Arrival at the Reservation

.......................................................................................................................................................................................
(Years earlier)

Charlie, his Mother Shirley and his father Richard climbed the stairs onto the porch. They stopped before they went inside. There was a large sign above the door that said

Tribal Office
and
Cafe.

there was also one by the door, impossible to miss

Guns

are welcome on these premises
Please keep all weapons Holstered
unless the Need arises.
In such cases,
Judicious Marksmanship is appreciated.

The three of them studied that sign for a time.

“Isn’t that alarming?” Shirley said.

“Oh I dunno” Richard said "I find it rather comforting. An armed society is said to be a polite one. At least they won’t be rude when they shoot us.”

Shirley smiled and said "Richard...don’t be a Dick”

Shirley laughed, Richard laughed and a gator in the water near the shore bellowed. The three of them hurried inside.

There was an old man inside, wearing a truckers cap. He did have long white braided hair though..so he looked kinda like an Indian.

“May I help ya’ll” he asked "What can I do for you. You seem to be in distress? "

“ah...well...er...it’s like this” Richard said hesitantly.

“Shirley and I got laid off a while back. Then were evicted from where we’ve been living just today.” he stammered. "We.. ah...we kinda wondered...Can we stay here for awhile. Oh I don’t mean in the building. We have gear and small boats. Kayaks actually. Would you mind if we find a place to camp, and perhaps we could fish?”

“Hungry are you?” The old man said gently. "No need to feel bad. Lots of folks lately are in the same situation you are.”

They nodded.

“Yeah..we haven’t had anything to eat since yesterday.” Shirley admitted.

“Why don’t you three find a seat at a table some where.” the elderly man suggested kindly "It’ll be another few hours before the regulars start to arrive. I’ll round up some grub and you can eat and we’ll talk.”

“Uh...we don’t have any money” Richard told him.

“That’s ok. " He told them gently "I think we can afford to provide you all with a meal.”

Very soon an elderly lady who looked to be as old as the old man strolled up to their table. She moved well despite her apparent advanced age. “The chief said for ya’ll not to be shy. Order anything we got, as much as you want, even order some take out if you want too. Lookit these menus while I fetch you something to drink. What do you want?”

She set a big picture of water on the table, some water glasses which she filled, and handed them a menu each. Then she removed a hand-held electronic device from a pocket in her apron and asked them what they wanted to drink "We have any kind of coffee that you want...weak and sweet, strong and black and anything in between. I can bring you a whole pot if you want. We also have Ice tea, fruit drinks, milk, beer, and whisky.”

“I’ll take a beer” the man said. "I’m certainly not driving.”

“I’ll take ice tea.” the woman said

everyone looked at Charlie.

“What?” he said...”no beer for me huh? Ok I’ll take Ice Tea too.”

His parents smiled, the waitress did too and said "I think you’re cute. I’ll be right back with you’re drinks. Then I’ll take your orders.”

Richard was laughing "She thinks your cute.”

Shirley frowned and said "Richard....”

“Yeah I know..” he interrupted "Don’t be a dick.”

Mere moments had passed before she returned. They had studied the menu and decided to each get the catfish plate.

“Should we order takeout?” Charlie asked.

“nooooo.” Richard answered. "I really don’t think that would be a good idea.”

“But she said.” Charlie protested.

“Yes dear,” Shirley replied. "your dad is right. End of discussion.”

So he shut up. The waitress was returning.

“Are you ready?” she asked. Then she took their orders and left.

In a VERY short time the food was brought out. The old man they had met earlier helped the waitress carry the food. There sure seemed to be a lot. They didn’t recall ordering near that much.

“Let me introduce us.” The elderly man said. "I’m the chief of the Tribe. She’s the Boss. Your names are?”

“This is Shirley, I’m Richard and that’s Charlie.” the father said "We’re the greens.”

“May we join you?” The waitress asked "_ We need to talk._”

“Certainly” Richard said.

“ok..I’ll be blunt. You guys have already passed a number of tests. You get to live for a while.” the elderly gentleman said. He was smiling but his eyes were as cold as the depths of space.”

The Greens paled.

“Don’t scare them that way.” The lady said "He’ll think you are a wild indian.”

“Well YOU said I WAS a wild indian” the man complained.

“Shush dear...not in front of the child” she cautioned him. "We don’t know how he was raised.”

Then she turned to the Greens .”What he meant was that you get to live HERE for a while. You don’t have to leave. Not yet.”

“I wasn’t kidding about the tests though.” The man said "I commend you for passing them. Test number one was that you read signs. The gate said to check in here first if you hadn’t done that and took out on your own, into the swamp, bad things might have happened.”

“Spider’s and snakes, they might not like you” the lady intoned

“or Gators” Charlie added. "We saw one when dad parked the van.”

“That too” the waitress nodded in approval.

“We’ve had a number of inquiries from the mayor of that town over the line. It seems he can’t keep track of some of his people. We told him we hadn’t the faintest idea of where they were but implied that the swamp might have gotten them.” the old man said.

“It might have.” the elderly waitress agreed "Stranger things have happened.”

“We know all about the mayor.” the Chief said "He’s a pig.”

“Actually his name is Hog” Richard clarified.

“Does he have a strange profession and is his first name Jonathan?” Sally asked.

“Dunno what his first name is. People just call him Boss.” Charlie said "He has two sons, their first names are Ima and Ura. They’re bullies. They always beat me up and take my lunch money.”

“Irregardless.” Richard clarified again. "We avoid him like the plague.”

“Probably a good idea” The Chief told them.”But to continue about Tribal land. We don’t have any rules here. Not really, we just have customs. If you intentionally violate our customs it may be bad for you. We are a tolerant lot. If you do so accidentally thru ignorance we cut you a break, so don’t be TOO concerned.”

“We mildly discourage town folk from coming here. " Sally continued "We charge fees. The number and the amount of fees varies by what kind of impression the town folk make. The fees can be VERY high, moderate, token or nothing at all.”

“You have made a favorable impression on us.” Roy said "While we retain that high opinion of you we will allow you to remain...no fee.”

“Ah...I mean....that’s very generous of you” Shirley said.

“I can wash dishes.” Charlie told them.”

“Good Idea son.” Richard said then spoke to the elderly couple "I’m a fair hand at fixing things. I was worked in maintenance at the plant.”

“I can sew or wait tables” Shirley volunteered.

“I think you all will work out just fine.” The Chief said "you can stay in here tonight. It’ll be dark soon enough. Bedding down in the swamp at night can be dangerous.”

“Skunk Weed” the old lady said.“Nasty Stuff”

“We gratefully accept you kind offer” Richard told him.

“Good” the Chief said "Beer’s free for you tonight. For Shirley too if she wants. Also for Charlie with your permission. Drink it like water if you like. It’ll help you sleep. I imagine ya’ll are wound tighter than a watch spring, this being a new place for you and all, and being in amp. We make the Beer ourselves. It’s actually cheaper than water. We have to distill the water. Don’t EVER drink the swamp water without boiling it for a good long time. I mean a hard rolling boil too. Ten minutes at least. Bad things will happen if you don’t boil the water.”

“You can stay here, or go to bed whenever you want to. Sleep as long as you please too. I’m sure you’re worn out and don’t feel it yet. When you wake up tomorrow it’s a new day, the past is behind you.. We’ll give you some pointers for surviving in the swamp and talk about part time employment. There are a LOT of people looking for work. I have to spread it around. Part time only. I’m sure you understand.”

“Yessir” Richard told him.

Beer?” the old woman asked.

“Yes Please” Shirley told her "for all of us. Charlie has to learn sometime. This seems like as good a time as any.”

They ate. Surprisingly enough they ate it all. When done they felt sleepy...so they went to little room that they had been offered and and went to sleep.

---

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