Free Sister Wife by Shelley Hrdlitschka

says.
    â€œReally?”
    â€œYeah. It was so sweet. But the Prophet said no, and I wouldn’t have consented to it anyway.”
    â€œHmm.” Consented. Have any of the girls from Unity ever consented to marriage? I decide to put that thought aside for later.
    We sit in silence for a few minutes, leaning against each other. Her arm is warm on mine.
    â€œMaybe you could ask Jon where the boys from Unity go when they leave,” I suggest.
    She doesn’t say anything for a moment. Then she sits up. “Good call, Celeste. If I could get the name of someone, anyone, who’d take me in just long enough for me to... to get a job and save enough money to pay rent...then maybe...”
    â€œMaybe what?”
    Before she can respond, I’m startled by a voice calling my name. It’s Daddy! We both jump to our feet.
    â€œLet me do the talking,” Taviana whispers.
    I can only nod, too terrified to think of anything else. We step out the open door.
    â€œOver here, Daddy.”
    He’s standing by the back door, peering toward us. There’s a smaller figure in a nightdress standing slightly behind him. Nanette. I should have known.
    Taviana takes my hand and we approach.
    â€œWhere have you been?” he asks sharply.
    â€œIt’s my fault,” Taviana stammers. “I just wanted to tell Celeste what happened this evening.”
    â€œWeren’t you here earlier?” he asks me.
    I shake my head.
    â€œWhere were you?” he asks.
    â€œI went for a walk,” I say, but I can’t look directly at him.
    â€œA walk?” he asks. “Where to?”
    â€œJust down to the river and back. It was such a nice evening, and all my chores were done.”
    â€œWere you alone?”
    â€œYes.” Another lie. Something shrivels inside.
    There’s a long pause. I can feel him staring down at me. The agonizing guilt is reaching a breaking point.
    â€œCould you not have waited until tomorrow to talk to Celeste, Taviana?” he asks. “Was this so urgent?”
    â€œYes, sir, it was urgent,” Taviana tells him. “I’m leaving tomorrow, as you know. I wanted to spend some more time with her, to say good-bye. I may never see her again.”
    I feel my eyes well up again at the thought of that.
    Father sighs and clears his throat. “Taviana, Nanette, get to bed. Celeste, you can come with me, into my office.”
    Taviana looks at me, alarmed. I can only shrug. Then I notice the smug look on Nanette’s face, my little sister who I was so close to only a few short weeks ago. What has happened to us?
    Taviana and Nanette go into the house, and I follow Daddy back into the barn. He flicks on the lights in his office and motions for me to take a chair.
    â€œI was speaking with the Prophet this afternoon, Celeste,” he says. “Before the...the unpleasant events of this evening.”
    My hand slides into the pocket of my apron and squeezes the arrowhead that Jon gave me. As I stroke itsrough surface, I concentrate on seeing his face in my mind, his soft brown eyes. I will myself not to hear what my father is about to say.
    â€œI urged him to hasten the announcement of your assignment,” he continues, “as I understand you are being distracted by the boys in our community.”
    I clutch the pointed stone even tighter.
    There’s a long pause, and I can feel him studying me. “Is this true, Celeste?”
    I swallow hard. I now know for sure that He is punishing me. First the news about Taviana, and now this. Do I dare tell another lie? “I just don’t feel ready for marriage, Father. I would like to be something. Like a nurse, or a mechanic, like you.”
    His eyebrows arch.
    â€œOr even a veterinarian,” I continue. “I like being around farm animals.”
    He’s staring at me like he’s never seen me before.
    â€œAnd,” I add, almost under my breath, “I would like to choose