The Fulfillment Read Online Free PDF Page B

sweat, Jonathan hurried on. “You’re the natural one, Aaron. You’re my brother. You see how there ought to be a child, don’t you? It’s not a thing I ask lightly.” He looked at Mary, and her hands were still, her face expressionless.
    Aaron’s impatience erupted.
    â€œI’m getting pretty damn sick of everybody infive counties pushing me to get married. First it’s the townspeople, then it’s Pris, then Mary, and now you, Jonathan. It isn’t bad enough that the others push only for a wedding. Here you are, pushing for an heir! If people would leave us alone, maybe I’d be more in favor of the idea, but I’m not even ready to marry Pris yet, let alone have babies!”
    â€œI’m not talkin’ about you and Pris.”
    â€œWell, what the hell are you talkin’ about?”
    Jonathan’s Adam’s apple rose and slid back into place. This whole thing had gone wrong from the start. Mary had a puzzled look on her face. He wanted to ask this for her sake, too. He wanted to give her this, but how could he get her to understand? The sweat rolled down his temple. Dampness made dark stains on his blue cambric shirt.
    â€œI said, what are you talkin’ about?” Aaron repeated.
    It was now or never.
    â€œI’m talkin’ about you and Mary.”
    The silence in the room was broken only by the tick of the pendulum clock on the kitchen wall.
    â€œMe and Mary?” Aaron asked it in a quizzical way, as if he weren’t sure he’d heard the question right. He didn’t look at her, but he sensed her awful stillness, and it cracked the outer layer of his disbelief.
    â€œBefore either of you say anything, I got to explain—”
    â€œChrist almighty! Explain! If I understand what you’re asking, you got more than explaining to do. You got some apologizing!” Aaronwas on his feet now and leaning toward Jonathan across the table. “There’s nothing between Mary and me. Nothing! Do you hear me, brother?”
    â€œI know…” was all Jonathan could get out before Aaron raged on.
    â€œMary’s your wife, man! Your wife! You’d best look at her and see what you’ve done in the last minute here.” Aaron pointed a shaking finger at Mary. She sat staring at Jonathan with enormous eyes, her mouth working.
    And Jonathan knew he need not plumb too deeply to see how he’d hurt her.
    â€œWhy, Jonathan?” she asked at last, and her voice was a quiet croak.
    â€œI want us to have a son, and I give up hoping I could father one. It came to me that you and me had those mumps together, Aaron, but you being those four years younger than me, well, they didn’t go down on you like they did on me, and I figured—”
    But Aaron cut him off again. “Oh, no, you don’t! You don’t lay the guilt on me, Jonathan. Yes, we suffered side by side and you came out of it worse off than me, but that doesn’t mean I owe you this that you’re asking.”
    â€œI didn’t mean you owe me. You know I’m not handy with words. But I thought about this plenty over the whole winter, and it appeared to me you and Priscilla were getting mighty close, so before you up and married I thought—”
    Once again he was cut off, this time by Mary.
    â€œOh, Jonathan, you thought of it all winter? You planned on asking us all that time?” Therewas such hurt and bewilderment in her eyes that both men looked away rather than see it.
    â€œAaron’s your brother. I’m your wife. The asking aside, did you think of the sinfulness of it? Did you think of that?”
    â€œI did. And I’ve done some praying over it, and I’ll gladly take the sin onto myself if there is sin. But there’s nothing between you and Aaron. You said so, Aaron, and I could see that. Maybe the sin lays in the coveting , like the commandment says.”
    â€œYou can’t just bend and