Chapter 12: The Next Few Days

The following day I woke up in a crowded bed. I realized that I had no more room for other mates in my existing bed. There was the king-size mattress on the sleeping platform that could probably hold four more, but I really liked having all of my mates with me. Besides, I really did not need any more mates (I was having enough trouble spending individual time with the eight I now had).

Speaking of mates, the last eligible unmated women were wedded to their new mates last night (Jonab had his Neenee, Nomat had his Stina and Hogat had his Mena). For the most part, everyone seemed happy at breakfast. I noticed that there seemed to be a little bit of sibling rivalry going on, but not directly involving Jontar (but I sensed he was the source). For all her earlier protestations of being stuck with Jontar as a mate, Sula was now desperately trying to keep his attention. This was because the older Fayla was constantly trying to distract him.

While Jontar was only ten, he was close to being eleven and his hormones were probably just starting to boil. Sula's were already boiling and Fayla's were boiling over. I could see a potential scenario where Jontar could end up with both girls, but that would be at least several years from now. Something about Fayla's attitude troubled me a bit, but I sensed that she was still disappointed to be considered a girl, especially when she had been promised to a powerful (though fake) shaman. Of course she did not understand that the man had planned to rob her of her soul with "The Taint". I had decided to withhold that fact from her for her own sense of well-being. Anyway, I decided to have a little talk with Jontar about the birds and the bees (or the prehistoric equivalent), after getting Lyna's blessing.

After the morning chores were done, we had an early lunch of PB&J. I had the epi-pens ready but they were not needed. As expected, all the newcomers enjoyed the treat. I did note that I only had three frozen loaves of bread left. I decided to start making dough tomorrow. I had a decent supply of flour and a fair amount of yeast (and a lot of the quick variety for my next project: pizza!), so I thought we would be able to make our own bread for a while until we could start growing our own grains.

After lunch, we went on "Mike's great bloodless hunt". I figured we would change the name to "Mike's Folly", when all was said and done. Before we left, I instructed Lyna to plant a row of yams and one of cucumbers in the garden. She and Rona took to the job like expert gardeners, quickly enlisting eager helpers like Tola, Looki and Stina. It seemed the "old guard" (Mena, Ruga and Neenee) decided to gather some fruits, herbs, fungi and roots. I encouraged them to Hogat's surprise.

"Mike, why are you letting them gather? That is the old way," asked my friend.

"Not all the old things are bad, Hogat. Until, we are gathering our own planted food, it makes sense to gather what we can. Some of the wild plants may be quite tasty or may be a good spice. I'm not too fond of the Okala root though," I laughed thinking about my dinner at Hogat's camp that first night.

"It is not something liked right away. Most children do not like it."

"Then I must be a child," I laughed and he joined in.

Soon, we were making our way to the secondary herd of bison near the Rhone. It was a smaller herd, but it was almost a mile closer to us and further away from the Neanderthal village. I felt it was in our best interest to stay clear of them for now. At any rate, while I was not expecting trouble, I brought my "thunder stick" to be safe.

When I saw the herd, I asked Hogat, Jonab, Jontar, Geeta, Soya, Nomat and Sula to remain still. I instructed my three archers (Soya was a crack shot and the kids were almost as good after having defended our camp so well) to notch arrows, but not to draw or fire without my permission. I then quietly snuck up on them. I was carrying a secret weapon. I had placed an imitation fur blanket on Bossie's back overnight. By the time I withdrew it before we left, it had a strong bison smell on it. As I slowly approached a cow, it started walking towards me as it caught the scent. I then carefully began stroking it. The other bison had kept walking and now the cow was following me as I slowly walked back to my group. I paused to put a noose collar around it's neck and carefully continued.

"What a beauty!" exclaimed Hogat. "It would give us a lot of meat."

"No my friend, she will give us a lot of milk. She is now our pet and friend, like Bossie. I will call her 'Bessie'."

We walked the rest of the way home without incident. I stopped every once in a while to pet my new friend and realized that my special charm made her putty in my hands. Soon she was allowing Soya, Jontar, Sula and Hogat to pet it.

We actually got home much earlier than expected, so Nomat suggested that he lead a hunt. I agreed, so long as he did not hunt bison from the nearby herd. He agreed and said he saw evidence of wild boar and that was a specialty of his.

"Mmmm, "I thought "fresh bacon and ham!"

I told him he should bring the whole carcass home so I could show him how to butcher it the way I wanted and he agreed. I also suggested that he take Soya in addition to Jonab. He laughed, until he realized I was not kidding. The first indication I might have trouble with him was when he looked at Hogat for a cue. I sighed. "Old habits die hard, " I thought.

I was about to say something rather heated when Hogat jumped in. "Excuse me Mike. Listen, Nomat. We all discussed that Mike's ways are strange because they are new to us, right?"

"Yes," he said quietly.

"Is not the food he provides the best?"

"Yes," Nomat admitted.

"The old ways may not be gone, but they are dying away. We must change or we will die like the animals we hunt. I have heard that Soya is good at killing with her bow. She killed a warrior that was trying to attack our cave ... I mean house," he corrected himself. "Women are not just for cleaning, gathering, cooking and mating anymore. Mike uses all people based upon skill. You and Jonab are good hunters, Soya is a good hunter too. Does it not make sense to have another good hunter to help?"

Nomat sighed, but then nodded his agreement. He then looked at me. I think he could tell that I was pissed off at him. "I am sorry, Mike. I did not mean to make you angry. It is just hard to accept some things. I will try, on my oath. Hogat is right. Everything here is better than at our old village. If you say it is good to use Soya to hunt, I say so too."

I smiled, but again, I was masking how mad I was at myself. Hogat was an amazing leader and a clever diplomat. He had just diffused a potentially explosive situation that might have at worst meant exiling Nomat and his mates and at best caused his demotion, all out of my foolish pride. As a leader, I needed to be more patient. I was asking men who had lived their entire life one way to change practically overnight. It was unreasonable, stupid and prideful, so I basically told Nomat all of that in a way that did not make me sound like the idiot I was thinking I was. "It's alright. Nomat. My ways are very new to you. I should be more patient."

"You are a wise leader, Mike!" grinned Hogat, while I was thinking the same about him and the opposite about me.

After my conversation I felt like I was hit by a ton of bricks. After I put Bessie in the pen with Bossie, I knew I had to just go somewhere, but I did not want to be alone. As it was several hours before dinner, I grabbed a couple of rods and kits and asked Hogat to take a walk with me to the boat. I think I was somewhere between crashing and having a nervous breakdown. I was in completely uncharted waters, but I had been doing fine; until I started thinking about it. When that happened, my emotional exhaustion kicked in. I guess I was just wiped out.

When we got there, I decided that I needed a drink. I saw tons of hard stuff, but was worried that in my current mood, Hogat would have to carry me home. I saw a huge fridge and noticed that it was stocked with all kinds of beer and ales. I grabbed a couple of "greenies" and opened them up at the bar. Then I carried them up to the deck. I had a sip of one. "Mmmm. I forgot how good a beer tastes at the end of the day," I thought.

I handed one to Hogat who looked at it in a confused manner.

"What is this?" he asked.

"It is a beverage we call 'beer' where I'm from. It is in a bottle."

"Bottle? I have never seen a container like this before."

"I know. It is a special container that helps to keep it cold. Have a sip, but do not drink too much."

Hogat took a sip, then a gulp. "This is good tasting bruha but it is not that strong. I like that it is cold."

"Bruha?"

"Yes. It is kind of like what you call 'beer'. This is better because it is not so strong and tastes way better. Sometimes just a little bruha can make you see strange things. That is why I do not drink it much."

"That is why you are such a great leader."

"You are too."

"No. I lead because I have good ideas and good things. I need to be more patient like you."

"You are a good leader but even good leaders are not always right. You must learn as you lead and not be afraid to be wrong. Patience and wisdom only come when you have seen them go away."

"Shit! This guy is the Yoda of leadership!" I thought with a big smile. I cast my rod overboard and then showed my guru how to do the same. Then he told me everything he knew about leading and I told him everything I knew about fishing. In the end, he caught three fish to my two, we had four empty bottles between us, and as we walked, I came home a better leader and perhaps a better man.

When we reached the house, I noticed that we were not the only ones who had success getting food for the family. First of all, the wild boar hunt yielded a huge sucker. I noticed an arrow shaft still sticking in it I was sure that was Soya's way of letting me know she was involved in the kill. I also noticed several other wounds in the beast, no doubt one was a spear's killing blow, but the other two were probably from thrown spears.

I was worried that perhaps Nomat might have forgotten my instructions and they might have slaughtered it on the site, but was glad that Nomat had remembered. I wanted to supervise the slaughtering. I wanted some "belly cuts" for bacon. Tomorrow I would need to use some of the leftover building materials to build a smokehouse.

With all of the wild boar around these parts, I could not help but to think of all the bacon, sausage and ribs I would be getting. At that point, my feverish mind started drooling over trying to domesticate a sow and starting raising piglets. Then I realized the immediate dilemma I was facing. I had limited room to refrigerate or freeze this offering. I concentrated removing the pork belly, slicing it up finely and refrigerating what I could. I also carved out some pork ribs and did the same. I showed Nomat how to remove the pork belly and cut out the ribs. Then we turned the rest of the carcass over to Lyna and the ladies for them to prepare tonight.

After washing up in the sink, I walked over and saw Soya skinning and deboning the fish like a pro. I doubted that Oya had ever eaten a fish before, let alone knew how to cut perfect filets. Sonya, on the other hand had taught me. I remembered the trips up to her parent's cabin, back before we were married and in the early years of our marriage. We fished together and frolicked together. We were best friends, but we eventually got around to being lovers too.

I careful approached her (the way you carefully approach any woman holding a knife). She stopped cutting, as I leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Her wide Neanderthal mouth smiled as she put down the knife for a moment and turned her head so we could kiss on the lips. I had been worried that Soya might be remembering being Sonya, but I saw no panic or fear in her eyes. Just the same loving look my wife used to give me.