A Kachina Dance by Beverley Andi Page A

my st omach is just a little queasy . I guess it’s all the excitement. I did n’t sleep too much last night.” I kiss my mother and walk in.
    “Humph, too much sex, I think.”
    “Mother, please!”
    “Well, I’ve made a nice lunch. You’ll feel better after you eat.”
    “I thought we were going out. I wanted to take you to that cute little café that opened down the block.”
    “So, we’ll go another time.”
    “But , Mother , I’m leaving in a week. There might not be another time.”
    “K atie, sit down and we’ll talk. You’ll eat a little so mething and you’ll feel better. I made my nice chicken salad, your favorite. Your F ather went out to the bakery this morning and bought nice rye bread and rolls , like you like. See? Who needs the fancy- smancy , cute little café?”
    Glimpsing all the food was not helping my nervous tummy. Usually I devoured my Mother’s chicken salad but today it turned my stomach. I helped myself to some food that I pushed around my plate. “Where is Father?”
    “He said he was going to help Jay pack. I’m surprised yo u didn’t meet him. You know him , he wa nts no part of a confrontation. Eat, don’t pick.”
    I had to smile. My F ather and Ja y had really gotten quite close. T hey were both quiet men. I always thought F ather felt a little in awe of Mark who had tons of degrees in architecture ; my brother ’ s medical degrees were beyond his comprehension , too . Father’s education ended at high school . H e found it easy talking to Jay. What surprised me was his interest i n the southwest and the Hopi . He asked to borrow some of my books, a first for F athe r. Though Jay was delighted by F ather’s q uestions, it left him homesick. It was a b ittersweet occurrence .
    “Katie, are you listening to me or daydreaming?”
    “ Sorry, Mother, I was just thinking how Jay and Father have bonded.”
    “Oh, your Father is an easy mark just like you. Please stop playing with your food.”
    “Maybe I’ll make a san dwich and take it home with me. I just don’t feel good. Maybe I’m coming down with the flu. Some of the people at work had it last week and were out sick for a few days.”
    My mother looks at me closely. “You’re not pregnant , I hope.”
    I laugh, “Of course, I’m not. In this day and age , everyone is having safe sex. Besides, you know I’ve been on the pill since college.”
    “Humph, that doesn’t mean you always remember or he always has a condom.”
    “Mother, I’m not pregnant. Please stop worrying about something that isn’t going to happen. ”
    “And what if you were pregnant? Did you ever think what a mixed race baby would look like?”
    “ Oh, Mother, really, you’re too much. ” I give her one of my most exasperated looks. “ I’d be a liar if I said Jay and I haven’t talked about marriage and children. It’s something that might not happen for a long time. ” I give her a big smile . “ But if I did have Jay’s child, I’d feel very fulfilled.”
    She looks at me with horror and grabs her water glass and takes a gulp.
    “Mother, Jay has a h eart of gold, is strong, doesn’t have tattoos, pierced body parts, take s drugs, use s profanity or drink s to excess. He is so much like Father. ”
    “Your Father doesn’t wear his hair in a bun and he married me before we slept together. What kind of money does this guy have, do you even know?”
    “Ok, first, he wears his hair in a traditional Na tive Pueblo style. The hair is knotted , Mother. Secon d, it’s not the dark ages. To day you live together first then marry. Third, I know he has about $20,000.00 from the sale of his last six paintings.”
    She harrumphed .
    “ Now what did you call me to talk about today? Is it really a confront ation? ”
    “Just this, Miss Smarty P ants , d o you know wha t you’re doing with your life? You come from a privilege d background, went to the best of Ivy League schools, had a wonderful job, a promising career and a nice