Since we weren’t sure when we’d have privacy, and couldn’t be assured that we weren’t being recorded, Jacob had spent most of the truck ride preparing me for what I might see. While he did, he admitted he was nervous about this trip. When he’d asked permission for me to go with him, he’d assumed that meant going to Fairbanks for supplies. He’d never expected permission to take me to another campus, especially back to the Eastern Light. The fact that he’d been specifically told to bring me only added to his concern.
When I asked about the mansion, he said he’d never been invited up to the house. There were small buildings closer to the landing strip. I remembered seeing those on Google Earth. Apparently they were similar to the living quarters in the pole barn. When he was required to spend the night at the Eastern Light, that was where he and Micah stayed. When Father Gabriel came to the airplane, he was driven through a side gate. He didn’t walk through the yards to the back of the property. The only people from the mansion who ventured close to the outbuildings were those who played on the tennis courts or swam in the pool. Jacob said it wasn’t uncommon for there to be many people around and it often sounded as if parties were being thrown. Father Gabriel referred to them as celebrations.
Jacob also told me that sometimes, if he was at the Eastern Light for any length of time, he could leave the property, as he had when he was taken to see me in Dearborn or when he went to service at the Eastern Light’s temple. Since we’d be arriving early Sunday morning, more than likely we wouldn’t just pick up Father Gabriel and return to the Northern Light. Father Gabriel always broadcast his Sunday and Wednesday sermons live. That meant he actually did each sermon three times, one for each time zone. The first in Detroit—in Highland Heights—was at nine Eastern time. Since we had been told to be there before then, there was a good probability that we’d be told to attend.
All I could do as he spoke was stare. There’d been a time when I’d longed to see inside the white building in Highland Heights. I reminded myself that now was my opportunity to do as Sara what I hadn’t been able to do as Stella.
The Western Light was on Mountain time, which meant the next sermon would be two hours after the first, and the final sermon would be four hours from the first and broadcast to the Northern Light. With that schedule, we couldn’t possibly be ready to fly back to the Northern Light until three or four in the afternoon at the earliest. Since everything was contingent upon Father Gabriel, Jacob wanted me to be prepared to spend the night in Bloomfield Hills.
He’d reminded me several times that Sara had never seen the mansion before. She’d never Google Earthed it nor stood outside its gate. I needed to act as if everything was new, while at the same time turning a blind eye. Jacob credited his quick rise to the Assembly to his ability to ignore the wealth and exuberance that occurred behind the scenes.
That begs the question, Why is Father Gabriel willing to expose his secrets to me?
We’d both napped after our visit with Brother Raphael. Nevertheless, I was still worried about Jacob’s lack of sleep over the last twenty-four hours. He’d promised it would be all right, that the Cessna Citation X used instruments for navigation and Brother Micah was there. They were both confident in each other’s abilities as a pilot and alternated as copilot. Jacob had volunteered to be the copilot on the way to Eastern Light, claiming that he wanted to be able to check on me. Personally I wanted to sleep. Making it through our return to the Northern Light undetected had left me more exhausted than relieved.
If I was supposed to be corrected after I apologized to Brother Raphael, Jacob had never done it. Though I’d tried to ask about it while we walked home, I hadn’t tried since. Even though he’d given me permission to ask questions, my correction was a subject I preferred to avoid, mostly because it made me mad.
Why hadn’t I restricted corporal correction before I agreed to return?
Instead I’d restricted sex. I liked sex, being struck with a belt—not so much.
As I settled into the soft leather seat, I looked around and realized that even seeing what was before me was a privilege. I doubted any of the regular followers, or even most of the chosen, knew how extravagantly Father Gabriel traveled.
Once we were in the air at the right altitude, Jacob came back and showed me how to swivel and recline my chair. It didn’t just recline, it lay flat, creating an incredibly comfortable bed. The last thing I remembered was being covered with a blanket and Jacob’s kissing my forehead, before he kissed me again, letting me know we were almost to the Eastern Light.
Maybe it was all the flying and lack of sleep, or maybe it was the idea of being back at the campus where I had originally been taken after my abduction and where they’d begun suppressing my memories, I wasn’t sure of the reason, but as I moved my seat from reclined to upright, my stomach violently twisted. Shaking my head, I shoved Jacob out of the way and ran toward the bathroom. Once I’d successfully emptied all the contents of my stomach, I turned and saw Jacob’s stare.