Two days later, Ashleigh and Samantha were taken to their new high school by their new husbands, Sam and David. As they kissed goodbye, the men gave their wives the important disks that they knew could mean the very future of the girls' fortunes, as well as the fate of a corrupt televangelist.

That evening, as the Parkers were getting ready to have dinner, there was an insistent knock on the door. After a minute, Rhiannon opened the door. It was her friend, Rita Morin, carrying a gym bag. She was about two years older than her. And Rita was sobbing.

"Rita, what's up?" asked Rhiannon with concern.

"Daddy's dead!" wailed Rita. "Right in front of me, at supper, an hour ago. The paramedics said they couldn't do anything for him. And now ... I'm an orphan!"

Just six months earlier, Rita's mother, Arlene, had died from stage four breast cancer. Rita's father, Xavier, a strict Catholic, had tried to raise his daughter the best he could but could never replace the bond that mother and daughter had. On top of being two parents at once, he was an accounting executive but the failures of several of his clients, all major employers in Saint Louis, had taken its toll on him. Although physicians had told him to slow down, he said he couldn't for the sake of his daughter. Finally it had caught up with him.

Rhiannon gave her friend a huge hug and started crying too. Maighread made it a group hug. Shelby and Rod then hugged Rita themselves. It wasn't just they liked Rita, who was a dutiful usher during Sunday services despite her Catholicism. It was also that Xavier, despite his denomination, was a major contributor to the church's home for unweds. They would worry about where to make up the money later. For now, they mourned the loss of a good friend.

It took another minute for Rita to finally stop crying. Finally, she asked Shelby formally but with a still shaking voice, "Major Connor, can I crash here for a few days. I've got several changes of clothes and underwear, plus toiletries. I hope I'm not too much of a burden. I can even ... I can even help out feeding Danielle and Ted, diaper changes ..."

"Yes you can, Rita," said Shelby, hugging her again. "You don't have to worry about that, but if you think it'll help, then thank you."

"I'm so sorry, Rita," added Rod. During the commotion, he texted the rest of the gang. By this time, all the ministers and their children were walking through the door and offering their condolences to Rita as well. "We'll make you an extra plate for dinner, and you can stay as long as a week if you want."

"I don't know what I'd do with you guys, all of you," the girl said. "Thanks."

After supper, Ruthie and Peter called the priest at the Catholic church a mile down the street from where their church was. The priest himself was in a bit of a daze, and shook his head that he didn't get to the house in time to perform the sacrament once known as the Last Rights. But he thanked all the ministers for their help. Especially the women. Secretly, he felt women had every right to enter the priesthood, and made it a point to work with women ministers whenever he could.

The funeral took place three days later. To the gang's surprise, Rita managed to make it through the Mass and the burial rites with Stoicism. They knew, however, she was heartbroken inside.

For several more days, Rita made her way between the three parsonages as well as the home of Patrick and Tamara. She felt incredible comfort with all of them but wasn't sure what she would do, or what would happen to her, when it came time for her to leave. She asked for another week, which was granted.

The night before that week's service, Rhiannon woke up for a late night snack of cookies and milk. From the basement, she could hear muffled crying.

Rhiannon ran downstairs, and checked on both Danielle and Ted, in separate bedrooms, to make sure they were having a comfortable sleep. As usual, they were. Rhiannon was so proud of both of them, and kissed each of them on their cheeks. She then went to the guest bedroom.

"What is it, Rita?" she asked with concern.

For ten minutes, Rita talked about how difficult her relationship with her father had always been, and while she finally felt free in a way, she was still a prisoner to those conflicts.

"Would you spend the night with me, please?" asked Rita.

"Let me grab a sleeping bag from the closet," replied Rhiannon. "I need someone to talk to, too."

At about three in the morning, Shelby stirred from her bed. A few hours earlier, she and Rod had made love for the first time in a few months, although this time it was with a condom, the first time since four weeks before their military wedding more than a decade before. Rod was sleeping, but Shelby was worried for Rita and decided to check on her. She went to Maighread's bedroom first. She was sleeping soundly. She then went to Rhiannon's room. There was no one in the bed, and the bedspread and sheets had been pulled at a forty-five degree angle.

Maybe she's talking with Rita, the mother thought.

She made a beeline for the guest room, and slowly opened the door. She looked ahead. Rhiannon and Rita were in the same bed, snugly next to each other.

She did not say a word. She would wait until the morning.

When dawn broke, the gang gathered in the formal dining room for their customary Sunday brunch. Shelby had told Rod what had happened, but said they shouldn't say anything unless either of the girls brought it up.

Finally, Rita said, "You guys have no idea how liberating this past week has been. I love Daddy so much ... but even though we shared a lot, he was pretty strict with me."

"As in the belt?" asked Heather.

"No, he never did that, never spanked me. And no, he never touched me either. But I had this huge secret, something that I could never tell him. Not anyone else. He would have disowned me if he ever found out. I never told anyone about this, until Rhiannon, who I told last night."

"What is it?" asked Ruthie.

For fifteen seconds, Rita let it hang in the air. Finally, she took a deep breath and said, "I know I'm only ten ... well, eleven next week ... but, I'm a lesbian."

"Are you sure?" asked Peter, surprised.

"Yeah, Reverend Petrowsky, I'm sure. Positive. Um ..." Rita paused again. "If you're not okay with it, let me know, and I'll grab my stuff and go back to my house. I have to put it up for sale anyway."

"For heaven's sake, Rita," said Felicity smiling, holding Peter's hand, "of course we're okay with it. I mean, if it makes you happy, then follow your heart. You've given it a lot of thought, from what I see. No, we'll never judge you for that. Never!"

"Well, you might get mad about this," said Rita. "Rhiannon spent the night with me after she heard me crying yet again. She pulled out a sleeping bag, but we talked some more and ... we kissed. A lot. We ... we didn't do that, but we still wound up in the same bed, kissed a lot more, then rested on each other's shoulder. I'm sorry, but ..."

"What are you apologizing for, Rita," replied Rod. "You're human. It's okay. How long have you known?"

"Almost two years. But you know, I'm glad I've finally said it. I'm glad I've come out!"

"Guys," Rhiannon addressed her parents, "there's something you need to know about me, too. I've only told the other guys here -" referring to the other children. " - but, um, I'm a lesbian, too. And, uh, I think I want Rita to be my girlfriend."

"Oh, darling," said Shelby, hugging her daughter proudly, "what took you so long?"

"WHAT?" shrieked Rhiannon. "You knew?"

"We were tipped off by a few things," replied her mother. "Maggie's room has posters of boy bands, male pro wrestlers, actors. Your bedroom has girl bands and female vocalists, wrestling divas, actresses who have all come out or who are straight and support LGBTs big time. The shades of training bras and panties you pick. You always choose white wine after dinner while the rest of us pick red. And ... we monitor the chat rooms you're in as parents should, and most of the rooms you frequent are other lesbian girls and transgendered girls who are being bullied. The support you've given to them is amazing."

"You're okay with me ..." Rhiannon started crying.

"We love you for who you are," said Rod. "We didn't want to confront you, because we thought you'd turn against us. We were waiting for you. We're proud of you! All of us in this room, are. And when it comes time for you to get married, I will be honored to walk you down the aisle to meet the woman you love."

Rhiannon ran to her parents in absolute joy. Maighread joined in as well.

After much hugging and high-fiving, James knew he had to discuss his elephant. He admitted that he and Maighread had been "snogging", and so had Heather and Chester. The respective parents quickly laid down a series of ground rules, including that if they wanted to make out, each other's intimate parts were off limits. Ruthie, Shelby and Tamara repeated what they had told their respective children before, that they shouldn't even think about having sex until they were each sixteen. They had an additional warning, and included Rita for this one.

"I know you all may be in love, but there's a chance you might break up with your boyfriend or girlfriend," Ruthie said. "Given how close we are, it could make things really complicated. So we need to agree that if there is going to be a break up you do so gently, and not because you've cheated! We still have to work together, and any lack of grease will make the church's machine shut down."

The children agreed. The gang had breakfast. Finally, as the dishes were being put away so they could get ready for the morning services, Rita raised her hand.

"I ... I'm worried about what will happen with me," she said. "I have absolutely no family left, and I don't want to go into foster care, although I don't have much choice. Will you guys work with me to find parents who love me? And ... well, I'd love to have brothers and sisters too. Something I've never have had."

"How would you like to live with Hope and me for a while?" asked Ruthie.

"Really?"

"We have a big home here. We're both expecting, but we're going to need an extra hand in raising our babies. They need a sibling. You can stay with us as long as you want. And who knows? If you work with us as we hope we will ... then maybe my wife and I will adopt you!"

This was too much for Rita to take in. She ran to her new foster parents and her tears of joy were a monsoon.

"I swear I won't let you down," she promised. She turned to the rest of the gang. "None of you."

"Would you like to help me with Sunday school class today, Rita?" asked Kaitlyn. Her class was for teenage girls.

"I don't think Father Greeley will mind me missing one week," laughed Rita. "Mommy was an evangelical, so I did Mass on Saturday nights and services here on Sunday. I've spent too many here anyway. Why not?"

With that the group headed across the parking lot to the church. As usual, Ruthie, Peter and Felicity brought up the rear.

"Did you know about Rhiannon?" asked Felicity.

Peter said "No," but Ruthie said "Yes."

"How?" Peter asked his ex-wife.

"Woman's intuition," Ruthie replied. "Unfortunately, it's not helping me crack Prudence' code. What about you, sister?"

"Hope and I spent two hours talking on the phone last night," said Felicity.

"So what does my wife think? She should know her mother better than anyone. Beyond that, what do you think?"

"We're still not sure, pal. But we've got it down to two things. We've got two weeks or so to figure out which."

The three shared a fist bump for good luck, but they felt their luck had finally run out. Unless ...

"Rita!" yelled Ruthie.

Rita pulled back slightly from the rest of the group.

"Rita ... do you know if your father laundered money to this church, on behalf of someone else?"

"I wouldn't put it past Daddy," admitted Rita. "Not him directly. Maybe one of his front companies."

"Your father evaded taxes?" asked Peter.

"Sure. I had a hard time keeping it a secret, but that's true. Why are you asking?"

"With your Dad dead, do you now control everything in his fortune?" asked Ruthie.

"There's a trustee," said Rita, "but I am primary shareholder of those companies, yes. And I'm keeping my own proxy."

"Now you're a member of our family, we need a big favor from you," said Felicity.

"Name it."