Mus and the Elders

​

Fury like white lightening was firing from Mus eyes when she left her meeting with the Elders and readied herself to figure out what had just happened.  ‘How dare they accuse me of theft!“  She stomped out of the Lodge leaving a trail of rage in her wake. ‘Well,’ she thought, trying to get herself under control. ‘I guess I have to admit, they didn’t actually ‘accuse’ me. But the questions they asked sure seemed to lead in that direction.’  She was simmering down a peg, ‘Insinuate; that’s the big word. That covers it good. Things like askin’ me if I’d been in the Great Lodge on the first night of the Gathering.  What did that have to do with anything?   An’ besides, our party didn’t even arrive until the second day, so how could I have been in the Lodge on the first day?’

​

‘Then they went on an’ on, over an’ over about Perri’s rash. Had I given it to him with the buttercup roots and leaves?  Well, yes I did an’ I told them so; but only because I wanted him to stay home with me. I didn’t know he’d get such a bad reaction.  It would be good to have him around while I’m stayin’ at Bones and Stars place. How do they think I like living under the same roof as that mettlin’ old hag Viola.  I caught her up in our room yesterday and’ I told ‘em so.  Goin’ through my stuff she was.  And her excuse?  Lookin’ for some sewin’ she’d lost. Really. Not much of an excuse if you ask me. Does she think I wanta do her sewin’?  Perri would have set her straight.  He may not be a lot of things, but he’s loyal to us an’ he loves me.  Gawd knows why, the way I treat him sometimes.’

​

‘Then they asked me all those questions about the healin’ hut.  Had I been there the night before Ocean passed?  The only time I stepped foot in that place was with Perri when I realized I’d gone a little overboard with the buttercup rash.  He looked terrible, he did an’ I was worried about him..  But that was it. 

​

Anyhow, that night we all had dinner with Bones, Star and that disgustin’ Viola creature.  That woman single handed like ate every eulachon they’d had ready for that dinner, so there no meat for the rest of us.  Bones’d had’ta go huntin’ the next day to provide for them us  Good man, he is. Poor guy, stuck with a mother like her.”  Her lips curled in a grimace while she thought about that dinner.  ‘An’ the whole time they had’ta listen; or pretend to listen, to that old bag talk, with her mouth full, displayin’ the contents for all to see.  My kids eat better’n that!  Viola’d gone on an’ on ‘bout how she was sure she’d be appointed an Elder before the meetin’ was done.  As if!’  Mus clenched her jaw and wrinkled her nose, her eyes crinkled downward at the corners.  Then she laughed, imagining that repulsive creature sitting as an Elder. ‘Then she went on about ‘her day’,”  Mus rolled her eyes, ‘when she’d been the mos’ popular girl at the Gatherin’; how she’d had the pick of the boys.  Ha!  I bet.  Imagine who those ‘boys’ would have been.  Raven?  Oak?  A bunch of ‘em, mostly Elders now.’  She laughed again, with a little malice this time.  ‘Those ‘boys’ would never have been stupid enough to marry that ‘thing’ ‘  Mus thought about how relieved she’d been when Viola had decided to go out for a walk and left them all alone.

​

But it was when the questions started about Daisy that Mus got really confused. Her anger rose again and her face went as red as a homicidal rosehip. ‘Yes, I told them, I was jealous of Daisy in her day, because sure, I did have my sights set on Cranberry.  But I’m used to the way things are now.  Daisy an’ me’ll never be best friends but I told them that’s as far as it went.’ Truthfully, she had to admit, she did hold more than a little malice against the ‘too perfect’ Daisy, but that was none of their business. ‘What did they think I was gonna do to her? Sure, I wished Cranberry lost a couple of days ago; but that was just like wishin’ on a star.  Wishes don’t always come true. Especially not for me’ Her face softened a little bit and a sad smile slipping onto her face. ‘Truth be told, I’m startin’ to miss my Perri, an’ I’m getting’ more than a little worried about him trompin’ through the bush with those blisters all over his face.  He’s a scratcher too.  Never could leave well enough alone, when he got a mosquito bite. Had’ta scratch it ‘til it got so bad, Fern’d have to put a poultice on it.  If I’d known just how bad a rash he’d get, I wouldn’t have done it an’ I told them so.’  But past was past.  ‘When he gets home I’ll take extra special care of him.’  She nodded her head twice. That would set things right.

​

This was not the first time her temper had got her into trouble. ‘Whatever did happen, it sounds serious, an’ I want Perri to be here with me; with us.’  She walked on to Bones’ place, wondering what was going on and especially, what it had to do with her.ow do they think I like staying in a house with that