Chapter 60

The now awake Sylvia replied, "I needed a cuddle from John, Annetta. You don't mind, do you?"

Angelina interposed, "Sylvia? I thought you were grieving?"

Sylvia admitted, "I am, but I need to be cuddled by a man, and John seemed to fit the bill."

"Oh? That's a good sign, Sylvie. Did you fuck him too?"

"NO! No, I didn't. I just wanted a man to hold me, as I was so much missing Herbert's holding me. I remembered how good John was at doing that, so I just brought myself through. Do you mind if I get him inside me? That would be wonderful, boss."

"Mebbe. Speak to Annetta first."

Sylvia turned her body to face Annetta. "Annetta? Can I have John inside me, please, if he agrees? I need the comfort it will bring me."

Annetta thought for a second, then "For temporary comfort, Sylvia, all right, as long as you don't regard it as carte blanche to fuck him when you feel like it. You have a baby to consider, girl."

Sylvia located her face, and leaned in to kiss Annetta. "Thanks, my dear. This means a lot to me."

At this point, John reappeared from the bathroom, ready to slide in again. He went to tell Angelina that Sylvia was present, but she said, "We both know, darling. She needs you inside her for a while, if you don't object."

Slightly confused, John climbed in and found Sylvia lying on her back, legs open invitingly. He settled into position, and found her already wet and waiting, so gently slid his swelling penis into her inviting vagina. She sighed happily as he seated himself inside her. "Nice, John. Can you just lie there like that, please?"

He complied, wondering whether his weight would be a problem for Sylvia, but she did not complain. He lay there, quite companionably, willing to do what he could to help her return to normal life. He did not want to fall asleep, as he would lose his erection and slide out of Sylvia, so he attempted simply to enjoy her body's presence under him. He was doing well, he thought, until Sylvia did something unexpected. She started squeezing his penis with her vagina, in a rhythmical manner.

This was NOT what he had envisaged, for it was causing him to become harder and more sensitive, almost as if he was actively fucking her. She now pushed her hips forward, then back, forcing his penis into an in and out motion. He exclaimed quietly to her, "Sylvia? What are you doing?"

She replied, just a softly, "It is okay. You can't make me pregnant, can you? And Herbert would understand. Just let yourself go with it, John."

Caught in a situation that he had not wanted, John knew that he had to comply, or Sylvia would feel rejected. He hope Angelina and Annetta would understand. He allowed his natural instincts to take over, and he pistoned slowly in and out of Sylvia. Within a minute or two, his penis did the inevitable, and shot out his come into Sylvia. The rocking of the bed naturally made his wives aware of what had just happened. Angelina spoke accusingly. "Sylvia? Did you just fuck my man?"

Sylvia's voice came out almost as a whine. "I had to, boss. My body forced me into it. Sorry about that."

"I had an idea that this might happen, Sylvia. What are we going to do with you, girl? I think that your grief is behind you. You have accepted that Herbert is gone, and you have to live your own life once more."

"No, no, boss. I still miss my Herbert immensely."

"You probably still do, Sylvie. You will always miss your Herbert, but now it will be nice memories of Herbert, and not the agonies of losing him any more. That new attitude will take charge."

"Do you really think so, boss? Just because I fucked John?"

"That is so. It was a sign that your normal urges have won over your grief-fuelled desire to keep yourself pure for Herbert. Herbert is not coming back, and he would want you to enjoy life again, for the benefit of your unborn child."

"Thank you, boss. You are so kind."

"At times, yes, but for the moment, would you get the fuck off my husband's prick?!"

Sylvia scrambled to comply with this sudden demand. Once out from under John, she climbed out of bed and rushed to the bathroom to clean herself off, temporarily forgetting she was not in her own room. Annetta intervened at this point. "Sylvia? Get yourself back to your own room, if you want to shower. This is OUR bedroom, girl!"

Sylvia rapidly exited the bathroom, and scurried to get to her own room for a shower. Once she was gone, Angelina and Annetta both burst into laughter. John was puzzled at this hilarity. What's the laughter for, girls? I thought this was serious."

Angelina explained, "She is clearly over the worst, but Annetta and I wanted to make it clear that you are OUR man, and not hers to play with when she feels like it. That was our establishing the pecking order, and she comes last in this house."

"Oh. I see. I apologise for fucking her. She made it almost inevitable. You know how to do that, don't you, darling? I could not control my actions."

"I know, John dear. I told Annetta this might happen, so we were prepared to take control of the situation, and push her into her place. She won't try that again. Mind you, she will probably ask, next time, but then we will have the choice about allowing it to happen."

Terence Rattigan phoned the Governor, to report.

"Mr Kempe, sir, we are getting good results from some of the wood samples. There are some woods that are top quality material: good for building timber, as planks, and good for furniture as well. We shall have to wait to determine how much seasoning the wood requires to be at its optimum. The bark – damn thick stuff, I noticed - is proving interesting, in itself. Some of the bark is very like cork, but some of it is extremely stringy, in the vertical direction. In a full tree, you might find hundreds of extensive lengths of what is almost string, and quite strong, so braiding it would produce a quite acceptable rope. Other barks would act as excellent insulators, so could be used to make fireproof doors, or conversely as house insulation. The most interesting find is that certain species of bark are so resilient that they might prove useful in making bullet-proof or stab-proof vests."

"Well done, Terence. I shall pass this on to the planetary research team here. Can you phone me the data on the best building timbers, please? I know you have lots more to be examined, but we are looking at potential colony sites, and we would like at least one near suitable trees for building timber."

"Right, sir. Oh, one oddity: one of the samples is absolutely useless as a timber of any sort – gnarled, cracked, and brittle, but it has a fungus growing inside it. Whether the fungus is the cause of the condition, or merely taking advantage of the weak trunk, it is present and it was found to produce an antibiotic. So far, it looks like this antibiotic could be a great additional to the medical pharmacopeia, but many tests will be necessary to prove it."

"Well done, Terence! You can tell your researchers that any patentable products that arise from their work, that team will be in line for a five per cent cut of the proceeds. And, as I think you understand, I mean the team of individuals, not the university."

"Yes, sir. I remember that. I will pass it on. Progress in the research is going well. I hope I will have more good news next time I phone, sir. Bye for now."

"Tokunbo?"

"Yes, Olu my love?" They were in the barn, ostensibly measuring for dividing partitions to store different varieties of potatoes, carrots, etc.

"I don't want you to be my second wife."

"Eh? What do you mean, Olu?"

"I mean that I don't want you to be seen in any way as second-rate. You were my first love, and will always be so. I want to marry you and Susan at the same time, so that you are seen to be equal in my affections."

"Ah. So that means you truly love Susan, and want to marry her?"

"Yes, I admit that. To begin with, she was an exciting young teenager, and being a white girl, there was a certain frisson that came with deflowering her. She was so damn NICE, beautiful, accommodating, friendly, clever, vivacious..."

Tokunbo interrupted, "Yes, my darling. There is no need to go on. She impressed you, then?"

"True. She impressed me even further by the way she saw me. I wasn't just a black man: I was Olu, her man. Colour, cultural background, all the usual baggage we have on Earth was missing. She looked at me as a PERSON of interest. That impressed me more than anything. She admired me.

That was not how you saw me, Tokunbo. To you, I was a young man, good looking, and sexually attractive, but not someone to be admired. Correct?"

"Now that you mention it, you are correct. I did strongly fancy your tight young body, but that was primarily a sexual attraction at the start. The love developed later, as did my admiration for your many talents, but no, I didn't start off admiring you. You were a nice virginal boy, to my eyes. Now you are a strong, capable man, secure in your own abilities, ready to take on the world."

"Wow. Thank you, Tokunbo. You sure damn impress me, I can tell you!"

"Why, thank you, young sir. We aim to please." She gave him a pretend curtsey.

"Give over, you flighty girl. What it boils down to is, I think I am ready to ask Susan to marry me, either now or later, at a time of her own choosing. I believe I can live happily with her in our household for a long future, and you have told me you would be fine with that plan. I only hope she sees our future the same way."

"Before you do so, Olu, take note that on Rehome there is no easy way out of marriage. You have to think carefully before committing yourself for life. Are you positive about that decision? Really certain?"

"Damn, Tokunbo. I made up my mind to marry you very quickly. Why can't I do the same with Susan?"

"Not quite the same," said Tokunbo. "She is white, you are black. Some new settlers may arrive with old enmities still in their heads. Traditions of black on black, white on white; it doesn't matter which. There will always be some people who think in these old ways. Are you prepared to stand up for your white wife, and defend yourself against naysayers of whatever variety? That is what I am talking about."

Olu was getting worked up. He was adamant. "Yes, Tokunbo. I am sure. Susan is my other love, and we will defend her together, you and I, won't you? You will be with me? When I marry you both, I marry you both for ever, and we will be a partnership that stands up to anything!"

Tokunbo was satisfied that he understood. "Right, Olu. Phone her. Pick up your phone and ask her. Tell her you don't need an answer immediately, but you want her to think about it. That reduces the stress of the occasion. There must be no coercion. It should be an invitation for her to consider for a while. You are all right with that, are you, Olu?"