Chapter 6: Rules for Home

Events played out according to Lisa’s plan. At the end of that school day, Molly joined her sister and aunt for their tearful departure.

“I don’t know how long it will be before I see you again, Jordan! I miss you already.”

Bailey was with them and they all exchanged hugs. Lisa had one piece of parting advice.

“You two both have to visit when you can. Google SNA to YVR, and it’s likely you’ll see flights for under a hundred bucks.”

The next day, Jordan called her mother (on the landline).

“Mother, I hope Molly told you that I’ve moved to British Columbia to live with Aunt Lisa. I’m never going to conform to your ridiculous ‘tradwife’ rules.”

They argued pointlessly, then she hung up and cuddled with her aunt, crying.

“I will never understand how my parents suddenly lost themselves in this mindless religious extremism. It was just a few years ago they were normal, rational adults. It’s like they caught COVID in their brains.”

Meanwhile, Molly remained at home. Losing control of Jordan drove Peggy even deeper into her mania. Her entire focus was now on Molly, ensuring she remained virginal and prepared for marriage and motherhood in accordance with her rigid beliefs.

“Just a few more weeks, then I can be free!” she thought. “I just need to keep Peggy and Michael (she no longer thought of them as Mom and Dad) from making me insane. I have to graduate high school so I can go to college. But I’m not going to quit wearing pants or entertain a parade of pimple-faced boys nominated as future husbands on supervised ‘dates’ at church.”

Before Jordan’s escape, Peggy was anxiously planning to marry Molly off the minute she graduated, getting her started on homemaking and producing grand-babies. In her mind, at least, she discounted Molly’s resistance and fantasized about her getting her diploma and her marriage license at the same time for a June wedding.

Molly’s 18th birthday was in February, so she was no longer a minor. Two days after Jordan’s departure, Michael demanded a family meeting.

At the beginning, Peggy rambled at length about the pain she was enduring from her faithless child. How Jordan was damned to Hell for violating the Fifth Commandment, She whipped out her Bible and read from Exodus.

“Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land, which the Lord thy God giveth thee.”

Using every scrap of her mental power, Molly refrained from rolling her eyes or being sarcastic. At least her father touched her mother’s elbow, before she recited any more scripture.

“Mother, I know you don’t want me to follow my sister’s path. But neither will I put on those old dresses and pretend to be ready for marriage. You have to be reasonable; I cannot parade around in my high school dressed in 75-year-old clothing styles. I just have a few more weeks to go for my diploma.”