"When Rohilah returns, read her and tell me and Tersan what to expect from her."
"I will." Yaaf glanced at the children playing in the sandbox. "Tomek is very patient with Bianca."
Sullha had a feeling that he was trying to change the subject, and she was fine with that.
"She's adorable. Very sweet, and Tomek loves being in charge, even if it's being in charge of a little girl. He takes it very seriously."
"He looks like he's enjoying it."
"He is. He keeps glancing at me to make sure I'm watching him doing a good job. He's earned many points from me today."
Tersan was listening to their conversation, which she realized he would have done even if he weren't within hearing distance. Everything she said to Yaaf was shared across eight minds.
It was weird, and it made her more self-conscious about what she said to him.
"Rohilah hates sand," she said. "She told me when I brought them over here that she has never let Bianca play in the sandbox, and the entire time we were sitting together, she kept looking at Bianca with this expression like she was witnessing a disaster in slow motion. I told her to stop looking and just resign herself to the fact that the girl will get dirty, and that all the dirt will come off in a bath later on."
"I played in the sand all the time as a boy," Tersan said. "She didn't seem to mind that much."
"Mothers treat boys and girls differently," Sullha said. "Boys can get away with a lot more dirt, scraped knees, and scraped elbows. Mothers are more protective of daughters. They think of them as fragile."
Tersan nodded sagely as if her argument had been perfectly logical.
It might be, but she'd made it up. Her mother had never cared if she played in the sand or got dirty, or had scraped knees and elbows, and that wasn't because she hadn't loved her. It was because kids needed to be kids and get dirty when their play involved dirt.
The bathroom door opened again, and this time it was Rohilah.
"You need to retreat," Yaaf told Tersan. "I'll start as soon as she is seated."
The woman didn't see the men when she walked past them, and she didn't see them when she sat back down on the bench beside Sullha.
"I'm sorry it took so long," she said. "One stall was occupied by a boy who was in no hurry to come out, and the other was out of order. I had to wait."
"I saw the culprit come out," Sullha said. "Perhaps he's been hiding in the bathroom."
"Or maybe he had a stomachache." Rohilah smiled. "I heard him groan and strain, so I didn't say anything about him hogging the only functioning toilet."
"Poor kid," Sullha said. "We should let the guard know that a toilet is out of order."
Rohilah let out a breath. "I wonder how long it will take them to fix it this time. They are never in a hurry to make life easier for us."
Sullha stifled the urge to let out a relieved breath. To say things like that in the enclosure was risky. They were not supposed to complain. They were supposed to accept everything with gratitude and appreciation and submit without question.
That was what Mortdh's teachings demanded from women.
She glanced at Yaaf, and when he nodded at her, she didn't know if it meant that he'd caught the same response or was actively reading the woman's mind.
She turned her attention back to Rohilah. "Bianca is adorable. Even Tomek is charmed, and just so you know, he's not a big fan of girls other than his mama."
It was important to keep the conversation going to make things easier for Yaaf. While Rohilah was distracted by Sullha's prattle, she wouldn't notice that someone was rummaging through her brain.
"He's a very gentle boy," Rohilah said. "He's so patient with her."
Sullha chuckled. "He's also scoring points. I promised him an extra serving of cookies if he kept Bianca occupied so we could discuss the teaching position."
Rohilah smiled apologetically. "I can only help in classes that Bianca will attend. I don't want to leave her with anyone while I'm helping in a classroom."
"Of course," Sullha said. "That's what I do with Tomek. I help during his classes if I don't have to be somewhere else."
