All Over Again - Chapter 3: Chapter 3

"Uncle Rickey?" Ruth hollered into the small house, eyes sweeping over the worn-out furniture and running tv that had Criminal Minds 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 and see him immediately. Having missed most of her growing up, he absolutely adored whenever his great niece would take the time to come see him at least a few times a month during her school semesters. Jana and Terry were a bonus whenever they'd come with her to come visit, but his honey-bee was different. Ruth was her father's child, his closest nephew, whom he helped raise when his brother was too busy using and drinking his life away. After Koi and Shantelle got pregnant, they moved closer to Shantelle's family, only having the time to come visit one other time when Ruth was five-years-old.
But either way, he was beyond ecstatic when he heard that Koi's honey-bee wanted to come to Oklahoma to get closer to her family while attending a community college for a couple of years. He immediately offered to grab her from the airport the day she flew in, gave her one of his older cars that Jana refused to drive in, and got her settled in an apartment that his good friend Jerry owns. Connections, Uncle Rickey's got. His nephew that he missed daily, whom is his only connection to his deceased brother, he does not.
When Ruth rounds the corner of the kitchen, she should have suspected the long hug that awaited her. The one he's been holding onto since she first told him she was going to be gone for a month and a half to visit her parents in California over the summer.
Muscular arms wrapped tightly around her body the instant her foot stepped into the kitchen and he lifted her off the ground and into the air. A wide smile overtook her features, and she embraced her uncle back, eyes squeezed closed briefly for the duration of the warm hug.
"Well, if it isn't my Honey-Bee," Uncle Rickey boasted, messing up her curls after setting her back on her feet. She crinkled her nose in distaste, but grinned at the pure look of joy on his sun-kissed face.
"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 learning how to handle the humidity, don't ruin it!"
He chuckled deeply. "It looks fine. Now where the hell have ya been? You flew in this morning, didn't you?"
"Yeah, I've just been busy with Jana and Terry all morning. Got a Frito pie, drove to find a Whataburger, and then ran to get some stuff for the apartment. The usual."
"You got Frito pie? And you didn't even offer your Uncle Rickey one?"
Ruth smiled guiltily. "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 girly impersonation of her. She playfully glared at him. "Vlla tek, sixty is old."
"Sixty is not old," Ruth laughed loudly.
"Point is, you need to think about your starving Uncle Rickey when you're out buying those damn Frito pies. Understood?"
"Understood."
"Good. Now shut up and try my Tanchi Labona."
Tanchi Labona is a traditional dish that had been in their family as long as fry bread tacos has. Mixed into a delicious concoction of pearl hominy corn and pork backbone that brought a delightful warmth to anyone's bellies. Uncle Rickey made enough to feed anyone who lived 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 doesn't last very long.
He scooped a spoonful full of the corn into a small wooden bowl for Ruth and she grasped it out of his hands, her eyes alight with a childlike eagerness. She shoved a bite full of Tanchi Labona into her mouth and nearly melted at the bursting flavor on her tongue from one of her uncle's signature dishes. She reluctantly removed one of her hands to give him a big thumbs up, which he chuckled at, and then ate up every bite from the bowl 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.
"You're the only person I know who outdoes the same meal every single time," 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, not wanting him to have to wash up her mess. He already washed enough dishes alongside her Auntie Carolyne for the household. She didn't want to add another complication to his piling plate.
"Glad you like it," Uncle Rickey said, pleased.
For the next hour, the two of them debated about nothing and talked until the sun was setting 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. This night was going to be an early night for her so that she could get plenty of sleep before classes the next morning. They'd be disappointed once they learn that, but she couldn't mess up this year when she's this close. She already almost slipped up once because of their drinking phase, and she definitely doesn't want a repeat.
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 teased back. 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 an ache burned at 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 the Goo Goo Dolls singing "I'm still here" and she was back to jam her car out, a pastime favorite. Music was her escape, her hope for something better to comfort her in the worst times. She supposed it was her 'thing'. While her soul ached and her chest felt unbelievably heavy, 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, the Goo Goo Doll's were there to relieve her. They kept her grounded rather than stressing about leaving her newfound family and wonder what she was going to do after she graduated college with a major she didn't absolutely love.
Ruth's mouth went dry. To distract herself, she glanced down at the bag of alcohol on the passenger seat beside her, and was taken back to that moment with the tranquil boy from before. Or man, she supposed. His jawline was too cut for a boy, the sharp edges leaving no room for the boyish fat most young guys will eventually outgrow. A young man with a darkness that overshadowed the depths of his molten eyes and tightened around the corners of his lips.
He didn't have to help her out, but he did. Even though she could tell that he was displeased with having to do so at first, he did it anyway. There was even an amused twitch of his lips at her incessant talking, something that usually frustrated people. She can't help that she's a talker like her mother. She came by it naturally.
Something about his calm demeanor, almost . . . eased her, strangely. How odd. A stranger, whom she knew nothing about, could calm her.
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 other than a quick glance into the dimly lit space before a bundle of brown light came hurdling straight towards her. She gasped loudly in surprise as a pair of tanned arms wrapped around her neck and squeezed the daylights out of her.
The scent of Jana's coconut shampoo wafted into her nose followed by the common 'I miss you' and 'we've been waiting for you to get back from the store' even though she had only been gone for maybe an hour and a half at most. Jana was known for her dramatics, so there was no surprise there.
"We've been waiting for you, Ms. Ruth Marjorie. Now get your butt in here with those drinks!" she exclaimed into Ruth's ear, ushering her 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 that was connected to the other side of the kitchen. A cheap, mustard-yellow couch, a chipped coffee table, and a TV 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 suddenly swung over her shoulder as she looked up from the plate of chicken fried steak and corn and glanced behind her. The sight of Ruth with the bag of drinks lighting up her pretty expression, her almond-shaped hazel eyes smiling at the two of them.
Her wide bow-shaped lips curved, "Hey Ruth."
"Chicken fried steak? My mom's never going to let me come back to Oklahoma ever again," Ruth teased, but hugged her other cousin as soon as she sat down.
Jana tucked her raven hair behind her ear and threw her an affable grin. "As long as you love it, then that's all that matters."
The three women dug into their food almost as quickly as Ruth had come through the door. Opening up the beer bottles and little vials of dark liquid, they followed the strange rule of 'liquor before beer' even if they didn't know if those words were true, and guzzled down the bitter taste. The slow burn made their eyes squeeze closed in painful laughter and a warmth to spread across each of their chests.
Terry fanned herself as if that would get rid of the dizziness across her vision, Jana took deeper breaths to breathe easier because whenever she got drunk, she always thought she had a hard time breathing, and Ruth simply closed her eyes, enjoying the relaxing feeling making its way through her limbs. 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, pun not intended, of Ruth returning to Oklahoma in fear that she'll do the things her mother wanted to escape from when she lived here with Ruth's father. Koi and Shantelle only wanted the best for their daughter, even if they have two different ideas about what 'the best' was. Where Koi was a family man, Shantelle was the opposite and couldn't seem to get far enough away from family. She wanted nothing to do with her abusive father and drunk of a mother around Ruth.
So the pair did what they had to do as young parents.
And they had no control over what Ruth might do in Oklahoma, where the two of them grew up.
"How was California?" Terry eventually asked Ruth, who was humming to an old Queen song. "Anyone catch your eye?"
Ruth grimaced. "It was okay. You'd think I'd have more options being bisexual, but that can't be farther from the truth where I grew up."
"Sorry to hear that, cousin. There aren't many people to go for out here either. Maybe you should wait for New York."
There was a scoff.
"Terry, what the hell are you talking about? There's tons of hotties out here," Jana slurred.
"Jana, you sound drunk as a skunk. You know there's only maybe five hot guys on the whole Rez 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, fire crackling behind her pretty eyes.
Jana snorted. "We all use the word here, Terry. But if it makes you feel better, I won't say it. Anyway, 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 boy from before. He must be one of the five "hotties" Terry had mentioned, alongside the older guy as old as their fathers. She wondered if the girls knew him somehow, or knew of him, at least. Everyone around here grew up together, so it wouldn't be a farfetched idea now that she thought about it.
And it would get Jana and Terry to stop bickering.
"I think I may have met one of the five," Ruth finally murmured.
Terry and Jana went silent, their gazes swiveling over to a flushed Ruth, whose eyes were stuck in a daze as she laid quietly along the couch cushions. Both of the girls crawled closer to their blushing cousin until they swarmed her, one leaning at her legs and the other sitting closer to her face. Terry moved Ruth's ringlets from her face and braided the long, coiling strands together, patiently waiting for Ruth to talk again. Jana impatiently patted at her thigh 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 continued to explain.
"That's nice of him," Terry commented, her eyebrows raising.
"And we talked a little afterward. I don't know, he seemed quiet. But really cute."
If Ruth's cheeks were warm before, they were practically on fire now as the girls shared interested looks.
"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. Even speaking of him made her flustered and embarrassed to be so hypnotized by someone she didn't know, but she had to know who he was. Somehow, it was important to her to know.
Terry's eyebrows furrowed in confusion at her explanation, claiming that who she described was half the population on the Rez, but Jana seemed to know who it was right away. She straightened up immediately, her eyes wide in recognition as her hand subconsciously slapped Ruth's leg.
"Does he wear a beaded necklace? Smoke? Deep voice?" Jana asked urgently.
Ruth's gaze widened excitedly. "Yes, yes, and yes!"
"TERRY DO YOU KNOW WHO THIS IS?" Jana shouted.
"No," Terry frowned. "Should I?"
"IT'S RAFFO! HOT ASS RAFFO LEFLORE."
Terry's vision lit up in recognition this time, understanding tainting her expression. Though instead of looking as excited as Jana did, Terry teetered more on the side of caution, a sadness dwelling in their depths. Ruth looked on with alarm.
"He goes to the same community college, though that's not surprising, I guess, since that's the only one for who knows how many miles," Jana continued. "And he's gorgeous. We've known each other since we were kids. He's pretty close to our other friend, Mirana though."
"Not to mention he has issues growing out his ass," Terry pointed out.
"Yeah, who doesn't? Not all of us can be happy being surrounded by daily reminders of our trauma."
"In all the years we've known him, has he grown or gone anywhere at all?"
"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 shut Terry up.
"What's wrong with Raffo?" Ruth frowned.
"Nothing," Jana said, reassuringly. Though she paused for a moment to rephrase her quick response. "Well, he's just been through a lot. We all have out here and none of us on the Rez have any room to talk."
Ruth shrugged her shoulders. She could tell he had a past the moment she saw him and witnessed that blank emotion in his eyes firsthand. It didn't make her judge him at all like Terry had done. She didn't see him the same way Terry did, but then again, she knew nothing about the guy.
"He goes to my college? I don't think I've ever seen him before," Ruth admitted.
"Well duh, Ruthie. There's how many kids there? I'd be surprised if you did know him. Only in 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 laid on their beautiful brown skin.