Blue Coyote Motel by Dianne Harman

could. Having to constantly explain the name would make it much harder. She graduated from college with a degree in Medical Management and went to work for a large hospital in Phoenix.
    Phyllis returned to the reservation several times a year and was pleased to see that the tribe was building a pediatric center and a school, something she thought was long overdue. She had very bad memories of going to school off the reservation. At the school she attended, which was located nearly twenty miles away, the Indian children had been made fun of for their hand-me-down clothes, their looks, and their different ways. Many of the children simply dropped out of school and returned to the reservation, preferring to give up their education rather than be ridiculed.
    In earlier days, even though visiting doctors came to the reservation from time to time, generally a sick child was taken to a hospital in Blythe. The tribe distrusted the white man's medicine. The doctors, all of whom practiced western medicine, just weren't able to connect with the tribal children. When a child had to be hospitalized, it created even more trauma; often enough to thwart the healing that needed to take place. As the children became more fearful, the doctors and nurses became more assertive in trying to heal the child. This often ended up in a lose-lose situation for everyone.
    Now that the center was open, the children could be treated by a member of their own tribe and if a child needed to be hospitalized, there were several rooms fitted out for short hospital-like stays at the center. Nothing that could help the healing process had been spared. The equipment was the most modern and sophisticated available, thanks to the ample funds generated by the casino's earnings.
    Phyllis had straight, shoulder-length, dark brown hair, which surrounded a heart-shaped face with flawless skin. Soft, liquid brown eyes with long black eyelashes looked out under thick, black winged brows. Long legs and a body built for physical work reflected the genes of the female Native American from olden times. She was a strong, beautiful woman, greatly respected by the tribe. Many of the young men in the tribe had been attracted to her, but none had succeeded in gaining her attention. Her standards were high and she had seen what alcoholism and dysfunction could do to tribal families.
    She was well aware that the $30,000 monthly allotment each tribal member received from the casino revenues had killed whatever ambition many of them might have had to work or further their education. Even though the tribe paid for the higher education of its members, very few took advantage of the offer. Phyllis valued her free education and was sorry that others weren't doing the same. She was the first tribal member to leave the reservation to obtain an undergraduate degree fully funded from the casino that opened just as she graduated from high school. She often wondered what would have happened to her if her education hadn't been provided by the tribe. Phyllis knew her parents couldn't afford to send her to college and she knew she probably would have ended up like so many of the other men and women of her age, lots of children and days marked by trips to the store to buy alcohol.
    She was also aware that she could pick and choose among the male members of the hospital staff in Phoenix. It was not for lack of invitations that she stayed home and led a rather quiet life; she just didn't find any of the men she met particularly interesting. Her heart was still on the reservation and she was gradually coming to the realization that she was fated to be a spinster and just enjoy her nieces and nephews.
    On one of her visits back to the reservation, her father asked her to come with him, as he wanted her to see the new pediatric center. She treasured her time with her father who was getting up in years. She knew that he wouldn't always be there when she returned home for a visit. Her mother had passed away