Chapter 21

"How is married life treating you?" The older woman asked.

Elphaba chose her words carefully. "Your son is very good to me."

"And how is Shiz otherwise?"

"Otherwise?"

"Have you made any friends? I would hope you haven't spent all your time studying. I've been told that University is an experience, and not always just an academic one."

"Oh, of course. I've made a few friends." She thought of Galinda and Boq. Galinda had insisted that they were friends, after all.

"That's good. I know being a married woman can be lonely. It's nice to have other women to talk to sometimes."

"I don't particularly care what gender the people I speak with are. And I don't mind alone time. That is hard to come by in marriage." As that hung in the air, she bit her lip, hoping she hadn't said too much.

The woman raised her eyebrows. "And as for your marriage, I trust you are keeping it intact?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"That you're behaving as a married couple should. Elphaba, listen, woman to woman, we can talk about this. I know at first things can feel rather awkward…"

"We're fine, Ma'am. That is not a problem." Elphaba flushed.

"And he is treating you well? I know he's my son, but I'd still like to know if there are any problems."

"Ma'am, your son is perhaps the kindest man I have ever known." It was the truth.

His mother beamed at that. "He was always such a sweet boy."

"You raised him well," she added.

"I don't know about that." The woman laughed. "Sometimes they go whatever way they want. You'll find out eventually."

Elphaba looked at her hands. "I'm sure."

"Elphaba, I'm sorry if I'm bothering you. It's just been so long since I've gotten to talk to another woman. It's quiet around here. The maids are afraid of me and while my husband is, like his son, very kind, sometimes it's nice to have a female around."

This was not something Elphaba had ever cared much for, another woman around. She didn't care to talk about girlish things or sex or men. They hadn't interested her. Of course, that was before her marriage. "It's fine, Ma'am."

"You don't have to call me that. Now, tell me about your friends."

"Well, there's Galinda. She's… very blonde. I met her on my way to the bookstore the first day. She seems very flighty, but she's also apparently rather smart. We're both going to be taking sorcery together next semester."

"That's exciting!"

"I suppose."

"I'm glad you're getting on well. I worried people might not take to Fiyero, or to you, to be honest, because of…"

"Because almost everyone else out there is either from Gillikin or Munchkinland?" Elphaba supplied. "Yes, it did take a little time to adjust, and there are people who do treat us differently. But I've found that the people who are my friends get past it a lot faster than the people who aren't worth it."

"That's such a good way to look at it."

Fiyero stepped back into the room and cleared his throat. "Elphaba?"

"Yes?"

"Can I speak with you?"

She got up, walked over to him and almost lost her breath as he pulled her into his arms and kissed her. "What is going on?" She murmured so that only he could hear.

"Nothing. Something my father said. I just… my mother wasn't pushing anything, was she?" He whispered back.

"No, she's been very nice. What happened?"

Fiyero looked over at his mother and smiled, raising his voice. "We're going upstairs. It's been a long day. Unless you're still hungry, Elphaba?" He looked at her.

"No, I'm full. Thank you." She looked at Fiyero's mother again. "It was nice talking to you."

The woman smiled at her as they left the room.

"You need to explain yourself." Elphaba demanded once they were in their bedroom.

"My father… he started asking me probing questions about our sex life, started asking how soon he should expect grandchildren. I just… I didn't know if my parents had teamed up on that and if maybe my mother was having the same conversation with you."

"She wasn't. You didn't need to drag me out of there like that."

"I'm sorry. I needed to get away from my father. And I don't think that's the end of the topic for him. I have a feeling next time it'll be brought up with both of us there."

"We'll deal with it."

"And what, exactly, is our answer?"

"That we're still in school and we're watching the calendar."

"Elphaba, I see the potion you take every morning. You don't need to watch the calendar, do you? Because you've never once turned me away because of that."

"I don't. When the time comes, I'll stop taking it and we can talk about it. But not now. Consider the subject dropped."

He nodded. "Can I talk to you about something else, then?"

"What else could you possibly want to talk about?"

"Elphaba, last week, when I said what I said and you turned away…"

"I told you."

"If you're not ready to say that, Elphaba, that's one thing, but you can't try to run every time we get close. Sometimes you resort to the physical so we don't have to go there emotionally. I'm asking if you'll please stop closing yourself off, even if you aren't where I'm at. I know you say you're willing to try to get there, but you never will if you keep doing that." He sat down on the bed.

She hadn't necessarily been doing it intentionally, but she had felt a jolt of panic sometimes when it felt like she was about to open up to him, when it felt like he was beginning to tear down her barriers. Elphaba hadn't realized she was so obvious. Maybe she wasn't. Maybe it was just the way he read her. "I… I'm sorry. I'll try." She sat down beside him.

"There are things you hide from me, like that potion, that you have no reason to. You tried to hide your allergy from me at the beginning. You don't need to hide from me." He lifted her chin and looked into her eyes.

She struggled not to look away. "I'm sorry, Fiyero. I really am. Every time in my life anyone has come close, it hasn't gone well for me. Not that many have tried."

"Well, I'm trying. And I love you. That's one thing I've got going for me that no one else has."

She smiled. "That much is true."