Page 109 of Ezekiel
“Colorful,” I offered.
“Exactly,” Ruth agreed.
“Zeke said that if we rush into action based on the emotions we are feeling, we risk causing more damage. Damage we may not be able to fix, in the end. And I think he’s right. Especially now. If I tell him that his father is one of the men who kidnapped me, I think he will go blind with rage and do something stupid. And we just don’t know enough,” I reasoned.
“You’re right, Talia, but all the same, I think we should let the brothers know,” Ruth urged.
“I know, but how? How do I tell them such a huge thing and not make things worse?” I cried out in frustration at the situation.
“What’s the worst that could happen? Old Titus gets beat up?” Delilah scoffed derisively.
“No, the worst thing is that everything comes to light and we can’t help. I even suggested we just leave, but even that was wrong. What if I wasn’t the only one? What if they kidnapped some other kid and brought them here? I couldn’t live with myself if I fled, saving myself, and left some other child to suffer at the hands of the men of Zion. Plus, if it is at all possible, I really would like to find my birth parents. Find out what happened,” I explained.
“That’s all truly valid, Talia. But I still think we should tell the brothers. We just need to be sure to do it carefully. I’m not quite sure what the answer to that puzzle is, but I think we should think about it for a few days, then reconvene and discuss options. What do you think?” Ruth offered her suggestion.
“You’re kind of like a mini Levi when you want to be, you know that?” Delilah said, no sarcasm in her voice. “You are really good at coming up with a plan, Ruth.”
“Eh, he’s rubbed off on me,” Ruth brushed the compliment off.
“I think you’re right, Ruth. To be honest, I just dread telling them. I have a feeling one of them will go off and do something stupid,” I admitted with a sigh.
“One of them? Try all of them, if we aren’t careful with this information. If there is one thing true about the Temple brothers, it’s that when it comes to their women, they protect them. As a group. They take family very seriously and we are family to them,” Delilah said. It was true. Zeke and his brothers had accepted me so fully, right from the beginning. Even Gideon and Malachi, who were quiet and more reserved, had not paused for even a moment before wanting to help me.
“Let’s talk again in a few days, then,” I reiterated. I ended the call and decided to go take a bath. I needed something to calm me down and help me keep my head on straight before Zeke came home.
Ezekiel
The meeting was for the Elders of the church, all of us gathered in one room upstairs in the church to discuss a project they wanted to begin. Apparently, they wanted to renovate part of the church. It was boring and pedantic, but at least I could only half listen through the majority of it. I kept my ears alert for any talk of interest, anything noteworthy that the older men might mention, but I heard nothing of value.
That was until they brought up Gideon.
“Looks like you’ve got yet another wedding on your hands, Titus!” Elder Shepherd congratulated Father once they finished talking about the renovations. “I heard the good news just this morning.”
“Congratulations are in order, friend,” Elder Rivers chimed in, clapping Father on the back from his seat beside Father at the large conference table.
I looked at Levi and Ollie in confusion. This was news to me, and to them as well. They both met my gaze with equally confused expressions etched on their faces.
“What’s this, Elder Titus?” Reverend Jacob questioned, a smile already lifting the corners of his mouth.
“Yes, I have been able to arrange a marriage for my son, Gideon, just this past evening. We are quite pleased with the match,” Father answered, beaming with pride.
“Not Malachi, then?” Reverend Jacob’s utter judgment of the situation was very clear in his tone.
“No, not Malachi, I’m afraid,” Father admitted with a heavy sigh. “I pray for him every morning and night, that he will accept God’s plan for him and join our ranks as married men of God. It is God’s will, but Malachi is struggling to accept that will.”
“I’m sure we will help him see the light soon.” Something in Reverend Jacob’s tone was sinister and dark. It set me on edge and bubbled in my stomach.
“So who is young Gideon betrothed to, then?” Elder Christian asked.
“The eldest of the Cantor daughters. Naomi. The wedding will take place a month from now, in late April,” Father explained, beaming with pride at marrying off another of his children like chattel.
Naomi’s father, Elder Cantor, beamed across the table, just as eager to be a part of the Temple family by proxy as every other of my brothers’ father-in-laws.
“We are quite pleased with the arrangement, as well. Naomi will make a good wife for the young Temple son,” Elder Cantor boasted of his daughter. “She is a beautiful girl, and the timing is perfect. At twenty-two years old, she is ripe for breeding.”
There was no way he just said that. I schooled my features, knowing that in Zion, and especially in this room surrounded by the Elders of the church, any look could be judged and read into.
But it wasn’t easy.
