Untraditional Pt. 02

In short, older explorers and newer ones alike described tribes of people who majored in fucking and fighting and not much else.

The ritual, while a tribute to the god's virility, didn't encompass the individual. It wasn't a test or celebration of Jon's manhood, Mel's femininity, or the culmination of such, as in breeding. That didn't make me feel any better. When I envisioned what was taking place in that mountain dwelling, I pictured the two of them laughing at me while pounding each other in bed. Now presented with the fact that there could be remorse, made it even worse.

I didn't need or want their pity, sympathy, or condolences, as they bathed in their afterglow. The mere thought of it made me physically ill. Worst of all, I was but a pawn, a playing piece in a tradition of which I had little comprehension and by no means for which I had given permission.

The first thing, and foremost in my mind, was that both Mel and Jon fully understood Western culture, regardless of their backward tradition. No matter what else I thought about, even to the point of making excuses for them and what they'd done, I kept coming back to that one point. They knew better yet chose to continue, knowing what it would do to me and how I would react. It made all of their explanations and apologies ring hollow.

I began to look at it from a ten thousand-foot viewpoint. The best way to remove yourself from an unwanted situation is to retreat. Don't want to play the game? Take your playing piece off the board. It no longer mattered what my wife had done or to what degree. It didn't matter how much or how little she loved me - felt for me. My next actions or series of actions would dictate the outcome which would determine my life going forward.

I had to get off the island. With that resolve, I went to sleep.

I was awake and full of energy at 5:00 for the first time in a long time and I was starving. The right side of my face was swollen and a sick mixture of yellow and purple. My eye was also blackened and my ribs hurt. Making my way to the village's central hub and marketplace, I shouldn't have been amazed at how many people were out and about.

For the first time, I indulged myself in raw, grade AAA Ahi tuna for breakfast. The Poi tasted much better and enhanced the fish, spread thinly over it, versus eating it like porridge. I figured Moana would be showing up at the rental house about then to cook my breakfast and plead her case again.

I should have been paying more attention to the comings and goings in the harbor.

Later though, I found myself amongst the fishing boats. Jon's nephew, as he'd called him, was very interested and honored to show me the art of cleaning yellowfin and swordfish. Looking at my lip and face, he did give a questioning look but probed no further. Other men I'd encountered that morning also looked on in wonderment. After I'd mastered the job to the best of my ability, I was given a Tasmanian salmon for dinner.

I returned to our - I guess it was just mine, now - house and showered to get the smell of the fish off me. Then I wandered the low cliffs that overlooked the harbor, sitting to take in the awe-inspiring sights. I was shaken from my reverie when a small-framed woman sat next to me. It was Aleki.

"I wondered where you'd gotten off to," she said gleefully. "Mother was already whipping up a nice meal before she discovered you weren't there."

"Yeah," I replied. "Well, I hope she was disappointed. I couldn't take another round of her attempted brainwashing."

Aleki's smile was intoxicating, though sitting so close to a younger, souped-up version of my wife didn't make me feel any better. I turned fully toward her and her smile dissolved as she saw the state of my face.

"Oh my!" she exclaimed. "Rob, what happened to you?"

"You should see the other guy," I forced a laugh but it did nothing for her demeanor. "I had a little disagreement with those sissies your people call guards on the mountain path."

"Why?" she said curiously. "Mother told you not to go there."

"I'm sorry, Aleki," I shrugged, "your mother's traditions and ultimatums mean nothing to me."

"But the entire village will know that you defied the ritual," she seemed very worried. "Whatever support you may have had will be gone when word spreads. No one has ever done that. Do you have a death wish?"

"Perhaps. But I was damn sure not going to go quietly into the night while they were up there playing house. I don't know for how much longer but she is still my wife, we're still married, and I had to fight for it. The bruises will heal but I doubt our marriage will."

"My God, you have no idea what you've done. We need to make up a story about what happened to your face. What did you do all day, yesterday?" she inquired, changing the subject. "I didn't see you all day after I left."

"I spent the late afternoon and last night digging through her selected reading. I can't say it helped."

"I wouldn't suppose so," her smile and mood had taken a hit but she trudged forward. "After all, you were still in shock. I'm not sure anything except time could help you."

"I doubt time is my friend," I told her. "I need to get off this island so if you want to help me with my troubles then tell me how I do that."

"Ah, you missed your window of opportunity," the smile was back. "The ferry comes on Monday morning at eight o'clock, unless someone important, like you and Mele, comes."

Well, there went my escape plan. While I thought of what that meant, Aleki verbalized it.

"You'll at least have to talk to her," Aleki looked hopeful. I didn't share her optimism.

"I probably shouldn't," I said almost to myself.

"Why?" she inquired. "Mele's your wife, is she not? Aren't important decisions supposed to be agreed upon together?"

"Of course," I replied, "but she doesn't think it applies to her. She made her decisions... independently. Wait, actually, she made her decision communally, with everyone else but me. She lied on purpose and made a fool of me. Can't you see?"

Aleki sat reflecting. "I can see how it seems like that," she said. "I'm sure either Puko or Mother brought up the ritual four years ago when Mele came to see Father off to the afterlife. I don't know for sure because I never heard them but it seems logical." She seemed to choose her next words more carefully.

"In your world, in Christianity, wasn't one of the Bible's greatest men, the father of nations, asked to sacrifice his son for your God? He made that decision unilaterally, without his wife and family's knowledge."

"Interesting analogy," I spat, getting angry again. "Except, I don't care about Abraham or Kane or any other storybook character."

"Ah," she responded quickly, "but if tens of millions believe in Abraham, is it only a story? On over a thousand islands here, a million or more of my people believe in what Mele and Puko are doing. Mele had no choice. You must see that and that she was trying to protect you."

If only it were that simple. "Aleki, I think they were trying to protect themselves, not me.

"What can you tell me about the two of them," I had to know, "As children, growing up on the island?"

"Not much," she shrugged, seemingly eager to be able to answer a question that might help me, then realizing she couldn't. "She left for the United States when she was fourteen. I was five at the time." She reconsidered her answer.

"I can tell you about children in general, though." She watched for approval and I nodded.

"As children, we're exposed to many things Westerners aren't," she began. "For instance, the boys, well, if the wind blows too hard from the East, their appendages become engorged. The girls are curious because they don't have... one of those. Over a short time, the novelty wears off, I suppose like someone in your culture if they spend too much time at - what do you call them - oh, a Gentleman's Club."

I just looked at her shocked. Aleki was describing things so foreign to me and with such ease.

"Later," she continued, "after puberty, most of us begin experimenting. There aren't any rules against it and no certain age is a hard line in the sand. There is no such thing as coming of age. Everyone matures at their own pace but nearly all experience the inevitable."

"How did you get so smart?" It was a real question and I was enamored.

"I've read many books on Western culture, Rob," she seemed a bit irritated. "Your culture covers a very large portion of our world so, while we don't practice your culture here, we still need to learn about it in school. Father gave me many books to read including fiction.

"Anyway," she said. "That's the best I can do. I think that was the real question you wanted to know, wasn't it? I doubt that the two of them are on a traditional honeymoon, as you know it. They are likely very... familiar with each other."

I wished I wouldn't have asked in the first place.

Aleki joined me for salmon. We weren't graced with Moana's presence which suited me.

Traditions were contemplated as we sat in front of a small fire watching the sunset. I wasn't at all swayed by any of it but it was nice to talk to someone. Maybe it was a distraction. Aleki was a smart woman, easy on the eyes, and I felt a connection to her. Maybe it was hereditary, I didn't know.

"I know this is extremely difficult for you," she said with empathy. "Isn't there some way you can consider forgiveness, or grace, as it were?"

"I don't think I can," I honestly said. "This isn't something anyone, a non-islander, would ever consider in their wildest dreams. It's not a one-night drunken mistake with a good-looking stranger, certainly not an afternoon tryst with a flirting co-worker. This was well planned and I doubt there's any way to let go of that."

"So," it was a sad tone. "You're following a rainbow back to your home, hoping to find your dignity intact there."

When she left, I lay in bed rethinking. Was there any possible way for me to see past it? It would take a stronger man than me - or a weaker one. Mel had chosen her traditions and rituals over me in a heinous way. I felt betrayed and once that happened - at least to me - it was over.

Aleki kept me company for the next two days while Moana and the other family members kept their distance. It was a welcomed distraction. I expected that some of the villagers who saw me, probably suspected I'd been in a fight. I didn't know if Aleki ran interference or even talked to the guards on my behalf. Nonetheless, no one challenged me. On Thursday, as we walked the far end of the beach, well away from prying eyes, Aleki said, "You're not staying, are you?"

I could tell she knew - maybe even understood. "No," I said definitively.

"Come with me," she asked more than told. "I want to show you something."

The fairly large storage shed was on the outskirts of the village. There was a plethora of junk there. Aleki walked over to a few large shelves and pulled down some items covered in tarps. Unwrapping them, I saw framed canvases. She blew some dust from the pictures and handed one to me.

"This is... beautiful," I looked on, astounded. "Did you do that?"

She looked proudly at the art. There was an older woman in the painting, brushing out a young girl's hair, with the harbor in the background. I was no expert, but her technique seemed good.

Aleki showed me several more. Some were oil paint, like the first one, while others were in watercolor. "Aleki," I said. "These are incredible!"

"Thanks," she said and then turned away looking at the floor.

"I was very close with my father," she admitted. "Much closer than with my mother. When he died, I lost my... feeling, my desire, my..."

"Passion." I finished her sentence. She nodded and I watched a tear escape the corner of her eye. To a degree, she could feel some of what I felt.

I came in close and hugged her. Aleki rallied quickly, stuffing her sadness down inside. She looked up at me.

"When you leave," she proclaimed, "I want to go with you."

I was shocked. "Go with me?" I repeated. "To Boston?"

She nodded again and said 'Yes.'

Aleki had fourteen works in total, each as wonderful as the first. She'd captured the essence of island life perfectly. Instinctively, I scanned the room looking for more.

When I turned back, Aleki was right in front of me. I was surprised when she leaned in and kissed me on the lips. It was passionate and my reaction was to step back but I didn't. Aleki took it further by reaching for my cock and squeezing it. That was when I did pull back.

"I can't," I looked her in the eyes. "I'm still married. Probably not for long but I need to maintain my customs." She smiled, nodded, and let go.

We went through her pieces and she asked my opinion on each. I knew very little about art, especially paintings, but she seemed sincerely interested.

Aleki and I spent the rest of the day and evening chatting about everything but the elephant in the room. I told her about Boston and New York. I asked her which of her paintings she most loved and we talked about three that she should bring with her. She'd sneaked back into her mother's home and gotten us a bottle of wine to share. Aleki told me about her fond memories of her father who encouraged her to draw and later paint.

As she left my home, she turned to face me. "You're a good man, Rob," she exclaimed. "Please don't hurt my sister too much, any more than you have to. I know you were wronged but she's still family." I couldn't honestly offer her more than a slight nod.

Laying in bed, I finally decided what I was going to do.

Friday, I again woke to my mother-in-law making breakfast. Of course, I knew what she wanted. I could play the game or at least I'd convinced myself to until that damned ferry arrived on Monday. I'd tell Mel how badly she'd hurt me, how stupidly she'd underestimated every one of her actions. She could stay with her mom. Then, Sunday night, I'd let them both have it and leave them to it on Monday morning.

As Moana pried to discover how I was sitting with things, I flipped the script on her.

"Aleki showed me her art," I said nonchalantly. "It's very good."

Moana didn't quite know what to do with that. "Her father taught her... encouraged her even." I sensed the hostility.

"And you thought she had a different path to follow," it was a statement.

"She's a woman," Moana sighed. "A strong-headed woman at that, but still a woman of this community. She needed to get her head out of the clouds."

That pissed me off. I suppose mothers of all cultures could be a blessing or a curse. My scowl told her I didn't approve.

"Her works should be on display somewhere," I said. "Not in a dusty shed."

Moana was old and wise. She changed the subject. "How are you sailing, Rob? Are you excited to see your wife today?" My face surely showed the answer to that.

Moana realized she'd failed and fell back on a tradition that transcended cultures. "Please, Rob," she begged. "Don't hurt her. You're here for three months total. Don't waste them being angry and then making her hurt and angry with you. Let go. Don't push her into Puko's arms."

She paused, thinking. "You know you two could start your family here. You have plenty of time and all the privacy you'll need." She was suddenly talking with great anticipation.

Another bolt of lightning struck my overloaded mind. We had talked before the trip about her going off her birth control with the idea of starting a family. Realizing what she had been doing, why would she agree to the solstice ritual, knowing we wanted children? Unless the children she wants are his?

"Sure," I said, "when she's not too busy with Jon, or whatever you call him." I meant every bit of disrespect to their future elder. "Did you know we have spoken of children and whether she went off her birth control just before we left? The way you tell it, they're still together for another twenty-two days. She's certainly going to be able to start her family then, just not with me. Does the treachery get any worse, Moana?"

The look on her face was one of surprise that she did her damnedest to mask. Without missing a beat she continued.

"Rob," she breathed a heavy sigh. "Please don't. I've explained the ritual as best I can, in the only way I could. She said nothing to me about the medicine she uses or starting a family. I just thought you could, while you're here. She loves you! You'll see that tonight when she returns. We... all of us, have a great deal of confidence in you. If you still need some time, then let her know that but don't attack her love for you with words you might not be able to retract. She can stay with me for a few days."

"She can stay with you for exactly twenty-two days," I said with finality. "If you'll excuse me, have a good rest of your day. I have some things to do."

Mother had the good sense to know when her pleas were falling on deaf ears. She got up and gave a polite goodbye. Later, Aleki arrived and started right in.

"What did you say to Mother?" she harassed.

"Told her the truth," I stated. "She still thinks everything is going to go the way she and the others hope. I couldn't let her be deceived by her own silliness."

"I'm not sure that's a good strategy, Rob," she warned. "Whatever you are planning to do, make sure you do it in private with my sister. No need to unnecessarily anger the rest of the village. They wouldn't understand and you don't need enemies for three long days."

I promised her I'd be careful. I hadn't had a clear-cut plan of what to say or do. The confrontation organically played out, much differently.

I decided I wasn't going to be couped up in the house when they returned. That would make good theatre for them but not for me. I was wandering in the marketplace doing some last-minute shopping - some souvenirs for friends back in the States. The anticipation was thick in the air. It was easy to see that everyone knew the hour of their return was near. The pats on the back and hands on the shoulder were still given with empathy, not pity. I was thankful for that. The men at least, seemed to understand. Still, I had a pain in my gut to match the pains in my body, reeling at the thought that even the plans for our family had been smashed over these past days.

Finally, at about six, there was a commotion coming from the mountain road as a crowd gathered and I could see the two lovebirds heading our way. I paid no attention, still looking over some beads in one of the smaller pop-up tents. I didn't try to hide from them. Ignoring them was my goal.

It worked pretty well, too. Well, it almost worked. As the group of villagers walked past the pop-up, Mel and Jon didn't notice me. Someone in the group must have pointed out the fact that they'd just walked past me because everyone stopped, and Mel walked the twenty-five or so feet back to me.

"Rob?" she seemed suspicious and worried that I wasn't... what? Waiting for her with open arms in the street?

"Oh, hello," I deadpanned. "You're back." She only thought she was worried seconds before.

"Yes," she recovered quickly, "I've missed you so much." She opened her arms and took a step towards me but I turned my back on her.

"Wait outside," I ordered her, without overdoing the authority aspect. "I need to pay for these." The look she gave me was priceless but I didn't dwell on it, rather moving to the stunned cashier.

When I came out, villagers encircled the couple on three sides of the tent. They expectantly stared at me, waiting I guess for the happy reunion.

Jon had the most expectant look of them all. "Rob..." he started to say.

"Not now," I said. He knew what was on my mind when I looked him in the eye. "I have some more shopping to do. Maybe later." My eyes drifted from Jon to Mel. She was stricken.