“It’s good to meet you,” Jennifer said, as she offered her hand to shake. “Stephen, I must speak to you privately.”
“Right now?” asked Stephen.
“Yes, now.”
It was the first time I’d seen any of the wives override Stephen’s script for the morning or successfully demand any semblance of privacy, but she pulled him away toward the spotless kitchen. I desperately wanted to tiptoe toward them and see if I could hear anything, but Kurt held my arm.
“Linda, this is not the time for your snooping,” he admonished me.
Well, why wasn’t it? Didn’t he want to know what they were talking about as much as I did?
Jennifer’s voice was raised in what sounded like anger, although I couldn’t make out any words through the door. Stephen responded with a firm bass.
“Can you believe what we’ve seen here?” Kurt said softly. “Poor Naomi, having to grow up in this confusing place. No wonder she left the church if it was connected to that for her.”
I appreciated his new sympathy for Naomi, but was annoyed that he thought polygamy explained everything about her resignation of her membership. How did he explain Kenneth’s?
Kurt started to say something else, but I shushed him as I heard Stephen coming back into the room, trailed by Jennifer, who looked like she had swallowed something very large.
“Can I help?” I asked. “Is something wrong?”
“It’s none of your business,” Jennifer snapped. Stephen gave her a sharp look and she let her shoulders drop, as if she was putting on some mask right in front of us. “Ah, actually, we were talking about Naomi’s upcoming nuptials,” she said, then gave us a small, expectant smile. “She was always such a special child. I’m happy that she’ll be joining your family and sharing her brilliant mind and sweet heart with you, as well.”
The abrupt switch in her behavior was too much for me to take in.
“We’re very happy for our son,” Kurt said politely.
“Of course. Weddings are a wonderful time for family, aren’t they?” I couldn’t help but think her tone seemed just a bit condescending.
What was going on here? She was definitely not a cowed, controlled woman, though she was making nice now. Or trying to. Why in the world had Rebecca chosen her as Stephen’s second wife?
“Jennifer is an investment genius,” Stephen said, as if to divert our attention from the argument they’d had and Jennifer’s brash manner. “She helps manage my accounts, as well as those of a few friends. We’re very lucky she is so savvy.”
Maybe this was the answer to the question about why Jennifer had been his second wife. And also to the question about how Stephen paid for all of the houses and children. But what a cold, calculating way of looking at polygamy—as an institution that needed to be supported financially first and foremost.
“And the children?” Kurt said, who had not, apparently, noticed the lack of toys, though he was staring around the room, as if waiting for children to descend.
Jennifer gave Kurt a sour look. “I don’t have children of my own,” she said.
Kurt had obviously touched on a sore spot. Maybe he deserved the shortness of her response.
“We have prayed most fervently, but our prayers have not been answered,” Stephen said, reaching for Jennifer’s hand, though she pulled away as soon as she could. “We must accept God’s will for us, whatever it is.”
Jennifer’s expression as she stared at both Kurt and me was unreadable. “Yes, God’s will,” she murmured.
“And you’re a second mother to the other children, of course, helping them with math homework and such,” Stephen added.
“I can help make sure that their futures are secure, which is something their own mothers can’t manage,” Jennifer said. Her words were disdainful even if her tone was neutral.
“Well, let’s move along to the other houses,” said Stephen.
“Yes, make sure you visit Joanna in particular. I’m sure she will be delighted to see you after last night,” Jennifer said, as she walked to the door and held it open.
“What happened with Joanna last night?” I asked after we had walked outside.
“Nothing,” said Stephen, though I could see his fists clench. He wasn’t as good at putting on a mask as Jennifer was, I thought. He was angry at Joanna, which only made me more curious to meet her.
Chapter 9
Stephen led us on to the final house, the unfinished one, which had patchy aluminum siding on the outside, and bare wood elsewhere. Around it were no flower beds or gardens of any kind, only hard dirt and sagebrush.