The phone rang then. It was Lucy. Ruthie asked her sister if she could hold, then asked Jack if she could take the call outside of the vault.
"By all means, Ruthie," said Jack. "I'm not going anywhere. I'll wait until you come back so you all hear me."
Ruthie unlocked the vault, stepped outside then closed it again with the perimeter so the other occupants would be protected. She walked down to her office and picked up the phone.
"Hi sis, what's up?" she asked.
"Ruthie," said Lucy, "there have been a couple things on my mind the last few days. I don't know why I've been thinking them, but I gotta ask you a few questions. I need straight answers."
That Lucy inflected "straight" was a hint to Ruthie where the conversation was going. So as not to be rude, she decided to keep it going.
"What would you like to know?"
"When our family confronted you last year with the fact you're bisexual, it seemed you almost took it in stride. It sounded like the affair you had with Lisa wasn't necessarily a one-off for you. And if I had to guess, you still subscribe to the gentleman's magazine."
"Well, Peter shares his copies with me. He's known that about me since our days in high school. So do James and Heather. I like seeing pictures of naked women, especially the centerfolds! And yes, I do read the articles, too. Is it wrong for a female minister to ogle women at their most natural?"
"Not necessarily. But please tell me the truth: Have you slept with any other women since then?"
"Two, Lucy," replied Ruthie.
"Two?!" screamed Lucy. "Are you out of your fucking mind?"
"No. I made the decisions perfectly consciously."
"May I ask, then, who those two women were."
Ruthie wasn't about to tell her sister that she had a three-way with Felicity and Peter. Nor was she going to tell her that she was planning to ask Felicity to sleep with her alone, something she knew Felicity would agree to. Instead, she decided to tell the truth without telling the whole truth.
"One of them, Lucy, was Hope," she said after a ten-second pause. "Actually ... we've been lovers since February. You're the first I've told that to. I suspect Patrick knows, too."
Lucy was beside herself. "Ruthie, are you telling me that you had and are continuing to have sex with a fellow Pastor, one of the leading lights of the evangelical movement? Someone I respect. Someone our parents respect. Not to mention, someone who has regularly e-mailed me ever since she moved back to Saint Louis, asking if I know any suitable man for her, preferably someone to screw her on their first date. Someone who has always encouraged restraint in sex. Not virgin until married - just restraint in the sense that there should be no sex until there is a committed relationship and it is a solely monogamous one. That Hope?"
"Yes," said Ruthie. "Like I said, she's my girlfriend, and we fuck about once a week. And I really like it, having sex with a woman. I like having sex with a fellow minister. She's way more gorgeous than we see on television. And she has her head on right. She seduced me. I wanted to seduce her but she made the move first. Hope and I are not going to apologize for what we did, or do. Because we did nothing wrong. She's single, I'm divorced. We didn't commit adultery. And that's all I have to say about that one."
Lucy waited fifteen seconds to absorb that. Then she said, "And who was the other woman?"
"She's a bisexual parishioner. She and her husband asked me if I wanted to join them for a three-way. I did. I liked it. With Hope's consent, of course."
"Who is she?"
"At the present time, Lucy," said Ruthie, "she is on the witness list for the trial of Hope's parents later this year. Because of a gag order protecting her testimony, I can't give out her name because Harry and Prudence would use that fact of her being bisexual to discredit her."
"Do I know who it is?"
"Yes. But again, I can't tell you yet. When she is ready to tell you herself, she'll tell you. It's someone at the church, someone who has you on her Rolodex and that's quite a few of the women here. It shouldn't be too long, maybe in just a few weeks. But we can't afford to blow her identity. Not at a time like this, especially when our church is about to get a major ally to join the fight against Harry and Prudence."
"Okay, Ruthie, I'll live with that," said Lucy. "But there is another reason why I called you. It's about you marrying Lisa and Brigitte next week. Believe me, sis, I'm really happy for them - especially Lisa - and the fathers of their children, and the kids too. I've never heard of a blended family quite like that, but they have seemed to work it out and I really do wish all of them the very best. The problem is, you've invited our parents, our siblings and me, and our respective families to the wedding. Well, I can tell you right now that Mom and Dad are not coming under any circumstances. I can't speak for our brothers and sisters, but I'm not sure Kevin and I and our kids want to come either."
"Is it for the same reason as Mom and Dad, Luce?" asked Ruthie.
"Yes," replied Lucy. "Let's be clear here: Kevin and I and our kids are not homophobic in any way. We believe LGBTs should have equal employment and housing rights. They should be able to be foster parents and to adopt. And civil unions - even our parents are not against that anymore. But marriage is different. I do not believe that two men or two women getting married will destroy civilization as we know it - unlike a lot of televangelists and other so-called 'faith' leaders. Even Felicity and Hope, thank God, see it our way on that much.
"But I, you, all of us, were raised by Mom and Dad to believe that marriage is a union between one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others. Getting a judge to perform a gay wedding is one thing. But a church wedding is an entirely different matter. I just don't think God can sanctify a same sex wedding that happens in a church. And the reason is this ...
"... the fact is, sis, only a man and a woman can procreate. The reason why it's always been a man and a woman is so that God blesses them so they have healthy and happy children. Even if a lesbian woman gets pregnant, the seed comes from a man. Asexual production of humans is impossible no matter how much many feminists want it. Well, not you, me and Mary - we're feminists but we're not that stupid! It does goes beyond that, but there's one point as a practical matter. A lot of heterosexual couples are now deciding to have the children carry their mother's names instead of the father's. I think that is wonderful, and a totally selfless act of love on the part of the father. But what happens when two people of the same sex get married - in this case two wives? What name will their children have? Will they alternate as new children come along? Speaking of which, how are Brigitte and Lisa planning to have children?"
"Brian and Tom will continue to be the fathers of Lisa's and Brigitte's children, respectively - as sperm donors," replied Ruthie. "It's just now the new children will have the reverse name order of their siblings that are alive now. The new children will have the respective father's and mother's names, in that order. So Brigitte's future children will be Lumby - Dalrymple and Lisa's will be Davidson - Lumby."
"That sounds nice, Ruthie; but whose names would be on the birth certificates? As parents, I mean. A lot of lesbian couples are insisting they carry both 'mothers' names and leave no room for the natural father. In a lot of states here that is now actually an option."
"It is in the EU states too, at least the ones where the practice is legal. But the ladies have said their children have a right to know their natural father. So that's how it will be recognized legally. But as you said, the ladies and guys are practically a family already. As far as Lisa's children and Brigitte's children are concerned, they have two Moms and two Dads and they use Mom and Dad when addressing any of them and they are siblings in spirit. This marriage is just going to make it official and make all of the kids brothers and sisters, once and for always."
This was a lot for Lucy to absorb. But she needed to hear the answers before she got to her main point.
"Okay Ruthie," she said. "It's clear you have a lot of answers to some tough questions. I respect that. But here's a big problem I have. Let's just say that if I can figure a way to set aside my moral objections, I would consider co-officiating with you. I'll let you know by next Tuesday, three days out -"
"I hope you say yes, sis!" said Ruthie happily. "At least you're not closing the door, unlike our parents."
"I can't promise I will," warned Lucy. "I said I'll search my soul and let you know one way or the other. Even if I say no, I will pray that Lisa and Brigitte are happy with and faithful to each other as wives for the rest of their lives, and that God blesses their whole family and the children to come. That much I do promise."
"Thanks -"
"Ruthie, you didn't let me finish what I was trying to say. One of the women you're marrying, Lisa Lumby, is someone you slept with. Don't you think there's a conflict of interest there? And I know what you're going to say, but that one hasn't worked with our brothers and sisters and it sure as fuck isn't working with me! I don't care if Brigitte Dalrymple gave her fiancée a Hall Pass. Shelby told Lisa off, almost smashed her up; and common sense for Lisa would have been just to get the hint and forfeit the freebie. Despite your claims, she seduced you. Your and Peter's marriage was broken beyond repair, and I'm sorry you guys ended up divorcing, especially because of how it hurt James and Heather -"
"I know that much, Luce," said Ruthie. She was sobbing. "They didn't deserve having the marriage end like that."
" - but it occurs to me the only reason you slept with Lisa is because you knew Peter was sleeping with Felicity, a woman you admired and respected," finished Lucy.
"Still do. We're practically sisters now."
"That's wonderful. To bury the hatchet with The Other Woman and raise yours and each other's children together is nothing short of amazing! Still, Ruthie, you need to know that Kevin and I have an agreement; that if for some reason our marriage were to break down, it would never be for abuse or drugs. Nor for adultery. The only reason would be for irreconcilable differences, and we would not have sex outside the marriage - whether with someone of the same or opposite sex - until the divorce was finalized and for one year after that.
"The very least you and Peter could have done was agree to the same. Cybersex is one thing, but Peter having actual sex - unprotected, no less - is unforgivable, even if his affair with Felicity two babies I'm so proud to call my niece and nephew. I haven't exactly forgiven you for what you and Lisa did either. If the divorced had been finalized, which it should have been months before, I wouldn't care less if you had done it. But doing it while married - sorry, I can't look past that. The only excuse to commit adultery, in my book, is if one of the partners is being abused in any way or if alcohol or drugs are involved. Then the victim may find another partner for revenge. That wasn't the case here. You and Peter didn't abuse each other - you neglected each other."
"I agree, and I get it, Lucy, I really do. And I'm sorry," said Ruthie, who had finally stopped crying. "But with things constantly being delayed in Europe, the gals wanted to get it done with. On the spur of the moment, I made the offer. The ladies accepted. More importantly, the other ministers didn't veto me."
"Ruthie, we all - the family and the other pastors - outed you as bisexual. But are you, in fact, a lesbian?"
"Yes, Lucy, I am. That is my choice. I want to find a woman to love and hold, and for me to be her wife for the rest of my life. As I said, you're the first member of our family I've told that to. My fellow ministers know about Hope and me, but I will tell them I'm a hundred percent lesbian, as soon as this meeting I'm in is over. I haven't even told Peter and Felicity that much. And I don't know how I'm going to explain it to my children, and the other four that can talk."
"Well, now I understand. That's the real reason you want to do this. Now I get it. And this is your way of lovingly letting go of Lisa once and for all. Oh fuck it! Forget the callback on Tuesday. I'll be there next Friday, we'll co-celebrate, and we'll both sign the wedding license! And I'll make sure our siblings and their spouses and kids are there too! This is about uniting a family, which is what you and I have been doing as ministers for years. Who cares what Mom and Dad think about lesbians getting married in a church?"
Ruthie shrieked. "You'll really do this?"
"I can do no less. If the roles were reversed, I wouldn't have slept with Lisa of course, but I'd still marry them. I know I would."
"Lucy, thank you so much! And ... thank you for understanding about my sexuality. I'm pretty sure our sibs will be okay with it, but I'm worried about Mom and Dad."
"They won't care, I promise you. I've suspected that you're a lesbian for about six months, so just before you gave birth to Jane and Randall, I asked our parents a what if question about you and they said they'd love you no matter what. Actually, they had already figured it out about a week before I spoke with them."
Ruthie felt as if a huge weight had been taken off her shoulders.
"Lucy, I love you, more than ever! I'll e-mail you and our sibs the address and time."
"Ruthie, you're welcome," said Lucy. "I'm so proud of you, and I'll always love you, no matter who you go to bed with!"
The call ended and Ruthie returned to the vault.