Two Bulls

I first saw him walking south on the side of highway fifty, just inside the res boundary. I was riding in the back seat of Benji's car. Robey Iron Legs was riding shotgun. What I noticed first about the guy walking along the side of the road was his cowboy hat. It was white and seemed a size too big for him. It kind of bounced up and down on his head as he walked. The guy had a guitar hung over his left shoulder. The arm of the guitar pointed straight up. He also carried what looked like a large camera bag over his right shoulder. He had a small back pack strapped to his back. As we drove past him, I turned and looked back. The guy had a big grin on his face, like he had just finishing counting coop on his favorite enemy! It was then that I notice his boots. Black, shinny cowboy boots. They were so shinny that the sun reflected off them. I wondered just how long this guy had been walking, that his boots were still so shinny. I turned and yelled at the two guys in the front. I had to yell to be heard over the sound of the radio.

"Did you see that guy?" I looked back, again. "He looks like an Indian Garth Brooks." "Garth Brooks, on the rez." Benji shouted. He turned to see who I was looking at. "Turn around and drive the car you idiot!" Robey slapped Benji on the shoulder.

Benji did a u-turn and pushed the gas pedal all the way to the floor. My body flew toward the open window. If I hadn't grabbed the car with my hands, I would have flown out of the car and the story would have ended right there. Sometimes I think that Benji has a few oars out of the water.

We're headed back up highway fifty and we see this car setting along the opposite side of the road and the Indian Garth Brooks is talking to the driver. The car is a convertible, so right away I know that the driver is Even May Two Bulls. Even is the only person on the rez that drives a convertible. We drive past them and keep on going. I am looking back and waiting for Benji to do another u-turn so we can go back and check out the Indian Garth Brooks.

"Benji, where the hell are you going?" I ask. Benji looks at me in the rear view mirror. "What do ya mean?" I can see a puzzled look on his face in the mirror. Robey slaps him on the arm again. "Turn the car around so we can check this guy out, you stupid Indian," Robey shouts.

Everyone on the reservation knows that Robey has a thing for Even. Everybody except Even, that is.

Benji turns the steering wheel hard and I thought we were going to flip. The car came up on two wheels and you could have heard the tires screaming in the next county. The car came down hard and we were headed in the other direction.

"Damn," Robey yelled.

I banged my head on the roof so hard that it brought tears to my eyes.

"Benji, you idiot." Was all I could think to say.

Benji looked in the mirror at me. I could see a grin on his face. Even if Robey and I weren't, he was very happy with himself.

While we were headed back up the highway, we saw Even and her convertible headed the other way. The Indian Garth Brooks was sitting in the seat next to her and his things were piled in the back seat. Robey eyed Even's car as it went past.

"What the hell," Robey said.

"Looks like Even got herself a new feller," I said.

I didn't see Robey's hand coming. He backhanded me hard enough to knock my head against the car door.

"Damn Robey!" I yelled. "I was just kidding."

"Benji, turned this damn piece of junk around," Robey said.

"What are you calling a piece of junk?" Benji asked.

"Give me that steering wheel," Robey said as he tried to push Benji through the door.

I was still rubbing my head, when the car went serving all over the road.

"Damn, guys, we're headed for the ditch!" I yelled.

Robey let go of the wheel and looked back at me.

Benji threw the car into another spin and we were headed in the other direction again. We were going almost eighty back down the highway, but there was no sight of Even's convertible anywhere. We drove around the rez for the rest of the afternoon and never saw them.