The Wrong Way Road Trip - Part 8 - Patience is Necessary
Over the next few busy days, I had occasion to remember Henry's question about my leading, because I was definitely not leading the Spider Lady blog episodes. The film instructor, whose name was Richard Fuller, was pleased to jump in his car and appear in less than four hours. Chooli and Henry and Richard immediately went up the canyon for a site visit. A-M, Robin and Kate furiously concentrated on the script. Tsela showed up in search of free beer and a chance to watch the blog, but was immediately deluged with detailed questions about the legend and how Chooli and Henry should act. He seemed impressed that white people were taking his advice. The two devils got him between them at the table and provided frequent reward hugs and kisses for his information.
I sat at the end of the table doing a chart of moon angles and times for the next three nights. The people filming would need it. Jody called with good news that another sponsor had signed up. I teased, "Earning your pay, are you?"
"Mostly, I am missing you and your warm bed. Is it true that Chooli has discovered a man?"
"You wouldn't believe the excitement over here. He is a heartthrob and a film major. These segments are going to be so good it's scary."
"Is there a sponsor angle? Cultural preservation or something like that?"
"Might be. If there are enough hits, what about a PBS news story?"
"I'll chase that. Maybe check with the public station in Santa Fe."
"Good. I'll talk with Wayward for tips on chasing you!"
"Bad!" She hung up. I went in the other room where the pregnant one was having a nap. Eyes opening, she grabbed my beer for a sip. "I heard the end of that in here. Jody got burned about guys somewhere along the way. But when you put a move on her, she gets all fluttery."
"She said she had rights to our bed as part of the employment deal."
"She is a great person and a hot body. Why am I not jealous?"
"Because I climb on the bed and hug you and love you..."
"I felt Jeremy kick this morning. Right on schedule at five months. Pretty exciting, isn't it?"
"Yes. In the beginning, I thought you had to be part of everything, even the road trips. But things are different now. We have all this talent..."
I eased her to my chest. "Sit up there and tell me how we bring a new woman into the blog as we transition you to motherhood status."
"I knew you would dump me one of these times. Is your new blog flame going to be one of our babes or are you taking a hunting license somewhere else?"
The smiling face leaned for a kiss, but the eyes looked vulnerable.
"I'm married to you, dummy. I actually meant it when I said love, honor and obey."
The suddenly sniffling body stretched all the way out on me. "I'm so stupid. How do you live with a girl who drops into her emotions without warning?"
Robin and Anne-Marie were in the doorway, taking a break from scripting. "Are we allowed in here? That sounds serious."
"Please come in. I am just being a foolish pregnant female. He asked a good question about how to replace me in the blog when I can't travel."
Anne-Marie sat on me with a gleam in her eye. "In France, Grandmere is always around when baby time is near. We could wait until you are really showing and have Katie or Ellie show up with an accent and orders for you. Should be good for several episodes of awful mother-in-law behavior."
I asked, "Mac is totally cowed?"
Robin broke in, "I've been thinking about Mac's character too. It isn't good for the long term of the show to have a perpetually dumb male. Mac is going to be a father and has to grow up."
Plucking the bottle from her hand, I pulled us into a tight clinch. "Damn, you are good. I'm feeling smarter already. Am I allowed to talk to Ellie and Katie about Mac not taking their abuse for very long?"
An epidemic of laughing and pounding on me broke out. Tsela was at the door shaking his head and saying he would visit again tomorrow. We smiled and waved.
Sitting up, I said, "Blog planning with three hot ones like you is sure fun."
My crotch was grabbed and squeezed. "Make yourself useful and get dinner prep going. We have extra guests tonight. Have you gotten Richard a room yet?"
Chapter 25 - Spider Woman Juices the Blog
The presence of Henry and Richard scared Kate and me into serious study of the Lucy and Mac roles for the Spider Woman blog episodes. In the night, she clung to me, "I'm scared, Brian. We owe it to the team to do a good job."
"Yes. Take a deep breath and go to sleep. You have wonderful talent and it will work out."
Afterwards, when we were back in Flagstaff, others said it was an amazing performance by all four of us. Those who had not met Henry in Chinle thought he was amazing too. Sharon cornered me and whispered in my ear, "How the devil did you find him?"
"He found us. Saw the blog at school in Albuquerque and took a chance on driving over and asking for an internship. Didn't know he was going to run into his new girlfriend!"
Right under Kate's eyes, she gave me a ferocious kiss and hissed, "You have the damnedest good luck."
Spider Woman jumped us into the big time, blogwise. Numbers were in six figures, headed for seven. Media wanted interviews, especially with Chooli and Henry. And kept asking for them to dress in phony Navajo getup. Thin skinned Jody turned that around in a hurry. She told Chooli, "Let's see if we can get visibility for what the Nation is doing to improve lives and preserve culture."
Henry and Chooli made a few phone calls and the next morning a Navajo woman showed up at the apartment.
Chooli introduced her, "This is Elizabeth, who is the assistant director of public relations for the Nation. She drove especially to see us from Window Rock."
The three chattered happily in Navajo for a minute, after which Elizabeth said, "We are excited about your blogs on Spider Woman. Papers all over the country have picked up the story and are asking for help with background. Chooli has done a wonderful job finding a funny but respectful way to tell the story!"
Chooli interrupted, "Don't forget this guy here. He and his teacher helped us do a professional job."
Henry didn't hesitate anymore about an arm around his woman. "Aw shucks..." We all broke out laughing as Katie and Ellie served coffee and rolls.
After everyone settled down, I said, "Please tell us how we can help. We are very grateful for the permission to film and for the assistance of the tribal elders."
After some minutes, Elizabeth said, "I know your future filming isn't set, but if perhaps this one next to me could have a spot as Scout, like she did at Canyon de Chelly, that would be great. She has generated all kinds of talk among the girls and young women. My father told me the women are out of control! I told him back that it was past time for Navajo women to have important jobs in the Nation."
Henry and Elizabeth had Chooli sandwiched between them, poking and tickling. The laughing woman walked to me and sat on my knee, applying a hot kiss. "Brian gets the credit! He is the one who thought I needed to be a Navajo Scout!"
The energy in the room was incredible. I realized that instant success was going to our heads and leaving too many loose ends lying around. We needed an all hands meeting. But it could wait until tomorrow. The rest of today was for relaxation. I organized a run to get rid of nervous energy. After dinner, we sat around and looked at the latest numbers, which were climbing steeply on the popularity of Spider Woman.