* * *
They had a table to themselves for dinner because Sarah insisted on privacy, and Aybarra was able to ensure it. The women liked the idea of cafeteria style food, if not the actual food itself because it tended towards institutional bland. However, dessert proved to be a big favorite. Soft-serve ice cream was unknown to them. While listening to them throw praises at the genius who had come up with the idea, Aaron decided not to tell them they were eating the cheap stuff.
"I don't get it," Aaron said when Miss Hawks got up for more ice cream. "Why did Miss Hawks do that? First she wanted to hurt me for seeing her naked, and then she just went and stripped down without a by your leave."
Sarah looked amused. "But what is the problem? You already saw her naked so you weren't seeing anything new."
"Yeah, but I didn't pay her body any attention that first time."
"And she made sure you noticed her this time," Sarah said. "Aaron, she was more insulted by you not looking than she was by you seeing her in the first place. And then she was really insulted by you saying you saw nothing worth looking at, so she made darn good and sure you would notice what she had this time. How did it make you feel?"
"Uncomfortable," he admitted. "It made me feel as uncomfortable as this conversation is starting to make me feel. Yes, she looked good, and I'll admit that she sure made me feel something. I felt nervous and embarrassed, and I looked real hard for a place to duck. Worse yet, I wasn't sure who I should be more afraid of, her or you."
Sarah grinned evilly. "Now why would it bother you that I was there?" She took another bite of ice cream. "I said you were more than welcome to wander. You could have had her the other night, and I wouldn't have said a thing."
Aaron was aghast. "You do happen to be my intended. I heard you tell that to Aybarra so it must be true even if it's news to me. To be honest, I thought you might cause trouble for Miss Hawks for undressing in front of me, and I was afraid you would start swinging at me for looking at her even if you two did play games with me that night, and then I wondered if you might not get familiar with her yourself when you were both in the shower."
Sarah turned serious. "Aaron, dear. I know now that we really come from two different cultures. Mister Aybarra showed me that when he was so surprised that calling you by your last name was an insult, and I am still having a difficult time dealing with the idea that a person's skin color is significant to others. Now, you have just given me further proof."
Reaching out, she took his hand. "You know there are at least three or four women for every man in Isabella. Women just have more female children than they have males. A lot of our males die in their first year for some reason nobody understands. Because of this, women have learned to share. We have to accept that men wander even after they are married. Most times, jealousy is the one sure method a woman can use to assure that she will never have children, so we never get jealous. If our men start seeing another woman often, we talk to her and then we sometimes invite her into our marriage. If we don't like her we forbid our husbands to marry her. The one thing we don't do is forbid him from being with her because our men always come back home to us. Always."
"I would find that hard to do," Aaron said. "The thought of my wife being with somebody else would drive me crazy. I don't even like the idea of a man running around on his wife."
"Women don't look for other men," Sarah said. "Getting one man is hard enough. The truth is, most men are quite happy at home. Almost every first wife I know actually chose the second wife and then arranged for her husband to be trapped. Most women really do not like the idea of having to take care of a man without some help, let alone caring for the children. Aaron, I once fought on the border with a man who had only one wife for ten years. One time, when the regiment returned to his hometown he found his wife was waiting for him with eight other women at her side, all of them friends she had made over the years. Before the day was out she made him marry every one of those women." Her smile grew at Aaron's horrified expression. "Now, I'll admit that my example is a little extreme. I don't know of anyone else with more than five wives, and a good number of men stop courting when they have only one. Now, I want some more ice cream so I'm running away. But I'll be back. Promise."
She stood up and then leaned over to kiss him. "Don't be surprised if Miss Hawks is not finished making your life miserable. She was really insulted."
After she left Aaron realized that she had never addressed all the points he had brought up. She had not said one way or the other if she had born thoughts of getting closer to Miss Hawks.
Gods, he hated this not knowing.
Later, Aybarra came to sit with them after they finished eating. Sarah allowed that he could since the meal was over, though she might have agreed only because she had eaten so much ice cream that her stomach bulged slightly. Miss Hawks was just as bad, if not worse.
"We would like to run some tests on you in the morning, Mister Turner," Aybarra said. Sarah smiled with satisfaction when he used the honorific. "There is some ability in your brain that allows you to do whatever it is that you do. If we can find out what that something is we might be able to come up with a way to duplicate the effect electronically. At the least, we would like to run some thorough scans in order to find out exactly what the Militia doctors did to you."
Eyes intent, Miss Hawks leaned forward. "Why would you want to do that? Mister Turner can already access our world."
Aybarra shifted. "Well yes, he could before our doctors disconnected some of his wiring, and he will be able to do so again, but he is only one man. If something happens to him the Jefferson government loses access to your entire world."
"The government is not going to get access through me," Aaron said emphatically. "I played that game once and did not like it."
Sarah patted his leg encouragingly. "I see no reason to allow people into my home so they can exploit it."
"Somebody is already trying to mess up that world." Aybarra pointed out. "Please remember that your General sends people over there every few months through the efforts of Colonel Klein. They intend to assume military control over Klein's area, and then they plan on expanding their influence to other parts of the world. There is no telling how far they will go."
Aaron stared him straight in the eyes. "And you think I should let the Jefferson Government decide how to deal with the problem? Mister Aybarra, I have studied Jefferson's history. This country has been messing around in other nation's affairs for the last century but the results have not been good. Just look at the record. Almost every time our interference has caused far more problems than it has helped. I'll tell you something, Mister Aybarra. People are not stupid over there. They have their own governments. They have their own armies. I promise you, they will control Helmet, especially if I give them inside information. So no, I will not help you invade."
"We don't want to invade," Aybarra protested. "We only want to help. Look Turn--Mister Turner. We need to know how this thing works for more reasons than just the ones I mentioned. Two of the people you brought over with you escaped the bus station and have killed at least thirty people. We tried to stop them, but, quite frankly, nobody knows how to do that. They strike and then they are gone before the police get there. Thirty people dead, Mister Turner, in only four days."
Aaron went cold. "Four days?"
"You were unconscious for two of them."
"I really don't see how you can learn anything from me that will stop them." Thirty people dead in only four days. A blanket of guilt slid over him. He had brought Eric and Melissa over. People were dead because he had run away and brought them with him.
Sarah grabbed his hand. "Mister Aybarra, I need to talk this over with my future husband. I'm sure I can talk sense into him. Will you be able to run your tests in the morning?"
"Yes," Aybarra said cautiously.
"Why don't you get them ready?"
"We will, Miss Townsend."
"Thank you. Another thing, please. You
probably understand that everything here is very new to me. I find myself longing for home. Could you please return all our belongings? Having a few familiar items from home would help me a lot."
"I think we can do that," Aybarra said slowly. "You do understand that your clothing has been destroyed. It was bloody and torn, but I will see to it that your shoes and pocket knick knacks are returned."
"Thank you Mister Aybarra. You are a gentleman. Aaron, Miss Hawks, I think it is time to return to our room."