The Forest at the Edge of the World (44 page)

The second man studied his companion. “Interesting that you automatically assume some level of neglect or abuse. That’s what you’re biased to look for, so you’ll likely miss what actually ha
ppens. Rather sloppy science, Nicko.”

“I’m expecting a counter speculation, Doctor!” Mal said coldly.

The second man nodded once. “Counter speculation, then: Shin will surprise us—or rather,
you
—again. We’ll soon see evidence that he does enjoy his daughter, and is open-minded enough to see how females are also necessary to the furthering of the world.”

Mal’s mouth moved into position of a smile, but nothing else on his face did. “Oh, how I enjoy your naiveté. So optimistic. Just fills me with warm thoughts of butterflies and flowers. Will you be tra
velling to Edge to bring the precious infant a pair of knitted booties, then?”

“What a wonderful idea,” the man said. “I’ve always wanted to check out the fishing in Edge.”

Mal glowered as his companion snorted a laugh.

---

On Perrin and Mahrree’s first wedding anniversary, the 38
th
Day of Weeding 292, they didn’t celebrate like many other couples did to commemorate their first year together by eating in the marketplace or going to the amphitheater. Instead they sat leaning against each other on their sofa, Perrin cradling their three-moons-old little girl who slept peacefully in his arms, while Mahrree closed her eyes in relief that Jaytsy had been quiet for more than an hour, for once.

“How long until she’s sleeping through the night?” Perrin whi
spered.

“I don’t know,” Mahrree whispered back, both of them worried they might wake her. “Two mothers last Holy Day told me their b
abies slept through the night from the very beginning.”

“Ah,” Perrin nodded, “I noticed you had a murderous look in your eyes. That comment must have been what produced it.”

“Then a midwife told me it can take half a year
or more
before they sleep through the night!”

“You’re not going to cry about that again, are you?”

Mahrree chuckled quietly. “Just tears of exhaustion. That was on your mother’s list, too. You were there when the other fathers told you about weeping wives, right?”

He smiled. “I have to admit, I never understood the need for parents to sit around talking about children during the congregational meal. But now? It’s nice to know our daughter’s normal. And you’re
mostly
normal.”

“It was a legitimate question!”

“But Mahrree, to describe in detail to other parents,
while they are eating
, the nature and the amount of the fluids Jaytsy produces is not the best dinner conversation.”

Mahrree smirked. “None of them flinched. They knew exactly what I was talking about, and you were relieved to know as well that it was normal for her to squirt out so much, and so violently.”

He shrugged in reluctant agreement.

“I never appreciated them before until now,” Mahrree said, stroking Jaytsy’s soft light brown hair. “The villagers, I mean. I’ve lived here all my life, but I never really understood what it meant to be part of them.”

“I rather miss the nightly dinners they brought in,” Perrin admitted. “Although some women have strange ideas of what to do with chicken, it was nice that you didn’t have to cook for five weeks.”

“
Mmm, I miss that, too!”

“Mahrree, why don’t you go upstairs and nap? Jaytsy’s got that thumb in her mouth again. She’ll be quiet for a while.”

“And miss our first anniversary?”

“You’re eyes are closed, my darling wife. You’re missing it.”

“Are you doing anything entertaining?” She forced her eyes open.

“Not until Jaytsy wakes up and I get her to laugh again. That sound has got to be the—”

He stopped before he said the “c” word Mahrree had teased him that he would eventually utter.

“I’m not missing anything, then.”

Perrin chuckled.

Jaytsy stirred at the low noise, and both of her parents held their breath. She stretched, grunted, and snuggled back into her father’s arms.

Her parents exhaled.

“It seemed to be so easy,” Mahrree murmured quietly. “Feed them, burp them, change them, put them to sleep.”

“We had no idea what we were getting into, did we?” Perrin smiled. “I wonder if we’ll ever get the hang of it before she outgrows us. Bath time is entertaining, I’ll admit that.”

“And you’ve become quite expert at changing cloths. I think you’re the only man in Edge who is.”

“Just don’t let anyone know about that. Not very dignified for the commander of the fort at Edge to be known as a dirty cloth changer.”

“Just remember it’s because you have a strong stomach, Captain Shin.”

“And don’t you forget it!” He ran his finger along Jaytsy’s soft cheek. “She’s already getting bigger and fatter. That’s good, right?”

“Baby fat is very good.”

“As surprising as all of this has been, I must admit I’m enjoying it. She really is . . . quite . . .” He faltered to find the right word.

“Say it. I dare you. The ‘c’ word. As your anniversary gift to me.”

“All right—she’s
cute
.” He sighed in amused resignation. “There. Satisfied?”

Mahrree cuddled into him. “Completely! Happy Anniversary, Mr. Shin.”

“It always will be with you, Mrs. Shin.”

---

Two moons later Jaytsy was five moons old and learning to sit, snatch food off of her parents’ plates, and laugh easily. And Mahrree and Perrin began to feel a bit of confidence in what they were doing.

Until Mahrree awoke one morning in the second week of Ha
rvest to a most unusual feeling. Not that it wasn’t familiar, just very
unexpected
. She wished Perrin still had the bucket under the bed, and when the feeling didn’t pass she made a quick trip to the washing room. Then she sat stunned on the small sofa, wondering if it was something she ate or . . .?

No. It couldn’t be that. Absolutely not already.

Now, the law was that each woman could birth only two children, in order to keep the population from overtaxing their resources. And Mahrree had heard that some thought it a good idea that if a couple wanted their full quota of babies, they should have the children close together . . .

But this—
this
close?!

By the end of the week Perrin had that sa
me look in his eyes he had over a year before. As Mahrree flopped wearily back into bed from another early run to the washing room, he said, “So I was thinking the next addition should go on the other side of the house, up against the side fence. I have some ideas and I’d like to build this one by myself. I don’t know that Jaytsy would like to share a room when she’s a teenager.”

“I can’t believe it,” Mahrree muttered. “I mean, it’s really quite miraculous. Something like this shouldn’t happen for quite a while considering . . .” Then the tears began to fall. “But Perrin, Jaytsy still isn’t sleeping through the night!” she wailed. “We’ll never sleep again!”

“At least this time we’ll know what we’re doing. Sort of.” Perrin chuckled quietly and gave her a comforting kiss on the cheek. “Last Holy Day I heard someone wonder if the Creator has a sense of humor. I think I now have an answer for him.”

---

Two men sat in the dark office of an unlit building.

“The information on the raid in Trades has been most intr
iguing. I appreciated the chart you made,” Mal said.

“Thank you,” the second man nodded. “I was cutting up my wife’s pie, and had the idea that its shape would lend itself to repr
esenting the variety of responses. I never before appreciated her pies. After so many years you would think she could figure out how to make a decent one. This one was still undercooked, but at least I—”

“So,” Mal said, cutting off his partner before he went into too much detail about his disappointing dessert, “Edge has been very quiet for a few moons, hasn’t it?”

“Well, I suppose you could say that,” the second man said. “At least the forest’s been quiet. Wait a minute. You haven’t heard the news?”

“News? What news?” Mal squinted.

“I thought that was the real reason for our meeting tonight, that you were going to twist this into verifying your speculation.”

“What are you talking about?!” Mal demanded.

His partner chuckled to prolong Mal’s irritation. “It seems our Captain Shin has been a very
busy
man. Truly, Relf didn’t tell you?”

Mal nearly had smoke coming out of his ears.

“They kept it quiet for a time, the shock of it all, but . . .” The second man leaned closer to him. “The captain’s going to be a father again. By the end of next Planting Season, most likely.”

“No!” Mal exclaimed.

His companion grinned. “Yes.”

“He’s taken a mistress?”

“No!” the middle-aged man laughed. “His
wife’s
expecting again!”

“That will be
two
in just over a year’s time!” Mal said in disbelief. “Is that . . . is that
typical,
Doctor?”

The doctor shook his head. “No, but not unheard of. You see, in some cases, the female can still—”

“Ha!” Mal cut him off in sudden realization—and also because the anatomy of women was never anything he was ever interested in. “It
IS
my speculation! He’s so dissatisfied with the girl that he’s desperately trying for a boy! There!”

The second man
shrugged. “Oh, I don’t think so. From the bits of evidence we’ve gathered, Shin seems to enjoy his daughter. You heard the High General—Perrin even carried his daughter up to the fort to visit her grandfather when he was there for a brief inspection. I watched Relf when he recounted that story. Speaking as a doctor, I believe I saw a spark of approval in his eyes.”

Mal scoffed at that. “There were women in the room, too. Relf was merely trying to play the proud grandfather role, to show he has a family side to him. That’s all.”

“That’s all you choose to see,” his partner said reprovingly. “Nicko, consider that you may be losing your objectivity—”

“Not
that
again. You know how tiresome you sound? ‘Nicko, you’re not objective!’” Mal whined.

“You know how childish you sound?”

“I’m sixty-seven years old!” Mal snapped.

“Age has nothing to do with childishness,” the second man leaned forward in his chair. “Nicko, you’re a brilliant man with a fantastic mind. Your ability to analyze is unsurpassed. But for some reason, whenever the discussion comes around to Perrin Shin or Relf, you become completely
irrational
. I see a bead of sweat on your forehead. How’s your heart?”

“Fine!” Mal bristled and clenched his fists.

The doctor reached over to him. “Let me feel your pulse.”

“NO! It’s slightly elevated again, true, but that’s only because I’m angry. A natural reaction!”

His partner leaned back. “So, you plan to die before you see the conclusion of this extraordinary study of yours? Because that’s what your fury is going to do to you: stop that heart before your mind is ready to quit.”

Mal took a few deep breaths. “See? Better already.”

“Oh, yes,” the doctor nodded cynically. “I see the tranquility in your eyes. Nicko, you’re not fooling me. Tell me, why do you let him get to you? How can you be so analytically objective in everything else, but not when it comes to the Shins?”

“I don’t know!” Mal hissed. “Do I need a reason? You think running the world is easy? You oversee only one twenty-second of it. I oversee it
all!
Every soldier and citizen is under my watch, and I’m doing an exceptional job! If I choose to vent my irritations and rage on one family, who isn’t even around to feel it, how is that such a problem?! Objective?!
No one
is objective, my friend! Irrational? Every person in the world has their moments of irrationality. Look on that shelf—I’ve documented thousands of displays of irrationality. If I had enough time, I could find a moment of illogical thought and reasoning in every last person in the world. You’re the one who keeps telling me to take a walk every now and then. Do my heart some good to get the heart rate up. Well, it’s up
now!
How is
this
not as healthy as taking a walk, Doctor?!”

His partner only blinked. “Are you about finished with your li
ttle tirade?”

“We need a new plan for Shin.”

“Wait a minute—I barely compiled the report on the raid in Trades. It will take seasons to go through all of the information. What do you mean, a new plan for Shin?”