Chapter 8

Upon awakening, I slide out of bed and feed the stove. I go outside and startle a badger digging in my trash pile. He makes some scolding noises and the two dogs come out barking and snarling up a terrible noise. They have him surrounded, and every time he tries to move they nip at him, worse yet, he nips back.

I string my bow, and after several attempts I manage to put an arrow into the badger. I have to drag the dogs by their collars back into the house. I take my Bowie knife outside and axe the badger's head part way off. All this I do in my altogether. I feel quite vulnerable and still have not done what I came out to do. My nerves are frazzled by the early morning fracas.

I take my leak and go back in, shutting the dogs in with us. I do not feel like dealing with the badger just yet. Sarbun is dressed and starting on breakfast. She goes out and returns with seven more eggs. I figure in another week or two we will be getting an average of nine eggs a day.

I dress while she works on breakfast. I make two teas from the water tank, and sit down to enjoy mine. I actually prefer coffee most of the time, but coffee is a hassle to make compared to tea. This is a green tea so it is low in caffeine. I have seen some flavored teas in the pod, but I am not interested in those yet. I like specialty teas best when it is cold outside.

Fried jerky and scrambled eggs. What more could a man ask for. I thank her for breakfast and then go out to look at the badger. It is well and truly dead, so I pull my arrow out and wipe it in the grass.

"I will clean this animal after I take care of the dogs and chickens and clean up from breakfast," Sarbun says, coming out from the house.

"Well, good. I'm going to work on the garden today. Do you feel more useful now?" I ask her.

"Yes, thank you, Steve. When I finish my chores, I will see what you are doing in the garden." A quick kiss, and she's back inside the house — our home. Who would have thought...

I grab a hoe and head for the garden. The carrots and onions are both up in abundance. I had overseeded them so I can pull or transplant some later on if they get too crowded. I hoe the rows and set about pulling the weeds — a sign that I haven't gotten the soil quite right yet.

I put the hoe back into the pod and take out the shovel. I go about 50 feet from the house and start digging a hole for the outhouse. If there is one thing I am bashful about, it is taking a dump. I dig a hole about eighteen inches both deep and wide.

I cross the creek in search of deadfalls so I can make the outhouse. There are few in the four to six inch size. It take a while roaming about to get the sizes I need. First I build the frame and cover the outside with more wood, much like the chicken coop. Twine hinges and a dowel-and-stick lock complete the outside.

Sarbun makes a jerky stew for lunch. She saw me do that the other day. I have her add two cans of veggies. I gobble the stew down, give her a quick kiss, and head back to the outhouse. I make a bench to fit inside with a square hole in the middle.

I go in and drop trou' and sit on the throne to see how it works. It is not the most comfortable, but hey, it works. I can't close it from the inside; I will have to fix that. I use a dowel to secure a piece of twine from the middle of the door. I put a loop in the other end of the string and measure where to put another dowel to hook it on. After drilling at an angle, I hammer the dowel in. It sticks out a few inches so the loop would go over it.

It will have to work until I figure out a better way. I shut the door and go to get Sarbun. I show her how to sit, and I even take a pee while she is there. She claps her hands in glee.

"Steve, this is very strange, but I think I like it. There are times when it rains a long time and this will be good," she says. "I won't have to wait for the rain to stop if I have to pee."

"It's just not for pee. You can do your poop here, too. After a while it will be stinky in here, but it is better than leaving dirty places all around the camp."

"Oh, well, I can gather the leaves we use for that and leave them in here."

"Good idea. This will make our lives a little better. Have you figured out what is for supper?"

"Yes, I cleaned the badger and he has been cooking since our midday meal. Badger is good, but the flavor is strong. I am glad you were able to kill him for food. The Unguri hunters very rarely are able to catch a badger because they usually try to hide."

"The men, or the badgers?" I knew she meant that badgers like to hide - they are usually reclusive — but we got a good laugh over that.

"We should put some beans in with it, and make badger chili. I think you will like this. Let me show you how to use the beans." I take her to the pod to get a bag of red kidney beans. We also take in several packets of hot sauce, a bottle of chili powder, and a can of diced tomatoes.

"Normally you can soak these hard kidney beans overnight in water, but we are in a hurry. I will put half this bag in boiling water. Let them cook a while." I draw off some of the hot water from the tank and place the pan in the middle of the stove.

"When they are ready they will be soft enough to squish between your fingers if you try hard. They need to be a little crunchy because they will get softer later and absorb the other flavors this way. That is the perfect time to drain the water and add the beans and the tomatoes to the pot. We don't have any tomatoes in the garden yet. You see this picture on the can? That's what tomatoes look like. Later we sprinkle a lot of this chili powder in it and stir it up. The chili will hide the taste of the meat some, and tie the flavors of all these foods together," I explain.

I make myself a tea and grab a chair and go outside to relax. I sit and look over my domain and think to myself, "This is good."

Sarbun soon joins me, bringing her chair and a cup of tea. The dogs are down at the creek playing and running around. She occasionally leaves to worry over supper. Having someone to hang out with is nice.

The chickens are scratching and clucking in their yard. All green things have long since been eaten by them and they are down to dirt and a few rocks. I need to find an area with a chalky rock deposit. I didn't ask Kemon for crushed oyster shell; the eggs shells are starting to get thin. This means the chickens are using up all their calcium making eggs; I have not provided them a source of calcium. I wish I had oyster shells; that's what many chicken farmers use. It makes great grit which the birds need to break down food in their gizzards, and it provided extra calcium for the eggshells. Something else to worry about.

We eat the chili and she loves it. I help her clean up after supper, and tell her what a good cook she is. I can tell she really likes the way I appreciate her help.

We go down to the creek to wash up, and I wrap a towel around her shoulders because the evening is cooling down quickly.

We open the window and close the door. It's cozy in here with the heat from the stove.

Sarbun reconfigures the make-shift couch into a bed in a flash. I wonder what's up. She takes my clothes from me; apparently now is not the time to show her how I fold my clothes.

She draws me to her in the bed and says, "Steve, you are my mate. It is time." I notice the candle and decide I can blow it out later. She no longer smells just like the olive oil in the travel soap; she smells more like, well, a woman.

And she definitely has my attention. There is no battle between big brain and little brain here. I am certainly ready for this! I am way past needing the release; she needs it to validate her existence, to belong here with me. The first time it is more quick than clumsy. Animal instincts take control. Of course.

She rolls over, away from me, drawing the cover over her. "Hey, where are you going?" I roll her back towards me, throwing back the cover. "I want to thank you for that."