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“Solly requested to stay on Werel, and after a recuperative leave at the seashore was sent as Observer to South Voe Deo. Teyeo went straight home, being informed that his father was very ill.”
Esteemed Observer Solly,
I write to you from my late father’s house near Noeha. My mother’s health remains poor since his death, and I must respectfully decline your recent invitation to the summer ball in South Voe Deo. I am however due to travel to the capital city next month, to consult with a lawyer about the future management of my father’s estate. If your duties as Observer take you there, I would be honored to serve as your escort in Voe Deo.
Yours in service,
Rega Teyeo
Solly lowered the letter to her desk, and leaned back in her chair reflectively. It would have been so much quicker and easier to send her a voice-message, but Teyeo held fast to the old ways. Perhaps it was as well that he should miss the dancing, and see her in a more formal space. A smile passed over her lips, as she imagined him as the Major, stuffed into his uniform at a dance, trying to determine the correct protocol for the upcoming revels.
On the other hand… In her imagining, they were at the dance together, connected, his hand on her arm, on her waist. She was looking up into his huge, dark eyes, drowning in their depths. They were back in the bunker, his skin black against her pinkish-brown, both sweaty and dirty and afraid, but finding comfort and peace in each other. ‘Hold fast to the noble thing,’ he had always said. Was now her time to hold fast?
The first few months in South Voe Deo had been lonely for Solly. When she arrived, she had hoped that it would be easy to make new connections, but the close-knit and profoundly Werelian society made this difficult. As a woman in a position of authority, she was still a square peg in a round hole – either an honorary man, or a Lady who didn’t know how to behave and needed cosseting.
She surprised herself with how much she missed Teyeo’s gruff and formal manner, and she enjoyed imagining how he would react to her daily encounters as Observer for the Ekumen. The upcoming ball was a case in point: it was the perfect setting to observe and understand the local culture. Although she had been assigned a local Guide, he treated her more like an inquisitive pet than a colleague. Ironically, he was also called San, just like San Ubattat back in Gatay. Jokingly, she tried to ask him if all Guides were named San. His reply, ‘As it pleases you, Observer,’ left her slightly disconcerted. Was he mocking her? Or was her official position so important that her joke would be taken as fiat for all future Observers in the region?
South Voe Deo had a distinctive local culture and kinship system, which focused on a sense of community, and disapproved of exclusive and long-term relationships. The dances were integral to the social structure of the local owner class.
In the weeks before the ball, San had tried to explain the social protocol of the dancing. The women would stand at the edge of the ballroom, each waiting for someone to ask them to dance. At the end of the evening, the man would take his last partner home with him, and they would live together until the next dance. It was socially unacceptable to take the same partner home for two successive balls, or even to dance with the same partner for two dances in a row. The dances themselves were made up of elaborate, flowing patterns and movements, and often involved more time flirtatiously dancing with others than the brief moments of close connection with your current dance partner.
‘Can I attend the ball?’ asked Solly.
‘Oh Lady – Oh, Observer,’ San was clearly torn between trying to smooth the way for her, and trying to keep her out of trouble. ‘It would be difficult, so late in the season. And the last dance…’ he tailed off.
But she persisted, and after careful negotiation, it was decided that, although it would be unseemly for her not to dance the last dance, outrageous to dance it with a woman (and take her into the Observer’s household), and politically toxic to dance it with a man (and move into his household), a makil could be provided for her entertainment, and she could have the last dance with him.
Would she have to dance as a man or as a woman? San was quick to placate her, ‘Oh no, Observer, it is not important, excepting the last dance. Men usually dance with women. But a man can ask a woman or a man to dance. And a man can ask two women if they would like to dance together. Everyone is happy together in the dance.’
The next week was a flurry of hurriedly arranged social engagements. You did not simply ask someone to dance at the ball. Unless you were very young, your dance card would be filled well in advance. People used the dances to reconnect with old lovers, test the water with prospective future partners, establish alliances with some people and snub others. All of this required careful planning, and the arranging of dances was in itself a dance of manners. Many wealthy households would engage a Dancing Master to teach the dances, and it was not only accepted, but almost expected to have a practice dance with someone before adding them to your dance card.
Suddenly, Solly’s lonely life of stuffy functions and formal engagements blossomed into a world of music and human connection. She hadn’t realized just how starved of touch she had been, until she was whirling with the music in close embrace with a dance partner, her brain delighted by the feeling of connection in the moment, and anticipation of her next steps in the dance.
The possibilities fanned out before her. Now that a protocol had been established, everyone wanted to curry favor with the Observer. She needed to decide what to wear: close-fitted trousers and an elegant collared shirt, or a flowing dress that would flare out as she twirled? It was helpful that she had kept her asset Rewe: the bondswoman had excellent skill at making clothes for her. Could Solly demand that Batikam the Makil be sent for to accompany her? She would ask someone to contact the Entertainment Corporation tomorrow, and get them to send him!
But first, she must write back to Teyeo. Something brief and formal. He would appreciate that, and understand the feelings giving weight to the words. Tomorrow also, she should ask whether there were any upcoming dances in the capital – she was sure something could be found. If Teyeo was to be her escort there, how could he refuse to accompany her if she attended one? Her eyes sparkled in anticipation.
Esteemed Rega Teyeo,
Thank you for your letter, which I was pleased to receive. Please convey my respects to your mother – I hope that my duties may someday take me to Noeha, and I would be honored to meet her. In the meantime, I expect to visit the Embassy in Voe Deo shortly, and I would very much appreciate you escorting me to an event there. Please find attached the instructions for the dances – I would consider it a personal favor if you would serve as my partner.
Yours truly,
Mobile Solly Agat Terwa