by Robin Roseau
“Probably not,” I said. I thought about the difficulties. “I will transfer this one to you for now, and show you how to use it, but I will obtain one that speaks Talmonese.”
“They are precious.”
“I do not know if Cecilia can sell one to me or if I will need to have one brought here. It may not be for two shuttles.”
“Two shuttles?”
“When the shuttle arrives the next time, I can ask for one to be sent. It would arrive the next time.”
“Oh, like magic!”
“Yes,” I said. “Like magic.”
“I do not speak Deutsche.”
“I will show you enough you can do some things. One from Cecilia will suit you better. It will speak English, Deutsche, and Talmonese.”
“No Deutsche!”
“And perhaps twenty other languages.”
“No. So many?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t checked. Probably.”
“They make better tablets on Centos Four than on Frantzland.”
“Perhaps,” I said. “Or perhaps Cecilia buys more expensive tablets than the one I bought on Frantzland. My tablet is like an inexpensive buggy.”
She laughed. “I think I understand.”
“It’s better than cart,” I added. “But not as fine as a cabriolet.”
“Cecelia’s tablets are a cabriolet?”
“Yes.”
“And the tablet in your head?”
“A custom-made coach, but in this case, smaller is better rather than bigger. And Cecelia’s is even more custom-made, far more custom-made. If we were comparing only implants, mine is, hmm. A cabriolet, and Cecilia’s is at least a coach.”
“How many years must she work on Talmon to pay for her coach?”
“I believe she paid for her implant herself,” I said. “I haven’t asked.”
“Herself?”
“She is a hundred years old. How much money do you think you can acquire in that time? She does not work for money. She works because she feels a responsibility.”
“This is why she is the right choice for our governor.”
“Yes,” I said. “It is one reason.”
“It is time. Come.” She took my hand and pulled me to the door.
* * * *
I felt very self-conscious as we stepped outside, but Kalorain made nothing of it. We held hands and followed the walk to the road, and then followed the road for just a few minutes before arriving in front of a business. I didn’t understand what it was at first.
“This is the public bathhouse,” Kalorain said. “Cecilia told me that in Indartha, she has a shower in her home with Sartine, but she uses the public baths several times a week. It is an important part of Talmon culture. It is not just a bath. It is a social event. And so you may shower at home, but we will also come here.”
“Every day?”
“No, but often, three or four times a week.”
I didn’t argue with her. Instead, I let her pull me inside.
There were two girls at the reception desk. They both smiled as we stepped in. Kalorain stepped up and said, “Good morning, Plestine. How is your day, Renalarn?”
“Good morning, Kalorain,” they said together. Then the older looked at me. “Good morning, Galatzi prize.”
Kalorain provided proper introductions and then said, “Maddalyn will need her own marker.”
“We have one ready,” Plestine said. “But we did not know which name you would allow.”
Kalorain began to grin. She looked at me appraisingly. “Do you understand?”
“Yes and no.”
Renalarn set a piece of wood on the table. It was perhaps as long as my hand, square in shape about the size of my thumb. It was brightly painted, and it had Kalorain’s name on it on all four sides. Then Plestine added a small basket to the table and put the marker inside the basket.
“We put our clothes here,” she said. “And the marker on top.”
“Now I understand. And so I will have my own marker?”
“Yes, but as you are my Galatzi Wife, I may choose what it says. They will paint any words I want.” She grinned and turned back to the girls. “I suppose Kalorain’s Star Woman Galatzi Wife would be too many words.”
I snorted. The girls looked at each other. “We could paint it really small,” Renalarn said.
“We could put a different word on each side,” Plestine suggested. “If you can pick four words.”
Kalorain grinned at me again but then her smile faded. “I suppose it should just say ‘Maddalyn’.”
I looked into her eyes then asked, “What do you really want it to say?”
“I want it to say ‘Kalorain’s Star Woman Galatzi Wife’.”
“Five words,” I said. “Kalorain’s Galatzi Star Wife. Four words. Kalorain’s Galatzi Wife. Three words. Kalorain’s. One word.”
“Which do you want?”
“Whichever you pick.”
She turned to the girls. “Would you?”
“Sure, Kalorain,” Plestine said. “Renalarn doesn’t mind.”
“Hey!” said her younger sister. Then she smiled. “Sure. I don’t mind.”
“What do other Galatzi prizes get?”
“Lots of things,” Plestine said. “A few have their names, but most have something else. I like ‘Kalorain’s Galatzi Star Wife’.”
“We can do two words on a side,” Renalarn added. “But not five.”
“So Kalorain’s Star,” I suggested. “And then “Galatzi Wife. Then repeat. So if you see two sides, you see all four words.”
“Yes,” Kalorain said. “Do you mind, Renalarn?”
“No, Kalorain,” she said. “I’ll do it today.”
“I want to show my new Galatzi wife the entire experience,” Kalorain said. “Is it too early?”
“We’re the only ones working,” Plestine said.
“I can handle the front,” Renalarn added. “But that only leaves Plestine.”
“You could take turns,” the girl added.
“Turns?”
“You’ll see,” Kalorain said. “Do you mind?”
“Of course not,” she said. She smiled. “This is a bad job if I didn’t like it.”
Kalorain pulled out some coins and set them on the counter. Renalarn added four more markers to the table. Kalorain added them to the basket and said, “We only need one today.” Then she smiled and said, “Come.”
I followed her to the right. We went through a door and around the corner and entered a dressing room. There were benches, but no lockers. Instead, there were shelves around the room, and I figured things out easily enough.
“We undress here,” she said. “There are towels later.”
“Are there men?”
“They go the other way, and they get different pools. Only women here.”
“Okay.” I took off my robe and sandals. Kalorain took the sandals from me and added them to the basket with hers, then both robes went on top and the marker with her name on the top. That went onto one of the shelves.
Easy enough.
I followed her into the next room. It was warm and steamy, with two large, wooden tubs. There were several women already soaking in the tubs, but they ignored us.
“Cecilia said you wouldn’t know any of this, so I should show you everything,” she said. “We wash here.” She gestured to the side. “The tubs are to soak after.” She pulled me to the side. “Some people bathe themselves. Some people help each other. We will help each other.”
I liked that idea.
We each took our time about it, although with an audience, we were not as uninhibited as I thought we might be in private.
But as I stood behind her, washing her, I whispered into her ear, “If we do this at home, I would do more.”
She laughed and nodded.
Finally we rinsed, and then she took me and led me to the tubs. All the other were in one, the biggest. Kalorain said, “There are two for when it is busy, bu
t if it’s quiet, then it is rude to use the empty tub.”
“I wouldn’t want to be rude.”
“I know.”
She led me to the biggest tub. We climbed stairs and then descended another set. The water was quite warm, but not too hot. We both sank down, and then we looked at the other women.
I received introductions.
The other women talked for a minute, but I couldn’t really understand, so I chose to enjoy the warm soak while holding my wife’s hand.
My wife’s hand.
I was married now, by Talmon law.
Just like that. I was married.
I got stuck on that idea for a while. I rather enjoyed the idea, and I found myself smiling as I watched the woman beside me.
Then Plestine was there, leaning over the back of the tub and smiling. “Who is first?”
“Will you wash our hair first?” Kalorain asked, “And then the next part?”
“If that is what you like,” Plestine said.
“Then my Galatzi wife will go first for each,” Kalorain declared.
The tub was not a simple, round tub. Instead, in a way, it was as if several tubs, some quite large, a few small, were put together. Plestine gestured and said, “We wash hair over here.”
Kalorain nudged me, and so as Plestine walked around the outside, I moved along the edge. This was a smaller section, and there were tiny tubs attached to the side of this one. “Clever,” I said. One could lie backwards with her head hanging over the back of this tub and into the smaller one. Inevitably, some soap would land in the large tub, but most would be contained.
I went where I was directed. The seat was set to encourage me to lean back, with a cutout and neck rest. I let myself slowly relax into position.
Plestine used a dipper, taking water from the large tub to wet my hair. She then spent the next several minutes, taking her time, and humming as she worked. She not only washed my hair, but she massaged my scalp as well.
It was quite a luxury.
She eventually used the dipper to rinse my hair, water from the large tub cascading over my hair and falling into the sink behind me, or most of it at least.
Finally she said, “You may stay here, if you like. I will see to Kalorain beside you.” My wife settled down, and when I looked over, she carried the same blissful expression I thought might be on my face.
Have I mentioned I was married? Yeah, I got caught up on that thought again.
Plestine finished with Kalorain after pampering her the same way she had me. Then she leaned over the tub, looking first at me then Kalorain. “Did you want the other part now or after a while?”
“Now, I think,” Kalorain said.
“Okay. Meet me there.” She gestured then stepped away. I followed Kalorain as we worked through the set of tubs. Plestine climbed the same stairs we had then settled into the water wearing some sort of white shift. She gestured ahead of her, and Kalorain led me to a bench in the water, facing the edge. I didn’t understand, but she sat on another, right next to mine, and then leaned against a support.
I followed her, and then Plestine stepped behind me. “Close your eyes,” she said. “And relax.” Then she set her hands on my back.
“Ach, mein Gott!” I said after a moment. I spoke an entire sentence or two in German.
Kalorain began laughing. “That is two points, my Galatzi wife,” she said. “And be happy I don’t count a point for each word.”
I thought about it and said, “Worth it. Oh, Plestine, your hands are magic.”
“Ah, so magic does exist,” Kalorain said.
“Yes,” I agreed. “Magic exists in Plestine’s hands.”
Behind me, the girl chuckled. “Shh. Enjoy.”
I did what I was told.
* * * *
She took me home. We both grew quiet and stared at each other a lot as we slowly dressed. Then we came together, still staring, this time into each other’s eyes.
I felt completely overcome by events, and I didn’t know how long it would take for me to catch up to the full reality of my new situation. But then she grinned. “Two points. You must be punished.”
I dropped my gaze. “I think you have hoped for a chance.”
“Of course I have. I must maintain discipline. Come with me.”
She brought me back downstairs, leading the way to the front sitting room, just beside the foyer. Once there, she pointed to a simple wooden chair. “Bring that chair here.”
I did as I was told. I thought she would make me sit in it. Instead, she moved me behind it then told me to grasp it by the back and lift it up, straight out in front of me, my arms straight.
“If you lower it before you have permission,” she said, “it is another point. If you acquire sufficient points, your punishment becomes public embarrassment.”
I almost gained another point or two right there, but I clamped my lips shut. Kalorain noticed and smiled. Then she produced a note card and held it where I could see it. “Cecilia wrote this for you.” I realized it was a poem. “This one is easy for you.”
I read it through and nodded.
“Do you know every word?”
I quickly told Melina to record the poem. I thought she was going to take it away. I said, “Yes.”
“Then read it. If you make any mistakes, you must finish but then read it again.” She didn’t take away the poem, and I realized her question was whether I understood the words, not whether I had them memorized. I read it slowly and carefully, making no mistakes, discounting my accent.
“Good,” she said. “Cecilia told me to work on your accent only when it is especially egregious. If you are understood, that is sufficient.”
“I understand. May I set down the chair?”
“That was one point. You have two points.” She lowered the poem but then shuffled through the papers she carried and lifted a second one to me. I read it and realized it was harder. “Do you know all the words?”
“No, but give me a moment.” There were three I didn’t know. I asked Melina to translate them, and then I nodded. “I do now.”
“How did you do that?”
“This chair is getting heavy.”
“I will show mercy this time. I may not next time. Read it.”
I did, but on the second word of the second line, I said a W as I would in German, which in English sounds like a V. “Mistake,” Kalorain said. “Finish.”
The last word began with a V, which in German is pronounced like an English F, and that is how I pronounced it. I finished, and Kalorain declared, “Mistake. Two mistakes. Do you need help?”
“Please, Kalorain,” I said. “May I put down the chair?” My arms were beginning to tremble.
“For a moment,” she said. I collapsed my arms, setting the chair down. She gave a pause, and then she properly said the first word I had gotten wrong. “Repeat it.”
I struggled a little, but with her help, she finally declared me as “passable.”
“Barely.”
“Perhaps,” she agreed. “Not everyone will understand you, and there may be words you will always need to say carefully. We shall see.” Then we worked on the second word. Finally she nodded and said, “Lift the chair.”
I did. She lifted the note, and, while reading very carefully, I read the entire poem.
Then she lifted the first poem. “Now you pay for your mistakes.” I read the poem. And then, reading very, very carefully, I read the second poem again. “You may put down the chair.”
I let it collapse to the floor. Kalorain was smiling. “Good Galatzi wife,” she declared. She caressed my cheek and set aside the notes. “I am hungry.”
* * * *
We spent every minute together that day. Lunch was at a nearby bakery. I learned the words for the things we ate. Then we walked the town holding hands.
Kalorain was beautiful and bright, with flashing eyes and a playful sense of humor. But at the same time, she was not a trickster. It would take time to learn
this, but the only time she might trick me was when we were clearly playing a game that including tricking the other player. She always made sure I knew the rules for everything we did, and as I grew to know this, I grew to trust her, more and more deeply.
Of course, I didn’t know all that on our first day, but that was her nature, and it made our time together easy and exciting, even if I didn’t fully understand why.
She was also deeply, deeply attuned to me. I had never been treated that way. Berdine had kept it the other way, assured I was attuned to what she wanted. I hadn’t minded at the time. But Kalorain was attuned to me, which meant we were attuned to each other, and that made a much richer relationship, right from the first day.
And so, we spent the entire day together, and for nearly all of it, we were touching. At a minimum, we held hands. If we stood to look at something, we stood together, and she would slide an arm around my back. Then we would both lean together, and my arm would go around her. We might clasp opposite hands in front of us. We might lean heads together. We touched.
Always when she spoke, it was very clearly, with careful diction. This was not only when she spoke to me, but also when she spoke to others, if I was near, and she insisted they do the same with me.
She realized before I did that I was growing tired from paying such close attention both to what she said and to my own words. And so she led us home, offering me looks and smiles and sweet, lovely touches.
We stepped inside and then she said, “I wish to show you something, and to explain something. Then we will give your brain a rest.”
I nodded, no longer trusting my own words. Kalorain smiled easily and brushed my cheek.
She knelt down before me and slowly removed my boots. Then she stood and said, “Now you do mine.” So I knelt and removed her boots. I took all four and set them in the closet then stood to face her.
“Blaine did this for us,” she said. She turned to a mirror beside the door and used two fingers to lift up at the bottom. At that, the mirror rose, exposing a space in the wall. There was a small sink and faucet with two towels hanging in place. Kalorain put one towel over her shoulder and then wet the second under the water. Then she turned to me.
“Cecilia explained to me that Star People are always busy. She explained that you forget the small things. You are always in a rush.”