Free Sister Wife by Shelley Hrdlitschka Page A

my own husband.”
    I’m expecting an angry outburst, but Father simply leans back in his chair and folds his arms across his chest. “Your sister suggested Taviana might have been a bad influence on you. I didn’t want to believe it, but I guess she was right. The sooner she leaves Unity, the better. It’s a shame. She’s been very helpful to your mother.”
    â€œDon’t blame Taviana, Father.” I can feel myself getting worked up. “You always said I asked too many questions. Now I’m asking myself whether I’m ready to be a goodwife and mother, and the answer is no. Nanette is. Assign her to someone.”
    â€œYou know it doesn’t work that way,” he says.
    â€œWhy can’t I be the exception?”
    â€œThere are no exceptions, Celeste. You know that. We are all here for one reason, and that reason is to enter the Kingdom of Heaven together. If we make one exception, then we will have to make two, and so on. Taviana was an exception, and look how that turned out.”
    â€œIt actually turned out fine. She’s a good person.”
    â€œThat may be so, but if she attracts attention to our little community, that is not a good thing.”
    â€œWhat will happen to her?”
    â€œThat’s not for you to worry about.”
    â€œHow can I not worry about her? I love her like a sister.”
    Father just shakes his head. “Why don’t you concentrate on practicing purity? The greatest freedom we have is obedience. You’re a good girl. You’ve been a fine daughter and a loving sister. I know you will also make a fine wife.”
    There’s nothing for me to say. I concentrate on the stone again.
    â€œI believe the Prophet will have a name for us within the next few weeks, Celeste, God willing. And then it will only be a few more weeks until the marriage will take place. I suggest you spend as much time as possible reading the scriptures. You will find the answers you seek there.”
    I get up to leave. “Good night, Celeste,” he says.
    â€œGood night.”
    I hear his chair squeak across the floor and then he mutters, “A veterinarian.”
    I glance back and see him shaking his head, a funny little smile on his face.

Chapter Eight
Nanette
    I feel Celeste slide into bed, keeping to the far edge of the mattress. She turns her back to me. “I was worried about you,” I whisper to her stiff back. “What if something had happened?”
    â€œYou weren’t worried,” she whispers into the dark room. “You were tattling. You want to get me into trouble.”
    I don’t want to get her into trouble. I want to keep her
out
of trouble, but she won’t believe that. “What did Father say?”
    â€œHe said that the Prophet’s going to find me a husband as soon as possible because some little tattletale suggested I might be showing too much interest in boys my own age.”
    There’s not much I can say to that, but I find myself smiling in the dark. Father listened to me. I wonder if he also asked the Prophet to assign me to a husband like I asked. Rolling onto my side, I snuggle under the blankets and sink back into the dream Celeste interrupted—theone where Martin Nielsson and I are standing facing each other, holding hands. “I’ve been waiting for this day for so long,” he whispers, “and now here you are, finally, my wife.” He leans forward, so close I can feel the heat radiating off his body. The next thing I know, his lips are on mine and our arms wrap around each other...
    I WATCH AS Taviana pulls her suitcase out from under her cot and flips the lid open. The morning sun slants in through the window. Everyone but Taviana, Celeste and I has gone downstairs. Inside the suitcase are the clothes she arrived with. She pulls out a pair of blue jeans and a T-shirt. Celeste and I busy ourselves making beds while she gets dressed. When I hear the