Page 6 of Leviticus
“So after the marriage ceremony, when the feast first begins, the bride and groom are taken to a special chamber here at the holy church. The elders, including myself, and your father here, gather to oversee the ceremony with God’s blessings.” Reverend Jacob’s words had bile rising in my throat.
“One of the church elders, who is certified in such things, inspects the woman for proof of her holiness and purity. When it is confirmed, the bride and groom consummate the marriage while the elders bestow God’s blessing for fertility and vitality on the newlyweds,” Reverend Jacob spoke as though this was some grand thing he was quite proud of. How could anyone be? Christ, he was a psychopath.
I nodded, unable to form words. This poor girl, who was being assigned to me like cattle, was going to be forced to endure these atrocities. It was on the tip of my tongue to call the whole damn thing off. The only thing keeping the words from spilling out was the thought of offering this poor girl a way out of this fucking hell hole.
“Well, I think that is just about everything. We are so happy for you, Leviticus. Taking a wife is a great responsibility and a gift you must treasure. The Lord has blessed you, son.” We all stood at Reverend Jacob’s words. My hand fisted at my side, wanting to punch the man rather than shake his hand in gratitude.
“Thank you, Reverend. I look forward to continuing to serve the Lord, and following the path that God has laid out for me,” I recited with what little positive emotion I could muster.
“Oh, and Titus, we are good for next Thursday’s shipment, yes?” Reverend Jacob asked. I watched as my father’s entire demeanor shifted, his body turning rigid and his words turning almost cold.
“Of course, Reverend. Come, Leviticus. Let us leave the Reverend to his business. Plus, I’m sure you will have much to do to prepare your home for your new bride,” my father almost chortled happily. The three of us, my mother, father, and myself, filed out of the room with my mother still prattling on to my father about babies and what a large family God was sure to bless us with. Over my dead body.
“Son,” my father stopped me as I was opening my car door, ready to get the hell away from this church.
“Yes, father,” I answered dutifully. Immediately, his hand was on my bicep, his fingers squeezing into my skin like a vice.
“You embarrassed me in front of the Reverend with your talk of having Malachai standing up with you. It is not befitting of the church for an unmarried man to participate in the ceremony. I will be standing beside you on your wedding day.” The words were spoke through tightly clenched teeth, his anger
“I wanted to make sure that you understand your duties as a husband. Perhaps we should find a time to sit down and discuss,” he offered kindly, but it didn’t matter how prettily you dressed up shit — it was still shit.
“I appreciate that, Father, but you have prepared us boys well,” I reassured him as best I could.
“Good. I knew I wouldn’t have to worry about you, but I wanted to be sure. The Followers of God’s True Path give newlyweds a month of secluded honeymoon for very specific purposes. You will honor your family by doing what is necessary, yes?” His eyes searched my face, looking for any trace of hesitation. He wouldn’t find any. No, I had trained for the last several years on how to be the perfect Temple child. If my parents had done anything, they had made me one hell of an actor.
“God’s Will be done,” I reassured, clapping my hand on his shoulder in camaraderie while my stomach twisted itself into knots. I needed to get the hell out of there. With a single squeeze, he released my arm and walked towards his own car, allowing me to escape. I had only made it two blocks away when I pulled my cell phone from the center console where it stayed hidden and typed out a text to my brothers.
-Meet me at my house. We need to talk - L.
I tossed my phone into the passenger seat and gripped the steering wheel tighter. Fuck!
By the time I pulled up, there were already two trucks in the driveway. I threw my car into park and stormed my way into the house. Malachi, Zeke, and Ollie were gathered at my kitchen table once more.
“Hey there, brother,” Ollie started with a wide spread smile, but I wasn’t having it. I ignored him completely, storming past him and throwing open the refrigerator in search of a beer. Before I could pop the top off of it, Malachi grabbed the bottle out of my hand.
“Something tells me that’s not strong enough for today,” he said knowingly. His hands on the back of my shoulders steered me down the main hallway of my home towards the kitchen. Towards the booze. Towards forgetting about this hell for maybe a fraction of a second. I sat my unhappy ass at my dining room table with an exasperated sigh. No one spoke as I sat there, mulling over how the meeting had gone.
Moments later, Malachi slipped an old-fashioned in front of me and I took a long, slow pull.
“It’s so much worse than I thought,” I grumbled, reveling in the beautiful burn of the aged whiskey as it slid down my throat and warmed my belly. “Between the ceremony and the feast they —” my words cut off short as I bit back the bile that was once again rising at the thought.
“They what?” Ollie urged with more seriousness than I had heard from him in a long, long while. I looked into my glass, noting the way the amber liquid rippled with every tremble of my hands. Whether they were shaking from disgust or anger, I wasn’t sure.
“They take the bride and groom to a private suite upstairs in the church. There, Jacob and other elders from the church gather with the bride and groom. At least one member, who is trained,” my voice cut off for a moment while I swallowed hard. “One member who is trained, performs an inspection on the bride. In front of everyone.”
“An inspection?” Gideon spat out with revulsion, waltzing through the door like he owned the place.
“Hello to you, Gideon, and where the hell have you been?” I grumbled. The smirk that lit his face told me everything I really did not need to know.
“Places. Oh, the places you’ll go,” he recited from the beloved children’s book.
“Don’t make kid books gross, Gideon,” I chastised, earning myself an eye roll from my youngest brother. “But to answer your question, yes, there is an inspection. To verify that she is, indeed, a virgin.” My eyes lifted as I looked at each of my brothers in turn, gauging their reactions to my next statement. “Then they bear witness to the consummation.”
Malachi stood abruptly from the table, but not before I caught the way his face scrunched in a grimace. He stood at the bay window, his favorite place in my house as it looked out into the heavily wooded wilderness beyond the borders of my property.
Gideon looked down at his clenched fists, his jaw locked in place as he kept his emotions in check.
Ollie, the goofball of the family and the middle child of us five, had the decency to look disgusted and ashamed. I felt that same self-loathing in the pit of my stomach. Self-loathing that we had ever been a part of such a vile society. Ashamed that in order to try to offer these women a way out, we first had to subject them to such atrocities.
