Page 50 of A Lesson In Beginning

“I think you’re more excited about Adah’s scene than you are about your own, Talia.” Ruth’s playful chiding only made Talia laugh and roll her eyes.

“That’s the truth. I am. I want all the good things for you, Adah, and Joel is a wonderful guy. Quite the looker, too.” She waggled her eyebrows suggestively. This time it was me who rolled my eyes at her antics.

“From the way Levi talks about it, he’s been batting the subs away with a bat!” Ruth laughed, Talia joining her, but the notion gave me pause.

“Is something wrong, Adah?” Talia asked, her laughter stopping abruptly as she took notice of my expression.

“I just realized I hadn’t thought to ask about that.” My eyes fixated on the grassy ground in front of the bench where we sat at the park, my mind inundated with worry.

“Hadn’t thought to ask what, exactly?” Ruth asked, echoing Talia’s concern.

“I suppose it hadn’t crossed my mind that exclusivity needed to be discussed.” Nervously picking at the cuticle on my thumb, my thoughts ran rampant with images of Joel with other women. The terminology of batting subs away suddenly took on an entirely new meaning.

“I can’t speak for Joel, Adah, but what I meant is that he has been the fancy of many women at the club, all of whom he has politely rejected.” Ruth’s hand covered mine in an effort to calm my nerves. Not that it did me any good.

“Why would he reject them, though?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Talia teased with a sly grin.

“Isn’t what obvious?”

“Adah, he’s been enamored with you since your first day of work. Give him a call later tonight to discuss locations for your scene, as planned. And take that opportunity to discuss exclusivity.”

“I don’t want to cause an issue.”

“Trust me, this is a very normal topic in negotiations, and during the early days of a dynamic. Many in the scene are exclusive and monogamous, while there are some who are polyamorous. But just ask. It’s really quite simple.”

“This is all so complicated.” I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose with my fingertips.

“Life is complicated. But honestly, I understand. I think we all do. Those beginning days can be so difficult. For us, we were still in Zion, still under the full mindset of how a marriage should work. To say it was a shock when I learned the truth about Zeke would be a gross understatement.”

“For me, too. And when Levi was finally honest about it, and I had time to come to terms with it, he was just the worst!”

“How so?”

“Oh, God! I told him I was interested, that his explanation had merit and had appeal to me, and then the dumbass wouldn’t believe me! He made this big deal about his proclivities, like the horrid tortured soul he was in those days, and then shut me down without hearing me.”

“What did you do?”

“I got mad, ran up to our bedroom, pulled out my journals and slammed them on his desk. All of them. Easily a dozen or more. I told him if he didn’t believe me, then he should read for himself what my thoughts were.”

“You’re such a spitfire, Ruth, and it still shocks me to this day. You were always such a quiet one.”

“Oh, no, she wasn’t!” I scoffed derisively.

“You’re her sister. It’s different.”

“Not really. Ruth always appeared to be the quiet, demure one. In reality, she’s always been feisty.”

“I had to be, with an older sister like you.” Nudging me with her shoulder, she stuck her tongue out at me playfully. I nudged her right back with a roll of my eyes.

“So, did he believe you, then?”

“No! The idiot took days — days — to read through my journals before he finally approached me, still with lots of hesitation. God, he was so emo and tortured back then.”

“I’m not sure much has changed.” My playfully sarcastic comment was met with gaping looks, followed by cackles from each of them.

“Hi there!” A woman called from across the grassy knoll where we sat.

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