by Amy Thomson
“It seems like a good solution for everyone,” Ukatonen said, after Juna told him about the proposal. “You would be marrying into a family that cares about you. The family likes Moki, and you’ve said that they trust me. What other problems are there?”
“I’m marrying into my brother’s family, for one.”
“I thought you said that sibs often married into the same group marriage.”
“Yes, but it’s usually a pair of brothers, or a pair of sisters. It’s much less common for a brother and a sister to enter into the same group marriage.” She shook her head. “If we weren’t well known, then it wouldn’t matter much. A few of the neighbors might gossip, but that would be it. Because we’re famous, it’ll make the top screen on Net News.”
“I don’t understand,” Moki said. “What’s wrong with brothers and sisters marrying?”
“A taboo against close relatiyes marrying is how we have traditionally prevented inbreeding.”
“I wondered how humans prevented this. Our offspring are so widely scattered that inbreeding is highly unlikely.
“Let others talk. This is what is good for you and your daughter, and you should do it,” Ukatonen advised. “As an enkar, I cannot be formally joined to your brother’s family, but I am honored that they trust me enough to let me live with you.”
“Moki?” Juna asked. “How do you feel about it?”
“It will be great to live with Danan and Toivo, and everyone else!” he said enthusiastically. “But won’t Anetta and Teuvo be lonely?”
“We’ll see them all the time,” Juna assured him. “They’ll be all right. Isi is going to marry into the Fortunati family also. And Aunt Anetta understands.”
“If it’s all right with them, then I want to do it,” Moki said.
’Then it’s settled. Let’s go over to the Fortunati’s and tell them that we’ll marry them,” Juna said. She felt an immense sense of relief wash over her with these words. She was going to be able to keep her daughter.
“I don’t know, the lavender is too washed out, and the red is just a little too bright for a wedding gown,” Juna remarked to Selena as they looked through a slate full of wedding catalogs. They had been looking through the catalogs for over a week, and still hadn’t settled on a dress.
Just then the comm chimed. Juna recognized the ring. It was for her. She set the reading slate down and got up to answer it.
It was Abeo Xaviera. “It’s good to see you again, Juna,” she said. “I have good news. Raoul tells me that the Survey has arranged for you and the Tendu to go to Earth.”
Juna’s throat tightened in sudden excitement. Somehow the Xavieras had done it! They were going to Earth!
“That’s wonderful news! When?”
“In about six weeks.”
“Urn,” Juna said, glancing over at Selena on the couch. She had hoped for a longer honeymoon. “I’m getting married in about a month.”
“So I hear,” Abeo said. “I wanted to congratulate you and wish you every happiness.”
Juna blushed. She kept forgetting that her life was headline news. “Thank you,” she said.
Abeo shrugged. “It was not only my doing. Ukatonen and Mold’s work at Snyder Hospital made the diplomats realize what they had. It didn’t take much leverage to get the door open after that. It was merely a matter of speeding up what was already in the works.”
“Well, thank you for whatever you did, and please thank Raoul for me as well. I wish the Tendu were here so that they could thank you too.”
“You are most welcome, Juna. I was glad to have so easily paid the debt my family owed you.”
“Easy for you, not for us,” Juna said.
“Ah, yes. That is the seed from which commerce grows, is it not?”
Juna nodded.
“I was glad to have been of service. Please pass our family’s greetings on to the Tendu.”
“I will, and please pass ours along to your family. We would be honored if you came to our wedding.”
Abeo inclined her head graciously. “Thank you, Juna. I shall see if Quang and I can make it. Your new family is fortunate indeed to be acquiring such a gifted new wife,” she said. “I will leave you to your wedding plans. You have a great deal to do in a very short time.”
“Good-bye, Abeo, and thank you,” Juna said. She was coming to like Abeo, she realized, though she was grateful that she was not one of her co-wives.
The screen went blank, and Juna looked up. Selena was staring at her openly.
“Was that– ?” she asked.
“Abeo Xaviera,” Juna finished for her. “Yes, it was. She owed me a favor.”
“She owed you a favor. Abeo Xaviera owed you a favor.” Selena sounded stunned.
“The Xavieras courted me, very*briefly,” Juna explained. “It didn’t work out. They felt that they owed me a favor because of it.”
“You were courted by the Xavieras,” Selena repeated incredulously.
“Didn’t Toivo tell you? That’s where we went after the news of the Tendu’s healings broke.”
“You turned them down?” Selena said, still amazed.
“Selena, the Xavieras wanted access to the Tendu. So I turned them down. It wouldn’t have been good for either the Tendu or me. I know I’ll be happier here with you. You’ve always been family, and that’s what I want.”
Selena lifted her chin toward the comm unit. “She sounded disappointed that you didn’t marry them, and I don’t blame her. I don’t think I’ve told you how glad I am that you’re joining our family. I’ve always admired you, Juna. You’re so strong-willed and determined.”
Juna let out a short, derisive laugh. “That’s what ended my first marriage. I didn’t want to stay home and mind the children.”
“They were fools,” Selena said. “They didn’t know what they had. You would have come home when it was time and you were ready. Meanwhile, you were learning things that were worth passing on. You’d have come home with wonderful things to teach the children. Well, their loss is our gain. I’m looking forward to having you as a co-wife.”
“And the Tendu?” Juna asked.
“Them too,” she said. “Mold’s taught Danan a lot, and Ukatonen– ” She paused and smiled. “He’s got a lot to teach all of us. I like him.”
“I used to be jealous of the Fortunati,” Juna said, “especially after my first marriage didn’t work out. I wanted to belong to a marriage as happy as yours. Now– ” She shrugged. “Suddenly I’ve gotten what I wished for, and I’m scared, a little bit. I’m afraid it won’t work out, or I’ll bring trouble to your house.” She blinked away the unshed tears pricking at the back of her eyelids. “I love you all so much, Selena. I don’t want that to happen.”
Selena hugged her, “Oh, Juna, trouble comes to everyone– we know that. We’re willing to share in your troubles every bit as much as we will share in your joys. That’s what family is all about. Besides,” she continued as Juna started to interrupt, “it’s not like we don’t know you. This marriage formalizes a relationship that’s been there for years. You’ve been family since Toivo married us. We know what we’re getting into, Juna.”
“You’re sure?” Juna asked.
Selena laughed. “We’re sure.” She picked up the reading slate and pressed the wake-up switch. “Now we’ve settled that, let’s get back to picking out a dress for the wedding.”
Moki waited with Danan and the other Fortunati children for the ceremony to begin. They were supposed to walk down the aisles, strewing fragrant flowers and herbs for their elders to walk on, in order to make their elders’ passage through life sweet. Today they were joining the Fortunati family. It was like becoming part of a village. The whole thing puzzled Moki. One did not become part of a village; one simply was part of a village. The village, through its elders, chose the bami. Tinka, when they came to a village, were merely looking for a place where they could be safe. One either fought for and won a place among the village tinka, or one stayed in the
forest and was eaten. There was no choice there.
Humans had so many choices to make. What kind of marriage to have, who to marry, where to live, what kind of work to do, whether to have children, and how to marry. The list went on and on. He wondered how they managed with all those choices. On Tiangi, obligation and tradition replaced choice. It made life much simpler.
The music started, and Moki followed Danan down the aisle, strewing herbs. Quang, Abeo, and Yang Xaviera nodded at him as he passed their chairs. He nodded back, and they smiled at him as he passed. Dr. Engle caught his eye and winked at him.
Then they reached the center of the circle of chairs. Moki followed the other children* as they strewed herbs in the circle. The smell of the pungent herbs crushed underfoot made his eyes water, but it didn’t bother the humans at all. At last the music stopped and he sat down, quickly flicking his nictitating membranes across his eyes to clear them.
Then a new tune, slower, and more solemn began, and everyone stood as Niccolo Fortunati, the family Eldest, came out on the arm of the priest. They walked slowly to a small raised dais in the center of the circle and waited as the rest of the family strode down the four aisles leading to the center and stood in a semicircle behind Niccolo and the priest.
The music changed again, becoming louder and more triumphant. Toivo and Eerin walked down the aisle, followed by Selena and Teuvo, with Anetta bringing up the rear. Eerin looked beautiful in her dark green gown. She glanced at Moki nervously as she entered the central ring with Toivo, and Moki turned dark blue in reassurance. She smiled at him, and her nervousness seemed to vanish.
They stood before the Eldest and the priest. The music stopped and there was a moment of stillness.
“Welcome, friends and family, to this celebration of joining,” the priest said. “Today, we witness not just the joining of one person to a new family, but the merging of two families. Today we come to join the Saari family and the Fortunati family. You, their friends and their neighbors, are here to witness this joining. You have watched these two families strive and struggle to build new lives here on Berry Station. You’ve watched their triumphs and their tragedies as they have done so. You’ve welcomed their children into the world, and comforted them when a beloved one has died. Now you are here to see them begin a new stage in their lives together. Thank you for coming to support their joining.
“Juna Saari, do you come to this joining of your own free will, without coercion?” the priest asked.
“Yes, I do,” Eerin replied.
“Toivo Saari Fortunati and Selena Anderson Fortunati, do you represent your family in this joining?”
“Yes, we do,” Selena and Toivo said.
“And you and your family come to this joining of your own free will?”
“We do.”
“Juna Saari, do you join yourself to this family to give aid and comfort in times of trouble, to share your joys, and to strive for peace and harmony within your family and in the world at large?”
“I do,” Eerin replied.
“And will you raise your children in common with theirs?”
Eerin glanced over at Moki, eyebrows raised in a silent question. They had discussed this before the wedding. The other adults in the Fortunati family would be able to tell him what to do. It was like any Tendu village, and was what he had expected. He nodded.
Eerin looked back at the priest. “I do,” she said.
Juna watched as her father repeated the wedding vows, relieved that her part was over. She looked over at Moki and Ukatonen. Happiness and approval danced across their skins. The baby shifted gently within her, as though it approved too. Her father said the last of the vows. The priest touched Teuvo’s forehead with scented oil, and then she took both their hands and placed them in the hands of the Eldest.
“I now pronounce you joined,” the priest said.
Niccolo Fortunati kissed Teuvo formally on each cheek, and then kissed Juna on the forehead.
“Welcome to the family,” he said, beaming happily at them.
There was a ripple of applause from the wedding guests.
The priest held her hands up for silence. “This ceremony is more than the joining of two families. As you know, Dr. Saari Fortunati is the adviser to the two Tendu envoys, Ukatonen and Moki. Moki is her adopted son, and as such, will become a part of the Fortunati family. Would Moki and Ukatonen please come forward now?”
The Tendu got up and came tcrthe dais. Juna took Moki’s hand, enfolding it in both of hers.
“Moki, do you agree to accept the Fortunati as your family, to love and obey them as you do Juna?” the priest asked.
“Yes,” Moki said, aloud and in formal skin speech.
The priest turned to Toivo. “Does your family agree to accept Moki as their child?”
Toivo smiled at Moki, and took his other hand. “We do.”
The priest turned to Ukatonen. “Your position as enkar forbids you from entering into any ties that we would recognize as the ties of marriage, but you are one of Moki’s guardians. Do you accept Moki’s adoption into the Fortunati family?”
“I do.”
“Do you agree to work with them to raise Moki to understand both human and Tendu cultures, and to attempt to achieve harmony with them should any conflict between the needs of these two cultures arise?”
“I will,” Ukatonen said aloud and in formal skin speech. The elaborate black border around his words indicated that his words had the weight of a formal judgment. Juna raised her eyebrows in surprise.
The priest repeated these vows to the Fortunati family and they agreed to abide by them.
Then Danan and the other children rose. The priest smiled.
“Anetta Rovainen, the Fortunati children have asked to adopt you as an honorary grandmother. Do you accept this?”
Anetta looked at the children, her eyes glittering with tears. “Yes, I do.”
The priest pronounced a final blessing and the music began. The children bent and picked up the thick garland of ti leaves and flowers that encircled the central dias, and held it up. Each member of the Fortunati family took hold of it, in order, from Eldest to youngest. The music started, and Eldest led the rest in a complex, stately wedding dance. Juna glanced up to see Ukatonen watching them, ears spread wide. She smiled at him, then turned back to the dance, lowering the garland to let Eldest’s end of the braid pass over hers. Soon she was lost in the careful, complex weaving of the wedding garland. At the end, the braid was so tight that the dancers had to squeeze past each other, amid much laughter and joking. Then the music ended and the dance was done. The garland was woven around each member of the family, tying them together in a single, unifying knot.
“Go now, as a united whole,” the priest said.
Carefully, gently, the family set the garland down and stepped out of the complex knot they had woven. Some of the leaves were crushed and broken, but it formed a tangible picture of a family’s unity.
The honeymoon was all too brief. After only a week spent settling in with her family, Juna and the Tendu boarded the shuttle bound for Copernicus City on Luna, where they would meet the diplomatic corps and begin a week-long series of briefings to prepare them for their visit to Earth. Juna laid her head against the seat back and closed her eyes. If only there had been more time. Leaving this soon after the marriage worried her. It reminded her too much of her first marriage. She didn’t want to destroy this marriage by spending too much time away.
She cradled her burgeoning belly with one hand. She was five months along. It was now or never. If she waited, it would be too late. Two months, and then she would be home again. Then nothing was going to pry her loose from home until the baby was weaned.
Moki touched her arm. “Look, siti, you can see the station through the viewport.”
Juna looked out the window. Berry Station gleamed against the empty black night, its red and green warning lights blinking against the rough stone exterior. Berry looked like one of last year’s
potatoes from the outside, but it was home. She looked back at Moki and smiled.
“I miss it already,” she said.
“We’ll be back soon,” he told her.
Juna held out her arms, and the three of them linked. Ukatonen’s presence thrummed with excitement, belying his apparently calm exterior. Moki, too, was excited, but Juna felt a concern for her threading through his excitement. Juna soothed his concern and let the Tendu’s excitement buoy her up into exhilaration. Then she turned and reached for the tightly coiled presence of the baby, a flicker of sensation inside her, aware only of warmth and movement. She felt the familiar salty spark of neurons firing in the baby’s brain. The baby responded to her presence with a warm surge of curiosity. It moved its arm, and she felt the movement inside her womb. It was a strange and wondrous thing to feel the baby and its movement simultaneously. Gently she enfolded the baby in her presence for a few moments, then let Ukatonen, and then Moki enfold the baby within her.
Then they slid out of the link. Juna rested her hand on her belly, smiled, and slid into sleep.
Ukatonen left the briefing session, his brain heavy with a thick sludge of facts. There was so much to remember, so many countries, and each country was different! In some ways it was even harder than his enkar training had been. His self-confidence had been badly shaken by his inability to see the consequences of their work at the hospital. Was he really up to this task? He felt overwhelmed and alone. This was more than he could do by himself. If only there were another enkar here to share this burden.
A yellow flicker of irritation forked down one leg. Enough of these doubts. He was here, and he would do what needed to be done. And soon he would get to see an actual Earth rain forest. The Xavieras’ jungle had been small and incomplete, but it was enough to show him that the rain forests of Earth, for all the alienness of their life forms, had much the same ecology as those on Tiangi. He had viewed some of the humans’ tapes and laboriously plowed through several books on the subject. He had learned much more from Eerin and from Jacques Quanh Xaviera, the ecologist in charge of the Xavieras’ rain forest, than he had from the tapes and books. He could not ask questions of the books and tapes.
