Leslie Silko - Gardens in the Dunes

Even so, it was the French customs officials — not the Italians — who guarded the citron industry of Corsica so closely. Laura paused, then in a soft voice asked if Hattie wanted to sleep.

“No,” she said quickly, “please, the sound of your voice is soothing.” Hattie glanced over at the child, who tried to draw in her notebook as the parrot waddled around her and persisted in reaching for the colored pencil between her fingers. Actually it was a game, and Indigo only pretended to draw as she listened to Laura and Hattie.

The killing of the king only four years after Italy’s shocking defeat in Abyssinia left the nation stunned. Indigo watched Laura’s hands — so graceful when she spoke — with the beautiful rings with their lovely glittering stones of purple, green, and blue.

Many felt there was a connection between the army’s humiliation in East Africa and the king’s assassination. The prime minister and his cabinet were forced to resign after the defeat at Aduwa. Nothing was the same after that. Laura’s voice was softer, and she slowly turned the rings on her fingers as she spoke. Many hundreds dead, and thousands held prisoner, forced Italy to acknowledge Abyssinia’s independence. A ransom of millions was paid to the Abyssinian emperor for the return of Italian prisoners.

Hattie sat up and adjusted the pillows to make sure she could hear her friend; Laura’s voice became softer as she described her disbelief and confusion when she learned her husband had been absent from his troops days before the battle. Intelligence reports out of Cairo detailed his comings and goings at the estate of a certain Egyptian munitions dealer a few miles outside of Cairo. Not only had he deserted his command; he had divorced her to start a new life, married to the munitions dealer’s daughter, with a dowry worth millions. Even now Laura’s tone of voice was of one still stunned.

Once the shock had passed, she realized the Egyptians had done her an immeasurable favor; she might have wasted years more of her life with that man in ignorance of his cowardice. This way it was mercifully ended.

They sat in silence for a moment; even the parrot remained motionless on Indigo’s arm. Then Laura excused herself; she knew they needed time to rest; Edward would be coming anytime, and she had to catch the train to Lucca.

After Laura left, all Hattie could think about was what to say to Edward; as his wife and life partner, surely she had a right to know the truth about their Corsican excursion! She distinctly remembered the two cablegrams he picked up at the consulate the day they arrived from Lucca — one was authorization from Washington, he said; but the customs officers found the cables and their messages were quite the opposite!

Tears filled Hattie’s eyes but she was determined to be strong. When Indigo finished with her bath, Hattie was next; she soaked in the delicious warm water with her eyes closed until the water began to cool. She tried to reconcile her hopes and affection for Edward with the facts before her, but it was impossible — she didn’t know where to begin. Instead she sank until only her nose was above the bathwater; in the warm strange silence underwater she recalled the glowing light in Aunt Bronwyn’s garden, and a feeling of peace filled her. As she rinsed the soap from her hair Hattie pushed all the doubt from her mind; she would make the best of it, whatever happened; what was most important was to reunite the child with her family.

Indigo had been sitting on the floor so long she lost the feeling in both legs; they tingled as she wiggled her feet to make the blood circulate again. She was tired of being indoors and asked Hattie if she and Rainbow could go downstairs to the hotel garden. The hotel staff all smiled and pointed at the parrot on her shoulder and seemed quite pleased to see them together again; the concierge smiled and said something to her in Italian — maybe a friendly reminder not to let the bird get away again.

The big tree in the hotel garden was full of blackbirds chirping and trilling; Indigo asked Rainbow what they were saying. The parrot tipped his head from side to side, then looked at Indigo and stretched both wings out over his back. It was time to go. The afternoon wasn’t as warm as previous days, and Indigo could already see a difference in the position of the sun as it began to move toward the south for winter. The Messiah and the others were probably already on their way home.

Edward did not appear until sundown, long after Laura left. Hattie threw her arms around him in spite of herself. They embraced only briefly; he explained he was exhausted after his ordeal. Fortunately they had allowed him to bathe and change his clothes while in custody. Hattie smiled and shook her head; she and the child had not been so lucky: at the American consulate they shared a couch and had no baths. Edward glanced over at Indigo and the parrot. So the bird was found just as he said it would be! Indigo nodded.

Hattie didn’t know what she expected Edward to say to her but he should have said something — given some expression of regret or sorrow over their detention, since his twig cuttings were the cause. Hattie was about to confront him, but just then there was a knock on the door. Customs authorities had released their luggage and the hotel staff brought it to their suite.

Hattie was shocked when she saw the damage done during the search by customs authorities. The interior linings and the panels behind them were ripped open to expose the wood frame, tin, and leather. Evidently the contents of the luggage were searched, then hastily repacked, because Hattie’s nightgowns, Indigo’s dress shoes, and Edward’s books on citrus horticulture were dumped together helter-skelter in the trunk that had been packed with Edward’s shirts and trousers. The drawers of the big steamer trunks were jammed into the wrong slots; lace edges of handkerchiefs and parts of stockings dangled out. Hattie’s underwear apparently got particular attention because it was wadded up and stuffed into the small leather valise Edward packed with his shoes and slippers. Hattie dropped the valise; she couldn’t touch those undergarments again until they’d been washed.

All of their clothing was wrinkled and soiled from the search. Hattie rescued Indigo’s underwear and dresses from the camera case, where they were stuffed on top of the photographic equipment. Indigo was more concerned with recovering the gladiolus corms and the seeds spilled from their packets into the bottom of the trunk that previously contained Hattie’s books and notes. They both cautioned her to be careful; although Hattie’s books and notes were no longer in the trunk, two square wooden boxes of Edward’s glass negatives were packed with a bathrobe and pair of Edward’s walking shoes. Indigo was worried about the envelopes and tiny boxes of flower and vegetable seeds she had been saving for the gardens in the dunes.

Rainbow was in his cage with the door shut to prevent any damage to the clothes and belongings, but he could see all of the objects, which intrigued him; he protested with a loud series of screeches that caused both Edward and Hattie to look sharply at her and the bird. Indigo could feel the trouble in the air despite the cool breeze from the balcony and windows. Off in the distance, over the evening sounds of the streets, Indigo heard loud laughter.

Hattie was relieved Laura missed the spectacle of the rifled luggage, by far the most humiliating part of their detention. Edward continued to pick through the mess of clothing and papers and books for a clean shirt to send downstairs to be pressed. Did Hattie have anything she wanted to send down for herself or Indigo? Hattie shook her head and sat down on the edge of the bed, suddenly too exhausted to look at another trunk, although Edward warned that if any items were missing, they must make a list to present to the American consulate.