Water and Earth, Prologue, scene 15 -- Hefin

Previous: Beryl

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Five good friends, all charges of ours, are gathered with Beryl's parents' in the Kendrick's living room. They are playing a game of random bidding with cards, similar to a game you might know as Pit.

"Two! Two! Two!"

"Three! Three!"

"One! One!"

"Two!" Dai and Water Princess trade.

"One?"

"Three!" Earth Prince and Dilwen trade.

"Three! Three!" Earth Prince puts the cards he just received back up.

"Two! Two!"

"One?" Beryl is frustrated. "Okay, eight!"

Silence.

Water Princess giggles. "Try this?" and hands Beryl a single card, taking Beryl's single in trade.

"Thanks, but nope."

As trading continues, Hefin silently slips a card into Beryl's hand, and she looks it him, then gives him the card Water Princess gave her. Counting together to three and turning the cards over, they look quickly at the cards, then at each other again, grinning, and call, "Corner!" in unison.

Silence again, then laughter.

Earth Prince counts the points. "Beryl broke 500, so she wins."

"Brig and I need to do some research in the library." Dilwen stands.

"We do?" Brigham looks up at her, and she speaks to him with her eyes. "Oh. We do."

"Can we help?" Earth Prince stands.

"Completely unnecessary." Brigham also stands to leave. "If you need anything just holler." And he follows his wife out of the room.

"More Pit?"

"How about something that allows us to talk?" Dai suggests. "You've got the Scripture Dungeons set, don't you, Beryl?"

"Right here on the shelf. You guys can set it up. Dŵr, can you help me mix some more juice in the kitchen?" Beryl picks up the empty pitcher.

"Hey, we can help."

"You're not invited."

Water Princess follows Beryl into the kitchen. "Hundred percent fruit juices."

"Uh huh. Natural sugars are better for you, if you don't drink too much. Has K-- woops, there I go again."

Water Princess grins apologetically. "Sorry. Still need to keep that distance."

Beryl opens the freezer. "What do you suggest?"

"You have cherry and mango? Let's try a mix."

They open cans and scoop frozen concentrate into the pitcher.

"Has Ddaear explained about how he is with refined sugars?"

"Does funny things to his body. Ties his miscles in knots, kills his immunity system, makes it hard to focus on hard stuff."

"I've seen what it can do to him."

They re-seal the cans and pour water into the pitcher, mixing it with the concentrate.

"Can you tell me?"

"It can make him turn inside himself. Not just his muscles, not just catching colds. He can hurt himself. Stress alone can turn him inside out a bit, but sugar makes it worse. Sometimes he has no defense against himself."

"Is that what scares you?"

"Yeah. I'd have bad dreams every time we started getting really close."

"Bad how?"

"I'd see him in my dreams coming home stressed out from something, needing my attention, and he couldn't let me get close to him. It would be too dangerous for me."

"He is rather strong."

"You can see it, too? But you're strong."

"Yeah, I can see it. I think I'll be able to let him be close enough. If ..."

"If ...?"

"If we start out right. That's why we both need the time to get used to being on our own without each other before we start courting for real. Neither of us has really been on our own yet."

Beryl washes the long spoon and puts it away.

"I'd never thought of that. But even after he lost his parents, he had Ceri, and then us. The mission was pretty close to being on his own, but he always had a companion. He really hasn't been on his own like he'll be at the Hyde."

"Right."

"This is what Hef needs to know. He was mad at you for stealing Ddaear from me, and now he's mad at you for making Ddaear wait for you. But he's not thinking of what the woman who has to live with him forever needs."

"Do you think he'll talk about it?"

"Let's go see."

Water Princess picks up the pitcher and they return to the other room. Setting it down, she asks, "Who's going to be dungeon master?"

Dai suggests, "Beryl's mom and dad might. We could call them back."

Beryl looks at Water Princess, who looks at Earth Prince. He raises an eyebrow and Water Princess tilts her head slightly towards Hefin. He nods yes.

"I'll go call them." Beryl leaves the room. We hear her call through the hall. "Mom, Dad, are you two too busy to be dungeon masters?"

Hefin collects and shuffles the cards and places them in several stacks on the table. When Beryl returns with her parents, he hands Brigham the playbook.

Brigham rolls a die and checks the book, then intones, "You are in a small clearing in a woods you have never seen before. In the clearing is a small cabin with one door, and a piece of parchment on the door. What do you do?"

Beryl says, "Read the notice," and all agree.

Hefin draws a card. "Seek, and you shall find."

Water Princess identifies the scripture, and Dai says, "Knock, and it shall be opened unto you." All agree.

Earth Prince says, "Knock knock."

Dilwen intones. "The door opens with a low creaking noise."

Water Princess giggles and says, "Now we run around the cabin five times and yell, 'Boo!' "

"No disagreements?" Brigham scratches his head, reading the playbook.

There are chuckles, but no disagreements.

"Okay, here it is. There is a loud thunderclap and the cabin disappears in a puff of smoke. In its place is a hole in the ground, with the top of a ladder poking out. As you watch, scaled hands grasp the top rung and a lizard-like man climbs out. He addresses your group and asks: 'Who is your leader?'"

With some consultation, Beryl is chosen. A scripture riddle is posed which they answer successfully, and the story proceeds down the hole.

Some half an hour later, as you would experience the time, they have made their way down to the third level, answering questions and fighting various creatures with rolls of the dice and scripture quotes.

"You have come to a four-way branch in the tunnel. On the floor of the tunnel you find a small metal ball. On the surface of the ball is a writing."

Dai says, "We read the writing." All agree.

Hefin draws another card. "You shall not suffer a witch to rebel forever. A witch who will use xer special talents in rebellion against God has not the word of life, and thus is in a state of spiritual death. You shall not promise xem either salvation or eternal life while xe remains in xer rebellion."

(Genderless pronoun: xe, xem, xer, xers, xemself.)

Again, Water Princess identifies the scripture.

Hefin looks at her accusingly.

"Hef." Dai's voice mixes warning with concern.

Hefin looks down.

"So I bewitched Tywysog, and now I'm bewitching all of you?" Water Princess smiles wryly.

"It was a lot simpler before you came."

Beryl turns to him. "Hef, there's something I haven't told you."

Hefin sets both hands flat on the table and leans on it, standing up. "You've told us that you both got 'No,' in reply, and I don't believe it."

"Hef," Dilwen puts her hand on Hefin's hand. "Beryl took it hard. I was here and we cried together. It was real."

Beryl takes his other hand. "I never told anyone about the dreams I've had except ... Ddaear until tonight. Whenever we started talking about marrying, I had dreams. I was warned. I can't give him the help he needs. The dreams made it clear. And this was before Dŵr ever came."

Hefin looks at the floor and shakes his head.

"Hef, how strong is K-- Ddaear?

"Why can't we say his name? See how she bewitches us?"

Brigham looks at Earth Prince.

Earth Prince nods.

"There's another thing that hasn't been told, but answer Beryl's question, Hef."

"Okay, he's stronger than anybody I know. So?"

"I'm not strong enough to help him. That's what I saw in the dreams, very plainly."

Hefin refuses to look at anyone. "You could be."

"But it's not what God wants. He won't help us. Not if we rebel."

Hefin is silent for some few moments. Then, somewhat grudgingly, he speaks. "Okay, I'll grant that Dŵr is stronger than any of us except Ddaear. But, in that case, why the code names? Why the talk of them not being able to marry for four years? Why can't they get engaged and then marry when Dŵr turns eighteen? Why can't her parents let them marry now, if they are so meant for each other?"

No one asks why he cares so much.

"I have been told I can match his strength, but only if we start things right."

"What, you've seen those messengers Ddaear told us about, too?"

Water Princess looks at Earth Prince questioningly.

"I did try to tell them once about the messengers, when I first met them."

"Oh."

"What? Then it's those messengers that have you all confused."

"The messengers have not told us to get married, but I have met them."

Dai leans forward. "This is interesting."

"That kind of thing doesn't happen now." Hef becomes adamant. "We have the scriptures and we have the Church. We don't need messengers."

Dilwen squeezes his hand. "Hefin, has the time come for miracles to cease?"

"Hefin, please. Before we met K-- Ddaear, it was you and me and Dai. Before we met Dai, it was just you and me."

"We were only seven. Your parents took me in to get me away from that foster home for a couple of years. And then they sent me to live with Dai."

"So we could stay close, Hef."

"We're brother and sister."

"But we aren't really."

"But you and ... Ddaear love each other."

"And I love you and Dai, too. I'm getting to like Dŵr pretty well, too."

Earth Prince speaks up. "And I have no small affection for everyone in this room. Ceri explained it to me like this when I was twelve and had a terrible crush on her. There are crushes, and there is love, but marriage is a contract to make babies. You can't marry everyone you love."

Brigham laughed. "That's what she said?"

"It was a good explanation at the time."

Dilwen shakes her head with a chuckle. "Your sister always surprises me with her wisdom. I think she was the biggest factor in my joining the Church."

Hefin's chuckle becomes audible. "Blast it K-- Ddaear, you know how to take the romance out of everything."

Dai deadpans, "What's unromantic about any of this?"

Soft laughter fills the room.

Hefin becomes serious again. "So, if those messengers aren't the ones telling you to get married, what are they telling you?"

Water Princess answers, "Things about our future. Not requirements, possibilities."

"Thus, Earth Prince, Water Princess?"

Earth Prince nods. "But they -- we -- are not required to marry."

And Water Princess adds, "It does seem to be convenient to marry, but we have to choose whether to accept the mantle."

"And whether to do so married to each other or married to others."

"We have to understand what we are being asked to do as something separate from whether we marry. That's why we have to be completely separate from each other for a year. Uhm, plus or minus a little." Water Princess reaches out and takes Earth Prince's hand, and he squeezes it."

"It's scary, but we have to do it."

Hefin smiles a tight, but sincere smile. "Okay, now I think I can see."

Brigham points out, "Things have been said here that must not leave this room."

And all agree.

Hefin finally looks relieved but he has one question left. "So, Beryl, should you and Dai get married, then?"

Beryl drops her head into her hands and doesn't say anything.

"Hef, mate, you and I need to follow Ddaear and Beryl's examples and go on missions."

"Thank you, Dai," comes Beryl's muffled reply.

But Hef's face again shows signs of fretting.

---

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Water and Earth, Prologue, scene 14 -- Beryl

Previous: Ancestors

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"Dŵr, hi!"

"Huh? Oh, hi! uhm, Beryl, right?"

Beryl smiles quietly. "Yeah."

"Do you come to this store often?"

"Yeah, uhm, no, not really. Sometimes. Your parents said you'd be here."

"I needed to get some seals for my swimming goggles, or get some new ones."

"You're looking at scuba gear."

"Just dreaming. So, ... you came to talk to me or something."

"Is it okay?"

"I guess. What about?"

"Well, about," she bites her lip, "Ddaear."

"Ddaear? Well, of course." Water Princess puts the breathing regulator back on the shelf and gives Beryl her attention.

"We've been mates for a long time. Dai and Hefin and, uhm, Ddaear and I."

"He told me a little about you. You helped him overcome his shyness, he said."

"He was really shy when we first met him. Dancing was not cool, and he took a lot of teasing for it. Bullying, really. Somehow, he kept from being badly hurt, but we always worried."

"I have to say, I would have been as worried for the bullies."

Beryl laughs softly. "It took me a while to see that he was holding back. He had to use his strength to defend himself just once, and that pretty much put a stop to the bullying, but then everyone was afraid of him."

"Did the other guy survive?"

"The four of us went to hospital to visit them. They're friends, now."

"They."

"He's strong. He took three rugby players down and then made the others help get them safely in the ambulance."

"That sounds like something he would do."

"You're not afraid of him."

"He's a good person."

Beryl suddenly wraps her arms around Water Princess and hugs her tightly. "Keep him safe, okay?"

Embarrassed, Water Princess stiffens, then relaxes and returns the hug.

"Thanks. But it's not like we're getting married or anything."

"I know." They step back and look at each other, non-verbal understanding flowing between them.

"I've asked K-- uhm, Ddaear about things and he's explained. But I can see it between you. I'm a little jealous."

"Oh? Well, I guess so." Water Princesses smiles, embarrassedly. "He's easy to get a crush on."

"I have a huge crush on him. Had it for a long time. No, I'm hugely jealous. But I'd be scared to actually marry him."

"He told me about how you supported each other on your missions, and how you both got noes when you prayed about marrying. I feel like an outsider -- an intruder."

"You're not. Just from church and hearing about you, I can tell you'll be good for him. And I can tell I'll like you as a best mate-in-law."

They hug again.

"I'm putting pressure on you."

"No, you're actually answering some of my questions. I hope we can be friends. You do water ballet, too, right?"

"Yeah, a little."

"Want to practice with me?"

"I'd love to. I'll bet you could teach me a lot."

"We could teach each other. Can I have your mail address, too?"

"You have a hand-held?"

"Back home. Didn't want to carry it through customs. Dad has one."

"Tell me his." Beryl gets her hand-held communication terminal out. "By the way, he asked me to ask you to come back to the shop. He and Ddaear want your help with something."

"Well, I guess I should go. Can you come back with me, and we can keep talking?"

"I'd like that."

---

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Water and Earth, Prologue, scene 13 -- Gwen

Previous: Talent

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"I know you didn't want me to, but I explained to the Sunday School teacher that you're a little shy with me and want to go by code names."

"Oh, I don't know. It seems like it would be such a bother to everyone.

"I've talked with Beryl about it. Dai and Hefin know anyway, from basketball, and they've mentioned it to most of the rest, just in case you run into someone in town."

Water Princess actually pouts.

"It is so tempting to kiss that pout."

She laughs. "Okay, since you all went to the trouble, I'll come to your Sunday School this week. And maybe next."

As they approach a graveyard they have not yet examined, they see a young girl there ahead of them.

"Gwen!"

"You're up early."

"So are you two."

Water Princess smiles. "Did you come to meet us?"

"Mom said she heard you would be reading the stones here today. A lot of our people are here."

"And you thought you'd help. Cool." Earth Prince grins.

Water Princess's parents join them shortly, and for several hours they search the field for head stones and other markers together and record the information in their notebooks.

Earth Prince straightens up. "I don't see any more."

Water Princess asks, "Should we ask if we are done?"

Gwen looks puzzled. "Ask who?"

Water Princess smiles. "Who is in charge?"

"Oh. You mean ask God."

"Would you?"

"Sure." And Gwen says a simple prayer, asking if they are done.

Gwen looks serious as they wait for a moment. Then she smiles. "It feels like we're done."

Earth Prince and Water Princess and her parents nod in agreement.

"Should we go, then?" Water Princess's mother asks.

"Are you going to swim today?" Gwen looks hopeful.

Water Princess and Earth Prince look at each other, then check with Water Princess's parents, who shrug.

"I think I have time before work."

Water Princess nods agreement. "Do you want to swim with us?"

"Can you teach me?"

Earth Prince laughs. "You know how to swim."

"Not like you two."

Again, the prince and princess look at each other. Earth Prince raises his eyebrows questioningly.

Water Princess nods. "We should ask your parents."

"Mom said I should learn to swim like you two."

"But she hasn't told us we can teach you." Water Princess pats her on the back. "Let's go ask." She looks at her parents.

Her dad grins. "You three go have fun."

As they set off, Gwen has another question. "So are you two really the Water Princess and Earth Prince from the old stories?"

Water Princess snorts. "Who told you that?"

"It's what you call each other. And everyone says maybe you are them."

"Everyone?"

"Some of my friends. And my mom. But Dad laughs at her."

Earth Prince chuckles. "If we were, would we tell everyone?"

"It's a masquerade. We wanted to get to know each other, and I thought our names would get in the way."

"Why?"

"It's hard to explain. I'll tell you when I figure it out myself." Water Princess smiles.

"What do you think, uhm, Ddaear? It's so weird to call you that."

"When a princess speaks, it's hard to disagree with her." Earth Prince winks at Gwen before giving Water Princess a knowing look behind her back as he continues. "I'm pretty sure we'll have a chance to tell you all about it some day."

Water Princess raises her eyebrows.

---

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Water and Earth, Prologue, scene 12 -- Talent

Previous: Anonymity

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"Can you help me with this stretch?"

"Sure." Earth Prince stops waving his arms around and goes to Water Princess's side.

(We still aren't quite sure whether he was working on expressive dance or defensive combinations. Not that it matters, we are here to observe, not critique.)

She extends her left leg gracefully forward in developpe, and he puts his hands under her ankle and knee to give her support as she reaches full extension at waist level.

"So how did you get started dancing?" She puts the weight of her leg in his hands.

"Watching Ceri. Thought it looked fun."

"Oh?" Using his support, she rotates her body to the right, letting the muscles stretch.

"More fun than cricket or track."

"Really?"

"I was totally uncoordinated and just an all around wimp."

She reaches arabesque and extends her arms like a ballerina for a moment and chuckles. "I can't imagine you as a wimp." Then she begins rotating back, still amused.

"Couldn't understand having to swing a bat the way the coach said when I could as easily be swinging my arms wherever I wanted."

She nods. "I could see that." Back in devant, she lifts her leg out of his hands and lowers it. "So how'd you get interested in basketball?"

"Dancing helped me get me coordinated, and teachers pushed me to join a ball club. I wanted to play football. Not rugby or old world football, the football you guys play Stateside."

She lifts her right leg and he supports her as she rotates to the left. "Why so?"

"It's choreography."

"So's soccer."

"Not the same. Not nearly as much."

"Soccer's a lot like basketball."

"I do understand old world football now, but basketball uses more visible upper body dance."

"True." She pauses in arabesque before reversing. "So, when and how did you learn to fly?"

Earth Prince starts, but does not drop her leg. His face loses the grin that has been a fixture of his expression the entire morning. As she returns to extension devant, he quietly nods.

"You noticed."

"Anyone who was watching would have been impressed with that dive."

"I had to move fast to keep her from being pulled beneath the vines. Those currents can be impossible to fight beyond certain points, and she could easily have filled her lungs with lake water trying to fight clear."

"That dive was not natural."

"Your influence on Gwen could be thought natural, but not on the vines, or the water flow. The undertow seriously weakened when you ascended. Just coincidence?"

The two stand, staring at each other, Water Princess with her right leg in Earth Prince's hands. Then she remembers what she is doing and lifts her leg out of his hands, lowering it absently to stand in first position.

"Your turn?"

"Sure." Earth Prince raises his right leg, almost as gracefully as Water Princess raised hers.

"So tell me about flying."

"I'm not sure when I realized that my grand jeté was exceeding the range of my momentum. It was before I had started playing basketball seriously. But one morning I teased my modern dance coach by floating an extra pace or two in the leap."

"A pace or two." One corner of her mouth quirks upward. "What did she do?"

"She scolded me."

"Oh? Why?"

"Exceeding my training and technique. Afterwards, when I came down to the lake for a swim, I was not allowed to enter the water."

"Not allowed?"

Earth Prince trades legs.

"I put my foot in the water and felt an awful fear. I kept calling myself silly and trying to wade in, but the fear just got so bad I couldn't even stand to look at the water. That was when I met them for the first time."

"In the water?"

"On the shore. Two men and a woman that time. They told me what happens to people who play childish games with their special talents."

"What did they tell you?"

"You know, people get scared and try to kill the monster. And if you use it for money, fame, greed, entertainment, power, or basically anything but serving God's children quietly, you quickly lose the right to be guided to use it safely. And then you do dangerous things and just lose everything important."

"And what did you do?"

Earth Prince finishes stretching his other leg and lowers it. "I learned it's not good to fight God. Eventually I learned to trust Him."

"Okay. You've learned the same lessons I've learned. I guess I can trust this. Sometime, when you think it's okay, I'd like to hear more about your lessons, and I can talk about mine."

観 -- See, days, not years.

Water Princess looks up. "Oh. You're here."

Earth Prince turns to face the messengers. "No, she was right. Years."

観 -- But she knows who we are, and she begins to understand what she is being called to do.

"But she must serve a regular mission first, much as it will try my patience."

助 -- A mission is one of the courses you've completed. But there are many kinds of missions. Is not a calling of service a mission? Is not raising a family a calling of service?

"And both of us seem to need to prove our interest in each other, before ..., or, whether we should marry. The Prince will have a lot of attention from cheerleaders."

"Not that the Princess will lack attention from her fans."

助 -- That is correct.

使 -- More courses to complete for both of you.

観 -- You will both return in four years, then.

"It might not require a full four years, I suppose, but, yes, no more than four years."

助 -- Is Water Princess equivocating?

"No."

使 -- It was wise to not reveal your names to each other yet.

"Of course, we have Ceri and Morris and my parents if something comes up." Oddly, it is Water Princess who makes this suggestion.

"If something comes up before her senior year is over." And it is Earth Prince, now, showing patience.

観 -- That is also correct.

---

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Water and Earth, Prologue, scene 11 -- Anonymity

Previous: The Team

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We are back at the church on a Sabbath afternoon. Morris and the young man we know as Earth Prince administer the sacred emblems. The young woman we know as Water Princess sits in the congregation with her parents and Ceridwen. When the sacred service is complete and the lay sermons begin, Morris and the young man join the four on their pew.

Between short sermons, Water Princess whispers something to Earth Prince. He looks disappointed, but nods. After the services, Water Princess leaves with her parents and Earth Prince stays behind for his meetings.

As they leave the chapel her mother reaches out and takes her by the shoulder, drawing her close. "I don't understand why you insist on not knowing each other's real names, Honey. And wouldn't it be nice to meet his friends?"

"I don't want to break the spell, Mom."

Her parents exchange a meaningful look, but her father shakes his head. "Our princess needs to do this her way, I think."

---

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Water and Earth, Prologue, scene 10 -- The Team

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In the evening a few days later, we find a basketball game wrapping up in the outdoor court. When we look closer, we see that Water Princess and Earth Prince are on one team, his sister and brother-in-law on the other. The other three players on each team are men, and the play has been intense. All ten are sweating profusely.

"How many baskets have we traded with no one getting two ahead?" one of the men asks, breathing heavily as he recovers the ball after a hard fought basket.

"Twenty."

"I think we call it a draw."

In the chorus of Ayes, there is only one Nay.

Earth Prince chuckles. "Dywysoges, I think the rest of us're done."

Water Princess laughs. "Sorry, just being contrary. I'm beat, too."

Now there is a chorus of laughter.

"Mogue, why is it you and, uhm, Ceri's brother are so lucky?"

Earth Prince's brother-in-law, Morris, raises an eyebrow and mugs. "Luck has nothing to do with it."

There are scattered chuckles and complaints, and Ceridwen gives Morris an eye and an "Oh, really?", but Water Princess looks a little embarrassed.

"Hey, Ceri's Brother! Trying to remember not to use your real name cost us at least four points."

Earth Prince laughs.

Water Princess ducks her head. "Sorry, guys. But thanks for putting up with me."

"No, no!"

"Our pleasure."

"Glad to play a little hoop with ya, Ffynhonnau Dŵr."

"And calling Ceri's brother 'Daear' is something we don't get to do every day, too."

Earth Prince smirks at his best mate, grabs the ball, and plants it in his gut.

"Oof."

More laughter as the two young men chase each other around the court.

Quickly, the game of tag ends, and friends take their leave. Water Princess leaves with Ceridwen and Morris, but three good mates remain on the court, tossing the ball around and talking.

"This new princess of yours is a real beaut, but, I tell you -- Beryl is not taking this well." Hefin tosses the ball to Earth Prince.

"She is not my new princess, and Beryl and I are not going steady or anything." Earth Prince passes it to Dai.

"You're over-reacting, Hefin." Dai passes the ball to Hefin again.

"I thought you'd be on my side, Dai." Hefin holds the ball.

"Hef, can't you see that the way is clear for you?" Earth Prince signals for the ball.

"That's not what this is all about." Hefin one-hands the ball against the ground, and it bounces away as he shakes his fist at Earth Prince.

Dai chases it down.

"It is. Beryl and I have talked this to death. Before we left on our missions. Letters while we were out. Four times since I got back we've been through it. We're mates. Best mates. We like each other -- a lot. But we both know it would not be right."

"Hefin, if you aren't going to step up, I will." Dai passes the ball back to Hefin.

Earth Prince chuckles. "Dai, your true feelings come out."

Dai smirks.

"This is not a laughing matter." Hefin heaves the ball hard at Earth Prince.

He takes it in the chest with a grunt and passes it on to Dai. "Ask Beryl."

"I couldn't."

Dai holds the ball. "Hefin, I tell you, if you aren't willing to make Beryl happy, I'm not going to just stand by." And he passes the ball back to Earth Prince.

"I think the three of you need to talk this out. I've got some homework." Earth Prince holds the ball.

"You're not ditchin' us."

"Okay." He puts it down and dribbles. "You guys are still mad at me for going to the Hyde for school."

"No. We're settled on that. You're going pro in the States and then you're comin' back to coach our kids. But you should be taking Beryl with you."

"Maybe we should all four talk. Dai?"

"I'm in."

"Let's go, Hef."

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Water and Earth, Prologue, scene 9 -- Roundball, One-on-one

Previous: Swimming

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Maybe it is not a coincidence that we are working near an outdoor basketball court this mid-morning. These two of our charges having been playing one-on-one for twelve of their long minutes, roughly an hour as you measure time.

(Yes, this world has a game you would only call basketball -- and many other games you'll find familiar, too.)

Water Princess checks the ball to Earth Prince and he returns it. Then she turns and puts it down against the hard dirt, her back to him, dribbling as she backs up. He reaches under her arm in an attempt to steal the ball, and she deflects it between his legs, whirling around him to pick it up behind him before he gets to it, and drives to the basket with him practically glued to her back. Approaching the basket, she feints a straight-on lay up, bumping the ball to her right hand to lay it up from the weak side as his hands close on air to her left.

Momentum carries him forward, and he rolls, laughing, as the ball hits the backboard and drops through the hoop.

"Seven times going between my legs, and I've lost count of how many times you've caught me off-guard shifting the ball as you go up. You're pretty good at this." He leans back on the ground, taking a breather, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

"You're holding back." She retrieves the ball and brushes perspiration from her eyes before reaching out to give him a hand.

"Not much." He grins and takes the hand, letting her give him leverage up.

"Three brothers, and all of them played on the team in high school." She grins, too. "Are you going to give me my hand back?"

He mugs an evil grin. "Here I was planning on teaching you some easy stuff like how to use your wrist to shoot, and how to take aim on the basket."

"Oh. Now you didn't really think I'd let you get that close to me, now, did you?" She puts the ball in his chest and lets go, causing him to drop her hand to catch it. While his hands are occupied, she suddenly grabs his face with both hands and pulls him close, planting a quick kiss on his lips.

They both recoil in shock and stare at each other.

(Intervention does not seem necessary, however.)

Grinning and shifting the ball to his left hand, he slips his right hand around her waist and draws her close. "Foul. I call foul."

The moment stretches out, not quite to eternity. Water Princess shakes her head and draws back, looking down. "Sorry. I, uh, got kind of carried away."

"I'm not complaining. Do I get a free shot?" Earth Prince keeps his arm around her.

"Huh?"

"Another kiss, I mean."

"I shouldn't."

"Uhm, maybe go for a walk?"

"It's just too unreal."

"What do you need to convince you it's real?"

"Time. And other people around. I've got your attention now, but what happens when you're at the Hyde, and I'm still in high school, and I have to compete with all the girls there?"

"I don't think there'll be any competition."

She turns away and elbows him in the side, but does not break away. Another long moment passes.

"Do you have a boyfriend at home?"

"Hardly ever been on a date. I go to the dances at church, and I have to drag the guys out on the dance floor."

"Hard to believe. Are the guys at church blind, there?"

She laughs and gives him a sideways hug. "They're shy about dancing. I could take a walk. Are you okay after that roll?"

"Couldn't be better. I'll take another if you'll give me another kiss."

She rolls her eyes and reaches up to tousle his hair.

"Darn." He sets the ball down and they walk arm-in-arm off the outdoor court and up into the mountain paths.

(We appreciate your staying to finish things here while we go to keep an eye on our charges.)

---

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Water and Earth, Prologue, scene 8 -- Swimming

Previous: Reassurances

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"Would Gwen have died?"

Somehow we are not surprised to find Water Princess and Earth Prince swimming together in the lake this morning. Their voices carry to us as we take care of some business on the shore.

"She did not." Earth Prince dives under the surface, turns a somersault and surfaces.

"But what if we hadn't been there?"

"We were there."

Water Princess does a back somersault under the water and deftly swims underneath Earth Prince, ascending on him rapidly.

He dodges. "Too slow," he teases as she breaks the surface. Then he sprints toward the shore, with Water Princess in hot pursuit, both using efficient butterfly stroke. She tags him as she overtakes him, and for about twenty more minutes they swim laps together, trading leads, staying within the boundaries marked as safe by buoys in the water.

(Twenty minutes as you might experience time -- about the time it takes to boil a batch of hard-boiled eggs, let them cool, and peel them -- for them it is about four -- four, what should we say? Long minutes? Four sixteenths of one sixteenth of a Xhilr day.)

Earth Prince pulls up in the middle of a lap and treads water. "I'm beat," he calls out, panting and shaking water from his face.

Water Princess flips a somersault and sidestrokes back to him.

"Sorry." She floats leisurely on her side, treading with small kicks.

"You're holding back."

"Swimming tandem is more fun. But I'm not holding back much."

"You take lessons?"

"Since I was nine. I'm on the high school swimming and water ballet teams."

"No wonder."

"How about you?"

"Took lessons for a couple of years, but I mostly just swim for fun."

They float for a bit.

"What if we hadn't seen her?"

"Gwen? We saw her."

"What if we hadn't gone to help?"

Earth Prince looks reproachfully at Water Princess. "Would you have just let her drown?"

She exhales in exasperation, then splashes him, and they trade splashes, laughing.

"Did it really happen?"

"It was in the news."

"You read it?" her face reveals some anxiety.

"Ceri read it to me so I wouldn't see your name."

"Thanks. Your sister's a brick."

"Brick?"

"Solid, Dependable."

"Good friend."

"Yeah."

"She likes you."

She gives him a hesitant smile. "But, ... the stuff after. The messengers, I mean. Was that, ... were they real?"

"I was there, weren't you?"

Water Princess suddenly leaps up in the water, closing the gap between them and dunking Earth Prince before he can react. But he manages to pull her underwater, too, and they wrestle in the water for a few moments.

Breaking apart, they surface, laughing and sputtering as they separate. Then she strokes for shore, and he follows.

On shore, they retrieve their towels and dry off.

"This is such a fantasy!"

"It's real enough, I think."

"Are they still there? If we went down there, would they be waiting to talk?"

"I don't know. They didn't, you know, drag Gwen down or anything. She just got caught in those random currents I warned you about."

"Then why were they there?"

"They were watching out for her. But she shouldn't see them. At least, not yet. So we were called in to help."

"Then I guess I earned the name you gave me?"

"Not exactly. It was apparently yours to start with."

Water Princess's face shows doubt. "Don't tell me it was something I agreed to before I was born."

"Uhmm, then what can I say?"

"Okay." She leans back to face the sun and closes her eyes. "I know something about this. I guess. I'm not exactly sure how."

"The old stories? Did you hear them when you were a kid?"

"Maybe. Yes. My parents did tell me some of them." She opens her eyes and looks at the sky. "Do they always marry?"

Their eyes meet, and they gaze at each other in a silent, not quite awkward moment.

"Sorry," she demurs. "I should not have brought that up."

"Well, maybe, ..."

 Now she looks puzzled. "Somehow I know it doesn't always happen that way."

"It seems like it would be much more convenient, though."

Again there is silence as Earth Prince waits for Water Princess to look at him, but she finds something on the opposite shore too interesting, or maybe she is just avoiding his eyes.

"Sorry. I guess I should not have said that."

More silence.

Earth Prince sighs. "How about a little basketball tomorrow?"

"Basketball." Finally she turns and looks at him. "I'm not allowed to do that."

"Oh?"

"Unless I wear a support corset." She smiles. "I started modern dance and swimming lessons to strengthen my back."

"Scoliosis?"

"Yeah. But things have worked out pretty well, so I only need a soft corset when I'm doing things like basketball."

"But you don't have it with you."

"It's in my luggage. Tomorrow. Roundball. It'll be fun. I'll dig it out."

---

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Water and Earth, Prologue, scene 7 -- Reassurances

Previous: The Messengers

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On the bank, the young girl has recovered herself somewhat by the time her parents arrive.

Adults talk of the dangers of the lake and the underwater vegetation, and of the ecological necessity of limiting the area of the lake that is kept clear for swimming, so that natural flora and fauna can thrive in the rest. Her parents admonish her to stay within their sight and within the designated safe areas, and she nods her agreement in tears and trepidation.

For her, it is a hard lesson learned that could have cost much more.

When the young man and young woman come to shore, the girl's parents thank them effusively, offering rewards which both refuse, saying they were only glad to have been able to help.

Together, Earth Prince and Water Princess talk with the girl and reassure her, being careful to obtain a promise to continue swimming, but stay within the safe areas.

The girl wraps her arms around Earth Prince's waist and buries her face against his chest, sobbing. Her tears subsiding, she turns her face fearfully to Water Princess, who wraps her arms around both of them and whispers words of comfort and encouragement to her.

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Water and Earth, Prologue, scene 6 -- The Messengers

Previous: A Young Girl Almost Drowns

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土 -- So I have brought her.

使 -- You are the Water Princess.

水 -- I am ... I am? What do you mean? And why?

観 -- We have waited a long time.

水 -- For what?

助 -- For you.

水 -- For what? You will wait longer. No one owns me. And putting children at risk is not part of any acceptable plan. It's not fair.

観 -- Putting children at risk?

使 -- We must consider this.

助 -- What is your opinion, Earth Prince?

土 -- I think that true helpers do not use coercion.

観 -- No one is being forced.

水 -- Nor do they rush things.

観 -- We are not rushing you, Water Princess. We are merely helping things along.

助 -- It is not time. Earth Prince is not ready.

観 -- How can it not be time, Earth Prince? You have finished three of your courses.

土 -- Earth Prince has other courses still to complete.

水 -- And Water Princess, if I am such, must also do certain things.

使 -- Water Princess has spoken, and Earth Prince concurs.

観 -- Must it be so?

助 -- It must.

観 -- So be it. We wait. How many days?

水 -- Five years.

観 -- Years?

使 -- Water Princess says years.

観 -- Do we have so much time?

助 -- Do we dare cut the natural course short?

使 -- We dare not.

観 -- The Prince and the Princess are resolute?

土 -- We are.

観 -- We must consult.

土 -- Those on the surface will be worrying.

助 -- You shall return.

土 -- Agreed.

使 -- Water Princess is not happy about this. Will you return?

水 -- I suppose I could.

---

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Water and Earth, Prologue, scene 5 -- A Young Girl Almost Drowns

Previous: A Moment in the Meetinghouse Library

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We happen to be in the area again a few days later, and we see the young man and the young woman running together on the mountain paths in the early morning, making jokes, and challenging and encouraging each other. They stop near us, and we watch them stretching, laughing, talking, and exercising.

But what are these exercises they do? Is it from the formal dance form you would call ballet? It does seem to be from some sort of dance, maybe what you would call modern, or perhaps street.

Or it could be martial arts.

In the middle of a sweeping kick, Earth Prince glances toward the lake below, and a furrow crosses his brow as he puts his weight back on both feet. Water Princess looks around from her position in attitude derrière and follows his gaze down, gasps, brings her back leg down from behind her and starts towards the lake, cutting down across the twisting paths, running lithely through the thick purplish-green underbrush and trees, shouting. Earth Prince kicks off his shoes and runs, too, but not down. He runs towards a precipice, and we feel alarm. At the edge, he leaps and launches himself, but it's too late to try to stop him.

The cliff is too far from the lake.

Water Princess, startled, looks up as she runs, and sees him as we do, performing a beautiful swan dive in an impossibly long arc through the air over her head, dropping cleanly into the water near where they had seen the swimmer in trouble.

We do not see anyone else nearby who might have seen his impossible dive.

Without breaking stride, she continues down the mountain, searching the opposite shore as she runs, and we follow. When she sees her parents with Earth Prince's sister and brother-in-law on the opposite shore, she calls to them. Having gotten their attention and communicated her concerns, she kicks off her own shoes and runs into the water, leaning forward and leaping in as she approaches waist depth, swimming in powerful strokes to where Earth Prince had entered the water.

Diving under the surface, she finds him in murky purplish-green water, wrestling to free a young girl from the tangle of underwater vines above the lake floor, and the girl, in fright, fighting him, her breath escaping in bubbles around her face.

She swims around behind the girl, wrapping one arm gently underneath the girl's arms and lifting her free. At her touch, the vines seem to relax from around the girl, and the girl seems to calm down, relaxing into her embrace. Water Princess looks at Earth Prince and he points up, then turns to examine the vines. Kicking, she ascends with the girl in tow, working laterally through the now easing undertow.

When she breaks the surface, the adults are launching a skiff, so she treads water and concentrates on supporting the girl and helping her clear her lungs and breathe. Shortly after the skiff arrives and the girl is helped in and the adults take over her care.

Earth Prince surfaces and beckons, and Water Princess, her face showing some puzzlement, follows him back under the water.

---

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Water and Earth, Prologue, scene 4 -- A Moment in the Meetinghouse Library

Previous: Researching Together

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Not by chance, we find ourselves in a local church, in the early evening a day or two later. As we pass the meetinghouse library, we glance in and see the young man and the young woman, with the young woman's parents, notebooks out, working together at an internetworked communications terminal.

"Are you coming to church tomorrow?" we hear the young man ask in between comments on the data they are working on.

"I think we plan on coming in the morning. Isn't that right, Dad?"

"Yeah, Sweat-heart."

"You let your dad call you that?"

"He can't be helped, sometimes."

We hear her father chuckling and her mother clearing her throat.

"How about you?" the young woman's voice has a slight but noticeable brightness.

"Uhm, I'm in the afternoon congregation."

"Oh. Guess we won't see you tomorrow." The brightness fades.

Glancing back again, we notice the young man's pensive expression, as if he is debating with himself on some great and weighty question.

"Uhm," there is a brightness in his voice, now, "would you like me to come in the morning and introduce you to my friends in the morning congregation?

The young woman seems focused on the terminal screen and her notebooks.

"So how do you plan to introduce Water Princess?" She smiles at the screen.

The young man chuckles now. "It isn't fair."

"Maybe next week."

We watch as the young man sighs silently, and a look of resignation crosses his face before he points something out on the screen and returns his attention to their research. "Great, great-- How many greats back is this aunt Eleri?"

He steals a look, to see the young woman's reaction, but she is busy counting the generations.

"Fourth great aunt. Might be a nice name to think about giving a daughter. On the other hand, maybe she wouldn't like the weight of the legends."

"Legends weigh heavy on every name in the old language." Scanning the screen, he tries again. Perhaps he is hoping she is named after one of her aunts, and might guess by her response. Perhaps not.

We continue on our business.

---

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Water and Earth, Prologue, scene 3 -- Researching Together

Previous: Warning

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"Hello, Water Princess."

Some business has taken us near a graveyard clearing in the mountains again this morning.

The young woman turns, and stands, with a quizzical expression and a laugh. "Do you mean me?"

"Do you see anyone else here? -- besides your parents and my sister, and my brother-in-law, I mean."

The referenced adults indeed work in a clearing nearby, partially obscured from our view by trees.

"I suppose not. You're Ceri's brother?"

He nods.

"But if you call me such a thing, should I call you Earth Prince?"

The young man laughs. "You swim well. I don't know your name."

"And I don't know yours."

The two eye each other, half warily, half inquisitively.

The young man points to a stone near himself. "My great grandfather was buried here." He stoops and reads the name and the date, his pronunciation clearly accustomed to the language.

"Oh." She takes out her notebook. "May I?"

"Sure. Do you think he's related to you? Ceri said you were researching your father's lines."

"Maybe he's a great-great-uncle or a distant cousin several times removed."

She writes down what he tells her, and together they wander around the field, searching through the deep, purple-tinted grasses and lavender shrubs, reading what is recorded on the stones they find. The young man deciphers words that have weathered to almost unreadable, filling the information in with stories that have been passed down to him. After each stone, he checks her notes to make sure that she has been properly distinguished between the rumors, traditions, and supposed facts he has told her, and what is actually written on the stones.

After the fifth or more, the young man shifts his attention from the stones and looks around. "I thought the others would join us."

The young woman looks around as well and laughs. "I guess my parents thought they should get out of the way. Sometimes I think they plot against me."

The young man laughs too, hesitantly, perhaps a little self-consciously.

She continues. "But it's not necessary, really."

"No?"

"I'm still kind of young for that kind of stuff. Don't you think so?"

"Uhm, well, ..."

"Barely passed my first hexadecade. And it's not like you guys are going to be falling all over yourselves to talk to me, is it? I mean, a face and a figure like this, ..."

"Ehrm, ..."

(Hexadecade. I suppose you are not familiar with hexadecimal numbering? Most of the countries of this world have standardized on enumerations based on powers of two, hexadecimal being the most common. A hexadecade is twice eight years -- decimal sixteen.)

After an awkward pause, she looks at him and says, "Sorry. That wasn't fair of me to say was, it?"

He doesn't answer, just looks down, and his jaw juts briefly to one side. Then, making a discovery on a nearby stone, he begins reading again, and they continue talking of events past and people gone beyond.

---

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Water and Earth, Prologue, scene 2 -- A Warning

Previous: Meeting in the Mountain

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When we happen again to be walking these mountain paths in the early dawn a few mornings later, above a certain lake, we notice the young woman swimming below us in a section of the lake that appears from our point of view to be deep, clear, and blue. A farther end of the lake is also clear, but we can see that it is shallower than where she swims. Most of the lake is not as clear, with heavy growth of subsurface foliage in murky pink or purplish water.

She dives, then returns to the surface, using her momentum to lift her upper body out of the water, kicking with her legs into a full pirouette as she nearly leaves the water, then arching back underwater, imitating, as it were, a dolphin playing. For all that she dances in the water, she hardly raises any spray or splash.

(There are indeed dolphin-like mammals in the seas of this world.)

And we see the young man in the paths near us, running, as he usually does in the early mornings. He slows to a stop above us, observing the young woman, apparently pleasantly impressed with her skill. Abruptly, his expression changes to one of alarm and concern, and he descends rapidly off the path, proceeding lightly through the foliage in front of us.

At the shore of the lake, he calls out sharply as the young woman comes to the surface.

She waves in reply, and he repeats his warning.

Now she swims toward him to ask questions, but he waves her off, indicating the subsurface foliage she is swimming into and pointing to the clear end of the lake, apparently giving some explanation. She treads water as she listens, then, with some reluctance, nods assent and swims back through the clear path she had followed to the deeper waters, to continue her exercises in the safer, shallower end.

The young man, having observed her safe retreat, nods in satisfaction mixed with concern, then turns and continues his course in the clearing mists above the lake.

---

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Water and Earth, Prologue, scene 1 -- Meeting in the Mountain

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The early morning mists drift in patches and clouds along the mountains, streams, and lakes in the pre-dawn light under the nether and hinter moons, giving a sense that this is a magical country. By turns, they hide, then reveal the path, the vegetation, and the view. Amid the shadowed greens, blues, browns, purples, and muted rainbow flashes of other watercolor hues we might almost not be surprised to meet fairies and other creatures of magic playing and working in the half light and shadows as we travel the mountain paths.

And when we see through the mists a young woman in a pale blue summer dress bending down to search among the rocks, flowers, and grasses of an open field, we might wonder if she is not just such an enchanted creature.

But she is a bit ruddy of countenance, and her build a bit tall, and solid, to be a fairy, even if her hair seems to glow amber in the early morning light.

(She is one of our new charges.)

As we watch, she stops, having found something written on one of the stones half hidden among the grasses, and calls out to a man and a woman who are searching in like manner nearby. They come, and she reads from the stone haltingly, not quite comfortable with the language, of the birth and death, and briefly of the life lived by one whose passing is marked by the stone she examines.

The older woman smiles and takes out a notebook, writing what the younger woman reads and checking over her shoulder, while the man examines nearby stones and takes notes of his own.

By their appearance, we might guess that the young woman and the couple are closely related.

Some two hundred paces distant from this scene, partially obscured by green and lavender scrub and trees, we note a young man in running gear, sweating lightly as he stretches the muscles of his calves and Achilles. Then he drops to the ground for a set of pushups. It might occur to you to consider that this young man is also of significant stature.

(He has been one of our charges for some time.)

We see another man and woman approach, and he stands.

We note a familial resemblance between the young man and the woman, although the woman's hair is more-or-less blonde, and the young man's is dark, almost ebony.

They exchange greetings of familiarity and pass, and the young man drops for another set of pushups. When he stands again they are approaching the young woman and her parents. The two hale the three, and begin a discussion, pointing out stones here and there. The young woman takes out her own notebook and listens intently.

The young man stretches his legs and squats over each leg, lightly stretching the muscles in his inner thighs, then begins again running easily along one of the mountain paths. As he passes below the five, the young woman looks up and it appears their eyes meet. She smiles shyly.

The young man smiles and nods casually, continuing on his way. Whether they are acquainted or not does not seem immediately clear.

---

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Water and Earth, Title and Table of Contents

Water and Earth

Joel Matthew Rees

Copyright 2018 Joel Matthew Rees

Researching family history leads a group of young adults to discovery their hidden talents in surprising ways.

• Prologue
  • Scene 1 -- A Meeting in the Mountains
  • Scene 2 -- A Warning
  • Scene 3 -- Researching Together
  • Scene 4 -- A Moment in the Meetinghouse Library
  • Scene 5 -- A Young Girl Almost Drowns
  • Scene 6 -- The Messengers
  • Scene 7 -- Reassurances
  • Scene 8 -- Swimming 
  • Scene 9 -- Roundball, One-on-one
  • Scene 10 -- The Team 
  • Scene 11 -- Anonymity
  • Scene 12 -- Talent
  • Scene 13 -- Gwen
  • Scene 13.50 -- Pink Unicorns Or Purple?
  • Scene 13.55 -- Wild Boars
  • Scene 13.60 -- To the Third and Fourth Generation
  • Scene 13.70 -- Debriefing
  • Scene 13.80 -- Ancestors
  • Scene 13.90 -- Too Many Secrets
  • Scene 14 -- Beryl
  • Scene 15 -- Hefin
• Chapter 1 (TBC)

This novel was seeded by a flash fiction piece written in a hospital bed.

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Marriage of Inconvenience, Ch. 3 -- Sunday Dinner

Previous: Dating

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Tami parked her car in the Hawkswell driveway, being careful to leave room for Brian's family's cars to get around. "Feels different this time. I'm kind of excited."

"Me too. Wait. Don't get out yet."

Brian got out of the car and walked around to open the door for Tami.

"Oh. Will you be doing this all the time from now on?" She took the hand he offered and climbed out.

"Actually, yeah. I'm a little traditional about some things."

"For traditions you don't really know."

"Family influence."

They walked to the front porch holding hands, and Brian opened the door. "They're expecting us. Did I tell you you look really nice?"

Tami laughed lightly. "Only about three times already." She looked around the living room, taking in the furnishings and decor.

"You've been counting?"

"Hi!" Brian's mother called from the kitchen. "Quit loitering out there and come back here and give me a hand!"

"So far so good," Brian muttered under his breath.

As the entered the kitchen, she waved them over to the oven. Three cookie sheets full of biscuits waited on the counter to be put into the oven. Other pans and dishes were spread out on the counters and table, evidence of dinner preparations in progress. "I've got biscuits ready to go in, and the oven should be hot in about five more. Could you take care of them?"

Brian's face clouded, and he caught Tami's eyes and tried to give her a warning.

She winked at him. "Oven's set at 180, ten minutes?"

"That should be about right. But you know ovens."

"I'll keep an eye on them. Put the rest in as they come out?"

"Yes. That would be wonderful."

"Mo-om, ..."

Footsteps sounded on the stairs.

"Oh, I guess I should introduce myself," Carol said, wiping her hands on her apron. "You're Tami, of course." She reached out and took Tami's hand. "Call me Carol."

"I'm just as likely to call you Mom, I'm afraid. But I'll try to remember, Carol."

Brian grinned.

His mother chuckled, smiling warily. "Fair enough."

Joan walked breezily into the kitchen. "Hi, Tami. No hard feelings for the little joke that night?"

"It was amusing. We laughed about it all the way back to the dorms."

Brian realized he had been holding his breath, and chuckled as he exhaled.

"Is that your car?"

Brian caught his breath again.

"Yeah. It's not much, but I'm on a budget."

"You bought it yourself?"

"Yeah."

"It looks like it's in pretty good shape. What, ninety-five?"

"Ninety-three. It should last me through college."

Brian raised his eyebrows and grinned at Tami.

"Want to go for a ride after dinner?" she asked.

"Sure!"

Brian groaned. "Hey. Maybe I want some time with Tami today."

Tami giggled. "You can come along."

Joan grinned and Brian rolled his eyes.

Carol laughed comfortably and went back to work. "What do you like in your stuffing, Tami?"

Tami leaned over and looked in the bowl, breathing in. "Mmmm. Celery, basil, onions, thyme. I like a little cumin and garlic, too. Sometimes fresh ginger."

Carol pointed at a cupboard, and Tami went to the sinks and washed her hands. Returning to the cupboard, she opened it and looked at bottles of seasonings and spices. "Ah. Cumin." She picked up a bottle. "And dried garlic and ginger. No fresh?"

"In the fridge."

Brian went to a different cupboard and opened it.

Closing the spices cupboard and handing the cumin to Carol, Tami went to the fridge and opened it. She quickly found ginger and garlic, and looked around for a knife and a cutting board.

Brian handed her a knife, holding it by the blade, and she took it by the haft and said, "Thanks."

Then he washed a cutting board and set it on an open space on the counter. Tami set the ginger and garlic on the board and nudged him out of the way and got to work.

"Should I get the biscuits?" Brian asked.

Tami looked up at the clock and said, "In about a minute, right, Mom?"

Carol nodded.

Joan washed her hands and got to work, too, as footsteps in the hall announced the arrival of more family.

"Hi, honey, everything under control?" Brian's father poked his head in the kitchen. "Oh. You're already here. And our resident slave driver already has you working."

"Hi, Dad." Brian and Tami said, practically in chorus.

Carol grinned.

"Tami, right?" You can call me Tom."

"I'll try to remember, Tom."

Tom looked puzzled, and Carol grinned again.

"Pff-heh." Joan tried to keep from laughing.

More footsteps.

"That should be Craig." Brian said as he picked up a sheet of biscuits. "Forty minute mark," he said and slid them into the oven, closing the door. "Can't we do two at once?"

"Wait until the second batch," Carol said. How's the ginger and garlic coming, Tami dear?"

"Here you are. Are there giblets?"

Carol blinked. "Would you like to prepare them?"

"Sure."

Brian looked up and caught Tami's eye, raising his eyebrows inquisitively. "Now I'm really impressed," he mouthed silently.

She grinned and replied out loud. "Can't let the good parts go to waste. Unless you were planning to feed them to the cat?"

"This I've got to see," said Joan.

Darrel poked his head in and said, "Hi Tami! I'm Darrel."

Little Tom poked his head in underneath and mimicked Darrel.

Tami laughed as she and Carol worked the chicken open to remove the giblets. "Hi, Darrel and Darrel. But second Darrel is Little Tom, I think?"

"That's me. When are you going to marry Brian?"

Suddenly the room was silent, except for the sound of broth simmering on the stove.

Brian said, "Shhh. It's a secret."

Tami leaned around and kissed him behind the ear.

"Stop that." Brian shivered and looked back, grinning, and squeezed Tami's shoulder. "Go get the Pit deck, guys. We're running out of things to do in here."

The two boys ran off and Craig came in. He turned and called after them, "See if you can find Risk, too."

Joan called out, "No Risk, get that charades game."

Craig came up behind Tami and gave her a sideways hug. "Hi, Tami, I'm Craig."

She put her spoon down, reached around, and hugged him back. "Brian mentioned you." And she went back to work. "So we're waiting for Charlotte and Fred, and Theresa?" she asked.

Brian smiled and absently shook has head.

"Oh. I forgot Todd. It'll be easier to keep names straight when I meet everyone."

Brian stood up and stepped close to her, leaning to whisper in her ear, "When did this magic thing happen?" And kissed her behind the ear.

She blushed, and shushed him, continuing to work on the chicken.

Carol looked at them shrewdly. "Do tell," she murmured.

Tom said, "So you two really are serious about this."

"Yeah, Dad." Brian reached out to hold the roasting pot still while Tami and his mom checked for more giblets.

"What are your financial plans?"

Tami looked up at Brian. "We've talked about working part-time jobs and getting student loans, but Brian says he should get a job and put me through school first."

"Hmmm." Tom set his mouth. "Did you know he has a trust from his grandfather?" He paused and watched Brian and Tami carefully. "Of course, he can't access it until he's back from his mission or gets married. He didn't tell you about that?

"Uhmm, ..."

Carol said, "He's never been able to hold down a job very long, though. That trust fund wouldn't even last a year for two at school."

"Really? Never been able to hold a job? I haven't seen any bad work habits at school."

"Mom, I'm not sure how I'd burn through a mi ... that much money even in four years of undergrad plus four of grad school, ehh, even between the two of," Brian looked at Tami, blinked, and breathed, "us. Even if we used it. Besides, what's money got to do with anything? We'll make something work, right Tam?"

Tami gave Brian a worried look, and mouthed, "Not Tam. Please."

Brian tilted his head, apologizing with his eyes, and mouthed the word, "Sorry."

"It sounds like a big trust. I really didn't have any idea." She gave Brian a sharp look. "We should have talked about this more."

Brian nodded. "I'm sorry. It's a big trust, but you said money doesn't matter, right?"

"Well, ..."

"What do you guys plan to do about family Sunday dinners?" Joan asked.

"I, uhm, think it'll be fun, if you'll have us."

"Joan, this is the first I've been to in more than a year. I'm not sure I'm ready for every week."

"Score one for Tami. She's good for you, Brian."

"Joan, ..." Carol began.

"Maybe Tami will be able to reform you, Bri. You know, maybe she can talk you into going on a mission." 

Tami looked at Brian and he looked back.

"We're thinking about that," she said, not breaking eye contact.

Brian nodded but didn't say anything.

Joan turned around to face Tami. "Tami, if you really want this guy to straighten out before you tie the knot, you should both go on missions at the same time." She clapped her hands. "Wouldn't that be romantic?"

Tami's face showed a moment of panic, and she looked down. "I don't think that would work."

"If it's the money for the mission, I think Dad and Mom would like to help."

"Joan, you're awfully free with other people's money," Brian complained in a low voice.

"We could talk about that," Carol said, trying to catch Tami's eye.

"I don't think I could go on a mission."

A moment stretched into an uncomfortable silence. Then Joan tried to lighten the mood. "I mean, it's not like you have children from a previous marriage or something, right?"

"Joan, ..." Brian began.

Tami squeezed her face, bravely trying to keep it from crumbling. "No kids. No previous marriage."

Brian went to her and pulled her into a hug and she buried her face in his chest. "I've never seen you like this," he whispered in her ear. "What's wrong?"

She shook her head.

"Uhm, you did say you were Mormon, didn't you?" Joan tried one last time to make a joke.

Tami froze. "Well, actually, ..." Her voiced was muffled by Brian's shirt.

Brian kept his grip tight.

"No."

"And why should that matter?" Brian asked. I think the biscuits are getting too brown. Joan, could you get them?"

Joan jumped up and grabbed the oven door. "Ouch." Running to the sink, she ran water on her burned hand.

While Tom followed Joan to the sink, Tami released herself from Brian's embrace, grabbed a hot pad and opened the door, and pulled the biscuits out. Brian grabbed a flat hot pad and set it on the counter, and Tami set the sheet down on it.

"Ice, Craig," Tom called out. And Craig went to the fridge for ice.

Carol handed a spatula to Tami, taking another for herself, and they started lifting the biscuits so they could cool without sticking. Brian grabbed the remaining sheets and slid them into the oven and shut the door.

"Your hand okay, Joan?" he asked as he picked up a box of tissue.

"Yeah. Sorry. Thanks. I don't think it'll blister."

Craig put ice in a bowl and brought it to the sink for Joan, holding it under the tap.

Brian went to Tami's side and dabbed at Tami's eyes and nose.

"Thanks," she mumbled. She and Carol finished with the biscuits, and then she took another tissue and turned toward Brian and blew her nose carefully. He grabbed another tissue and gave it to her, gathering her into a loose hug.

"Are you okay, Joan?" she asked, dabbing her nose and eyes again with the tissue.

"It's not bad. Sorry I asked."

"Never mind. I should have mentioned it before."

Darrel and Little Tom came back. "Here's the Pit deck. We brought Charades and Risk, too."

"Why does Joan have her hand in a bowl of water?"

"Can I do that, too?"

|***|

As they drove back that evening, Tami said, "Thanks for backing me up. I should have told you."

"You're really not a member?"

"I tried to give you hints."

"But you know the Book of Mormon."

"I'm taking the class. I researched the Church when I picked the school. I guess you'll want to rethink things?"

"Not in the sense of calling this off. Something magic happened. I swear, for ten good minutes I felt like you and I were part of that family. I haven't felt like that at family dinner for ages. Years. And then Joan asked that, and, well, maybe it wasn't perfect any more, but it was still family." Brian watched the traffic for a few moments. "Still family."

"Your family seemed to take it in stride. Dinner wasn't uncomfortable. We played family games after dinner, and you and Joan and I went for a drive. They're good people. It felt good to me, too." She sighed. "Maybe they'll let me just be your friend."

"Tami, I'm in love."

"Help."

"You're not?"

"Maybe I am."

For several minutes, they remained silent.

"You're not ditching this. Not ditching me."

"Your parents ..."

"I think they're on your side. Our side. Mom had doubts, and so did Dad, but you ... we passed every test they threw at us ... with flying colors."

"I don't see how to move forward. I mean, we never really said 'marriage of convenience', but that was how we were treating it."

"Many marriages have gotten a worse start."

"But I'm not Mormon."

Neither said anything for a moment.

"If God is real, would He just ignore how we started? And would He forgive you for marrying a gentile?"

"God is not prejudiced."

"But it's not right. We can't make something that real out of something fake."

The conversation stalled again until they arrived at the dorm parking lots.

"Study tonight?" Brian looked over at Tami as she shut off the engine.

"I'd like that. At least studying can't get us in trouble with God."

"Your dorm lounge?"

"Yeah."

"Meet you there in ten?" He grinned.

"Okay." She smiled hesitantly.

Brian reached over and stroked Tami's hair, letting his fingers linger behind her ears. She shivered and smiled.

"I shouldn't have told you about the backs of my ears."

Brian smiled softly. "I wouldn't be so sure it was ever fake."

Tami shook her head with a hesitant smile. "Ten."

---

Table of Contents

Next: N

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Marriage of Inconveniene, Ch. 2 -- Dating

Previous: Gold Digger

Table of Contents

---

Tami was studying in the library. Brian came in and put his books down beside hers.

She looked up. "So, I'm only your study partner, I guess."

"Hi. What do you mean?"

"Just your study friend. We've been studying together for what? more than a month. You always have a date on Friday nights, and sometimes on Saturdays, but we only study together." She sighed and returned to her books. "I guess I do like studying."

"I thought you didn't have time for dating. Besides, I didn't think I was your type." He sat down.

"I am a mercenary woman. As your sister said, a gold digger."

"Ha ha."

"No, seriously." She turned to face him, finger raised accusingly. "I don't think I would mind being married to you, and it would make your trust money accessible to you, wouldn't it?"

Brian thought. "I don't think it's a good way to think about things."

"Am I ugly?"

"No."

"Do you hate me?"

"No. But we really don't know each other."

"If we date, we could get to know each other."

"Now you're scaring me."

"You're the one who told me about your trust fund."

"That was Mark's idea, not mine. And I kind of thought you'd let it slide, as a joke."

"But it's real, right?"

"Well, yeah."

"You want it, don't you?"

Brian didn't say anything. He just looked at Tami thoughtfully. "Okay, I haven't made a date for this Saturday. What do you suggest?"

"There's an art museum on campus."

"Deal. Let's get to work on the biology homework."

|***|

"Oh, I love this view of these peasant class people working in the river and on the banks."

"Look at the patterns on the floor of this church, and see how they get swallowed up in some sort of unnatural shadow here." Brian laughed and shook his head. "It's not like I have any idea what I'm talking about."

"Neither do I. We should probably try to at least memorize the names of the original artists and their works."

"I've been trying for the last half hour, and I remember nothing."

"Well, some people say trying just makes things worse. But your Alma says you have to water that plant, so I guess trying is better than not trying."

"My Alma? Oh, in the Book of Mormon."

"Yeah."

"Where he compares faith to a seed or something. I remember hearing about it in Seminary, but I never actually read it."

"Aren't you taking a religion class? Oh. I think I know this one. Night Watch. The label says it's a student's reproduction in acrylic."

"Missionary prep class. Just in case. Keep my dad off my back."

"Watering the seed a different way, maybe?"

"Maybe so. This girl with a blue, what is that? scarf? "Girl with a Pearl Earring". She's beautiful." He turned and grinned at her. "Looks a little like you." Then he turned back to the exhibits.

Tami stopped and stared at Brian's back as he moved ahead, examining more student paintings. Then she looked at the painting he had commented on and bit her lip, and turned and quietly caught up with him. For some time after that, they examined paintings in silence.

Brian looked up to see an art student approaching them. "Well, I think they're about ready to close the museum."

"Have we been here two hours? We'd better get back to the dorms. Homework in your dorm lounge?"

"Sounds good."

"We're about ready to close for the night," the student informed them.

"Thanks. We're on our way out."

"Has it been interesting?"

"Yes, thanks," they answered in chorus, turning to looked at each other, and laughing.

As they walked back down to the dorms, Brian asked, "I was thinking you were into art or something."

"My history professor suggested it."

"Well it wasn't not fun!"

They both laughed.

"Okay, it was fun. We'll do it again sometime."

"You were going to tell me about a guy named Algorithm."

"Al Khwarizmi."

"He invented the algorithm, whatever that is?"

"Not exactly. He used lots of algorithms in his descriptions of algebra and proofs without actually using a term such as algorithm for them."

"So they named the algorithm after him?"

"I guess so. I'm not sure. The use of formal descriptions of methods and procedures preceded the formalization of the concept by at least two millennia, and preceded him by at least one."

"Useless facts for tests."

"Maybe."

|***|

Tami sat back against her chair, resting her eyes and looking beyond her books. "There's Mari," she said in a low voice.

"Huh?" Brian looked over at Tami and then followed her gaze. "Oh. Mari. Heh. She once told me she would only date returned missionaries. Then she changed her mind."

Mari stood near the entrance to the stacks from the stairwell, looking around. She said something to the male student standing next to her.

"You like her?"

"Hard to follow her conversations."

"Who's she with?"

"Steve." Brian stood and and waved. "He's in my home evening group. Wanted to know where I go to study."

"Oh, there you are!" Mari said, turning towards them, dragging him by the hand.

Tami caught her eye from where she sat and raised a finger to her lips as they approached.

"Sorry." Mari lowered her voice. "I guess we can just sit anywhere?"

"Yeah," Brian nodded, "tables are first-come, first-serve."

"What are you studying?" she asked quietly as Steve held her chair for her and she sat down next to Tami.

"World history," Tami said. "Brains here is working on some kind of physics."

Steve looked at Brian's textbook before sitting down next to Mari. "Dynamics." He whistled under his breath. "I'm not going to be taking that 'til next year."

"Steve and I are studying for the Book of Mormon class. We're in the same section."

Steve nodded. "I taught Russians about the Book of Mormon, then I get home and take this class and realize how little I know about it. Have you guys taken it?"

"Tami the gospel scholar is. I'm taking the missionary prep class."

"Hmmph. I am not a gospel scholar. Hardly know anything about what Mormons believe."

Mari shook her head. "You're so smart, Tami."

"You haven't been yet?" Steve asked.

Brian shrugged. "I didn't think I was ready for it."

"Are you preparing now?"

"Not sure."

Steve nodded. "Well Mari, let's crack these books. I think we're studying about secret combinations."

Tami looked over at them. "I don't get this secret combination thing. What's it supposed to mean?"

"It's what keeps me out of your locker," Brian quipped, and Tami poked him with her elbow. "Ouch."

"Gadianton. Kishkumen. Robbers." Mari said. "A bunch of rebels."

Steve nodded. "They go around secretly trying to overthrow the government."

"But why do they call it a combination instead of a conspiracy?"

Brian thought a minute. "Maybe they combine their different bad ideas and misguided efforts like a secret recipe for wickedness?"

The four of them smothered their laughter and turned to their books.

|***|

Mark studied the scoring card. "Well, it looks as if team BrianTami is positioned to take the lead, if Tami can pull off a spare here. Team MarkKiki, ganbare!"

Kiki turned and gave Mark a glare.

Tami concentrated, lifting the ball as she stepped forward. She swung smoothly, shifting her hips as she brought the ball through the bottom of the arc to the release point, and pushed it so that it was sliding and spinning left as it first hugged the right edge of the gutter, then curved in and took the lead pin at a perfect angle.

Three voices erupted behind her, two groaning and one cheering, "Oh, Tami!"

She turned and grinned. "Sorry, Kiki."

Kiki sniffed, pretending to be miffed as she stood to retrieve her ball from the return. For her first ball, she attacked the pins straight on, hitting the lead pin just to the left, and took her strike.

"Oh! KIKI!" Everyone laughed.

"Dang it Mark, we're just completely outclassed here. This is terrible stress." Brian grinned and pitched his very slowly. For an agonizing two and a half seconds, it rolled in slow motion down the lane to split the pins cleanly down the middle. The seven and ten pins remained standing.

"Sorry, Tami. I've never been able to pull in a seven-ten split. You want to do it?"

"No pinch bowling," she replied with a smirk.

Brian grinned. "Which side should I try for?"

Tami looked thoughtfully at the pins. "Try for the ten."

This time, Brian pitched at full speed. The ball grazed the inside of the ten pin, and the ten pin flew aside, to rebound whirling from the side of the lane and take the seven pin with it as it rolled into the gutter.

Mark muttered something about pressure under his breath as he stood to take his turn. He pulled off an ugly seven and three spare, leaving the score tied.

The four exchanged high-fives.

When Mark and Brian returned to the dorm, Mark shook his head. "If you guys are getting ready for the marriage of convenience thing, you sure are doing a bang-up job of making it look real."

"Whaddaya mean?"

"If you can't tell, I guess I shouldn't say."

"I think Kiki likes you. Speaking Japanese won you some points, but I'm not sure it even counts any more."

Mark grinned. "You think so? I kind of hope you're right."

|***|

"This is dance?" Brian lifted his program and pointed at the stage with it as the applause died down.

"What else would it be?"

"That last number looked more like a cross between gymnastics, something from a play, and martial arts. Other than the ryhthmic grunts and shouts, there wasn't even any music."

"It was probably inspired by both gymnastics and martial arts, and intended to have some dramatic meaning. Modern dance is a study in the motion of the body -- of ways to get from here to there. What do you think it meant?"

"Little girls chasing a leaf?"

"That could be the picture they were painting, but what do you think it means?"

"The guy who was the leaf represents romance?"

"Could be. This next one might be more to your liking, it looks like it's going to be basicaly a jazz dance number plus a bit extra."

"Didn't say I didn't like it, just didn't know it could be called dance. We'll have to tell Mark and Kiki they missed out."

"I think they wanted to be alone."

"Looks like they're ready."

And the lights dimmed.

|***|

"You missed out on some interesting performances. I did not know they called that stuff dance."

"I don't want to talk about it." Mark was lying on his bed, face down, as if he had just fallen there and hadn't moved.

"That's a lot of sudden negatives. Why don't you want to talk about it?"

"I don't want to talk about anything."

"What happened?" Brian sat down and watched his friend.

Mark rolled over and stared blankly at the cieling. "I can't believe I did it."

"What?"

"I had my arm around Kiki's shoulder, and I thought I'd see if I could encourage her to turn my direction for a kiss."

"Dangerous."

"She turned away, and my hand dropped." Mark covered his face in his hands.

"And you got to what, didn't our friends in high school used to call that second base?"

"I did not intend to do that."

"I remember you guys joking about that kind of stuff in the locker room."

"And you just watched us disapprovingly. I called you a prig. We had no idea what anything meant. All that sex ed and they don't teach you anything important." Mark rolled his head back and forth against the mat.

"They did try to warn us not to play games or push for things the other person doesn't want."

"While they passed condoms out."

"Yeah, it was a mixed message."

"What kept you from the games back then?"

Brian laughed. "I had bad habits when I was six that you guys didn't seem to be thinking about until you were twelve or so."

"You?" Mark sat up and stared. "Although I'll admit, some of the girls at church thought you were a little scary. Never understood why."

"I kept it to myself. Never dared even mess with porn because I knew how easy it was to lose control. But it took me several years of learning to look other places to get my eyes away from places a guy shouldn't look. I guess some of the girls saw where I was looking and it made them uncomfortable."

"Funny. Now we're in college Kiki says some of the girls don't trust you because they can't get you to look at them. She laughed about it." He examined the cieling again. "But, man, she's mad at me now."

"You apologized?"

"Tried. She stood up and left -- right in the middle of a big scene."

"Ran. She's not going to forgive that."

"I followed her back to the dorm. I think I said I was sorry about a hundred times. And promised I'd never do it again about as many."

"Well, that's good."

"She ignored me."

"Makes sense. She's disappointed. She thought she didn't have to be on her guard. Probably. Anyway, now she know she does. Give her some time."

"Ya think?"

"What's your options?"

Mark looked at the wall. "You're right. No options but to wait until she's willing to talk."

"Hey. You say praying is good, why don't you pray about it? Oh, here's another note on my desk."

"Yeah. I didn't look at it."

Brian read it. "Guess I'm going down to call my family."

"Still don't see how you can survive without a cell phone."

|***|

"So what do you think?" Kiki looked at Tami miserably, almost accusingly. Tears threatened in her eyes, and makeup spread and tracked where tears had already dripped down her nose and cheeks.

Tami reached for the tissue box on her desk. "Cleaning the makeup off your face will help you feel better."

Kiki grabbed Tami's pillow and threw it at her.

Tami ducked and smiled ruefully. "I promise. Get yourself occupied with something and it helps the pain go away."

Kiki froze. "You know about this."

Tami nodded.

"I'm sorry."

Tami shook her head. "It's in the past for me." She reached in her drawer and pulled out cold cream and a mirror and went over to sit beside Kiki. "I'll hold the mirror, you work on the makeup. And tell me what happened again."

Kiki sighed, and took the cold cream and a tissue and started working around her eyes. "I'd been looking forward to seeing Ran."

"I know."

"Mark had his arm around me."

"Is that bad?"

"I hadn't thought so." She paused and examined her work. "It felt like he was trying to push, well, gently, my face around towards him."

"For a kiss."

"I wanted to watch the movie, so I turned away."

Tami nodded.

"And he touched my breast."

"Any chance it was an accident?"

"How do you think it could be?"

"Mark's a pretty decent guy."

Kiki busied herself cleaning the tear tracks from her cheeks.

"Did he grab?"

"I'm not sure. I was just too shocked."

"And then you left the theater."

"Yeah. I'm pretty burned at that, too."

"Did you think you liked him before this?"

"Yeah! That hurts, too! I was feeling like, you know, maybe this is the guy."

"Real love?"

"Yeah."

"If such a thing as real love exists, it has to be able to survive this kind of thing."

"Huh?"

"I don't think he meant to touch you there. Maybe when he was a high school student, maybe he did that kind of thing. But I don't think he does now."

"But it couldn't be an accident."

"I'm going to put my arm around your shoulder." Tami did so. "Was it something like this?"

"Yeah."

"Turn away like you're avoiding a kiss."

Kiki turned. "Ah?" She looked at Tami's hand in horror, where it had slipped down and was hovering just barely away from touching her breast.

"If he'd had the instinct to pull back, you'd be finishing the movie now. But he missed pulling his hand back."

"I see. Maybe all that apologizing when he was chasing me back was for real."

"Maybe. Maybe it's worth talking it over with him."

"Wow." Kiki's face lit up.

"Don't get your hopes way up, just quit getting down on life. Do you feel like you've done something wrong?"

"I feel, well, dirty. Yeah. I do have this doubt, like it was my fault."

"If there is such a thing as a devil, I think that must be the devil talking. Name one thing you've done wrong."

Kiki shook her head. "Letting him put his arm around me was not wrong. And it was not my fault I trusted him."

"Not your fault."

"So now I just have to listen to his side of the story, I guess."

"That would be a good idea."

"And maybe we can still be friends."

"And if it happens again, you can slap him or walk out on him or whatever. If it doesn't happen again, maybe you can rebuild that good thing that was happening."

"What if I don't?"

Tami moved around so she could look in Kiki's eyes. "Hmm?"

"Slap him. For one half a second, I liked it."

"Don't you dare. Save that for when you're married to someone you can trust."

"I thought it was fun in high school."

"If it never went beyond that, you were lucky."

"I guess I was." Kiki stopped and looked again at Tami. "And you know about this, too."

Tami nodded again.

"I'm sorry."

Tami just leaned her head sideways and gave her a sideways grin, and reached around her shoulder to give her a hug.

"Thanks."

"Sure. Get back to your room and get some sleep."

|***|

Mark had his eyes closed, and his mouth was moving silently, when Brian came back. He finished his prayer and looked up. "I'm feeling like maybe I have a chance."

"Good. Joan says she thinks you should call Kiki tomorrow and ask if she'll talk to you where other people will be there."

Mark thought about it.

"And pray for help. Hey. I don't know if it'll do you any good, but I'll pray for you, too."

"I think I should talk to her. Is before breakfast too early?

"Maybe not. Ask God."

"And you tell me you don't believe in answers."

"Just not sure if I believe I hear them or not. But you believe."

"Heh. You're the best roommate I've got."

"I'm the only roommate you've got. I'm gonna get some sleep.

|***|

"Uhm, Tami, ..."

Tami turned from her seat at the study table.

"What's up? You look serious."

"I think my family is inviting you to Sunday dinner this week."

"They are. Joan called me."

Brian sat down and leaned forward to remove his pack. "I wonder how she got your number."

"Mark?"

"You should understand they will be grilling you."

"Probably. You, too. We should review what we know about each other, and maybe decide how we're going to answer the obvious questions."

"You're not worried?"

"You thought this wouldn't happen?" She grinned.

"You're laughing at me. Ooomph." He finally got the pack past the back of the chair and off his back, and set it on the table.

"We should go outside so we can speak more privately." She stood up and collected her books and papers.

Brian just sat there.

"Why the long face?"

"I'm not sure."

"If you want the fruit, you have to water the plant. You got your Book of Mormon?"

"It's on my desk in my room."

"I have mine. Let's go."

He picked his pack back up and followed her down the stairs and out onto the quad.

"Where do you want to sit? Benches are out."

"You pick."

And they wandered out on the grass and sat down to read Alma 32 together.

When they were done, Tami said, "Water the seed. Paper and pencil."

"Huh?"

"Get it out. We have to take notes." She waited while he got out a pencil and a notepad. "Okay, the first question we should look at is how many kids we plan to have."

"Kids?"

"We are supposed to be thinking about this, aren't we?"

"I'm not sure I'm ready for this."

"You're deciding you like someone better?"

"No."

"It's not like we'll be getting married next week and having ten kids the week after."

Brian laughed. "Okay, okay." He thought for a moment. "No, the first question is how you kiss. And how you rate my kisses."

"Top notch, of course."

"French?"

"No deep kissing. We're doing it by the book."

Brian grinned. "Okay. I'm with you on that. Necking?"

"Only the back of my neck, and I like it. And my ears."

Brian swallowed. "Oh. I guess you blow on the back of my neck and I complain." He shivered.

Tami laughed. "Holding hands."

Brian reached out and took her hand. For a minute they sat there.

"Nothing," they said in unison, apparently relieved.

"But that won't do. It's electric. I need my hand back so I can write."

Brian laughed. "Maybe it is a little electric." He released her hand. "Where were we? Date?"

"Maybe mid-spring, after final exams in winter semester?" Tami swallowed as she thought.

"Tentative. Number of kids, well, I never really thought about it. Maybe we'll say we'll leave that to figure out later."

"Sounds good. What's your favorite position?"

"Huh?"

Tami closed her eyes and leaned back, face to the sky, as Brian looked sharply at her. She seemed to be thinking unpleasant thoughts, which she did not elucidate. She shook herself. "Never mind. My mistake. We aren't supposed to know about that. At least, not be thinking about that kind of thing."

"Oh." Brian bowed his head and thought. Hesitantly, he ventured, "Look, we can say we need to study this Sunday."

"But we won't be able to put it off forever."

"Uhm, if there's something you'd ... like me to listen to, I'm all ears. I mean, we've kind of gotten to be friends, haven't we?"

"No." She paused. "Nothing, really, to talk about." She put her pencil back to her notebook "We aren't yet supposed to know each other's favorite toothpaste, because we live in the dorms. And Joan won't be asking if I've left feminine hygiene products in your bathroom to scare your friends, for the basically the same reason. I hope."

"What are you talking about?"

"You don't have a bathroom I can bomb. Questions there should be no reason for."

Brian shook his head again.

"But we don't want to be too surprised, just in case they come up. Your mission."

"Not thinking about it."

"It's an option."

Brian looked at her doubtfully and she looked back with a firm expression.

"Trust me on this. We need to say it's an option."

"Oh-kay. It's an option. But I'm thinking I'll just volunteer for a ward mission if I ever get the answers I'd need to be a missionary. Where do we want to live?"

"Well, in married student housing until we graduate. More important, I guess is who graduates first. Your family won't want me to know about your trust fund, so I'm going to support you through school."

"I think you'd better trust me on this one. We've talked about part-time jobs and student loans, but we'll see who has the better job next spring. For now, we assume it's going to be me working."

"The breadwinner --"

"-- earns the bread," he replied.

And they continued for most of an hour before running out of questions.

"Look. About the trust fund."

"I'm not supposed to know."

"We'll make one of those agreements. Pre-up, uh, pre-nuptials. I can't get it all at once anyway. I'll get a bit each month, enough for rent and tuition and books, if we don't splurge. There will be enough for both of us, because that's the way Grandad set it up if I get married. We'll make the agreement and you'll get half."

"But we should probably still work part time."

"You might be right about that."

"What if I divorce you?"

"I'd think it's fair."

Tami blinked. "Anyway, we'll finish talking about this trust fund once I'm supposed to know the details. But I'm not planning on divorcing you, okay?"

Brian looked at her inquisitively.

"It wouldn't look right, and I wouldn't leave you with the questions you'd face."

"Okay." Brian nodded his head and grinned. "We must be crazy."

Tami grinned, too. "Yeah. Maybe this isn't such a good idea. But we can always change our minds, up until we actually get married."

They sat thinking for a moment. "Besides," Tami continued, looking at the grass she was running her hands through, "it really isn't the money I'm after."

Brian looked at her. "I believe you. I really don't think you're mercenary."

"I am. But it's not money." Tami bit her lip.

"Then what?"

"Stability."

"What do you mean?"

"Money means a chance at stability. It's something I need."

Brian waited for her to explain, but she still kept her own counsel.

"Let's go back in to study." Tami got up. "Did Mark mention anything about his date with Kiki last night?"

Brian got up, as well. "Yeah. Did Kiki talk to you?"

"She came in looking really distraught, so we went to my room to talk. She was really upset."

"Mark, too. He said it was an accident."

"I could believe it, from what she said. And a little bit of bad habits from high school for both of them."

"I could see that. He called her before breakfast, and they talked in the cafeteria before classes. I didn't sit close, but it looked like they ended on speaking terms again."

"Good. Keep an eye on him, okay? I really hope they don't both decide what they did in high school was too fun to wait for."

"Agreed."

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