Plant Them Deep Read online

  As his telephone rang, Begay picked it up and half turned away from her.

  Rose stood up. For all intents and purposes, she had her answer. It hadn’t been what she wanted, but she now knew what she had to do.

  The next morning, Rose parked in front of a large pitched-roof house in northwest Farmington. It was a lovely home halfway up a small canyon, large and filled with fruit trees in the front and side of the house. It looked peaceful and very well tended.

  Yesterday after she’d returned home, she’d called Wilson to see if he’d contacted the professor. He had, and the professor had been very agreeable, passing along his address and inviting her to stop by his home. Rose had called the professor herself immediately, and they’d set up an appointment for this morning. From everything Wilson had told her, the professor was already very interested in her project.

  Rose knocked, then waited. No one answered, though she knew someone was home. There was a large SUV parked in the driveway, and she could hear radio music, jazz, coming from somewhere inside the house.

  The doorbell had been taped over. She supposed that meant it wasn’t working, so she knocked again, more firmly this time.

  Rose heard slow, shuffling footsteps approaching, but then the sound stopped. She listened carefully and heard the sound of heavy breathing, but no one opened the door.

  Worried, she knocked again. That’s when she heard a set of fast footsteps approaching, and the door was quickly opened.

  A tall, thin man with wire-rimmed glasses stood before her. He wore baggy jeans, leather sandals, and a red T-shirt that had the words FREE TIBET printed on them. A button pinned to the shirt in the vicinity of his heart read LEGALIZE MEDICAL MARIJUANA. Except for his age, which had to be in the sixties, the professor could have passed for one of many kids normally found on college campuses, at least in the last generation, or the one before. Rose tried to make up her mind about him, wondering how much of his attire was for shock value and how much reflected a genuine concern for the issues.

  Suddenly the largest dog she’d ever seen pushed the professor aside and came to stand before Rose. His jowls were droopy, giving him what appeared to be a thoughtful, soulful gaze.

  “Oh, my,” she managed. From his paws to the top of his head, the light brown animal was at least four feet tall. She guessed his weight at over two hundred pounds. The calf she and Herman had rescued was smaller.

  “Don’t mind Kenmore,” he said. “He’s a pussycat.”

  Hearing his name, the dog barked, but the deep resonance made Rose take a step back.

  “Quiet.” The professor glanced back at Rose. “I named him after my refrigerator because he’s as big as one.”

  Rose gathered her wits and smiled back at Professor Hoff. “I’m Rose Destea,” she said, realizing she’d have to use names around the Anglo. “I spoke to you yesterday afternoon.”

  “Yes, indeed! Come in, come in. I’m Professor William Hoff, but I prefer Willie.”

  Rose couldn’t take her eyes off the dog, who was drooling copiously as he stared back at her. She wasn’t totally convinced that he wasn’t considering her a between-meals snack.

  Following her gaze, he added, “Mastiffs drool by the bucketful, so don’t mind him. But if he shakes, you might consider covering your face.”

  Rose started to cringe, but as she looked at the dog’s benign expression, then at Willie’s twinkling eyes, she laughed out loud. “Thanks for the warning.”

  As they sat down in the living room, the dog took possession of the easy chair across from the couch with an audible thud. He was truly formidable, and now that he had settled down, Rose breathed easier.

  As she looked around, the first thing that struck her was the unusual decor. The couch she was sitting on was no couch at all. It appeared to be a full-sized bed with a decorative bookshelf on three sides. At the moment, one of the side shelves was littered with books that she could see were mostly about plants. Facing her on the opposite wall was a section of a totem six feet high and the diameter of a telephone pole, and to one side of it was a glass-fronted curio cabinet filled with objects from various cultures. Framed posters covered the walls, and all of them depicted nature scenes, most from the southwestern deserts or forests.

  Rose shifted her gaze back to the professor and gave him a quick overview of the work she was doing for the tribe. “I need your help filling in the scientific names of the plants. I also need you to add all the appropriate terms to describe their immediate surroundings and general locale.”

  “I would love to help you,” he said, genuinely interested. “I was told that you want me to fill in the scientific names for plants that you know mostly by their Navajo names. To do that, I’ll need clear color photographs so I can identify them by the appropriate genus and species. I have a wonderful camera you can borrow that’s easy to use,” he said, and pulled it down from a high shelf. “It’s very good for close-ups,” he said, giving her instructions on how to use it. “You might practice with a few shots first, just to get yourself familiar with it. I’ve put a roll of twelve exposures in it now, so developing the film will be less costly.”

  “I really appreciate it,” she said. “I’ll take some right away.”

  “Are you going to do any plant survey work today? If you are, I’d like to go with you.”

  “I’m going to be doing some of my paperwork today, but I was planning to go in search of what we call ‘plant with yellow root’ early tomorrow morning while it’s still cool. This plant used to be plentiful at one of my collection sites, and I’m hoping it’ll still be there. Of course, I always check for other plants on my list as well.”

  “Can you describe this particular variety for me?” he asked. “I have something in the Lilliaceae family already in mind.”

  “It grows around three feet tall and has big leaves at the bottom and tiny ones at the top. The leaves are ruffled. It also has tiny berries that are pink to red in color.”

  “So it’s not in the onion family. It sounds like Rumex crispus. The common, Anglo name is curly leaf dock.”

  “You’re familiar with it?” Rose was surprised and happy to see that he was as knowledgeable as Wilson had said.

  “It grows around riverbeds, right?”

  She nodded. “And irrigation ditches or alongside irrigated fields. We use it in ceremonies and to revive someone who is unconscious. There are many plants I have to find, but curly leaf dock has an asterisk beside the name, so it means it’s particularly scarce right now.” She handed him a copy of the list.

  Professor Hoff looked over the paper carefully. “I’ll try to cross-reference my textbooks and speak to some ethnobotanists so I can find the Latin or common names for these. I could also come with you tomorrow and help you search. Two pairs of eyes are better than one.”

  She’d never shared her collection sites with a total stranger before, but if there ever was a time to make an exception, this was it. The Anglo man was providing her with some much-needed help. Since Wilson had recommended him, she was sure he could be trusted not to pass the knowledge on to others who might abuse the information. “I’ll pick you up here at seven in the morning—unless that’s too early,” she added quickly.

  “I’m usually up at dawn, so that’s fine. Seven it is.”

  Rose was in a very good mood by the time she started the drive back. Deciding she should celebrate her victory, she stopped at the first gas station west of the city and called Lena to give her the good news.

  “So I finally have someone who’ll help me,” Rose said. “I have a feeling Mr. Largo will be very surprised at what I can accomplish without his so-called expertise.”

  “That’s wonderful news and something we should celebrate. I can meet you at the mall out on West Main in a half hour or so for an early lunch. It’ll give me a chance to get my granddaughter some of those chocolates she likes so much too—the ones with coffee in them. Then you and I can treat ourselves to an ice cream at that special shop.”
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  “Wonderful. I’ll see you then.”

  Several minutes later, after gassing up the pickup, Rose was on her way to the mall. Lena knew her well. Ice cream was Rose’s favorite indulgence. Although the locale of the shop had changed, the shop itself hadn’t, and their ice cream couldn’t be beat. Lena and she had met at the ice cream parlor over the years to talk about whatever was troubling them as well as to celebrate every day victories. It had become their special haunt.

  They met at the south end of the mall outside the new superstore that carried everything from groceries and clothing to books. Lena picked up the chocolates she’d wanted to get for Jennifer, then they headed for the ice cream parlor at the other end of the center. As they wandered past a small shopping kiosk offering cell phone service, they nearly ran into Maria Poyer, who was coming from the opposite direction.

  “Excuse me, Maria. I wasn’t watching where I was going.” Rose apologized, though it had been the young woman who’d been looking in the wrong direction.

  Maria froze, an angry spark in her eyes as she looked at Lena, then back at Rose. “I sure hope that you’re happy now. You won—at the expense of everyone else.”

  “I won what?” Rose asked. “I didn’t enter any contest.”

  “Yeah, right. My research would have helped the tribe far more than your amateurish inventory of native plants. But you were the one who got hired, and that took away the little grant money the tribe had planned to award me. I could have brought the future to the Navajo People. Instead, they’re backing you—the one person sure to keep us grinding corn between two stones and hauling around our babies on cradleboards.”

  “You’re wrong about what I’m trying to do for the Dineh, Maria. Remember that the Plant People are at the heart of our ceremonies and rituals—the events that make us Navajos. Everything in life is interconnected. If one plants disappears, that affects the balance of everything else.” Rose paused and took a deep breath. “But I’m truly sorry that your grant money disappeared. Maybe there’s another source?”

  “No, there isn’t. At least not now,” Maria said. “The sad thing is that you don’t realize you’re holding the tribe back. I’ve heard arguments like yours lots of time before. We are the earth, the earth is us. But we’re much more than metaphorical dirt. You have to keep reaching upwards, to try and make things better. If we work to improve our farming, we can end up with hardier, more productive plants that will be so much better than what we have now.”

  “I’m not against introducing new strains, especially with plants that can feed us and our animals. But to welcome new Plant People, will we have to sacrifice the old? New things don’t always turn out to be the blessing everyone thought they might be. The plants that are on our land have never failed us, though we have failed them many times.”

  “Sometimes progress demands sacrifice and risk-taking.” Maria sighed and shook her head. “I want to help the tribe, and apparently so do you—but our ways of doing it are as different as night and day. I just can’t compromise my convictions and common sense.”

  As Maria walked away, Lena glanced at Rose. “That one’s got a warrior’s spirit. She’ll never give up fighting.”

  “But she’s still got a lot to learn. She thinks all the problems on the reservation can be solved if we just bring in more of the ways of the outside world. What she forgets is that they have problems, too. When she understands we’re going to need a unique solution, not somebody else’s, then we’ll be able to talk.”

  SEVEN

  As they entered the cool, clean, and sparkling white ice cream parlor, the worries of the day gave way to the excitement of her small victory in finding Professor Willie Hoff.

  “I consider us both very lucky,” Lena said after they began eating their favorite desserts. “We have very full lives. So many others our age can’t say the same thing.”

  “That’s true.”

  “I had such a wonderful time visiting my son in Albuquerque last month,” Lena continued. “His wife and I went to the three biggest malls, visited that pueblo center and the museums around the zoo, and I got to see a class play my grandson was in. I would have liked to stay an extra day or two, but I just don’t like to be away from our sacred mountains for too long. All that time away from home is hard on me these days. I feel … unprotected,” she said at last.

  Rose nodded. “Leaving the Dinetah invites imbalance, and that opens the door to trouble and illness. Navajos are always safest in the land the Holy People gave us.”

  “I wish my son would come home to stay, but I don’t think that’s ever going to happen, so I’ll just have to go see him whenever I can.”

  “Well, you made it back last time with no ill effects,” Rose said. “And you were away for nearly three weeks!”

  “I’m happy and I’m here with you now. That’s more than enough.”

  Rose noticed that Lena had deliberately avoided saying anything specifically about her health, and that seemed odd. An uneasiness Rose couldn’t quite define began in the back of her mind, but she knew that pressing Lena for an answer she wasn’t ready to give was a waste of time. She’d change the conversation, or simply refuse to discuss it.

  “We better head back to the reservation. I’ve got to fill out reports on areas we’ve already searched,” Rose said, then, as she looked at Lena, noticed how pale she looked all of sudden. Blaming it on the lighting inside the ice cream shop, she didn’t comment on it.

  Moments later, as they started to cross the parking lot, Lena slowed down, took, half a step, and swayed.

  Rose reached out immediately to steady her. “What’s wrong? Are you dizzy?”

  “I—”

  Lena’s legs bucked, and Rose barely managed to lower her to the ground safely. Seeing an Anglo woman hurrying toward them, Rose called out, “Do you have a cell phone? My friend needs help.”

  As the woman dialed 911, Rose crouched next to Lena, holding her hand and resting her head in her lap.

  “Don’t worry,” Lena managed wearily. “I’ll be fine in a few minutes. I get these dizzy spells every once in a while, but they go away …”

  “How long has this been happening?”

  Lena sighed. “Just a little while. I had the first one while I was still at my son’s house. But it went away, and then I was fine. Just help me stand up. I’ll be all right once I get to my car.” Lena tried to lift her head, but fell back weakly.

  “Just stay still,” Rose said quietly. “Let’s just wait until help comes.”

  “I don’t want their help. They’ll take me to the Azee Al’i Hotsaai’.”

  Rose smiled. When older Navajos were afraid, speaking their native language always comforted them. In this case Lena was referring to the hospital—what translated in literal terms as “the big place where medicine is given.”

  “I don’t want to go there,” Lena said in a whisper, “You have to help me get to my car.”

  “Absolutely not! You can’t drive if you can’t even sit up. Lie still.”

  Lena didn’t argue, which was a good indication of how ill she really was. Rose was afraid Lena was having either a heart attack or a stroke, and the possibility of losing her best friend terrified her, though she was careful not to let it show. Lena was as much a part of her life as breathing.

  When the paramedics came, Rose remained close enough for Lena to see her. When the emergency team checked her vital signs and concluded that Lena wasn’t having a heart attack, Rose breathed a sigh of relief.

  “You can’t leave me alone with them,” Lena said to Rose as they started to take her away.

  “I’ll follow the ambulance to the emergency room, and I’ll drive your car so you won’t have to send someone for it later.” Rose could see the fear in Lena’s eyes. “Don’t worry. It’ll be all right. I’ll be there.”

  Rose followed the ambulance, and though she didn’t try to keep up, she knew where they were headed, and managed to arrive only a few minutes after they did. While
Lena was taken behind the doors of the ER area, Rose paced in the lobby of the emergency room. She asked to be allowed to stay with her friend, but they refused her repeated requests, maintaining that she’d just be in the way.

  It seemed forever before an Anglo doctor finally came out to talk to her. “Your friend is very ill, and we’re running tests in order to get a diagnosis. But she insists on being transferred to the medical center in Shiprock. She has no insurance, so we understand her concerns. We’ll make sure she’s stable, then an ambulance will transport her to the reservation.”

  “May I see her?”

  “Yes, in a few minutes.”

  Rose went to one of the pay phones and called her daughter. Ella, who was at her office in the police station, picked up the phone right away and Rose told her everything. “She looked so afraid and so sick. But I don’t think the Anglo doctors are going to be able to help her. She may have a Navajo sickness they can’t treat.”

  “I don’t understand, Mother. I don’t know of any genetically linked Navajo diseases.”

  “It’s not that simple, daughter.” Rose explained that Lena had left the reservation, and that her absence had apparently caused an imbalance in her. “It happens,” she said.

  “Mom, I’m coming to meet you.”

  “You don’t have to do that, daughter. I’ve got my truck, if you can take me back to where it’s parked across town.”

  “My partner can drive it back for you. We’ll ride back together, you and I. What do you say?”

  Rose wanted to turn her daughter’s offer down, but right now she didn’t feel much like driving. Her hands were shaking. “All right.”

  It took another half hour before the doctor, a weary-looking red-haired young man with pale green eyes, came back out, but by then Ella had arrived and Rose no longer felt so alone.