Tides of Truth [02] Higher Hope by Robert Whitlow Read Free Book Online Page B

hens protested and pecked at my hand, but as soon as the eggs were removed, they fluttered down to the ground and left the coop in search of food. The floor of the coop was covered with fresh straw. It still smelled like a chicken house but not as bad as it could have.
    “One of my brothers must have cleaned in here,” I said. “Did you live on a farm when your family was in the commune?”
    “No, we’ve always been in a city neighborhood.”
    “How did that work? I thought you would be out in the country.”
    “They bought big, older houses, then put more than one family in each one. The adults worked public jobs and pooled their earnings.”
    We left the chicken house. Chester clucked loudly when we passed but didn’t make any threatening gestures. In front of the chicken coop was a bare basketball court where I’d practiced my jump shot for many hours.
    “We could play a game of one-on-one here,” Zach said.
    “No,” I answered quickly. “Playing with the twins might be a good idea. Ellie really likes you.”
    “But not Emma?”
    “Oh, she does, too. They pretend not to agree about anything, but when it comes down to it, they’re twins through and through.”
    Zach rested his hand on the wooden post that held up the basketball goal.
    “Should I explain to your parents what happened in the commune?” he asked.
    I thought for a moment. “I’m not sure if that would be a good idea. It might be better to leave it alone.”
    “But I do owe you an explanation about something else I said last night. When I told you to consider leaving this world, I didn’t mean you should reject your family.”
    “That’s the way it sounded to me.”
    “You’ll always love and honor your folks, but things have to change when you get married. The Bible commands a woman to leave her family and cleave to her husband.”
    “Actually, it only tells the husband to do that.”
    He smiled. “Yeah, but don’t you think it should apply to women, too?”
    “Yes, and that would be tough, especially if I married someone outside our church.” I glanced toward the house. Mama might be watching and wondering. “We don’t need to settle that now. Let’s take the eggs inside. I need to wash them and help with breakfast.”
    Inside the house, Mama was placing strips of lean bacon in a skillet.
    “Good morning,” she said in a cheery voice that reassured me. “Tammy Lynn, will you help me with the bacon?”
    “You’ve never tasted anything like this bacon,” I said to Zach. “It has no preservatives.”
    “My family eats a lot of organic food.”
    I saw Mama cringe as she reached for another piece of bacon. Our best bacon and hams came from members of the church who raised hogs. Most hog killing was done in the fall, but Mr. Bowman would occasionally slaughter a pig after the Fourth of July. Daddy managed to keep our name at the top of the list for fresh pork by supplying the Bowmans with as much sweet corn as they could eat.
    “How did you sleep?” Mama asked Zach.
    “Not too well. I lay awake worrying that I came across as disrespectful last night and wanted to apologize. I didn’t mean to argue with you.”
    Mama turned around and wiped her hands on the front of a well-worn apron.
    “It’s important for us to know what you believe and why.”
    Zach’s focus was on feelings; Mama cared about facts. It was a role reversal from stereotypes of men and women. Mama poured Zach a cup of coffee while I began washing the eggs in vinegar.
    “What are you going to do today?” Mama asked me.
    “We can help around here,” Zach answered. “Tami has already introduced me to the chicken house.”
    “We only collect our eggs once a day,” Mama replied. “And Bobby cleaned the coop yesterday afternoon. There are always chores to do, but I don’t want you to think all we do is work.”
    “Any suggestions?” I asked, trying to remember a time except Sundays when we didn’t work.
    “You could go fishing at Putnam’s Pond.