Page 10 of A Lesson In Beginning

“Adah, I don’t think you understand —” Ruth began, but I quickly cut her off.

“I understand that you think of me as less than you, Ruth, but I assure you, I am a very capable woman. I may not be a Temple, but that does not mean I am incompetent. It might surprise you, but I have worked hard in my years, as both a woman of Zion and as a wife. I did quite a lot for the church, so why would your church be any different?” Gone was my courteous manner, the sibling rivalry we had once shared rearing its ugly head as I all but spat the words at her.

“Wait, did you say church? You think The Temple is a church?” Leviticus articulated the words with great care, eyeing me suspiciously.

“Of course. It is a temple; a place of worship, is it not?” My near-rhetorical question was met with a soft chuckle that Ruth barely covered, while Leviticus outright laughed. I felt rage bubble up inside of me, my hands clenching into fists at my sides while my teeth closed tightly together to stop the nasty words that flitted through my mind from leaving my lips.

“Adah, please calm down. I promise we are not laughing at you.” Ruth tried to quell my indigence, but I was not to be subdued.

“It certainly does not seem that way to me.” I crossed my arms over my chest, glaring at both of them. Leviticus cleared his throat, calming his own laughter in the process.

“What Ruth is trying to say is that it was a shock to learn that you even knew about The Temple. May I ask how you heard about it?” He curated his words carefully. That much I could tell, though I did not know why.

“I heard you speaking to your brother about it yesterday.” I shrugged lightly, hoping he would take my admission to mean I had simply overheard them, not the truth that I had eavesdropped outlandishly. It was quite unbecoming, true as it may have been.

“Ah, I see. Well, you are right on part of it. The Temple is a business that I own, along with my brothers and our wives.”

“Your wives own it as well?” The statement caught me off guard. Wives did not have ownership of their husband’s businesses.

“They do. In their own right.” There was an air of pride about him as he spoke. Not only had he given his wife, and the wives of his brothers, actual ownership in a business, but he was proud of it. My jaw hung open in shock as Ruth nodded her head in agreement.

“It’s true, Adah. I am part owner of the business, and it’s something we are all very proud of.” I could see it in her eyes, that pride and joy at owning something.

Owning something.

I had never in my life actually owned something. Everything I’d ever had was given to me, or owned by a man who claimed me as his dependent. First my father, then my husband.

“Wait, but you said it isn’t a church. What kind of temple isn’t a church?” My brow furrowed in confusion as I tried to make sense of the things they were saying. The two exchanged a look, Ruth touching her necklace yet again. What was it with that necklace? Whatever it was just didn’t quite sit right with me.

“It is a different kind of business. A club of sorts.” Leviticus’ explanation clarified exactly nothing.

“I do not understand.” My voice had grown quiet as I tried to make sense of it all.

“A club is a place where people —”

“I know what a club is, Ruth.” I spat the words, throwing her a look that came straight from ten years ago and our sisterly squabbling. “You all own a club?” I couldn’t hold back the grimace at the thought of owning such a… secular business.

“Yes, a club.” Leviticus looked to be satisfied with the explanation and gave no more information than that. “So you see, I do not think it would be a good fit for you to work in such a place.”

“Is it a place of ill-repute? Even if it is a club, I do not see why I could not seek employment in a place that your family owns.” I steadied my gaze at both of them, refusing to let them thwart my efforts. The simple fact was, I needed an income. I needed to provide for my son. Even if that meant working in a club.

“Well, no, but —” Leviticus began, Ruth speaking at the same time.

“Yes, but —”

“Well, which is it? Yes or no?” I asked them. They did not look at me, only eyeing each other with that same sense of telepathic communication between them. The silence hung for longer than I felt comfortable with, so I smacked my hand on the table, both of them jumping in surprise and turning their gazes back to me. “Well?”

Again, they looked at one another, communicating silently. Ruth touched that circular ring on her necklace, and Leviticus nodded.

“Adah, the club is specific for people who are into a specific type of lifestyle.” Ruth’s words were cautious, her eyes flitting to her husband more than once as she spoke. It was unnerving; that protectiveness I felt for my sister flaring up into my consciousness again.

“What does that mean?”

“It means that the club is specifically for people who are in the BDSM lifestyle.” Leviticus tried to explain, but I just shook my head in confusion.

“I have no idea what the two of you are talking about.”

“BDSM is a lifestyle, specifically for people who engage in certain sexual and non-sexual practices and play, often revolving around power-dynamics.” Leviticus’ words hung in the air as I tried to process what he had just said.

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