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Peja's Wonderful World of Makebelieve Import
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Published:
2020-11-04
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1,687
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1/1
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13
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770

In The Beginning

Summary:

Naomi has to leave home

Work Text:

She stood by the side of the road, a small soft bag resting by her
feet...thumb out, trying desperately
to get away.

She saw a multi-colored van come into view. She maintained her pose, praying
that whoever was in
the van would stop, and that whoever was in there was a decent human being.

The van pulled over to the side of the roading, slowing as it pulled up next
to her. A girl not much
older than she was stuck her head outside the window. "How are you going?"

"As far away from here as I can get."

The young man and woman looked at the bruises marring the pretty young face,
and then their eyes
slid to the slight protrusion of her absomen. The man leaned forward. "I'm
Thomas Red Dog, and
this is Lily. Hop in."

"My name is Naomi," as she crawled into the backseat.

"How far along are you?" Lily asked as they pulled away from the side of the
road.

"About 5 months," Naomi said quietly.

"From the look of you, I'd say your folks weren't too pleased when you told
them about the baby."

"No, they weren't."

"Didn't they like the baby's father?" Lily asked curiously.

"They didn't like who I told them the father was. They refused to believe
me. They said I was
lying, and that they'd beat the devil out of me."

Thomas looked in the rearview mirror. "Looks like they tried."

Her chin came up proudly. "They tried. They didn't believe me when I told
them I'd been forced,
and who had done the forcing. Now they want me to have an abortion. But I
refused." She looked
over at them, tears in her eyes. "This baby's mine. The father wants
nothing to do with it...or me.
I'll be damned to hell if I'll let them destroy my baby the way they've tried
to destroy me. I've got to
get something good out of this. Blair's it."

"Oh, so you've already named her, huh?" Lily said, putting an arm around
Naomi's shoulders in an
attempt to comfort her.

"Unfortunately things like that happen," Thom said, "but you seem to have the
right idea. Something
good out of a bad situation."

Naomi looked over at Lily. "Blair can be a boy's or a girl's name. That
way, I already have the
name ready when he or she is born."

Thom pulled into a gas station just over the county line. He handed Lily
some money. "Go pay the
man for the gas, and get everyone a pop." Turning to Naomi, "Why don't you go
with her, Naomi?
Pick out the pop you like best - Coke, Pepsi, 7-Up, Sprite...whatever you
want. And why don't you
all pick up some chips or something to eat on the road...baloney and bread or
something."

"Okay, thanks," and the two girls headed into the little country store.

The two girls paid the man for the gas, and then wandered through the store
picking up things to eat -
fruit, cheese, bread, soda pop. Lily looked at the kosher dills in their big
jar. "I love those things, but
I don't remember if Thom does or not."

Naomi looked over at her, and estimated the amount of money they had left.
"Can we spend all of
it?" she asked quietly.

Lily nodded. "Yeah...Thom and I did some good business at the Renaissance
Fair. We're able to
spend a little more freely now that we're on the way home."

"Where are you heading?"

"Oklahoma. We're heading to his folks'." She smiled at Naomi. "He wants us
to get married now
that there's a little one on the way," and she smiled. "And he wants us to
be near his mother and
grandmother, so they can deliver the baby...just like they've delivered all
the babies in the area."

"Wish I had some place to go, but...everyone'd be like my parents. I'm just
hoping to get far enough
away so that no one knows me. Won't try to make me give up my baby, or to
take him away from
me."

"You keep saying him." Lily looked at her curiously.

Naomi smiled, and put her hand on her stomach. "It's just a feeling I've
got. My baby's gonna be a
fine man."

Lily looked at her, curiousity streaming from her. "And mine?"

Naomi put her hand on Lily's stomach, and then she smiled. "A fine strong
little girl." She stopped
suddenly, confusion in her eyes. "But, how did I know that?"

"Maybe you're a medicine woman," Lily offered.

"I don't know," Naomi said slowly, then shrugged. "Any way, what I was going
to say was that, I've
got a little money to help out with expenses. Let's get three of the big
pickles. Then if Thom doesn't
like the pickles, you and I can share the third one." She grinned at her new
friend. "I find myself
craving dill pickles."

Lily grinned back. "Me too."

They carefully brought their purchases to the counter and placed them for the
old storekeeper to ring
up. They headed out to the car, carefully carrying the food and drinks.

Thom put the nozzle back on the pump, and got back in the car. "Did you get
everything?"

"Got fruit, cheese, bread...all stuff we can eat on the road and not have to
refrigerate," Naomi
offered, almost anxiously, half afriad that he was going to be angry with
their choices.

"Good deal." Thom started the engine and pulled carefully away from the
station. "We're not that far
from home. We should make it by tomorrow." He glanced back at Naomi in the
mirror. "I know it
doesn't look like much, but that mattress in the back is comfortable, and it
should fit all three of us.
You can sleep on the other side of Lily. When we get to my home, I'll ask
Nonnie to take a look at
you. She's been the local midwife for over fifty years. She trained Mama.
She'll know if
everything's going to be OK. Sound all right to you?"

"Won't your parents be angry when you show up with two strangers in tow?"

"Lily and I have been married for about six weeks now. Mama gonna be angry
that we didn't tell her
we were getting married. But, once we found out that Lily was expecting, we
knew we had to get
married without any kind of delay. Mama's probably going to want to throw a
big wedding party for
us; have us married properly by Indian law. But, she's gonna be glad for us.
Particularly that I
picked a girl with good skills that can help make money."

Naomi looked over at Lily. "I'm a weaver, same as my Mama before me. She
started teaching me
when I was very small. And I also do beadwork. So, I'm able to make lots of
small stuff that sells
real well at the Faires. Thom is a blacksmith and silversmith. He makes all
kinds of things for the
Renaissance Faires...jewelry, swords, knives, armor, stuff like that."

"Yeah. I sold four suits of chain mail at this last Fair, and every last
piece of my jewelry. Did a
whole lot better than I thought I would. Don't really have much of anything
left."

Naomi thought carefully. "I only got a little money to help pay for my keep.
Do you think your
parents could use an extra pair of hands to help around the house? I'd work
hard for room and
board."

"I think we can make sure of that. Besides, you'll be staying with Lily and
me...not Mama."

"How much money do you make for your weaving pieces?" Naomi asked curiously.

"Usually, a large piece will run about $60.00. The smaller pieces are a
little less. Of course, that's
for the woven art. Woven cloth...depends on what it's made of. I usually
work with cotten because
I can get cotton thread cheap. I weave it into cloth. The cloth, depending
on its complexity, can sell
for $5-$10 per yard."

"Do knitted, tatted, or crocheted things sell well?"

"I've seen a couple people that have crocheted stuff there. Why?"

"My grandmother taught me to knit, crochet, and tat lace. I've been doing it
for years. Just
wondering if I could make something to sell...help earn my living."

"There's always a market for lace at the Renaissance Faires. People use it a
lot. And handmade lace
brings in a good bit of money too." Thom thought for a moment. "Tell you
what. What do you need
to make the lace?"

Naomi smiled over at him. "Nothing real expensive. Several spools of fine
white thread, my tatting
things here in my bag, and time...lots of time. Why?"

Thom pulled over to the side of the road. "I've been thinking. You need a
place to stay. We need
some new products.We'll give you a place to stay and food; you make lace to
sell at the Faires.
When we sell them, we'll split the profits - 60% for Lily and me and to cover
your room and board,
and 40% to you. How does that sound?"

"Sounds wonderful to me."

"So it's a deal then?"

"Deal."

And Naomi stuck out her hand. They solemnly shook on it. Then Thom grinned
at her. "I think
Mama's gonna like you. I can already hear her now. 'You bring us a
woodpecker?'"

"Woodpecker?"

"With that red hair, you're gonna be lucky if she doesn't call you Woody."

They all smiled at the thought as he pulled the car back onto the highway,
and Naomi headed into her
new life.