“Could be anyone who portrays the Koshari; might even be Derrick.”
“It looks like you.”
“Whatever you say.”
“I have something else to say to you, something you’ll like, I hope.”
“Yeah? What?”
“I convinced my boss to let me stay an extra day or two. I won’t have to be back until Wednesday.”
“That’s great, darling. That’ll give me more time to, you know, take advantage of you a whole lot more. You can go golfing with me on Monday.”
“Great. I would love to. Maybe you can teach me a few things about golf.”
Darrius looked at his watch. “We have twenty minutes before the first minor dance starts. After that, I need to take you home—alone. You’re going to have a busy day tomorrow and again in the evening with the main powwow dances.”
She pouted. “Will you come home with me? I know you won’t show me your bedroom yet, but I can show you mine, even if it’s only mine until Wednesday.”
“That’s an offer too tempting to pass on. You’ve got a deal, Ms. Justine Roberts-Paretti.”
15
LORD OF THE DANCE
Saturday Night
Excitement was in the air as spectators hurried toward the main arena. Dancers were lined up at the entrance to the park awaiting the start of the Grand Entry, which consisted of the formal opening of the powwow.
Among the spectators were Justine and Darrius, holding hands and anticipating the start of the first of many performances that night. She held Darrius’s hand and smiled at him. She didn’t see the expression on his face that she had hoped to. As he looked at the dancers ready to walk into the arena, his expression had changed to that of being sullen. She thought maybe he was remembering what had happened to him years ago as he danced the famous trickster dance. Her objective that evening was to take his mind as much away from that as she possibly could. To help accomplish that, she wore more native attire, including the squash-blossom hairstyle that she thought looked silly on her. She wore it anyway, along with fringed jeans and the Koshari T-shirt. She looked down at the shirt, thinking maybe wearing another shirt might have been better, but he said he liked it.
She clutched his hand tighter. “I’m so excited about tonight. This is the real deal, one of the main things I came here for.” She reconsidered her words. “Actually, now that I’ve met you, the dance is the second-most important thing to me.”
“Glad a mere mortal like me can have that kind of an effect on a goddess. I’m glad you’re here. Grand Entry starts soon, and I want us to have a great spot. We should get as close to the front as possible. There are a lot of people here tonight.”
“Why so close, though?” Justine asked, curious.
“So you can see everything. Also, having you at the front will make it easy for me to find you.”
She quickly turned to him. “Aren’t you going to be next to me?”
“Yes, but I have to help Derrick put on his paint for the dance. It won’t take too long, and then I’ll return to your side again. You’re safe here.”
“Well…if you say so.”
“I do. You’ll see some very interesting things tonight, and you’ll be so close to them that you’ll see them in your dreams. The traditional first song will start soon.”
“Good. Can’t wait to hear it.”
“Every dancer and contributor enters the arena by this song.”
“Even the Koshari?”
“Derrick will walk out, too, but not in the Koshari costume. Believe me, you will see plenty of that outfit soon.”
Justine stood in amazement as the dancers walked into the middle of the arena. However, as the dancers walked in, Darrius’s face seemed to express that he missed the dance, that it was something he was raised to do and understand in all of its intricate details. She felt sorry for him, wanted to find a way to help him, lighten his mood, but there was nothing she could do. If Darrius wanted to get over this, he would have to find a way, but she would always be willing to give him support.
She smiled and leaned into him. “Who will be the honoree this year?”
“You know about that?”
“Sure, I have studied the culture a bit before coming here. That’s why I was so anxious to get the assignment, to learn more. I’m sure I will get a wealth of information tonight—to add to what I already know.”
Darrius kissed her cheek. “There’s plenty to see and learn here this evening. If there’s anything you have questions about, just let me know. There are a lot of intricate moves and steps you may not be aware of; some are not mentioned in many of the reference books unless written by dancers. Basically, the powwow has turned into a competition to see who is best, who is the most creative, the most outstanding. Let’s watch the Grand Entry. Each group of dancers enter the arena to the song. First the flag bearers enter and then the head dancers, veterans. But I’ll explain it all when we see them. There’s also contest and honor songs, like what you asked about a minute ago. Every year someone from around here has something to celebrate. This year Demario and Caitlyn are celebrating their marriage this October.”
“Marriage, huh. Ever thought about marriage yourself?”
“Lately.” He smiled and then turned to the dancers marching into the arena.
Justine smiled a secret smile herself, and then returned to the onslaught of dancers marching to distant drums.
* * *
Before the ceremonial dancing started, Darrius bought two more corn tamales with deer meat, sodas and bottled water.
He bit into his tortilla and wrapped his arm back around Justine’s shoulder. “I know you’re getting used to the taste of buffalo meat, but I figured you could use something different.”
“I actually like it now. The taste was a little gamey at first, but it’s good. Deer is good, too.”
