A Dolphins Dream (39 page)

"I'm not going to tell you how to sit, brother. But you better put some shorts on under the sulu because you'll get drunk and forget and the men will laugh and the women will run."

Compton put on shorts and the skiff was put to the current.

"We have to come back in the early morning tomorrow to catch the current for home. We don't want to row against this current with the kava in ur heads."

"You're the captain. We'll leave whenever you say."

"Am I the captain because I row the boat?"

"You are the captain only when you row. When it's my turn, then I'm the captain."

"Is that how it is in America?"

"Yes, whoever is in control is the captain."

"Not in Fiji. No one wants to be in control. They would let the boat drift and where it hits shore is where they are going; no captain, no control. Look, I am the captain and I am working like the fool."

They arrived an hour before the ceremony that was going to be in the large bure where the church services were held. Outside, bottles of Fiji Bitter were buried in a barrel of ice. The presence of the ice and beer was an anachronism that tarnished the proceedings in a way Compton found disconcerting, though not enough to dissuade him from downing several upon arrival. Long tables of food were laid out by the women and Compton spied Sinaca and Lavenia bringing steaming bowls from kitchens around the village. All three saw each other at the same time and all smiled in greeting. Sinaca, dressed in a radiant white sulu with blue flowers, had a white flower in her hair and looked lovely. So that he might observe her with some degree of discretion, he positioned himself on the hillside as if to better see the goings on.

Moses, who had entrenched himself at the kava circle, stood and came over to Compton.

"Come have a cup of kava, it is very strong, ten years old. Good stuff."

"Maybe later," said Compton. "It's a little too early for me."

Moses dropped his eyes to the beer in Compton's hand and then looked out over the rolling green hills at the people arriving from every direction.

"It is not good to be looking at Sinaca, brother," whispered Moses. "The women are watching you. They know. Even the men know. They are waiting for you to be proper and not show your affections in a public place. The wedding is the place to show respect for the families and the traditions. Be very careful not to insult."

"Am I that obvious?" asked Compton. “Okay, I'll be cool."

"Yes, be cool it. Have a cup of kava."

They made a place for Compton in the circle and he drank several cups of kava, remarking to Moses at its strength and this, like all things in the village, did not go unnoticed. Those in the circle praised Moses for Compton's discerning taste and this pleased him no end.

The wedding party gathered in the large bure, the guests dressed much as they did for church, wearing their cleanest and brightest sulus and dresses. The bride was barefoot and had a crown of flowers in her hair. She wore a white brocade dress that went to her ankles. The groom, wearing his best Sulu and a white shirt, was also barefoot and bedecked with leis that wound up around his neck nearly obscuring his chin. Jokatama presided over the ceremony that was performed in the Christian tradition. The guests stood as the vows were spoken, and rings, presented in a coconut cup, were exchanged. Throughout the ceremony, while all other eyes were on the newlyweds, Compton gazed at Sinaca. Whatever fear or doubts he may have had vanished in these moments of the wedding and the love that ached to free itself from its solitary confinement spilled from his eyes.

After the ceremony the newlyweds drank kava to the sunset and the guests gathered around the eating tables to fill their banana leaves with breadfruit cakes, cassava, smoked mackerel, clams, taro, yams in sugar, coconut rice, fish on a stick and assorted delicacies, all of them a marvel unto themselves. The kava circle did not bother with food and with a dozen or more men sitting, kept Vito busy mixing up new batches. After the meal, David and the other musicians sat near the kava drinkers and began to play and sing their music. David had a beautiful falsetto voice that wove in harmony with such texture and seamless melody that it conveyed a sense of tranquility and joy to the gathering as uplifting as it was beautifulp> The women had cleared the tables and the kava circle had grown. Compton had become a member of the serious drinkers, a default position having nowhere else to occupy himself. An incandescent moon had risen and all but overpowered the firelight. Couples paired off and began to dance, not in the loose, primitive, way that Compton had expected but in a slow rock and roll, a swaying of the hips and shoulders to the guitar rhythms. As the area filled with dancers, Compton looked for Sinaca. Surely, he thought, there could be no objections to them dancing. Moses sat across the circle and was engaged in a kava discussion that was all-involving and Compton could not catch his eye to confirm the propriety of dance. The combined effects of kava and beer were enough to persuade him to rise and look for Sinaca. He found her at the far edge of the circle that had formed around the dancers.

In bold strides for which the kava would later be held accountable, he made his way toward her.

"Would you like to dance?" he asked in a voice choking with desire.

Looking into his face she said, "Yes," as if she had been waiting for him all evening.

Compton held her hand and it was warm and her fingers felt for his fingers and they intertwined like tiny lovers curling into themselves. The music played non-stop, sweet, and melodic. They rocked and swayed and sometimes they touched with both hands and sometimes they let go. But his eyes never left her, nor did the eyes of the village leave them. They both sensed the scrutiny but the feeling was vague and carried only as far as their skin. It was in the heat of their skin that they were living and they floated on the music and found the rhythm of it and were carried away. Sinaca's eyes flowed up and down Compton's body in a shy yet compulsive manner. Each time they made physical contact Compton thought his legs would fold beneath him and he would crash to the floor. Sinaca's shoulders and arms and hips played to the music as if the sound was infused into her joints, creating a life of its own. They danced after the others had stopped and new dancers came onto the grass. They danced until their bodies glistened with sweat and their hearts and fingers grew fatigued with lovemaking. They danced until the musicians stopped for a break. And still they danced, for they were listening to another kind of music and it was with embarrassment that they realized the music had stopped and that everyone was watching them. Sinaca broke away and vanished among the guests in the darkness. Compton, having nowhere else to go, returned to the kava circle, whereupon he received a harsh look from Moses, who shook his head ever so slightly in disapproval. Having worked up a thirst, he drank kava on every pass. In between rounds he looked for Sinaca and kept an eye on the musicians, ready to leave the circle as soon as the music started up again.

When the musicians began to play he left the circle to find her. The drunkenness of love and especially the kava, had him dizzy and he wandered the grounds aimlessly in fruitless search. He came upon Lavenia who pointed to her nose and said, "nose," then broke into rapid Fijian as if Compton could understand her every word. He heard Sinaca's name and brightened immediately. Lavenia raised her eyebrows in recognition and pointed to a bure at the far edge of the celebration. "Sinaca," she said.

Compton broke away from the gathering and edged over to the bure and peered inside the one room structure. It appeared empty and he thought he had misunderstood Lavenia. He walked around to its far side and there in the shadows stood Sinaca, the whiteness of her dress and the flower in her hair suspended in the blackness. She saw him and turned away. Compton caught her by the arm.

"Sinaca, wait a minute. I've been looking for you."

He smelled the sea fragrance of her skin and drew her to him. She looked into his eyes and at his mouth and tried to catch her breath. The nearness of him was choking off her words.

"This is not good, Keli. We should not be ..."

Compton kissed her mouth, burning away her words. She tried to step back and was halted by the bure. Still in his arms, she kissed him back, tentatively at first and then passion swept over her. She let Compton have her mouth and it tasted sweet, like an exotic fruit. He kissed her neck and throat and tasted sea sweat and felt her back and shoulders that were as muscular as a man's. They lost themselves in each other's kisses and the pressure of their bodies brought a heat that melted all resistance. Feeling with hungry hands, he lifted her sulu to her hips and ran them over her hard buttocks. Suddenly, and without warning, he was violently ripped away and thrown to the ground by strong, steel fingers.

Two figures stood over him and he vaguely recognized one of them.

Sinaca was speaking Fijian as Compton rose and the man who was familiar to Compton grabbed her and threw her to the ground.         

"What the hell are you doing?" growled Compton from a place where the hunter lived, and stepped toward the man who he now recognized as Joseph, the powerful, sullen brother of Sinaca who had drunk kava at the Half Done Village. The other man grabbed Compton by the shoulder and he shrugged him off.

"Leave her alone," whispered Compton more in control after recognizing Joseph. Bending down to help Sinaca to her feet, Joseph grabbed Compton's arms and tried to pull them apart. Compton shoved him hard and he drunkenly fell over backwards in the night. Compton quickly walked Sinaca out into the moonlight, hurrying her back to the wedding party. Again, there was a strong hand on his shoulder and he wheeled around to a fist that hit him hard in the face. Sagging to the ground, he groped blindly for the set of legs that stood over him. The blow had temporarily blurred his vision and he yanked hard at the legs, pulling the man down. He struck viciously at the body and was hit himself, then both men grappled wildly, throwing punches that did no further damage to the other. Noises seemed to come from far away, as strong hands picked Compton up and separated him from his attacker.

"That's enough, Keli!" shouted Moses, holding him off.

Compton had been hit in the nose and blood was smeared across his face, his sulu was gone and his shirt torn. Everyone in the village had watched the fight and Compton, who was now searching the faces for Sinaca, could not find her. An angry voice exploded as Compton was handed his sulu by Lavenia. Jokatama shouted in vehement tones as Moses led Compton by the arm away from the gathering.

"Come, Keli," said Moses. "We leave."

"Why should we go? Joseph threw the first punch. We weren't bothering anybody!"

"It was Sinaca's brothers, they say they were protecting her. You were taking advantage of a village girl. It was not a good thing, Keli.  We go."

They walked out of the crowd and down to the mangroves.

"Jesus, we did nothing," grieved Compton. "We were kissing, that was all."

"You should have kept your cock in your pants. Now Jokatama will have his way and the village will turn against your favor."

Compton was incredulous.

"I can't believe this! What will happen to Sinaca?"

"She'll be kept in the bure. They do not let her be alone now."

Compton stopped and pulled away from Moses’ grip.

"I can't let them do that. Let's go back up there and explain everything to Isikeli. We did nothing wrong."

Moses shook his head and continued to walk towards the mangroves, leaving Compton where he stood. Realizing that explanation was useless he reluctantly followed him down to the boat.

"I don't feel right walking away from this."

"Keli, in this village you must court a girl properly or be very careful you are not caught. It was a village celebration, eh, you were seen by everyone. Now they talk and have judgments. You are still the Man who saw the Sea God and they honor that but that is not a deed, eh.

The tide was out and the boat sat on mud flats twenty yards from the water. Moses pointed to it. "We have a task before us."

They slogged out into the mud sinking in up to their knees and began to push and drag the boat inch by inch towards the low tide ripple of water. Compton lost his footing and fell up to his chest in mud. Moses, on the other side of the boat, lifted his head back and laughed uproariously. "Keli, you should see yourself, blood on your face, your hair full of dirt and mud everywhere. What a night you have had, brother. You never forget this one, eh."

Compton looked down at himself and began to chuckle.

"This is the poorest night a man can have, eh," said Moses, pounding on the side of the boat. Compton’s chuckle became spasms of laughter. Shortly they were both sitting in the mud laughing and pounding the boat, splitting the silence of the estuary with the sounds of mankind at his finest.

When they had gotten the boat afloat and were caked with mud from head to foot, Moses rowed to the middle of the bay and dove over the side. Compton followed. They stripped off their clothes and washed and dunked one another like children, laughing and playing until the boat had drifted off in the light current and had to be chased down. Back on board, exhausted and naked, they sat in the moonlight looking at each other.

"Moses, I'm grateful that you have come into my life," said Compton. "It's hard to believe that I've known you for just three months, so much has happened."

"Friendship is another miracle of this life, eh. How can such a thing happen? It is the same as love, except without the sickness."

"Yeah, and I've never been sicker," confessed Compton. "I really love Sinaca."

Moses made no response. Resetting the oars, he began to row. The only sound was that of the water slipping off itself and the oars rhythmically dipping into the sea.

"It took me awhile to figure it out," continued Compton. "I didn't even know it was love when it hit me but she's all I think about."

"You did not honor that love, eh," said Moses, speaking slowly in cadence with the oars. "You must honor Sinaca and the village. They are all one thing."