by Robin Roseau
“I can see Fessen now,” Vessatine said, “if Bendano stops leaning forward.”
“Sorry,” he said.
“It’s okay, Bendano. Look all you want, but don’t get sick.”
“I won’t,” he said. “Maddalyn, is it hard to fly?”
“Look at me,” I told him. He turned. I looked over my shoulder at him. “Do you see me doing anything?”
He stared. “No.”
I smiled. “That’s how hard it is, most of the time. The hard parts are knowing how to avoid getting lost, and taking off and landing.” I looked forward. “Okay. I’m going to cut us inland and then circle Sudden on Trallafain’s side, then we’ll land. Once we circle Sudden, I want everyone looking out at the horizon. That’s where the sky and the ground meet. I’m not going to be able to warn you of my turns when we’re landing, and I don’t want anyone to get sick. I’ll open the canopy as soon as it’s safe, so if you feel ill, please hold it that long.”
We did the circle, and while we did so, I announced our position on the radio.
“I’m just leaving,” Kalorain said. “I see you, Maddalyn.”
“That’s good, because I can’t see you,” I said.
“I’ll wait until you’re past, then take off before you turn back for the field.”
“Mordain, where are you?”
“Halfway to Tarlotte,” she replied. “You’re slow, Maddalyn. If you don’t do your next trip faster, I’ll get to do four.”
I laughed. “You’ll get more flying tomorrow.”
“Excellent,” she said.
I circled Sudden. My passengers were quiet until Trallafain said, “I didn’t know it was so big. It doesn’t look big until you see the people and then look at the houses.” I thought that was clever of her to figure out.
I turned us back for the airfield in time to see Kalorain heading west. Two minutes later, I shut down. Hazelvarn and Margotain were both waiting, and when I looked closer, I saw Rordano and Larimarn, and Balotorid were also waiting, along with several carriages and the passengers Mordain and Kalorain had just dropped off. With the craft shut down, several of my helpers stepped forward. I suppressed a laugh as Balotorid nearly lifted Ashalartine from her seat and set her on the ground. Then he helped Bendano and Vessatine while Rordano assisted Trallafain.
Margotain moved to my side. “If you give me your spare note, I’ll give it to Mordain.”
I laughed. “She’d have to finish three trips before I can finish two.”
Margotain smiled. “Hand it over. You can always ask for it back.”
“Fine, fine.” I dug out the third note. I smiled. “What did your mother say about a sudden influx of dinner guests?”
“She has a big pot of stew going,” she replied. “And she said something about rice.”
“That will be lovely,” I replied. “Oh, now I’m hungry.”
She laughed. “Did you need water?”
“No, I had tea at Mallishta.” Then I switched to English. “I want you to quietly talk to our little inner circle, and if you see Pippa and the others, share this with them. The younger guests may be shy about dancing.”
“Don’t worry about that, Maddalyn,” she said. “We’ll take care of it.”
“Thank you, Margotain. Go. I need to get back before Mordain finishes her third trip.”
She laughed and backed away.
* * * *
Mordain nearly got a fourth trip. I left the airfield for my third trip just as she announced that she was ten kilometers out for her third, and she didn’t sound happy to hear me departing.
“Sorry,” I said.
“I bet you are.”
“Do you have any idea how much flying you get to do tomorrow?” I told her the plan.
“Really?”
“Really.”
“Well, that’s okay then,” she said. “Will you dance with me later, Maddalyn?”
“I’d love to.”
“So, I was thinking.”
“That sounds dangerous.”
“I don’t think we should tell the guests tonight that Felda is your mother.”
I began laughing. “You’re evil.”
“Who? Me?” she said, sounding not the slightest bit innocent. “Imagine when people who have been dancing with her all night find out she’s 147 years old.”
I did the math. “My mother is only… 63 or 64.”
“You don’t know how old your own mother is?”
“It’s confusing, Mordain. The years on Frantzland are a different length.”
“That doesn’t make any sense.”
“I’ll explain it sometime. She’s not 147.”
“Yes, well, she looks like she’s 18, and she’s not that, either. If we pour some wine into her, we can even get her married off by morning.”
I laughed again. “I tell you what, Mordain. You can talk to her about it.”
“Really?”
“Yep, but I’m not translating.”
“Hey!” she complained.
“And I’m going to ask Cecilia and Marge not to translate, either. You have to explain what you want using Talmonese.”
“Not English?”
“We’re teaching her Talmonese.”
“If she says ‘yes’?”
“It’s Mother’s decision,” I said.
“Can we introduce her as your younger sister?”
“No. I’m not going to actually lie. Introduce her as Felda.”
“You have the same accent. Everyone is going to assume she’s your sister.”
“Because I have three friends from Tarriton they’ll assume she’s a friend, too.”
“Oh, that’s okay then.”
“I’m glad you approve,” I said. “Now pay attention to that landing.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“That’s Frau Ma’am to you,” I said with a little laugh.
“You better watch out,” Kalorain said. “She’s going to start calling you that.”
“And I can start inviting Colonel Blue to help when we need a pilot,” I said.
“You wouldn’t!”
“I bet she’s bored with nothing to do.”
“I heard she’s had plenty to do,” Kalorain said. “No one seems to be complaining, either.”
“Things I don’t need to know,” I said. “I need to pay attention now. There’s a village around here somewhere…”
“Don’t get lost,” Mordain said.
* * * *
Dinner was excellent, as always. Valtine didn’t seem at all put out at such a huge crowd, and I admired what she could do on short notice.
Mordain had possession of Mother by the time I had arrived, and the two looked pleased with themselves. Mother was showing a playful side I didn’t know existed, but she told me, “Mordain told me you didn’t want to introduce me as your mother.”
“I am fairly certain that is not what she tried to tell you,” I said. I switched to English. “Mordain, did you intentionally mislead my mother whose wild idea this was?”
Mother laughed and switched her gaze to Mordain. “You just pranked me!”
“I did,” Mordain admitted. “It felt good. I think I’m going to do it again some time.”
“Did she tell you it was her idea,” I asked, “but it’s your decision?”
“She did.” She fluffed her hair, which was something else I’d never seen her do. Who was this woman? Was it really Mother? She smiled. “Will you dance with me later?”
“I’d love to, Mother.”
“Will we have a room for the wild dancing?”
“With this many teenagers, I find it unlikely,” I said. “But you know what? I’m letting Valtine, Pippa, Tranquility, and Serenity work that out.”
And so, Mother was introduced as “Felda”, and they let people come to their own conclusions. I was amused when Vessatine and Trallafain decided to take Mother under their mutual wing, so to speak, and ended up sitting on opposite sides of her, speaking in caref
ul Talmonese, very little of which she was ready to understand.
For her part, Mother seemed to be enjoying being a teenager again, in body if not in actual maturity. If so, good for her.
After a break, we gathered in the ballroom. Our lessons weren’t all that different from the first night, although this time we had more people, but we also had more people who understood the style. The results weren’t surprising. The Talmonese, even Bendano, put themselves into it, just like they did anything else. But like any activity where skill is a factor, some caught on faster than others.
The Twins were both good, and I was sure almost immediately it wouldn’t take long before they would be better than I was, if they had the opportunities. What was fun was watching them trading roles, learning both to lead and to follow.
Bendano struggled, but he had a good attitude, so during one of the exercises, I traded places with his partner. He looked at me with a shy smile. I stepped closer, well into what I would have considered my personal space. He looked down, somewhere in the general vicinity of my chest, but I decided it was because he couldn’t meet my eyes, not because he was staring at my womanly assets.
Yes, I actually thought of it that way, at least at the time.
I used a hand to lift his chin. “Let’s talk for a minute,” I said.
“Okay.”
“Can you understand me in spite of my accent?”
“Yes, Maddalyn.”
“I’m older than you, twice your age.” He nodded. “Do you like girls, Bendano?” He paused and then nodded again, but then he looked back down, and he was staring at my chest.
I managed not to laugh.
“Bendano,” I said. “Up here. I’m not going to bite.” I gestured towards my eyes, raising his gaze. “Do you have a girlfriend?” He shook his head. “Look around the room for a minute.”
He did, and I pointed out a few people. “There is your mother dancing with Sudden Vendart’s Wife. They look good together, don’t they?”
“Yes. And my other mother is dancing with Indartha Vendart.”
“So she is, and they look good, too, don’t they?”
He nodded.
“Your sisters are having fun, too. I haven’t danced with them yet, but I’m looking forward to it, and your mothers, too.” I gestured to Pippa. “She’s pretty, isn’t she?”
“That’s your friend.”
I gestured to some of the others, including a teenage girl near Bendano’s age. “What do you think of her?”
“That’s Annaain.” Anna-ain. “Tarlotte Vendart’s daughter.”
“So it is. She’s cute.” He didn’t say anything. “She’s the only girl here near your age.”
“I don’t want to dance with her.”
“Because you’re afraid she won’t like you, because you’re not a good dancer.”
“Yeah.”
“Well, I’m here to fix that,” I said. “Look at me now. I’m twice your age, but I’m told I’m pretty.”
“You’re married to a woman.”
“Yeah, but this is just dancing,” I said. “Bendano, it isn’t about knowing all the fancy steps. When dancing this style, it’s about how you hold me, and whether we move with the music. Do you think it would be horrible to hold me?”
“No.”
“Good. So let’s start with that.” I held my hands up, and after a moment he stepped closer. He was very hesitant about it. “Bendano, I don’t have bugs. Is this really how you want to hold me?”
“I’m afraid.”
“I know. I wouldn’t be here to dance with you if I didn’t want you to hold me. Now, what do you want to do?”
He moved a little closer, and then I leaned into him. He froze, but I smiled against his ear. “That’s better,” I said. “We’re going to do something very simple. I’m going to show you, but then you’re going to lead. Relax and move with me. Can you hear the music?”
“Yes.”
“Can you hear the rhythm?”
“I think so.”
“Can you hear that it’s 1-2-3-4-1-2-3-4?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, good. So we’re just going to sway a little. We’ll sway on the ones. Here it comes.” And then on the beat, I swayed us to my left. And then on the next one, I swayed us to the right. Then I said, “That’s really slow, so we’ll sway on the ones and threes.” We did that for a few measures, then I stilled us. “I want you to lead us for that. Can you do it?”
“I think so.”
“Whenever you’re ready.”
He actually did okay, but it was an easy exercise. The idea was to give him confidence and get him accustomed to listening to the music. “Okay,” I said. “Good. Let’s pause a moment.” He stopped swaying us, and I said, “I’m going to lead us again for a minute. Instead of going side-to-side, we’re going to go back and forth. We’ll go on the ones at first. Here we go, towards me.” On the one, I pulled myself backwards, and he followed with me. On the next one, I stepped towards him, and while I had to give a good push, he went. “Okay, you lead that. Back and forth, but after a minute, I want you to switch it up, maybe two forward and one back then one forward and two back, whatever you want. Just make sure we don’t bump into anyone.”
He did that well, too, and it was easy to move with him.
“This isn’t hard, is it?” I asked.
“This isn’t dancing.”
“Sure it is. Now I want you to switch it up some more. We can go back and forth or side to side. While we’re doing that, I want you to think about a few things. Listen to the music. Always listen to the music. But listen to your partner, too.”
“You’re talking into my ear.”
“Ah, listen to my body. Does it feel good to hold me?”
“I guess.”
“It’s going to feel really good to hold Annaain,” I said. “And some of the other girls, too. So, listen to the music, and listen to my body. And then think about where you want to go. Whenever you’re ready.”
He mostly kept us there in our corner, but we moved around. “Keep this going,” I said. “This is nice, Bendano. You’re a nice boy, and I like dancing. So this is nice. What do you think?”
“You smell good,” he admitted.
“Thank you,” I said. “I’m glad you think so. Dancing with an old lady like me isn’t so bad.”
“You’re not old.”
“Perhaps not,” I said. “Okay, I want you to try something new. Right now we’re stepping on the ones and threes, or sometimes just the ones, and that’s great. But now and then, if the music sounds right for it, I want you to quick step. So we’re doing 1-3-1-3, but now and then make it 123-1-3. Do you understand?”
“I think so.”
“Not a lot. Just when it feels right,” I said.
It took him time, but he did it, and after that he did it more often.
* * * *
I spent another twenty minutes with him. Finally I said, “Do you see my friend, Pippa? She’s dancing with Beacon Hill Vendart.”
“Yes.”
“We’re going to trade, but we’re going to do it in a different way. Dance us over there then spin me out. I’m going to dance two measures with Pippa then give her to you, and Beacon Hill Vendart is going to dance with me.”
“Okay.”
It was a minute later, but he said, “I don’t know how to spin you.”
“Are they behind me?”
“Yes, and Beacon Hill Vendart is watching us.”
“I’ll spin myself. Just say ‘now’ when I should go.”
“Ready. Now!”
I spun myself, and Luradinine spun Pippa a half measure later. She tried to send Pippa past me to Bendano, but I intercepted her.
“Cheat,” she said, laughing.
“Be kind to him,” I said. “Then make him dance with Tarlotte Vendart’s daughter, if you think he’s ready, or get him more practice if he’s not. Give me to Luradinine.”
She spun me right into my mothe
r-in-law’s arms, and I noticed after a moment she had Bendano. I smiled. Pippa was leading.
I closed my eyes and relaxed.
“You’re a sweet woman, Maddalyn,” Luradinine said to me.
“When you’re ready to pass me off, give me to one of his mothers or sisters.”
She nodded, and we danced. But then she kissed my cheek. “I want to talk to you later, or tomorrow if we don’t have time tonight.”
“All right.”
We danced another measure, and then she spun me away, and I found myself dancing with one of the Twins in a green dress. “Hello, Vessatine.”
“Hello, Maddalyn.”
We danced a few measures, and then I said, “I want to ask you something. Do you think you and your sister would like to learn to speak English?”
“Why?”
“Because the two of you are future leaders for this planet, and this planet is going to need leaders who speak English.”
“We’re from a village almost no one has heard of.”
“Are you saying ‘no’?”
“How?”
“Leave that to me,” I said. “Yes or no?”
“Yes. And Trallafain will say ‘yes’, too.”
“It’s only polite if I ask her myself, so give me to her next.”
“I’ll try.”
I got a nice, long dance with her, and then I found myself with the other twin. She laughed and we danced away. “I want to ask you something.” Yes, she agreed. “Give me to your vendart next.”
Two minutes later, I said, “Mallishta Vendart, I just asked your daughters if they would like to learn English. Have I overstepped what is proper?”
She laughed. “No.”
“Then I want them to come with us tomorrow.”
“Whatever you want, Maddalyn.”
“I like that answer,” I said.
* * * *
Luradinine stole me later. She actually intercepted me when Roldano tried to give me to Cecilia, or maybe it was Valtine. But Luradinine stepped into my path and danced away with me. I laughed. “You’re going to be good when we teach you the competitions.”
We danced… right out of the ballroom and across the hall.
“Help!” I whispered. “Help! I’m being kidnapped. Your daughter already did this.”
She laughed then closed the door with her foot. We stilled, but she held me tightly.