“Here,” Jane said, handing him the cloth, “I think it would be better if you washed your, um, other parts.”
“They’re all yers, darlin’,” Benji cooed, then turned to give her a slippery-faced kiss. He pulled back and ran his hand over his stubbly beard. “But, I think I’ll use Bibb’s razor and smooth up my face a bit. Here,” he said, as he rinsed out the washcloth and soaped it anew, “I’ll let ye wash yer, um, private parts while I shave. I dinna think I could stop if I started helpin’ ye there. I still want to wait until we’re marrit, even if it is only a few hours away.”
“Okay,” Jane replied, trying to hide the dejection she felt.
“Hey,” Benji said as he stopped his in-shower barbering, “we’ll have lots more shower times together, I promise. I’d stay in here until the hot water ran out and all of this nice slippery soap was gone, but we have to go buy ye a weddin’ dress and me somethin’ proper to wear so we can be marrit. Do ye think ye can wait, say, six or eight more hours?”
Jane snorted and laughed. “I’ve waited my whole life for something I didn’t think was possible. I’d be willing to wait another, twenty,” she said the number as a question, “years.”
“Twenty? Is that how old ye are?”
“That’s what Billy thinks. At least, that’s what he’s going to put on my, um, papers,” she said, unable to hide the tone of sadness.
“That’s a birth certificate, and everyone now has to have one. He had to build one fer me, too, because I was born in the 18th century, jest like ye. Now, remember, we’re the same…”
Jane looked down at his happy male member and started giggling, but didn’t say a word. “Weel, that part isna the same,” Benji explained, “and I’m glad it isna since I have feelin’s fer ye. But, even if we both had one, it would be fine. Ye did ken that Billy’s mate is another man, right?”
Jane nodded that she knew and added, “And it doesn’t make a difference because even though we’re all different, we’re all the same, right?”
“Right, now turn around and let me scrub yer back so we can get out of here, and ye can discover what most women like to do most: go shopping!”
Jane turned around, then reached back and grabbed Benji familiarly, eliciting a squeal from him. “I don’t think I’ll like shopping more than this!” she exclaimed then giggled. “Only six or eight more hours, right?”
“Right, oh so verra right,” Benji crooned.
Ж
“Now,” Benji instructed after he made sure they had turned around in the shower spray three times to get all the soap removed, “not many places have this special touch: air dryer on demand.” Benji turned the dial to low, and a warm, dry wind blew out from six ports built into the shower walls.
“It feels like you caught a summer wind and brought it inside,” Jane sighed as she turned around slowly, letting the breeze caress her skin.
“And if yer a bit cold and have a lot of hair to dry, ye jest switch it to high.” Benji pointed to the letters on the faceplate. “Off, low, high.” He flipped the knob around in illustration.
“That’s what those marks mean: off, low, and high?”
“Aye, yer a fast learner. I’ll wager I have ye readin’ in no time,” he smiled, remembering the wager he had made to bring her into his life.
“Just don’t wager me,” Jane said with a glint in her eye. “I don’t want there to be any chance that you’ll lose me in a bet.”
“No chance of that, darlin’. Now, let’s see what kind of dress Bibb left ye. Weel, look at this,” Benji said, as he lifted up a long length of red, pink, and white patterned fabric with finished edges. “It isna a bed sheet, but it’s wider than yard goods. Hmm, weel, whatever it is, I think ye can use it as a sarong. Here, hold it here and jest turn around.”
Jane held the fabric under her armpit and pivoted in place, allowing Benji to dress her. “Now how come yer lettin’ me do this? Ye ken how to dress yerself. Ye can wrap it even better than I can.”
“Aye,” she replied coyly, “but I like it when you dress me. Do you want me to dress you?”
“No, I mean, yes,” he said, finally adding a frustrated, “I mean no!” He saw the hurt look on her face and explained. “Yes, I want ye to dress me, but no, not now. We need to go shoppin’ so ye can come back and feed,” he sighed deeply, and said softly, “Wee Mac.”
“Okay, but don’t sound so sad about it. I like feeding Mac, and you should be happy that he’s in our life, okay?” Jane admonished.
“Aye, and I promise ye, we’ll have as many babies as we can make. Jest dinna think that I love ye any less because of him, okay?”
Jane shook her head in amazement. “I could only love you more because of him, not less.
Ж
“Looking good, you two!” Billy crowed when the freshly washed and dressed couple came out of his mother’s bedroom. “Now, Benji, you need to come with me. You’re in isolation from the bride until the wedding. Mom, bring Mac in to see his nanny. It is okay if we call you his nanny, isn’t it?” Billy asked Jane, totally ignoring Benji in the discussion.
Jane looked to Benji, trying to get his reaction to the question. She didn’t know how she felt—she didn’t know what a nanny was. “Did you say mammy?” she asked, although she was pretty sure she heard the strange new name of nanny.
“Nope, nanny. That’s a caregiver of a young child. Mammy tends to bring to mind a black female slave who wet nursed babies and also took care of her master’s children. You may be black and female and have milk, but no one here is your master. Capisce?” Billy asked.
Jane giggled, she knew that word: Jenny had taught it to her. “Capisce,” she answered. Not having a master felt good, but having a family, a baby to feed, and a wonderful man to love who would soon be her husband, felt even better.
“Weel, Nanny Janie, can I have a little kiss before Billy sends me off to God only kens where while he prepares ye fer our weddin’?” Benji walked up to Jane and held both of her bare shoulders in his big hands. “Please say yes,” he requested, his bottom lip poked out like a pouting three year old.
Jane answered him by placing her hands on top of his, tiptoed in, and gave him a long, but discreet kiss in front of her soon to be kin. “I hope that lasts you. If it doesn’t, just sneak in for another. I know you can move without being heard.”
“I’m sure he can,” Billy interrupted, “but I don’t think he’s learned how to be invisible yet. He’s got a tent to set up outside after he gets done clothes shopping.”
Benji grinned when he heard Billy say he didn’t think he knew how to be invisible. He’d keep the secret of wearing a dunbonnet, a brown hooded sweatshirt, and assuming a beaten man demeanor, as the trick to being non-descript and essentially invisible. “A tent? Aye, I can set up a tent in no time,” he boasted. “It’ll take more than that to keep me busy fer the rest of the day.”
“Then you can set up the tables and chairs and decorations and, if that doesn’t take all your time—and I’m sure that it won’t—don’t forget to get a nap. It’s been a long day for you already, and I think you’ll want to be rested up for tonight.” Billy looked and Benji and gave his version of the double eyebrow pop.
Benji laughed out loud, maybe a little too loud, when he saw Billy’s impersonation of him. “Aye, I’ll do as I’m asked, and even try to take a little nap.”
Benji quickly changed his tone and attitude, and was firm with his instructions to Billy and Bibb. “Now, remember, be gentle with my wee wife-to-be. She’s not familiar with the words and traditions, um, around here. She’s still a foreigner in many ways.”
Bibb moved in close to Jane and put her arm through hers at the same time Billy made the same movement on the other side. They looked at each other, a little surprised, but both very happy that they had thought of the same gesture of support for their new kin. “Foreigner or not, she’s still our family,” Bibb boasted. “And Billy’s twice as compassionate as I am, if that’s even possible. You ha
ve the rest of your life to take care of her. Trust us with the next few hours, okay?”
Benji hung his head down in embarrassment. Of course, they would be gentle with her. It was just hard to be away from her now that he had found her. He nodded in agreement, then felt Bibb’s arm in his. “She’ll be fine. I won’t let any harm come to her. She’s family.”
41 The Girls Go Shopping
B ibb ushered Jane down the hall then through the side door into the garage. “I keep my car in here so it stays cool in the summer and warm in the winter. You rode here in Billy’s van. Mine is a different shaped means of transportation, but rides on four wheels and has seats inside, very much like his. It’s not as big as his rig, but you’ll fit just fine. If Benji can ride in it, and he has, so can you. Plus, some of my girls are pretty big just before they deliver. I got this so they’d be as comfortable as possible for rides to the doctor or hospital.”
Jane looked closely at the exterior of the shiny, white carriage, letting her hand briefly touch the smooth, glossy surface. She looked down at the tires, “These wheels sure look different than wagon wheels,” she said. “And I think you’ll have to show me how to open this door. The door was already opened when I got in Billy’s rig,” Jane said as she stressed the word, hoping that she had said it correctly.
“There are different door latches on different rigs and cars, but they all use the same basic grab and pull technique. See, reach your fingers under here and pull. It unlatches the locking mechanism as you pull it open.” Bibb pointed out the gear, latch, and cog metal works on the inside of the opened door. “You just pull the door closed, here, once you’re in and seated. The latch engages automatically when its shut.
“I’m a chatty person normally,” Bibb said, then saw the confused look on Jane’s face, so explained. “Chatty means talks a lot: its short for chatterbox. I’ll tell you what; you just keep giving me that blank look,” Jane automatically flashed that same ‘blank look’ at the new, unknown word. “Yes, that’s the look. When I see you do that, I’ll make sure I give you an alternate, I mean another word that means the same thing. See, we already found a way to help you learn and understand new words. Benji told me you’re a very bright…” Jane flashed her confused look and Bibb reworded her statement, “I mean, you’re a very smart woman and learn quickly.”
Jane smiled at her compliment and said a soft, “thank you.” She changed her focus to the seatbelt on her right. “Can you show me how to put this on?”
“That’s a seatbelt and is a safety precaution. But don’t worry about the safety part; we use it because it’s the law. A cop,” Bibb saw the look and chose another noun, “an officer of the law, sheriff, magistrate,” Jane finally nodded that she understood, so Bibb continued, “will drive up behind me and flash his lights… Gee, this is tougher than I thought. Jane, you’re going to have to trust me and just let me babble about everything. You don’t have to understand everything that’s going on, just know that no one in this family will ever steer you wrong. Just pretend you’re in a dream and suddenly have been transported to a different country, that there are some words you understand, but the others will reveal themselves after you’ve spent some time here.”
“That’s how I already feel except it’s more like I died and went to heaven, and I’m surrounded by angels. Honestly, there is nothing bad here that I’ve seen. Everything is grander than any dream I’ve ever had.”
“Oops, there’s one thing we have to do before we leave,” Bibb said as she looked down. “Just wait here in the car for a minute.” She reached across and showed Jane how to latch the seatbelt. “I’ll be right back. I have to find you some shoes.”
Jane looked at the wheel in front of the seat next to her. She had seen Billy turn the wheel and noticed that the carriage moved in the same direction at the same time. The wheel ring steered the rig just like pulling the reins on a team of horses. She lifted her bum up and sat back down. She had never sat in a seat so lush and comfortable. She shook her head as she realized that she had never even seen a chair so lofty and sleek, even in any of her master’s homes. Yes, she couldn’t imagine that heaven could be more magnificent than this.
“Here you go, Janie; try these on.” Bibb pulled the passenger door open and bent over to put a sandal on Jane’s foot.
Jane turned toward the door to make the task easier for her new friend. She inhaled deeply at the shock of having her feet tended to by an elderly white woman. Bibb looked up and guessed correctly at the reason for the shocked gasp. “Kind of nice having someone tending to your needs, isn’t it?” she asked.
Jane answered, “I’ll let you know when the shock goes away. I mean, right now I don’t know what to think. I’ve never had anyone touch my feet except to whip them for being bad.”
Bibb took the left foot that Jane offered for the other sandal. She tipped the toes back and saw the old scars on her soles. “Whoa! Why’d they do that?” she asked before thinking.
“They said that I could still work while sitting down, and that the raw feet would keep me from running away again. They took me from my mother and I tried to find her. They caught up with me after only half a day. I, um, was kind of obvious: a lone black girl running through the woods without anyone else nearby. My new master was mad because he had to pay to get me back. He whipped my feet until they were bloody, and then put me in chains, too. At least, he put me to work in the kitchen, plucking chickens, and peeling potatoes and carrots. He thought it was punishment, but I was still able to sneak a carrot or two when no one was looking. The house slaves were happy to get the help, so didn’t tell on me. They said to make sure I didn’t tend to my feet so they wouldn’t heal, and I could stay with them for a while longer. Otherwise, as soon as my feet were better, I’d be in the fields. I couldn’t help but take care of my feet, though. I didn’t want to lose them and be crippled. But, the bosses didn’t put me in the fields; they put me working with the blacksmith. I guess I was big enough that they didn’t care if I was female or male. At least, I learned a trade, sort of, and the other slaves didn’t bother me. You see, I had a hammer, and even though I never used it on anyone, I started the rumor that I had, um, killed two men who tried to have their way with me. A good story meant I didn’t have to be mean.”
“Very clever,” Bibb said. “Now let’s go shopping, twenty-first century style!”
Ж
“Wow, where’d you get that? That is awesome. Is it tribal? How much did you have to pay for it, or did you have a friend do it for you?”
Jane turned around to see who was talking. It sounded as if someone was speaking to her, but the young woman standing next to her wasn’t making any sense. “Were you speaking to me?”
“Yeah, your back, the cuts: those are totally awesome. See, I did these myself, but I’ve never seen them on a back before. It looks so awesome,” she repeated, then held out her arms for Jane to see. The young woman with the shaved head and multiple piercings in her ears had slash marks across her left forearm in a very precise pattern. The right arm had a similar pattern, but without the symmetry. “I did these myself. I’m right-handed, so this side came out kinda sloppy. Did it hurt when you had it done?” the gaga girl asked, eager to hear about the process of self-mutilation and marking.
“Yes, they hurt, but no, I don’t think you should have it done,” Jane answered.
“But, it looks so awesome!” the smooth-pated girl with the limited vocabulary repeated.
“It would be better—and wouldn’t hurt—if you just painted the stripes on your body,” Jane suggested. “At least that way you can change the designs whenever you felt like it. I can’t change these, but I wish I could. Your back, your skin, is beautiful. You should be happy with it.”
Jane knew she was talking bluntly, and probably too much, to this unknown girl. She had skin much lighter than hers, but most definitely had Negro heritage; she could even be a long distance cousin of hers. She smiled as she realized their common ancestry. “It
’s what’s inside that’s pretty,” she said with compassion to the teenager, “the outside is just a shell, okay?”
The young girl looked up at the very tall and very black woman who was giving her a facts of life lecture as if she was her grandmother. “Hmph,” she replied, “if you don’t wanna tell me where to get it done, just say so,” then turned away, disgusted at being deprived of finding out where to get the fancy body work done.
Ж
“Are you okay?” Bibb asked. She had noticed that Jane looked overwhelmed with her new surroundings. She had been handling it well until now. She looked almost terrified.
“I don’t know,” answered Jane pensively. “I mean, I feel okay,” Jane put the back of her hand to her lips. “I don’t have a fever, and the greens we had for lunch didn’t upset my stomach, but, um…”
“Yes, go ahead,” urged Bibb. It was obvious that her new charge was reluctant to divulge her problem.
“I keep hearing noises. They’re pleasant enough, and sometimes I even hear people singing, but I can’t see anyone, well, you know, doing the singing.”
“Oh, sweetheart, there’s nothing wrong. We have music just about everywhere here and now. I mean, they broadcast it in the stores and restaurants and…” Bibb saw ‘the look’ and took another approach. “Honey, just know that man has found out how to capture sounds and even moving images, that means moving pictures.”
Jane nodded, said, “Movies,” grimacing slightly as she recalled Benji’s experience making a movie.
“Yes, movies, but music can also be broadcast, that is spread over the air or through wires, to just about anywhere and everywhere. You see all those young people? I’m sure you’ve seen many of them today with the cords…” Bibb saw ‘the look’ and reworded he explanation. “You saw the string going into the people’s ears? Well, they have a wee box on the other end that sends the noises from the little boxes right into their ears so others don’t have to be bothered by the sounds. You see, not everyone likes the same kind of music. The cords keep the music confined to one person.”
The Great Big Fairy Page 34
