“Who’s Madeleine?” Auri asked.
“A bear-woman - she-bear - I met. And sort of dated,” I said, looking where Madeleine had run off, hoping she might come back.
Really? She might be wicked mad if she comes back.
“I think maybe we should head back to the village,” Auri said, “I think I’ve had enough excitement for the morning and we’re going to have a busy afternoon.”
“Ok. But so I’m clear about what just happened,” I said, “between us, I mean. You got that I’m not straight, right?”
“Yes, you’re not straight but you’re not crooked,” Auri said toweling off, “You’re what again?”
“Lesbian,” I said, “Lesbo, Dyke, Sapphist, Woman-Lover, and a bunch of other names, some of which I don’t want to repeat.”
“You have so many women in Mich-i-gan that everyone can be called something different?” Auri asked.
“Something like that,” I said, wrangling my jeans over damp skin.
Silent, we headed back down the path.
This is awkward.
“So, just to finish up our conversation,” I started again, “I like women. You are a woman. And I guess what I’m trying to say is, uh, maybe we can pick up where we left off?”
Auri stopped on the trail and faced me.
Oh Gaia, here it comes. Good or bad?
“What about Madeleine?” Auri asked.
Maybe bad.
“Well, um, she and I had a thing, but then she went off in the woods and…” I began, but trailed off when I realized that I had no excuse - I had some unfinished business with a she-bear.
“Betty, even if you are not straight, even if you don’t pursue a relationship with Madeleine, I can’t,” Auri said.
No, definitely not so good.
“Meaning…” I suggested.
“Meaning this. My vows keep me from having a relationship with Daughters of Aradia. We have to remain neutral because we broker peace between Daughters and phallas.”
“But I’m not a Daughter,” I asserted, “I plan to go home to Mich-i-gan. I’m not one of them.”
“You plan to go back to Mich-i-gan, but you want a relationship with me?” Auri asked.
I twisted my towel in my hands, and crinkled my face into a fake sorry-shy-hopeful smile. “Maybe just a short one?” I asked.
For a night? Maybe a couple of nights?
“Don’t think that’s going to work,” Auri said, returning to walking the path, “we’re going to be working together for awhile. Not sure it’s gonna work out so well for a. Short. One.”
She’s got a point.
“Well, are you always going to be a Brother?” I asked, trying to negotiate.
“For as far into the future as I can see,” Auri answered, “especially now that the Malefici are putting lives in danger. We may need to negotiate help from the phallas. The Order of Joseph won’t fight, but we will be there at the edge of any battle to help with wounded.”
“So this is really serious,” I said, a statement more for myself than a part of our conversation.
“Betty, has all the blood rushed from your brain to your Venus?” Auri asked, “You heard my story. Shala told you what happened at the Inquisito. We know the photo you have changes and we’ve seen in it that Maddalena has sacrificed a high bovine priestess and that’s likely why the Aurochs are coming. With all this, you have to ask if this is serious?”
We walked without speaking until we reached the edge of the village.
“Listen, Auri, I guess I was just trying to - I don’t know - not believe - some serious shit was coming down. I mean, Nana thinks I’m going to be leading a group of you into a place that sounds incredibly dangerous. I don’t know if I can do it. It scares the hell out of me.”
“Me too,” Auri said.