The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven

The 12th story documents the years 1966 to 1974 through the eyes of an anonymous Spokane narrator. When James is born to Rosemary MourningDove and Frank Many Horses, he nearly dies for lack of oxygen. James finally stabilizes, and the narrator picks the story back up about a year later during a fire at Rosemary’s house. The narrator and a drinking buddy, Lester FallsApart, rush to put out the flames, and Frank races upstairs to save James. The fire engulfs them, so Frank drops James out the second-story window. The narrator scrambles to catch the baby, but James slips through his hands and lands directly on the ground. The narrator smothers the flames licking James and is struck by the baby’s peaceful expression despite his concave skull.

Shortly afterward, the narrator visits the reservation hospital to check on Rosemary, Frank, and James. The baby’s grandfather, Moses, informs him that Rosemary and Frank have died. Moses then invokes tradition, saying this makes the narrator James’s guardian. The narrator feels unfit for the task, but when he views himself holding James in the mirror, he’s convinced it’s the right thing to do.

Over time the narrator becomes fixated on James’s developmental delay. The baby hasn’t cried, walked, or talked since joining him.