The Watchman

by Marilyn Foxworthy

  Viola and the rest of the women came to see us at the cafe. Apparently work at the house had gone well and they felt that it was very livable. They had purchased linens and some food and dishes and could survive there comfortably until morning. It was agreed that Antonio, Orchid, Blossom, and the three new women could complete the task over the next few days, so my girls were thanked profusely and relieved of further duties.

  It was time to head to Paul’s farm for dinner. All the girls had gone to Antonio’s for the day, including Yuki and Amanda and Susan. Clarice, Brenda, Viola, Lark, and Raven took the car back to Havenrest, and I walked with Aspen, the twins, and Paul’s family to his house where we would meet Grayson and Aaron’s families for supper. Antonio, having dinner already prepared for his house by Jonah, and having a new house and the three women and two children to settle in, decided to come another day to spend an evening with Paul.

  Dinner was light and casual. Aspen was happy to see her mother and father again and to meet Aaron’s new bedmate. As the meal ended, Linea took care of the registrations for me and the twins and then Grayson fastened the collars with the tokens around their necks. Now I could tell the twins apart by looking at them. Willow had a white stone on her token, and Bamboo had a black stone on hers. It made me feel more at ease, even though it was such a little thing.

  There wasn’t any talk of consequence, but we all had a pleasant time.

  I did spend a few minutes talking to Aaron when he and Paul and I were alone.

  I said, “Aaron, I have a new project that I want to ask you about. It seems that I had a relative in Stevespont who had a large amount of property along the river. They recently passed away. They were very old, and it was no surprise. Anyway, The property has come to me, and I plan to build some docks at various places on both sides of the river for boat travel and perhaps to be used by local fishermen and boys. My thought is to design an interlocking stone block that can be used to construct the docks. They would not be especially intricate and sized so that they weigh no more than eighty pounds each. They would stack on top of one another to form the pilings so that a platform can built above the water.”

  Aaron said, “An interesting idea. Very interesting. And you want me to cut these blocks for you. Winter is coming. It’s a slow season for work. I don’t know what you have in mind exactly, but I would think that you will need a good number of these blocks.”

  I said, “I will design them in a way that is as easy as we can make them for manufacturing, and I will bring the idea to you for refinement. I don’t yet know what will be required, but I can see a need for perhaps a thousand of them.”

  Aaron whistled and said, “A thousand. Joshua, let me give you some rough estimate. If the stone is not complicated, a man might do three or four a day, if he has the help of an apprentice to carry and do rough work and polishing. Let’s say two hundred and fifty days for a thousand. I’m assuming that the dimensions are important, but the surface is not very smooth. This is a year of labor, plus half for the apprentice. Your next question for me will be how many people can I employ. I would say four, plus three apprentices. It is wages for about six men. And it will take about three months to produce your thousand. No, a little less. The last ones will go quicker than the first ones, because the men will become more efficient over time.”

  Paul said, “But three months from now, we will be in winter and you won’t be able to work in the river because of the weather.”

  I said, “What month is it? What is the date?”

  Paul said, “Today is June 28. The rains will start about August first, and it will be icy and snowing at the beginning of October. We don’t know what year it is, of course.”

  I said, “According to the old calendars, it would be the year 2903.”

  Paul and Aaron went on to explain that they only measured the year according to the longest and shortest days and the weather. Every month had exactly thirty days. Five extra days, that were not part of any month were added for the solstices and equinoxes.

  Short Day, or Winter Day, was between December and January.

  Long Day, or Summer Day, was between June and July.

  Spring Day fell between March and April.

  Fall Day fell between September and October.

  One extra day, called New Year Day, came the day after Short Day, and the day before January first.

  As for the seasons, the rainy season was August and September, and again in February and March. The ice and snow was from October through January. The warm weather ran from April through July.

  After some thought, I said, “Then, I need to finish the work for the season in the next three months. Aaron, how many blocks might we be able to have each month until then?”

  He said, “A very rough estimate is a hundred and twenty each month. I don’t think that I can hire more than three men capable of the work.”

  I said, “And will they be willing to work through the cold months so that we have a supply built up next spring?”

  He said, “Almost certainly.”

  I said, “Then let’s hire them and you can begin to train them, and I will have a design for you to review in the next few days. I don’t mind paying them for learning the skills that they will need if necessary. And we will plan to keep making blocks until we say that we have enough. We may want more than a thousand if they work well.”

  Aaron said, “The first few weeks, we will need to transport stones so that we have enough for the cold season. We will not be able to go to the quarries after the ice starts.”

  I asked, “But can more men, who are not as skilled, do that work? Can you hire men to gather the stones apart from the men who shape them?”

  He said, “I believe that I can. Perhaps we will go to other villages and offer men work there. We could pay them by the weight of the stones that they deliver. If a man wants to make more, he can work harder.”

  I said, “Can I leave it all to you? I can pay whatever we need to so that the work gets done. I will authorize the payment of twenty years salary and if you need more, tell me. Does that sound fair? And, I want you to make a profit from this. Treat me as you would any man who asked you for work to be done.”

  Aaron said, “I will do it for you. I don’t know what the expenses will be yet, but I will work within the amounts that you have set. I’ll get you as many of your blocks as I can, up to two thousand as a start. Do you want me to start right away, or wait for a few days for you to consider it?”

  I said very quietly, “Clarice, did you hear all of it? Do you have any advice?”

  She answered, “No. The minions are capable of the work, but I know that you want to find work for the villagers. I see no reason not to do what you are thinking.”

  I said to Aaron, “Yes, start immediately. The sooner that they start, the more they will earn before the icy weather slows us down. What happens with the food during the icy season?”

  Paul said, “What we can, we freeze, when it is cold enough. Otherwise, we can and pickle it, or store up grain.”

  I said, “Then, I will work on a way to store what our families need if I can. I will see what we can do. If I can store food for us at Havenrest, we can buy food at the end of the season and have it throughout the winter. I will think about it.”

  My thought about the stone blocks was that we might be able to cast them from concrete, but having them cut by Aaron would employ more workers and get them started faster. I was also thinking that instead of redeploying the ‘uni-coons’ around the villages, that we might leave the nodes that we had already installed in place and use the mobile ones for a different purpose. I asked Clarice to remind me to talk to her about it at some later time.

  We stayed at the farm until just before dark and then the twins, Aspen, and I headed for home. We walked for the first three quarters of an hour and then I had the garden cart come and take us the rest of the way. We kept our clothes on the whole way. It was a little chilly, but mostly I think that we were all a bit
tired.

  When we pulled up to the house, I kissed Aspen goodnight and she went off to bed. I kept the twins with me. We took a quick shower and then climbed into my bed. I needed to talk to the girls when we woke up in the morning, but that would wait.

  Chapter 26 - Thinking as One

  The next morning, I woke up early with Willow and Bamboo, one on each side of me. My plan for the day was to go to the cafe, as usual. And, as usual, I didn’t know what the day would hold. I did know that I needed to talk to the twins about something. Something important.

  I hugged the girls to me as they began to wake up. They in turn, cooed softly and snuggled against my body.

  I said, “Good morning.”

  Willow sat up suddenly and said, “Joshua, what’s wrong? You are not at peace.”

  I wondered to myself if Willow, or possibly both of the twins, were even more empathic than Lark. I hadn’t said a word, but Willow knew that something wasn’t quite right. And she was correct, I guess. I hadn’t identified it yet, but she was right; I was a bit uneasy. And even I didn’t know why, exactly.

  I said, “Everything is fine. You are right though, I have things on my mind.”

  Bamboo said, “And it involves my sister and I. We love you, and we are together in this. Willow, we need to be prepared.”

  Willow said, “Yes we do. Joshua, we will not leave your side.”

  I was surprised by how quickly they connected with me and with my feelings. But they were right again; I would have them with me for a while until I was more settled.

  I said, “Girls, you are so wonderful. Thank you. How do you know what I need?”

  Bamboo said, “How could we not know?”

  Willow said, “You told us. Just now. What do you mean?”

  I smiled and said, “I wish that I could read things as clearly.”

  Bamboo said, “But, you do. You know what we’re thinking all the time. You know how to help us and what we need. And because we’re with you, we know what you need. It’s no different. Don’t you know when we need you? Of course you do.”

  I laughed a bit and said, “That’s true, I guess. But I may be better at knowing what you need than I am at knowing what I need.”

  Willow said, “And that makes sense. I hear your voice louder than my own. My needs are not clear, but I listen to you more carefully.”

  I said, “Let’s take a shower and get ready for the day. We’ll talk about it.”

  The girls hopped out of bed happily and pulled me to my feet and toward the shower. Once inside, they soaped us all up and we washed playfully.

  As we warmed up and rubbed each other’s bodies, I said, “Girls, we’re going to go on a treasure hunting trip soon. We’re going to go to a place away from the eight villages to see what the world beyond is like, and to find some things that we need to go forward with some projects. And it might be dangerous.”

  Bamboo said, “It will certainly be very dangerous. And exciting.”

  I said, “Clarice and Brenda will go with us and so will the minions, and they will keep us safe. But it concerns me.”

  Willow was soaping my crotch as we talked and she said, “You are afraid because you want us to be safe, but my sister and I have to go with you. So you are torn in two because we must go, but you want us to stay safe at home. But we won’t let you go without us. The others will stay here, but Bamboo and I will be with you.”

  I said, “That feels really nice. Do you two want to make love for a few minutes?”

  They both smiled and Willow said, “Of course we do! Let me rinse you off,” and she washed the soap from between my legs and stroked my stiff erection lovingly.

  I said, “Let’s go back to bed. Let’s dry off and make love on the bed.”

  The driers started blowing in the shower, and as I lifted my arms to let the warm air blow the water gently off of my body, Bamboo positioned herself in front of me and spread her legs and bent forward, pushing her rear toward my groin. I smiled and reached for my penis and pulled it up so that it entered her smoothly. She kept her hands on her knees for a moment, and then gracefully reached down and took hold of her ankles, bending her body completely in half. It felt amazing and I put my arms around her hips and pulled her firmly against my body. It felt great, but I didn’t think that it could be very comfortable for Bamboo, despite her obvious excitement and a few gasping orgasms.

  I encouraged the girl to stand up and I ran my hands up to her breasts as she climaxed again. Pulling out of her, I turned her around and Willow quickly knelt in front of me and sucked my penis into her mouth. I was excited, and she was becoming more skillful with every sexual encounter, and I climaxed a minute later.

  We were all smiling and happy when it was over. We hadn’t made it back to bed at all. We brushed our teeth and hair and got ready for the day.

  The two amazons stood naked in front of me when we were done with our morning routine and I said, “Girls, I need to teach you to protect yourselves and me. I’m going to teach you what’s called ‘martial arts’. Using your hands and feet to fight, and also to use a wooden sword. It won’t be easy.”

  Willow said, “We heard stories about how you were forced to kill the thief in Bonvale. Are you going to teach us to kill a man like we would kill an animal?”

  I said, “Unfortunately yes. But you have to learn a lot more than how to kill. You have to learn why we kill, why we do not kill, how to bring life instead of death when we can, and things like that. I know that you’ll learn very quickly, but there’s a lot to learn. And the truth is that I would rather not have to teach you.”

  Bamboo said, “But you do have to. You are going treasure hunting and we are going with you. You won’t go nowhere anywhere unless we go with you. When we go, we will go as one. Like before, when I was Willow. You won’t give us direction, what to do, or where to go. You will move and we will move with you.”

  I sighed and said, “And, we will learn to fight as one person. We will know each other’s thoughts, and if we are good, we will move as one body.”

  Willow said, “We will. That part will be easy for us. We will pay attention and we will move as you move. We won’t be hurt.”

  Bamboo said, “If you went alone, you would be wounded. Like you were when you faced Irene. Even with Clarice there. But, if we are with you, standing beside you, then my hand strikes before your mind moves. And if someone reaches for me, your hand stops them before I’m aware of it. You won’t go out alone.”

  Willow said, “Around the villages, it is OK; you have friends with you. Even so, I have been anxious every time you are apart from us. We are starting a new era. The family is complete…as far as we know. We are finding our places in it. Viola is our manager and secretary. Brenda is our mother. Clarice, the first-mate. Lark the healer. Raven our fun-maker who tells us when it is time to play and not work.”

  Bamboo said, “And we are your guardians, as you are ours. You guard all of us, but we are the ones who guard you. She is the white stone.”

  Willow said, “And she is the black stone.”

  Bamboo said, “We know that you did it, put the stones on our collars, so that you could know which of us was which.”

  Willow said, “And we cried when we saw how loved we were, that you would want to know us like that. Separately.”

  Bamboo said, “But we are night and day. The sun and moon. And you are the Earth. The sun watches over the Earth in the light.”

  Willow said, “And the moon watches over the Earth in the dark. White and black. But morning becomes evening and then morning again. The light moves to shadow and then to darkness and then to shadow and then to light again.”

  Bamboo said, “We aren’t selfish. Last night, we slept with you. Tonight it will be other sisters who keep you warm.”

  Willow said, “But when necessary, we will stand outside or inside and no one will pass your door unless they go between us.”

  I was overwhelmed. I had never heard a declaration of love quit
e like that before. It was beautiful. It was fierce.

  I said, “Girls, I love you. What you said makes me feel very loved, and I feel that same way about you. When we go, we’ll go together. And for the next few weeks, we will be together almost all of the time. You will come to the village with me when I go, and if I go to another village, or even to Paul’s farm, you will come with me.”

  Willow said, “And we will learn to move as one.”

  I said, “Exactly. Have you seen the suit that Raven and the Nymphs wear? The three of us will be wearing those from now on as well.”

  Bamboo said, “I have seen them. I mean, yes we both have seen them, but Master, what about, you know, not wearing underwear?”

  I smiled and said, “Oh, trust me, the suit won’t get in the way of making love. You’ll see. They won’t be in the way at all. Raven proved that to me one morning at breakfast. It will be fine.”

  I called Clarice and asked her to meet us on the roof, and to see if she had something to suggest for us to wear for a morning Qigong workout. She said that she would come to the rooftop patio soon and would bring something with her for each of us to wear.

  I turned back to the twins and said, “First, we will do what is called Qigong. It’s a kind of stretching and breathing that helps us focus and relax and get our bodies working in a healthy way. Let’s go up to the roof.”

  When we reached the patio, it was still very early, but the sun was up. Clarice arrived a few minutes later, carrying T-Shirts and heavy cotton workout pants for the girls and I. We put on the clothing and then I started going through the exercises with the girls as I talked to Clarice between movements.

  I said, “So, Clarice, remind me. Do we have a dojo? I obviously practiced martial arts somewhere.”

  She smiled and said, “You do. It’s small, but should be fine for up to four people at a time. All of your wooden swords, staffs, and training dummies are there. We have exercise machines on the level with the indoor pool, but you never really used them. I expected that we would put them in storage and use that space for something else.”