Thea was kneeling near the door to the kitchen. She could hear her parents speaking in hushed tones.

"Abomination if you ask me," her father said sharply. "If Thea ever…"

"She would not," her mother said calmly.

News had spread like wildfire through the town about Thea's friend Wendla Bergman, whether the Bergman's wanted to or not. Thea did not understand what had happened to make her own parents speak so lowly about her best friend and her family.

"She was such a young girl. Where she got it into her head to…at that young age. They should not even be educated about it that young," her father went on. "A disgrace to her family and the town. I wouldn't expect her parents to show there faces in public after this. Might as well move to another town."

Thea looked down at her hands. They were shaking. Try as she might, she could barely grasp exactly what had happened. What she could grasp was that it must have been terrible.

"It was probably a two way street, though. She did not get pregnant on her own." Her mother said.

"That is two disgraced families. The Gabor's and the Bergman's. Word is they sent the boy to a reformatory. My guess is that word is true."

Thea's heart went up into her throat. She did not want it to be true. She wished that it was not.

"Have you heard anything about service's for the girl?" Her mother asked.

Her father laughed, coldly. "It would be a disgrace on the church if they allowed that to happen."

Thea's hand flew up to her mouth. She clenched her eyes shut. This could not be true. This could not be true. She shook her head, trying to expel the thought from her mind.

"What should we do about…telling…?" Her mother left the question trail.

"She's going to have to find out sooner or later." her father said. She could here him sigh.

"We should probably tell her the whole truth. Maybe they do need to be taught at this age. I hate to do it, but if it will prevent our little Thea from making that mistake..."

Her father cleared his throat and called out her name. "Thea?"

She stood up, waited a few moments and then walked into the kitchen. She could barely feel her body, it had gone hot all over.

"Sit down," her father said.

Later that night, Thea lay on her bed. Tears streaming down her face. She tried as hard as she could to hate Wendla, but she could not. Her best friend was gone, about to be buried beneath the cold, winter ground. And no one seemed to care.