Chapter 19

"Balloons?"

"Yes. Inflated balloons, with enough lift to keep then tethered to a fence upright. If the effective range of your transmitter is, say, 200 metres, you could have a line of strong balloons, 200 metres apart, with each balloon supporting a transmitter. In effect, we would be extending the fence upwards to whatever height was deemed necessary. I am sure you can measure what height they normally reach when flying."

"We have researched balloons while you were speaking, Governor, and understand the concept. We could certainly manufacture balloons to act as you have described. May we proceed? There will be no charge, as this was our error."

"Please do. Inform me when the balloon line of transmitters is complete, so that I can issue an assurance to my population that their children are now safe."

Penny was at first amused, then concerned, to find that one of her fellow students was a married woman. At first, the girl seemed just one of the class, then one day the lecturer, asking questions, directed one at her, asking, Mrs Brelsford, can you offer a better solution?"

Having discovered this, Penny watched her carefully, finding that being a married woman made no difference to the way she took part in the class. Penny had subconsciously assumed that a married woman would appear to be different in some way, but apart from wearing a wedding ring – that Penny had now observed – there was nothing to indicate her status.

So it was a surprise to Penny when one day Mrs Brelsford suddenly looked white in the face, and rushed out of the class. The lecturer did not remark on it, until she returned ten minutes later, still looking a bit shaky. He said to her, "Feeling a bit better now?"

"Yes, thanks", she replied.

"How far along?" he asked, solicitously.

"Two months." She answered, and he nodded, leaving the subject at that point.

Penny left off wondering until after class, when she came over to the girl, whose first name was Carol. "Are you all right, Carol?"

"Yes, sure," she responded. "Just morning sickness."

"Morning sickness? But this is afternoon!"

"Yeah. It is a real misnomer. I can get it at any time of the day. Pregnancy has its drawbacks, and this is one."

Penny recoiled in shock. "Pregnancy? You are expecting a baby, Carol?"

"Of course. You HAVE led a sheltered life, Penny. Didn't you know about morning sickness?"

"Ah, no. My Mum never mentioned it, and I don't have her to speak to any more."

"Oh, yes. I forgot about your circumstances. You live with the Governor and his family, don't you? Ask them about the problems of pregnancy: it is not all sweetness and light, girl. You need to be prepared for it."

"I'll do that, Carol. Thanks for speaking to me about it."

When she got home later, Muriel was the only one at home, so Penny collared her.

"Muriel, can you tell me about the problems of pregnancy?"

"Eh? You can't be pregnant, Penny. You have protection."

"I know, Muriel. I am not pregnant, but one of my classmates is. She is suffering from morning sickness. I wondered if your can tell me about it, and any other problems of pregnancy. I want to be prepared for the future."

"Ah. I see. That is a good approach to take, Penny. Let's leave it until after dinner, when the children are off to sleep and Gloria is here. Both of us have had morning sickness, on various occasions. It is not a consistent symptom, but can be quite debilitating."

Penny took this to heart, but wanted to know more. They met as agreed, and Gloria explained about the vagaries of morning sickness.

"The thing you have to accept, Penny, is that most women go through this at one time or another if they get pregnant and have a child. It is like putting up with the pain of childbirth. That can be intensely painful – that is why they are called labour pains - but it is great when you can finally hold your own child in your arms. There is an amazing feeling of accomplishment when that baby at last gets pushed out of you. It is YOUR child, and extension of your own person; an offshoot of your own body.

"Morning sickness is a lot less painful, but upsetting all the same. It can be a short-term or a long-term problem during a pregnancy. If you are lucky, it will not be too bad, and cease after a while. For other women, or another time, it can continue for months, and not simply be a morning matter, but an all-day difficulty.

"I am not trying to put you off having babies, Penny. I just want you to be aware of the difficulties that becoming a mother may involve. If it was so terrible, why do so many of us decide to have more babies? Muriel had me twenty years ago, and she has had two more in recent years, and she and I are both pregnant again.

"It is like going to school and learning. That can seem a terrible trial for a long time, but completing your education is a great achievement and helps you to have a better life. In a similar way, birthing a child is another achievement, cementing your family together and beginning another generation of humanity."

Penny enquired, "Were you aware of the problems before you embarked on your first child, Gloria?"

"Truthfully, Penny, no, I wasn't. I was more concentrated on marrying a wonderful man and having his babies. I was only half-aware of what I was letting myself in for. Isn't that so, Muriel?"

"True enough, Penny. Gloria was smitten with John, and would have put up with almost anything to be his woman. I was more hard-bitten, and knew exactly what it would entail, but the opportunity to have children with a man like John was enough incentive for me."

"So both of you reckoned that being uncomfortable for perhaps months was worth it, to go through pregnancy and have a child?"

Gloria looked at her mother, and shrugged. "I suppose so, Penny. If you love a man and want to bear his children, you accept the drawbacks involved in the process."

Muriel nodded. "That is the gist of it, if you want to summarise it. I love being a mother, seeing my child progress through all the stages of growing up. Your mother must have enjoyed coping with all your temper tantrums as a baby, your grazes and bruises when you accidentally fell off your bicycle or when you tripped when running. Your Mum was happy to gather you in her arms and comfort you. Remember that?"

Penny felt tears come into her eyes as she did remember the many times her mother helped her or Tabs, comforted them, protected them. Motherhood was more than just having babies. It was a commitment for nearly twenty years, nurturing your child. If the child's father was there to help in the raising of the child, that made it so much better, but still it was the mother who invested most in the child.

Penny now knew that to marry and have children was not something to enter lightly. She would have to think about what she wanted to do with her life. That was exactly what John had told her, but she had brushed it off. That man was wiser than she had given him credit for, she realised. He was not refusing to marry her, he was giving her space and time to assess her life choices.

Penny went to bed alone, thinking about what she had learned today. Gloria popped in, to ask her what she was doing. "Don't you want another night with John, Penny?"

Penny stared at Gloria, then replied, "I have to do some thinking, Gloria. You gave me a lot to ponder. Thanks for considering me, though. You are a very kind woman. John is very lucky to have you and Muriel as wives. I don't know if I am worthy of that honour: it is one of the points I have to think over, Gloria."

"O.K. I can see the value of that. Shall I tell John you might want to have a lesson tomorrow night?"

"I don't see why not, Gloria. Whatever I decide, I need to learn more about making love with a man. John is good about helping me with it; he never pushes me to do something I might not like, but he is accommodating for what I might like to try."

"Right-oh. Goodnight, Penny."

The wedding of Hasan Abdin, Tracy Brightson, and Roxanne Ahmed was celebrated in front of a small congregation of friends, with Governor Wells' family prominent among them. Peter Parker's family represented the Colony administration staff. Aaron Yakovlev and his family were also present, partly to represent the new settlers, partly so that Piotr could observe a human wedding ceremony.

Hasan was apprehensive, for he knew very little about how the ceremony was to be conducted. Tracy had told him that she and Roxanne were having new wedding dresses made, which he would not see until the ladies walked down the aisle. He had thought John would be his Best Man, but John demurred.

"Hasan, your ladies do not have fathers present to "give them away" as it used to be said. I shall do the honours there, so I have asked Peter Parker to act as your Best Man. As soon as he hands you the rings – remember, two rings, for your Tracy is marrying Roxanne, just as much as you are, my friend. Once that is done, he will retire to sit with his family."

Sure enough, the proceedings began with Hasan and Peter emerging from the clergyman's office, to walk over and stand in front of the congregation, but facing the altar with its floral decorations. Hasan kept looking round for sign of the ladies, until Peter had to remind him to face the front. "Hasan, the organ will start playing the wedding march when they appear at the door, ready to process to the front to join you. There's no need for you to keep looking round."

Eventually the music began, and Hasan attempted a quick peek round.

John was slowly proceeding up the central aisle with a lady on each arm. Tracy and Roxanne were wearing identical dresses. The dresses were low-cut on the bosom, and in many other ways brought out the curves in both ladies to great effect: they were sexy dresses, which brought a few gasps from ladies in the congregation as they passed. Tracy smirked at this, while Roxanne concentrated fiercely on the gentle slow walk that Tracy had taught her for this ceremony. Both were wearing an almost see-through veil over their face, allowing them good sight outwards, while offering a traditional masking effect for the onlooker.

Immediately behind the ladies came their train-bearers. John Abdin was holding up his mother's wedding dress train, and young Emily was doing the same for Roxanne, with Tabitha in close attendance to make sure they did their task correctly. Tabs was dressed similarly to the brides, even though she did not have the bosom to fill it out; and Emily's dress was a little girl's party dress in matching colour. Five-year-old John had a shirt and trousers, with a cummerbund holding the two together. He was being terribly serious about the formality of his position, and kept glancing at Emily to make sure she was doing her job correctly; ignoring Tabs' presence in charge of them both. He felt responsible for his little sister.