Chapter Text
Ruth sat down in the padded chair next to a woman she did not know and waited patiently, hands in her lap. She knew she should be happy that her application for a spouse had been approved, but she was slightly scared — no, that was not the right word — apprehensive rather, over what he might be like. She ordered herself to relax. The Committee of Elders almost never made a mistake when it came to the Matching of Spouses. The small ceremony would be quick, simple, and over well before the larger Ceremony later this morning. By the time the Naming and Placement of Ones rolled around, she would be sitting with her new spouse. And by this time in three years, maybe she and her spouse would apply for a newchild and start a family unit.
She knew she was supposed to be sitting still, but she could not help a quick glance around at the people surrounding her. She was in the middle of the group of women, most of whom she had never met. One woman did look familiar, however — perhaps she had been a childhood friend. Ruth was more curious about the men, however. The women sitting in the row behind her blocked her view of most of them, but she could see a few of the men’s faces. None of them looked familiar. The woman next to her tapped her arm in a silent admonishment and Ruth turned to face the front again. One of the Elders — not the Chief Elder — was up on the stage now.
The Elder welcomed them all with a short speech about the importance of the Matching of Spouses and how family unit contributed to the community. “The family unit is responsible for the raising of children and guiding them as they take their places in the community,” she finished. Then she called the first man and the first woman on her list to the stage. She stated their names (Julia and Samuel) and went over the qualities the made them a good match for each other. Julia was a Pilot, and Samuel was a Writer. The Elder thanked them for their service to the community in applying for spouses, and Ruth automatically echoed the thanks with those around her. The new spouses then shook hands and went to sit down next to each other.
There were only twenty-six individuals in all — thirteen new couples. After the first match, a Fish Hatchery Attendant was matched with a Caretaker of the Old; then an Attendant from a rehabilitation center to an Instructor of Sevens; then a Bicycle Repair technician to an Instructor of Twelves. Ruth was matched fifth. She was called to the stage with the tallest of the men, whose name turned out to be Nicholas.
“Nicholas is an Engineer,” the Elder said. “He is a Twenty-Two. He is a quiet and steady man who pays great attention to detail when designing blueprints and overseeing the construction of new buildings. During his childhood, he was always among the first to help the other children in his group, especially when they played with their construction sets. He has always served the community well. He will be a supportive and reliable spouse. The community thanks you for your service in applying for a spouse.” The other people in the auditorium echoed the Elder’s thanks together. The Elder shook Nicholas’s hand, and turned to Ruth.
“Ruth is an Organizer of Names. She is a Seventeen. During her childhood, she was very interested in the names of her groupmates and wrote papers about them. She visits the newchildren and speaks with the Nurturers to determine what names they will be given and she organizes the community’s names with great diligence, ensuring that no name is used twice. She will be an organized and diligent spouse. The community thanks you for you service in applying for a spouse.” Another voicing of gratitude echoed from the audience.
The Elder’s speech concluded, he shook Ruth’s hand, then nodded to Ruth and Nicholas, who faced each other and shook hands. His hand was very large, encasing hers entirely. She had not been this close to an adult male since her father had moved to the Homes for the Childless Adults. Glancing up at his face, she was startled — he had pale eyes, just like she did. She understood now why some of her childhood friends had considered her eyes odd. It was almost — she waffled over the right word for a moment — unsettling when he looked at her. If Nicholas was as surprised about her pale eyes as she was about his, it did not show in his face; he offered a polite smile. She returned it, hoping that her surprise had not rudely appeared on her face.
After they each received a small pamphlet detailing their duties and rules as spouses, they returned to the auditorium seats, hand in hand, and sat down. Ruth felt suddenly at a loss. She knew Nicholas was a good match for her, because the Council of Elders were so careful, but she realized she did not know what to say to him. There should be something that she could say, because her parental units often talked with each other, but she was not sure where to start. She had never met him before. He must have gone to a different school than she had, because she had never even seen him before.
After the rest of the spouses had been matched, they were dismissed for an hour until the Ceremony of Ones began. They had all been assigned new dwellings and most were close by. Ruth, still lacking anything to say to Nicholas, checked her pamphlet to find that they had been assigned a home only a few blocks away from the Auditorium.
“Excuse me,” she said, carefully placing a hand on her new spouse’s arm. It felt wrong to invade his personal space, but she knew her parental units would sometimes touch each other to get attention. He did not seem to mind, his expression attentive. “Our new dwelling is not far. I’m sure the Laborers have finished moving our possessions in. Should we go see it?” Nicholas leaned over to see the address and nodded.
“If you would like,” he said. They retrieved their bikes and cycled away from the Auditorium in silence. Ruth kept stealing glances at him. He was very tall and thin. She wondered if he had trouble keeping his weight up to the standard for his height. His hair was dark. His light eyes stayed trained on the road. Once at their new dwelling — identical to every other dwelling in the community except for the number on the door — they set their bikes in the ports and went inside.
It was exactly the same as the one Ruth had grown up in, and the same as the one she had been living in since the previous year, when her parents moved to the Home for Childless Adults. There was a living room with four practical yet comfortable chairs, a thick rug, and four desks — one each for her and Nicholas’s work and one for each future newchild’s schoolwork; a dining room, with four chairs and a sturdy table, on which to eat the meals delivered to them each day; a sleepingroom with a large bed; a washingroom; and two sleeping rooms for their future male and female newchildren.
All their possessions had already been moved in, right down to the shelf in the washingroom, which held her special shampoo that prevented her hair from getting flaky. She paced the living room, feeling slightly unsettled for a reason she could not pinpoint.
“It may not be proper, but—“ Nicholas hesitated, standing rather rigidly in the middle of the living room. “Would you like to have a sharing-of-feelings now?” She supposed it was not hard for him to pick up on her agitation. She nodded.
“I apologize for making you uncomfortable. I am not sure about everything I am feeling, but I am apprehensive about starting a family unit,” she said. Nicholas nodded, understanding in his face.
“I accept your apology. I am apprehensive, too. I thought I might be matched with someone I knew already, from my group, but it took a while for the Elders to find a match for me.”
“Yes, I thought I might be matched with a male that I knew. I was matched much earlier than the rest of my age group. Perhaps that is the reason I am apprehensive, since I have never met you.” Ruth was feeling better already.
“The Elders rarely make mistakes. I think we shall make a good family unit,” Nicholas said. He offered a light smile, which she returned, feeling less apprehensive.
As they cycled back to the Auditorium to watch the Ceremony, they discussed jobs. “So you built the new school?” Ruth asked.
“No, the Laborers built it. I oversaw the construction and gave orders about the things that needed to be done,” Nicholas said.
“Oh, I see. Please accept my apology. I did not know what Engineers did.” Ruth could feel her face heat up. She had not meant to insult her spouse’s job.
“I accept your apology.” Nicholas did not seem bothered, smiling as he replied. “The Elder said that you were an Organizer of Names. I have never met an Organizer of Names before.”
“That is not surprising. There are only two of us and we work together so that there are not two people called by same name. Can you imagine the confusion that would cause?” Ruth asked, chuckling. “My colleague keeps the records, organizing who has been Released and keeps track of the newchildren who need names. My job is to go the Nurturing Center and interview the Nurturers about the newchildren, so that they may receive a name that fits them. It is a serious task, since they will have that name for the rest of their lives. Sometimes the child’s name is obvious as soon as they are born and begin to display certain behaviors, but other times, I must research for months to find their correct name. Sometimes it is easy if a child is a replacement for one who is Lost. Once I find a name that fits, I send it to an Elder for approval.”
“That is very interesting. I thank you for sharing,” Nicholas said. He turned the corner and jumped off his bike, walking the last few feet to the nearest empty bicycle port. There were hundreds and hundreds of bikes collected outside of the Auditorium now. Lots of family units had arrived for the Ceremony. Ruth and Nicholas went to find a good spot, where they could see the stage.
During the Naming, Ruth spotted a baby she had just named. “I had a strict deadline to name him,” she whispered to Nicholas. “He was born only a week or so ago. It’s harder to name the very young newchildren, but his behavior is calm, so I was able to pick out the name Fabian. It has been associated with calmness and intelligence for many years now.” Nicholas nodded.
“Do you think you will give names to our newchildren?” he asked.
“I expect so. The Elders have given the responsibility of assigning names solely to me. My fellow employee only researches the meanings,” she said. She hastily added, “I apologize if that sounds boastful.”
“No, I think it reflects well on the Elders,” Nicholas said. He was silent for a few minutes and then leaned down to whisper again. “I have been very impatient to apply for a newchild. How soon are you comfortable applying?” It was a question that made her heart pound. She was not sure she was ready for a newchild. Her mother had been a Nineteen and her father a Twenty-One before they had applied for observation; they had not received a newchild for six years. Every child could be at risk of being Lost and establishing a family unit was a heavy responsibility, one that required careful matching. She did wonder what it would be like, though, holding such a small being in her arms.
“As soon as you would like, after the first year of the three-year observation of our family unit,” she said. Nicholas grinned and sat back. Ruth barely noticed the rest of the Ceremony. Her attention honed in on the newchildren, some of whom were still crying, too young to understand proper discipline. Teaching them discipline, rules and ceremonies would be difficult, she had no doubt. Now she had more feelings to share at their proper sharing-of-feelings tonight.