Reaping of the Wives

SET THE GIRL FREE

The scent of warm bread, garlic rosemary mashed potatoes, a roasted parmesan vegetable medley, and baked chicken permeated throughout the small, intimate kitchen.

Plates and silverware clattered as they were placed around the oblong table and casual conversations blended together. Individual words were unintelligible to Noah's ears, for his thoughts were elsewhere. They were racing in his mind and journeying beyond the dining area. They travelled out the back door, across the yard, and down the barely-there path that only a trained eye could distinguish from natural undergrowth.

The path that wound 300 yards through the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest, and ended at a storage container that held more than cargo. More than its three current inhabitants.

It held the bones of seven others.

None of which had ever lived to be spoken of the way Noah was about to speak of Grace.

Though she was his, he knew her conformity was something everyone would celebrate. He could feel his older brother's dark eyes bore into him as he waited impatiently for the long awaited announcement.

"Alright boys, supper's ready!"

Noah turned to his mother with a grateful smile. "Thanks for cooking my favorite, Mama."

"You're welcome, my sweet boy." Hannah reached up and patted his cheek affectionately before turning to place a basket of fresh rolls on the table. "Caleb tells us you have something you'd like to talk about?"

Noah swallowed and his nerve-ridden saliva felt more akin to razor blades sliding down his throat. The bile that kept rising and falling each time he thought about the circumstances that plagued him felt like it had made a permanent, gaping wound in his esophagus. As if it were the reason for the near constant tightness in his chest.

He forced a smile and prayed it looked genuine. "Yes, I do."

The family of five all took their seats and everyone looked expectantly at Noah.

"I.. I.." the young man swallowed again. The urge to vomit was so intense he wasn't sure if he was going to be able to eat afterwards, even if it were his favorite meal. He cleared his throat and looked to his father.

Thomas sat at the head of the table, his hands resting beside his empty plate with a look of concern on his face. He then turned his eyes to Caleb who stared back with a broad smile.

"Aww," the eldest of the brothers teased. "He's nervous! Come on, spit it out already, we're gonna starve to death at this rate."

Noah pushed a breathy laugh out and scratched at the back of his head. "Right. Well.. I just wanted to let everyone know that, um, Grace.. m-my wife.. she's.. um, she..."

"Oh, Noah!" Hannah exclaimed with a hand clutching her chest. "Please tell me you haven't ruined this." The devastation was thick in her voice and it made a similar pang of devastation reverberate throughout Noah's chest. His shortcomings were always the first thought. "She's perfect, so if she has to be given back to God it'll be your own fault. Your wrongdoings that she'd be paying for."

The pain of her disapproval was capsized by fear at the mention of Grace meeting such a fate. "N-no, Mama, she doesn't have to," he rushed out as his chest tightened and his limbs grew heavy. "She is perfect. You were right."

A smile spread across the woman's face and both her hands crept up to her plump, reddening cheeks. "My sweet boy.. has she accepted Jesus in her heart?"

Noah nodded.

"Has she accepted you in her heart?"

He nodded once more.