BRING AND SHARE

“I’m going to say something,” Elvina announced.
“Don’t,” her mother replied, looking up from dressing the child, but Elvina was on her way out.
At the meeting hall the women stood around the table.
“He’s late,” Sara observed.
Elvina put her bag on the table, “Fish.”
“Rice,” Sara gestured to a sack.
“Bread,” stated Beth.
“Potatoes,”  Farah added.
“Milk,” said Luella.
The man walked in, smiled in his charming way and rubbed his hands; “What a lot there is here!  I need a bit more than last time, my mother is sick and my cousin is visiting to tend her.”
There was an excuse to take more every time.  Elvina spoke up; “What have you brought?”
“Nothing,” replied the man shrugging, “if you think hunting is easy, try it.”
 

When he had gone the women gathered together; “What is the point of him?” Elvina asked.

The question was greeted by a shocked silence.
“Well too ...” began Farah.
“When was the last time he lay with one of us?” Elvina demanded angrily, “the youngest of our children is two and I don’t see any of you ...”
“Protection,” Beth said firmly.
“If he wasn’t causing wars with neighbouring tribes we wouldn’t need protecting,” Elvina answered.
The women looked at each other.
“He hasn’t brought anything for weeks,” Luella said softly, “he must be struggling ...”
“How long are we going to make excuses for him?” Elvina demanded, “I say banish him.”
Sara’s hand shot up; “Aye!”
The others stared at each other in shock, then slowly put their hands up; “Aye.”
Elvina anticipated their question, “I’ll bring the meat.  How hard can it be?”

 

Killing the deer wasn’t hard, but dragging it back the miles she’d covered tracking it was.  Elvina’s resentfulness kept her going.  She thought of slamming the carcass on the table, her friend’s impressed faces and how they would all live in peace with more food.  No more free loading man.  She found herself late to the table and hurried inside, the deer on her shoulders to be confronted by the man sitting on the great chair with Farah on his knee, kissing his ear and stroking his shoulders, Luella was bringing him a mug of milk, Beth was taking off his shoes for him and Sara was tending to a small flesh wound on his shoulder.  On the table lay two deer carcasses.  Elvina met the man’s bold stare; his hard eyes were full of triumph.  She looked at her friends and they turned their backs on her, but the man put out his hand and smiled.

She felt the weight of the deer, the heaviness in her limbs; but more than that, she remembered the triumph of the kill.  Elvina turned away.

“You should have kept quiet,” her mother told her as she returned.

The child ran to her and Elvina gathered the boy in her arms; “We’re banished,” she said.
“We won’t survive without the community!” the old woman replied.
“They’d like us to think that,” Elvina fetched the deer carcass smiling in pride.
Her mother stared at it resentfully; “You’ve chosen a hard road.”