I slowly open my mouth for her, and she looks inside. This I understand—she is checking to see how many teeth I have. At least with this, I am most impressive. I’m young and still have all of my teeth. Her eyes narrow a bit, and her nose wrinkles as she looks me over, and I feel a little nervous as she continues to examine me.
Her eyes settle on mine for a moment, and then she reaches down and takes from my hip the fur I washed earlier. She turns it around so the smoother leather part is showing and then wraps it around one of her fingers like she had done with her own clothing earlier.
Then she reaches in my mouth and rubs the edge of my front tooth.
I lean back to break the contact, confused, but Beh is insistent and eventually has her fingers in my mouth again, rubbing each of my teeth with the edge of the leather. When she finishes, she hands me one of the water skins, so I take a drink.
I run my tongue around in my mouth, and my teeth feel quite strange. They seem smoother than they were before. As I consider the difference, Beh wets another corner of my wrap from the water skin and uses it to rub at my forehead and cheek a little. She dips the edge in the water and rubs a little more—this time at my chin, neck, and jaw. I try to sit still as she cleans me off, and I can’t help but remember again how my mother would do the same at the stream near our forest home, starting first with my father and then the children from oldest to youngest.
I never liked it, and I still don’t, but I let her do it.
Beh finishes and then leans back a little, focusing on me from a different angle. Her eyes widen for just a moment, her lashes flutter, and she coughs a little before she looks away. Her cheeks become pink as she rinses out the fur and hands it back to me quickly.
I reach out and touch her cheek, but she ducks away from me and stands up with her arms wrapped around herself. I stand, too, confused, but I don’t have much time to think about it. We have been at the lake far too long, and I need to get my mate back to the cave before dark. We won’t have time to gather anything in the forest today, but I don’t have any baskets for carrying such things anyway.
Thankfully, I now have a mate to make such things.
As I lead Beh from the lake’s edge through the reeds, I grab several of the long, thin plants and hand them to her. Beh reaches out and gives me a quizzical look as she takes the reeds in her hands. I select more, hoping there will be enough for her to make a basket. I only have time to collect a few, but we can always get more later.
I’m glad to see Beh looking around the forest floor for food, especially when she stops and makes a loud sound with her mouth. I look at the plant she has found, and it looks familiar to me though I can’t remember what it is until she places a little piece of it first in her mouth and then in mine.
Mint. It has a strong smell and a fresh, biting taste that leaves a cool feeling against my tongue. It’s a plant my tribe would sometimes rub on meat to make it taste better when it wasn’t as fresh any longer.
I chew the little leaf as Beh collects several more. When she’s done, I hold my hand out and feel warm when Beh accepts my grip. She allows me to take her back through the forest, across the steppes, and to the rocks where my cave is.
Our cave.
I’m surprised that the sun is nearly setting as we approach the crack in the rock. Even though I certainly do not like some of the things that happened at the lake, this day is the best day I have had in a very, very long time. It goes by so quickly! I have my mate now, and being with her is much better than being alone. Feeling grateful for her presence, I cook the fish for her on rocks near the fire inside the cave.
Beh is silent as she sits on the single mat and takes the flat pelvic bone of a wild pig that serves as a plate but only picks at the food. I am ravenous after such a quick and busy day and devour two of the fish right from the hot rock next to the fire where they cook.
After I have my fill, I bring the water skin to Beh and hold it out to her. She accepts it from my hands with less hesitation than she did this morning and takes a drink. I quench my own thirst and then settle back down next to Beh and the fire. As she continues to pick at the fish’s flesh, I reach up and scratch the top of my head and pause.
My hair is…is soft!
Like hers!
All the tangles are gone, and it hangs well past my shoulders in fairly straight strands. I run my fingers through it, hold it out away from my head, and try to turn in such a way that I can see. The strands escape my fingers, so I grab on to them again, tilting my head up and looking out of the corner of my eye to try to get a better view.
Beh laughs, and all my attention goes to her.
I haven’t heard that sound in so long; I have almost forgotten what it sounds like.