“Well, I mean, don’t they, you know,
like
each other?”
Lars laughed. “Yeah, our warriors like each other a lot. I forget sometimes how you were raised. Like the ancient Greeks, our warriors pretty much prefer each other.”
“I don’t know about the ancient Greeks, but Lexa told me about the Dog Boys. What is Kurt doing hanging around with them?”
Lars just fixed her with a stare. She turned to Lexa, who gave her the same stare. “Oh,” she said meekly, “I never thought. I mean, you’d think he’d have said something.”
“Think about that little ranch of yours,” Lexa said. “Would you have?”
“I guess not.”
As they walked home, they came across Lady Sapphire picking flowers in the garden.
“Those are pretty,” Amy commented.
Lady Sapphire stood and looked at the flowers a moment. “They are. Funny, I have been growing and using them for years, but it’s been a long time since I actually stopped to look at them. They are calendula, a very useful herb. I could tell you more if you’d be so good as to walk with me a ways.”
Amy looked at Lexa, who just shrugged. “Luther’s making quiche tonight, so don’t be late,” Lexa said as she left them.
They walked and Lady Sapphire talked. She told Amy about calendula, how it could be used as an antiseptic, how it was a mild mood elevator and good for stress. “I need about a field of that back home,” Amy joked. Lady Sapphire gave her a look but didn’t comment.
Amy was amazed as always by the complexity that lay just under what appeared to be a simple life. Lady Sapphire named dozens of herbs, told of their medicinal uses, their dye and craft uses, and how they were planted to deter pests or help other plants grow.
She led them to a bench under a large old oak tree. “Even trees play a part, and it’s a big one,” she said. “They produce oxygen for you and me. They draw water from deep within the earth and release it into the air. They create shade. They have such calming healing spirits . . . so wise.”
Amy touched the trunk, for the moment believing. No one at the ranch spoke of trees that way.
“But, as I am sure you guessed,” Lady Sapphire went on, “I did not ask you here so I could lecture you about permaculture. I have a question.”
“Okay, but Luke is our leader. I am sure he could answer better than me.”
“It is not that kind of question,” she said. “It is about Patrick.”
“Patrick?”
Lady Sapphire sighed. “The first night you came to us, Patrick shared my bed. I thought we both enjoyed ourselves. However, since then he has avoided me. He has even taken to staying at another house with his friend Mark. Among us, this would be considered very rude. Yet, I hesitate to label it so. I fear that there was some rule or custom I transgressed.” She shook her head, bewildered.
Amy reeled. Patrick and Lady Sapphire? That did explain a lot about Patrick’s attitude, but what to tell Lady Sapphire? She was obviously hurt by his behavior.
Amy drew a long breath and started slowly. “For one thing, Patrick is rude, I’m afraid to say. He is immature and impetuous. That is why Luke is our leader. Also, women back home don’t do things like run tribes. Mostly, they sit at home and cook and clean and do what the men tell them to do.”
“They brought you along,” Lady Sapphire said, confused.
“Only because they didn’t have a choice.” Her voice held more bitterness than she expected. “My dad was their mechanic and engineer. He got sick and I was the only one who knew how to do what he did. Patrick always calls me grease monkey. He was hopping mad when they choose to take me along.”
Lady Sapphire brushed her cheek. “That’s horrible.”
“Yes,” Amy admitted. “It was leukemia. I don’t even know if he’s still alive. But somebody had to come and I was the only one who knew—”
“That’s horrible too,” Lady Sapphire corrected. “But I meant the way they have treated you. I was young when the collapse happened, but I remember how some men were, before.”
Amy bit her lip. She didn’t want to discuss this, not here, not now. “It’s just how they were raised. They have a low opinion of all women.”
“A strong woman threatens their sense of power,” Lady Sapphire said. “That’s why they pick on you. But at the same time, it can be a draw. That’s why Patrick was so keen that first night.” She sighed again. “Well, it’s not the answer I wanted, but I have an answer at least. I should have realized. Oh well, I don’t want to keep you. Lexa’s right; Luther’s quiche is not to be missed.”
Amy laughed out loud. “Do you know what he looks like to me? He’s this big bear of a man, and yet he happily does all these things that the men of the ranch would consider beneath them. It’s so strange and wonderful.”
Luther’s quiche turned out to be as good as promised. Still, something was brewing around the table. It was like a slowly building storm. Eyes shifted back and forth. The children, usually giggling balls of mischief, were quietly rebuked at every turn. Amy caught the feeling that somebody had bad news or at least news that wouldn’t be well received. Daisy caught it too.
“All right, out with it,” she said, giving them a stern look. Everyone looked around as innocently as possible. “It’s no good,” Daisy warned. “You all know something you think I won’t like, so out with it.” She glared at them, setting her fork down. Luther looked away. Merlin drummed his fingers.
Lexa cleared her throat. “Well, you know, I was talking to Susan just the other day. We are sending two of our best warriors on this mission. They’re good, and Lorn knows the route. But what Susan really wanted was someone who really knew the route well and, maybe, knew the trucks better too. Well I thought . . . that is, I kind of, sort of, volunteered.” Lexa looked down.
Daisy picked up her fork and aimed it squarely at Lexa, “You’ll be looking after our Amy, then?”
“You could say that,” Lexa squeaked.
The tension deflated suddenly as Daisy resumed eating. “I’d been a bit worried, to tell you the truth,” she said between bites. “Our Amy going out all alone on such a dangerous mission.”
She pointed the fork at Amy. “You will make sure she doesn’t do anything crazy?”
“Yes ma’am,” a very startled Amy replied.
“She does take risks, our Lexa,” Daisy said. Luther gave a low chuckle.
After dinner, Luther ushered Amy out to the porch where a few of the others had gathered and swept her into a hug.
“That was amazing,” Winnie said.
Amy was mystified. Merlin caught her look and explained. “The last time Lexa took a mission like this, Daisy fretted for weeks. Gods, was it awful. You couldn’t get near her without her shouting or, worse, crying.”
“Daisy loves us all,” Winnie said. “But she does worry something awful. It doesn’t help that Lexa is such a free spirit. Can’t keep her at home.”
“Our Amy.” Merlin laughed. “You know that’s practically an invitation to join our family, one that I don’t think anyone would object to.”
When Lexa joined them on the porch, Amy ran to her and hugged her.
“You’re coming along,” Amy said with a wide smile. “That’s great.” She had secretly been dreading having to say goodbye to the cozy little family. With Lexa along, it wouldn’t be so hard.
The next three days flew by, and before Amy knew it, she found herself packed and ready to leave. She had been at Tir-Na-Nog for just over a week and half, but it felt like much longer.
There were five trucks lined up and ready to go. There were now ten expedition members. “Two of their best warriors” turned out to be Lorn, another welcome sight for Amy, and a shorthaired woman named Spider that the men seemed to know. With ten drivers, it would be two to a truck. Not only did that mean they could trade off on the driving, it meant company. On a long trip, that was considered vital. One person asleep at the wheel could spell disaster for the whole mission.
Lexa drove the lead truck. Amy drove the second. Luke rode with her. He looked a bit sullen, but greeted her pleasantly enough. “So how have you been?” he asked.
“Pretty good.”
“I was hosted by the Meadows family,” he said. “Nice people.”
“Yeah, I met Willowshade a number of times. She seems nice.”
“Who were you with?”
“Robin’s Nest,” she replied. “That’s Lexa’s family.”
He nodded. “Didn’t see much of you,” he said casually. “Of course, we were all busy with training.”
“I helped in the workshop. It was very interesting.” She knew Luke had a point and wished he’d get to it. But there was no rushing him, she knew.
“They are very friendly people,” he said again. “Very . . . open.”
She nodded but said nothing.
“Not that I was interested,” he said quickly, “in that, anyway. But I suspect some of our men were. Interested, I mean.”
“Some of them were more than interested, Luke,” she said, thinking of Patrick.
“Yeah, I know,” he squirmed uncomfortably in his seat.
She looked at him. “I didn’t do anything, if that’s what this is about,” she said.
“No, no, I knew you wouldn’t,” he said, but he did appear to relax.
“Mark,” he said after a minute. “Mark did, and he’s married.”
Amy shrugged. “Mark’s an asshole. You can’t be surprised.”
“Oh, I know,” Luke sighed. “To deny his wedding vows like that, that’s just mean. The problem is what to do about it. I hate the thought of telling Carol.”
“Don’t,” Amy said firmly. Luke looked at her in shock. “Don’t you dare tell her,” she said even more firmly. “Carol has suffered enough because of that asshole. Telling her would just make it worse.”
Luke deflated. “You’re right. I hadn’t thought of it that way. I suppose I’ll have to keep it to myself. Still what if someone else tells? You know Mark. He’s probably bragged to Shawn and Patrick. They did, I am almost sure. Well, Shawn was pretty obvious. I hope that woman comes back and marries him. That’d make him happy.”
One look at Shawn’s face this morning was enough to tell anyone exactly how that affair had ended. Amy didn’t say that out loud. Instead she shrugged.
“I don’t think Daniel or Kurt did,” Luke said. “Kurt spent most of his spare time training with the Dog Boys. He’ll have their fighting style mastered by the time we get back.”
Amy thought about Kurt and the Dog Boys.
Where to even begin?
No, she decided, if Kurt hadn’t said anything, it was not her place. She was suddenly tired of the whole line of conversation. “Besides sex,” she said, “what did you think of them?”
“Oh, they seemed really nice. But as for the group marriage thing, that’s really weird.” He dropped his voice, “And I heard that sometimes the men . . . you know, with each other.”
“And if they do?” Amy asked.
Luke just shook his head. “Well, I can’t wait to get back to the ranch and be among normal folk like us. I just keep telling myself that when we get back, no one can possible deny that I am a man. I can have permission to build a house. Then we can start a nice, normal marriage for ourselves. Won’t that be wonderful?”
Amy smiled weakly.
Her day only got worse after that. At first, she thought it was just her mood, but that afternoon, the roster had her riding shotgun with Shawn. He blubbered endlessly about his failed attempt to woo his woman away from her husbands. It was pathetic.
By late afternoon, she thought she was getting ill. As they set camp for the evening, she started to count the days they had been gone. It had been almost a month, and
oh my god,
she didn’t want to deal with
that
out here.
They camped at one of the last fueling stations in Greenbowe territory. It was there that Lexa found Amy in the bathroom.
“What’s wrong?” Lexa asked.
“Nothing, it’s just that time of the month,” Amy replied. “It’s always hard for me. There are pads in my bag. Can you?”
Lexa stiffened and stomped out. She came back quickly, thrust a cloth pad in Amy’s hand, and turned and walked out. That evening she said she was exhausted and went straight to bed after supper.
Amy, who was also exhausted, followed soon after. She crawled into the tent they were again sharing and stretched out. Looking over at Lexa, she saw that her eyes were closed, though she couldn’t tell if she was asleep or not. Amy shrugged, exhausted both emotionally and physically. She took some deep breaths, felt her body relax, and soon was asleep.
The next day started no better than the last. Her morning was spent riding shotgun with Mark, who had the gall to brag about the woman he met. She stayed silent and stewed, too miserable to even start an argument.
That afternoon, she drove with Lexa riding shotgun. At first they drove over rough terrain that took all of her concentration. As soon as they hit level terrain, she rounded on the smaller woman.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Amy growled. “My hormones are already screwed up. Why do you have treat me like some sort of freak? It’s not like we don’t all have them you know.”
“Ha, ha,” Lexa said dryly. Tears stood in her eyes.
“What does that mean?” Amy asked, her eyes narrowing.
“Maybe once or twice a year,” Lexa answered in a quiet voice.
“I don’t understand,” Amy said. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“It is supposed to mean, honey, that I am as barren as a rock.”
“Oh shit,” Amy said catching on.
“Oh, now the big, beautiful, mountain princess gets it,” Lexa said. She was weeping freely. “All our lives down here, we hear how we must take every chance to perpetuate the race. It is our imperative to save humanity. And I can’t. Sorry, no kids for Lexa. She can put a smile on your face, but that’s it, just a toy. She can’t give you what we all so desperately need. She can’t fulfill her civic duty.”
“Is it that bad?” Amy asked. “I mean, I remember Michael saying something, but still.”
Lexa shook her head. “I am overreacting, or so Daisy would say. No one would dare say such things out loud, especially not my family. They knew before I came in, and they accepted me anyway. But it’s always there, in the back of my mind. We judge people by their breeding potential.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know,” Amy said.
“I’m sorry,” Lexa said. “I just freaked. I get jealous sometimes, I guess. It’s not your fault.”