When we returned to Te's village, everyone was already lying asleep on the floor of her hut. Her father was reclining in a rocking chair on the front veranda with his eyes closed, snoring loudly. We crept up the front stairs and passed by him as he snorted, then we took off our clothes and pulled a taro blanket over us, reclining in the far corner next to some of the young children. We tried to sleep, but we were both still too excited about what had happened at the waterfall and about our discussion on the beach.
Te' rolled over on her side and pressed her hips against mine, and we mashed our mounds together, sighing quietly in each other's mouths. It was difficult to remain quiet with the sound of our moving bodies on the crunchy mats underneath us, but once our clits joined together, we couldn't stop tribbing one another until we both reached a powerful climax together. Five minutes later, Te's father rose from his chair on the porch and paused in the doorway for a long time, watching the two of us lying peacefully next to one another. When he finally lay down on the other side of the cabin and began snoring, we giggled under the covers and fell asleep in each other's arms.
We woke up to the sound of Te's siblings chattering on the front porch and got dressed, finding Nona preparing breakfast. The chief was nowhere to be found, but a few minutes later I noticed him talking privately at the far end of the courtyard with the young man who'd shown such an intense interest in Te' at the feast two nights ago. When her father approached the hut, he looked at Te' with a serious expression and motioned with his head for her to join him in the courtyard.
I watched the two of them walk down the sandy esplanade together, then Teuila suddenly stopped as she confronted her father with a raised voice. I heard the chief mention something about Manaia, and Te' shook her head violently, gesturing wildly with her hands. Shortly after, she stomped up the path and grabbed my hand, leading me into the woods.
"What is it, Te'?" I asked. "Was your father angry that we returned so late last night?"
"Worse," she said as tears streamed down her cheeks. "Much worse. He heard us making love last night and disapproves of how close we've become. He intends to marry me to Manaia in a ceremony tomorrow night."
9
That night, neither one of us slept well. I kept replaying the image of Teuila being violated by her groom as she fought to resist his advances. I could feel her tossing and turning next to me, and whenever she cried out or whimpered in her sleep, I cradled her gently in my arms. My mind raced with crazy ideas of stealing one of the tribe's canoes and sailing to safety to the nearest neighboring island. But I no idea in which direction that might be, and neither Teuila nor I had any way of navigating our way through the open seas. Even if the charter boat crew returned for me, it wouldn't be easy to kidnap the chief's daughter from the clutches of her heavily armed tribe. After running every possible scenario through my head, I eventually fell asleep resigned to the idea that my precious island girl would soon be wrenched away from me.
In the morning, Nona began preparing a special meal for the evening's ceremony while some of Te's sisters braided her hair under the watchful eye of her father. We were both under virtual house arrest, with the chief posting an armed guard outside the front door of their hut. He wasn't taking any chances that the two of us might steal away again before his daughter was betrothed to Manaia. Te' put on a brave face as her sisters talked excitedly with her, but she kept glancing toward me with sad eyes. Fortunately, we were the only ones in her family who spoke English, so at least we were able to carry on a limited discussion.
"You look beautiful," I said, peering at her pretty face with her hair pulled back behind her head. "I like you in braids."
"The girls have lots of practice," Te' frowned. "With all the mats and baskets they've woven, they could probably do this with their eyes closed." She looked at her grandmother scraping some manioc shavings into a large wooden bowl. "That and cooking is pretty much all we women do around here."
I glanced at Teuila's father, who was sitting cross-legged on the other side of the hut, watching us with a stern expression.
"What about raising a family?" I said. "Isn't that something you're looking forward to? You and your sisters seem to have a close relationship."
"Jade," Te' said, shaking her head slowly. "I know you're trying to make me feel better, but it's no use. You're the only one I want. There's nothing else in the world that I need as long as I'm with you."
I tightened my lips, trying to hold back
my emotions.
"It won't be so bad," I said. "Lots of marriages are arranged. Over time, I'm sure you'll grow to love your new husband. After I'm gone, you'll soon forget about me—"
"I could never forget you," she said, her eyes flaring. "And I'll never love that brute. As long as we're apart, I'll never be happy."
"Te'," I said, glancing in her father's direction. "We have to accept the reality of the situation. It's out of our hands now. You'll soon be married, we'll be separated from each other, and I'll be banished from the island. It's best that you get on with your life..."
"I've been thinking," she said. "There might be another way. All we have to do is find a way to get the two of us away from the clutches of my father for a few moments. Then we can slip into the forest and hide away until one of the boats comes to pick you up."
I glanced at the two burly men standing opposite the front steps of their hut holding sharp spears in their hands.
"How could we do that? Your father doesn't seem to want either one of us out of his sight, much less both of us at the same time."
"It shouldn't be too difficult to stretch your legs for a moment. It's me that he's primarily worried about. He knows you couldn't fend for yourself very long if you ran away. He'd probably be happy if something were to happen to you, so I'd stop pining for you. We just need to find a way to get you out of the hut. Then all I'd need to do is create a distraction and slip away. I know this island better than anyone. There are lots of places where we could hide out for a few weeks."
"I don't know, Te'," I said. "It sounds risky. What if we get caught? Your father doesn't seem like the kind of man to let that sort of challenge to his authority go unpunished. There's no rule of law on this island. It wouldn't take much for him to have me put down. I have a feeling he's already at the end of his patience."
Teuila paused for a long moment as her eyes studied my face. As much as I was concerned for my own safety, I was far more worried about the consequences to her if we got caught. The worst thing would be for her to see me tortured or killed for disrespecting the chief's power.
"Do you think you could find your way back to the waterfall we visited yesterday?" she asked.
"I don't know, maybe. I suppose if I followed the same path—"
"If you can find your way there, I'll meet you in a couple of hours. Worst-case scenario, you can hide out in the jungle and live off pineapples and taro root until your ship arrives. My father won't harm you with other Westerners around. He knows it would just bring more visitors to the island and threaten his position as chief."
I shook my head and sighed heavily.
"But on what pretense would he let me out of the hut? And what if he sends an armed guard with me? How would I escape?"