After that, Kenneth leaned back in his chair just like father, leaving me and Naomi to keep up the conversation. In any other situation, I might have thought it rude, as if he was saying that weddings were women’s work, but right then, I was just relieved.
“We should plan on you coming to the family dinner this month, Naomi,” I said. “Then you can meet Kenneth’s brothers. Except for Samuel, of course. He’s on a mission in Boston.”
“Yes, I’ve heard a lot about Samuel,” Naomi said. “Kenneth is very proud of his brother.”
I glanced at Kenneth and was surprised to find myself getting a little teary-eyed. “We all are,” I said.
The waitress came and took our orders after that. They soon brought pots of oil for cooking. While we waited for them to warm, Naomi looked directly at me and took a breath. “Linda, I asked Kenneth to set up this dinner for more than one reason. I know we aren’t ready to discuss wedding details, but I have a favor to ask.” She seemed very young in that moment. “This isn’t related to the wedding. It’s personal.”
I felt flattered at this. “Of course, just name it. Whatever I can do to help you.” Within reason, of course.
“I’m asking because—” She stopped, steeling herself. She pulled her hand away from Kenneth’s, as if to prove she could do this on her own. “Kenneth told me about the woman in your ward who went missing. And how you helped find her when the police couldn’t.”
Now I was confused. What did that case have to do with Naomi? “I’m sure I just did what anyone else would have done,” I said. It hadn’t been anything to be proud of, really. Kurt had been embarrassed by my nosiness and the way I’d put myself into dangerous situations, and I could see his eyes narrowing.
“Kenneth also told me about the man who was murdered in your church building and how you made sure that the police investigated the right person,” Naomi continued.
I wouldn’t have put it quite that way. “I’m afraid he may have exaggerated my real involvement,” I said, shifting in my seat uncomfortably.
Naomi hesitated again. “I need help with a family problem,” she said at last. “And from what Kenneth has told me about you, I think you might be able to help me.” Her hands twisting in her lap. “I’m worried about my younger sister Talitha. Something is wrong, and I was hoping you could try to find out what. I think she’s being abused. Maybe by my father, or possibly by someone else.”
This had not been what I was expecting. I thought she’d ask me to manage some fight between the various wives about who was going to stand in the line as her mother.
“How can I help?” I asked slowly.
“I thought maybe you could talk to her,” Naomi said. “See if she’ll open up to you.”
I felt terrible for Naomi, and for her little sister. I assumed a polygamous childhood was difficult even if there was no abuse. But I wasn’t the person to help. “You should have a professional talk to her, Naomi. Someone who has studied how to communicate with troubled children. I don’t have that kind of experience. I could do more harm than good.”
She shook her head. “I don’t want to go to a professional until I’m really certain there’s a problem. If I talk to the police or DCFS, they might take all the children away from my mother and the other wives, just because they’re polygamists.”
Possible. A case worker negatively disposed to polygamy might argue that the Carters’ living situation was damaging to the children. But the problem was, I wasn’t sure I disagreed. “I’m not sure what you’re asking me to do,” I said.
“I—it’s complicated,” Naomi said. “I don’t agree with the way my father lives, or how he runs his family. But that doesn’t mean I think he’s necessarily worse than any other Mormon man who thinks he has the right to tell his wife what to do because he has the priesthood.”
Kurt twitched at this. I wished I could tell Naomi that the kind of male privilege and superiority she was talking about wasn’t part of the church, but I had seen enough to be embarrassed by how often it was.
“Or any man,” I said. “It’s not as if Mormons invented the patriarchy.”
Naomi nodded to acknowledge this. “But my father was never abusive when I was a kid. I don’t want to get him in trouble for nothing. But I know something is really wrong with Talitha, and I need to figure out what it is and how I can help her before Kenneth and I start our new life together. I can’t just leave her behind in distress.”