"Uncle Rickey?" Ruth hollered into the small house, eyes sweeping over the worn-out furniture and running TV with Rez Dogs playing in the background. "Katimma chia?"

Uncle Rickey, having been nowhere in sight, yelled that he was in the kitchen and prompted her to come inside. Having missed most of her growing up, he loved whenever his great niece took the time to visit a few times a month. Jana and Terry were a bonus whenever they'd come with her to visit, but his Honey-Bee was different, as he loved to remind her. Ruth was the child of his closest nephew, a reminder of his lost brother; Ruth's grandfather. So imagine his delight when Ruth decided to move back to Oklahoma for a few years.

When Ruth rounded the corner of the kitchen, she should have suspected the long hug that awaited her. Muscular arms wrapped tightly around her body the instant her foot stepped into the kitchen as he lifted her into the air. She laughed out loud and squeezed him just as tightly back.

"Well, if it isn't my Honey-Bee," Uncle Rickey boasted, setting her back on her feet. He ran a hand over the top of her curls and messed it up, earning a loaded glare in return.

"Hey!" Ruth protested, swatting his hand away. She sturdily propped herself up on the counter next to his stove so her legs dangled. "My hair is finally getting used to the humidity!"

He chuckled. "It looks fine. Now where the hell have ya been? You flew in this morning, didn't you?"

"Yeah, I've just been busy running around. Got a Frito pie, drove around to find a Whataburger, and then ran to get some stuff for the apartment. The usual."

"You got a Frito pie? And you didn't offer your Uncle Rickey one?" he scoffed, clutching his chest.

Ruth smiled, guilty. "Sorry, Uncle. I got you next time?"

"I'm getting old, Honey-Bee. I can't keep feeding myself."

"Oh, stop. You aren't getting old, you're only like . . . sixty?"

"Only like sixty," he mocked, changing his pitch to a higher tone with a terrible impersonation of her. "Vlla tek, sixty is old."

"Sixty is not old," Ruth said, laughing.

"Point is, you need to think about your starving Uncle Rickey when you're out buying those damn Frito pies. Ome?"

"Ome." Okay.

"Good. Now shut up and try my Tanchi Labona."

Tanchi Labona was a traditional dish that had been in their family as long as NDN, frybread tacos have. Mixed into a delicious concoction of pearl hominy corn and pork backbone that brought a delightful warmth to anyone's bellies, she absolutely adored it. Uncle Rickey made enough of it to feed everyone within a five-mile radius of them, but being that he lived with six other people — his wife, eldest daughter, and her three kids, it never lasted for very long.

He scooped the corn into a small wooden bowl for Ruth and she grabbed it out of his hands, her eyes alight with a childlike eagerness. She shoved a bite of the Tanchi Labona into her mouth and melted at the bursting flavor on her tongue. She removed one of her hands to give him a big thumbs up, which he chuckled at, and then ate every bite until there was nothing but the residue of seasoning at the base. Uncle Rickey most certainly did not spoil his favorite nieces; there was no way. None whatsoever.

"You're the only person I know who outdoes the same meal every single time you cook it," Ruth teased, hopping off the counter to go to the sink. She grabbed a sponge, poured some cheap soap on the side that didn't feel like sandpaper, and washed her dish thoroughly.

"Glad you like it," Uncle Rickey said, pleased.

For the next hour, the two of them debated about nothing and talked until the sun set into globs of cotton candy across the orange sky. Her great Auntie Carolyne and their daughter, Rosalyn, were going to be there soon with her kids and as much as Ruth wanted to see them, she knew she had to get going. Jana and Terry were waiting on her, and she knew she couldn't keep them waiting any longer.

So, she allowed Uncle Rickey to walk her out to the car with his arm around her neck and a container of Tanchi Labona in his other hand for her to take back with her.

"I'll come back soon," Ruth promised. "I still want to see Aunt Carolyne and Rose with the kids."

"See you next weekend then," he said. Pressing a quick kiss to the side of her head, he placed the container of food in the back of her car and ushered her into the driver's seat. "Say hi to the girls for me. And my brother, if you visit him soon."

She flashed him a smile, though a dull ache burned in the pit of her throat at the mention of her grandfather. "Will do."

They both exchanged quick goodbyes and waved from the road as Ruth backed up and drove away. Pumping through the radio was Sturgil Simpson's "I Don't Mind". Music was her easy escape and hope for something better. While her chest stayed heavy after the painful mention, music was always there to save her. And in times like that moment, where her anxiety had her clenching the steering wheel even tighter beneath the locking of her fingers, music relieved her.

Fuck, she needed a different distraction.

Ruth glanced down at the bag of alcohol on the passenger seat beside her and was taken back to that moment with the boy from before. Or man, she supposed. The darkness overshadowing the depths of his molten eyes and tight lips were too intense to belong to a boy.

But something about his calm demeanor, almost . . . eased her, strangely. How odd. A stranger, whom she knew nothing about, calmed her soul in a way she never thought possible.

Maybe the girls know him, Ruth thought to herself. She'd have to ask them.

*****

A squeal of excitement pierced the silent room the moment Ruth made her way through the door of her quaint apartment. Her eyes barely got the chance to take anything in before a bundle of brown light came hurdling towards her. A pair of tanned arms wrapped tight around her neck at the same time Ruth recognized the familiar coconut shampoo wafting through her nose. Jana.

"What happened to thirty minutes, Ms. Ruth Marjorie? We've been waiting for those damn drinks all evening!" Jana exclaimed, pulling back to usher Ruth into their shared living room. Ruth playfully rolled her eyes, but followed her cousin's instruction.

The apartment wasn't much to look at. It was only big enough for the three of them to have their own rooms, a kitchen, and a small living room connected to the other side of the kitchen. To top off their quaint space was a cheap, mustard-yellow couch, a chipped coffee table, and a flatscreen Koi sent money for. They needed little of anything else. They all shared one bathroom together, which wasn't always a fun thing when you have three young women, but they didn't seem to mind that as long as they had their own rooms.

Terry's honey-brown hair swung over her shoulder as she looked behind herself. The sight of Ruth with the bag of drinks lit up her pretty expression, her almond-shaped hazel eyes smiling at her. Her wide bow-shaped lips curved, "Hey cousin."

"Chicken fried steak? My mom's never going to let me come back to Oklahoma ever again," Ruth teased.

Jana tucked her raven hair behind her ear and threw her an affable grin. "Hey, as long as you love it, then that's all that matters."

The three women dug into their food. Popping open the beer bottles and the little vials of dark liquid, they followed the strange rule of 'liquor before beer' and guzzled down the bitter taste. The slow burn made their eyes squeeze closed in painful laughter as the warm buzz spread across Ruth's chest.

Terry fanned herself as if that would get rid of the dizziness crossing her vision, Jana took deeper breaths to breathe easier because whenever she got drunk, and Ruth simply closed her eyes. As much as Ruth hated to admit it, she loved the effect of alcohol on her body. It took her away from the oncoming stress of school and thoughts of her mother chastising her if she ever found out Ruth drank with her cousins. She already had her reservations of Ruth returning to Oklahoma in fear that she'll do the things her mother wanted to escape from when she lived there. Whatever that meant.

"How was California?" Terry asked Ruth, breaking her from her thoughts. "Anyone catch your eye?"

Ruth squinted her eyes to focus on the question and grimaced. "Not really. Women, men, they're all the same where I come from."

"Yikes, sorry to hear that little cousin. There aren't many people to go for out here either. Maybe you should wait for New York."

There was a humored scoff.

"Terry, what the hell are you talking about? There's tons of hotties out here," Jana slurred.

"Jana, you're drunk as hell. You know there's only maaaaybe five hot guys in the whole town combined. And one of them is old enough to be our dad."

"You're just picky. All you light skin Indi-"

"Don't you finish that sentence," Terry warned, her stony expression brewing with anger. Fire crackled behind the glow of her light-colored eyes.

Jana snorted. "We all use the word here, Terry. But point is, you're picky. And you ain't gonna get anywhere being picky."

Amid their relentless arguing, Ruth's thoughts once again slipped back to the guy. He must be one of the five "hotties" Terry had mentioned. She wondered if the girls knew him somehow, or knew of him, at least. Everyone around their town grew up together, so it wouldn't be a farfetched idea.

And it would get Jana and Terry to stop bickering, anyway.

"I think I may have met one of the five," Ruth finally murmured.

Terry and Jana went silent. Their gazes swiveled back over to a flushed Ruth and instantly crawled over. Terry moved Ruth's ringlets from her face and braided the long, coiling strands together from behind. patiently waiting for her to talk again. Jana patted at Ruth's thigh, urging her to keep going.

"I met him today at the liquor store before I saw Uncle Rickey. He paid for a beer that I dropped and the replacement," Ruth said, wincing at one of the knots Terry wove her fingers through.

"That's nice of him," Terry commented, impressed.

"And we talked a little afterward. I don't know, he seemed quiet. But really cute."

"Oh," Jana drawled, wiggling her eyebrows. "Maybe Terry and I know him. Skoden, Ruth! You're keeping all the important parts out! What's he look like?"

Ruth described him to the best of her abilities. Long dark hair, brown eyes, broad shoulders, all dark clothing, and a beautiful, emotionless face that nudged for just a moment. Terry's eyebrows furrowed in confusion at her explanation, claiming that who she described was half the population on the Rez, but Jana knew right away. She straightened up immediately, her eyes wide as her hand subconsciously slapped Ruth's leg.

"Does he wear a beaded medallion? Smokes? Deep ass voice?" Jana asked, her tone urgent.

Ruth's gaze widened, excitement rising in her chest. "Yes, yes, and yes!"

Jana leaped forward, shouting, "TERRY, DO YOU KNOW WHO THIS IS?"

"No," Terry frowned. "Should I?"

"IT'S RAFFO! RAFFO LEFLORE."

Terry's vision lit up in recognition that time, understanding tainting her expression. Though instead of excitement, Terry's face teetered more on the side of caution. The sadness in her eyes made Ruth look on with alarm.

"He goes to your community college, though that's not surprising considering it's the only one for miles," Jana muttered. "But he's gorgeous. We've known each other since we were kids. He's pretty close to our other friend, Mirana, actually."

"Not to mention he has issues out his ass," Terry pointed out.

"Yeah, who doesn't? Not all of us like our daily trauma reminders."

"But in all the years we've known him, has he grown at all? Or worked to get through it?"

"I mean, it's not like we know him personally, Terry. For all we know, he could have. He's going to college, so that's a fucking start, Ms. Know-It-All. And let's be real. If the government wanted us to leave the Rez, then they wouldn't have shoved us all here in the first place."

That one shut Terry up.

"Wait, what's wrong with Raffo?" Ruth frowned.

"Nothing," Jana said, reassuringly. Though she paused for a moment. "Well, he's just been through a lot. We all have out here and none of us have any room to talk."

Huh. She could tell the guy had a past the moment she met him and witnessed that blank emotion in his eyes firsthand. But it didn't make her judge him they way Terry had done. Then again, she knew nothing about the guy.

"He goes to my college? I don't think I've ever seen him before," Ruth said, frowning.

"Well duh, Ruthie. There are how many kids there? I'd be surprised if you did know him. Only in those white people movies does everyone in college know each other," Jana snorted, swigging back the last of her bottle.

Give Jana some shots and a bottle of beer, and she was wiser than a crow.

But then she released a loud, harsh belch, and the girls fell into a fit of tireless giggles. Their night ended on a sweet note of curling up together on the couch and knocking out until the dawn greeted them and the sun danced on their beautiful brown skin.

*****

notes: translation (from choctaw to english)

♡ katimma chia? - where are you?

♡ vlla tek - girl