The 19th Wife Read Online Free PDF Page A

me what’s going to happen to her. And you don’t need to sugarcoat it. She and I—we’re not very close.”
    “I got that impression. I understand you left a while back. A lost boy, is that right?”
    I hate that name, but that’s what they call us, the boys the Prophet kicks out. “Yeah, something like that.”
    “I’m sure these past few years haven’t been easy.”
    “Yeah, they pretty much sucked, but you know what, things are fine now.”
    “Do you mind telling me what happened? When you were excommunicated?”
    “I don’t really know what that has to do with my mom being in jail.”
    “I understand if it’s hard to talk about.”
    “It’s not hard, it’s just it doesn’t seem relevant to why I’m here.”
    Mr. Heber squeezed my knee. “Jordan, we’re on the same team here, OK? We’re going to have to trust each other. Eventually this will come up. A prosecutor’s going to ask, if your mom could leave you like that, when you were just a boy, then perhaps she’s also capable of killing your dad.”
    “It’s a lot more complicated than that.”
    “I’m sure it is.”
    And that’s how Mr. Heber got me to tell him the story of my mom dragging me out of bed and driving me down the highway and telling me to get out. “The Prophet made her do it.”
    “Your dad didn’t try to stop her?”
    “My dad. He was probably in the basement getting high.”
    “What prompted this?”
    “It was pretty lame.” I couldn’t believe I was telling Heber all this—I almost never talk about it—but there I went. “I was holding hands with one of my stepsisters, this girl named Queenie. That wasn’t her real name, but that’s what I called her. We weren’t doing anything, but out there boys and girls aren’t supposed to hang out like that. We were just talking one day and I don’t know why, I just took her hand. My dad saw us and he reported it to the Prophet. And that was it. I mean it’s true, yeah, my mom left me there and everything, but in Mesadale they tell you all this stuff, like you’ll go to hell if you don’t do what the Prophet wants. And they believe it,
she
believes it. Fuck—excuse me—frick, I used to believe it. So one night, boom, she dumps me on the road, fast-forward six years, and here I am.”
    Mr. Heber and Maureen were silent. It’s hard to know what to say after you hear a story like that. Then they figured it out. They both said how sorry they were. That’s what people always say,
Gee, I’m awfully sorry.
I hate that. Look at Heber and Maureen: their eyes were full of the one thing I didn’t want. How did this turn into a pity party?
    “Just your regular run-of-the-mill polygamist boo-hoo tragedy,” I said. Most people assume I was kicked out because I was gay. But I was fourteen, a late bloomer. I didn’t know what gay was. Roland likes to read the columns in the women’s magazines. He says I was holding Queenie’s hand for reverse psychology reasons. I don’t think so. I took her hand because she was my friend and I felt alone.
    “Listen, the only reason I’m here is to find out what’s going to happen to my mom. She’s on her own and she needs someone to explain to her the truth. So go ahead and tell me what she’s looking at. It’s life, isn’t it? Maybe a little less with parole?”
    Mr. Heber said nothing.
    “OK, no parole.”
    Still silent.
    “If that’s it, tell me. I can handle it. I’m really not surprised. I don’t know, maybe it’s what she deserves.”
    “I like you, Jordan. You’re honest and you know a fact is a fact. I can tell you really want the truth—not all people do, you know. They say they do, but when it comes down to it, they don’t. That’s why I’m going to tell you everything I know. I’m afraid things don’t look good for your mother. I’m very concerned she’ll be found guilty.” He hesitated, but only for a second. “And face execution.”
    “Execution?”
    “I wish I could be more optimistic. But my job