Missing

59. Expanding Estate

Maria giggled as they lay on the bed head to hip, lightly panting." We were going to change into our new clothes."

"We made it halfway; we got undressed." He laughed, then watched her lick her lips.

"You like the taste?"

"A little bland, more salty than anything, with a bit of sweet bitterness. The caviar we had at lunch yesterday reminded me of you." She giggled. "Kiss me; I can still taste a bit of you."

They sat and merged their mouths in a deep, exploring kiss. "I taste more of you than of me," he said half a minute later. "It seems not strong at all."

She looked down. "You're still oozing. Let me work the last of it out to give you a fresher sample." She took his head into her mouth and sucked as she milked the underside of his length to get the last bit out. "Here's more." They merged mouths again.

"Mild and salty, similar to fresh oysters."

"I've never had oysters, but there are so many things I've never had."

"You have to be near the ocean to get them. I had them often in Victoria and Vancouver."

"Those places sound so exotic to me ... Will you take me there sometime? When the war is over."

"It's very different from here. Everything new. Vancouver isn't even thirty years old yet. Here, everything seems centuries old."

"But there were people living there. Canada wasn't empty before the Europeans came. Didn't they have cities? That place they found in the mountains a few years ago, Picha Mucho or something. That's very old."

"Machu Picchu. That's thousands of miles south ... In Peru. And there are remains of complex cities in other places in South America and Central America, but north, in Canada, the people were still living a stone age existence when Europeans arrived. They had not discovered the use of metal, so their tools were stone, wood, shells and bone. Besides tools, they built nothing of stone, and they had no way to preserve wood, so nothing but recent structures have lasted. Also, they made no changes to the land."

"So they were backwards, then?"

"They're more advanced than we are in many ways. They haven't spoiled the land. Their needs are met by hunting and gathering rather than raising livestock and clearing land for crops. Their only fight seems to be against our conflicting attitudes and regulations as they attempt to maintain their lifestyle in harmony with nature." He sat up. "We should clean and dress; we can talk of this later."

David helped her put her hair up. "Has it always been this curly?"

"I was much curlier when I was younger – and it was redder. I used to wear it shorter. Maybe the longer length pulls out some of the curliness – the weight stretches it. I don't know, but I love my hair long. So easy to do different things with it."

"And so beautiful."

"Your hair? Do you always wear it short? It was little more than stubble when we met."

"Mine's also curly, and I used to wear it longer, but Army regulations require short hair, so fleas won't find it welcoming. Also, much easier to keep clean living in the trenches."

"That must be awkward, staying clean in that filth."

"They enforce cleanliness. Necessary for our health. We had to wash and shave every day and have our hair cut at least every two weeks. There are daily inspections to ensure everyone complies. Disease is so easy to spread in those conditions."

"Your beard, then? You'll need to remove this, won't you?" She stroked his cheek. "I like this. It's now a part of you in my mind."

"We were talking of that in Bern – during the meeting yesterday morning. Members of the Pioneers traditionally wear beards, so with my transfer, I'll be allowed to wear it. The problem will be while I'm at OTC – I may have to shave for the duration of the training. Colonel Picot is checking. He's unfamiliar with the commissioning from the ranks routine – it's all so new – but he thinks they would allow Pioneers to keep beards."

He stepped back and looked at her hair. "You're so beautiful with your hair this way. You're so beautiful however you wear it, but I think we're done."

She turned her head back and forth in front of the mirror and smiled. "I should keep you on as my hairdresser."

"I'd love to remain here to be that – and to be your undresser." He breathed a loud sigh. "Come, we should go. I'm sure Tante is wondering what's keeping us. She's eager to see your gown."

Bethia looked up from her chair as they entered the drawing room. "You two know Herr Schmidt."

Schmidt stood to greet them. "My, my, you both look splendid. You appear to have just stepped out of one of my wife's fashion magazines." He laughed. "You needn't have dressed for me."

Bethia laughed with him. "Not for you; for me. They wanted to show me their purchases from their trip to Bern." She studied the gown and suit. "It looks like your trip took you to Paris. You're like a god and a goddess in those." She looked at Schmidt. "We should finish this, then we can relax and enjoy tea."

"I'd love to join you." Schmidt glanced at his pocket watch. "I have another commitment in town."

David took Maria's arm. "We'll leave you to it."

"No, no. Stay and read through this, David. I was just going to call you. Herr Schmidt has the contract for the pastures. The owners are asking eighty-five hundred. Is that a fair price?"

"How big is it?" He picked up the papers and scanned. "Seventeen hectares, plus or minus." He looked at Schmidt. "What's the legal interpretation of plus or minus here?"

"Within half a unit, so this is sixteen and a half to seventeen and a half hectares. The survey report has a note explaining that its irregular shape makes it difficult to measure precisely. The stream along one side of it is very sinuous. There's a diagram of the land here." He turned the pages of one of the copies.

David turned his pages to examine the drawing. "Five hundred per hectare. That's a bit higher than bare agricultural land, but with the water and the soil ... yes, it's a fair price." He looked up at the lawyer and nodded. "Where do I sign?"

"Oh! I thought Frau Eberhardt was the purchaser."

"I am," Bethia replied as she looked back and forth between the two men. "Save your money for other things, David."

"But –" 

No buts, David. This will all be going to you, anyway. Aaron and I had no children who survived childhood, so you and Maria are my children. I cannot think of finer hands to pass my estate along to. I've just signed the new will I had Herr Schmidt draw up."