it could happen

Irma thought she might be seeing things that weren't there. She thought she might know Josh, but she couldn't exactly remember.

"Too long ago." He finally smiled about it. "We were just kids, then. Granted, you were practically a baby."

He told her, they'd lived together once. "When your Dad wanted to work on that ranch in Wyoming..well, he couldn't make it out there, all on his own."

She nodded. It was vague. Maybe, not worth remembering. Her dad was an excellent horseman, except he drank and usually got in fights.

"How is your Mom, anyway?" Josh wanted to know.

Irma winced. She remembered less of her, than her Dad.

"I dunno." Irma wasn't sure if she liked bringing up the past.

"My grandmother heard from her at Christmas." Josh mentioned over coffee, while Slater was with Jess.

Irma felt a little faint. She'd heard nothing from her mother, for a good long while. She looked at him as if she didn't really need to know.

"I guess she's got a new husband. She works at a bingo parlor in Henderson." Josh sighed.

Instantly, Irma felt numb. There was nothing good in her past. Well, maybe Josh, who'd been like a big brother to her, even if it were for a short while.

She pressed her lips tight.

"Its OK, if you don't want to talk about her." He understood. His dad died in a car crash when he was twelve. "Grandmother..well, she's a tough old bird, but she cares. She always cared about me." He got out his phone, and showed her a picture of a toddler. "And she cares about Harley, too."

"You're a Dad?" Irma couldn't help, but smile. "Wow! Where's her mom? Are you two still together?"

"Maybe." Josh shrugged. "I mean, we're still married. I promised Grandmother." He sighed. "But Tina joined the Army. She's in Germany."

Irma couldn't phantom being away from someone so adorable, but then she thought of her Mom, and how she'd passed her on to other relatives, over the years.

"But, you'll see Harley, won't you?" Irma felt a little sad, of the thought of Josh being here and his child being on the Reservation.

He nodded. "Soon as we get situated. Tina should be here in a month or two. We can all be together then."

Irma held on to her coffee mug. It sounded like a dream that would take a lot of work.