Chapter 6

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The days fly by and I wake up to do the same things over and over again. My life has fallen into somewhat of a cycle and it is very boring if I might say. I wake up each morning to prepare breakfast for James and tidy up the mess that he manages to create all the time. I clean the house and outside around the house. Sometimes I clean the other unoccupied houses so they do not get too dirty. That's what a good daughter -in-law and wife does. I find myself washing almost every after three days because James has only two trousers that fit him and he has a small number of everything else. At first I was shocked when he ran out of clothes in just a few days, only for him to tell me that they were all his clothes. I had expected to find piles upon piles of clothes considering that his family always talks about how rich they are and how they spend thousands of dollars on just a pair of shoes. Shoes I do not even see. I decided not to ask a lot of questions which would make him think I was looking down on him or whatever that could make him sad or angry, he might be rude to me, but it's not in me to hurt him.

I lean my head on the window as we take our daily night drive, thinking that this will be my last until we come back after a few days. During the week James told me had received a call from the Father and they talked about visiting so we could talk about things that need repairing and fixing in the house. At first I was surprised that after only two weeks we were allowed to see other people, when the principle was that newly wedded couples were not supposed to receive calls or see anyone because it would disturb their process of getting to know each other and being one unit, but James managed to convince me that it would only be for two days just so we could live in a better place. I was skeptical at first because other couples who were married before us were considered doomed and basically cursed for going against the principles given to them and I spent over a year not talking to any of my sisters after they got married because it was the right thing to do. But then I realized that I had no choice really and the Reverend knows better than anyone else. He is the one who taught us the principles of the Church after all.

Staring at the black sky, I was suddenly reminded of the late night walks I would take back home every time I sneaked out of the house. The night came with peace and it set my soul calm and on fire at the same time, it still does, like a drug I can never get enough of. A part of me wishes that I could be that girl who would run in the dark until she could not breathe and run back home feeling better each and every time. But now I am the girl who sits and hopes that a random 'talk' does not break out between her and her partner during what is supposed to be a romantic late night drive.

The late night drive eventually ended and I am packing our bags and making sure everything is ready when we leave tomorrow morning. I lay out James' outfit and leave all the things I will need for breakfast on the kitchen counter and I finally retire myself to bed and not sure not to wake James in the process. I toss a few times and end up falling asleep with the thought that being in Ballington and seeing Lunette might be fun and not as bad as I think it might be.

Everyone was happy to see us except that it was weird now coming back to these people as a family member and not a frequent visitor. As soon as I arrived, I started working and helping out in the house and tried not to think to much of the tension that was there. It is always easy to tell when something is wrong if you have been around people a long time, and although the Coventry's hide their emotions well when they are around people, their masks fall off when they are among themselves and they are in the safety of their home.

I stayed in the kitchen for some time expecting Lunette to show up but she never did. My first thought was that she was sick and that would explain why her and Max did not come to the wedding. But I finally got my answers after overhearing a conversation between Mother and Zelda.

Max had kicked her out of the house a week before the wedding and her wails were heard by everyone late at night when she was being forced to live the baby behind. I stopped midway on the steps and I turned back to the kitchen not wanting them to know that I had overheard their conversation and think that I was eavesdropping.

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