Chapter 14

I continued to simplify meeting our most basic want, that of food. For example I had devised a system of expediting the catching of sea life. I had driven closely aligned bamboo stakes across the drainage channels of several deep tidal pools. We would bait the pools at high tide and then at low tide pick and choose our dinner from the trapped crustaceans and fish.

I had grown unhappy with the original hut. It was cramped with the three of us. Also the raised interwoven bamboo floor was constantly in need of repair and new support. I had drawn plans in the sand and proposed to the girls we undertake the building of a new more substantial home. The two were enthusiastic until construction was underway and the amount of hard effort involved became apparent. I finally had to resort to the use of a bamboo switch to generate motivation on the continued gathering of construction material.

I planned on a large structure by combining and strapping together lengths of thick bamboo with malleable bands of heated sheet metal from the plane's fuselage for strong support. I planned a pyramid structure using three columns.

The cutting and dragging of the bamboo was very hard work. We had to go inland for the size we needed, chopping down the bamboo with our machetes. We had devised a harness from several seatbelts and using a length of attached heavy wire the girls would drag the burden to the beach. I overhead "yassur boss" comments addressed in my direction as a result of this labor. I had also noticed Jennifer took a delight in using a switch on Brittany's behind if she felt the other girl was lagging.

The girls had deepened their own special relationship apart from me. Both girls considered themselves "straight" and the developing sexual need was supposed to be a secret. I had not felt excluded and thought it provided them a deeper security. Brittany suffered deep bouts of homesickness and would slip into a lethargic melancholy. I observed Jennifer get sexually aggressive with Brittany when she was in this mood.

The complex and constant barrage of stimuli of modern American life was lacking here. This simple primitive existence refocused your needs. The appreciation of our few pleasures had grown. We savored the company of each other. Talking, touching and sex were important parts actions that reaffirmed our social collectiveness. This bonding was a reassurance of security that united our little family.

But it was not always an idealistic world. Eden had an edge. The complex sexual relationship of three could be problematic. Jealousies, individual irritations and conflicts with another were a reoccurring disruption of paradise.

Earlier that evening there had been a misunderstanding. Brittany, as cook, had been trying to raise the standard of the daily meal with more variety. She had presented a bowl of "caviar" as an aperitif for dinner. I had stuck my fingers in the gelatinous mass and sniffed at the roe.

"This smells like puss" I had commented and curled my lip in suspicious distaste. This was the continuation of a running "fishy smell" community joke, which was at Jennifer's expense. Angrily Jennifer had responded by throwing a handful of eggs at me. The wet mass had struck my chest and splattered like a hand grenade. We had stared at each other in shock at her sudden brash reaction. Then she had jumped up and sprinted off. I immediately followed and chased her down the beach. Attempting to escape in the open had been her mistake. She could easily elude me in the thick jungle but on an open stretch I eventually outran and overtook her.