Gardens in the Dunes (80 page)

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By the time they got everything packed and took down the lean-to, it was too late to get very far downriver. Even with the help of the twins it was a struggle to get all their belongings, the pets, and supplies to the road where they could catch the mail wagon the next morning.

Indigo still cried when she thought of Hattie lifted bodily into the buggy, though the twins reassured her Hattie was strong; she'd been blessed by the light of the morning star. Sister Salt was still too angry to speak; only the little grandfather's laughter at the antics of the monkey softened her fierce expression.

They made a little campfire just as the sun went down and shared cold tortillas and bits of mutton jerky in silence. The turmoil left them exhausted. Rainbow noticed the flames to the north first and flapped his wings and squawked excitedly as he clutched Indigo's shoulder.

All night the flames lit the sky, and they sat bundled in blankets and quilts to watch. At first they didn't know what was burning, and Maytha joked the town dump must have caught fire, but later the flames went so high, Vedna said it had to be the town that was burning. At first they didn't mention what night this was to have been or that somewhere in the mountains the Messiah and the ancestors still waited and loved them.

The next morning a line of blue-gray smoke still rose above the town, and Vedna joked whatever else happened, at least they got to watch the white town burn to the ground. Or maybe it was only the town dump—they didn't know until they flagged down the mail wagon and loaded their belongings. The driver said it was no joke—half the town of Needles burned that night, though no one was injured.

Maytha and Vedna came to visit in the early spring before it got too hot. They found their way back without any trouble, although they'd been there only once before to help the girls move to the old gardens.

The twins arrived around midday. Even from a distance the bright ribbons of purple, red, yellow, and black gladiolus flowers were impossible to miss, woven crisscross over the terrace gardens, through the amaranth, pole beans, and sunflowers.

Sister warmed rabbit stew for them while the twins teased them about the waste of precious garden space and rain on flowers. Remember how outraged their neighbors were when they found out Indigo's plants produced only flowers?

They brought Indigo the two orchid plants she had to leave behind. They teased Indigo they'd kept the two biggest plants for themselves. They had grown and filled their pots nicely despite being thrown out the door last year and nibbled by Rainbow.

The little grandfather was shy and hid his eyes from them at first, but then he began to play peek with Vedna, and Maytha finally persuaded him to toddle over to her so she could pick him up. What a big boy he was now!

With the gourd bowls of stew, Sister unwrapped red amaranth tortillas, cold but freshly made earlier that day. The little grandfather took a bite from his tortilla, then offered some to Maytha; he was more shy with Vedna; then he handed Linnaeus a piece of tortilla and gave Rainbow the rest. He was too excited by the visitors to eat; he began to bring out his toys—his corncob doll and a small gourd dish of round pebbles.

The twins remarked what good stew it was. Sister motioned with her chin at Indigo, who smiled proudly. They asked the ingredients beside rabbit, but she would only tell them, “A little of everything.”

The twins brought all kinds of news from Road's End, and a letter for Indigo from Hattie. The envelope was covered with strange stamps and a smeared postmark from England. Inside Indigo found a lovely tinted postcard of Bath and a folded blank sheet of paper that held a folded $50 bill and a glassine envelope of postage stamps.

The postcard showed the big pool at the King's Bath dotted with the tiny figures of white men wading and swimming. They took turns looking and laughing at the picture before Indigo read the message.

Hattie sent her love to Indigo and the girls and, of course, the little grandfather. The weather was too cloudy and cool for anything more than pussy willows, snowdrops, and pink ladies.

Next week they would take the train to Scotland to visit the old stones. In September they'd cross the channel and go by train to spend the autumn with Laura in Lucca.

Indigo broke into a big smile. What a relief it was to know Hattie was all right. She unfolded the money and the girls passed it around. They'd never touched a $50 bill before. The stamps Indigo would use right away. She would write Hattie and send the reply back with the twins.

Now for the news from Road's End, Sister teased the twins. Were they at least pregnant or engaged yet? They all laughed and shook their heads. It sure was good to see one another again. Yes, the news was they'd managed to save up enough money so they didn't have to live in a wallow of green beer anymore. Rumors had it they were about to be arrested for bootlegging anyway.

They used the money to buy two milk goats, six turkeys, and two dozen chickens. With egg and milk money they bought peach and apricot seedlings out of a California mail-order catalogue. Only thing was, now when they wanted to be gone more than a day, they had to hire a neighbor to sleep at their house to care for all their livestock.

Remember all those gladiolus spuds Indigo planted in their garden and everyone scolded her for planting useless flowers? Guess what? Big spikes of buds appeared in the first warm days after Christmas, and in no time white, lavender, red, and yellow flowers opened. People passing by on the road stopped to stare—the flowers were quite a sight.

When no one was around, the twins took an old bucket full of freshly cut flowers to the brush-covered shelter the flooded Christians used as a church. At first the twins weren't sure if their peace offering would be accepted by their neighbors. But the next week, they found the old bucket at their gate, so they refilled it with flowers. Their neighbors received all sorts of food donations from other churches each month; but no one up or down the river had such tall amazing flowers for their church. So those flowers turned out to be quite valuable after all.

Indigo scooped up some stew with a piece of tortilla.

“Look,” she said to the twins. “Do you recognize this?”

“Some kind of potato, isn't it?” Vedna fished one out of her stew and popped it into her mouth.

“Ummmm!”

Maytha stirred her stew with a piece of tortilla and examined the vegetable—it was a gladiolus spud! She laughed out loud.

“You can eat them!” she exclaimed. Those gladiolus weren't only beautiful; they were tasty!

After the twins finished lunch, they all walked up the path to see the gardens and the spring. Now Rainbow flew along above them until he saw a hawk and returned to Indigo's shoulder. Linnaeus walked ahead of the little grandfather to scout for any danger, Sister liked to say. Their parrot and monkey warned them if strangers approached even a mile away.

The twins especially like the “speckled corn” effect of the color combinations Indigo made with the gladiolus she planted in rows to resemble corn kernels. Maytha agreed with Indigo; their favorite was the lavender, purple, white, and black planting, but Sister and Vedna preferred the dark red, black, purple, pink, and white planting. They were closed now, but in the morning sky blue morning glories wreathed the edges of the terraces like necklaces.

Down the shoulder of the dune to the hollow between the dunes, silver white gladiolus with pale blues and pale lavenders glowed among the great dark jade datura leaves. Just wait until sundown—the fragrance of the big datura blossoms with the gladiolus flowers would make them swoon, Indigo promised.

When the girls first returned to the old gardens the winter before, Grandma Fleet's dugout house was in good condition but terrible things had been done at the spring. Fortunately Grandma Fleet had warned Sister Salt during her visit the third night of the dance, so the girls were prepared for the shock. Strangers had come to the old gardens; at the spring, for no reason, they slaughtered the big old rattlesnake who lived there; then they chopped down the small apricot trees above Grandma Fleet's grave.

That day they returned, the twins helped Sister Salt and Indigo gather up hundreds of delicate rib bones to give old Grandfather Snake a proper burial next to Grandma Fleet. They all wept as they picked up his bones, but Indigo wept harder when she looked at the dried remains of the little apricots trees hacked to death with the snake.

Today Indigo and Linnaeus ran ahead of the others with the parrot flying ahead of her. At the top of the sandy slope she stopped and knelt in the sand by the stumps of the apricot trees, and growing out of the base of one stump were green leafy shoots. Who knew such a thing was possible last winter when they cried their eyes sore over the trees?

They took turns drinking the cold water from the crevice in the cave
wall and sat on the cool sand on the cave's floor to listen to the splashing water for a while.

They sat so quietly the twins and the little grandfather dozed off; something terrible struck there, but whatever or whoever, it was gone now; Sister Salt could feel the change. Early the other morning when she came alone to wash at the spring, a big rattlesnake was drinking at the pool. The snake dipped her mouth daintily into the water, and her throat moved with such delicacy as she swallowed. She stopped drinking briefly to look at Sister, then turned back to the water; then she gracefully turned from the pool across the white sand to a nook of bright shade. Old Snake's beautiful daughter moved back home.

S
IMON
& S
CHUSTER
P
APERBACKS

R
EADING
G
ROUP
G
UIDE

1. Do you consider this a feminist novel, or simply a novel that features strong female characters? Is there a difference between the two?

2. Motherhood is a strong theme throughout the novel. What does this book suggest about the importance of mothers and mothering? Could the book be viewed as an argument for a matriarchal society?

3. Many of the male characters in the book disappoint or deceive their mates. Both Edward and Candy eventually drop out of the narrative, and even the Messiah himself fails to reappear. The novel's final pages depict the women characters taking care of themselves and one another. What is the significance of this? How do you feel about Silko's portrayal of men? Are men expendable in the world she creates?

4. What is Edward's ultimate failing? Is he naive? Is he a poor businessman? Does he simply encounter bad luck? Could one argue that he is punished because he sullies his passions for botany and archaeology with dubious financial schemes? What does the book say about the dangers of materialism and the consequences of putting a price on natural treasures?

5. Compare Indigo's spiritual, survivalist relationship to nature with Edward's scientific, capitalist approach. Does the book suggest that one is more ethical than the other? Do the events of the book support the idea that we have a moral responsibility toward the natural world?