Chapter 189
by 
K5Rakitan
What does Joan tell her?
Marc's age
Joan had to speak loudly over the clamor of the other volunteers, all caught up in their own conversations. "The oldest one is forty-four."
The woman looked back up at Joan and gaped. "What!? You can't be older than thirty."
Joan chuckled. "They're my lovers, not my children."
The woman's mouth tightened in shock. "Oh. Is that the new trend in California?"
"Not really. It's been around for ages in many parts of the world, though Western anthropologists have a nasty habit of downplaying it."
They sat in uncomfortable silence for a moment before the woman's curiosity got the better of her. "Where?"
"The first culture I learned of was the Aché of Paraguay. They believe that a child can be fathered by multiple men. Their marriages aren't really formal, so anthropologists like to call it partible paternity rather than polyandry. Cicisbeism is another word anthropologists use to make polyandry seem less common than it is."
"Polyandry?"
"Marriage to multiple men."
"I see. Are there any cultures with more formal arrangements of this type?"
"Indeed. My personal favorite is the fraternal polyandry in Tibet. I have a thing for brothers."
"Oh, I have a hard time imagining that. My brothers fought constantly when they were growing up. They couldn't even share a room. Sharing a wife would be out of the question."
Joan shrugged. "A lot of it depends on their expectations while growing up. Western cultures place more emphasis on individualism, and Eastern cultures focus on collectivism, or cooperation is another way of putting it."
"Oh, I remember hearing about this somewhere. Isn't that why they have more inter-generational households, whereas here we kick the kids out at eighteen?"
"Pretty much."
From there, Joan and the elderly lady resumed small talk until Tamara nudged Joan and told her they needed to get going. Joan kissed Michael as they parted ways and headed off to their respective destinations.
How does Joan's day of volunteering go?
When CEO Seto Kaiba propositions Joan, she expects a one-night stand, but he and his brother keep coming back for more. Now the Kaiba brothers want an heir from her and will pay any price to get it. How do Joan’s husband and boyfriend feel about her new profession? More importantly, how do they handle public scrutiny? Cover credit: AliceKuroCross on DeviantArt
Updated on Jan 26, 2021
by K5Rakitan
Created on Sep 29, 2019
by K5Rakitan
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