To Grandma's House

Time for Lodge*

It was time for Skylar to start his talk and get the fire going for lodge. Ms. Emma got all the twine and prayer tie fabric and set them on the couch for him and returned to the kitchen. Skylar gathered all the men to the living room.

Xael and her grandma were working on fixing the potato salad and baked beans for the meal while Skylar talked to the men. Xael's pups laid under the table again acting as foot rests. Ms. Emma decided on making quiche for breakfast in the morning. Earlier she had seen pie crusts in the freezer she had forgotten about. Xael that it would be a great idea. She could use up the veggies that the guys had brought, along with leftover meat from that morning's breakfast and lunch.

Skylar had finished up the talk explaining the importance of lodge and basic protocol in and out of it. He went through each color of the prayer ties and the items used inside during the ceremony. He was now going to take the guys out to the lodge so they could start the fire. Since Shado had taken part in lodge earlier, he volunteered to keep the fire and pass rocks. Skylar took the time out by the fire to smudge everyone.

Fire started, the men, minus Shado returned to the house to work on their prayer ties. Xael asked Ted if he would mind taking 3 jugs of water down to Shado, he would know what they were for. She filled 2 empty jugs with water for the rocks and one for her Mate to drink since he was acting as fire keeper for the lodge.

As the men worked on their prayer ties, Ms. Emma lit some more sage to create a more sacred space for them. Xael put the potatoes on to boil then her and her grandma got started on the quiches. Xael chopped veggies while her grams cut up the meat. The guys would have quiche and roasted potatoes. Veggies chopped, Xael checked on the grill again. The baked beans and half of the roasted potatoes were in the oven. Xael sat her alarm for an hour then rested her head on the table. Her cramps had been getting worse but were manageable. She knew her heat would start in a few days.

Shado was confident with the fire and took a quick break to head to the house for a minute. He removed his shoes before coming inside and saw Xael with her head on the table, not moving. Ms. Emma smiled at him as he quietly walked over to his Mate. He kept his voice low as he knelt down to talk to her.

"Xael, baby, you okay?"

Xael didn't say anything as she moved and wrapped her arms around his neck in a hug. She shook her head. Xael was tired but there was still stuff to do for the lodge and she had to keep an eye on the grill. Shado rubbed her back as she raised up.

"I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I might take a nap once you guys head to lodge."

He gave her a quick kiss on the forehead. "Is there any of the gatorade mix left?"

"Yeah, there's half a container left, you can just take that."

Shado grabbed the gatorade along with a large cup and headed back to tend the fire. Not too long after that the men headed back to start lodge. Xael and her Grams breathed a sigh of relief. The two sat and chatted for the next couple of hours. The men were only doing four rounds for the lodge so it wouldn't run too late into the night. Xael set her alarm to go off every 30 minutes to check the grill. Grams told her she would finish baking the quiche and potatoes. Xael wanted to rest but couldn't. She remembered she hadn't prepared the herbal broth she would need after mating. It was easy to make and she had it in containers and in the freezer in no time.

Outside checking on the meat a final time, she heard voices coming from the lodge area. Perfect timing, everything on the grill was done, nice and tender and the chicken had remained juicey. Her Grandma helped her carry the trays of meat into the kitchen/dining area. Two large trays of was enough. Xael prepared the meat into manageable pieces as the men made their way to the back deck and took turns rinsing off at the outdoor shower. Like before, they had left the majority of their clothes on the back deck, changing into them before they entered the house.