Page 84 of Malachi
“Oh, maybe that will be exciting news for her!” Adah exclaimed with a delighted clap of her hands.
“Nothing like that, I’m afraid,” Delilah quickly squashed the thought. “She’s just a little under the weather.”
“Well, no matter. I’m sure the Temple family will be exploding with new babies before you all can blink. It happens so fast, you know,” Adah explained. Ruth, standing just behind her, rolled her eyes dramatically. We all knew that Adah had had quite the time conceiving, so to hear those words was a little disingenuous.
“I’m sure it’ll happen in no time at all, Adah,” Ruth stated, joining our circle with a forced smile.
“Adah, can we help with preparations in any way?” Talia asked politely.
“Oh, no! I have everything prepared and ready to go. We will begin the meal here in about an hour. There are a few women who will arrive a little late,” she explained, waving us off with her hand. “Oh, look! Excuse me, I need to go greet my guests.” And with that, she was off to welcome more women who had just arrived.
“It’s good to see the new Temple wives in attendance this morning,” Mrs. Rivers greeted, walking up to us. “I was sad to hear that Naomi was feeling under the weather this morning, poor thing.”
“Good morning, Mrs. Rivers,” I greeted with a soft smile.
“I hear your husbands are doing well at the church. So many new Elders in such a short time,” she commented. It was a compliment, but an underhanded one. I knew that becoming an Elder was no easy feat, and it was evident in her tone that she wasn’t exactly approving of our husbands becoming Elders so quickly.
“We are quite proud of our husbands,” Delilah beamed, almost rubbing it in her face. I resisted the urge to giggle at Delilah’s antics. She was a ballsy one, that woman.
“As you should be,” Mrs. Rivers smiled in the most fake way. I was learning fast just how common the pseudo-happiness was here in Zion.
“It is exciting that the Elders have brought our husbands in on such — exciting new adventures,” Ruth said carefully. Smart words.
“Oh? I know that some of the Elders are involved in some quite—important work, furthering the success of God’s plan here in Zion. I was unaware that the Temple sons had been brought in on those endeavors,” Mrs. Rivers remarked with surprise. She lifted one eyebrow in quite a calculating look.
“Yes, it has been a recent development, but we are quite excited to see their success. All for the greater good of Zion, of course,” Talia remarked.
“What do you think of these plans for Zion?” Ruth ventured, pushing the envelope that much further. It was a bold move, but she was relentless, as we all needed to be.
“Anything to further God’s work in Zion, of course,” she answered contritely.
“It’s quite exciting, though, isn’t it? To be included on such — exciting pursuits,” Ruth pushed further.
“I was worried at first, with how serious the work is, but I’m so happy to see our men working for the greater good,” Talia added, rubbing her belly absentmindedly.
“For me, it’s the fact that we can give so many good homes to children who need them.” Delilah’s words were the boldest yet. I watched Mrs. River’s face carefully, wondering how she would take such a daring statement. She eyed each of us carefully before she spoke.
“That is one perk, yes,” she stated carefully.
“Providing good Christian homes for children in need is certainly the Lord’s work. My sister, Adah, was the recipient of one such child. Leviticus and I have discussed it at length ourselves, in fact,” Ruth added.
“That is lovely to hear, dear, though I am sure the Lord will bless you with a child of your own any day now. I see Talia and Ezekiel have already received such a blessing,” she added, eyeing Talia’s stomach.
“We all hope to be as blessed as our Talia here,” Delilah agreed, rubbing a hand over Talia’s back comfortingly.
“I hear Leviticus went on a trip with my husband recently. How did he enjoy seeing the process firsthand?” Mrs. Rivers asked. It was a good sign, showing that she was opening up to our particular line of questioning.
“He enjoyed himself. It was eye-opening, to say the least, but he was thrilled to be on the front lines of such godly work,” Ruth answered.
“Yes, it is grueling work at times, but all for the greater good,” she repeated once more with a smile. “With the new housing going up, I’m sure that our men will be able to do even more good in the sinful outside world.”
“Yes, Bartholomew mentioned something about that. When do they hope to have it finished?” Delilah pressed.
“Well, I’m not sure when they will finish it, but hopefully it won’t be very long, with the shipments coming in so soon,” she laughed.
“So soon? When are they expecting them to arrive?” Ruth questioned. To say we were all waiting with bated breath would have been an understatement.
“There is one arriving in little more than a week, but the big shipment is scheduled for only a few weeks away. Hence the rush to finish construction as soon as possible. It’s been all hands on deck from what I’ve been told,” she explained. I didn’t dare cast a glance towards Talia, but my heart ached for her. For all of us. Two shipments in less than a month, one of them large. Shipments of girls. We were literally talking about them like they were a commodity to be sold. Then again, that’s exactly what was happening. My stomach recoiled in response to the sickening truth.
