Chapter 6

The house was quiet when John walked through the door. He had expected to be met by someone, but no one was around. He was disappointed, but not excessively so. He walked to the back of the house and walked to his room. There was a note taped to the door. He took down the note and went into his room. He dropped off his backpack in its normal spot. He sat down in his chair and opened the note. He read that he was to go down to Maria’s restaurant.

Leaving the house behind, he walked down the street. A number of houses were dark where he thought they should have been lighted. As he passed Maria’s house, he paused and looked at his old house. He went inside and walked to the back. He looked out at the desert. For some reason he was feeling melancholy, as though he were about to embark on a new lifestyle that was one that he didn’t select.

He left the house and continued down the street. It only took him five minutes to reach Maria’s restaurant. He entered and froze when he saw the people gathered there. Across the back of the restaurant was a table with his family. A chair was reserved for him. There was a line of tables down each side. Seated at those tables must have been twenty women or more. The arrangement of tables reminded him of the way the tables had been set up for their medieval party.

He slowly made his way to the head table. His family smiled at him as he made his way to their side. He smiled back, curious as to what was going on. He took a minute to kiss everyone hello. He sat down in the chair reserved for him. He leaned over to Ed and asked, “What’s going on?”

Ed whispered back, “Just wait and see.”

Noises started to emerge from the back of the restaurant. The husbands and boyfriends of the women present came out with trays of food that they served to everyone present. Only a few of the men looked in his direction. When Maria’s husband set a plate in front of him, John said, “Thank you very much.”

“There is no need to thank me, I should thank you.” Her husband smiled at him.

John watched him curiously as he returned to the kitchen. He glanced over at Ed, but Ed looked away. He took a sip of the iced tea and dug into his meal deciding that there was nothing better to do. His attempts to get more information about this evening had proved futile so he took a wait and see attitude.

There was small talk as people ate their meals. Even at his table, his family asked him about the funeral and his stay in Austin. He told them about his experiences there. He didn’t go into the details of his exchanges with the Brown family, as that was personal for them. He was surprised to learn that his eulogy had actually played on national television and that there were several sacks of mail at the house for him.

He finished the enchiladas, tacos, and frijoles. His appetite sated, he pushed the plate away and sat back. He looked at all of the women gathered in the room. The fact was that he had never seen so many women gathered together in one room. He hadn’t had that many women in his physics for nurses class that he taught one summer. Even that class was about a third men. He knew all of the women here. He knew that some had traveled across the country to be here. Karla, whom he had tried to visit in Austin, was here.

The men emerged from the kitchen and started removing the dirty plates and wiping down the tables. John watched as the men winked at their wives or girlfriends. Some of the men winked at more than one woman. Things were very odd here, but he couldn’t place his finger on the undercurrent flowing through the room. Soon the tables were cleared of all but glasses. Each glass was filled with the appropriate beverage. There were numerous bottles of wine set out on the tables. All of the men left through the front door, each pausing to say goodnight before exiting.

David walked out of the back of the room and stepped into the open center. He winked at Karla, who smiled back at him. David spoke out, “John. I’m here representing the men who care for the women in this room. We want you to know that we understand what is going to happen and give our permission.”

John sat there puzzled, unsure what he was supposed to do. He was shocked when Dave left out the front door like the rest of the men. John turned to look at Ed hoping to get an explanation from him. Ed licked his lips and looked away. John turned to look at Kelly. She smiled and put a finger to his lips while whispering, “Don’t say a word.”

Mary stood up and faced the front table. She looked around nervously and seemed to gain strength from the other women gathered there. She said, “One day, a knight in shining armor rescued me from the breath of an angry dragon. This knight treated my wounds and then rode off into the sunset to save yet another fair maiden from disaster. Left behind, I dreamed of the day when I could reward my knight in shining armor. Time passed and I grew into a woman.”

John was about to say that he had been amply rewarded when Kelly’s finger touched his lips. Mary continued, “I traveled the land far and wide looking for my knight. Along the way, I found true love from a woman fair, a blind man that could see, and a prince. Sadness entered my heart, as I knew that I couldn’t return it until I found my knight. I found him to learn that he had three wives and a husband. My loves understood and told me how I could express my thanks in the way that a maiden should.”

As Mary sat down, Shirley stepped to the center of the room. “One night, a stranger tall, dark, and handsome entered my bar. He tamed the wild beast called Ed, making life easier for all in the town. He treated me, a simple barmaid, like a queen and swept me off my feet. I pined for his affection and dreamed of being the queen in his kingly bedchamber, even if only for a night.

“I watched as he regained a lost love and then lost her again. My hopes soared, but the king found two queens, another king, and lately another queen. My heart was broken, but then I found true love from a maiden rescued from a dragon, a blind man that can see, and a prince because of his generosity. Sadness entered my heart. I could not return that love until I had thanked my king. How does a lowly barmaid thank a king? My loves told me of a way.”

Shirley returned to her seat as Maria took her place. She told her story, “One morning a hermit wearing only a loin cloth came to my aid. He walked through angry serpents to rescue my greatest treasure from being stolen by death. He increased the value of my treasure by polishing it and made it the envy of all that saw it. From the hermit’s example of a simple life and gentle manner, my husband learned to value his wife, a lowly peasant woman. He even brought to me a new love in the form of a beautiful woman who I had long desired and now have.

“I, a lowly peasant woman who has learned to value herself, wish to reward the hermit. This hermit, though, has found love in the form of a husband and three wives. So how can I reward him? My husband, a man of honor and dignity, understands the debts that even a lowly peasant woman can feel. He suggested how I could repay this hermit.”

Maria sat down as the other Maria stood up. She walked to the center of the room and turned to face John. “One day, a wise man came to me in my place of business. He told me how I could make more money by bringing my goods to the customers rather than requiring them to come to me. His wisdom saved my business and my house from the evil banker that lusted after them.

“The wise man went through town spreading his wisdom to others. He taught the men and women how to love each other and to treat each other nicely. Those men and women came to my place seeking a place for their romance. My business grew and with the money I earned, I was able to make a better life for my children. I dreamed of thanking him, in the only way that a woman can. However, the wise man has three wives and a husband so a great sadness fell upon me. One day, my loving sister came to me and told me how I could thank him.”

Maria sat down as Rosa took her place. “Unmarried and with child, I came home to live under the protection of a loving sister. Day after day, I saw the burdens that she carried and it broke my heart. I went to the church and prayed for a miracle every morning for a month. Then one day, an angel visited my sister and lessened her burdens in answer to my prayers. To my surprise, the angel visited me and taught me that I still had a right to dignity despite my past transgressions.

“He came to me many times. When I was down, he cheered me up. He treated me like a lady, calling me ma’am and talking to me with great politeness. He never treated me as a whore. So how could I, a fallen woman, reward an angel? One night, I found love in the form of a gentleman and his wife. The gentleman told me how I could repay this angel.”

Rosa sat down. There was a long pause as the women looked at each other. Juanita Mendosa finally stood and took the center of the room. She looked for support from the women along the side of the room. She said, “I speak for a number of women in this room. Our stories are similar or the same, so it only needs to be told once. I once was a woman that lived in a shoe, with too many kids and nothing to do. My husband was too busy to pay attention to me and I had too many kids to look for attention elsewhere.

“Then one day, cupid came to town. He brought enlightenment to Ed, a bigot and a bully. He spread a message of love and understanding to the men and women of the town. To a woman of conventional standards, such as me, his message was shocking. If you can love one, then you can love more than one. If you can love one sex, then you can love the other. To the men, the message undermined all that they held true.

“Cupid didn’t talk, he taught by demonstration. On the day of his wedding to his two wives and husband, some men of the town decided it was time to stop cupid. They found themselves in a tent drinking beer and whiskey. Then Ed came to talk to the men and stated cupid’s message in a form they could understand. The men left, enlightened.

“That night, many women of the town found flowers and presents upon their arrival home from the festivities. Their husbands talked to them through the night about love. The wives could not believe their ears as the men confessed their own fears and doubts. Men who had acted strong were in fact worried that they were not strong enough. The men were shocked to learn from their wives that they wanted gentlemen.

“The wives used Ed as an example of a man that went from strong macho man to a gentleman. The gentleman, Ed, was polite and well mannered. He took his time and listened to people. He helped those around him. There was nothing soft about Ed, the gentleman. To learn that their own wives preferred the new Ed was more shocking than anything else that they had heard.

“Marriages that had faded now bloomed anew. Husbands and wives worked together to watch the kids so that other wives could spend time with their husbands. Informal family groups formed with three or more couples loving each other. Men tried men and women tried women. The results were surprising to many people.

“Now the happy wives gathered together one day. They asked the question as to how they could thank cupid for the amazing changes to their lives. They talked for days and many ideas were exchanged. The wives went to the husbands and asked the husbands for advice. The husbands met and decided that there was only one way to thank cupid. Since cupid spoke of love, then the wives should give to cupid their love. The wives thought about it and decided that it was right and proper. The husbands came back and told the wives how to go about it.”

She sat down and her place was taken by another woman. John only knew her slightly from the flower shop. She usually worked in the back and he dealt with the man at the counter. He struggled to recall her name and then remembered that it was Wanda. She said, “My story is rather different, as I have never formally met the man who saved my life. I grew up in this town. As long as I can remember, I have liked men and women both. While I liked men, the idea of sleeping with a woman made my knees weak and my lower region wet. In a small town, you don’t ever admit that you desire to sleep with a person of the same gender. One day at a party, I drank too much and attempted to seduce a cheerleader. My attempt was public and by morning the whole town knew what I had done.

“Overnight I became a leper, women avoided me and men threatened me with rape so that I could learn to love men. I left town and moved to a big city where I could make love with the people of my choice. I was forced to return to take over their flower shop when my parents died. The memory of a small town is long and I had to hire someone to deal with the customers or else go out of business. Daily, as I trimmed stems, I pondered suicide; imagining the knife slicing my wrists rather than the stems.

“Then one day I heard that a strange marriage, of two men and two women, was taking place. Shortly after that, a woman came to the shop to talk to me. I, who had not talked with anyone in months, had a visitor. To my surprise, she asked me about how to make love to a woman as she had found a woman that she desired. This visit was followed by others from other women. A few men came to ask about same gender love.

“My life has changed. I now have regular lovers, a man and a woman. I can take over the front counter and not lose any business. Business is better as people learned to love one another. Gifts of flowers became common practice.

“I looked around to find what was responsible for my new found life. It came down to a single hero, and my best customer. Now, as I trim the stems with my knife, I wonder how I could thank this amazing man. My lovers suggested how I could I thank him.”

She sat down to be replaced by Linda Redman. John was surprised to see her there. She said, “One day a man walked across a desert to talk with a medicine man of my tribe. He paid a great price for his trip, losing three feline friends. From that meeting came a center of higher learning that has returned an ancient culture back to a lost people and has armed the people to better take care of themselves.