She paused to watch a screaming peacock spread his tail feathers in a glorious fan of greens and royal blues. The white eye-feathers seemed to wink at us as he raised and lowered his tail at the plain brown peahen, which was studiously ignoring him.
“I remember sitting for that picture.” She hugged my arm to her breast, laughing as she shook her head. “I was so nervous. I wanted to look my prettiest, to look smart, so I’d catch a good husband. My uncle told me to look practical instead, as Jawid was going to be a doctor, so he would need someone to tend to his home, not someone frittering about the garden, tending flowers and flaunting the fact that she could read.”
Nasrin wrinkled her nose, and made a sombre face. I laughed.
“I looked like this,” she said, “until just as the man’s hand moved to uncover the lens cap. Then I smiled.” Her grin lit her face. “Uncle was mad, but he didn’t have the money to pay for two pictures. So he told me it would serve me right if I ended up married to a poor man who made me hoe other people’s vegetables all day.” She wiggled her fingers at me, and I saw the callouses from her gardening tools beside the light peach of her nail polish. “Little does Uncle know, but now my orchids win state prizes and bedeck my husband’s house. And I grow champion tomatoes!”
She hugged me. Her breast was warm against my arm. I liked her. Even though she was Jawid’s wife, and I still ached with the loss of him, I couldn’t help liking Nasrin.
“You came to love him, though, didn’t you?” I asked quietly, smiling into her upturned face.
“Oh, yes.” She smiled. “How could I not?” A pang shot through me as the glow of her love suffused her face. “The moment I saw him, I felt I had known him all my life.” She blushed unexpectedly. “And I wanted him in ways I wasn’t supposed to know anything about, but I wanted to learn.” She clasped her fingers into mine. “Was it the same with you? And Jawid? I know American women do not often come to their weddings as virgins. Was his loving still special to you, the way it was with me?”
The question was so clear, and so open, and I was so stunned by her bluntness, that I answered truthfully. “It was the most wonderful thing in my world.” I instinctively tightened my fingers, trying to push back the longing and pain when I thought about him. “I fell in love with him the first time I touched him. We were working on separate projects. I’d been offsite, doing research, and I hadn’t seen him in many months. My project ended, and I needed his signature on a document. The clinic was full of people, total chaos. As I handed him the papers, a small boy ran into me, and I literally fell into his arms.” I looked at her, squaring myself for her reaction. “I felt like I’d been struck by lightning.”
I don’t know what reaction I’d expected, but her laughter wasn’t it.
“How wonderful!” She grinned. “But then, Jawid is an excellent lover.” She blushed all the way to her hairline.
I must have looked as stunned at her reaction as I felt. Nasrin led me quickly to a bench in the shade and we sat down, still holding hands. She took a long drink from the water bottle she was carrying and passed it to me. I drank deeply, ignoring the occasional stares from people walking by, noticing again, even though I didn’t want to, how beautiful Nasrin was, then suddenly realized that I didn’t care what people were thinking. I wanted the support of her touch too much to let go.
“Jawid truly would like you to be his second wife.”
I just stared at her, jerking when she reached up and gently stroked the hair from my forehead. “Jawid tells me you are older than I by four years, and that due to your work, our children will likely all come from me, rather than you. But he wants you still.” Her hand cupped my cheek, her palm warm and accepting. “He loves you, Amanda. And you love him. You would make him a good wife.” Her thumb stroked lightly down the side of my face. “And you would be a good companion to me.”
I shook my head, pulling away from her. Only our hands stayed linked, where her tender grip refused to let go. “Nasrin, that’s not possible.”
“Why not?” She laughed. “He can obviously support us both.”
“That’s not the point,” I said, shaking my head. “Jawid knows that. In this country, it’s one man and one woman, to love, honour and cherish, forsaking all others, ’til death do us part. There are no provisions for fucking around with men who are already married to someone else. Personally, I’d shoot any son of a bitch who ran around on me!” I blushed when I realized what I was saying, and how vehemently I was saying it. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”
Nasrin waved her hand, dismissing my ramblings. “You are talking secular marriage laws, Amanda. Jawid explained how to work around them.”
“Nasrin,” I said, exasperated. “If he divorced you, you’d lose all your rights. I couldn’t live with that. And I’d never trust him to do right by me if he did that to you. I’ll have no part of his divorcing you, and I’m certainly not converting to a religion that requires women to live with their husband’s mistresses!”
She shook her head, smiling, and stood up. “We will talk more about this later, my friend. Perhaps there is some way we can yet work things out. Look, the peacock is fanning again!” Her delight was contagious, and we put aside our discussion to tiptoe behind a bush and watch the proud and noisy bird’s display for the whimsical little brown peahen.
We left before the traffic got heavy. Nasrin had purchased some seedlings in the gift shop. I carried them on my lap on the way home, balancing them precariously while trying to learn the dance steps Nasrin insisted on teaching me at every stop light. It was early enough that I felt comfortable going back into the house. I knew Jawid would still be at work. When we’d deposited the new plants in the potting shed and cleaned up, Nasrin herded me into the kitchen and handed me an apron. We spent the rest of the afternoon with her showing me how to cook potato
boulani
and meat rolls and rice with raisins and sauces with names I couldn’t pronounce. As I prepared the green salad, I forgot that I was making something that Jawid would later eat. I savoured the unexpected blend of tastes on Nasrin’s fingers as she fed me a sample of rice. I was licking her fingertips clean when her hand went still.
I closed my eyes, taking a deep, calming breath, knowing without looking that Jawid was there.
He wrapped his arms quietly around us both. “So, my loves. You have had a good afternoon?”
Nasrin’s smile lit her face. “Yes, my heart. You were right. I can easily love Amanda. For herself, and as a wife to you.”
The honesty and selflessness, and, to my mind, stupidity, was almost more than I could bear. “Excuse me,” I whispered. “I’ll be going now. Thank you for a wonderful afternoon, Nasrin.”
Nasrin’s grip held me. “Amanda, that is enough.” She shook my arm lightly. “You love him. I love him. We can grow to love each other. What is so wrong with that?”
“It’s not . . . right,” I stumbled. Things weren’t so clear any more. I wanted to resist. Over the course of the afternoon, Nasrin had become a friend, and I was betraying her by my very presence, lusting after her husband. I had no right to love him.
“Of course it’s right.” Nasrin pulled me closer, so that her arms encircled me. I was erotically aware of her body, and stunned that I didn’t want to resist her touch. I inhaled shakily and leaned into her embrace.
Jawid’s arms tightened convulsively around us. “Have you reconsidered my offer, Amanda? Will you become my second wife and join our family?”
Nasrin squeezed my fingers reassuringly.
“This is insane,” I whispered.
“The law is insane, but since it is a law, yes, we will have to go around it.” He held me tightly to him and slid the fingers of his other hand up Nasrin’s arm to stroke her cheek. “I hadn’t realized how much I would love my first wife,” he said quietly. “Despite what Nasrin believed, I hadn’t planned on taking another wife, not once I had her. I did not expect to fall in love with you.” His glance slid over me. I shivered, my skin humming as his fingers travelled up my arm. “That is why I needed her approval, and your acceptance of her role as first wife.”
Nasrin slipped her arm around my waist, hugging me, smiling, and rested her head on my shoulder. Her fingers joined Jawid’s, tracing down my back in tandem with his.
“Knowing all this, will you still marry me, Amanda?” he whispered, licking the curve of my ear. “I love you.”
“God, I hope it’s not cheating if we’re married,” I whispered. Clutching them to me tightly, I took a deep breath and threw myself to the winds. “All right, Jawid. I’m certain I’ve lost my mind, and, for the record, I still think this whole idea is insane. But I can’t help loving you. I will be your second wife. I won’t convert, and I’m keeping my condo and I have no idea what I’ll tell my family. And you’d better believe we’ll have some iron-clad legal agreements.”
That’s as far as I got before Jawid crushed his lips on to mine. I kissed him as if he were air saving me from drowning, giving myself over to pleasure. Nasrin licked my collarbone and sucked softly on my neck.
We kissed until dinner was ready. Then we ate. Nasrin insisted, saying we would need our strength later. I barely noticed the food, despite the aromas tickling my nostrils, but I was glad for the energy suffusing my body and the warmth as I downed yet another glass of tea. I dropped my fork when Jawid took my hand and gently bit my fingertip. My legs trembled when Nasrin kissed me and gently led me upstairs to get me ready.
Halfway up the steps, I turned and saw Jawid, facing the fireplace, his tea cupped in both hands as he stared into the flames. In the light, he looked so civilized, yet so sensuous, raw and wild – and so handsome, kind and quietly strong. Perhaps he was strong enough to accept both my world and his. Perhaps we all were. I turned and followed Nasrin up the stairs.
The bedroom was through the first door on the right. Nasrin adjusted a dimmer switch, bathing the room in a soft, golden glow. I curled my toes into the deep greens and burnt orange patterns in the thick Persian carpet. Nasrin clicked on the stereo, and hauntingly erotic music filled the air – tambours and stringed instruments I couldn’t identify. Then she turned down the covers on the king-sized bed. Even from across the room, I could see the softness in the pure, white cotton sheets. Nasrin smiled at me as she reached up and undid the clip in her hair. Her thick tresses fell almost to her waist in silky black waves.
“Your hair is beautiful,” I said, nervously wiping my palms on my thighs, shifting my weight from one foot to the other. “I’ve always wanted long straight hair.”
“Thank you. I’ve always wanted short, carefree hair, like yours.” She walked over to me and took my hands. “Red hair. It seems so wonderfully exotic.” Her thumbs stroked my palms. Then her fingers glided up to my neck, stroking lightly, toying with the curls, weaving one around her finger. “It would give me great pleasure to prepare you for Jawid, Amanda.” She cupped my cheek. I leaned into her hand, nodding in spite of the butterflies in my stomach.
Her fingertips stroked my cheek and she kissed me. Her breath smelled of raisins and honey and lemon. I didn’t resist. I’d never kissed a woman before, but the moistness of her parted lips felt so right. I wanted her, as part of Jawid, and for herself.
Still, I trembled when her fingers started unbuttoning my blouse. She slid my clothing off, one inch at a time, stroking the newly unveiled skin with her fingertips while she gently sucked my tongue. When I was naked, she took me into the bathroom and slathered my legs with depilatory cream. Her foam-covered hand slid between my legs, and I gasped.
“I . . . I didn’t think the women in your country shaved there.”
“They don’t,” she said. “But Jawid likes it. Do you mind?”
I shook my head, surprised that I was excited rather than bothered by having Jawid’s wife, his first wife, I corrected myself, teaching me new things about him. The cream tingled, but I tried to ignore it as I brushed my teeth and watched Nasrin strip. Her body was as beautiful as her face. Her nipples were a dusky rose, softer and fuller than my tight pink tips. I blushed when she noticed me watching her. Unembarrassed, she stretched her arms high over her head, then ran her hands down the length of her lithe, supple body. Her palms circled her nipples, causing them to perk up into hard tight peaks. Her hands moved lower, sliding between her naked labia as she spread her legs wider, stroking over the flash of gold metal exposed between her legs.
“Are you pierced?” I stammered.
Nasrin winked. She opened her legs and tugged on the shiny bar pierced through the hood of her beautifully protruding clit.
“This is also not traditional. It took me a long time to convince Jawid that I would not damage my sex with the piercing.” She flicked the bar and shivered. “After much discussion and research, he accompanied me to the piercers. He held me down, so the needle would strike true.” Her breathing quickened and a flush suffused her chest as she tugged again. “I was more afraid than the night when I gave my virginity to Jawid. But I begged him to let me do it. He held me flat to the table, and he kissed me, giving his tongue to suck as the needle pierced me. I screamed.” Suddenly, she panted and blushed, shuddering through a shimmering orgasm. When her breathing slowed, she smiled at me and stretched again. “Jawid came in his pants. But the piercing is wonderful. Sometimes, I climax just from walking.”
She moved to my side and kissed my shoulder. “Our stroll through the Arboretum was especially wonderful today. But that was as much from the pleasure of your company as it was from this wicked, nasty bar.” She marched me into the shower and rinsed my legs and vulva with quick, businesslike motions. Then she led me from the steaming shower and into the huge, sunken tub that took up the entire far corner of the room.
My muscles turned to putty as she washed me, massaging the tension from every inch of my body. At her insistence, I leaned back and concentrated on nothing but my breathing, the warmth of the water, and the incredible sensuality of her touch. She kissed her way down my breast and tenderly sucked my nipple into her mouth.