Before she got to the end of her question, he knew what it was. In fact, he remembered that day, very well. John quietly said, “It was the first time I ever quoted a Rumi poem in class. I love him, he’s like an inferno, he drives me just as crazy as the people in his poems. I couldn’t look at you, for fear you would know, so I looked at a spot on the rear wall. It was a circular of some sort.” She smiled blindingly, “So, good answer. I won’t have to walk home alone then.”
John looked at her hand, suddenly thinking of how it would feel to hold it. She followed the direction of his eyes and said, “Yes, you may.”
They stood for the entire twenty-minute ride, neither one speaking, gently holding hands, watching the city of a half million first, second and now some third generation mostly poor immigrants from Earth slide quietly by. The gentle swaying brought their shoulders together for a moment, then separated them, only to touch again.
They stepped down onto the pavement in the innermost part of the city. Castidad followed, ahead of a silent James.
Jessica turned to John and cocked her head to the side. She smiled faintly, “Well? I’m dying to find out.” John didn’t understand, but before he could reveal how ignorant he truly was, she leaned up on her toes and pressed her lips lightly against his. After a second she started to pull back, but he suddenly found that he didn’t want the polite kiss to end. He pressed back and discovered that his arms were wrapped around her, his lips pressing against hers.
After what seemed like a very, very short amount of time, she firmly pulled away from him. With her lips just inches away from his she said, her normally throaty voice now husky with emotion, “Rumi indeed. Good night my love. Sleep well, and just so you know, if you don’t call me tomorrow, I’m telling your mother. And, just so you also know, right this moment James is kissing Castidad. Or, more precisely, kissing the hussy back.”
She wriggled her fingers at him, turned and called over her shoulder, “Castidad, is that your name, or a hopeless aspiration? Let the poor man catch his breath.”
John was staring at Jessica’s slender back, but as his senses began to return, he heard a feminine giggle from behind him. Castidad said, “Oh Jessica, I am so going to make you pay for that. Good night James; John, pleasant dreams.” She giggled again and ran the few steps to catch up to her noticeably taller friend.
The two men watched them walk a few yards and turn into a doorway of a large building. The two women waved and disappeared.
They stood silently, rooted to the spot. Finally, James asked, “Do you know who owns that house?” John took a deep breath, “Not a clue. You?” James shook his head, and said, “Me neither. However, we’re standing in Plutocrat Park, and if I’m not mistaken, the cross street is Bullion Boulevard.” John stared at a street sign, and said, “No, this is Founders Street…oh. You’re right. Damn, who owns that house?”
John looked around at the somewhat more substantial residences that housed the wealthiest people of their city, and said, “So, back to the subject: you kissed Castidad?” James grinned like a little devil, “No, I kissed her back. Let’s get home before mom decides we’ve broken her curfew and grounds us for two weeks. That would be bad.”
The two men turned and walked up the narrow street.
Chapter 16
It turned out that Jessica was a permanent houseguest of Castidad, whose father was one of the wealthiest industrialists on the planet. Early in the war, both of Jessica’s parents died when a rebel attack destroyed a ship on which her parents were passengers. She had two younger sisters, ages fourteen and fifteen, the latter of whom, from time to time was fifteen going on thirty. All three had been taken into Castidad’s home, whose mother seemed to have even more love than her father had money.
Over the coming days the two couples spent nearly every waking moment in each other’s company, sometimes as a foursome, sometimes not.
Before he returned to his parents home that first evening, John knew without the slightest doubt that he was head over heels in love with Jessica. James and Castidad were casually passionate about each other, but John didn’t know if it would last longer than their pitifully short two week leave. He also didn’t know if they were sleeping together, although they had the opportunity. John didn’t ask, James didn’t tell. Castidad just laughed at John’s shyness, and James physical approach to everything.
Pre-marital sex was fairly uncommon on Maya. The society did an excellent job of raising its children, who generally grew up with a strong spiritual foundation to their lives. They frequently married young, and infrequently had children out of wedlock. The war had violently disrupted their world as well as their culture.
At one point, while they were strolling through a tiny open market, Castidad batted his hand away from some portion or another of her anatomy and gasped, “James Chamberlin! I swear, if your hands were your mouth, you’d be the greatest orator this poor world has ever known.” John grinned at his brother, “If his mouth were his feet, he’d be in a wheelchair.”
James grinned lazily and captured Castidad’s hand in his two. He kissed it gently, causing her to melt. She sighed, “God, the man is a positive menace. John, you could learn a little from your brother, and I do believe the freakishly tall Jessica wishes you’d try.”
Jessica gasped in feigned shock, “You beast. I’m telling James your nickname.” It was Castidad’s turn to gasp, “Turncoat!” John cocked his head, “Nickname?”
Mimicking James, Jessica took John’s hand in her two and kissed it gently, “Later. Now, about those lessons?” Everyone laughed.
On their next to last evening, the two women prepared a supper for the brothers at Castidad’s home. They spent the first few minutes of the evening meeting and trying to remember the names of Castidad’s very large family, exposing both men to far more young women and old money than either man had expected or been accustomed to. The girls were all local products, so to speak, the money originally from Earth.
Jessica’s younger sisters were named Jennifer and Jordan, and they were suitably impressed by the pair of tall officers in spotless dress uniforms.
Castidad was the middle child in a family full to bursting with mostly girls. She was a curvy young woman, quite attractive, but her two older sisters were breathtaking, and she had two younger sisters who could accurately be described as pre-breathtaking, being barely twelve and not fourteen. There were also two brothers in the mix, but one was off planet, the other worked for one of the family’s distant businesses. It was a large family, a not-terribly unusual circumstance on a new world.
Castidad’s mother was present, and was clearly the source for all those feminine charms, so alarmingly on display. Her father was out of town.
After a decent meal, one that the two men waxed enthusiastic over, causing several of the sisters in residence to snicker, the family moved to a different very large room, one of several similar very large rooms. The family pressed the two men into a description of the war that had so badly affected all of humanity, some more than others, as John had so shockingly learned.
James gave a highly edited account of the recent not-loss at Elyse, and the major victory at Nasser, and answered a few questions, none of them having to do with death. Jordan wanted to know about living conditions in the Navy. James seemed to feel this was much safer ground than describing how a fighter explodes when a missile hits it. He talked about the ancient freighters that had been hurriedly converted into carriers, about their reluctant gravity drives, the two-minute showers, poor food and long, very long tours. With a great deal more animation, he described the new carriers and the other ships that were entering the navy in growing numbers. These had better quarters, somewhat better food, and they could get out of their own way.
He also mentioned a tendency in the converted civilian ships to have a lot of sharp edges that fabricators left behind by the seeming thousands as they converted echoing emptiness into shabby crews quarters, workspaces and flight decks. He explained
that virtually everyone who served on one of those hulks had at least one scar as a memento of a cut or gash. He said they were known as “low bids”, a reference to the primary goal of contractors to squeeze every possible dollar of profit out of the war.
His comment produced an uncomfortable silence in the nearly entirely longhaired collection of people. Jessica smiled fondly at Castidad’s mother before telling the two men, “This family has a plant that produces fighters, and is working on a prototype for a new class of ship. In fact, that is where Mr. Padilla and his older son are right now. So, how does foot actually taste?”
James returned her grin, and said, “Not as good as your fine supper.” Everyone laughed.
John turned to Senora Padilla and said stiffly, “I apologize if we have in any way implied that your family is anything other than honorable. We…” She smilingly waved her hand, cutting him off, “Captain Chamberlin, not only are we not offended, James was quite correct. Too many of our fellow citizens have demonstrated far more interest in their bank accounts than in the cause of unity. Now, I assume that certain young ladies of this household will be making demands on the few remaining hours you have left before having to return to the war, but I wish to formally invite you to take a tour of our facility in Concepcion. In fact, I believe my husband would be most appreciative of your insights as to what our military men and women require to end this hideous war.”
John blinked as he thought about that. He grinned, “Yes. Any time.” Castidad giggled, “Liar, liar, pants on fire.” Mrs. Padilla smiled fondly at Castidad, the daughter who was merely very attractive, and stood. She said, “It has been a long day, so I shall make my excuses. Please stay on – I am traveling early tomorrow and I must pack, but I am quite certain that the rest of my family will be making entreaties that you stay for a bit longer, and I am forced to admit that you would be fools to turn them down.”
John and James jumped to their feet as she rose. She stepped up to John and took his hand in hers, a major surprise. She looked up at him and said, “Captain Chamberlin, from this moment, in this home you shall be ‘John and James’. No matter what happens, you are home, here in this house. Please go with God, and return to us.”
She reached up and gently pulled his head down, and kissed him on the cheek. A moment later she repeated that oddly important gesture with James, waved her hand to the assembled gaggle of daughters and almost-daughters, and walked out of the room.
One of Castidad’s older sisters, the willowy and suitably named Honor, said, “Mother rarely if ever does that. Please return home safely – if nothing else, it will keep Castidad away from the few boys left on the planet.” Castidad offered up yet another over-the-top demure expression, causing her sisters to snort with humor. John spent a moment idly wondering how Honor ever had the slightest problem with attracting the male of the species.
One by one, Honor, Felicidad, Caridad, and Mercedes, plus Jordan and Jennifer made their good-byes and departed for other regions of the large home. Castidad remarked, “Odd, yet some of my sisters seem highly reluctant to retire for the evening. I wonder why?” Jessica pursed her lips, “Shush, James is unaware that he is terribly handsome, and we don’t want him to find out, do we dear?”
James said, “I’m sitting right here you know.” Castidad said, “Sweetness, I’ll translate for you later. Right now the two loveliest ladies in your presence wish to show you our roof garden.”
James jumped up – he knew, or suspected that there would be a kiss or three awaiting him in the garden, plus possibly one of their famous strawberries, a rarity on this planet.
James got his strawberry, hand delivered to his mouth by a grinning Castidad, the loveliest young lady in his presence. She then delivered a kiss.
John stood at the edge of the roof, looking down on the rough-hewn city. Jessica asked, “How long will you be gone?” John sighed, “I don’t know. I think that the navy has figured out how to win the war, and I think it will, but I don’t think the rebels will give up easily.”
She turned to face him and asked, “And, after they do, what then?” He hesitated, and she jumped in, “I apologize. I did not mean, well, us. I meant, do you have any plans for what you’ll do after the war ends?”
John had indeed been thinking about that. He said, “In these last few days I have thought of little else, and not just because of the hand I’m holding. I have come to realize that I am much changed from that professor who recited Rumi to Miss Golden Eyes. I’m not certain that I could return to that life. Oh, I badly want to, I hate what we have to do. It’s just…the war has changed me.”
She started to say something, hesitated, and then quieted. He didn’t know what to do, he didn’t even know how to say that. He would be leaving in a few hours, returning to a war, with the odds of his survival long past going very long.
The two couples stood at the door, separated by a few significant meters. Jessica had grown quiet, and he thought that he knew why. He had failed a test. He said, trying to keep the desperation he felt out of his voice, “Jessica, I…there is so much I want to tell you, so much in my heart, but…there is a wall that separates us. The war. I – James and I, we have managed to beat the odds, but I do not know if we will be able to continue. I want so much to be everything that you want and need, yet I am…I cannot. However, there is something I can do. I wish to arrange for my home to be transferred to your name. Mother will take care of the arrangements for me. I know that you are happy here, but perhaps one day you and your sisters will want to be on your own. If I return, then perhaps, if you will allow me to see you, we could talk?”
She turned away and began crying. He wanted to reach out to her, but his heart was bursting with so much pain that he could not. He turned and stepped into the street.
He had gone no more than a few paces when she appeared and ran after him. He turned and she flew into his arms, sobbing uncontrollably. He held her tightly, feeling the heat of her body, the press of her breasts against his chest, even or perhaps especially, her flat stomach.
She sobbed, “You have not failed, I have. I tried to be strong for you, to remember that you are the one who is going back to war, but I could not, I thought of myself, of being alone and lonely. I am so sorry my love. Please forgive me. I promise you that I shall be waiting for you, that there shall be no other man.”
John wrapped his arms tightly around her, and both his heart and his body responded. After a moment he heard her giggle, and she said, “My love, I fear that if you continue to hold me like this, you will subsequently be granted a discharge from the navy.”
John didn’t understand, and said so. She kissed him on the lips and said, “Because if you don’t release me, you will find yourself with a pregnant fiancé.”
His mind slammed into the two shocks, ‘pregnant’ and ‘fiancé’. She giggled again, “What, you thought I didn’t think about lying with you? Silly man. As to that other word, I am your fiancé. I will be your fiancé when you return, and if you play your cards right, I’ll be yours many times. Now, go before…well, you know.”
He obediently turned to walk away, and she giggled again, “No, stay. Kiss me.”
A few minutes later, or an hour, he wasn’t certain, she asked, “Do you have female pilots in your, your ship?” John said, “Yes, of course.” She asked, trying very hard to sound serious, “And, are any of them, you know, attractive?” John tried not to grin, and gave it up, “Yes, several are reasonably attractive.” She asked, “And, these attractive women, do they have a Masters in modern history?” John said, thoughtfully, “I am not certain. Why do you ask?” She said, “Well, you told me that I am reasonably attractive, and I do have a Masters. So, I am just saying that the only women you may kiss are…me.” John kissed her. She was the one who came up for air. She whispered, “My handsome, passionate warrior: I love you. I wanted you to hear those words, at least once.”
Later that evening, as he sat with his mother, John told her of his desire to al
low Jessica to live in his home. His mother promptly agreed, although she surprised him by saying, “I wish you had been a little more impetuous. It would be so wonderful to have a daughter-in-law or three, and pregnant daughters-in-law would be perfect. I despair for you two. John, you have an excuse, you’re a stuffy professor; but, James, that girl loves you, why have you not asked her to marry you?”
James blushed scarlet, “Well, as to that, I…it just so happens that I did ask her.” John stared, “You did? When?” James looked at his feet, “A week ago.” Their mother smiled broadly, “Well, well, at least one son has the sense God gave him. What was her response?” He said, his face suffusing with a huge grin, “She agreed to marry me. Tonight, on the roof.” John looked at his brother, thinking that that may have been the very first important information James had ever kept from him.
Hawk Genesis: War (Flight of the Hawk) Page 17