Honey Dolls

 

Chapter 20

HONEY DOLLS

 

Sonila asked Mavis if she remembered the tale of the girl made of honey. Mavis said that of course she did.

“What’s the matter?” asked Mavis.

“Nothing’s the matter. In the hall there’s an advert for a festivity in the village where the tale originated from.”

“Are you inviting me?” Mavis, asked her friend.

“Yes, although it’s not an invitation from me but from the village itself to everyone who’s interested in going. It might be funny, at least it’ll be a reason to get out of the hotel for a while,” Sonila responded.

“Weren’t you afraid of leaving the hotel?”

“My sweet tooth is stronger than my fear of leaving the hotel.”

“You said it.”

Just as a spider spins a web, so Sonila went about trapping everyone she could to accompany her and Mavis to the village for the festivity. Irving and Camette decided to go by themselves. The two married couples went together. Sonila wanted desperately that Doom go with them, but he knew very well how to duck out, “Madam, you must go with your husband. What would I do between two married couples?”

“Would you like me to look for company for you?”

“No, thank you, don’t trouble yourself,” replied the doctor.

“It wouldn’t be a bother, really.”

“I have to go. See you later,” the doctor said almost running out of the hotel.

“Shy! What a shame and such an attractive man, too,” said Sonila.

 

The people arrived at the village from the hotels in buses, motorbikes, or any other vehicle within their reach if they were islanders. The village was situated in the north of the island far away from the area of the heaviest tourism. Everyone knew the story of the girl made of honey and were curious on what the festivity would consist of. For someone visiting the village for the first time, the sight of the scattered bee hives was somewhat striking. Situated on the top of a hill there were two entrances, from the north or from the south. It made no difference which way was chosen both arrived at the square in the centre of the village.

The villagers didn’t skimp on the decorations of the streets and the buildings. The village was having a party and everyone had to participate. Stretching across the square there was a banner announcing a ‘GIRLS MADE OF HONEY COMPETITION’, organized by the village confectioners. On getting off the bus the tourists received a voting paper to choose the best girl made of honey.

“Can we taste them?” asked Sonila.

 “I’m sorry ladies, but the honey girls are for looking at, not for touching,” said the young man.

“Where do we start?” Mavis asked.

“In the sweet shop next to the bar ‘Pretty Doll’.”

“Let’s go to the bar to freshen us up a bit,” Gus said.

The quartet crossed the street and entered the bar. Seen from behind, the women’s skirts looked as if they had never seen an iron. Don and Gus’s trousers were stuck to their legs. They no longer looked as though they were newly arrived on the island.

Camette and Irving were walking around the confectioners stands. The dolls which were exhibited on tables were of differing sizes. They had been elaborated with great care and attention which caused much admiration among the visitors. Scenes from the tale of the original girl made of honey were represented in the golden and transparent honey.

“They look like suntanned women, don’t they, Irving?” Camette said looking at a row of  little golden bodies.

“Don’t talk to me about suntanned women.”

“I’m tanned, don’t you like my colour?”

“Yes, it’s fantastic. I’m talking about something else. How many places like this are there?”

“I don’t know. Irving, let’s go I’m getting dizzy from the smell of honey.” They went out into the street, “I feel as if I’ve got honey in all my orifices,” said Camette.

“They must have used tons of honey in the manufacture of so many girls.”

“Later they melt it and bottle it.”

“If you don’t want to enter another confectioners we can just look in the shop windows,” Irving commented.

“They have fish here, too,” Camette said, stopping in front of a shop window that had the model of the village in honey, besides having fish.

“They look like the ones that are used in the ritual in the temple.”

Camette said, “Let’s ask them if they are the same ones.”

“Stay here.” Irving entered the shop and Camette waited outside looking in the window.

“There’s no girl as sweet as you!”

Camette’s blood froze and she felt nauseous due to the smell of fish. Making a tremendous effort not to betray herself, Camette turned round and said, “Hello, Osman, what are you doing here?”

“I’ve come to invite you for a trip on my launch.”

“Osman, I’m very grateful but I don’t think it would a good idea. Just recently sea trips make me dizzy.”

“And what is this dizziness due to?”

“I don’t know whether it’s something I’ve eaten or if I’m pregnant.”

That was the end. The eyes behind the green lenses shone for another reason. Osman had no time to respond as Irving came out of the confectioner’s. “Camette, the shop assistant told me… Hello, Osman, How’re you doing?”

“Very well, thanks. I didn’t know you two were on such terms.”

“Don’t exaggerate. Camette and I are just good friends.”

“Yes, I know, and I understand what lies behind those words. Have a good time!”

Irving took hold of one of Camette’s arms, “What’s the matter with him?”

“How should I know! I don’t think we’ll be seeing him for quite a while. Aren’t you going to tell me what they told you in the confectioner’s?”

“According to them, honey is an important product on the island, and apart from the honey girls, they also manufacture fish, leaves and shells, and quite an extensive range of sweets made from honey.”

“Perhaps, the honey bee would have figured better as a myth rather than the fish. Are we going to see more honey girls?”

“Look who’s over there. It’s the doctor. Let’s go and see him.”

“If you like,” said Camette reluctantly.

Irving went up to the doctor who was scrutinising an exhibition of girls.

“Hello, Doctor. Enjoying the party? They’re well made, aren’t they?” Irving said simply.

The doctor looked at them and said, “Have you seen the artistry of the sweets?”

“Yes, we have been in several confectioner’s.”

“Have you observed how extraordinary the little figures are?”

“Yes, it’s as if magic hands had made them. And every one is different.”

Camette said pointing to the shop they had just left, “ We have seen fish made from honey in that shop.”

“There are some very strange things here,” said the doctor.

Irving said to Doom, “You said the same words the night we went to the temple.”

“Come, look at this,” the doctor  pointed something out to Irving.

Camette was very put out. The doctor never took any notice of her, maybe it would have been better to have accepted Osman’s offer of a ride in his launch, than have to be completely ignored. “I’m going to take a look at other exhibitions, so I can choose the best representation,” she said to the two men.

“Don’t get lost,” Irving said.

“See you later,” said the doctor.

The two men turned round and carried on talking. Camette, disgusted by their lack of interest and sensitivity went to a bar.

 

“The smell of honey is going right through me. I’m sure that my clothes smell of honey,” Sonila said.

“What are you complaining about? You like anything sweet. Now you’ll be sweeter than ever,” commented Mavis.

“Want a drink?”

“That means you want one. It would do me good to sit down for a while. My feet are killing me from so much walking. While we are seated we can write down who our favourite girls are.”

The two women entered a confectioner’s that had in the shop window the legend of the fish.

“I don’t think that honey and fish go well together, do you?” Sonila asked Mavis.

“Don’t mention fish to me, please. It’s a forbidden subject,” Mavis replied.

Although the tables were small they were big enough for two. The waitresses running from one end to the other trying to serve all the customers. They sat down at a table with a representation in ceramic of the tale of the honey girl.

“It must be the only item of conversation in this part of the world. It’s as if nothing else has happened since then,” Sonila said.

“It’s likely that nothing has ever occurred here. Hey! Isn’t that the woman from the beach? The one that wanted to knock the stuffing out of Irving?” asked Mavis.

“This is the least likely place where I would have expected to find her. Let’s see what she’s up to.”

Matina left from the back door of the confectioner’s. She was dressed in green, a fact that didn’t go unnoticed by her two followers.

“It’s probably her favourite colour,” said Mavis.

They hid until Matina was a little bit farther ahead. Once in the street, they kept her at a safe distance. The colour of Matina’s skin had more in common with the colour of leather than a woman’s skin.

“It wouldn’t surprise me if she didn’t have a body and face cream business with the skin she’s got,” Sonila said.

“I don’t see the attraction. We mustn’t lose sight of her.”

At the end of the street there was a small square where several other streets all converged. There were places to enter and then suddenly, Matina had gone, disappeared. They went from door to door but they couldn’t find her.

“Do you think she saw us in a shop window or in the confectioner’s?” Sonila asked.

“I don’t know. Look there’s Irving over there, let’s go and tell him,” Mavis said.

Irving was on his own and looking for Camette. The doctor, a man who was full of curiosity had gone to see the village all by himself.

“Irving, we have seen Matina, the suntanned woman. She’s somewhere in this area but we don’t know exactly where. We have followed her from a confectioner’s,” Sonila informed him.

“And she’s dressed in green,” added Mavis.

“Thanks, but I don’t think I have anything to say to her. I am looking for Camette.”

“Have you had a row?” Sonila asked him.

“She went off rather put out. If you see her could you tell her that I’m looking for her, please?”

“Of course,” answered Sonila.

“See you later, thank you,” and Irving left while the two women stared after him.

 

“How much longer before we get the bus back?” Don asked Gus. The men were having a beer in a bar, after having voted for the best honey girl.

“Tonight in the ‘Pink Paradise’ there’s a contest called ‘Miss Honey Girl’. It’s to choose the woman with the best suntan amongst the tourists.”

“We mustn’t miss it. Mavis won’t be a problem, I think she’s fed up with me. I’ve been paying her a lot of attention lately so I don’t think she will stop me from going out,” Don said.

“We have to convince the women that we are doing them a favour by not taking them with us.”

“That’s easy. Mavis will convince Sonila with no difficulty. I need to go out just one night at least. Do you know what it’s like to play the attentive husband day after day?”

“Oh, oh! There they are. Let’s go and see what they’ve got to tell us,” Gus said, and they both left the bar.