Chapter 5: Wedded Bliss

Carol's pasta was delicious, and went well with the garden salad, and fresh bread sticks. Jim and she got along splendidly, as well as Allen and Lena did. Both couples filled the bins in their refrigerators with garden produce, and fresh fruit. Shortly after dinner the newlywed pairs retired for the evening.

"Allen, please be careful with me, and not get in a hurry," pleaded Lena in a whisper. "The other time, he hurt me so much, and would not stop. He told me, 'It only hurts on the first time, and it is supposed to hurt then, ' and to, 'Be a woman and endure it.' It hurt every time he did it to me until he left on the third day."

"That's when he left for the army?"

"Yes, At times I cried it burned so much. Later, Mama told me it was because he did not know how to love his woman. Then he died, and that was that."

"Tonight, I will make love with you, together, and not to you, for there is no such thing."

"I trust you, because it is the one thing I dread more than flying," confessed Lena.

"I will go slow, and we will work up until you are ready; even if it takes all month."

"You did not have this problem with your ex-wife?"

"No, the problem with her is I was gentle, and turned her into a raving nymphomaniac. She could never get enough, and if I was at my job, she simply found someone else to fill the need."

Thinking about Glenda, put Allen off his mood for a few seconds, but Lena got him to refocus on their intimate time together. It did not take all night, let alone a month, but it was she who determined that she could wait no longer. They consummated their marriage, in the physical and spiritual sense, for with Lena, it was more spiritual than physical.

With Glenda it had always been physical, a quest for relief. After Amy, she had her tubes tied, and from that point on she acted like there were no consequences to her extramarital affairs. There was the occasional bout with what she called a yeast infection, but Allen learned that she had twice had gonorrhea, Chlamydia and syphilis once. This was after she stopped having any intimacy with him, and he learned to live without it. He reasoned that she was sick, and he had vowed to "love her in sickness and in health, until death do they part."

"I am yours, and only yours, for all eternity," Lena whispered, before they fell asleep.

Amy had confided that Glenda continued her extra-curricular activities, even after marrying Nick. She had some information that she used to blackmail him, so that he would never try to divorce her. Amy never said what it was, only that it was in a safe deposit lock box in case he had her killed.

Once the kids had grown, and left the nest, marriage became about negotiating the best financial situation, and pursuing her indiscriminate lust. Occasionally, her boyfriends paid for her trysts, and Amy was the product of a broken condom during one of her business transactions. If she ever did drugs, she kept that part hidden from the family, although he suspected that Amy knew more than she let on. Perhaps that was the intimidation she held over Nick.

In his dream that night, Allen knew there was no comparison. Lena was a gift from God. He had already suffered for his sin of having pre-marital sex with Glenda, and several other girls in college. Her sickness, albeit mental, and likely caused by a demon, was his penance. In his dream he saw Glenda possessed by many demons. Again he told her, "I forgave you," and then added, "If I had not, I could not be with Lena."

"What did you say, Querido?" cooed Lena, rousing him from the dream.

"I forgave my wife, who I now know was possessed by demons," confessed Allen. "She is now behind me, and I can move on without the anger I felt towards her."

"Only God can help her, and if she rejected Him, then she invited the demons to come into her. Querido, there is no need to remember her anymore. That was another life, and in this life, I am your wife that you have always wanted."

"Am I the husband you always wanted?"

"The man I once hoped I would someday marry is nothing compared to what God has given me. You are so much more, and I can only pray that I can measure up to be worthy of you."

"You must have me confused with someone else," teased Allen. "I'm just a lowly town clerk."

"No," Lena corrected, "That is what you do, not who you are. You are the husband that God gave me, and for whom I will always give thanks. We will raise our niños the way God has told us, and I will never argue if you correct them."

"I never thought you would," offered Allen. "I assure you, it will never be more than a swat on the bottom, or taking privileges away for a time. Thank you Lena, for being the gift from God I had never thought I am worthy of."

"Then you will never hold your love from me if I displease you?"

"Of course not, I will always consider that it is a misunderstanding because of differences in our cultures," reasoned Allen. "We will always seek to understand before we become angry. I will do anything that God allows to make you a happy wife."

"Good, then come here, and we will see if it is as good in the morning."

After their breakfast of fruit pancakes, Allen and Lena planted more of the garden plot. They found several kinds of seeds on the kitchen counter, and each had a photo of what they produced. Allen did most of the planting, while Lena and Carol began canning the leftover pasta sauce. Jim joined him, and he in turn helped his neighbor to finish.

"You know what this means, Allen?" asked Jim. "We get to go fishing tonight."

"That sounds great, but for what?"

"As long as we can eat them, and they can't eat us, I'll be happy," mused Jim. "I have faith that we have some kind of trout or salmonid as pretty as that river is. That's a member of the salmon family."

"I know what it is. Let's check on who is allowed to fish or if there are any restrictions on how many of what, and when we fish first."

"Spoil sport," Jim teased. "You're right, though; there could be a new twist on what's forbidden just waiting to surprise us."

"I'll look it up when I get there. I wish we didn't have to wear the same clothes to work, now that they're thoroughly filthy from gardening."

"I'm glad you said something, Carol and I made you both a new set of clothes at the shop yesterday to test one of our devices. We forgot to give them to you with other things on our mind last night."

"We appreciate that, Jim. All I have to say about last night is that it was worth waiting two lifetimes for. Hopefully, the fishing will be too."

"I'll be right back. It's getting around that time," said Jim, and headed for his house.

"I already brought the clothes over, if that's what you're coming for," announced Carol. "Get cleaned up, I imagine we'll have a line of folks waiting for their orders when we get there at 1:00. I also have a couple of outfits for each of them to resize."

"Allen is going to check on the fishing, and who controls it, and any restrictions," said Jim. "We thought about trying it."

(Town Hall – First Day Afternoon)

"Hunting, Trapping, and Fishing, here we go," said Allen looking up the topic. "Each person may catch and retain what his family will eat at one meal, unless he is by trade a hunter, fisher, or trapper. Then the needs of the town and the availability of storage will determine what if any harvest taken for market use. During the nesting, breeding, or spawning season for those kinds, thou shall not take those kinds.

"Fish must have fins and scales. Of the birds, only the turkey, pheasant, partridge, quail and dove of the land birds are clean. Of the water birds, the duck and goose, and snipe are for food. Mammals must have a cloven hoof, and chew their cud. The meat from any large animal taken is for the community market, except for the hide. Credit for the amount of meat and the leather will be applied to your family account."

"That sounds reasonable," opined Allen. "So who are the village hunters and fishers?" He did a search, and the results told him the position was open. "It needs to be someone who has a lot of time, and no other needed skills. Every one of the men so far has necessary skills."

"Why does it need to be a man?" wondered Lena.

"Not you, too," remarked Allen. "It normally is because most women are disgusted by having to gut and skin things."

"It depends on the culture," noted Lena. "In the primitive societies the men killed, and the women did the messy part."

"True, but most if not all of the people here come from a pampered civilization. The laws allow a family to designate others to fish or hunt for them, if they are unable to do so that day."

"So, if the pastor cannot fish or hunt, then someone else may do it for them? It makes sense," said Lena. "I see nothing about licenses in this law."

"God doesn't want us to over harvest the natural resources," Allen explained. "Basically, all we're doing is keeping a record of who owns what to prevent disputes over property in the future."

"That is the truth," said Yeshua as he walked into the clerk's office. "As you see, there are no taxes or fees on the records you keep. That is because it is all a gift from God."

"LORD, what can I do for you today?" offered Allen.

"This is for the news," replied Yeshua, handing a document to Allen. "It should go in the paper, along with the canning instructions, and the fish and game laws. I know how you detested the concept of a socialistic society, Allen, but that was under corrupt governments wanting to control the people. Here, all have free will. Please, read it, and ask any questions you have that you may also have to explain to others."

Allen looked it over. "It details the credit system, and how to standardize trade among the citizens. We can give our produce to a neighbor, or trade any surplus to an individual, or to the marketplace, and applies a value to each. Ah, the initial certification of property, marriage, birth and occupation is at no cost. But, if you sell your home, land, vehicle, or livestock to another, 10 percent goes to ... wait a minute. How do you get 10 percent for tithe out of a sale? There is no money."

"Credits are money, and all are paid the same per hour of their labor or the equivalent," noted Yeshua. "Allen, livestock will reproduce. If Pastor has 10 cows, and they each have a calf, and he wishes to sell half to those who have none, then it is a profit. Pastor brings you the sale agreement, you record it, and the tithe comes from the credits transferred."

"What if they trade, do they still have to register the livestock?" wondered Allen. "I'm a civil servant, and have nothing to trade. If I want something, I have to buy it."

"You are wrong, Allen. You have your garden produce, and you asked about fishing. If you catch more than you need, you may trade to your neighbors for something they have or make that you do not."