After forty days in this desert of a country without seeing a single woman,

let alone physical contact, Carl hungered for the sight of a woman.

Any woman would do. The closest thing that one got to that in this country
were the blue ghosts that walked the streets in little herds. They were
completely covered in the traditional blue Afghan burqa or chador. Each of
them looked exactly alike, no identify, no personality. He often wondered
how they could tell each other apart. Did an Afghan child ever go home
with the wrong mother? Did an Afghan man ever go home with the wrong
wife?

Carl had come to Afghanistan to join his wife, Lauren. She was offered a
job working as a women's rights advocate for the US agency for
international development. It had been a dream of hers since their first
trip abroad and he had encouraged her to take the position.

Lauren's position was not an accompanied post. Because of security

concerns, family was not allowed to come. But, there was no way Carl was
going to let his wife go to Afghanistan alone, even if she was with the US
government. So, he found a position with a small development
organization that worked with the Afghan ministry of education. That way
they could be together.

Lauren's supervisors hadn't been amused when the heard that Carl had
gone around their restrictions and had gotten a position with a different
organization in the same town where she worked.

They refused to let him stay with Lauren at the agency guest house and
they also required Lauren to check in each night at the official compound.
Apparently, there could be no exceptions made to the security protocols.
Or at least they didn't want to make any exceptions.

So for the last six months that had been trying to make it work with day
time visits. It reminded him of the worst parts of high school. He could go
to her place. She could go to his. But they had a ten o'clock curfew. Once
they had still been in bed five minutes before ten, when a sharp rapping
on the door startled them. The night security had come, Charles the
mission leader had told them explicitly to make sure that no guests were
on the compound after ten o'clock. Since there were no guests besides
Carl it was clear who was meant. Since then, if possible Lauren came to
his place. But then she had to be back by ten, which meant that she had
to leave even earlier.

The last several weeks though even that hadn't been possible. Lauren has
been in Kabul, twelve hours away, and she's been traveling around the
country visiting various women's projects.

So for the last forty days Carl had been separated from his wife. This
wasn't the first time that they have been apart. But it was the first time
that he had been so completely excluded from female company. He

1
hadn't been aware how much I would miss those casual interactions that
we take for granted on a daily basis.

Lauren had called a few hours ago to let him know that she was back from
her trip. They made a date for Carl to come over to her place for dinner.
And so now he was standing in front of the entrance to her compound with
dinner in a sack, a red rose from his garden, and a bottle of contraband
wine wrapped inside an Afghan blanket.

Lauren's compound and the guesthouse where Carl stayed were worlds
apart. Hers was a concrete fortress with razor wire around the walls and
armed guards at the gate. Carl's was a traditional Afghan home with a
green garden, thick mud walls and an elderly chawkidar who answered
the door if anyone knocked or would go to fetch fresh bread in the
morning.

Lauren lived in a two story house together with several other expats. Carl
knew the way to her room and knocked quietly as he opened the door.
Lauren was sprawled across her double bed with box springs, another
notable difference between Carl's accommodations and hers.

She didn't wake as he entered the room. Her headscarf -even the
foreigners have to wear one, slacks and bra were lying on one of the two
chairs in the room. Carl moved these and quietly set up the dinner table
trying not to disturb her.

He had prepared a special meal for her, with ingredients he had saved for
a special occasion. If this wasn't a special occasion though, he didn't know
what was. It was their first evening together in more than a month.

When everything was set and the wine poured he walked over to wake
her.

It was too hot for her to be using a blanket and her long smooth legs were
uncovered. She was wearing full body white cotton panties that clung
tightly to her rounded ass. After 17 years of marriage, he could still get a
hard on from just looking at his wife. At 42 she was still a beautiful
woman.

He gently shook her by the shoulder. Nothing. He shook again, and quietly
said her name, "Lauren."

She breathed out loudly but otherwise didn't stir.

He looked at the food ready on the table and then at his unconscious wife.
Gently, he eased himself onto her bed and slid in behind her.

She didn't wake up as he softly stroked her cheek and brushed her hair off
of her face. Softly, he kissed her cheek. As he did so she breathed in
deeply and opened one eye looking up at me.

2
"I'm sorry. Did I fall asleep?" Lauren asked the sleep still clinging to her
voice.

"You did." he smiled and kissed her cheek again.

By pressing gently on her shoulder he was able to get her to shift her
position so that she was lying on her belly and straddling her hips he
started to rub her shoulders and back.

"Oh, thank you. That's just what I need after the long trip."

Carl massaged her back through her shirt for a minute before rolling it up
and from the bottom and pulling it off. She was now only wearing her
cotton panties and Carl was very hard, his erection uncomfortably pushing
against his jeans.

He continued to rub her back and allowed my hands to trace down her
sides and cup her breasts. It had been so long since he had been with her;
he didn't mind that the food was getting cold. He relished her warmth
under his finger tips and allowed himself to linger on the soft flesh of her
breasts before continuing to trace down the sides of her body.

As he reached the hem of her panties, she lifted her hips slightly and
without a word he slid her panties down around her thighs. Then, gliding
his hand along her inner thigh, he gently pressed her fingers against her
womanhood. Softly stroking her he elicited her natural moisture to gather
on her lips. Then pushing harder he spread her lips apart and slid his
finger into her. It had been too long.

He loosened his pants, and pressed his hard erection against her thigh,
guiding it into position between her legs. He lay on top of her with and
leaning into her he pressed his way inside.

Lauren, moved her hips over so slightly to accept him into her and she felt
her body stretch and accommodate the new guest inside of her. She felt
her body reacting to his presence. It had been too long for her too.

Reaching around her waist Carl's hand followed the crease where her legs
met her body. Pushing through the course hair, it rested right beside her
erect clit.

After so long together, he knew how to make her come. Without speaking
he rubbed around her clit in small concentric circles, sometimes brushing
up against the tip of her tiny erection, sometimes squeezing and holding
it. At the same time he pulled her into himself and sank his cock deeper
and deeper into her. After a short time, the walls of her vagina began to
contract as she came and he let himself fill her with his seed.

It wasn't the wild night Carl had been dreaming about on the lonely
nights. It was better. It was the secure intimate love making of two people

3
who implicitly trust each other. Two people who know each other and
have committed to each other.

They lay that way with Carl inside of her for several minutes before they
both fell asleep. The food was still sitting on the table but Carl didn't mind.
He wasn't hungry anyway.

------------------------

Carl woke to Lauren shaking him roughly. There were birds outside the
window and the first light of the morning was already shining in.

"Quick, you have to go! It's morning!" Lauren whispered frantically.

"What's the big deal?"

"You're not allowed to stay overnight you know that. If Charles sees you,
one of the guards could lose their job."

Charles was Lauren's supervisor and the one who had said that Carl
couldn't stay at the government compound. He was a real prick. A stickler
for protocol, Carl didn't know if he was just a control freak or if he had a
thing for Lauren, or both. He had seen him checking out her ass on more
than one occasion.

Personally, Carl didn't care if Charles saw him or not. It's unlikely that
anything would happen to Lauren, beyond perhaps a reprimand. But she
was right the Afghan guards would probably carry the brunt of his
displeasure. And why should they be punished just because he fell asleep.

Quietly, he looked into the hallway. All clear. He headed down the steps
but heard someone coming up at the same time he looked around but
there was nowhere to go. An Afghan man with a long beard came up the
steps carrying some hot Afghan naan bread wrapped in a cloth. He looked
at Carl and seemed to smile to himself but went on walking without a
word.

Carl hated sneaking around like this. It made him feel like he was still in
high school and trying to sneak out of his girlfriend's house without being
noticed. Except it wasn't his girlfriend he had slept with. It was his wife!
Why should he have to sneak around?

He managed to get out of the compound without anyone else noticing

him, aside from the morning guard who was as eager as he was to get
him out quickly without a disturbance.

This whole thing was so ridiculous. Why couldn't he just stay there? It's
not like he was a security threat. If he had wanted to blow something up
he could easily do it during one of his many day visits. And it's not like his
presence would add more costs to the program. He would even be willing
to pay rent if that was the issue. No, Carl decided, it was Charles. Charles
just liked the fact that he could control them.

4
Out on the street, Carl called his driver to come and pick him up. It took a
few rings but eventually Rahmat, his driver and translator, picked up the
phone.

In Afghanistan everyone had a driver. It wasn't that Carl didn't know how
to drive, or that it was illegal for foreigners to drive, it just wasn't done.
Carl saw it as an opportunity to be humble and to allow his hosts to offer
him a service. It was also a huge boost to the local economy. Every
foreign in their white truck with a driver on the payroll would probably be
one of the biggest employment projects in the country.

Rahmat was a young Tajik man, who had learned English from watching
movies. He talked fast and drove faster. Carl thought it was more likely
that they would die in a car accident than by a terrorist attack, but so far
they had been fortunate and had avoided both.

A lot of the foreigners come to be good friends with their translators. In

many ways the translator is the guide to a whole new world. You
experience your surroundings through their explanations and others hear
your ideas through their voice. But Carl didn't think that he would ever be
very close to Rahmat. He was rude and immature and his only interests
were money and women and not only in that order.

Lauren on the other hand adored her translator, Mina. She had a female
translator which was unusual but important since Lauren worked so much
with vulnerable women. Lauren visited her house regularly and was
learning Dari from her. She had gotten really attached to her and felt that
she was almost like the daughter that she had never had. A few months
ago, she had even helped her family with several hundred dollars when
her Mina's father had expectantly died suddenly.

Rahmat screeched the white SUV to a stop less than a meter from where
Carl was standing. Dust clouded up all around them. Carl had hardly
climbed into the vehicle before Rahmat was off again.

Carl worked as an adviser for a local teacher training college and taught
some classes on biology and English. It was thankless work. He was
forbidden to teach about half the biology textbook. Anything with
evolution or sexuality was off limits. And regardless of how well they did
on the exams he was expected to pass all of them. Three of his biology
students were amazing and it was a joy to teach them but the rest were
just passing the time. It made him sometimes wonder what he was doing
here working for practically nothing.

After his last class had finished he got a call from Lauren.

"Hi, how are you?"

"Mina is getting married!" Lauren blurted out on the phone as her

greeting.

5
"Oh, wow. Give her my congratulations."

"No. We've got to do something." Lauren emotionally replied.

"What do you mean do something? Normally when someone gets married,

you get them a toaster, go to party and drink more than you ought to.
What else do you want to do?"

"You, just don't get it at all." Lauren complained.

"Well then explain it to me." Carl said, getting frustrated.

"Mina is getting married to someone she doesn't even know. She is being
SOLD! Just like all these other women I see all the time."

"Hold on. What do you mean she is getting sold?"

"Just that. She is getting sold. Her brother is marrying her off to some man
twice her age, who she never even met, so that she can be his private
cook, cleaner and sex slave. The brother is getting $8000!"

"That's terrible. Are you sure it's that bad?" Carl tried to comfort her.

"Yes, I hear the stories all the time. Mina does too, and she's terrified."

"That's horrible. I'm so sorry. But what can we do? That's Afghanistan."

"I refuse to accept that. If I just accept this, if I can't even help Mina, my
friend, what am I even doing here?"

"Honey, I'm so sorry. But there's not much that we can do about it though,
is there?"

"I can't do anything. But you can."

"Huh? What can I do?"

"You could marry her first!"

"What do you mean, I could marry her?!"

Carl couldn't believe that his American wife was really suggesting that he
marry her Afghan friend. Could she possibly be serious? Did she really
want him to marry another woman? He loved his wife, and he had been
willing to travel to Afghanistan for her but this...

"That is the only way to save her." Lauren replied adamantly. "I have
thought it through. If we were to just give her brother the money, there is
nothing to keep him from marrying her off later. If she refuses to get
married, she can't stay in Afghanistan. If she doesn't get married it will be
a shame on her brother and he will have to punish her and she can't leave
the country because she would need a passport and a visa and a place to
go. The only solution is for someone else to marry her and the only man I
trust is you!"

6
"But Lauren I can't marry her. I already have a wife. You!"

"Carl we are in Afghanistan. That's not a problem. As long as your current

wife agrees, and I do, you are allowed to marry up to four women at a
time."

"Yeah, but I'm not Afghan. I'm American. The American government
doesn't recognize polygamous marriages."

"No, but they don't have to. What's important is that the Afghan
government recognizes it, so she wouldn't be in danger of being married
off to some guy twice her age whom she's never even seen."

"Honey, I hate to break it to you but I am a man twice her age, whom
she's never even seen."

"She's seen you."

"Really? I don't remember meeting her."

"Sure several times. Of course you couldn't see her. She was wearing her
burqa. But she told me that she has seen you. And anyways I have told
her all about you."

"So you mean you've talked with her about this already?" Carl was still
surprised that his wife would suggest such a thing.

"Of course I've talked with her already. I don't go around suggesting that
my husband marry someone who isn't even interested!" Lauren laughed.

Carl was shocked how casual she was about this whole thing. How could
she laugh about such an idea? Lauren was always trying to save someone,
but she was also really traditional, especially in respect to marriage. It was
really out of character for her to be so relaxed about the idea of him being
with another woman. She usually gets jealous if he just mentions another
woman.

"So you are saying, that you me, your husband, to marry this twenty year
old girl. And that she wants to marry me too?" It sounded even more
unreal as he said it out loud.

"Well actually, she's 19." Lauren answered under her breath. "But it's not
like it's going to be a real marriage. It's just a formality so that she doesn't
have to marry someone terrible. But yeah, basically that's what I'm
saying."

A few hours later Carl, Lauren, and Rahmat were sitting in the living room
of Mina's family home. They sat on the traditional long cushions that were
positioned around walls of the room in every Afghan home. A thermos
with black tea and some almonds in the shell were sitting in front of them.
Their home was nice and clean but not especially wealthy.

7
Mina's father had worked for an international organization and had been
able to provide for his family. Now that he was gone though there wasn't
much income. Mina's older brother worked as a teacher. As Carl well
knew, the pay from the schools was so bad that you could hardly live from
it, let alone save enough to afford to get married. Mina's brother's only
hope for getting married was to manage to sell Mina off to a family willing
to pay top dollar.

An educated girl like Mina usually could bring a high bride price,
sometimes as much $20,000. In this case they already knew that there
was an offer from another family for $8000. They would have to try to
beat that price and negotiate a marriage contract. If there was going to be
a wedding.

After about twenty minutes Mina's brother Najib finally came in and sat
down.

"Welcome to our home." He said in Dari and smiled at his guests.

This was one of the few phrases that Carl understood. But Rahmat
translated for him anyway.

Carl was surprised at how young he was. He couldn't have been much
more than twenty-one himself. He couldn't believe that this kid was
arranging to marry his sister off for money and that it was perfectly legal.

"When will Mina be joining us?" Carl asked.

Najib and Rahmat laughed with each other and spoke together in Dari.
Sometimes looking over at the two Americans. Rahmat did not bother to
translate for them.

"Of course Mina will not be joining us tonight." Rahmat finally said to the
two English speakers. "It would be immoral for a woman to be present in
the company of men."

"But Lauren is here." Carl objected.

"That is different."

"So you mean that Mina will have no say in the agreement at all?"

"Not at all. She will agree with whatever her brother decides." Rahmat
explained.

This logic wasn't at all satisfying for either of the Americans, but they had
gotten used to this kind of arrangement in Afghanistan.

"So of course you must first become a Muslim." Najib smiled at Carl.

"What?!"

8
"Don't worry you will not have to grow a beard or anything. You will simply
have to go to the mullah and declare your faith in Allah, the Prophet, the
Holy Qur'an and the angels."

Carl was not a particularly religious man. He could perhaps be called a

Christian. At least he had been to church a few times as a child. But he
didn't really believe anything in particular. But even though he didn't have
any religious convictions, it was a bit much to say that he would have to
change his religion.

Carl turned to Lauren, "Did you know about this?"

"Sure it's normal. It's just a formality." Lauren replied reassuringly.

"Christian women are allowed to marry Muslim men, but a Muslim woman
is only allowed to marry a Muslim. But like he says it's not complicated to
become Muslim."

"It's not a question about being complicated or not." Carl was indignant. "I
don't even know if I believe in God, let alone Allah."

"I'm sure you will find the faith." Mina's brother smiled. "That is if you
want to marry Mina."

Lauren looked over at Carl, her eyes communicating that he better get
religion and get it quick. Carl was not convinced but he remained silent
and the negotiations continued.

Most of the time Rahmat handled the details without translating back for
the two foreigners. At one point though, they started to argue with each
other. Carl interrupted and asked Rahmat what the problem was.

"Because you don't have children, he wants you to agree that if Mina does
not have a child within the first year of marriage, you will be held
responsible for the lack of a child. I told him this is unacceptable."

"It's no problem I agree." Carl answered.

"But Mr. Carl..."

Carl cut off Rahmat mid-sentence. "It's no problem. I agree. If there is no

child it is my fault."

Who cares whose fault it is anyway? When he and Lauren were newly
married they had hoped to have children but it hadn't been possible.
Lauren had always blamed herself because she had cysts. If only he could
have told her then that it wasn't her fault. She might not have blamed
herself so much. No, if someone was going to be assigned blame he could
take it. His shoulders were wide enough.

The contract was very thorough. It dealt with where they would live - in
his guesthouse, there was an extra room adjacent to his own where she
could stay; how often she could visit her family home -as often as she

9
likes; whether the bride is a virgin - the brother swears it is so, but it's
unclear how he would know; if she would be allowed to work -she would.
Finally, they came to the main topic: the bride price.

"I think a girl like Mina. She is very special don't you agree?" Mina's
brother smiled at them both. "I would not be willing to let her go with you
for less than $30,000."

Their jaws dropped. They had been expecting an increase over the
previous offer but this was more than three times what the other family
had agreed to.

"No, we couldn't possibly." Carl objected. "I'm a teacher. Like you. I don't
have that kind of money."

"No, not like me. You are American. Americans are rich." Najib smiled at
him again.

Carl would have liked to leave the negotiations right then. But one look at
Lauren and he knew that he couldn't leave. She had made up her mind
and when she's decided something, there is no changing it.

The money wasn't really an issue. They were not rich, but Lauren's
position paid well, almost a thousand dollars a day. Even at thirty
thousand it was only a little more than one months work.

Finally they agreed to $12,000. But only after agreeing that the bride's
family would not have to provide any of the usual furnishings for the new
couple, and the groom would pay for a wedding that would cost no more
than $4000.

In keeping with Afghan tradition the wedding would be in three days. Until
then, there was to be no contact between Carl and Mina.

It seemed crazy to plan such a big party so quickly but all the details had
already been arranged. The dresses had already been made, the caterer
found. The last and seemingly most inconsequential detail was the groom.
And now that he had been found the wedding could continue.

The festivities began already the next evening. Mina and Lauren went to
the Khina party, where Mina intricate henna patterns were drawn on
Mina's arms. Lauren enjoyed herself. They danced and laughed the whole
evening. It seemed like a dream. Mina was free. She would never have to
worry about being married off to some wife beating old man again.

Carl's evening was less enjoyable. He had an appointment with the local
mullah. An old man showed up with the sourest expression on his face at
dinner time. Carl invited him in but he only grunted an acknowledgment.

Carl, Rahmat, the chawkidar and the mullah ate a traditional meal of
Afghan rice without talking. Finally, after finishing a serving big enough for
two people the mullah started to speak.

10
He explained the tenets of Islam angrily like he had better things to do. He
didn't pause for Rahmat to translate and even Rahmat struggled to keep
up with the soliloquy. Finally after forty minutes, he told the chawkidar to
fetch some water. And then rolling up his sleeves he demonstrated how to
do the Islamic purification ritual. After that he told Carl to repeat the
Shahahdah, the Islamic creed, in Arabic. The mullah seemed frustrated
with Carl's pronunciation, but it must have been acceptable. Afterward,
much to Carl's surprise, the mullah embraced him and gave him a big
bear hug.

"Shoma digar kafir nesti, musulman shudi!" (You are no longer an infidel,
you are now a Muslim!)

For a brief moment Carl felt the warmth of being part of something bigger
than himself. He still wasn't sure he believed any of it, and there were
many things he was critical of but it was someone nice to be part of a
worldwide community.

The feeling didn't last though. A moment later, the mullah took out a
ceremonial knife and told him to drop his pants. Carl was confused and
uncomfortable. After some confused discussion involving gestures, he
understood that they wanted to circumcise him.

Luckily Carl was already circumcised as child, but the mullah still required
him to drop his shorts to prove it. Rahmat and the chawkidar were still
there. The chawkidar discreetly stepped out but Rahmat stayed
unabashedly.

Carl was not especially shy. But he hadn't been prepared for this at all.

Not seeing any other option, he reluctantly undid his pants and lowered
his boxer shorts. His flaccid penis hung heavily between his legs. All could
see that he was indeed circumcised.

It seemed to Carl that the mullah was disappointed that he had told the
truth.

The mullah said something to Rahmat in Dari and walked away in a huff.

"He says, you have to shave yourself. You're no longer an animal you are
a Muslim."

"What do you mean shave?" Carl asked, pulling his pants up again. "I
thought muslims weren't supposed to shave."

"Down there. You have to shave yourself."

Carl was a pretty traditional guy and "manscaping" was a term from a
different generation. He had never taken a razor to that part of his body
and was uncomfortable thinking about it.

11
At least they let him do that in private. He shaved himself as best he
could. He couldn't help but think what Lauren would think when she saw
him next.

For the next several hours until he went to bed Carl practiced the Islamic
prayers. As a Muslim he would be expected to say them five times a day
and it was a part of the wedding ceremony. This whole thing was getting
pretty complicated after all.

The day of the wedding everyone was stressed just like at any wedding in
any country. They had to get dressed. The cook came late. The music
wouldn't work. More guests came than were invited. Most of the time
though Carl, Mina and Lauren seemed to be in the background.

Everyone was busy with the activity of the party but there was nothing for
them to do. Carl and Mina were in two separate rooms and Lauren spent
her time going from one room to the other.

Mina was nervous and Lauren tried to calm her. She told her about her
own wedding and told her Carl was a kind man and would allow her to
follow her dreams.

Carl was also nervous. It seemed like he was in a play, for which he was
the only one who did not have the script. Lauren hugged him and
reminded him how thankful she was that he was willing to do this to help
Mina.

Carl was to wear traditional Afghan clothes with pants big enough for two
of him to stand inside, a long shirt that was intricately decorated by hand
with needlepoint and a turban. Lauren, was wearing a red dress and
looked incredibly beautiful. The bride would have two dresses, first a
green one and then later in the evening a white one.

Finally they came to the big event, the moment he would be allowed to
meet his new bride for the first time. He was brought first into a large tent
that had been set up in the Mina's family's yard. Inside were hundreds of
Afghan women. All this time he had not seen a single woman and then
now all at once he was allowed to see behind the veil. They wore colorful
dresses, laughed with each other and danced. It was so different than the
men's gatherings. Those were more quiet occasions focused on
consuming large quantities of food.

Carl sat alone at a table in the front of the tent. Carl was shocked to see
that several of the young women were wearing strapless gowns. At first
he thought that their cleavage, shoulders and arms were exposed, but
when he looked closer he noticed that they were wearing flesh colored
long sleeve shirts under their dresses. Muslim modesty but with modern
fashion, he thought to himself.

Although it was just a paper wedding, Carl was nervous and a little
excited. What would she look like? Would she like him? Would he like her?

12
He was sure he would. If Lauren liked her so much he could be sure that
she was an interesting young woman.

As the bride entered the tent, she was covered in a veil. He watched as
she approached him and was seated next to him. Then someone set a
mirror up on the table in front of them and only then was the veil
removed. Looking into the mirror they were given the first chance to look
at each other.

Mina had already seen Carl, but this was the first time that Carl had seen
her. She had fine features, dark eyes, fair skin and plump lips. She smiled
at him. He smiled back. She was beautiful. If all Afghan women were so
beautiful, it was a crime to ever cover them up.

They looked at each other without speaking and let their eyes meet for a
split second but then they looked away. It seemed strange that they were
allowed to look at each other. Six months Carl had lived in Afghanistan,
but until today he had never seen an Afghan woman's face. He was no
longer used to seeing a woman, and being so close to this one, the one
that was to be his wife, even if it was just a formality was an incredible
turn on.

Her green dress was surprisingly tight fitting. In Afghanistan all clothing
style, but especially women's clothing was designed to be baggy and to
not reveal the shape of the body underneath. But her dress hugged her
body in all the right places. She had the tight youthful body that you
would expect from an attractive 19 year old. Her breasts stuck out like
rockets, like a fifties pin up girl, but he suspected, that a stiff bra had
more to do with that than her natural endowment. Her waist was slender,
so narrow he figured could nearly span it with his hands. Her hips flared
gently out and were lost under the folds of her dress.

For a few minutes they were able to acclimate themselves to each other's
presence. They weren't supposed to talk. Even if they had been allowed,
the music was too loud to hear anything. After what seemed like five
minutes though the various rituals and traditions began.

Carl was guided around and told what to do. There were gifts, dances,
food and more gifts. Finally, several hours later, after a huge meal of lamb
with delicious oily rice the ceremony was over. The party would continue
for several hours into the night but the couple were brought to a room
where they could be alone. They would have their privacy now until the
morning.

They nervously sat side by side on a cushion on the floor, neither sure
who should speak first.

"It was a beautiful party." Carl ventured.

"Yes" she agreed without elaborating more.

13
"I like your necklace." Carl said smiling at her and indicating the large
silver traditional Afghan wedding jewelry. "Is that a family heirloom?"

"Heirloom?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I mean is that from your mother or from your
grandmother?"

"No, you gave it to me."

"Oh" Carl was embarrassed. He remembered now that there had been
some discussion about jewelry. But he wasn't sure that he had ever seen
it before it had been wrapped. There had been so many gifts...

"Look at me Mina."

She looked slightly up in his direction.

"Are you happy? Is everything alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine thank you." Mina replied trying to manage a smile.

A strand of dark hair had fallen down in front of her face. Carl reached
over to brush it out of her eyes. But as his fingers toughed her hair she
flinched and pulled away.

"Sorry" Carl said pulling his hand back.

"No, its ok." She replied. "I'm sorry. I'm just not used to a man touching
me. Please forgive me."

"It's fine. We don't know each other. Of course you are uncomfortable."

"If you want, we can just go to sleep. It's been a long day. You can sleep
over there. I can make my bed here."

She looked at him confused, "First don't you want to..." she blushed as
she searched for the words, "...finish the wedding?"

It took a moment for Carl to catch her meaning. "Oh no. No, don't worry
about that. That wasn't part of the plan."

"What do you mean, 'the plan'?" Mina asked confused.

"I mean this all of this. It was all just a formality, right. I wouldn't ask you
to do that. It's not a real wedding after all."

"Not a real wedding! What do you mean?! What have you done to me? Do
you mean to shame me and my family in front of the whole city?" Mina
was irate. "If it was not a real wedding what was all of this? These gifts,
this dress? I thought you were a kind man? You are just a liar!" Mina
started to cry.

14
Carl didn't know what to say. He hadn't meant to offend her. He hated it
when women cried. He was always at a loss.

He sat down next to her and wrapped his arm around her. She flinched
slightly again as his arm touched her but she quickly relaxed and he held
her as she cried.

"Why don't you want me?" She asked eventually through her tears.

Carl thought about the question. It wasn't that he didn't want her. He
wanted her. Of course he wanted her. She was a young beautiful woman.
For the last six months he had been living in a world of men to the
exclusion of any women. Of course he wanted her. But he had assumed
that she didn't want him. Not in that way. After all she was so much
younger than him and they didn't even know each other.
"I would be honored to be with you. If that is what you want." He
answered.

He hadn't planned on this and he knew that this was not what Lauren had
planned. She had always talked about how it was just a formality, a little
piece of paper. But this was what you get when you marry someone. He
had told her it was a crazy idea, but she had pushed and pushed.

"Do you want this?" he asked.

She nodded her head without looking at him.

"Yes, it is my duty. If I cannot provide the proof that I am a virgin

tomorrow morning, my family and I will be shamed."

"Proof?"

"You know..." she said, ashamed to speak of such things, "the towel."

"Oh" he understood. She would have to show the towel with the mixture
of blood and semen proving that she had had an intact hymen.

"You have never been with a man before?" Carl asked cautiously.

"No! Never!"

"Not even a kiss?"

"No, no man has ever touched me. I have kept myself pure. I am a good
Muslim girl."

"Well then, I think we should start slowly." Carl smiled at her. "Would it be
ok if I took your hand?"

She nodded. Carl slowly reached down and took her hand in his. She had
small hands. He held her hand without speaking and gently caressed it.

"Look at me."

15
Obeying she looked up at him. The thick make-up that they had put on
her was now running from her tears. Carl gently and slowly brushed the
tears from her face.

"I'm going to kiss you now. Ok?"

She nodded.

Carl leaned into her and being careful that only their lips touched, he gave
her the most delicate kiss that he could manage.

"Did you like that?" he asked.

She nodded again.

"Should we kiss again?"

"Ok" she replied barely audibly.

Again he leaned in to kiss her but this time he allowed himself to press
more deeply into her. Her breasts pressed into his body and she did not
pull away. He continued to kiss her keeping the contact between their lips
waiting for her to pull back. She didn't. Finally, after more than a minute
he ended the kiss.

"It seems that you are a natural." He smiled at her.

She smiled sheepishly back.

"Come let's get you cleaned up." Carl brought a warm washcloth over and
gently removed the thick layers of makeup. Underneath she was even
more beautiful and even younger than before. He couldn't believe that
this girl hardly old enough to be out of high school was his wife, his legal
wife.

She was still wearing her white wedding dress. It was designed in a
western style and was thick and heavy. It must have been uncomfortable.

"Do you want me to help you to take this off?" he asked indicated the
dress.

Mina looked down at herself. She knew that this time would come but she
wasn't sure that she was quite ready to be naked with a man. She
blushed, and looked up at him, silently begging him to take the question
back.

Carl seemed to take the hint and suggested that he could just unzip the
back and Mina could change into something more comfortable.

Mina smiled at that suggestion and turned around so that he could unzip
the hard to reach zipper. Carl had done this hundreds of times for his wife,
his first wife. But this was clearly something precious. He treasured this

16
moment, the first time that Mina had allowed a man to see her bare
shoulders.

There was a small private wash room next to their room and Mina went in
there to change out of her wedding dress. She came back several minutes
later with simple but pretty traditional Afghan outfit. Like the male version
she was wearing thin bagging pants and a long shirt. Her outfit was much
more colorful though than the male versions.

Carl was sitting on the cushion where they had sat earlier. And when she
came out he indicated that she should sit down next to him.

"I won't do anything that you don't want." he promised her. And taking her
hand again he leaned in and kissed her on the lips. Gradually she was
getting comfortable with his presence and slowly he rested his hand on
her thigh. The thin fabric did not provide much of a barrier between his
hand and her skin. Still kissing he slowly moved his hand up her thigh until
it was resting on her hip.

For Mina this was all incredibly exciting. Each touch of Carl's hand was a
new frontier breached. Her thigh, her hip, the small of her back. She was
scared but aroused. Each touch elicited new sensations in her body that
she couldn't control.

Slowly, Carl took her hand again and pulling it toward himself he guided it
onto his inner thigh. Very gently giving her full opportunity to pull her
hand away, Carl guided her hand over his manhood and held it there.

Secretly, Mina had always wondered what a penis felt like. Through the
fabric she was able to make out its shape, the soft fleshy area and the
hard erection. Gently she explored with her fingers.

"Would you like to see it?" Carl asked quietly.

Mina breathed in deeply. Would she? Of course. But how could she say
that. She was raised to be a proper woman. Muslim girls don't talk about
those kinds of desires.

Carl didn't wait for her to answer. He slowly undid his oversized pants. An
advantage of the design was that they are very loose and comfortable and
very easy to remove.

Slipping his pants off, he lifted up the hem of his shirt so that she could
see his now shaved penis and scrotum. It looked strange to him without
its usual covering almost like it was even more naked than usual.

Mina just looked, fascinated. But Carl took her hand again and guided it to
his erect cock. She hadn't imagined that it would be so big. How could
that possibly fit into her? She wrapped her fingers around the shaft and
felt its warmth.

17
Carl leaned in and kissed her again and emboldened by their progress he
let his hand glide up her inner thigh, stopping just short of his goal. Still on
top of her thin pants he slowly inched his way closer until he felt the soft
flesh of her outer labia underneath the fabric. Pressing his fingers into her
the fabric was soon wet with her lubrication. She was ready.

Without a word he loosened the hazarband that held her pants closed and
slipped the loose fitting garment off.

Like him, she was completely shaved. He slid his hand over her exposed
pussy. It was slippery with her pent up juices released for the first time.
He had never slept with a woman who shaved down there. This was for
him a new experience. He could see why the young people did it. It was so
soft and smooth. He gently caressed her lips, spreading her natural
lubrication. Slowly, gently, he caressed the sensitive area above her slit.
At his touch she tensed and moved her hips forward.

Laying her down on the cushion, he moved over her and guided his penis
into position. The head of his penis slid happily into the hot wet lips.

"Now this is going to hurt a little." He whispered and he slowly pushed

himself into her tight virgin pussy. She was so tight. He wasn't sure if he
had ever entered a pussy this tight before. His penis ached to enter all the
way and he pressed through until finally he felt her open up to him.

Mina gasped slightly as her womanhood was stretched and ripped to

make room for Carl inside of her. Her body was being molded into a
perfect fit for him. It was being forever changed never to be the same
again. It was an experience of pleasure mixed with pain. It hurt when he
entered her but somehow she longed for him to fill her, to come deeper
and deeper inside of her.

Carl watched Mina's reaction. Her eyes were closed and her face was
stuck in an expression of concentration. But it was clear that she was
enjoying herself. As he pushed into her, her hips matched his rhythm. As
he cupped her breasts underneath her shirt she let out a low mhmm.

Carl was committed to bringing her to orgasm this first time. It was the
least that he could do he figured but eventually he felt himself coming and
there wasn't anything that he could do to hold it back. He felt himself spill
into her and at the same time he felt her contract, tightening the already
tight hole around him.

Carl kissed her one last time before he pulled himself out of her. He wiped
off the pinkish liquid that testified that she was indeed a virgin and set the
towel to the side.

Carl turned off the lights and Mina went to the washroom to bathe herself.
As Carl lay in the dark waiting for her return he thought about what had
just happened. It hadn't been expected but it had been a beautiful thing.
He wouldn't tell Lauren about it. It would only make her unnecessarily

18
jealous. It wasn't like she needed to know, it would never happen again.
She had had to this time because of her family's honor. But he had to
admit it, it had been fun.

After the wedding things returned to their previous routine, mostly.

Carl went to his classes at the college. Mina went to translate for Lauren.
After his classes Carl would visit Lauren at her compound, or alternatively
Lauren would come to Carl's.

The day after the wedding Carl went to visit Lauren for lunch at her place.
They didn't talk about the wedding. Lauren didn't ask about Mina and Carl
didn't volunteer anything. He felt uncomfortable. Throughout their
marriage he had never strayed. Never so much as kissed another woman.

Now he had slept with one of Lauren's best friends. It felt dishonest to not
tell her what happened, but he knew that no good would come from
telling her. Anyway it had been a onetime thing. They had to do it. He was
sure that she would agree that he didn't have a choice. But still he knew
that she wouldn't like it.

As usual, after eating they ended up in bed. Since coming to Afghanistan

whenever he would come over to visit he would have sex with Lauren. He
didn't think it would be a good time to change that now.

Carl couldn't help but compare Lauren to Mina. He had been with Lauren
for years and knew her body well. The small signs of aging had never
bothered him. He was older himself now too. Now though the contrast was
impossible to ignore.

Everything about Mina was young and innocent. She was shy, timid. Her
skin fresh. Her breasts firm. Her hair dark and silky.

Lauren too was beautiful but the years showed and she had no shame
before him. She undressed unceremoniously and slid into bed, the dark
curls between her legs a reminder of the differences between the two
women.

Carl undressed more slowly and self-consciously he removed his boxer

shorts. Lauren noticed right away that he had shaved himself.

"What have you done there?" she smiled.

"Apparently, as a Muslim I'm required to shave my myself."

"Such an obsession with hair these Muslims." she laughed playfully.

"Women mustn't show theirs. Men must let their beard hair grow. And now
this. I wonder, do only men have to shave down there or women too?"

19
Was that a question? Was Lauren asking him if Mina was shaved? Did she
know that they had been together? Had Mina spoken to her?

"I wouldn't know." he carefully answered.

Lauren didn't seem too interested in the answer. She just smiled and
turned to him.

"Well then come give me that Muslim cock of yours. I've never slept with a
Muslim before."

The sex with Lauren was always good. They enjoyed themselves and were
perfectly comfortable with each other.

After a half hour Carl was dressed and out the door again. On his way out
he met Charles the mission leader and Lauren's boss. For some reason he
had always had something against Carl.

"So you're still coming around here? I thought maybe you'd be done with
Lauren, now that you've got yourself a little Afghan whore. Out with old, in
with the new."

"Hey that's my wife you're talking about!"

"Which one?" Charles sneered. "Is it true you paid money for that Afghan
girl? You know that's against American law don't you. I could have charges
brought up against you."

Carl didn't reply. Was it true that paying a bride price was against the law?
He didn't know.

END
Charles continued, "Of course, not that I blame you. She is a nice piece of
Muslim ass."

"What do you know about it. You've never even seen her!"

"Ha! Of course I have. Many times." He smiled knowingly. "She's my

employee, you know. I can see her whenever I want. She has to do what I
tell her. There were several candidates for her position, you know. Some
of them were more qualified. But I appreciate a nice view in the office if
you know what I mean."

Anger pumped through Carl's veins. He had never liked Charles and now
this. He wasn't sure what infuriated him more. The way he had talked
about Mina and Lauren or that he off all people was able to see Mina
without her covering. In America it was normal for a woman to be seen,
but he had gotten used to the idea that he was the only man who was
allowed to see Mina. She was his, his own private secret. But Charles had
seen her too. He saw her every day.

20
He would have loved to punch him in his sneering face. But that wouldn't
help anything. It would just make it impossible for him to visit Lauren and
it could make problems for both of his wives.

"I'll thank you to speak respectably about Lauren and Mina. I'll remind you
Mina is Muslim woman. You wouldn't want the locals to hear that you
sexually harass the Afghan women who work for you." Carl acidly replied.

Walking on, intentionally walking into Charles and knocking him off his
balance as he walked by.

------------------------

Back at Carl's guesthouse Mina had moved in and she was already making
her presence known.

When Carl came to the guesthouse the chawkidar stopped him.

"Excuse Mr. Carl, we have a problem."

"Oh? What is it?"

"It's your wife?"

"Lauren? What about her?"

"No, not Miss Lauren. Your other wife."

"Oh yes, of course. Well what's wrong?"

"Well sir, it's her clothes. She is hanging her clothes in the garden.
Women's clothes sir. It's not good."

"Well she is a woman. She has women's clothes."

"Yes sir, but also the under clothes."

Carl looked at his chawkidar, the man was in his late thirties had a wife
himself and three kids, all of them girls. You would have thought that he
had seen a bra and panties before.

"I will see what I can do."

"Oh thank you sir."

He went to check on Mina and make sure that she had moved in ok. She
had the room next to Carl's. She smiled at him shyly when he found her.
He asked if she had everything or if there was anything she needed but
her room was already furnished and she had already moved in. He didn't
bother talking to her about her under garments. The guys at the
guesthouse would just have to get used to the fact that there was a
woman living here now.

21
For several days they hardly saw each other. It wasn't that he was
avoiding her so much as he was trying to give her her space and anyway
he was busy with his classes and she was gone most of the day with
Lauren.

Each morning at five though, before he had gotten out of bed, he could
hear her on the patio in front of his room sweeping the dust. When he saw
her he told her that she needn't do that but she replied, "wazifaast" (it's
my duty).

Also several times when he arrived home from his classes in the
afternoon, he had also noticed that someone had been in his room. His
bed had been made, his trash taken out, his books straightened. He asked
Mina about this one day and she replied, "wazifaast" (it's my duty).

And in the evening whenever he was home alone she would come by and
bring him a plate with delicious Afghan food. He had no idea how she had
time to make it. Afghan cooking is intricate and time consuming and she
had a job translating. He told her that he didn't expect her to cook for him
but she had replied, "wazifaast" (it's my duty).

Carl could understand Mina's desire to help him around the house and so
he didn't press the issue. She obviously felt gratitude toward him and
Lauren for helping her out of her unwanted marriage, to some man she
didn't even know. She must be feeling a heavy burden about the amount
of money her brother had extorted from them, he figured. So, he didn't
tell her to stop, and anyways it was nice to be taken care of a bit.

Lauren had never been much of a homemaker. She had always been a
career woman. And you didn't want to eat her cooking. For their tenth
anniversary she had tried to surprise him with homemade meatloaf
followed by apple pie, but unfortunately you couldn't tell which was which.

Mina's cooking on the other hand was fantastic. She brought him
dumplings filled with spinach and meat, soft lamb roast, traditional Afghan
rice, and each meal was better than the last. And she never complained
about doing something around the house. Whenever he said thanks to her
she always replied, "wazifaast" (it's my duty).

Carl also liked to see her in the compound. Usually she was in her room.
But sometimes she was in the garden, hanging laundry, sweeping, or just
wandering among the roses. Sometimes Carl caught himself just watching
her for several minutes. It was just nice to have a beautiful woman
around.

When she was at home she wore a headscarf but just a thin white one
that didn't even cover her dark black hair. The contrast was striking and
actually quite fashionable. She was always very modestly dressed, long
sleeves and long pants even when it was hot outside. Still as she moved
he could make out the shape of her breasts and hips.

22
At night although he did not see her or hear her, he knew that she was in
the next room. It turned him on to think of her a few meters away, just an
unlocked door between them. It was mostly her long dark hair and her
eyes he thought about, cautious but strong, dark almost black. And her
tight shaved pussy.

It wasn't a surprise that he dreamt about her. Each night he re-lived their
meeting together after the wedding. He could feel her hand on him,
exploring his body and he felt himself inside of her. Sometimes he almost
felt that it wasn't a dream at all.

One night in the midst of such a dream he woke. He wasn't alone. Mina
was in his bed lying next to him. He could feel her warm naked body up
against him. She held his scrotum gently in her hand.

Still caught up in the dream Carl wasn't shocked but just accepted this
situation as the most natural of things. He turned into her and kissed her
soft lips and she kissed him back.

He let his mouth trail to her neck and felt her squirm delightfully under his
kisses. His lips moved down her neck into the valley between her breasts.
He cupped them both and squeezed gently. He rubbed his fingers against
her nipples.

He had not had a chance to explore this area on the wedding night as she
had kept her shirt on, being too shy to undress completely. Her breasts
were exquisite. As he had thought they were not particularly big, but
young and firm they stood up on their own without any support.

Moving up out of the valley, he kissed her breast. Arriving at her nipple he
wrapped his lips around it.

Mina pulled herself into him and arched her back in ecstasy. She gave
herself fully to him.

She was no longer ashamed to be in his presence. She was his wife. He
was her husband. She squeezed her legs together as Carl licked and
sucked her nipple, his teeth softly grating against the sensitive center.

His fingers continued to play with the nipple and Carl moved to the other
breast and sucked there. This was too much for Mina. Her legs opened up,
she longed for him to be inside of her again.

Carl's hand followed the curve of her waist down until it found crease
between her legs.

Carl was touching her. His fingers pressed against the hot wet flesh
between her legs. His touch brought her feelings she had only recently
discovered inside of her.

One finger entered, so slowly and then he moved inside of her. She
squirmed under his touch and longed for him to fill her.

23
He removed his finger and started to circle her sensitive spot. It was even
more intense than the other night and her hips pressed into him. Her
whole body ached for him in a way that she had never felt before.

Finally, she felt the firm pressure of his manhood against her. His hand
was tangled in her hair he held her fast as he pressed into her.

Her hips writhed underneath his weight. And she felt herself grow again to
accommodate him.

Carl savored the feeling of her tight hole. Being shaved definitely had its
advantages. He was so much more sensitive down there. He felt his penis
glide into her depths.

Carl marveled at the feelings that rose in him as he pushed against her
silken tunnel. This was so different from his comfortable routine with
Lauren. This was passionate.

Slowly he began to move inside her, and each gentle movement was
matched by a sigh from Mina. Then moving faster, he thrust himself deep
inside her, he felt her lift her legs and lock them around his hips, forcing
him even deeper.

Mina groaned with pleasure and thrust her hips upwards to meet him. She
felt the tension building and building inside her until she could bear it no
longer and she moaned with delight. Then she felt the hot surge as she
was filled again with his seed.

Carl fell against her, stunned. Still buried inside her, he stroked her face,
kissing her gently. He looked at her but he couldn't read her expression in
the pale moon light.

After a few minutes or was it hours, he couldn't tell, Mina got out of bed
and went back to her room. Carl could hear the splash of water as she
bathed herself.

What had he done? Had he somehow given her the impression that he
expected this? The wedding night had been a necessity, they had to
provide proof that she had been pure and had never been with a man. But
tonight?

What would he say to her when he saw her next? What did she expect
from him?

He thought of Lauren. What would she think if she knew about this? She
might have understood about the wedding night. It was part of the
ceremony after all. But this? She wouldn't understand about this. For
Lauren the whole wedding was just a formality, a farce, a useful way to
ensure that Mina would not be forced to marry an old man she barely
knew.

24
But now that is exactly what had happened. In order to avoid a marriage
to an old man she had married Carl, a man more than twice her age. And
it seemed like Mina didn't mind.

The next day Carl stopped Mina in the garden and spoke to her before
going to his classes.

"Mina, I wanted to talk to you about last night."

A deep pink blush spread across her face. "Wazifaast." (It's my duty.) And
she walked hurriedly away before Carl could think of what to say.

Carl watched her go. What was she thinking? What did she want? He was
confused, he was starting to think that this whole plan maybe wasn't a
good idea. Both Mina and Lauren were likely to get hurt. Who ever
thought that it would work out having two wives?

At least at the college there were only men. He had had enough of female
problems. Some of the other departments had female students and there
were even three female teachers, but his classes were all male. At least
there was one place he could go without having to worry about women.

END

25