The worn door to the shop opened to reveal the silhouette of a woman. Grey Eyes watched from behind the curtain as she stepped inside and made sure the door closed behind her. In the relatively dim light of the store he could recognize her. He'd never heard her name but knew that she visited the shop twice a week, looking at the art work but not buying anything, yet.
He watched her exchange smiles with Nana Coyote who knitted as she watched the front room. Nana did not smile at everyone so Grey Eyes could tell what she thought. But he didn't need encouragement to be captivated by the woman. She was wearing a light sun dress that accentuated her large breasts and sensual curves. It was paired with some high heeled shoes... impractical for roaming the reservation but obviously important to her self-image.
She had a natural beauty to her, not from any magazine or movie but a hundred little things that make a real woman desirable. His mind began to list those little things but he hushed it.
Her path seemed random but it always led to the Buffalo Chair. It was the piece Grey Eyes was most proud of. It had taken a year of careful work, hours of planning before each carving session, research into the stories he wanted to tell in the wood. The chair held the tales of his tribe as far back as the elders could remember.
His people were once Cheyenne, the Buffalo people, but that was before the relocations. Unlike most of the tribe, Grey Eyes' people ended up in northern Arizona with a range of land barely good enough to raise goats let alone the Buffalo herds at the center of their culture. A century and a half had passed but Grey Eyes wanted to make sure no one forgot.
During his reflection, he'd lost track of the woman. Now she was on the other side of the curtain. He could smell the notes of her... the perfume of her shampoo, the salt of her sweat, her heat.
"What's back here?" she asked suddenly, pushing open the curtain and coming face to face with him. Well, not face to face as he easily had 5 inches height on her, even with her heels.
"I'm sorry but this leads to the workshop. We don't allow customers past the curtain," he said quietly, aware that his deep voice often carried a weight or seriously he did not intend.
"Oh, I'm sorry," she retreated, definitely affected by his presence so close. "Are you one of the artists?"
"I am THE artist," he replied. "Would you like me to show you around?"
She swallowed and he saw her eyes dialate a little bit. Grey Eyes knew that women found him attractive and his work with wood had given him a robust, muscular physique. But there was something different about her.
Grey Eyes had not actually spoken to many black people before. His eyes enjoyed looking at the darker brown of her skin, the way her black hair was styled, a dozen tell-tale differences between her people and his. They were both 'brown people' in the white man's world. He found all of her beautiful.
Taking her hesitation for a yes, he gently took her elbow enough to guide her and began with the birds. He'd carved many of the native bird species, all life size with wings spread ready for flight. There were also a few that he did in a less realistic style, birds who populated the tales of his people... the Crow, the Raven, the Eagle, and more.
He'd spoken to enough customers to know that they sometimes bored easily but this woman appeared to drink up the details. So he spent extra time, explaining the meaning of each bit of the carving. She asked about the carving techniques, how he'd created such striking pieces. He found himself quite enjoying their conversation.
As they moved through the cramped shop, he stayed close to her and over time she appeared to become accustomed to it. He noticed that Nana Coyote had left and turned the shop sign to Closed. There were forces at work here that she didn't want to disturb. Grey Eyes just hoped that bulge in his pants wasn't too noticeable.
They reached the Buffalo chair.
