Chapter 3

The new husband and wife stood before their father and gazed into each other’s eyes.

“I love you, my husband,” whispered Constance.

“And I love you, my sweet wife,” replied Ezekiel.

They embraced and kissed again, this time with more passion.

While they kissed, Samuel said, “May God bless this union. Walk with God in your hearts.”

Prudence and Charity said, “Amen.”

“There is more,” said Ezekiel.

He stepped over to his mother and carefully took the sleeping Hope from her arms. He strode to the middle of the room, his skirts swishing as he moved.

“Father, before God and these witnesses, I, Ezekiel, son of Samuel, take this child, Hope, who is the orphaned and rejected daughter of Symeon, as mine own. I gladly take on all the duties, as given to me by God, of a father towards his child.”

“Amen,” called out the others.

Ezekiel bent and gently kissed his new daughter on her head.

“Father, I present to you Hope, daughter of Ezekiel. She is now, in truth, your granddaughter.”

Samuel smiled then carefully took Hope from his son’s arms. He kissed his new granddaughter, now of the house of Ezekiel and smiled with pride.

“And what of your other child?” asked Constance as she moved to join Ezekiel.

She laid her hand gently on her abdomen. “I was yet to speak of this, but I am with child again. It was Symeon’s but now he is dead and now I am your wife. Perhaps here is a grandson for your father. Will you also claim this one as your own?”

There was a moment of confusion as everyone in the room cried and clapped with joy. Ezekiel did not need to say the words for all knew that any child born after the wedding would be his by law, but Constance cried with tears of joy when Ezekiel knelt before her and kissed her abdomen through the thick material of her dress.

He said the words anyway, so that God would hear his words and know that the child was claimed.

“Before God and these witnesses, I, Ezekiel, son of Samuel, take this unborn child as mine own. I gladly take on all the duties, as given to me by God, of a father towards his child.”

More tears were shed and many hugs were given. This continued until Ezekiel was embracing Charity.

“And what of me, dearest brother? Constance is not the only sister in need of protection this night. Will you take me as a second wife?”

The others fell silent so they could watch.

“I am promised to Noah and I thought him fair,” said Charity. “But he has joined the mob down at the village in clamoring for my sister’s life. Unless we can prevent it, tonight he will become a murderer. I could never marry such a man. But if we do nothing, he could claim me this night, or tomorrow, and prevent me from leaving this cursed place. I would rather die than stay with him. Will you claim me also and save me from such a fate? I say again, will you take me as a second wife?”

Ezekiel opened his mouth to speak and then closed it again. He looked towards his mother for guidance.

Prudence shrugged. “Charity has always been strong-willed,” she said. “She speaks rightly about Noah. If this is what she truly seeks, I will not stand in her way.”

Ezekiel’s eyes flicked then to his father, but Samuel merely grunted and shrugged. He thought that so much had changed this night, what was one more thing? Besides, he could see no flaw in Charity’s argument. Samuel had no desire to wed his daughter to a man who involved himself in a mob and this way such a wedding could be avoided.

Ezekiel turned back to Charity and embraced her in such a way that his mouth was near her ear.

“Are you certain?” he whispered as quietly as he could. “You would bind yourself to me and become a widow before you even know the joy of lying with a man?”

Charity squeezed him tightly and whispered her reply. “I would bind myself to you if it meant we had to walk through the very gates of Hell together. It is you that I truly love and seeing you do this today, I cannot help but to love you more. If this plan succeeds, we will leave this place tomorrow and we will travel for some time before we can start a new life. It could be years before I find a new man who is willing to take me to wife with all my faults. Until that time, I would rather live as a widow than as a maiden.”

She stopped and smiled a sly smile. “Besides, do not worry so much about me learning of the joy of lying with a man. I have a plan for that.”

Charity giggled softly into his ear and kept whispering.

“In our new place, I will do as Lot’s daughters did and lie with my father so that he may have grandchildren. I am certain that when Constance learns of my plan, she will do so as well. In this way we shall both fulfill our duty to our beloved husband. Between us, we shall soon have a brood of younglings and I shall proudly teach them all to call Ezekiel their father. Your duty as the son of Samuel, to carry his house on into the next generation, shall be met in full measure.”

Ezekiel gasped at the audacity of Charity’s plan. It was common for a widow to become second wife to the brother or the father of the dead man, but this was a step further than even that. Then he shook his head for Charity had always been nothing if not audacious. Charity’s nature had made his role as elder brother difficult at times, but he had always loved her for it.

Charity leaned back so she could look Ezekiel in the eye. “And further, if you take me as your wife tonight, then you have completed in full measure your duty as my brother to protect me from harm.”

Charity gently pushed him away and glared at him. “Now, we don’t have a lot of time and you have something important to do.”

She looked pointedly at the floor at her feet and then at him and then again at the floor. Ezekiel started as he finally understood her message. But he shook his head.

“Unbind your hair, sister,” said Ezekiel. “Let it fall freely, as your sister’s hair does. I understand a need to cover your hair before strangers, but there are no strangers in this house. If I am to go to God tonight, I would see my sister in her all of her beauty with her hair unfettered and free.”

Charity reached up and removed her bonnet. She removed the combs that held her hair in place and shook her head. Her hair tumbled in thick tresses and dropped all the way to her hips.

Ezekiel gasped and smiled at her beauty.

He reached out and arranged a strand of Charity’s hair that had caught on her shoulder.

“You should always show your beautiful hair when living in our home. Of course, you must do as custom demands and bind and cover it with your bonnet when going about the village. But in our home, such beauty should not be hidden.”

He carefully gathered his skirts around him and knelt before her.

“Charity, my dear sweet Charity. Will you do me the honor of agreeing to be my second wife? To stand alongside Constance, your sister, that I might love and cherish and protect you both?”

Charity called out her affirmation in a loud voice so that none present could doubt her sincerity. Charity’s smile was radiant as she lifted Ezekiel back to his feet. Then she turned and looked at Samuel.

“Father! Why are you still standing over there? Fetch the Bible. We have another ceremony to perform.”

Samuel sighed and shook his head, but he said nothing as he moved towards the table. Prudence got there first, however. She picked up the family Bible and pressed it into her husband’s hands with a smile.

Now it was the turn of Ezekiel and Charity to perform the hand fasting ceremony with their hands clasped over the Bible. It was simple and solemn and achingly beautiful.

At the end, when everyone said “Amen,” Charity flung her arms around Ezekiel’s neck and kissed him in the way a husband and wife would usually kiss only in the privacy of their own room, and perhaps not even then.

Samuel grunted and quickly turned away. He walked over to the table and carefully made another entry in the front of the family Bible. At the same time Constance, unwilling to be upstaged by her younger sister, stepped forward and applied her own passionate kiss to her brother/husband. Then the two sisters embraced and welcomed each other as sister/wives. Ezekiel blushed when Charity and Constance exchanged a kiss of their own. It may have been less passionate than that bestowed on their husband, but it was still more than would normally be proper for two grown women.

Perhaps it was well that Samuel had his back turned at the time while he returned the family Bible to its place on the table.

And so, in the space of less than an hour, Ezekiel the strange and ungainly boy became Ezekiel the man. He was now husband and father with, not one, but two devoted wives, a babe in arms and another on the way.

Hearing noises in the distance, Prudence looked out through a gap in the curtains.

“It is time,” she announced sadly. “I see the torches moving out of the village.”

Her announcement cast a chill over the room. They all looked somberly at each other.

Ezekiel nodded and bowed his head.

“Now is the time for Ezekiel, the man, to end. I pray to God that He will walk beside me on this night.”

Ezekiel turned to Constance and Charity. “My dearest wives! I pray you, do not hide yourselves in the darkness but walk always in the light. God will be looking down on you and I shall find my place in His presence and watch with Him. Walk with God in your heart and know that I watch over you with all my love.”

He stopped and kissed each of his sisters lightly on the lips.

“Do you have any other instructions for your new wives?” asked Charity, attempting to look demure.

Ezekiel put on a stern expression, but his eyes danced with laughter.

“Only this, you should love and honor your husband’s father as well as you would your own.”

That raised a quiet chuckle from his family.

Then Ezekiel took a deep breath.

“My dear family, will you gather around and pray for me. When you finish and open your eyes, your son and brother and husband will be gone and someone new will stand in his place.”

Ezekiel’s parents and his two sister/wives gathered around him. They each briefly hugged and kissed him and then they formed a circle around him. They linked hands and closed their eyes.

Samuel started quietly singing The Lord’s Prayer. The rest of the family joined in softly and the ancient words rustled through the simple building, filling it with the power of God.