Favorite Wife (16 page)

He walked into the bedroom and helped me from the bed. “Said they couldn't get out of their meeting any sooner.” He continued, disgusted, “If they'd all stop their arguing and get to the point, it'd help. Well, it don't make any difference, I guess. They're here now, and mighty anxious to get the show on the road.”

Dad fussed with my train, and then took my arm. “You ready? Then, give your daddy a kiss.”

He marched me out of the bedroom and down the long aisle formed by people standing on either side of the room. I tried to make him walk slowly like I had seen in movies, but he was in a hurry to have it over with. We fairly flew past the admiring crowd, Franny's shoes slipping up and down on my ankles with each step.

Certain faces stood out in the crowd of people. I could see Grandma Le­Baron, a pleased smile on her face as she looked at me. Then Debbie's solemn features caught my attention. She darted a glance at Ervil, who was staring at me over the top of Anna Mae's head. I lifted my chin and looked straight ahead as we swept past.

Irene, appearing calm and serene, stood next to Verlan in front of the fireplace. She took my hand from Dad's arm, squeezed it, and placed it in Verlan's. He grinned at me as together we turned to face the Prophet Joel.

Without further ado, Joel opened his manual and the ceremony commenced. As he read the words of the sealing ceremony, his voice rose and fell with emotion. When he paused to wait for Verlan and me to recite our vows, his eyes glistened with pride. The words of the sealing escaped me, but a feeling of reverence, a bounding holiness, enveloped me. I spoke the words with firm resolve as Verlan looked down into my face, and I shivered with the magnitude of the vow I was speaking. Joel was sealing us to one another in marriage for eternity. Forever and ever, throughout the worlds to come, I would be Verlan's wife.

The crowd pressed around us. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Aunt Thelma's face, a contented smile on her lips. Mom stood next to her, somber and pale, and a sudden flash of remorse clouded my happiness. How would she ever manage with both Jay and me gone? I hadn't thought of that until this very moment.

After the ceremony, Verlan kissed me, and the guests hugged me. I was passed around the room, while everyone talked, and wished me happiness. Suddenly I was face to face with Ervil.

I steeled as he bent over and kissed me on the cheek. “Susan Ray,” his voice was a husky whisper against my ear, “a man in my position doesn't receive false revelations.” Straightening up, he smiled good-naturedly and said out loud, “Best wishes. Verlan is a good man.”

I stared, electrified by his whispered words and sickened by his duplicity. The threat pounded in my brain. What was he trying to say to me?

Instantly, Grandma was at my side, her thin arm protective around me. “Susan, honey, Verlan's going to take good care of you.” Her voice was reassuring as she maneuvered me toward the kitchen. “I'm glad you're feeling better, Ervil dear,” she said over her shoulder, not even glancing at him as we left him staring after us.

“You are the most beautiful bride!” Grandma continued softly to me.

“Thank you, Grandma.”

“Now, now,” she squeezed my hand. “You should call me Mother, like the other girls do. I'm so pleased to have you married to my Verlan.”

“Can I get in on this party?” Irene interrupted. “Oh, Susan, what a lovely bride you are,” she kissed me on the cheek.

“Thank you,” I murmured, wondering how she truly felt. Was she honestly as glad about me as she appeared?

As Irene rattled on, I sent a swift glance in Ervil's direction. Aunt Thelma and Uncle Bud were huddled near him. Ervil had his arm slung loosely around Bud's shoulder, and they all burst into laughter at something Ervil said. It suddenly concerned me to see Ervil patronizing my relatives.

I searched for Verlan. Men surrounded him in a corner of the dining room, and they were slapping him on the back and talking all at once. He noticed me and threw his hand in the air in an exaggerated wave. I smiled and moved in his direction.

Kristina and Anna Mae approached me. Flinging her arms about my neck, Kris wailed, “Oh, I can't tell you how disappointed we are that you married Verlan instead of Ervil, Sue! I'm sick about it! I could hardly come to your wedding.”

Anna Mae yanked Kris away from me. “Now, don't you mind her, Susan, she doesn't mean it. You just be happy!” She smiled brightly, the gold flecks in her eyes sparkling. I squeezed her hand. Ervil had some wonderful wives. I quickly moved away from them. When I looked for Verlan again, he'd disappeared.

On the dining room table was a huge sheet cake with pastel green frosting, and a crystal bowl of strawberry punch. I guessed this to be Verlan's idea of a wedding reception. I took a slice of cake and looked around the room, wanting us to feed each other, as I had seen at other weddings. I moved among the guests out in the lantern-lit yard, looking for a tall man in a dark suit. There was not a tall man among them.

Wait a minute, I thought slowly. Where's Joel? And the other men? None of them were in sight.

“Mark,” I called as he walked outside, “Have you seen Verlan and Joel?”

He slung his arm around my shoulders. “Sweet little Cuz, they all just left. I think they went back to finish their meeting.”

“No!” I whispered, aghast. “Oh, Mark, you're teasing me!”

Brother Jensen's third wife, Lawreve, hurried across the yard toward me. “Susan,” she avoided my eyes, “Verlan asked me to tell you that he's sorry, but he had to go back to a meeting. He wants me to help you get your things, and take you to my house to wait for him. That's where the meeting's being held. You can rest there until it's over. I'll be just a few minutes.”

I nodded, thanked her, and moved away. Lawreve was feeling sorry for me, I could tell. Instant anger flared inside me. Why couldn't Verlan have told me himself! Well, Suze, I thought grimly, this is just an example of what's to come, being married to an important man.

I wandered around for a while among the guests and thanked them for coming to my wedding. No one seemed shocked by the disappearance of the groom. Mom and Dad soon left, taking Fara and Ramona home to bed. “I'll be there in a while to get my things,” I called after them.

Soon the last of the guests left. I put an apron over my wedding dress and helped wash saucers and glasses. “You don't have to do that!” Sister Wakeham protested.

“No, I want to, really,” I assured her. I needed something to keep my hands busy, to fill the time so I wouldn't feel so much like I'd been abandoned.

“Ready to go?” Lawreve was finally at my side. She drove me to my parents' house for my bags, and so that I could tell my family goodbye. I ran into my bedroom and changed out of the borrowed wedding dress, putting on a pair of jeans and my old shoes. I kissed Ramona's soft cheek, and she wrapped her sleepy arms around my neck. “I love you, little sister.” Homesickness rushed over me, and I wept.

Fara's gray eyes were full of assurance. “You are going to be fine, Sue. Stop your crying. You are going to have a blast!” She hugged me and kissed my cheek.

I set my suitcase down on the front porch and tapped on my parents' bedroom door. “Come in, honey,” Mom called.

“Oh, Mama,” I sobbed, burying my face against her neck.

“There, there, you are going to be fine,” she echoed Fara's words as she patted my back.

“Here, little girl,” Dad said, handing me my wedding present. It was a ten- dollar bill, American, crisp and green. “This is to buy you a new pair of shoes. We can't have our girl going off on her honeymoon without decent shoes.” I hugged him goodbye and tucked the money into my suitcase. It was more money than I had ever had before.

The Jensens' home was a mansion compared to most of the homes in the colony. Lawreve and I tiptoed across the tiled floors, past the sunken living room with its closed doors. Behind the doors I could hear the murmur of men's voices. I paused, hoping to hear Verlan, but Lawreve turned and motioned me to follow her. We walked downstairs, and she set my suitcase down in a cool, basement bedroom.

“You might as well get comfortable,” she advised. “Put your pajamas on, and go to bed. I know those men. That meeting won't be over until the wee hours. Get some rest. It's been a big day for you, and tomorrow will be another one.”

Turning the lamp down low, she gave me a quick hug, and left.

Wide awake, I wandered around the bedroom. My wedding night was certainly turning out differently than I had thought it would. But I had expected to spend it with my husband.

After an hour, I tiptoed up the stairs and stood in the wide hallway outside the heavy living room doors. I could hear angry voices, but they were too muffled to comprehend. As I strained to catch the words, I heard Ervil's raise above the others. Were the men taking Ervil to task about Debbie? Unable to identify their words, I crept back to the bedroom and lay down on the bed still clothed. I pulled a blanket over me and snuggled under it to wait for Verlan.

I wondered what the men would do about Ervil. The memory of his whisper rang in my ears. “A man in my position doesn't have false revelations.” Well, Verlan and I were married now, and Ervil's so-called revelation was indeed false. Yet his taunting words haunted my thoughts. What was he trying to say?

C
HAPTER
T
HIRTEEN

"S
usan, it's time to go,” Verlan shook me. “Put on your shoes, honey. I'll get your bags.”

I struggled to awaken, trying to place where I was. Verlan was hurrying out the door, his arms full. Suddenly I remembered. I was married! Verlan and I were married, and we were going on our honeymoon.

As I sat up and reached for my shoes, I looked around me. The window above my head revealed a piece of black sky through the edge of the curtain. The lamp on the dresser still burned low, the chimney smudged with soot, which told me that several hours had passed since Lawreve had left me here. Just as she'd warned, the men's meeting had lasted until almost morning. I picked up my jacket, blew out the lamp, and followed Verlan through the quiet Jensen home.

Parked in the driveway with its lights on and its engine running sat Dan Jordan's green Volkswagen bug. Verlan moved to the front of the car and handed him my suitcase. My heart sank. Verlan had mentioned we would be traveling to Chihuahua City with someone, but I'd had no idea that it would be Dan Jordan. What a lousy way to start a honeymoon!

Now Susan, be nice, I thought. He's probably a fine enough guy in spite of those shifty black eyes. Just because he hangs around with Ervil is no reason for you to dislike him. He's an apostle of the church, just like Verlan. Don't be so quick to judge people.

Dan's wife, Sharon, scooted up to let me into the backseat. Sharon was Esther and Floyd Spencer's daughter, and she had her father's thin birdlike features. She was heavy with pregnancy and looked miserable as she turned to greet me.

“It's a terrible time of the morning to start a long trip, isn't it? You look worn out.” She clucked her tongue as she peered at me in the dim light. “Didn't you sleep while the men were in their meeting?”

“Yes, some. But I was too excited to rest really well.” I wiggled on the hard seat. “I hope we won't be crowding you too much.”

“Now, don't you worry about me!” She moved up again to let Verlan in next to me. “I'm just glad to have a chance to spend some time with Uncle Verlan. It's been ages since we've had a chance to visit, hasn't it, Uncle?”

“It certainly has!” Verlan's voice sounded hearty, and not a bit tired. “Since you were just a little thing. And now Dan's got you all saddled down. Four kids, right?”

“And one on the way.” Sharon said brightly. “Mother's keeping the kids for me until the baby is born.”

As Dan backed the car out of the driveway, Verlan wrapped his arms around me. “Susan, honey, I'm so sorry about tonight.” he whispered, his lips against my cheek. “That meeting was important, or I would never have left you. Forgive me?”

“Of course,” I murmured, anticipating the rest of our honeymoon. The stars twinkled above our heads as we bumped over the cattle guard at the front entrance to the colony. As we climbed onto the highway, I looked back, through the Volkswagen window at the town of my childhood. All I could see of Colonia LeBaron was a dark group of trees and a thin, gray ribbon, which was the main road that ran past the church house. I followed the ribbon with my eyes, to the end of the colony and back again, but the darkness hid my family's place from my view. I stared for a minute, imagining the ramshackle adobe where my mom and dad, Fara and Ramona slept. I hadn't even told my cows goodbye. I swallowed the lump in my throat and turned back around, settling into the seat. Verlan's hand held tightly onto mine.

The little car quickly gained momentum, and soon we were flying down the highway and passing every vehicle on the road. I could tell the reckless speed made Verlan nervous. He peered over Sharon's head as he watched every move Dan made. His tense fingers gripped mine. After a while he began to relax.

Once the winking lights of Buenaventura were far behind us, Dan turned slightly in the seat and drawled, “Well, Verlan, I don't know about you, but I'm not too thrilled about the decisions that were made tonight. You didn't say much. How do you feel about the stand Joel has taken against Ervil?”

I pricked my ears and watched Verlan. “You know very well how I feel,” he replied promptly. “As a church, we have no right whatever to try to force people into anything. Ervil's way off base. Joel was right to put his foot down with him. He should have done so long ago, in my opinion, but he was hoping Ervil would come to his senses on his own. He's way too pushy, and people won't stand for it. If he keeps it up, he'll run off our members! There is a civil government to handle criminals; we don't have to worry about it. We should be concerning ourselves with men's souls, with teaching them the law of love—not with trying to push our weight around on a civil level.”

So, Ervil had lied when he told me that he wasn't planning to start an immediate enforcement of the Civil Law! I knew why now. He had been afraid it would scare me away.

“You're saying that we should continue to let the law of the land handle our people?” Dan's nasal voice interrupted my thoughts. “Come on, Verlan! God's people who break His Law should be tried and punished by the leaders of His Church. That's the way it was back in the days of Moses and all through the Old Testament, and that's the way it should be now. Why can't you and Joel and the others see that?”

Verlan's tone turned abrupt. “Let's not discuss this. We're not going to agree; besides, it isn't a subject to talk about in front of women. I'm on my honeymoon, remember? All I want to think about is this sweet girl in my arms.”

Verlan nestled his head in my neck. His whiskers had grown during the night, and they burned. I settled back again and tried to ignore the tension in the car. As Sharon picked up the conversation, talking about family news and other small matters, I hugged my new husband, stroked his hair, and tried to get used to the thought that I was married. Soon he dropped his head onto my shoulder and began to snore. I lay my head back and drifted into a sound sleep.

The sun was coming up when I awoke. I could see the outskirts of Chihuahua City. Tingling with excitement, I looked around. The city appeared dingy and forlorn in the predawn light, with garbage and old rusty cars lining the highway. A plastered adobe wall ran for miles along the road, the name of the president of Mexico painted on in bright red and green. A group of people walked along the highway, making their way into the city for the day's trading. The man in the group led a burro with its pack stacked high and held the hand of a barefoot boy. The two women were wrapped in shawls, the younger one holding a baby. The other woman carried a huge, earthen jug on her head. She wasn't holding on to it, and I turned in the seat as we passed, marveling at her perfect sense of balance.

We drove on through the streets of Chihuahua, leaving the poverty stricken section with its adobe shacks and lean-tos, behind. Dan maneuvered the car into a nice residential area and pulled into the driveway of a cream-colored, brick home. Wearily, we piled out of the cramped car.

Verlan's long legs had been scrunched the entire, three-hour trip, and he stretched and groaned, “I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm ready for a nice, soft bed.”

Dan had to eat and run to work, so Sharon bustled around the homey kitchen, cooking potatoes and eggs. In spite of my growing dislike of Dan, I felt sorry for him. He had been up all night, for the meeting and then the long drive. I was so tired I could barely keep my eyes open, and I wondered how he could go to work.

After breakfast, Verlan pushed back his chair. “Sharon, where do you want Susan and me to rest?” he questioned. His eyes looked strained and bloodshot, his face pale with weariness.

My heart pounded at his question, the blood rushing to my cheeks. “Oh,” I said quickly, “I'm not ready to go to sleep yet. I'm going to help Sharon clean up the kitchen. You go ahead. I'll take a nap later.” He didn't argue. He followed Sharon to a bedroom down the hall, and in a matter of minutes I could hear him snoring.

“What are the plans for your honeymoon?” Sharon asked as she pushed a broom across the floor. She looked exhausted, and I decided that when the dishes were done, I would nap, so she would feel free to rest.

“I haven't had a chance to ask Verlan yet. We got married so quickly, and we've hardly seen each other in the last two days. I'll just have to wait and see what he has in mind.” I dried the last pan, then turned to her. “Would it be all right if we go downtown later on? I need to buy some shoes.” I lifted my foot so she could see the holes in the toes of my sneakers.

She grinned. “Looks like you could use a new pair. Sure we can. Now, I'm going to bed! Are you ready to relax for a while?”

She waddled off to her room, and I lay on the couch. I couldn't bring myself to enter the bedroom and lie with Verlan. The thought was all too new and scary. I tried to imagine lying next to him—what it would be like, and I shivered with nervousness. For him, it would be no big deal. He had slept with a variety of women for years, with five wives before me. I remembered Irene's joking words a few nights ago at Grandma's, when she told me that Verlan would get a “hot surprise” when he got into bed that night. A hot surprise! She'd sounded as if she enjoyed the thought. It worried me a lot. Verlan was used to hot surprises, and I knew almost nothing about sex. It had all been shielded from me at home. Mom was very prim and old fashioned and the subject had never been discussed.

I remembered one time when my curiosity about the male anatomy had gotten the best of me. Shaking with shame, I'd peeked through the curtain that hung in front of Jay's bedroom door, knowing he was taking a bath, and dying to get just a glimpse of what a naked man looked like. I had to know, I told myself, so I could put my curiosity to rest. What I saw on the other side of the curtain was my dear, innocent brother, kneeling at his bedside in prayer. I could have cried, I felt so evil, and I thought the Lord had planned it that way to teach me a lesson. I shifted uncomfortably on Sharon's couch. Soon I would have my answer.

It was three in the afternoon when I awoke. Bright afternoon sunlight streamed through Sharon's living room window, and Verlan was leaning over me. “Why are you sleeping out here?” he demanded. “You should have come into the bedroom. I don't bite.”

Maybe not, I thought as he hugged me, but you snore. And heaven only knows what else you do. I smiled into his eyes.

Sharon came out of the bathroom, braiding her long hair. She looked rested, her dark blue eyes sparkling in her thin face. “Do you want to go get your shoes now, Susan?” she asked.

I shyly looked at Verlan. “Do you mind? Dad gave me the money.”

“Let's go,” he said promptly.

We drove to downtown Chihuahua and wandered down the crowded street until we came to a shoe store. I tried to appear calm and indifferent, but I was quivering with excitement. In the fifteen years of my life, this would be the second pair of brand-new shoes I ever had. I remembered the first pair. It was right before we moved to Mexico, when I was six and just starting first grade in Arizona. My father had taken me, bouncing with excitement, to buy me my first pair of new shoes. “We can't have our girl starting school without new shoes,” he had said.

I'd stared in awe at all the beautiful shoes, my attention focusing on a pair of black patent leather ones with bows on the toes. Gleefully I had pointed them out to Dad. “Those are the ones I want,” I had shrieked. Dad paid no attention to me. After careful deliberation, he picked up a pair of boy's two-tone oxfords, bent them at the toe, examined the stitching, and then motioned for me to sit down. Horrified, I had watched as he tried them on me. “There,” he'd smugly said as he waved my protests away, “Those ought to last you for a while.” I wore those shoes to school in shame. They were ugly, boys' shoes, and all the prissy girls at school had teased me. This time, I promised myself, I was having a pair of pretty shoes. I was a married woman with my own money, and I deserved to have something nice.

We walked into the store, its huge windows displaying the latest shoe fashions for the entire family. A gentleman in a suit and tie hastened to be of assistance. “Sí, Señores, what can I help you with?” He respectfully bobbed his head.

I hesitated momentarily. Buying shoes was new to me, and I wasn't sure how to proceed. I opened my mouth to tell the man that I wanted a pair of black, patent leather shoes, with bows on the toes, shoes that shined like his hair.

“Here, Señor, the young lady would like to try these on,” Verlan commanded. In his hands he held a pair of shoes, and he gave them to the man. With a quick jerk of his head, Verlan motioned for me to sit down.

Openmouthed, I stared at him, the blood pounding in my ears. Surely he wasn't planning to choose my shoes! Verlan's blue-green eyes never wavered as he stared back at me.

“Sit down, darling,” he said gently, “let the man try them on you.”

I stood frozen and humiliated, with three pair of eyes watching as they waited for me to obey. I wanted to scream in protest, inform Verlan that I was a grown woman, and that I would choose my own shoes. But the words wouldn't come. They choked in my throat as I stared at my new husband, the man who only hours before, in a long and solemn ceremony, I had sworn before God to obey.

Shuddering with the effort, I forced my muscles into action. I sank into the leather seat. Oh, Lord, I silently, desperately prayed as the little man knelt in front of me. Don't let them fit.

He gingerly removed my tattered tennis shoes, holding them carefully away from his body with the tips of his fingers. He replaced my old shoes with Verlan's selection—a pair made of brown leather, with square toes and sturdy heels, ideal for mountain climbing. The shoes slipped perfectly onto my feet and the salesman laced them up tight. He pinched the toe to check for fit, then triumphantly nodded as he stood up and grinned at Verlan. “Sí, sí! Son perfectos. Son perfectos!”