Turnabout

by Carmen Webster Buxton

  I didn’t get it. “But doesn’t that just mean they’ll all be my wives?”

  He shook his head like I was being dense. “It’s not really to do with you directly. Haru is the relationship between the wives in a household—even one without a husband. When households form between unrelated women, the order of haru can be affected by income, social status, even education. But when haru are sisters, the order is usually determined strictly by age.”

  I finally got it. “So Zuwina is in a snit because she thinks Teleza was trying to make herself my senior wife?”

  Hobart nodded, something close to a smile on his face. “Adeola assured her that won’t happen. Zuwina will get over it eventually. Sometimes it’s rougher when all the wives in a household are sisters. That’s why we might invite another woman in later, if things get tense.”

  I wondered about it all day. I was half expecting a knock on my door that night, but when it got late and Zuwina didn’t come, I took off my clothes and climbed into bed.

  Almost at once a knock sounded.

  I got out of bed and debated, then grabbed a robe from the closet just in case.

  When I opened the door, it wasn’t Zuwina standing there, it was Bolade.

  “Oh!” I must have looked surprised because she frowned. “Come in,” I said at once.

  She stepped through the doorway. Like Zuwina she had come barefoot, and wearing a robe and a nightgown, but her robe was pink and white flannel over a pink cotton gown. “You must have known it was my turn.”

  I felt pretty dumb for not figuring it out. “Sure I did. I was just surprised because you’re here so late.”

  She flushed and looked mortified. “I forgot the door code, and I had to find Adeola to ask her what it was.”

  I pricked up my ears at this mention of the code that opened the door that Hobart’s wives used to visit him. They always came in the upstairs door from the main house. “I can never remember numbers myself.”

  She nodded. “Words are easier. Numbers are too difficult.”

  I was trying to think of a way to find out about the code—how many numbers it was, for instance—when Bolade slipped off her robe, and then pulled her nightgown over her head and let it follow her robe to the floor. She stood there naked, with her head tilted to one side while she looked at me.

  All I could do was stare. I hadn’t realized she was so stacked under the prim clothes she wore to class and to work. She had long legs, a slender neck, a great tan, and no tan lines. I licked my suddenly dry lips.

  “Are you ready?” she asked.

  And just like that, I was.

  THE next day I felt great. I had had sex three times with three different girls, and it wasn’t anywhere near my seventeenth birthday yet. Besides, if last night had been Bolade’s turn, then tonight Jumoke would visit me, then Ulu, and then it would be Teleza’s turn again. Sex with her had been nicer—not that I minded having to sleep with the others, too.

  I spent the day in a pleasant fog. Hobart seemed annoyed with me, but I didn’t care.

  “Pay attention, will you!” he almost yelled at me in jin-weh class. He always used a long stick as a pointer to tap whatever body part needed adjusting, and now he rapped it against my shoulder blades harder than he ever had.

  I flinched and tried to make myself care about the proper way to punch and kick the air in front of me.

  “That’s enough,” Hobart said with an abrupt gesture. “Your mind’s not on this exercise.”

  I stopped where I was and tried to get my breath back. “Why are you so mad at me?”

  He glared for a moment, then looked away. “I shouldn’t be. It wasn’t your idea to put haru before the law any more than it was mine.”

  I had that familiar feeling of not knowing what the hell someone was talking about even when I understood the words. “What does that mean?”

  Hobart sighed, and tapped the long stick on the floor. “It means Adeola values haru more than staying legal. You’re our ward, and she shouldn’t allow the girls to sleep with you before the wedding.” He looked away again. “For one thing, Panya is too young.”

  I had been so focused on Teleza coming to my room again, I hadn’t thought about Panya. “She’s only five months younger than Teleza.”

  “True,” Hobart said. “But five months is a lot at her age. And she’s shyer than Teleza, and not as mature.”

  I couldn’t think of anything to say to that, so I said nothing.

  Hobart started for the door. “I’m going to take a shower. You can amuse yourself.”

  I lifted weights for a while, and then when I was good and tired, I followed Hobart’s example and took a shower myself.

  I didn’t see Teleza that afternoon; she kept to her room. I saw her at dinner, but she was serving, and she didn’t say more than two words when she passed me the platter of chicken kebabs.

  Jumoke, on the other hand, chatted away and kept smiling at me. I was glad I had figured out the taking turns thing, so her attention didn’t make me paranoid. I smiled back, but I wished Teleza was next in line instead of Jumoke.

  Sure enough, Jumoke appeared at my door as expected. It went okay. I enjoyed myself thoroughly, and I was even sort of used to having a woman sleep next to me all night. Makoro seemed like a wonderful place.

  The only thing was the daytime hours dragged slowly, because I could hardly wait for the nighttime. I couldn’t concentrate on any studies, and Hobart didn’t try to make me. Teleza and the other girls, on the other hand, had exams, and were very busy. Teleza barely said a word to me that day. I hoped she wasn’t jealous.

  When I opened my door that night and saw Ulu standing there, I felt almost guilty for noticing that her golden brown hair gleamed like amber in the lamplight, and her skin glowed with a beautiful creamy luminescence.

  Ulu seemed less pleased with the circumstances. Her expression could only be called pained. “I have a history exam tomorrow,” she said, stepping into my room. She wore striped pajamas with no robe, but she had encased her feet in wool slippers. “Can we get this over with quickly?”

  Her tone stung. She sounded like I was a dentist or something equally less welcome. I tried my best to make sure she was as turned on as I was, but I wasn’t sure I succeeded. She slipped out of bed just as I was drifting off to sleep, and I heard the upstairs door click a minute later.

  It was still sex, so I wasn’t complaining, but I was really glad Teleza would be coming to see me the next night.

  But when I opened the door the night after Ulu’s visit, it wasn’t Teleza standing there, it was Panya. Her black hair hung down on her shoulders and gleamed in the light from my bedside lamp. She wore a high-necked but rather thin white nightgown that set off the blackness of her hair and showed how nice her shape was.

  It took me a second to notice that her eyes looked suspiciously wet. I realized she was about to cry.

  Nine

  I didn’t know what to say. “Uh, hello.”

  Panya bit her lip.

  “Uh, where’s—” I stopped, not sure what was good manners in this situation. “Um, is it your turn? I thought Teleza would be next.”

  Her eyes welled up even more, and her lower lip trembled.

  “Come in,” I said, suddenly aware that one of the boys could come into the hallway at any moment.

  When I stepped back, Panya advanced into the room with tiny, timid steps.

  “Teleza—” She swallowed, wiped her eyes, started over. “Teleza doesn’t get another turn. Adeola said we should each have one turn before the wedding, to restore haru, but Teleza already had hers.”

  Damn! Tonight was it, and then I’d have to wait months to get laid again. Oh, well. At least I’d have a steady supply after that, and Teleza would be back in line again. “Oh, I see.”

  She looked down at her feet.

  “What’s wrong?” I said.

  She lifted her eyes. “It’s not that I don’t like you. But I’m not—not ready to—”

&
nbsp; I got it. She looked so scared, it was difficult for me to be turned on anymore. Besides, I had really wanted Teleza. “Don’t worry about it. We don’t have to do anything.”

  She opened her mouth in an O of surprise. “We don’t?”

  I put one arm around her. “Of course not.” I walked her toward the door. “You run on back to your own room, and everything will be fine.”

  She stopped in her tracks. “But I can’t go back to my room. Adeola scolded Ulu for not staying the night. I have to sleep here.”

  I looked her slender body up and down. There was no way I was sleeping next to her all night with nothing happening. I sighed mentally, but tried to speak cheerfully. “You can have the bed. I’ll sleep on the floor.”

  She gave me a happy smile and hugged me. Feeling the warmth of her body through the thin nightgown, I was tempted to change my mind, but I resisted.

  I got the extra blanket out of the closet and curled up on the carpet. It would be a long night; I had really been looking forward to Teleza’s visit.

  Panya slipped out the next morning, and I took my usual shower before breakfast.

  I glanced around at the four tables as I ate my porridge. Everything looked normal. Gyasi and Kafele were quarreling over which of them got the last mango slice, and the little girls were either talking among themselves or intent on their food.

  Ulu had just finished serving thick hunks of crusty bread while Panya was still passing around bowls of honey mixed with melted butter. Panya smiled at me while she held the bowl out for me, a warm, grateful smile.

  “Thanks,” I said, returning the spoon. I glanced over at Zuwina, who sat in her usual place across from Adeola. She smiled at me, too, but her smile held more self-confidence than warmth.

  I wasn’t prepared to smile back at Zuwina, so I looked away, and somehow my eyes met Teleza’s. Teleza looked mortified for a second, and then her eyes dropped to her lap.

  I noticed she hadn’t eaten more than two bites of her porridge. Adeola turned her head and said something to Teleza, and then Teleza got up and went into the kitchen. She came back with the teapot and poured some tea into Adeola’s cup, and then she sat down without a word. Hobart asked her some questions about school, which she answered so quietly I couldn’t hear her.

  I munched my bread and honey and tried to figure it out. After everyone had finished and Hobart had risen to signal the end of the meal, Teleza jumped to her feet and darted out of the room.

  I followed her into the corridor. “Teleza!”

  She turned, and I saw her eyes had welled up. She looked as sick at heart as Panya had the night before.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked. “Are you mad at me or something?”

  She shook her head. “I can’t speak to you alone. First Mother has forbidden it.”

  “What?”

  She put one hand over her mouth for a second. “I’m so sorry.” She swallowed. “I shouldn’t have done it. It wasn’t good haru. I knew that. I deserve to be punished.”

  “Punished?” I said.

  She nodded. “Even after the wedding I won’t have a turn for months—until Zuwina decides to forgive me.”

  “Zuwina decides?” Zuwina got to say whose turn it was, not me. That did not sound good.

  “Of course.” She let out a profound sigh and darted off.

  I went looking for Zuwina and found her in her room. The door was open, and she was putting papers and gadgets into a sort of briefcase. She looked up when I stepped into the doorway, and a slow, pleased-with-herself smile spread across her face.

  She had nice, dark eyes, and white, even teeth. When she straightened up, I couldn’t help but notice that her tunic was open a few buttons.

  “Hello, Jayzoon.”

  “Hello.” Somehow, now that I had seen Zuwina naked, it was difficult not to think of her that way.

  “Did you want something?”

  I remembered Teleza’s distress. “Uh, yes, I did. I wanted to ask—” I stopped.

  She lifted her dark, arched brows. “Yes?”

  “Um, is it true you told Teleza she wouldn’t get to—uh—to have a turn spending the night with me after we—” suddenly I wasn’t sure what pronoun to use. “Um—”

  Zuwina laughed. “Did I tell Teleza that even after our wedding she had to wait until I felt haru had been restored before she was allowed to share you?” She nodded. “Of course I did.”

  Her calm self assurance irked me. “Don’t I get any say in that?”

  She opened her eyes wide. “Don’t be silly. What does a man have to do with haru?”

  “But—but I’m the one who’s being shared!”

  She reached over and patted my face. “I know that, silly one. But I’m the one who’ll be your senior wife and first mother to all our children.” She twisted her face into a thoughtful scowl. “I think we should have a child right away. This year isn’t a good time for me, but Bolade will be finished with school and could take a few years off. She might even decide she likes being house bound.”

  I goggled at her, but she just looked me up and down.

  “I have to go to work now,” she said. “Why don’t you spend some time in the gym and build up your strength?”

  I stood there with my mouth open while she brushed past me on her way out the door.

  Sex every night or not, I wasn’t happy.

  I thought it over as I lay in bed that night—alone at last. Did I want to stay in Makoro and turn into another version of Hobart, amusing myself all day and letting six women take turns entertaining me at night? It sounded like a great life, put that way, but I didn’t think I’d like it.

  For one thing, Zuwina would make all my decisions, even whether—or rather when—to have children. And she seemed to want that to be soon. I tried to imagine myself living as Hobart lived—always staying home, only leaving under armed guard, letting Zuwina tell me and everyone else what to do. I wasn’t sure I liked the picture,

  If I wanted out, I had to get out soon. Once the wedding happened, I’d never spend a night alone, and a daytime escape would be too risky. If I got out into the city in the daytime, I’d be caught right away.

  Besides, if Zuwina had her way, I’d be a father before I knew it, and the last thing I wanted was to run out on a kid the way my dad had run out on me.

  I started watching the household routine, trying to figure out everyone’s role. I discovered that Adeola set the schedule. She left for her high-powered job in the city right after breakfast and came home right before dinner—we always waited if she was late. No one ever sat down at the table until she was home, not even Hobart.

  About three hours after we ate, Adeola would sound the curfew bell. Then she’d make a circuit of the house, checking the front gates to be sure they were locked. Finally, she would check all the doors and windows that opened onto the courtyard. The men’s wing windows didn’t have locks, but that didn’t matter because of the bars on the outside.

  Hobart was always in his room well before curfew. Adeola might be making his decisions for him, but he didn’t seem to mind. During the day, he spent a lot of time with the two boys and the younger girls, but when the older girls came home from school and later when Zuwina and the others came home from work, Hobart always greeted them and asked each of them about her day. When Adeola came home, Hobart met her, too, greeting her just as affectionately as he did any of the others.

  I had everyone’s schedule scoped out, but I still couldn’t come up with a plan for how not to turn into Hobart. Then one night at the dinner table Zuwina started talking about how she wanted to remodel the house to make new quarters for me. She had clearly spent some time thinking about how that could be accomplished in a way that gave me enough space, even though she had never mentioned it to me. She went on and on about it, but she never once asked my opinion.

  Adeola merely nodded at Zuwina’s description of her plans, even when it became clear that Kafele and Gyasi would need to move into the small room I n
ow occupied, and their current room and part of the gym would become my new suite. Both boys looked glum.

  “We’ll have to find an architect,” Adeola said. “I’ve seen houses where they tried to skimp on remodeling to start a secondary household. It never works.”

  “I don’t need a lot of room,” I said. “I’m fine where I am.”

  Zuwina paid no attention. “Who did the house we visited last Wahlau? She did an excellent job, whoever it was.”

  Adeola nodded. “I agree. I’ll have to ask.”

  Hobart shot me a sympathetic glance. “Don’t worry about it, Jason. Weddings bring out the side of women’s nature that likes to rearrange things.”

  Zuwina sniffed and lifted her chin. She glared in Teleza’s direction. “I believe in order and protocol.”

  Gyasi stood up. “Why do you want to take our room? You have your own room, Zuwina. You’re the only girl who does.”

  Zuwina stiffened; her jaw clenched in indignation. “It’s not for me. Once Jayzoon is a married man, he’ll need proper quarters.”

  “I don’t need more room than I have now,” I said.

  She turned her head to glare at me. “I know what’s due to my husband, even if you don’t.”

  Adeola stood up. “Enough. No more quarreling. I will find an architect, and then Zuwina and I will discuss our plans with her. Until then we won’t speak of this.”

  No one said anything for a moment, and then Hobart turned to Kafele and started to talk about fencing.

  I went outside and stood in the middle of the courtyard and looked up at the stars.

  They were beautiful—sparkling white diamonds on black velvet. The night air smelled of flowers and fresh-baked bread, and the fountain trickled pleasantly. I found Orion’s Belt in the sky, a familiar touch that made me homesick.

  The sky might be open and free, but I wasn’t. I was stuck in this house spending every day of my life with nineteen females—two of them very bossy—three guys—none my age—and no decent music.

  It seemed like spitting in the face of good luck, but I had to get out. Not even sex every night was worth living the rest of my life inside these same four walls and taking orders from a woman who acted like I was a toddler and she was my nanny.