After we had all eaten more than we wanted, the clan mothers led us to a small guest house made of wattle and daub. We knelt to crawl inside, the old ladies close behind us.
There was a central fire below the smoke hole and beds of piled hides and furs at opposite sides of the single room. Jennifer and I sat down on one bed and Tommy and Mary Louise took the other.
The old ladies crawled into the room and stood up. One of them placed a large bowl of roasted venison near the fire.
"In case you need more strength during the night," she explained. The others cackled.
"These men look to have plenty of strength," another said. "It is the women who will need help."
"We're right here if they're too much for you," the Wild Potato mother said lasciviously. "Do not hesitate to call."
"Don't call her! She has ridden four husbands to death already!" They all laughed delightedly.
"And one of them was not even hers!" They laughed harder.
A thin, bent woman with kindly eyes put her gnarled hand on Jennifer's shoulder. She handed her a tiny clay pot. "Put a little of this on the entrance to your we-sa, child. It will make it a little easier for you."
"A-yee!" someone screeched. "The Blue Clan mother never rests! Always giving medicine to the needy!" Everyone cackled.
I was becoming restive. How long was this bachelorette party going to last? Would they bring in male strippers next?
"Enough!" the Blue Clan mother finally said. Her voice was thin and reedy but commanding, and the others lapsed into silence. "I am Blue-Drink-Woman. Come to me in the morning if you have any pain, or questions."
"She won't have any questions by morning!" someone hooted. "And the pain will be over the minute we leave!"
"Let us help the brides undress," Blue-Drink-Woman said firmly. She pulled Jennifer to her feet and helped her off with her tee-shirt. Her pale ethereal body glimmered in the flickering firelight and the women sighed at the beauty of her.
Jennifer stood for a moment, gazing into my eyes. She turned and crawled onto the bed, and Blue-Drink-Woman helped her cover herself with our marriage blanket.
Another woman helped Mary Louise undress. When she was naked in the firelight the old women moaned. "Such a strong, fat woman! She will bear many children for her clan."
Wild Potato mother hefted one of Mary Louise's generous breasts in her hand. "She will be able to raise twins with these!" The others cackled their agreement.
They helped Mary Louise into bed and covered her with her marriage blanket. Blue Clan mother stood by the door. "Leave now, sisters. Let the children enjoy each other. They won't need our help."
"But now we must undress the men!"
"Their wives will take care of that, she said. "Now out!"
When they were all out of the house, Blue-Drink-Woman said, "You honor us with this merging of your bodies and souls. I can see that you are very special. The ancient prophecy...no. Not now. Now is your time to make memories which will keep you warm when you are old like me. Love each other, children. You are important to us all."
Then she was gone and the house was suddenly silent except for the crackling of the fire. I wondered what prophecy she was talking about. None of the many stories I knew seemed to be applicable.
"Come here, husband," Mary Louse said, reaching for Tommy's breechcloth. "Let me help you with this." She slipped her hand under his apron. "Mmmmm! I know what you're thinking about...."
Jennifer put her hand on my thigh and it burned like a red-hot iron against my skin. "Love me, husband," she whispered. We both fumbled with the ties to my breechclout until I could push it down my hips and kick it away. I crawled under the blanket with her and we lay side by side, not touching for a few minutes.
My mind was in turmoil. We had made love many times before in this world, but never in the other. Still, I felt as if this would be the first time for me, in any world. What if it did not go well? What if she was repelled by me? Cautiously I found her tiny hand and covered it with mine.
"Jacky? What language are we speaking right now?"
"English," I said hesitantly. "When we are alone together. But when we're with the people who have always lived here we speak Tsa-la-gi. It's strange, I know. I'm not sure how or why. I feel like there are two separate people in my head sometimes."
"So confusing." She rolled toward me and I put my arm behind her neck. "Do you want to make love to me tonight, Jacky?"
"Only if you do," I said huskily. "I know you're tired. Maybe you'd like to sleep now, and then when we wake up—"
"I think I'm too wound up to sleep. But I would like it if you would give me a massage."
