Chapter 117: Parallel Roads, Part 1

Meskwaki (Fox) River 62 B.C.

Speaking in the broken language of the tribe, Louie addressed Nova. "How do the people show affection?"

Nova looked up at the bright moon as if in deep thought. "In different ways. If a brave has affection for a maiden, he can play a song on his flute for her, or he can give a gift. The maiden can also give a gift or make food to give to him. Do you notice that I only weakly look into your eyes? It is the same with all the maidens in the village. We will not hold strongly into a man's eyes until we want to let him know that we have abundant affection for him."

With Louie's limited use of the native language, he wasn't sure what she meant by "hold strongly" when describing looking into a man's eyes. Did the words she used mean gaze intensely, or did she mean they physically hold the men while looking into their eyes? He did notice that she never held her gaze with him, but only gave brief glances which he took for coyness and found rather cute.