**
Chapter Twenty-Six
Their short, wolf-like barks of laughter reach me as I walk toward the pool; Alexandra and Ariadne, I think. Undercutting their laughter is a high-pitched whine of frustration: Alois. His voice cuts through the older Draka’s hilarity.
"I can do it, just give me another chance, I can, watch me now! I’ll show you!" A giant splash, and deeper laughter from the two girls.
"Hey, y’all, what’s going on?" I call out as my feet find the cool inlaid tile surrounding the poolside. Not exactly proper protocol, but when you’ve diapered, fed and burped the people you’re talking with, somehow the friendlier approach seems more natural to me.
"Hiyo, Tantie-ma Erin," answers Alexandra, her long, muscled form stretched out on the massage table, receiving an expert pummeling from Andri. He looks up, flicks his hair out of his eyes, and grins hello, then returns to his work.
"Hi, Erin," Ariadne says, perched on a floating ball in the pool. Her long red hair hangs loose, covering her shoulders. She looks like one of those Venus paintings from Venice or something, I think to myself, and smile. She’s certainly all grown up now, at least physically, no doubt about it.
Alois surfaces, face red, and gasps in some air. He follows the direction of Ariadne’s look, and his face breaks into a grin. "Hey, Tantie-ma!" He turns back to his sisters, his face growing more serious. "See, I can too stay under that long. You saw me!"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. It still doesn’t come close to my twelve minutes or Alexa’s fifteen. Wimp!" Ariadne kicks some water into her brother’s face, and dodges his reflexive splashes in return.
"It’s not fair! My lungs are smaller. I am staying under for proportionately…"
Alexandra’s laugh cuts him off. "Try explaining that to your instructor, or a hungry ghouloon pack, kiddo. Actually, the ghouloons might be nicer about it." She sits up, and grins whitely at me. "But you’re still way below what you should be, Alois. You don’t practice enough."
"I do too! You’re just not here to see me!"
"Well, I am, and I still say you don’t practice enough, either. You’re always drifting around, your mind stuck in some book on your transducer, and you don’t put enough of yourself into your duties. Which aren’t as numerous as mine, I might remind you!" Ariadne flounces off the ball, her muscles moving like oiled steel, and leaps onto the tile deck surrounding the fresh-water pool with a tiger’s grace.
"That’s not… Tantie-ma, they’re ganging up on me, it’s not fair! I do too practice, every day!" His big blue eyes are narrowing, and I think I see the glint of tears in them.
For cripes’ sake, child, don’t cry in front of them, they’ll never let you live it down, I think silently, watching his face closely. Come on, Alois, buck up, kiddo… I smile encouragingly at him as he climbs out of the pool, the water beading on his deeply tanned skin. The trees surrounding us make a quiet sussuration in the background, and I can hear birds singing. The scene would be so peaceful, I think, if only it didn’t feel like a volcano was fixin’ to let loose…
"Listen, I do too practice! You want the transducer downloads, or what?" He stands glaring at his older sisters, hands on hips. It’s hard for someone to look really pissed off when they’re naked, I muse, but he’s doing a great job of it. I think that Draka temper of his is about to…
"You will refrain from using that tone of voice with me or your sister, Alois." Alexandra’s diction is very clear and precise, a sure sign she’s getting really angry. "Apologize."
"No! No! I don’t have to! You’re being unfair to me, and it’s all ‘cause you think you’re so high and mighty coming back from school. I won’t!" He stamps his foot to emphasize the last word, and as his foot meets the tile, Alexandra, moving so swiftly she’s a blur, leaps to stand in front of him.
Her hands grasp his slender arms above the elbow, and she lifts him easily, so he’s looking her eye to eye. "Yes, you will apologize, you young, insolent pup, or you’ll regret it. I mean it, apologize."
"Hey, now, everybody…" I begin. Three sets of Draka eyes turn to me, and I stop, my mouth hanging open. What had been a gathering of three youngsters has turned into a pack of homo drakensis, and their danders, collectively, are up. I snap my mouth shut and look down at my feet. Shut up, girl, before Alexandra’s holding you like that. Man, where’s Gwen when you need her?
There’s a moment, a long one, of silence. A sniffle breaks it, and then a whisper. "I’m sorry."
"Remember that I’m of age, young man. You’re not. That means you have to give me the respect I deserve. I’m not fooling around with you about that, or about the fact that you’re not practicing enough. I know you’re little, and you have time to play, but you also have to get ready to be a grown-up. I expect to see you practicing more, especially unarmed combat and swimming, while I’m here on leave. Is that clear, Alois?"
"Yes, Alexa. Let me down, please." He sounds cowed but still angry, I think. Alexandra slowly lets him down, and when his feet touch the tiles, he jerks away from her. "You’re a big mean ghouloon looking speck! So there!" His foot lashes out, kicking her sharply in the shin, and he dashes away from her grasp, ducking under the hedge.
"Damn it, that hurt, you little weasel!" Alexandra starts to sprint after him, and I get enough nerve up to clear my throat. She sighs and turns back to face me, frowning. "What, Tantie-ma?"
"How about you let me go after him this time?"
"You?" She laughs, the frown disappearing from her beautiful face. Her mother’s face, I realize with a visceral shock; it’s getting stronger and stronger every day, and it’s only now that I notice? But then again, she is the clone of her mother, so it’s only natural, I guess. The jolt inside me is amazing, though. "Why you, Erin?"
"Because if you chase him down, it’s just going to be more of the same battle of the wills. He knows you’re right, he just hates to admit it. Like any Draka, he loathes having to admit he’s wrong. He’d rather take a beating from you right now that admit to throwing a temper tantrum. And he is only six, Alexa. Cut him some slack, please."
She sits on the massage bench, next to her sister, who’s now getting her massage from a very quiet, tense Andri. Stroking Ariadne’s hair, Alexandra’s still for a moment, thinking. Then her eyes meet mine. "Fine. But I’m serious, Erin. He needs to start getting ready for real life. Being lost in his books may get him good grades academically but it won’t help him on the practice fields. He’ll get the snot beaten out of him. I’ve seen it happen, and so has Ariadne."
"I know. I’ve seen some pictures, myself. Not what I’d do for education, myself…" I grin. "But he’s so young, he’s just trying so hard to be like you two, and when he can’t, physically, it just eats him up."
"He’ll be off to Archona, and school, in another year and a half, Tantie-ma. That’s not a lot of time to get ready. It’s a proving ground, a constant testing of your abilities, your will power. For a Draka, it’s probably one of the most important times of our lives. And he’s nowhere near ready."
"He will be, when the time comes. He’s an Ingolfsson." The two girls smile at me, and I return it. "Let me go talk with him, okay?"
"Yeah, okay. I want to swim for awhile anyway. He has to apologize for kicking me, though. That has to be part of it, Erin. He can’t do that, to family or anyone else, for that matter. Not any more." Alexa stands, then smoothly dives into the water, leaving barely a ripple to show where she went in.
Ariadne snickers softly. "I taught him that move, too. It still works! But seriously, talk with him, Tantie-ma. You can get through where maybe neither of us or Mama can."
"Does your Mama know about this fuss already?"
"No. Not yet. But if he doesn’t apologize, she will. Then the shit’ll hit the fan," Araidne murmurs, turning over onto her back for Andri. I chuckle at her adoption of a purely Yankee bit of slang--her grandmother Yolande would be scandalized, come to think of it. The chuckle turns into a quiet laugh at that thought, and she looks up at me quizzically.
"Nothing. I’ll tell you later. I’ll go hunt down King of the Jungle and talk some sense into him. I think it’s just growing pains, that’s all. Thanks, though." I lean down and give her a quick peck on the forehead, and she smiles up at me, blue-green eyes sparkling.
"Go get ‘im, Miss Fix-It!"
I walk through the opening in the hedge and stop to think for a moment. If I was Alois, and I was upset, where would I go? The creek, down by the outer barns. That’s where I’d go… I start walking there, the smell of grass and herbs coming to meet me on the summer breeze. Soon the sound of running water is nearby, and the whinnies of horses in the distance. I start scanning the trees, looking for a small Draka.
"Here I am. I could have pounced on you already and killed you, you know. You sounded like an elephant coming this way, Tantie-ma!" His cheery voice is above me, and I jump a little in startlement.
"God, you scared me. Why can’t you whistle or something, Alois? Jeezie petes…"
"It was fun watching and listening to you. And I like it up here. Did Alexa send you to scold me some more?" He’s poised, predatory, on a limb about ten feet above my head, grinning wickedly.
"No, honey. I came to talk with you, just between the two of us. That’s all." I sit down, resting against the rough bark of the pine tree, and look up into the shade, where he perches like a leopard. "Care to join me, oh great hunter?"
"Well, okay. Since you acknowledge my hunting prowess, I guess I can grace you with my presence." He grins and drops from the tree with a hunting cat’s grace, landing silently at my feet. He curls up there, looking at me from under his white-blonde bang of hair.
"I’m not here to preach, okay?"
A roll of bright blue eyes greets this announcement. "Mhh-hmm. So go ahead and preach. I already know I have to apologize to Alexandra, even though she was being mean, too. But I will. I guess."
I rest my head against the tree, closing my eyes. "I’m really, really not here to preach. I want to talk things out with you. I’m actually on your side, Alois."
I hear a small sigh. "I know. You always are. I love you for that. As well as for other things. Is it strange for a Draka to love a human, Tantie-ma?"
"Rare, but not strange."
"Does Mama love you? I mean, like a person, not a pet? Even though you’re a serf, a human?"
I open my eyes, and look his way. His face is serious, eyes direct; he’s not joking any more. "Yes. Yes, she loves me like a person. It’s very rare, but it can happen. It’s very… precious."
"Did she tell you that?"
"Yes. Twice now, in the almost twenty years I’ve been hers."
Alois rubs his forehead. "Wow. I mean, she’s told me she loves me, and I can remember her singing me to sleep sometimes, when I was a kid… but the idea of her loving you, like that, is sort of weird to me. But it doesn’t feel weird for me to say I love you. This is all so confusing. Is it supposed to be?"
"Yeah, I think so. Otherwise, it wouldn’t hold so much of our attention. I’m glad it doesn’t feel weird for you to say you love me. It sure doesn’t feel odd to say that to you, honey. I do love you, indeed."
"Is it just cause you had me for Mama?"
"That, and the fact that I volunteered for it, and that you’re a really neat person. It’s all tied up together. It’s a different sort of love than what I feel for your Mama, but the same in some ways, too."
"She really, really enjoys you. You’re her favorite."
"Um, yeah. Whatever. I guess. I never feel comfortable saying that. I mean, it can change, you know? It’s not like I want to brag about it or something." I feel myself blushing as I say it, and grimace inside. When are you going to learn how to control that damn blush, girlfriend?
"But you are. I mean… do you do something really unusual, or are you different from other human women?"
"God, Alois…" I’m bright crimson now.
"I’m sorry. Skip it." He actually blushes a little, amazing loss of control for a Draka, even a six year old one.
"No, no… no, I’m not physically different from other human women. Well, a little, since I have the rejuve virus inside me. I’m unaging now. That makes me somewhat different. I have more energy, too. But basically, physiologically, no, I’m not some sort of sexy mutant! And no, I don’t have any really unique talents… um… that way."
"But then why are you her favorite?"
"Because…" I pause to think for a minute. A cardinal lands not far from us, a male in his bright red plumage and black robber’s mask, and his imperative "cheep! cheep!" is incredibly loud, over the chuckle of the nearby creek. "Because… I think there’s a bond there, a give and take kind of thing, that she doesn’t really find with her others. I mean, she certainly enjoys Tom, and Andri, and Jennifer, Alice… people like that. Plus her occasional lays in the hay, as she calls them. But what we have is sort of… deeper. More emotional that just the physical end of things."
"Do you think you really know Mama?" He sounds so serious, I think.
"Yes, honey, I think I do. Behind all that hard-wiring you Draka all have, there’s a person, a person with a unique style, a way of seeing the world. And occasionally, very very rarely, you get to meet that person. It’s a very scary thing for a Draka to do, actually, to let down the guard mechanisms you’ve got built up in there, in your head, and let someone else in. But I’ve seen that inner person, in your Mama, and she’s allowed me in, on occasion."
"What’s she like?"
"She’s… very thoughtful, very sensitive. Very concerned about maintaining a balance between her personal life and her public responsibilities. She’s lonely, a lot of the time."
"Why? She has you, and all of us kids, and all her serfs and horses and stuff…"
"But she misses someone."
Alois ponders that for a moment. "Who?"
"Your namesake. Alois was her lover, her life partner, for over seventy years. He meant the world to her, and vice versa. She misses him terribly, sometimes. He was the only Draka she’s ever truly trusted."
"But she didn’t trust Grandmother Yolande?"
"To an extent. But Yolande had… some, well, emotional instabilities. She had a very bad time when she lost her lover, and wasn’t really happy after that. Lots of sadness, that kind of stuff. Emotional disturbances. They’ve been corrected, for the most part, now, with her new self, but before, it was kind of hard to get very close to her. I think Gwen worried a lot about that growing up. That’s why she tried so hard to be the best at everything."
"Like Alexa."
"Kind of. Alexandra and Ariadne are intimidated by your Mama; you are, too, I think. That’s natural, given your hard wiring and Draka custom. She’s a very powerful woman. But she’s also a person inside. I’ve tried to explain this to Alexa, too. She and Mama went through a rough period right before she left to go to Senior School, and she came to talk with me about it. I told her about the person inside Mama, past the official mask, and maybe it made sense to her. Does it, to you?"
"Yeah, kind of." He sits back, rocking on his heels, eyes clouded in thought. "But does she love me, even though I’m not as good at stuff as they are?"
"Yes! Yes, she loves you, Alois. Very much. More than she can say, sometimes. It comes hard, sometimes, for her to let you know how much she cares about you. But it’s there. I’ve seen it in her eyes, heard it in her voice. She loves you, for you."
"But what if I…" Alois’ voice lowers to a whisper. "What if I can’t measure up, Erin?"
"She will always love you, no matter what you do. If you decide to be a scholar, a researcher, and not a front-line hot shot combat pilot like Alexa and Ariadne want to be, that’s your decision. Yours and the school’s. You know that. But I don’t want you to worry that because you’re not just like your sisters that your Mama won’t love you very much. She does, and she always will, no matter what."
"Really?"
"Yes, Alois. I mean it."
"Will you always love me?"
"Yes. Always and forever. No matter what."
"Oh."
There’re a few moments of companionable silence in the shade of the pine trees, as Alois digests what I’ve told him; I spend the time watching the clouds whisk by above the arching branches of the trees surrounding us, and watching the cardinal dance around, singing.
"Can I ask you some more stuff?"
"Sure, old boy!" I reach over and tousle his hair. "Ask away, darling."
"Personal stuff, or are you gonna turn all red again?"
I sigh. Nothing like the insatiable curiousity of a Draka child, one that has knowledge about things most human children don’t even think about for years to come. "Okay, I’ll try not to go critical on you. Ask away. If it’s too personal, I’ll say so. Deal?"
"Deal!" He wraps his tanned arms around his legs and looks up into my face. "Um, when you and Mama, well, you know, do it, does she make you scream?"
"Great god almighty, child," I exclaim, and then start laughing. That’s what Papaw said, when I asked him about sex, back years ago. "Um… well, yeah, sometimes."
"Cause it hurts?"
"No! God, no… because it feels so incredibly fine."
"Oh."
"Okay, pardner, you’ve got to give me some background here. What’s this all about? I mean, I know you’ve seen the videos and training stuff via your transducer, and you know, in general, what goes where, and when, but… why questions about screaming and hurting?"
He picks a piece of grass and chews it meditatively. "Dunno."
"Nope, no fair. I’m honest with you, kiddo. Your turn." I pick a piece of grass too, and enjoy the sweet taste of it, watching his face.
"Well… you know Rudy? One of Alexa’s school friends?"
Oh, yeah, do I know Rudy Heinrikson. Jerk off, I think to myself. I nod, my face calm. I’ve only been fielding complaints about his habits since he’s been visiting now for three days…
"We were sitting at the pool, and Alexa asked him where his pretty boy was, you know, the one with the green stripe in his hair? With yellow eyes? I can’t remember his name."
"I can’t either, but I certainly remember what he looked like. Go on," I nod.
"Alexa asked him where his pretty buck was, and he said he’d broken him and sent him to one of the relocation centers yesterday, since he didn’t have any more use for him. I thought that was sort of weird, since we Ingolfssons never sell our serfs. It’s tradition." Alois puffs his chest out a tiny bit at that, and I smile slowly.
"True, old boy. What’d he mean by breaking him? He seemed pretty damn tame when I saw him, the other night." In my mind, I continue: he seemed terrified out of his freakin’ mind, and anyone with half a grain of sense can see that all of Rudy’s bricks aren’t balanced real well. A few marbles missing. One or two bats flying around in the belfry…
"Ariadne asked him that. I just stay quiet around him. I don’t like the way he smells sometimes. He gives me the creeps. Anyway, he said he ‘tore that pretty buck up so that he wasn’t of any use to anyone anymore except as a field hand’, and then he laughed. He got talking about how he made the boy scream and squeal, and how fun it was with humans."
Shit, I subvocalize. Alois’ ears perk forward, a cat-like movement, and his eyes widen. "Um, Alois, does your Mama know about this yet?"
"No. Rudy said he sent the serf away on a regular transcar, one that was going up that way for groceries and such. No bother, he said. I wondered about it myself, since Mama had given him that pretty buck as a graduation present. Alexandra sort of looked at him and said something about being crude, rude and lewd, and he just laughed and said, ‘They’re replaceable, aren’t they? After all, there are so many of the little things rutting about and procreating more of themselves for us to use!’ Alexandra just looked at him again, and then someone changed the subject."
"Man. That’s some heavy sh--um, stuff. Um… I think Mama should know about it. I’ll tell her. I mean, she’d notice, when the pretty buck didn’t leave with Rudy, but still… that’s several days away." I spit out the chewed up stem of grass and sigh deeply.
"I don’t like him, Tantie-ma."
"I don’t either. And I’ll tell you something else--he’s been unholy hell on Household staff since he’s been here. Shawonda, Alice and I have been fielding complaints left and right since he’s been here. He’s way too rough."
"But I thought you said you screamed because it felt good, with you and Mama!"
"I did, and I do. It does. But what he’s talking about is abuse. Look, it’s like this. You Draka are in charge, and you hold the power of life and death in your hands over us humans and what-not. Okay? But because you do have that power, you’ve also got responsibilities. Part of the deal when we say you’re in charge is that you promise to protect us and guide us."
Alois sighs dramatically. "Yeah, I’ve heard that lecture a thousand or so times already."
"Well, what it means about sex is this: a very powerful person can hurt a less powerful person when they have sex together. Sometimes, the less powerful person likes that, and it’s mutually, well, agreeable. But when it’s not mutually agreeable, it gets pretty damn ugly. It’s called rape. The powerful person, in this case a Draka, has to be careful not to hurt their pretty bucks or their pretty girls, since the Draka is so much stronger than the human or servus."
"Yeah, like when we play games with you, we can’t hit with all our strength, or throw too hard, cause then you get hurt and you won’t play anymore."
"Right, exactly. Sex is like that, too. If you hurt the other person, they won’t enjoy having sex with you anymore. They may have to, since you own them, but they won’t like it. Then that takes some of the fun out of it for everyone involved, usually. Unless you have people like Rudy. He’s too intent on causing nothing but pain, no pleasure in there at all. Understand? He really must have hurt that poor boy, to send him off sneaky like that, so Shawonda, Alice or yours truly wouldn’t find out about it."
"Hmm. Yeah. I think I see. But can’t we just use our pheromones, and make you like it?"
I rub my hands through my hair. This is a hell of a lot more complicated than the birds and the bees were when I was a kid. "Yeah, you can. Sometimes. Then the susceptible human enjoys it, on a physical level, but on a mental level, the fear’s still there. It can break people’s minds sometimes."
"Oh, gross."
"Yeah, that’s what I think. I mean, sex is wonderful. With someone you like, it’s nice, like a snack of potato chips. With someone you love, it’s like a big ole juicy steak, done just right. When I’m with your Mama, to continue the metaphor, it’s like an eight course meal with chocolate cake for dessert."
"Are you hungry?" He laughs, delightedly, and then nods, more soberly. "I think I understand. But when he’s hurting someone, it’s like he’s getting all the fancy food and the other person’s having to eat sawdust or shit or something else gross. Right?"
"Exactly. Man, this really bothers me. I know there are some Draka who see humans as mere cattle, but Gw--I mean, your Mama’s been really careful about keeping those sorts away from Earth/2. They cause a great deal of unrest and political problems, and they usually aren’t very nice people, either."
Alois’ eyes widen, and he blinks several times. That’s a sign that a Draka’s surprised, I think, and wonder why. Oh, yeah, when I almost slipped and called Gwen by her given name, instead of a title like Mama or Muhmis. Have to watch that, old girl; you’ve never slipped up yet after all these years.
"You can call her Gwen??"
"Um… well, when she and I are by ourselves. Yes. But I’m not supposed to in front of other people, so please don’t mention that I almost did. That was a mistake, Alois. It’s a very rare honor, and one I cherish with all my heart."
"Wow. She really must love you then. I’m impressed." He’s quiet for a moment, staring up through the branches to the cloud-covered sky. "Well, Tantie-ma, has Mama ever beaten you?"
"Spanked me, twice, no, three times. In twenty years. She’s slapped me once or twice. Not hard. She’s only spanked me hard enough to bruise once, and I had been pushing the limits for a few days. It was back when I was first getting used to being… owned."
"Isn’t that abuse, then, like hurting someone when you’re having sex with them, and they don’t enjoy being hurt?"
"No. I think it’s different. I don’t believe in hitting people on a general basis, myself; I’d rather use other things as discipline. But when Muhmis hit me, she really, really didn’t enjoy it. Rudy, on the other hand, would get all excited by that. Muhmis did it as a last resort, something to jolt me into realizing I was walking a very thin, dangerous line between obedience and disaster."
"Oh."
"Alois, it’s like this. Some people like inflicting pain on other people. Some people like having pain inflicted on them. If those two people get together, and are consenting adults, and realize they have to be responsible about it--not breaking each other’s bones, and then missing work, stuff like that--then it’s okay. But that’s pretty unusual. For someone to hurt someone else who doesn’t enjoy being hurt, or who doesn’t consent to it, or who isn’t old enough to realize what’s happening, then it’s wrong. That’s my opinion."
"It’s like beating your horse for not running fast enough."
"Explain, so I know what you mean, old boy."
He frowns, concentrating. "If I just beat my horse because I like to, then eventually it will make him run less and less, and it’ll scar his coat up, and mess up his muscles. A good horseman doesn’t beat his ride, unless it’s an emergency. If a feral ghouloon, or a wolf pack, or a tiger or something, was chasing us, I’d maybe whack my horse to make him realize how serious the situation was, and make him run just a little faster. But it’s just not… classy… to beat your horse all the time. It means you can’t control it well, and you aren’t a good rider."
"That’s sort of the same thing when your Mama whacked me. It was to scare me a little, and make me realize who was in charge. But if she beat me all the time, you’re right--eventually, I’d just die."
"Then that’s what Mama means when she talks about ‘managing your serfs, not mangling them’."
"Yep. The same goes for sex. Mama is very, very strong. But I enjoy that, to an extent. If she gets too strong with me, she knows it, and stops, pulls back. Having that control, when you’re all hot and bothered, is a sign of being… classy. I’ve seen her with other Draka, and there… they don’t have to hold back, for fear of hurting the weaker one. That’s different."
"She’s been with other Draka?"
"Of course she has, silly. Where’d you think you came from? The cabbage patch, mon petit chou? Your gene father is Schalt De Lange. They had sex together and then they had sex with me. That’s how I got pregnant with you."
"Oh."
"She merged eggs with Tamarindus Rohm, too, which is how Ariadne happened. I was there for that one, too. Whew! When you Draka folks go at it, watch out! The fur flies!" I chuckle, and blush, remembering the nights.
"Is it scary?"
He sounds a little worried, I think. "Well, for a human, just being on the sidelines, as it were, yeah, it’s a little scary. Two Draka can be very powerful and intense together. It’s like watching two eagles mating in midair. They can let their guards down, and just be as strong as they want to be. And it’s okay, because they both know when to stop. Like I said, having broken bones and stuff isn’t too cool. But it gets close to that. Pheromonally, it’s kinda overwhelming for a human. Like being mauled by two frisky lions or something."
"And that’s when they took you together?"
"Yes, darlin’… and that’s about as far as I feel comfy going there with you, young sir. If you have questions, ask your Mama."
"Uh, right." He blushes, and stands up, stretching. "It’s all kinda silly to me right now. I’d rather ride horses, or wrestle, or go swimming. Let’s go for a swim in the creek and look for crewdads."
"Crewdads? Oh, crawdads. It’s craw, not crew. That makes them sound like crustaceans wearing turtlenecks or something, goofy boy. Okay, let’s go wading." I stand up, too, and take his hand. We walk down the grassy slope to the water, and splash around for quite some time, getting fingers liberally pinched by angry crawdads.
"Ow! That makes number twelve, and my fingers are all sore, plus two toes. I quit!" I finally call out. His laughter, like elfen bronze bells in the afternoon wood, rings up to me, and makes tiny shivers go down my back. They’re so beautiful, I think, so wonderful but so intent on being dominant, rulers of all they see. It’s all they think about, mostly. What a shame…
"So here you two are…" Gwen’s voice startles me, and I turn around, instantly aware of how my shirt’s plastered to my chest, and how muddy my feet are. She’s sitting cooly on her horse, dressed in her riding pants and a white linen blouse. Her long red hair cascades down her back, free for a change from the usual utilitarian club she keeps it braided up in. My breath catches at the beauty of her, and our eyes meet.
"Mama! Hey, we caught crew--um, crawdads, and I found a really cool fossil! See?" Alois comes sprinting up the creek toward us, holding the rock out for her inspection.
"Yes, indeed… crewcrawdads?" Gwen grins quizzically down at me, and ruffles my sweaty, wet hair. "Interesting fossil, child of my heart. We’ll look it up when we get home, sound fun?" She palms the rock, examining it closely. Alois does a little impromptu dance of joy--he loves spending time in Gwen’s library more than anything in the world, I think.
"Crawdads… little crustaceans. They pinch. They look like little lobsters." I blush, and try to push some of my hair back behind my ears. "Sorry we’re so messy. Got carried away, I guess."
"But we had fun. And we talked about a bunch of stuff…" Alois looks at me, and I nod, slightly. I’ll let him take the lead on telling about lovely Rudy. It’s only right. As he does so, haltingly, slowly, Gwen’s eyes narrow and she stiffens ever so slightly in the saddle. I know she’s getting annoyed, and shiver.
"And so then I told Tantie-ma, and she thought we should tell you, right away. I hope you’re not mad at me, Mama. You smell sort of mad, and… well, disgusted." Alois holds the bridle of the horse, looking earnestly up into his mother’s still, aquiline, tanned face.
"I am disgusted." She sighs, deeply. "No, child, I’m not angry with you. You’ve done the right thing, telling Tantie-ma Erin and then me. I’ll take care of the situation, right away. Why don’t you two hop up here and I’ll take you back to the House? It’s almost time for dinner."
"Really, Mama? You’re not mad at me?" Alois looks worried, but the frown runs away from his face as Gwen stoops from the saddle and hoists him onto her lap. She gives him a hard kiss, and strokes his face gently.
"No, darlin’, I’m not angry with you. I love you. You’re just not used to seeing me like this. It’s all right, my little ‘un." She kisses him again, and then holds an arm out to me. "Here, sweetlin’, put your foot in the saddle, and use my arm to lift up. Swing up behind me, on the blanket."
"I can walk, really--I’m all muddy and wet…" I eye the horse nervously, and Gwen chuckles.
"No, I’d like to see you for dinner, and afterwards. So come on up here, my little chicken."
"You say the nicest things to me, Muhmis," I mutter in her ear, as I settle down behind her for the ride back to the House.
I’ll have more nice things to say to you tonight, my pretty pony… Gwen’s voice echoes in my head, and I giggle, wrapping my arms securely around her slender, iron-muscled waist as we canter toward home. This life ain’t boring, that’s for sure, I think as we ride along the pine-mulched pathways. Not boring at all.
**