The Right and the Real by Joelle Anthony Read Free Book Online

how hot you look when I kiss you,” he said. And then he lay down on top of me.
    Sometime later, Josh’s phone buzzed, and he dug in his pocket for it and turned off the alarm. He always set it for when class was over because we tended to lose track of time. Reluctantly, we separated ourselves. It felt like being pulled out of safe warm waters andplunged into icy ones. It wasn’t until after Josh was gone that I remembered I’d never told him about being kicked out of the house.
    For some reason, when Dad had packed my clothes, he’d kept my three church dresses. Maybe Mira wanted them. We were both the same height, five-foot-one, and wore the same dress size. Luckily, because Krista practically lives in the costume shop, she was able to score me something to wear on Wednesday night.
    After a quick pasta dinner with Krista and her stepfather, George, we went upstairs so I could get ready. She zipped up the powder-blue dress for me.
    “I look like Hodel in
Fiddler on the Roof,
” I said.
    She grabbed my hands and swung me around in an impromptu dance, singing, “Matchmaker, matchmaker, make me a match, find me a find, catch me a catch.”
    “Shut up.” I covered her mouth, but she fought me off. We wrestled around on her fuzzy carpet, laughing and trying to outsing each other until we heard a seam rip. Then she had to stitch me up before I could leave for Fellowship.
    I got to the church early, and the parking lot was only about a quarter full. Inside, when I passed through the lobby, I could hear people in the auditorium. I wondered if my dad was in there, and I almost stopped to check, but first I wanted to catch the Teacher alone if I could, so I went directly to his office.
    “Enter,” he called out when I knocked. Inside, I found him sitting in a swivel desk chair, pretty much naked. I backed out into the hallway. “No, no…,” he said. “Come in, Jamie. You’re not interrupting.”
    He had a towel draped across his midsection and his feet in a basin of water. A woman, who I swear wasn’t more than twentyand was wearing a dress almost exactly like mine, knelt beside him, gently scrubbing his feet with a loofah sponge. Another girl, who I think might’ve been even younger than me, stood behind him, and he rested his head against her small breasts while she rubbed some sort of oil into his bare shoulders.
    It was no secret that the Teacher loved the opposite sex. He had three wives that I knew of, all members of the church, but only one of them lived in the mansion. The others had trailers in the compound. He had a whole bunch of kids too, some from each wife. No one had ever told me if they were consecutive wives or if the R&R really did condone polygamy, but I was starting to think it was the latter. Seeing the two girls caressing him made me feel sick to my stomach, but I tried to hide it by keeping my face as passive as possible.
    “Maybe I should come back,” I said.
    “Don’t be shy. This is just my preservice cleansing.” He waved his arm, gesturing at me. “Come in, child. I was expecting you.”
    “You were?”
    “For some reason,” he said, smiling sadly, “the Devil was in you on Saturday night, but I had a vision this morning you would see the way and return for guidance.”
    “Well…yes.”
    “Wonderful.” He waved at a metal chair. “Have a seat.”
    The last thing I wanted to do was sit down and watch those girls touching his bare skin. But if I was going to play the part of the repentant daughter, I had to pretend like it didn’t matter. I pulled the chair away from the wall, but not too close to him. “I’d…I’d like to sign the Pledge.”
    “Of course you would. And we here at the Right & the Real are happy to welcome you into our flock.”
    The girl standing behind him picked up one of his arms and massaged his biceps.
    “So…will I do it at the Fellowship meeting tonight?” I asked, looking at a red stain on the carpet so I wouldn’t have to watch those girls.