soon 50 or so strangers would be coming into the shop and she was not yet ready to deal with a crowd. She took her flowers, which Miriam had put into a cheap glass vase, and headed out the door, with Grey right behind, thrilled that she had finally broken the barrier.

On the way back Sun wouldn’t stop talking about the visit, and how much she had enjoyed chatting. “And they treated me just like a girl,” she noted in amazement.

“That’s because you are a girl,” Grey said. “A very tall girl, but still a girl.” Sunflower beamed at the thought. “Perhaps you will go with me to meet Miss Ridgemark the next time we go.”

Sun hummed and hawed for a bit, and finally said: “I think I will. I don’t want to go anywhere that has a lot of people. But I think I will go with you to see her. But that is all.”

“One more,” Grey said. “Dan Smith. He already knows about your background, although I don’t think we need to tell anyone else.”

“He knows? How?” Sun said with alarm.

“Remember me telling you? He talks to Flint, just like we do,” Grey said. “He actually drove all the way out to where you left your car. He would have taken you if we hadn’t been able to work out a way to pull you away before you woke up.”

“Does he talk with Red Oak and Mimiha?” Sun asked.

«No he doesn’t,» Mimiha answered «But he sounds like he is a nice man, based on what Flint says. And you did wonderfully today. If you want to be a woman, you have to get out there more. I am proud of you,»

“Thanks,” a somewhat embarrassed Sunflower replied.

For the next two weeks the pair worked independently most of the time. Sun worked hard on making beaded deerskin patches and dreamcatchers. She had taken a few of those to the store in the recent visit, and all three of the shop people had complimented her on them. She especially wanted to give dreamcatchers to Wendy and Miriam as gifts. And another slice of pie would also go over well.

Grey mostly worked on cleaning up and sharpening more of the tools that he had bought on his first trip out of the camp.

Finally Sun had her works finished, and begged for another trip to the store. There were five slabs of frozen venison left in the underground cold cellar Grey had built, and they were finally starting to melt in the warm weather. There was no way they would last until they could be eaten, so Grey brought out four to take and see if the store could use them, leaving one for their supper over the next two nights. They wrapped everything up in a bearskin, and Sun strapped it over her ample shoulders. Grey said they needed more beans, at the store, so agreed to make the trip. He considered letting her go herself, but felt that she might not be ready for that.

As they approached the store, she stopped and pointed to a barn behind and beside the store. “What is that?”

“I dunno. Looks like a pile of junk to me,” Grey said.

“No it isn’t,” Sun said as she hurried towards the junk pile. “That is a 1946 GMC AK series pickup truck. Mint. I wonder if Frank would sell it. It doesn’t look like it is running.” There was junk piled both in front and behind the truck.

“Well, you already have over $2000 on your account if you want to buy it. Although I don’t know why you would.”

“It’s beautiful,” Sun said. “It will take some work to get it running again, but it would be worth it.”

“That’s right, you used to fix up old cars with your Dad, didn’t you,” Grey said as things clicked into place. He thought about making a comment about fixing old trucks as not being very ladylike, but bit his tongue as he realized how excited this was making her.

“Come on,” Grey tugged her arm and got absolutely nowhere. Sun was not someone you could pull along. “Let’s take your things into the store and ask Frank about the truck.”

That got her moving, when they got into the coffee shop, there was one patron there, who naturally stared at Sun. “Because you’re tall,” Grey said softly, and she relaxed. Wendy belted out a cheery greeting, followed by one from Frank and Miriam. The other patron stopped staring when Sun sat down at a table and unwrapped the bearskin. Seated, Sun no longer looked so tall.

She unwrapped the skin, and first took out two dreamcatchers, handing one each to Wendy and Miriam, who both squealed in delight at the gifts. “And these others are for Frank, to sell,” she said handing him another dozen. “And another dozen beaded deer skin strips.”

“Then there are these four slabs of venison,” Grey said. “The bottom one has started to melt, and should be used up first, but the other three could go into your freezer. My cold storage at the camp is getting above freezing, so they would just go bad up there.”

Frank carted the meat off to the freezer and the prep table, while Wendy squealed “Pulled venison burgers!”

Miriam explained that when the store got venison in, it was usually roasted to the point of falling apart, and then the pulled-apart meat was mixed into a sauce that was a store secret, but apparently so tasty that pulled venison burgers would draw people from Tweed and Madoc to the store. “I’ll have to post a notice on our web page,” she said.

Frank came back and picked up the bearskin. “This is gorgeous. Did you take it, Grey?”

He snorted. “No. Sun got it a few months back. I have taken a bear, but it was quite a bit smaller than this.”

“How much?” Frank asked. “I could probably sell this for up to $800. Would you take $400 for it?”

“What about a trade,” Sun asked. “I really like that old truck out by your barn. Even up?”

“What? That old thing? I bought it from a feller for $1000 10 years ago, and less than a month later the engine seized up or something. It has sat out there since then. I hate to take a loss on it, but I’ll gladly trade it for the skin. It’s not making me any money out there rusting, and mother here will probably kill me if I don’t clear up that scrap pile soon.”

“Deal,” Sun said, and shook hands.

“Where will you put it,” Miriam asked. “I doubt you can get it back to your camp. There are no roads back there, are there?”

Sunflower looked as though someone had taken a knife and removed her heart. She hadn’t considered where she would put the truck.

“I’d let you keep it here for a bit,” Frank said, until he caught the look Miriam glared at him, “except it might not be a positive factor in my marriage.”

Grey came to the rescue: “We can take it to the grove at the back of Daisy’s land. She said we could use it for whatever we wanted. There is a bit of road back there. A few saplings have sprung up on it, but we can clear those away pretty quickly. But how do we tow it back there?”

“I’d tow it with the van,” Frank said, “but I really wouldn’t trust that old road. What you really need is someone with an old pickup.”

“Did someone call my name,” a voice came from near the door. They turned around to see Dan Smith approaching the little group. Introductions were made, since Sun had not met Dan yet, and she and the men went out to look at the truck.

All four tires were flat, and it had settled into ruts. There was very little rust on the body. Sunflower went into the cab and was surprised at how clean it was: a lot of dust, but no sign that varmints had nested there. There were probably better nesting places in the other junk around.

“We would have to get new tires, or at least put some air in these,” Dan said. “They might hold up long enough to transport it to the grove. I have an air compressor that works off the lighter in my truck. If they deflate half way there, then we will just pump them up again.” He rubbed off the dust on the front left tire and noted the size.

“I know a place that might have some that would fit,” Dan said. “We could take a spin over there and check. Do you have any cash?”

Sun looked at Frank. “Can I make a withdrawal from my account at the Bank of Frank?” she asked.

“Bank of Frank. I like that,” the storeowner said. “I can spare $300 right now. We’ll make that all back seven dollars a time selling your pulled venison burgers. I’ll have it back within a week.”

“You have pulled venison?” Dan asked. “I want one.”

“Not until tomorrow,” Frank said, “assuming Mirian has started on the first steak.”

“He is to get as many of them as he wants, off my account,” Grey said. “Payback for getting this truck moved over.”

“Well, we have to get the truck over there first,” Dan said. “We should see if it will roll, or if the axles are locked up. Grey, you are smallest, so you should steer while the rest of us push.”

Sun reluctantly left the driver’s seat, and Grey took over, a little embarrassed that he steered, and not the woman in the group. But he knew she could push at least three times as much as him.

The other three went to the back, and pushed once Grey had it in neutral. For a minute the truck and its 10 years of inertia defied them. Sunflower closed her eyes and imagined that she was back on the football field at Mac. With a might shove, aided by the two men, she pushed and the truck moved forward about 10 feet.

“Good, it rolls fine. Some good tires, or air in these, and we’ll have it over on the other side in no time,” Dan said.

“Sun, do you want to head out with me for the tires,” Dan asked. Grey was sure she would refuse, or at least insist that he accompany them, but to her surprise she agreed. She really wanted that truck.

“Yeah,” she said. “Grey, can you head back to camp and get the axes? Any maybe start clearing the road?”

Grey left the others heading back to camp. With the river high he would have to backtrack and cross on the highway bridge, but at least that meant he would be able to clear the saplings from the front to the back. It was over an hour later when he found the first sapling, still in sight of the house. He started chopping.

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Meanwhile Dan took had taken Sun to the same barn where Grey had gotten his woodworking tools so long ago. The man greeted Dan, and took a long look at Sun, as most people do. She looked like a girl in her denim maxi skirt, but a very tall one.

“Watcha after, Dan?” the grizzled old farmer said.

“Tires,” Dan said. “Mind if we look through your collection?”

“He’p yerselves,” he said. “They’s $40 a tire if’n there is tread, $10 for bald.”

There had to be 200 tires stacked up at the back of the barn. As they walked past, several old tools caught Sun’s eyes. Tires first, then tools, she told herself.

It turned out that there were a dozen older tires in the size the truck needed. They picked out four that had really good tread, and then another almost as good for a spare.

As Dan hauled the five tires to his truck, Sun went through the tools. Grey had bought exclusively woodworking tools. Sun needed auto mechanic’s tools, especially wrenches. She started a little collection, and found some specialty tools as well, that would normally have been found only in a 1950s garage.

“Them’s the best tires in the place,” the farmer said. “I’m gonna need $50 each for them four good ones.”

“You said $40,” Sun said, dropping a peach basket full of tools in the truck. “I only have $300, so how about $200 for the five tires, and the other $100 for these tools.” She stood close to the man, and being nearly a foot taller, he was more than a little intimidated.

They made the deal, and headed back to the store just as the morning bus departed.

Dan pulled up next to the older truck, and hopped out. He grabbed the x-shaped tire iron that Sun had picked up among the tools and tried to loosen the nuts on the first wheel.

He finally stood up after being unsuccessful in even budging the nuts. “Sorry Sun, but these aren’t going anywhere. I think we will need to get some penetrating oil and give them a day to loosen up.

Dan headed off to Tweed to the Canadian Tire to get some supplies, and Sun stayed. Before Dan was even out of the parking lot she had the first lug nut off. She then went around and loosened the other nuts. They were tight, and she had to use a trick her father had taught her, making a small twist, and then putting her substantial weight onto the iron. Most nuts came lose on the first try, but a few took as many as five.

Next she brought out the old leaf jack she had gotten from the barn, and set it on an old board. She jacked up one side of the truck near the tire and pulled the wheel. There were tools in the set she had bought that allowed her to remove the old rubber, and mount the new tire. All that was needed was to get air in the tires.

When Dan pulled back in she had three tires finished, and was working on a fourth.

“So I guess you don’t need penetrating oil,” he said as he walked up. As well as the penetrating oil he had several cans of engine oil, car wax, and several chamois rags.

“Not now, but eventually I will need it,” Sun said. “You don’t happen to have that compressor handy, do you?”

“I do. I stopped off at home and picked it up,” Dan said. He quickly had it hooked up, and started filling tires as Sun continued working on the others. The first two tires had air before she finished the spare. She then moved to using a wire brush to clean all the lug posts on the wheel. She had all the lug nuts in a bowl of oil, and they gleamed up quickly when wiped down with a chamois.

The spare was finally filled as she finished, and the two of them then mounted the tires, with Sun holding a tire in place while Dan tightened the nuts. He got them as tight as possible, and then Sun took over. To Dan’s surprise, she was able to tighten each nut as much as a quarter turn beyond what he had done.

She had one side of the car up with the jack, and the other side resting on a large rock she had pulled into position. These were removed, and the truck sat prettily on newer tires.

“Do you want to tow it over now?” Dan asked, looking at the sun, which was getting low in the western sky. “I can come back tomorrow?”

“Now, if we can,” Sun begged. The second bus had just left, and Frank came out, pulling a huge rope. They fixed it to the front chassis of the older truck, and put a loop over the hitch on Dan’s truck. He got in his, and Sun slid into hers and put it back into neutral, releasing the hand brake. Dan drove forward until the rope was taut.

Frank moved back: a snapped rope is dangerous. Sun waved, and Dan moved out in first gear. For a second the old truck resisted, but finally it started moving and rolling as Dan headed out to the highway. Frank heard a girlish squeal of delight from the rear vehicle as they headed out to the highway, driving on the shoulder.

There was a little problem in getting into the lane of the house, but soon they were on it. Daisy was on the porch, and waved as they went past. Grey had stopped in earlier to get permission, and to visit the old lady for a few minutes. But he had not been idle, and soon they started seeing sapling stumps cut a few inches above the road level. They drove on until they got near the grove, where they saw Grey working at removing more saplings.

“Hooray,” he shouted to them as Dan shut down his truck “I didn’t think you would get it here today.”

“She’s a good worker, and really knows her stuff,” Dan said. Sun finally slid out from the cab of her truck, with a smile on her face that Grey had only seen once before. She was this excited when she first bathed her hairless body, but not since. She ran up to Dan, who she had only met that morning, and hugged him, lifting him off the ground.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” she said before putting the amazed man back down on the ground. “You have been so much help. You make sure you get as many venison burgers as you can eat. You have earned them.”

“Do you think someone will steal it if we leave it here?” Sun asked Grey.

“Not likely, if the engine is seized,” Grey said. “But we should put your tools in the cab.” He reached into the bed where the fruit basket of tools sat and tried to lift it. Instead his feet left the ground.

“Pretty heavy,” Sun said reaching in and easily lifting the basket up and out. “Get the door for me.”

Soon the cab was locked and the three were in the cab of Dan’s truck, with Grey in the middle, feeling small between the taller people on either side. Dan drove them to the house, where they had a visit with Daisy. Apparently she was one of the seniors that Dan visited weekly. Earlier he had phoned the two he usually met on Tuesdays and said he would be a day late on his visit.

Daisy and Sun brewed a tea for the men. Sun hardly realized that she had just met someone new and felt no tension with Daisy. In fact, when the older woman asked her to get down some things from a top shelf, she just reached up and did it, saving Daisy from having to go up on a step stool.

In the end Daisy apologized for only having a package of store-bought cookies to go with the tea, and somehow this merged into an agreement where she would teach Sun how to cook and bake, in return for the two of them coming to dinner each night.

Grey agreed, even if it meant that they would have to walk all the way to their camp on the other side of the river in the evenings, after visiting Daisy.

This night, at least, they had Dan to give them a ride to the store, and they would only have to walk home from there. All the way on the walk through the darkening woods Sun excitedly explained her plans for the truck. She had three canoes built in her head to buy the parts she would need.