Chapter 6

The man said, "I apologize for Ray's actions. I am Martin Gonzalez. We are glad to see someone new. Where are you from?"

Robby said, "I am Robby Cook-Thomas and Janice is one of my spouses. We are residents of the communities of Preservation and Protection up in Georgia and Tennessee. We also represent Port Lavaca, Texas.

"We are on an exploration trip to make contact with surviving groups to let people know they aren't alone."

The woman said, "What do you mean by 'spouses?'"

I said, "He meant what he said. We are five; three women and two men. There was another man but he was killed fighting marauders. Our communities allow plural marriage as long as all the partners are in agreement. We had a double wedding at each of our communities' churches." I'm not sure why I tossed that last statement in but it seemed to get her attention by the look on her face.

She said, "We would have to talk about that to determine if it can be permitted."

I said, "We really don't care about receiving your permission. We aren't part of your community and I think will probably be glad to leave you to your lonely and wretched lives." I turned on my heel and began to walk away.

The man identified as Martin cried out, "Please! Don't go! We just were surprised. You appear to live differently from us."

Robby said, "You now have two strikes against you. Janice is the foster daughter of the elected leader of Preservation. I consider George, the leader of Protection, one of my best friends. He has two wives. The three of them are quite happy.

"I really don't understand your attitude. First, we had your leering friend and now we are presented with a prude. Two out of three of you have turned out to be people we don't want to know. We will fuel our plane and leave. I don't think we will return.

"If you want to try again, you will have to come to Port Lavaca, Texas, with a different attitude. Good bye, Martin."

Robby backed toward the plane watching the two as they stood there seemingly in shock. They made no attempt to move just standing there forlornly. Robby and I returned to the plane and our spouses wanted to know what happened.

Robby explained, "First, there were two men. One of them was more interested in jumping Janice and we sent them back. The other man returned with a prudish woman who decided she would have to determine if our marriage would be 'permitted' and, though the other guy seemed to be okay, they were down two out of three strikes. We told them we would fill up and leave never to return. We said they would have to go to Port Lavaca if they wanted to establish any relationship."

We filled up King while Melissa advised the others by radio. We would fly to Cancun next. The people here made no further attempt to contact us or disturb us. We took off for Cancun on a more direct line than we had been maintaining.

We landed very carefully as the airport had been windswept by high winds over the years. I was up front with Bennie as co-pilot and we were able to land without incident. We saw no people or any signs of people as we crossed over dry land heading out to the tip of the peninsula to Cancun.

We taxied over to the general aviation area and shut off the engines. We exited the plane in the heat. Bennie and Robby went over to determine if there was any fuel available. As usual, we were armed though the place looked deserted.

Robby and Bennie came back with the news that there was limited fuel available and that they were going to wheel out enough to fill our tank. Melissa went into King and radioed those in the Connie to come on in. They were about thirty minutes behind us and were also disappointed in the people at Campeche.

Bennie and Robby were wheeling a tank each to King and would have to use our manual pump to fill the tank. They had just finished when the Connie came in. It gently flared and landed without incident. Tom or Vic pulled up within a hundred feet of us and switched off the engines.

We could see water in the distance. Pam, Momma Shirley and I all wanted to go over and enjoy some beach time. The men quickly found a protected place to stay for the night. Once readied, they were agreeable. We would have to walk but it wasn't far. We had a great time. The Gulf was warm and its waves gentle. The sand was lovely and white.

Momma Shirley kidded Pam and me that we vied for how little a swimsuit could cover sometimes. We laughed and agreed. Pam said that Robby and Bennie liked us that way.

We returned to the airport tired and happy with our time on the beach and in the water. Two men had stayed with the planes just in case. They reported that all had been quiet with not even any animals making an appearance.

We passed an enjoyable night with my foster parents and foster siblings along with George's from both Protection and Lavaca. We had built a campfire and enjoyed the simple time of talking with one another. Mike was there of course. To my surprise, Jim's daughter was also with Poppa and Momma. Jen was a beauty and she and Mike were inseparable.

She and Mike were sitting next to me. Jen said, "Janice, Mike and I want to go exploring next year after we marry."

"I'm surprised you haven't already gotten married. You turned fifteen two weeks ago."

Mike said, "We are waiting for you and Bennie to return. Jen wants a May wedding. We have been building our home up by the pond. However, we don't expect to be there often for a few years.

"We've been talking to George, Jr., and his wife, Lois. They want to go to England and Europe. We plan to go with them. They are preparing a motorized sail boat for the trip and we will help them after our honeymoon.

"Tom and Vic are also teaching us to fly. We want to use your old Cessna for some trips out west."

Bennie had overheard and said, "Wow! You two aren't making small plans! You should have told us you were waiting on us. We would have arranged to be there for you to marry."

Jen said, "It's not like us marrying is a surprise. Mike and I have always known we would be together. We aren't in a hurry because forever will be a good, long time."

Mike gave her a hug. He said, "We can't imagine not being together and already are most of the time. We had two invites for our honeymoon. Now, Jen will have to pick the mountains or the lake or the Gulf." Everyone chuckled and Jen blushed.

I looked at Jen and said, "So, when is the date?"

"We plan for May fifteenth if you can be in town."

Bennie said, "We'll all be there. You can bank on it."

I had a thought. "What do your parents think, Mike?"

"They think we're too young. They would think that if we waited ten years, too."

I chuckled. He was right. Momma was not eager for her children to grow up.

Momma Shirley had heard some of the discussion and joined us. She said, "Janice, can you convince them that they're too young?"

"Momma, you were older when you married Poppa Jack but you hadn't known him long, had you?"

She replied, "When the right one showed up, it was time for me to marry."

I said, with a smirk, "By that thinking, Mike and Jen should have married years ago." Everyone laughed, even Momma.

She said, "Well, Mary, Louise, and I are going to throw the biggest, grandest wedding Preservation has ever seen."

She paused and then said, "And the Cook-Thomas family will be there."

Robby looked at her with a straight face and said, "Yes, Ma'am. Whatever you say, Ma'am." Everyone laughed hard. Shortly after that, we went to bed.

We made no big deal about it but had set watches. Pam, Bennie, Robby, and I had the one just before dawn. We had just settled in to our spots when I heard a noise. We had our radios and I whispered, "Hear something?"