Letters from Blackwell Island Pt. 03

"Of course, that's at least a couple of years off," Marea went on. "She'll want to establish herself properly at the veterinary practice before contemplating having children."

"Makes sense," I said with a slight shrug. "No point in rushing into it - they're both still young."

"How about you, Allie?" Lisa asked. "Are you and Patrick going to start a family now that you'll be staying here for longer?"

Ah, talk about opening a can of worms! At that moment I was faced with a personal dilemma - to come clean or not to come clean? After a few moments of careful consideration, I decided to just come out with it.

"Well, unfortunately Patrick and I can't have children," I admitted.

"Oh my god, Allie!" Marea gasped. "Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that! You poor thing!"

I never want anybody's sympathy - our situation is what it is - so I kind of recoiled a little at Marea's words, but it was just a normal reaction so I wasn't about to make an issue out of it.

"Thanks," I responded instead, simply accepting her sympathy.

"So, does Patrick have a... er..?" Marea stammered.

"A low sperm count?" I finished her question for her. "If only it were as simple as that. Actually, I'm the one with the problem - I'll spare you all the medical jargon, but it turns out that my ovaries simply don't work properly."

"Oh shit, Allie! Sorry for bringing it up!" Lisa piped up, sounding very contrite indeed. "I didn't mean to cause offence or anything!"

"That's okay, you weren't to know," I assured her.

"How does Patrick feel about it?" Marea then asked. "I assume he knows, right?"

"He knows," I answered. "He's always known - I would never keep anything like that from him. In fact, I told him before we got married, so that he had a chance to back out if he wanted to."

"Which he didn't, obviously," Lisa noted.

"He admitted his Ma would be disappointed to not have any grandkids from us, but he assured me in no uncertain terms that he loved me more than life itself, and that there were plenty of other channels open to us if we wanted to start a family," I said.

"Aww, how sweet of him," Lisa responded.

"Yeah, I've definitely been very lucky," I acknowledged. "I mean, I gave him every opportunity to walk away, and in all honesty I wouldn't have blamed him if he had, but that's just the kind of man he is."

"A real man," Marea observed aloud. "Forget about real men being all muscles and bravado and being chivalrous and everything - a real man will stand by the people he loves, no matter what."

"Amen to that," Lisa said with a smile.

It actually felt good to have it all out in the open - it had taken me quite a lot of time and self-reflection to come to terms with the fact that I might never become a mother, but life goes on. And as Patrick pointed out to me numerous times in the past, there were other avenues to follow. In fact, the news that he would be required to father at least three children with native women in order to qualify for permanent residency on Blackwell actually opened up an interesting avenue - we could always adopt one of them, which wouldn't really be any different to surrogacy.

The topic of conversation drifted away from my infertility, much to my relief, and we returned to more conventional chitchat about life on Blackwell Island and what the subject for my next article would be. In all honesty, after our trip back to the U.K. I hadn't really given it a lot of thought. But Lisa came up with an interesting idea.

"Why not do one about Aiden?" she suggested. "Or what life is like in general for the men here in a matriarchal society? I'm sure your readers would find that interesting."

"Well, I guess they would," I mused aloud. "Of course, some readers might find it a bit odd that just because the Pã'ele people are a matriarchal society, it doesn't mean that it's some kind of feminist utopia!"

The cogs and gears in my brain had definitely been set in motion, and I resolved on the spot to make a start the next morning.

Calling All Men

The next morning, after a very long night's sleep and giving our body clocks plenty of time to readjust to being back on Blackwell time, I set about starting work on my first installment of Letters From Blackwell Island of the new year, and it all began by sending out an appeal for participants via the island's radio station. Getting a brief slot on Kris Keahi's Ten to One Show, broadcast daily between ten in the morning to one in the afternoon, turned out to be pretty easy. It was a classic phone-in format where islanders could call in and discuss the issues of the day, and most of the island's population tuned in.

All it took was a quick phone call to the radio station's receptionist, who also happens to be the island's mailman (like many isolated island communities it's not uncommon for people to have more than one job on Blackwell) and I was given a guest slot on that morning's show.

So just a couple of hours later I found myself sat opposite Kris in the relatively cramped radio studio, wearing a pair of headphones and with a microphone in front of me. As "Friday I'm in love" by The Cure faded out, the radio presenter sat opposite me cleared his throat, faded up his microphone and spoke to the listeners across the island's airwaves.

"The Cure there with Friday I'm in love," he began in that cheery manner that all disc jockeys adopt on air. "You're listening the ten to one show on Blackwell FM, broadcasting across the island on 103.2 FM. Now, we have a special guest in the studio today, someone I'm sure many of you out there have come across over the last year or so - she's our very own resident "meddling journalist" from England, Allie Wilkins."

"Hi, Kris, thanks for having me on the show at such short notice," I responded after he prompted me by pointing towards me with a "shooting a pistol" gesture.

"And it's a pleasure to have you on the show, Allie," Kris replied. "Now, I gather you've come here to ask a favour of our listeners today."

"I have indeed, Kris - there is a definite ulterior motive to my being here today I'm afraid!" I answered brightly. "And it's a case of "calling all men" out there to help me with my latest article.

"As many of you out there might know by now, I write a monthly article called Letters From Blackwell Island for Estelle Magazine back in the U.K. and over the past year since I started writing it I've spoken to many of you out there and really enjoyed getting to know all of you, but up until now my articles have largely focused on Island life in general. But this month I would like to know all about life on the island from the male perspective. So, I'd like to tell our readers about what it's like being a man in a matriarchal society, the pros and cons of being a man here, basically all your thoughts and opinions about living as a man in a place where, historically, the women are the leaders and heads of the family."

"I'm sure many of you guys out there can help Allie out, so if you want to feature in her latest article, just call us on the usual number, or ping us an email, and we'll put you in touch," Kris said as he took over in his "cheery deejay" voice. "While we have you here, Allie, we might as well get to know you a bit better, so if anyone out there has anything they'd like to ask our guest today, just call us and we put you on air. Before that however, it's time for some more music - here's Talking Heads."

The familiar intro to "Once in a lifetime" sounded in my headphones, and Kris faded down his microphone.

"You don't mind hanging around, do you?" he asked me a little belatedly. "I guess I should've asked you first."

"No, that's okay," I assured him with a smile. "I've never been on the radio before - it's another little life experience to tick off the bucket list!"

Kris Keahi was, like many of the island's male population, an absolutely stunningly handsome example of masculinity in all his muscular naked glory - clearly, there must be something in the Pã'ele genes that makes the native men such fantastic eye-candy! He had a firmly muscular physique, with well-toned pecs and abs, broad shoulders and narrow hips, and though I couldn't see below his waist as he sat at the mixing console, I was fairly certain that his man-parts would be every bit as adequate as all the other native men I'd encountered. His face was every bit as handsome too, with a kindly and cheerful musculature - his smile literally made my heart flutter!

Focus, Allyssa, I told myself, don't get carried away with lustful thoughts!

"Such a great song, even after all these years," Kris said into the large microphone in front of him, mounted onto a flexible arm as the song faded out. "That was Talking Heads with "Once in a lifetime" - a favourite of yours, Allie?"

"Oh, definitely," I responded with a smile. "David Byrne is such a creative genius,"

"Cool! So, we have a caller on the line," Kris went on professionally. "And it's Chas in St Martins, how are ya, Chas?"

"Very good, Kris," the caller replied brightly. "How's the missus?"

"Oh, she's her usual self!" Kris chuckled. "So, you volunteering for Allie's next article?"

"Yeah, it sounds interesting," Chas answered. "Never been interviewed before, well, not that kind of interview anyway - been interviewed for jobs before, but not for a magazine article or anything."

"Are you a native, or an ex-pat, like myself?" I asked him.

"Ex-pat, but married to a native," Chas answered. "Been living here, oh, about twenty seven years I think?"

Well, he'd definitely do for starters, but I wanted at least a couple of born and bred Pã'ele natives for their perspective of actually growing up on the island. Fortunately, I didn't have long to wait, and the next couple of callers, one named Taulia and another named Jayden, were both born and raised on the island and were exactly what I was after - the island's matriarchal society was the only life they'd ever known.

After the next half hour or so, I had everything in place to begin interviewing my chosen three men, and I could already visualise the finished article in my head. Of course, much of the rest of my time in the radio studio consisted of answering the caller's questions about my articles and how both Patrick and I had enjoyed our first year on the island.

"And the exciting news is that I've been asked to stay here longer," I told one caller. "So my husband and I will be here for at least the next five years - and we're absolutely overjoyed to be staying here with all of you. Many of whom we're now pleased to call our friends."

Kris played another song shortly after that - "All the things she said" by Simple Minds - I had to say, I definitely approved of his playlist choices! And as Jim Kerr's vocals faded and Kris brought his mic back up, we wound things up. All in all it had been a very useful experience, and I also promised to make Kris himself the subject of a future article - the life of a local radio DJ on a remote island would definitely be of interest to the readers.

* * * * * *

Chas Palakiko, I later found out, lived in the largest house on the entire island - a generously proportioned colonial style mansion that wouldn't have looked out of place on a cotton plantation in the Deep South - it certainly looked out of place on Blackwell Island however. I'd seen it from the road numerous times on my way into and out of Malmesbury, and had been past its ornate gates just as often, but never before had I seen the place up close.

Of course, this being Blackwell Island, in accordance with the Pã'ele matriarchal tradition the house belonged not to him but to his wife, the wealthiest person on the entire island. Chas had definitely landed on his feet, it seemed.

"Hi, you must be Allie and Patrick, come on in - I'll put the kettle on. Tea okay? Or coffee if you prefer," Chas greeted us warmly as he beckoned us inside.

"Tea will be fine, thank you," I replied and followed him inside.

"Same here, thanks," Patrick added.

The interior of the house was every bit as fine as the exterior - very classical, very tasteful, pretty much everything that would constitute a very desirable property pretty much anywhere. In central London a house this size would easily be worth eight figures! Chas himself was quite a sight to behold - despite being in his mid fifties he had the body of a fit and healthy man at least twenty years younger. He wasn't quite as athletic looking as Kris at the radio station, or of my own dear husband, but he obviously exercised regularly and it definitely showed. The familiar sight of two Ohana Mãka'u's adorned his left buttock - one for his wife's family, and one of his own. His wife's was easy to identify - a cluster of stars inside two concentric circles (native Pã'ele designs tend to be rather simple). His own marking however would evidently need a little explaining.

In contrast to Mrs. Palakiko's family's centuries-old design, his looked much more intricate, taking the form of a clump of trees on top of a hill. Of course, it wasn't long before I had an explanation, which turned out to be pretty banal and exceedingly literal - during the interview he told me that his bachelor name was Woods, hence the trees.

"So, tell me about how you came to be living here, and what your initial thoughts were about Blackwell Island being a matriarchal society," I began the interview proper after several minutes of idle chatter and breaking the ice over the tea and biscuits he'd served us with.

"Well, how I came to be living here is a bit mundane, I'm afraid," Chas began with a light chuckle. "I met a girl at university and we fell in love -- the age-old story, I'm afraid! What I hadn't known at the time when I met her however, was that she came from a wealthy family, and that she'd grown up on a remote island in the Pacific where nobody over the age of eighteen is allowed to wear any clothes! And as for finding out that it was a matriarchal society, well that near enough blew my mind at the time!"

"How did you feel the first time you came here?" I asked him.

"To tell you the truth I was bloody petrified!" Chas chuckled again. "I'd never been naked anywhere outside my own bathroom before, so to suddenly be confronted with a situation where not only would I be naked, but also in the presence of an entire island of naked people, literally gave me heart palpitations! But y'know, I was in love with her, and when you're in love you just have to go the extra mile for them."

"Ah yes, something my dear husband here knows all about!" I remarked as I nodded towards Patrick beside me.

"Well, she'd have done the same for me," Patrick shrugged, albeit with a smile.

"When I look back on it now, I wonder why on Earth I'd been so nervous about being naked, because I needn't have worried at all. Everyone was so friendly towards me, and instead of having my physical shortcomings being made a big deal of as I'd feared, nobody batted an eyelid! I was just one more naked person lost in a crowd of other equally naked people."

Of course, it was obvious which "physical shortcoming" he was referring to in particular - I couldn't help but notice that he wasn't that well endowed in the "trouser department". His penis wasn't especially tiny or anything, but if I were to classify his overall size I would sum him up as being "modestly hung".

"I settled in to life here much quicker than I ever would have thought, and her family welcomed me with open arms - literally within a couple of days I found myself not really caring if I ever wore clothes again!" he went on.

"Do you find it emasculating at all? Being in a society where men are considered to be at a lower status than women?" I enquired.

It wasn't strictly true that men were considered lower status per se, but I didn't quite know how best to frame that particular question at the time.

"I guess it did a little at first," Chas answered thoughtfully. "I mean, I'd grown up in a very male-centric environment. My mum passed away when I was five, leaving my dad to raise me and my brothers on his own - I never had any sisters - and my dad was very much your typical working class man. He was the head of the family, and his word was law in our house. I loved him dearly of course, and to this day I have nothing but the utmost respect for how he not only held down a physically demanding job in the Sheffield steelworks, but managed to raise three boys single-handedly.

"I won a scholarship to an all-boys grammar school in Sheffield and was a member of the rugby team there - I guess you could say that my upbringing was very masculine indeed! So, coming from that environment to a place where the mother is considered to be the head of the family and not the father, took a little getting used to. But it was just a different way of doing things, y'know? Not better or worse, just different. No doubt some brainy scholar has written a lengthy dissertation on the pros and cons of matriarchal versus patriarchal societies, but in all honesty after having lived in one for so long, I can pretty much say that one seems to be no worse or no better than the other.

"Sure, there are advantages to it, not least of which is that with women as the head of the household, men here are freed from the pressure of shouldering that particular burden. But of course the downside is that we men aren't allowed to inherit property unless there is no available female heir. Hopefully, in a few years time the island's governing council will change that law and bring us in line with the U.K. so that the eldest child inherits regardless of their sex.

"Also, as you probably know by now, men are expected to support their wives in their role as the main breadwinner and do the lion's share of the parenting and housework around here. Men still do most of the physical and hazardous work, like fishing and construction and stuff, but that sort of thing is almost always considered as providing supplementary income, rather than being the main source of income."

"So you don't feel undervalued here as a man at all?" I continued to press him for more.

"I maybe did a little at first, I guess," Chas responded. "But that all changed once I'd experienced the Ka lã o nã kãnaka for the first time."

How could I ever forget my first experience of the Pã'ele people's traditional celebration day for the men of the island? I knew Patrick definitely wouldn't forget it either.

"It sure felt weird being washed from head to toe by my future mother in law whilst my girlfriend looked on, especially since at the time I was the only man in the house, but being made such a fuss of and being almost worshipped by both women that day, made me feel appreciated in a way I'd never felt before.

"Of course, later that day things became a bit weird during the 'O ka ho'olaha'ana o ka hua ceremony! If someone had told me it involved watching a young man being masturbated by the island's high priestess so that his sperm can literally fertilise the earth I would've run away and hopped on the first ship out of here! In fact, now that I think of it, that first time was the same year your landlady's husband was chosen to be the Kaua. How is Jackson these days, by the way?"

"He's fine," I responded. "I think he's really enjoying having another man around the place now that he's outnumbered by women!"

"Ah, of course - young Aiden's now with his good lady wife," Chas said with a lopsided grin. "She's a good one, that Merryanne, they're definitely a perfect match!"

The interview went on as the voice recorder app on my tablet recorded the entire conversation. Chas's perspective of life on Blackwell Island was indeed very useful, and would definitely be a good contribution to the article once I got round to typing it all up. After a while I had Patrick take some photos of Chas in and around his home, some with his wife and their two children, and several others of him outside polishing his pride and joy, a classic Fiat 124 Spider that he'd fully restored from a rusty old shell and retrofitted to run on battery power as per the island's law that all road vehicles had to be electric.