The House

By Dawn Natelle

Chapter 38 – The End

It was about 10 years after the prior chapter.

A car arrived at the house, with three females asking for Dary. The girl recognized the older woman as being from the Children’s Aid Society. Dary and Red had recently been assessed to be foster parents, or adopt.

“Dary,” the woman said. “I know you were looking for younger children, but these two girls are 13, and we have had no luck in placing them. I wonder if you could foster them for a few weeks or months.”

“But I am only 23,” Dary protested. “Red is a few years older, but teenagers?” She seemed to steel herself. “And I will not take them for weeks or months. They will stay with me for as long as they want.”

“And if we don’t want to stay in this dump?” the taller of the girls, Dawn, said.

“Well, then I guess we would have to talk about that,” Dary said.” I hope we can make this into a loving home for you.”

“Love? Home? Sure,” Dawn sneered. “Like we are going to get that.”

“I dunno, Dawn.” Sandra said. “It looks like this is a farm. I like animals. Maybe this place will be better.”

“Well, it can’t be worse, can it,” Dawn said. “We’ll try it.” Dary hugged each girl, although both of them took the hug stiffly, and Dary sent the CAS lady on her way.

“Come on, let’s explore the farm,” Dary said. “You noticed the cattle. We have both dairy and beef cattle here, mainly to supply the Houses and the café. My Mom works in the café by the highway. You can work there, if you want to.”

“So you are going to put us to work,” Dawn sneered. “Slave labor for your little farm.”

“No, you don’t have to work,” Dary said. “It is up to you. You get free bed and board here, but no allowance. If you work you can earn some spending money. Most girls can’t get work at 13 … you are family though, so you can. The littlest kids have chores on the farm, and get an allowance. Only the babies don’t work.”

“This barn is where Red works,” Dary said as she opened the door to a cluster of men working. “He makes custom guitars, and sells them to professional musicians all over the world.” She wrapped her arms around kissed her man, and the girls showed a bit of the typical teen ‘ick’ but also a bit of surprise at seeing the love on display.

“Ricky in the next booth is making violins. The aren’t as famous as the guitars … yet, but he only became a master a few months back. Steve is a journeyman, and his specialty is horns … I think he is working on a French horn, if all those parts spread out around him are what I think they are. Ralph, and Nick are the apprentices, and they help the others out when needed. Guys, these pretty ladies are new to the house. Dawn and Sandra.” To Red she said: “Foster daughters. A bit older than we thought we would get, but still a ready-made family.”

“Can you play that?” Dawn asked Red, pointing at the partially-built guitar.

“Red can play anything,” Dary boasted.

“More to the point, can you teach me how to play?”

Red got a big smile on his face: “I would love to teach my daughter how to make music. This one is still a few days away from completion, but I’ll bring a good learner guitar to the Great Hall tonight and give you your first lesson. You too?” he looked at Sandra.

“Maybe later, after Dawn learns,” Sandra said.

“That’s good. It is easier to teach one at a time,” Red said, hugging each of the girls. Dawn seemed a little less tense this time.

The girls left the barn and went into the stable next door. “Oh horses,” Sandra squealed. “Can we ride them?”

“Yes. Not today though. Tomorrow I have plans for a little ride,” Dary said.

“They are really big,” Dawn noted. “Really, really big.”

“But so gentle. Give this one a hug. He is the smallest of the six, and only two years old.” Dary didn’t have to prod Sandra. She had immediately wrapped her arms around the neck of another bigger horse.

“That is Stone,” Dary told her. “He is the oldest, since Madam died. Next is Elysa, my favorite and Mamma to the other four. Dawn has Kitten there.”

“Kitten? A silly name for a horse, but I like kittens,” said Dawn, who seemed less afraid of the horse.

Back behind the stables is the forge, and then the chickens. I used to look after them when I was your age, but Mimi has taken over now. Let’s go to the house.” After a peek at the birds they headed to the house. Dary led them to the back hall on the second floor. “We have empty rooms here. Do you want to share, or get your own rooms?”

“We get to choose?” Dawn asked in amazement. “I can’t remember not having to share. There were five us per room at the last place.”

“I’d like my own room,” Sandra said. “Dawn snores.”

“I do not,” Dawn snapped back.

“How would you know?” Sandra said. “You only do it when you are asleep.”

Dawn opened her mouth to retort, but realized there was nothing she could say to that, except “Do not.”

“Who want’s this room?” Dary asked. Sandra put in a claim by jumping on the bed.

“Now let’s talk about school,” Dary said, and the faces of both girls fell. “There are three more months of school. You can take the bus to Tweed for the middle school, or to Madoc if you are in high school. Or we can home school you.”

“My last grade is six,” Dawn said in a soft voice.

“I passed grade seven, barely,” Sandra added.

“Don’t worry,” Dary said. “We’ll have Cooper evaluate you, and work out a program that will get you into high school when you are ready. He is a great teacher: he taught both me and Red.”

They looked into Dawn’s room next, and Dary learned that the girls had no clothes beyond what they wore. “Shopping trip to Tweed,” Dary announced. “The selection there isn’t great, but we can get you some night gowns and underwear, and some jean’s and tops. Just be aware that the tops will probably promote concert tours that happened before you were born. We’ll plan another trip to Peterborough later.”

The girls got back to the house just before supper. And were amazed at about 60 people from the two houses getting together for a meal, with the dishes passed from one to another. As they ate, Dary introduced all the unfamiliar faces, including the boys from the second house, who stared rather intently at the new girls.

After the meals, the boys took down the tables and Dary and the girls helped clean up and do the wash-up. After the boys had traipsed off to their house, the girls went out to the Great Room, where Red waited for Dawn with his training guitar, and a beginner’s one for her.

Sandra sat near Dary on the other side of the big room, after the elder girl scooped up one of the infants from the floor to get some baby time in. The two chatted.

“So that is what you were hoping for from the CAS,” Sandra said as she watched Dary play with the baby.

“It is what we expected,” Dary admitted. “But this house has ways of matching the right people to the right position. I’m just hoping that you two will be happy here, and eventually want to be adopted.”

“You would adopt us? Then you don’t get CAS fostering money,” Sandra said.

“That will be your decision,” Dary said. “If you want to join the family we would love to have you. If you want to stay under foster care, that will be fine too. It is up to you.”

“Most places we stayed at ran fostering as a business,” Sandra said. “Get enough kids so they don’t have to work … Most of them stinted on food and clothing to have more money for their booze or drugs.”

“Well, that is not the way we do it here,” Dary said. “I just want you to feel loved.”

“I am starting to feel that way,” Sandra said. “I mean you already spent a ton of money for clothes and bedding for our rooms. And you are always making us decide. One room or two, where to go to school, whether to get adopted, what type of chores we will do: I don’t think I’ve ever had to make so many decisions in one day.”

“Here is another,” Dary said. “Do you want to hold the baby?” She held out the infant, and Sandra recoiled back.

“Not me. Dawn might want to, but I don’t like babies. Or boys. Did you see the way the guys from the other house were staring at me?”

“Did that bother you? Most young girls don’t mind, if the boys are cute and near their age.”

“I don’t think boys are cute at all,” Sandra said, and then clasped her hand over her mouth as if she had said something bad.

“There is nothing wrong with that,” Dary said softly.

“At the last place they found out I like girls,” Sandra sobbed. “They made me go to a pastor who tried to cure me of the ‘devil’.”

“It is not a devil that makes you like girls,” Dary said. “Thirteen is a bit early to decide, but if you turn out to be lesbian, that makes no difference to me. Tomorrow night I will tell you two my story, and it is a doozy.”

“You are cool,” Sandra said as she hugged Dary. “I think I will like it here.”

“I hope so, honey,” Dary said as she hugged back. And at the other side of the room Dawn put her guitar down and stood up to hug her teacher. “You are cool,” she told Red. “I like it here.”

“Time for the evil foster-mother to step in,” Dary said as she approached. “You two need to be off to bed. There is no lights out time. You can have another half hour to chat, and then another half hour to read or play your guitar. I will trust you to go to bed after that.”

Sandra picked up a book and then headed off to her room with her ‘sister’. They both went into Dawn’s room first, where she plucked her guitar chords as she sat on the bed. “You are pretty good with that already,” Sandra said.

“Yeah, Red is a good teacher,” Dawn said. “I saw you chatting with Dary. What did she say? Nothing bad I hope.”

“No, I told her I was gay, and she was cool with it,” Sandra said.

“Cool. That leaves all those scrumptious boys from the other house for me,” Dawn joked. “A couple of them looked pretty good to me.”

“Yeah, too bad there weren’t any girls over there for me,” Sandra said. “But I think if I do meet a nice girl and bring her home Dary will be cool with it.”

The next day, after lunch, Dary told Red to saddle up three horses. During the morning Dary had put together three packsacks, and after the washing up was done, she handed one to each of the girls and they headed over to the stable.

Red was holding the three saddled horses, which were prancing around in anticipation of a ride. Dawn had never ridden before, so Red helped her aboard Kitten and walked the horse about, giving her a lesson on how to start, stop, and turn the horse.

“You shouldn’t need to worry,” Red told the girl, who was just short of terrified. “Kitten will follow the older horses. All you have to do is stay on top of her.”

Sandra had ridden before, although never on such a large horse, and Dary had been riding the big horses since she was a teen. The three headed off, until they came in sight of Grove, where they saw Grey standing in full Ojibwe regalia.

“You remember Grey, our medicine man,” Dary said. “He wants to offer you a little ceremony out here to find your spirit animal. You hop off first, Sandra, and Dawn and I will walk towards the Grove a bit. Come get us when you are done.”

Five minutes later, Sandra ran up. “I am a wolf. It is so cool, you have to do it Dawn.” Dawn and Dary had gotten down, so the other girl ran off to Grey. “I am a deer, he says,” Dawn reported. “What are you, mom?”

She verbally stumbled after saying the M word, as if she would be rebuked for it, but Dary just smiled and glowed with pleasure. “I did this 12 years ago, daughter,” she said. “I am a squirrel.”

“I get to call Red Dad first,” Sandra insisted. The two were more like sisters than natural ones, Dary told herself, and admitted that she was starting to love them like a natural mother.

The three walked the horses over to the camp and put them in the longhouse that had become a second stable for the animals. “We have to feed and water them,” Dary said, pointing to bales of straw and hay at the back. But we need to water ourselves first before the horses roil everything up.”

The girls all took tin cups to drink water out of, as well as canteens to fill with clean water. After they came back, they led the horses out to water.

Back in the longhouse the three of them together pulled out a bale of straw and cut it open to cover the dirt floor of the stable. Then a bale of hay was split allowing all three horses to eat. The hardest job was in getting the heavy saddles off the animals. It took all three to carry them.

“We have to muck out the place tomorrow before we leave,” Dary said. “It is messy, but we have to do it if we ever want to ride again. The other thing we have to do is brush down the horses.”

“I definitely want to ride again,” Dawn said. “It was scary at first, but by the end it was really fun. Can Sandra and I come out here alone, just for a ride?”

“For a ride, or even a campout,” Dary said. “This is your home now.”

“The best home I’ve ever had,” Sandra said softly, and Dawn nodded. Dary just teared up a bit.

“We need to get the wigwam cleaned up and ready for us to sleep in tonight, and then we are going to need to gather wood for a fire. I’ll tell you a bit about the trees around here as we go,” Dary said. “Grey, our medicine man is the real expert on the trees, so if you ever get a chance to come out with him, jump on it.”

“We are staying overnight?” Sandra squealed. “Cool.” Dawn nodded in agreement.

After a few hours, and another watering of the horses, Dary taught them how to build an Ojibwe fire, although she cheated using a Bic lighter to get the fire going. Soon there was a pot of potatoes, onions, carrots, and venison chunks, making a hearty stew. As they watched the fire cook their dinner, Dary told them the story of the house and how it had developed, including her personal history.

“I can’t believe you were ever a boy,” Dawn said. “You are so pretty.”

“I was never a boy. I just thought I was. And we caught it before I started turning into a man.”

“And that’s why you are cool with me being gay,” Sandra said.

“If you are, yes. But remember that 13 is pretty early to know for sure. You might go to high school and some big football player will sweep you off your feet.”

“Yuuck,” Sandra said, and Dary started to believe that she may actually be gay.

After a satisfying dinner, and a wash-up in the spring, the girls cooked smores over the coals and chatted about their lives. Dary’s heart went out to the poor girls, who seemed to have had nothing but hardships since they were born. She vowed to herself that she would ensure that the next 13 years would be much better for them.

It was still light out when Dary had the girls head into the wigwam for bed. She put out the fire, and then went into join them, finding them both sleeping already. The outdoors air just seems conducive to good restful sleep. And yes, Dawn does snore. Red does too, so it did not bother Dary.

The next morning it was still dark when Dary was awakened by the sound of Grey’s whistle. He had spent the night sleep in the Grove, as he had promised.

She was first to use the toilet, and came back to find the other two awake, but fighting getting up. “You will need to get up soon to get rid of all that spring water you drank last night,” she said softly. “Better get moving before your need means you don’t have time to get dressed. It is really cool out there in the springtime mornings.”

Dawn was first to pull on her new jeans and a shirt, and then ran shrieking to the outhouse. Sandra fought for a little longer, and then set a record in dressing and ran out, passing Dawn as she returned. Dary gave the girl a stick of venison jerky for breakfast, and then watered the horses again. When Sandra got back she also got a stick of jerky, and put it in her mouth, finding it soothed the hunger pangs.

“It is still freaking night time,” Sandra said. “Why are we up so early?”

“We are going to see the magic of the house,” Dary said. “I love doing this. Usually I have my camera, but today we will store these memories in our heads and our hearts. Come on. Walk in single file and hold on to the girl in front. It is still dark. Call out if you get separated. There is no moon tonight, and enough cloud to block the stars.”

By the time they were half way to the river predawn broke through and gave enough barely light to see by. The girls were incredibly noisy walkers, Dary realized. Grey would not put up with the noise. Finally they turned the corner and walked up to the fallen tree that had a good view of the river.

Dawn squealed when she saw three deer heading to the water for their morning drink, and immediately knew she had done wrong when they scattered at the noise. From then on both girls were quiet. For the next hour they watched in silent awe as nature paraded itself in front of them.

“Come on,” Dary said. “It is getting pretty light now. The smaller animals won’t be back, but deer, wolf, and moose will come by during the day at different times. Let’s head back.

Dawn just grabbed Dary in a hug. “Thank you for bringing us here, Mom. This really is a magical place.” Sandra joined into the hug, and held it for a while after her sister let go.

When they got back to the camp they found that someone had saddled the horses and mucked out the longhouse. Dary silently thanked Grey for doing it, and it allowed her to take her two daughters back to the house after their bonding experience. As they rode back, it was Sandra who first spoke: “Were you serious that we could be adopted? I really want you to be my mom,” she said to Dary. Dawn then said “Me too,” and Dary nearly burst out in pride.

“I would love to have you a part of my family,” she said. “We will talk to John when we get back to the house. He is our lawyer.”

Dawn rode more confidently now and soon they were near the barn. Red happened to step outside of the building. “Hey Daddy,” Sandra called out. “Can you or one of your boys help us with these saddles?”

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Everyone from the house was gathered in the grove. Grey had Bobby, now 13, with Belle and their three younger children. Sun and Hawk had the twins, nearly 11 now, along with their four other adopted children. Dary and Red were now a wedded couple, and had two adopted children, and their grandmother Willow was with them. Dan and Cindy had three children, and Cooper Lone Owl with his recent wife Felicity were also there, along with nearly 20 inhabitants of the west house, where the incarcerated members of the community lived.

There were now two houses on the property, with a new West House built several years ago to make room for the increasing numbers of offenders being sent to the Ridge House. The fact that no one had ever tried to escape the house and that almost all who had done time there were never again in trouble with the law made it the preferred location for judges in the province to send First Nations youth for rehabilitation. Many times there were attempts to send white boys as well, but the House rejected these all. It was strictly for First Nation’s youth and the correctional department could not convince Sun and Grey to consider trying to make the system that worked so well for natives open to all. Sun and Grey knew a large part of the treatment was in instilling First Nation’s pride in the residents and it was felt White clients would be disruptive. They did allow other wardens to come and look at their program if they thought it might be adapted to work in other situations.

In spite of the many young people in the crowd, all were somber. It was the funeral of Daisy Ridgemark after all. Her best friend Lois had passed two months earlier, from cancer, and after a few weeks Daisy had gone downhill, eventually dying in her sleep two nights ago. When Lois had been sick she had refused to let Grey cure her, and he only used his skills to combat the pain of the cancer. With Daisy, who had no native blood, Grey was unable to help. There was another death the same week as Daisy. All through her period of illness the dog Rabbit, had laid beside her bed, and the elderly woman often rested her hand on the head of the old dog.

“Don’t worry,” Daisy had told Grey as she slowly slipped away. “My time has past, and I can only thank the Lord for giving me a few years as ‘grandma’ to so many little ones. I remember thinking as the house started to burn after that lightning strike so long ago that it was the worst day of my life. It was actually the best, when Sun and you came to live with me.”

Cooper had devised a combination of First Nations and Christian traditions, unlike Lois who had a first nation burial. The grave faced west, as the one Lois had just to the rear. Next to Lois was the grave of George Jenson, who had lived in the blacksmith shop until he took ill and died of old age. Lone Goose also had a grave in that row. Daisy was laid in the front as a place of honor.

After everyone in the ceremony had tossed earth in the open grave, the men filled it completely with their spades, then a new tradition that had started with Lois was continued, and each person placed a stone on the grave. Sun was first, placing a rather large block of stone, to be followed by the others in the crowd, right down to the infants and toddlers – the newest grandchildren – who dropped smaller stones.

Later Kyle Moosebuck, the stonemason who had joined the band when the new house was built, would build a little cairn over the grave. Sun was last to approach, and she placed a brass plaque in front of the stones. It read “Daisy Ridgemark, 1938 to 2016. Mother of none, grandmother of many.” Similar plaques were on the cairns of the others. Lois’s said “Beloved Mother and Grandmother.” On George’s the motto was “Maker of Beautiful Things” while Lone Goose’s said “Keeper of the Grove”.

All the plaques shone brightly. Shortly after George died, Grey started the tradition of going out once a month during the warmer months and polishing the plaque that Sun had made for Lone Gooses’ grave. Red accompanied him to do the same for George. When Lois died, Cindy’s young daughter Daisy started doing her grandmother’s plaque. Mimi had claimed the right to do the original Daisy’s plaque.

More than five years ago Daisy had sold the house and the land to the band for a token payment. It was a longer chore for John to get the band listed with the province as an Indian Reservation. It only happened when the band said it would not seek any money for the prior land claim settlements that had brought millions to reserves across the province. After that things started to roll and Ridge Indian Reserve was now official.

The band did not need claims’ money. They were self sufficient in their communal way. They had cornered the market on canoe building in the province, setting the standard for both cedar strip and birch bark craft. Boys who had spent more than a year in the correctional house often left to return to their own communities and make canoes there that could be branded with the “Ridge Reserve” trademark. The reserve also made snowshoes, and provided guide services to hunters going into the crown lands around the reserve.

The little store had recovered all of the business that the other store once had, other than the bus service and was again the coffee stop for the residents of the area. The bakery and store complex now employed 22 people. Behind it was the Old Mill Body Shop where residents brought their cars for repairs and bodywork. But the big income came from the classic cars that Sun restored to showroom condition and sold every spring in a California car show.

In a corner of the old stable Red Eagleclaw had a small shop where he and four apprentices made guitars by hand. Professional musicians came to prefer the custom instruments, and many of the guitars sold for over $4000 each.

The House was increasingly self-sufficient. Paul VanKleek had eventually married Tanya, and they looked after the farming operations, with both beef and dairy cattle providing food for the house. There was now a rather large henhouse tended by Mimi Dipsen, one of Sun’s twins. And Dary Eagleclaw tended the seven-acre market garden, with help of the boys from the West House, raising vegetables for the evening meals, when everyone got together in the Old House great room for a communal dinner made in the big kitchen.

The end