Chapter 1

There was an unusual quietness to the air as the sun slowly rose. The way the farm house was situated, the light hit both Michael’s and Lisa and Naomi’s bedrooms. None of them slept well, which seemed to be the case for the past week. Although Lisa was doing better, Michael seemed to have the most difficulty.

The death of their parents hit all of them hard. Their extended family came by to help with the funeral arrangements but once they were buried, they were, for the first time in their life, alone. Lisa, as the oldest, was the first to realize that they would need to support each other. Although Lisa had begun to take on more of the house responsibilities from their mother, she knew that it was going to get overwhelming quickly.

Even though some of their extended family had come by to help with funeral arrangements and other affairs, after a while, there wasn’t much left except for all of them to say goodbye and go back to their lives. Though none of them would say it, their extended family thought that the church that they had grown up in was unusual to say the least.

The three kids had attended the church for the majority of their lives. When Pastor Matthew Rivers was hired as the lead pastor almost 10 years ago, the congregation just about tripled, with almost 500 people now calling it their home. When the wake was held, the vast majority of the attendees were from the church, with only a few people who were related to their parents.

The last few days were a whirlwind, with numerous well-wishers coming by to pass along their condolences. A few brought food, though it was always lasagna. Pastor Rivers made his appearance last night, spending almost two hours talking with Michael (and only Michael) before leaving. Lisa knew better than to ask Michael what they talked about, but Naomi, being his fraternal twin sister, had no reservations.

He struggled as he recalled the conversation to his two siblings, how Pastor Rivers wanted to make sure that the church was helping them and to make sure that any final planning made to the church was made readily available. His two sisters nodded along, unsure what their parents had planned in their will. It wasn’t something that their parents discussed with them.

The Pastor had also told him that Michael was now The Man of the house and he would need to take on that role. Pastor Rivers gave him an abbreviated sermon that he had given countless times from the pulpit. He shared this with his sisters, who seems to agree with the Pastor that Michael was, indeed, now The Man of the house.

They all went to bed shortly after, leaving the cleanup of the house for the morning. Although sleep came quickly for the three, it was Lisa who woke up first. She stared at the ceiling, watching the birds make shadows as they flew by. Naomi snored softly on the other side of the room. She wondered what exactly her role would be in the lives of her siblings. It was clear that Michael was now The Man, but she’s heard the same sermons as Michael. The Woman has responsibilities too.

The Church of the Holy Trinity was very clear on gender roles: men did things like tend to the house, fix cars, and manage the finances while women did things like make dinner, do laundry, and keep up the house. Lisa wondered if she should begin to do those things, since she was the oldest. But before she could get up, Naomi stirred in her bed and turned toward her sister.

“I heard you tossing and turning last night,” Naomi said before stretching out her arms. She clutched her comforter to her chest as she looked over at Lisa. “Did you get any sleep?”

Lisa sighed as she continued to stare at the ceiling, unsure how to respond to her. Sleep had always been elusive for her but the past few nights have been the most challenging. She turned toward Naomi before rubbing her eyes. “A little. Here and there.”

Of the three kids, Lisa looked very different from the twins. Their mother used to say that Lisa won the genetic lottery by somehow getting both recessive genes to give her reddish brown hair while Michael and Naomi getting more dirty blond hair, like their parents. Lisa was slightly taller, coming in just shy of 5’6” while Naomi was a few inches shorter than her with Michael being shorter still. At 17 years old, Lisa realized that she had probably grown as much as she was going to. Naomi hit her growth spurt last year at 13 and would likely have another one next year. Michael, meanwhile just started his and was growing out of his pants faster than his parents could replace them.