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Show in my father's house/ 2 7 room mirror, twisting her long, chestnut hair into a chignon. "Why not? He's a boy." "He's your brother. Brothers can't marry sisters." "My brother? Saul and Jake and Danny are my brothers. Timmy isn't your boy." "But he is your daddy's boy." She looked at me and pursed her lips. "I guess it's time you knew your daddy is married to Aunt LaVona." "He's married to you!" "Well, he's married to Aunt LaVona, too. And to Aunt Helga and Aunt Rachel and Aunt Sarah and Aunt Elsa and Aunt Gerda." How unfair! I watched her stick hairpins into the soft figure-eight of her hair for awhile. "Is that why Timmy calls him Daddy?" For the first time, I suspected that "Daddy" might not be my father's first name. "Of course." "Did you marry him first?" She shook her head. "Aunt Gerda did." Another cheat! My mother should have been first. I pressed my cheek against the woodwork until it hurt. "Do other people have lots of wives?" "In the early days of the Church, many people lived the Principle. But then the Manifesto was accepted. Now most people in this part of the world have only one wife. It's called monogamy." |