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This chapter is part of a series. Please read the preceding chapters before starting this one.
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We came across a little park with a small fountain that seemed to attract birds and squirrels. We found a bench under a shade tree and sat together and cuddled as we watched the animals play.
"Are all of the temples like that one?" I asked.
"Pretty much," Myrna said.
Rebekah nodded.
An enterprising young man came up, trying to sell us a handful of seeds to feed the critters. I was pretty sure the seeds weren't anything that the animals would want, but I bought his entire stock for 5 Zincs. The boy scurried off with his new-found treasure and the girls went to toss the seeds out to see if anything would actually eat them.
Either the seeds were different on Gaia - or my memory wasn't as good as I'd thought - or the animals were starving - because the sudden appearance of so much unclaimed food caused a near-riot. I was happy that we were as far from the violence as we were. After several minutes of watching the melee, we decided that it was time for us to move on.
On the way through the market, we bought some shish kebabs that seemed to be predominately beef-like. There were three or four flavors available, and we each picked a couple of those to try. Once we found a place (out of the press of the traffic) to sit and eat, we shared back and forth and decided which was our favorite.
As the sun was setting and more and more vendors were closing down, a few (hoping to avoid carrying goods back home with them) offered some extremely attractive deals. One seller had lots of seeds he was looking to get rid of - vegetable, herb, and a few crop seeds. Thinking about my grandfather and how he'd always filled my ears with the admonishment to be self-sufficient, I offered to buy everything he had left - as long as I could get him to part with the rickety cart that he was loading the burlap sacks into.
I wasn't sure that I'd gotten the best deal, but I spent the rest of Jasper's coins to complete the bargain. Of course, the seller assured me that I'd gotten a steal. The hand cart was the worst of the three the man owned - but it worked well enough to do the job.
At the inn, I sent the girls in through the kitchen to unlock the garden gate. Once it was open, I pulled the cart inside and then locked the gate back behind me.
Myrna and Rebekah informed me that the common room was still quite busy. Instead, we decided to sit on a couple rough benches that surrounded a cold campfire in the middle of the courtyard - and stay out of Burl and Greta's way as they worked.
A minute or two later, a small blonde curly-haired little girl peeked out of the back door of the inn. She took a deep breath - as if making a big decision - and walked down the path to stand in front of me.
"Are you Master Basil?" she asked.
"I am," I replied. "Who might you be?"
"I'm Tessa," she said. "Mama says that you're the one who healed her."
"Yes. That was me," I told her.
"Can you bend down?" she asked.
I bent forward. The adorable little girl wrapped her arms around my neck, gave me a squeeze, and kissed me on the cheek. She released the hug, put her palms on my cheeks, and looked straight into my eyes - with her nose almost touching mine. Her eyes were crystal blue.
"You gave mama happy tears," she said. "Thank you."
"I am glad that I was able to help," I replied.
I watched as the little girl bounded across the courtyard, pulled open the door, turned back towards us, gave us a wave, and then disappeared inside. I looked back at my wives to see both of them giving me "puppy dog eyes".
"What?" I asked.
"I want one ...," they both sighed at the same time.
I glanced at the inn door and then looked back at them again. They nodded, synchronously.
"Later," I said, resigned to the fact that I wouldn't be able to tell them 'no' forever.
"Promise?" Myrna demanded.
"Do I really have a choice in the matter?" I asked.
Both of them squealed and hugged each other - and then bounced over to pounce on my lap to wrap their arms around me.
The door of the inn opened, and we looked over to see Tessa peering out. She looked at the girls and curled her index finger at them a couple times. Myrna and Rebekah jumped up and headed over to see what she wanted. She led them inside and soon the three of them were carrying food out.
There was a worktable with a couple of benches that seemed to be used for prep-work for the kitchen. I took the cutting board - with the loaf of dark bread, knife, and butter on it - and followed the girls to the table. Between Rebekah and Myrna, they carried three bowls of stew and a mug. Tessa returned with two more mugs.
"Have you eaten?" I asked the girl.
"Mama says she'll be away after dark," the child reported. "I'm to wait to eat with Papa and then keep an eye on him tonight."
After a moment, I said, "You're a good helper."
She nodded enthusiastically and then disappeared back into the inn.
The stew was tasty and filling. I used the last bit of my bread to wipe the bowl clean. Even though we'd had a snack earlier, I still enjoyed the meal.
The girls carried the dishes to the kitchen. They didn't return immediately so I went to check on them. They were helping a dishwasher woman with her work. I raised an eyebrow at them.
"Greta won't have to work as long this way," they explained.
I stepped inside and headed over to help.
Myrna growled and intercepted me, spun me around, and sent me back towards the door.
"I guess I'll just sit out here by myself and pine for the love of a good woman," I sighed.
"Out," Rebekah snarled - ruining the veracity of the command by giggling. "We'll be out soon enough."
Myrna saw the dishwasher staring and asked her, "When's the last time you had a good fuckin'?"
"Been a spell," the woman said, turning back to her dishes, her cheeks pinking that she'd been caught looking.
"Let us tend to these," Myrna told her. "Take him by the hand, walk him to the table in the courtyard, bend yourself over it, hike up your skirt, and beg him to fuck you. He won't tell you 'no'."
"But Burl ...," the woman complained.
"We'll tell Burl that you needed a little pick-me-up," Rebekah told her, smiling. "Go."
