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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Next: Researching Together

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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."

---

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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."

---

Table of Contents

Next: Sunday Dinner

---

Marriage of Inconvenience, Ch. 1 -- Gold Digger

Table of Contents

---

"Hey, Brian, you look beat. Got plans for tonight?"

"Study. If I can stay awake. Only two hours on shift in the cafeteria today, but chem, physics, and biology labs before that. Yeah, I'm beat." Brian dropped his pack on his desk.

Mark grinned. "You gotta get out." He was stretched out on his bed in the two-man dorm room, relaxing in the cool early autumn evening breeze from the window.

"Find me a girl to go out with! Am I that bad looking? Nobody in the ward will give me the time of day."

"How many have you asked?"

"Let me see. Last Sunday, Jenny told me she doesn't go out with guys who don't have a car. The next day, Mari told me she was waiting for a returned missionary."

"Did she tell you his name?"

"Any RM, she said. Won't date a guy who hasn't finished his mission."

"Oh, brutal! Guess you're just gonna have to go." Mark swung his feet around and sat up with a lopsided grin.

"Not gonna be a missionary unless I can figure out what the Church means. I mean, yeah, the Church is a good influence in people's lives, but that Book of Mormon?" Brian shook his head. Then he looked back at Mark. "But you've found a reason to believe, you said." He pulled his own copy of the book out of its place on his desk and sat down, thumbing through it as if he were looking for something.

"Yeah. But I figured it out on my mission, not before."

"What if I go and I don't figure it out? How do I tell people, yeah, I'm out here teaching it, but I don't know what it means?" He closed the book and put it back, and turned to face Mark again.

Mark shrugged.

"How did you excuse yourself in going?"

"My dad told me I'd figure it out, and I guess I believed him."

"Just can't see it."

"Well, I'm not going to tell you you have to go, but it does limit your choices."

The two roommates sat in silence for a minute.

Brian looked out the window. "Last week, Kiki told me she couldn't go to a movie with a guy that she might have to ask to get her more potato salad in the cafeteria the next day."

"Really? Seems a little biased to me."

"Can't understand it. You'd think working part time made you some sort of pariah.

"If these women knew how much money you really have, they'd be crawling all over you."

"You think so?"

"Sure. Take Tami, for instance."

"Tami who works the same shift with me?"

"Yeah. I hear she's only interested in guys with real money."

"I've noticed she doesn't date much."

"Too durn busy studying and working."

"Like me."

"Like you. But you have real money. She'd date you if she knew about that."

"But I don't have money now. You think she's not going to worry about that?"

"Some women think about now. She thinks about her future. Maybe."

"That would be why she works so hard all the time."

"Tell her you have it in a trust fund and you can get it if you're married. Hint that you're interested in a marriage of convenience."

"You, a returned missionary, are suggesting something so mercenary? Isn't there something immoral about that?"

"Probably. But if the rules aren't working, ...." He laughed. "If you could get the attention of a girl that materialistic, it might help break barriers with other girls."

"That's doubly mercenary. Nah. Not gonna to do that."

Mark checked the clock on Brian's desk. "Whoa. Look at the time. Gotta go."

|***|

"Tami, why don't you date?"

"Nobody asks me out." Tami did not look up from her books.

Jenny watched her roommate from across the dorm room. "I've noticed guys looking at you. If you gave them even a little encouragement, I'm sure they would."

Tami still did not look up. She closed her eyes. She might have shuddered. "But you're one to talk. I watched you turn Brian down last week."

"Brian Hawkswell? He doesn't even have a cell phone. No car. And he has to work a part time job."

"So he's thrifty. I've watched him on the job -- he's a hard worker. If I let him, he'd probably do my job for me, too."

"Working class. I'm looking for managerial material. Besides," she added, in a decisive tone of voice, "he's not a returned missionary."

Tami shook her head. "Is having been a missionary all that important?"

Of course! It's everything! You can't get into the Celestial Kingdom without it!"

"Really? Well, I suppose, if a really rich returned missionary asked me out, I might consider it."

"See. You think money's important, too."

"But he'd have to be thrifty, too. Rich enough to have his own car and smart enough not to."

Jenny wrinkled her forehead. "You're teasing me."

Tami kept her head in her books. "I grew up poor. My mom had to do things she didn't want to do,  to pay rent and feed me. I came here to get an education so that doesn't happen to me -- or my kids if I have any. I didn't come here looking for some fantasy knight in shining armor."

"But if you found him, ...?"

"I don't believe in fairy tales."

|***|

Brian sprayed hot soapy water over the load of dishes, stripping them of leftover food. Then he passed the carrier through the hot wash station to Tami, who sprayed them down with clear hot water while he worked on the next load.

"You know something, I wouldn't have to work this job, ...." Brian took a dishcloth after some scraps of dried something that looked like gravy.

Tami didn't respond. She quietly finished rinsing the load of dishes and sent the carrier through the final rinse station into the dryer.

Brian was silent while he finished his load.

"Okay, that's enough for now. I'm going back out to refill the food counters." He grabbed a load of dry trays.

"Have fun." Tami took the load he sent through and started rinsing it. When she was done, she picked up a basket of spoons and another of knives from the dryer and followed him out to the serving area.

"So in what imaginary world would you be freed of working part time?" she asked as she passed behind him.

He checked the potato salad. "Salad looks low." He looked at Susan, their supervisor, standing at the checkout register. She nodded, so he went to the fridge.

Tami met him on her way to the steam table when he was coming back with potato salad. "Carrots," she said.

"Grandpa left me a trust fund."

A little later, when there was nothing that needed taken care of, they stood behind the counter watching and greeting the students who came through with trays to get dinner, keeping on eye on the supply of food.

"But you can't have the fund until you're thirty or something, right?" Her tone said she expected him to further embellish reality.

"No, if I go on a mission, I can have it when I get back."

"Why don't you go?"

"Wouldn't be comfortable trying to preach something I'm not sure I believe."

"So your grandfather wants to buy your faith?"

"No. There's another way I can get it."

"What's that?"

"If I get married."

"Bwahaha. Right. I'm sure you expect me to believe that." The students in line looked up in alarm, and Susan gave them a curious but warning look.

"Just making conversation."

"Right. Sure." She looked at the students who had stopped moving forward. "He was just making conversation."

Some of them nodded as if it made sense, and the line moved forward again.

|***|

Brian walked around the stacks into the study area and looked for a place at a table. Finding an empty chair, he set his pack down. The girl sitting to the right looked up and met his eyes.

"Ah. Sorry, I'll go sit somewhere else."

"It's a free library."

"You don't mind?"

Tami smirked. "You don't plan on doing something to keep me from studying, do you?"

"Not particularly."

Hesitatingly, he pulled the chair out and sat. "I didn't recognize, uhm, realize it was ..."

"You don't have to explain."

"I don't want you to think ..."

"Shh. You're keeping me from studying."

After he had been studying for about a half hour, He became aware that Tami was leaning back and stretching.

"You really expect me to believe you about your grandfather?" she whispered.

He turned and looked at her. "No. Sorry to bring it up." He kept his voice low.

"So it doesn't exist." She was challenging him.

"No, it's real enough."

"Proof or you're just high."

"Proof?" Brian shrugged. "So I'm high. What would you take as proof?"

"Your family's rich, right?"

"Non sequitur."

Tami gave him a dirty look. "Watch your language around me."

"Latin. It means you've made an unjustified leap in logic."

"You understand logic?"

"Yeah. A little."

"Hmmm." Tami looked at the books in front of her. "Give me some help here."

After another thirty minutes or so of study, Brian sometimes helping Tami figure out her introductory logic homework, Tami leaned back again.

"But if your grandfather left you a large enough trust fund to allow you to not work part-time, then why isn't your family rich?"

"Dad and Mom want all of us kids to learn how to make our own way as much as possible."

Tami chewed her pencil. "Okay, so they're rich, but they aren't giving you any. I think I heard someone say you're from around here. Where's your house?"

"Up near the point of the mountain."

"Above or below the remaining agricultural district?"

"Above."

"Can we see it from here?"

Brian rolled his eyes and looked at the wall. "Maybe. I haven't really tried."

Tami looked toward the windows. She stood up, beckoning him to follow, and walked to them. He stood up and followed reluctantly.

"From here, the humanities building is blocking the view," Brian said from behind her.

"So, if we went there, you could show me the house, right? And I could meet your family and they would admit they know you?"

Brian laughed. "I'm not sure my sister Joan would admit knowing me. She jokes around sometimes."

"Let's go."

"Huh?"

"Now's good for me."

"How?"

"My car."

"I should call first."

"No warning."

Brian cocked his head. "It's a Tuesday night, almost time to close the library. It'll take a half hour out and a half hour back. I'm not sure we'll be back before they lock the dorm doors." He turned to look at Tami.

Tami had already returned to the table, and was gathering her books. "Proof or you're a liar."

"Non sequitur!" Brian complained as he gathered his books and hurried after her.

|***|

"This is my house." Across the substantial front yard, the front windows showed a few lights through the curtains, as if someone might still be up.

"The name on the mailbox is Hawkswell." She looked at him.

"What did you expect, Fujimoto?"

She laughed and looked back. "And if we can't make it back before curfew, I could just spend the night in a spare room or something, right?"

"You'd probably get my old bed, I'd get the couch in the living room, and I would get a long lecture from Mom before being allowed to sleep. All of that after we called the dorm moms to explain why we're not there."

"I could tell everyone tomorrow I slept in your bed."

Brian gave her a sharp look.

"Kidding." She grinned and turned off the engine. "Can I look inside?"

Brian rubbed his forehead with his middle finger, perplexed. "Okay, okay. Let's go. But I guarantee they'll get the wrong impression about you."

Tami was already opening her door.

At the door, Brian rang the doorbell.

Tami raised her eyebrows.

"They probably already have the alarms set."

After about a minute, Brian raised his hand to ring the doorbell again, and the door opened.

"Hi, Joan."

The high-school age girl at the door looked out through the screen with a puzzled expression. "May I help you?"

Tami rolled her eyes.

"Joan, not now. Just tell Tami I'm your brother. We need to get back to the dorms."

The girl shrugged. "What?" She looked through the screen again, at Tami and then at Brian, still with a puzzled expression on her face, then back to Tami. "I guess you're Tami?"

"Yeah."

"I don't know this guy."

"Joan."

"Hah. We're gone." Tami turned and descended the walk.

"Joan, quit playing around."

"You can walk back," Tami called over her shoulder.

Brian followed. "I told you she jokes around sometimes."

"See you tomorrow," Tami said as she climbed back in her car. "Waste of gas."

Brian turned around and went back up the sidewalk. "Joan, see what a mess you got me in?"

"Do I have to call the police?" the girl asked from the doorway.

Tami started up and drove off, glancing behind her. As she turned the corner, she saw the girl come out of the house, followed by an older woman that she guessed was the girl's mother. She stopped and rolled down the window to see if she could hear.

"... gold digger, Mom. Brian hasn't a .."

One corner of her mouth lifted and she turned off the engine and the car lights, waiting to see what would happen.

"I don't ... Brian. ... walk back to campus." She could barely distinguish the words.

"Curfew, Mom."

Their mother pointed back towards campus. "Knock ... the dorm mom's door. ... part of her job."

Brian's shoulders sagged and he turned and walked toward the street.

"Be careful, and call me from the dorm ...."

As he drew even with Tami's car, she called through the window. "Hey, just kidding. We can still beat curfew. Get in."

Brian frowned, but opened the door and climbed in. She drove off and they both sat in silence for a few minutes.

At a stoplight, Tami said, "Your mom's pretty harsh."

"You heard?"

"Yeah."

"What my sister called you, too?"

"Hey, she's just feeling protective about her big brother. And she's right. If I were legit, she'd've heard of me before we came. Theyre not bad people, you know."

Brian looked at her and grinned as the light turned green and she pressed the accelerator.

|***|

"I'm back at the dorm, Mom. Tami waited for me."

"Glad to hear it. Who is she?"

"She works the same shift I do in the cafeteria. Didn't believe my family lives on the hill."

He heard his mother's chuckle. "She left so quickly. Couldn't tell anything about her."

"Curfew, you know. We're not dating or anything."

"Yet. Well, take care of yourself and be good to your friends."

"Thanks Mom."

"Sleep tight."

"You too."

|***|

"I saw you studying with Brian yesterday." Mari hurried to keep up with Tami on their way to upper campus from the dorms.

"Oh?"

"Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"He knows logic pretty well. Very helpful."

"Well, I mean, isn't he dirt poor?"

"Apparently not, although I'm not sure what that has to do with anything."

Mari stopped in her tracks and looked after Tami, who kept going. Then she hurried to catch up again.

|***|

"Mark, you were right. Breaking the ice with Tami seems to have broken the ice with other girls."

Mark dumped his load of clothes in the washer. "Great. How'd you break the ice with Tami?"

"I'm not sure." Brian continued pulling clothes from the dryer.

"Nothing about marriage of convenience?"

"No, not that."

"She doesn't mind that you're dating other girls?"

"We're just study partners."

"Heh. Well, don't waste your opportunities, man. So how was the movie with Kiki?"

"We don't seem to be interested in the same movies. She wanted to see Kurosawa's Ran."

"Oh. Ran. Hey. You think ..."

"She asked about you."

"I'm on this."

---

Table of Contents

Next: Dating

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A Marriage of Inconvenience -- Table of Contents

A Marriage of Inconvenience

Joel Matthew Rees

Copyright 2018

Two college students find love in a marriage of convenience is not convenient.

• Chapter 1, Gold Digger
• Chapter 2, Dating
• Chapter 3, Sunday Dinner