Chapter Six #2
“Very well. Simon Bartholomew White. Will you marry me?”
“Will I—will I marry you? What the fuck, Dinesh? Have you lost your bloody mind?”
He didn’t say a thing, only kept staring at me with a moony look in his eyes. I actually thought he might have caught some kind of island-borne disease that had addled his brain.
“We can’t get married,” I sputtered, my heart going like a tiny bird’s that’s found itself in a trap.
“Why ever not?”
“Because…because that’s not permitted!”
“Marriage?”
“Marriage between people like us, I mean.”
“Ah, well. So you’re going to let one little detail stop you from making me the happiest fellow on Talamanca and across all the oceans.”
I blinked. “Kind of an important detail, don’t you think?” I said, my voice sounding far away and my heartbeat deafening in my head.
“I’m not saying our marriage will be legal. Of course, not. But perhaps we can be married in the eyes of the most important people, which is ourselves and our closest friends.”
All of a sudden I wondered why I was fighting the idea. Why did a proposed marriage to Dinesh frighten me? Because the practice wasn’t permitted? Well, neither was piracy, or calling up magic to smite people down. Or sodomy, of course, in which I had a vested interest.
“I don’t know…”
Dinesh’s expression changed in an instant, and he coughed. “Well, of course, if you don’t feel the same way, I understand completely.”
“No. I mean, yes, I do, but…I need to know what this means before I give you an answer.”
“Means?”
“Since the union won’t be a legal binding of our lives, then…what will the purpose be?”
He sighed, his cheeks red with embarrassment, or possibly with the excitement of the idea. “Oh, never mind. Forget I brought up the ridiculous idea.”
“For fuck’s sakes, I’ll marry you, you daft man. If you’re still asking.”
We stared at each other, then burst out laughing.
“My, we are romantic fellows, aren’t we?” He grinned. “The thing is, we are fellows, and I don’t see why we should have to be the same as a man and a woman would. We can do things the way we want.”
“Aye. That’s the only reason I hesitated. The last six months have been a dream, and I don’t want to ruin what we have.”
“Believe me, Rooster, neither do I,” Dinesh murmured, tucking the feathered hair behind my ear.
“But I want to tell the whole world that I love you, and that I intend to spend the rest of my sorry and questionable life with you. And if I can’t do that, which would likely be ill-advised, I want to tell our friends. ”
***
We realized that a good portion of the crew were headed back to the ship the next day and decided that if we were to have a wedding, we should have the ceremony soon, so everyone could bear witness. The concept was wild and outrageous, but the more we spoke of our plan, the more excited we became.
When our clothes were dry, we pulled on our trousers and went to speak to Francis.
The group who had gone to collect the fish had returned in great spirits and with enough to feed a party twice the size of ours.
We would be able to have a feast before the cacao ceremony, and everyone was looking forward to celebrating.
Francis had recruited some of the men to help with the cooking, since Jimena was busy preparing the sacred cacao.
Francis was not as shocked as I’d expected when Dinesh made our request.
“I should have known there would be something revolutionary about your visit,” he said, shaking his head, but smiling with fondness at his friend.
“I simply don’t see why we have to limit ourselves to other people’s expectations.”
“I most heartily agree. Once the Spanish left our shores, Jimena’s people went back to the old ways in many things and we make our own choices now. I know that’s why you left the navy,” he said. He gazed back and forth between us. “I’m thrilled for you both.”
“We only need a modest affair on the beach in the morning. Whatever can be scrambled together.”
“Now wait a moment. Why don’t I ask Jimena if we can incorporate the ceremony into the cacao festival?”
I liked the sound of that but the captain protested out of decorum.
“Oh, but we don’t want to impinge on a sacred ceremony…”
“Nonsense. We often include such things in the ceremony,” Francis said. “And you may be surprised to learn that weddings between members of the same sex are not taboo.”
“Bollocks!” I said. “Truly?”
Dinesh was a little more polite than I.
“I beg your pardon?”
“Surprised?” Francis asked.
“Astonished,” Dinesh admitted.
“Truly? You mean, we could be officially married here in Talamanca?” I asked.
Francis laughed and shrugged. “Well, I don’t know how official any of these marriages are, since they aren’t registered anywhere. But everyone knows who’s with who and nobody minds. So your marriage will be quite legitimate here, among Jimena’s people.”
“Well, fuck,” I said, completely taken aback.
“I never thought…” Dinesh’s voice trailed off in amazement.
“Not backing out, are you?” I asked Dinesh with a raised eyebrow.
“Of course not. I’m the one who asked you. And let me tell you, I thought I’d made a big mistake when you didn’t answer right away.”
“Jesus, you could have warned me first. For such an important question, the idea kind of came out of nowhere.”
“That is true. My proposal was impulsive, I’ll grant you. But the feelings I have for you? They are well considered.”
“And you—” I glanced at Francis, then gazed seriously at Dinesh and swallowed thickly. “—realize this would be a…lifetime…commitment?”
“Aye. I want you for life, Rooster. I don’t think I could be happy without you at my side.”
I felt a lightness in my chest and a soothing warmth in my belly.
“I feel the same.”
Francis clapped his hands together.
“Well, this is a most excellent development!”
***
Jimena was delighted to conduct a wedding, or what was called a ‘joining ceremony’ in their language.
Francis translated as she gave us her blessings and said that all we had to do was follow her lead in the ceremony and verbally agree to commit our lives together when prompted.
She suggested that we prepare some kind of symbolic gifts to exchange afterwards, although this left us perplexed.
We had nothing but what we’d brought from the ship with us, and the shells and stones I’d collected on the beach.
But perhaps those would do?
“That’s a wonderful solution,” Dinesh said. “We’ll choose our favourites and exchange them at the end of the ceremony. And we can keep them in my watch box on the Arrow, as symbols of our commitment.”
“All right. Quite the romantic you’ve become, haven’t you?” I said, gazing at him fondly.
“It’s you, Rooster. You’ve turned me into someone I never expected to be.”
He reached out and took my hand, pulling me against him.
“And once we’re back on the ship, and in the privacy of our rooms, I’m going to demonstrate the full extent of my adoration and desire.”
“Yes, please.”
Dinesh went with Francis to help prepare the meal, and I wandered over to the drying sand near Jimena’s canopy where Domingo was showing the older boy, Alejandro, how to make English words in the sand with a stick.
His gaze met mine and he smiled, and tapped Alejandro’s chubby shoulder, pointing at me. He said something to the little boy, who stood and ambled over, stopping in front of me.
“Oosta.”
I blinked. “Beg pardon?”
He pointed at me. “Oosta. Oosta.”
I looked to Domingo with confusion.
“What’s he saying?”
“I think he’s trying to say ‘Rooster’. That’s what I told him your name was.”
“Oh!”
“Thought that would be easier for him than ‘Simon’. Perhaps not.”
I pointed at the boy. “Alejandro”
He pointed at himself and laughed. “Alejandro.”
Then he turned and pointed at Domingo. “Gingo.”
Domingo shrugged, walking over to sit on the sand beside me. “Close enough. Good lad.”
“Goog bad.”
“Well, he’s a talkative thing, ain’t he?” I said.
“Mmm, smart too.” Domingo looked at me strangely. “What’s up with you? You look like you’re about to float up into the sky. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this calm and content.”
I smiled. “Well…if you must know, I had the most incredible romp with Dinesh in a secluded tidal pool.”
“That would explain your mood.”
“And also, we’re getting married.”
Domingo laughed. “Well, that’s—wait a minute, what? What?”
“Well, the thing won’t be legal, of course. But Francis said marital bonds between people of the same sex aren’t uncommon among Jimena’s people.”
Domingo looked at Jimena, who was taking a break from preparing the cacao and nursing her baby again. He looked back at me.
“That is… I mean, I never… Are you sure you want to?”
“What? Marry Dinesh?” I asked, as if there had ever been any doubt.
“Well, he is an incredible man. But marriage, even a non-binding one, is rather a large statement to make.”
“Aye. But I feel we were always meant to be together, and he feels the same.”
“But you don’t need to get married to stay together as long as you like. You could go on as you are. We all know you’re both spoken for.”
“True. But we want to. Like Dinesh explained his reasoning, we want to declare our feelings before our friends and, well, family.” I smiled at Domingo.
“Am I your family, Simon? Truly?”
“Oh for fuck’s sake, ’course you are. You’re part of the crew now, and the crew is our family. Every last one of you.”
“Even Hanes?”
I narrowed my eyes. Domingo well knew of my dislike for the man.
“Yes, even Hanes. Same as in a regular family, some are more likeable than others.”
***
We elected not to tell the rest of the crew, and I swore Domingo to secrecy. Francis would make an announcement when Jimena was ready to begin our commitment ceremony.
After we’d had our fill of grilled fish, Francis and some of the men built a bonfire on the beach, then laid reed mats all around for the men to sit on.
Jimena’s brothers placed a low table in front with eight ornately decorated earthen bowls that looked like they could hold two or three teacups full of liquid.
Once the sun went down over the mountains behind us, Jimena lit the fire at multiple spots whilst speaking ancient words of praise for Sibu, the Mother Goddess her people prayed to. Francis stood near her and explained to us what was happening.
José held the baby and made sure the infant was content and happy, whilst Mauricio sat with Alejandro in his lap and whispered in his ear things that made him smile and chuckle.
Soon the great fire blazed forth in the heat of the tropical night and a smaller fire beside Jimena warmed the cacao mixture she had prepared.
Whilst the liquid warmed, she added pinches of various spices as she recited the words of the ritual.
She gazed at the stars and spoke to the Mother Goddess, asking for blessings and giving praise to the deity who looked down upon Talamanca with the eyes of a million bright stars.
The spiritual weight of Jimena’s words, the crackling of the fire, and the scent of the cacao wafting up from the bowl, lulled me into a sense of ease and peace.
The entire crew, and the children as well, were rapt as we watched Jimena take a great ladle and spoon portions of the cacao drink into the clay bowls.