She had thought once of marrying a man. She had had many lovers, more than she could remember, but her relationships were all one to one, as if she had somehow never left her adolescence. I’m too much of a loner. She was enjoying being shared. It made her feel part of everything. For too long she had struggled in her outside world, even though the struggle had been rewarding.
She was almost not scrubbing him now. She was touching him with her fingers. She smiled at him the smile she used to seduce men and then looked out the corner of her eyes to see if Noe watched. Noe was watching, and Noe smiled at her glance in a way that seemed to say: don’t we have a nice man? For the first time in her life Oelita smiled at a woman with the smile she used to seduce men, and felt confusion. Noe responded by washing her face. I wonder who he’ll sleep with tonight, me or her?
“It took you all long enough to get here!” said Hoemei coming through the threshold. He picked up a sponge. “I can see these women are being too gentle.” And he began to scrub his brother. “Let’s see if we can get some of the stink off you. Silence of God, where have you been!”
“We went over the White Wound. A roundabout way to boil potato soup.”
“You what? You let him take you there?” Hoemei stared at Oelita in astonishment. “The last time we went over the White Wound there were ten of us who set out and only seven of us who came back. That ordeal by climbing terrified me to the roots of my hair. Of the seven of us, only Joesai has ever dared go back.”
“We were babies then. I got the itch.”
“Do you know Joesai?” Oelita asked warily.
“Same creche,” Hoemei laughed. “He’s been giving you trouble?”
“Yes!”
“I just got a report on him today. From Soebo.”
Noe froze. “Go on!” She breathed once, heavily. “He’s dead?”
“He’s not in Soebo.”
“And Teenae?” Noe was anxious.
“Not a word.”
“You love them, don’t you?” said Oelita accusingly. “He’s your friend!”
“Sometimes,” said Noe, wryly.
“Sometimes,” said Hoemei, laughing.
“Hardly ever,” said Gaet with a straight face.
They were making fun of her! She didn’t like private jokes when her life was at stake! She made waves in the tub and tried to step out, but Noe and Gaet held her while Hoemei poured a jug of rinse water over her head.
Then he brought a thick towel and began to wrap and pat her dripping body. “We have much to talk about,” he said. “I’ve been charged with organizing coastal relief.”
“Gaet told me. I didn’t want to meet you with my hair stringy like this.”
“I’ll remember to revise my first impressions tomorrow. May I keep this impression in a special place?” He let the towel fall off her shoulders so that he could see her.
“I can dry myself!” she answered, clutching at the towel. “You’re being very bold with your hands and your eyes.”
“Something that’s come over me lately.”
“The sweet flatteries of a Liethe to swell your manly ego?” suggested Oelita coyly.
“God’s Teeth, you’re as bad a tease as Noe!”
Noe returned with fresh clothes. For Gaet she carried an aery robe, embossed with vines, for Oelita a shimmeringly silken garment, white. “This is a favorite of Gaet’s. Come. I’ll take you upstairs. I have everything a woman needs.”
“Meet us in my room,” said Hoemei. “It’s the cleanest. Gaet and I will put together a snack.”
Amidst green bottles of oil and boxes of perfume sticks and piles of stitching for a quilt, Noe did Oelita’s hair and dressed her. “How can I wear this?” exclaimed Oelita. She adored the ruffles, but the gown was split up the sides, all the way, and split down the back and the front, all the way. It hid nothing. She would have felt more comfortable had she been nude.
“I’ve worn it in the street,” said Noe.
“You didn’t!”
“At night,” Noe admitted, grinning.
“If I’m going to wear this, you have to wear something provocative too.”
“No. I’m too lazy to change. And it’s too late. The food is ready.”
Oelita hesitated. “Noe, tell me. Am I in danger here?”
“For your life? No. For your soul? Yes.”
“If I ever offend you, tell me first before you act, please.”
“I’m known to be blunt.”
“Am I intruding on you? I mean with Gaet?”
“Little barbarian, we’re looking for a new woman. We had one but these things sometimes are poured into a cracked cup. You’re very welcome to share whatever I have as long as you feel the same with me.” She kissed Oelita on the cheek and took her hand.
And so the evening went, with a wild game of kol that had the men screeching and Noe laughing at Oelita’s unorthodox play. No one could understand why she was beating them. Gael sat beside her on the pillows, affectionately caressing her from time to time through the convenient slits. She accused him of trying to throw her play. They talked about art in the city, and Noe promised to take her to the Chanting for which Kaiel-hontokae was famous. When the candles were near to burning out, Noe began to undo a few of the clasps that held Oelita’s garment together so that Gaet could fondle her more easily.
So, she’s going to give him to me tonight. Oelita wanted him. He was the only security she had against a rising panic. She had to have him, so knowing she was going to get him relaxed her, and her erotic warmth began to grow. But Noe took Gaet with her and they said goodnight at the door, leaving Oelita half undressed on Hoemei’s bed.
“We could go to your room,” he said ambiguously, implying both that he was willing to abide by her rules and that he desired to be with her.
She trembled. She did not want to be alone and she did not want to stay with a stranger. She tried to read the soul of Gaet’s co-husband, searching his face.
“You’re welcome to stay,” he said.
“For a little while. You have a cozy room.”
“It’s strange to meet you,” he said.
“I’m all disarrayed,” she replied. Hoemei was handsome in the candlelight. Was he being shy now? He had been so bold earlier. I should do it, she thought. If she just pretended she was part of a Four, and that what was happening, happened every sleep cycle, what could go wrong? She was extraordinarily curious about marriage. In any event, she needed to bond Hoemei to her, if what Gaet said about him was true.
He sat beside her and touched her shoulder. She could feel the affection. He spoke. “It takes time to know another. There’s no hurry.”
She could love a man who created no pressure. “I’ll stay.” He was undressing, putting things away neatly, a compulsive man. “Hoemei? Do you love Noe?”
“Of course.”
“Do you love your Liethe creature?”
“Now that you mention it.”
“Do you like me a little?”
“I was smitten at first sight.”
“Help me off with this lethal recessive of a dress, but remember I’m not ready for anything.” She knew she was both pushing him away and pulling him toward her. His hands came to her aid but she did most of the work herself with such haste that she tore a clasp. And so they lay beside each other, naked, not touching. It was curious. The flame made great leaps and flickers and died. The silence upset her in this city far from the comfort of any friend. She needed contact and she was afraid of touch. “Hoemei, what is your price for helping us on the coast?” Words, even intellectual words of great moment, were touches — in a way.
“Do you know our form of government?”
“The Kaiel are the hereditary leaders. The usual. I don’t approve. I think other clans should have political duties, too.”
“It is not as simple among us. When we go to the coast we won’t be distributing food through the Stgal. We’ll send in priests. Whoever of your people likes an individual priest pledges to him and the priest contracts to help him.”