Chapter 4

Dusk had fallen. Rayla ignited lanterns made from empty cans, fueled by discarded grease from fry shops near the Zone. She worked a hand can opener on the remaining two cans of special novonid diet. Opened, she divided their contents between three bowls and handed one each to Grott and Lise.

“Once I’ve paid Ramina,” Lise said, “we’ll have one hundred units per pay period.”

“Don’t count your scrip until you have it in your hand,” Grott admonished.

She scooped a spoonful of the pink mineral-and-protein nutrient paste. “I’ll want to make some changes. For starters, we can buy fresh food instead of feeding on discards.”

“This food is perfectly edible,” Rayla replied.

“Yes -- but, wouldn’t it be nice to have some fresh food -- and, some variety like the whites have to feed their novonid servants.”

“What good is variety?” Grott asked. “Food is food.”

“Maybe we could buy some real mattresses from the second-hand shops ... get some building materials and make real rooms down here.” She scooped another spoonful. “You work on construction, Father. You’d know how to divide this space into rooms.”

“I’ve watched the tradesmen enough,” Grott replied.

“How did your day go?” Rayla asked.

“Very well.” Lise giggled. “One of the twins threw a tantrum because I wouldn’t let him watch a mediascreen show. He kicked and hollered so much that one of the neighbors came to check.”

“Oh? What did this neighbor say?”

“Only that she thought I was dealing with it in the right way.”

“I wonder what she’ll say to the other neighbors,” Grott mused.

“Be careful, Lise,” Rayla added.

“I know ... Once I’m bringing real money into this family, I want something else. I want Tagg to move in.”

“Tagg?” Grott looked up, holding his spoon in mid-air. “Why Tagg?”

“I want to pair with him -- the way you and Mother are paired.”

“With Tagg? That scrawny, stunted, weak, little runt? He can’t even hold down a job.”

“Tagg is a very good artist. He sells his drawings in the park over in sector ten.” Lise stood on the bench and retrieved the portrait sketch. “See?”

Rayla held the drawing to the lantern. “When did he draw this?”

“The other day. He sits in the park and sketches and sells them to the whites.”

“He’s begging,” Grott retorted. “The constables will make short work of this activity.”

“No, he’s not. He’s selling them to the whites, and drawing portraits. He even has sold some to the constable that patrols the park.”

“Why would you want to pair with him?” Rayla asked.

“We love each other. Besides -- if he doesn’t come live here, the two of us can find a place of our own.”

“What makes you think you can do that?”

“Because -- once a male and a female pair -- they can have a place of their own. It’s one of the rules of the Zone.”

“There’s only one rule in the Zone,” Grott replied. “Might makes right.”

“Your father is right, Lise,” Rayla interjected. “The only reason we can keep this place is because there’s no one willing to call him out. They know he’s stronger than any of them. It’s why he’s an elder.”

“What about another rule?” Lise asked. “The one with the most money gets his way. Right now Tagg has more scrip than I’ve ever seen you two hold -- combined!”

“Scrip can be taken away from you,” Grott replied. “There’s no way Tagg could hold onto a place of his own -- unless it’s a closet or a polyboard carton somewhere no one else wants. Face the reality of that, Lise.”

“And, how do you know you love him?” Lise’s mother asked.

“Have you been sleeping with him?” Grott asked.

“ ... No. We haven’t slept together.”

Rayla’s eyes narrowed. “Have you had sex with him?” Lise looked at her feet. “Have you?”

Lise could feel their eyes boring into her. “ ... Yes ... Once.”

“When?”

“This afternoon.”

“Did he force himself on you?” Grott asked. “If he did I’ll teach that runt a lesson...”

“No, he did not,” Lise retorted.

“Of course he didn’t,” Grott replied. “He doesn’t have enough strength to force himself onto a white woman, much less a green one.”

“Now, Grott,” Rayla admonished. She looked at her daughter. “Lise! You were having sex with Tagg when you were supposed to be at your job?”

“NO! Meg ... Ms Megan came home early. She said there was a flood in her factory -- it was on the news.”

Rayla nodded. “I do recall hearing of a problem in Quadrant Three. Go on.”

“She gave me the afternoon off. On the ride home I spotted Tagg in the park. We went to his apartment and he drew more sketches of me...”

“And then you had sex.”

“Yes. We both wanted it, Mother.”

“I knew it!” Grott said. “I knew if we agreed to that surgery it was a matter of days before she’d turn into a slut.”

“I’m NOT a slut. I don’t go out, night after night and service dozens of men.”

Grott approached her, lifted his hand and stopped. “You had better get out of my sight. Now!”

Lise set down her half-finished bowl of pink paste and bolted up the stairs to the courtyard. She sat on the concrete bench and buried her face in her hands.

She felt a hand on her shoulder. “Lise...”

“Oh, Mother -- I’m so sorry. It just blurted out. I didn’t mean it.”

Rayla held her. “I know you didn’t. All this is so strange to me. Growing up on the pomma farm -- I never had to worry about ... about having a family or a man in my life. The overseers took care of that. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what to tell you to do.”

“Do YOU think Tagg is so bad?”

“He wouldn’t be my choice. Why is he yours? You’re a pretty girl, Lise. If you’re determined to pair with someone -- you can have your pick of men.”

“I picked Tagg. He really cares for me. I know we could make a family. I know there are orphans here in the Zone who need a home. We’d take one in...”

“It’s not how it works for us -- not for our kind.”

“It is more and more so these days. More and more brokers are turning us loose here in the Zone -- to our own devices.”

Rayla nodded. “And, to our own pairings. How do you know Tagg really cares for you?”

“This afternoon ... He started to force himself on me...”

“You had better tell me the whole story,” Rayla interrupted, “from the beginning.”

“We went over to his apartment -- the one he shares with those other men. Of course they were all at their jobs so we had the place to ourselves. Tagg wanted to sketch me, so I posed for him ... nude.”

“You took your clothes off in front of him? Lise! -- what did you THINK would happen?”

“I wasn’t thinking about it. He did sketches ... good sketches. Then -- he was ... you know ... big...”

“I think I can picture it -- without a sketch.”

“He started kissing me and ... and touching me...”

“It is a good thing Grott’s not hearing this. He’d go out and fix Tagg so he couldn’t molest another woman for the rest of his life.”

“Tagg didn’t molest me. He started to. Then, I told him to stop and he stopped.”

“You told him to stop and he stopped?”

“Yes. He stopped and looked away and handed me my clothes. Right then, I knew how much he cared for me -- he cared more for ME than for himself ... and I knew how much I cared for him.”

Rayla sat beside her daughter and held her hand. “You know ... Grott was the same way. He watched out for me ... protected me. Not exactly the same, but I could see him doing something like that. I’ll tell you, THAT in a man can make up for a lack of upper-body strength.”

“I told him I changed my mind. And then we...” She suppressed a giggle. “He was terribly bad at it.”

“Mmm ... Most men are, at first. The good ones are, at least. It’s the ones that know what they’re doing you need to question. Where, exactly did they learn it?”

Lise looked at the pavement. “I had to show him...”

“I had to show Grott. At least he’s a good learner. I suspect Tagg’s a good learner, too.”

“So ... you don’t mind Tagg?”

“Lise ... You’re the one who’ll have to live with him. Why don’t we agree to have this discussion again after you’ve paid Ramina ... Maybe the situation will have changed.”

“Maybe Father will get used to the idea.”

“I don’t know about that...” She kissed the top of Lise’s head. “Come on -- let’s go do rounds together.”

“Tonight? I thought you said there was plenty of time.”

“There’s no time like now. Wait here...”

Rayla headed down the stairs and returned with a can filled with the grease she used in the lamps. “Here -- use some of this.” Lise turned up her lip. “It makes it easier -- trust me. Then, we’ll do rounds and get it over with.”