A new name? She liked her old name. “Daddy gave me my name.” She didn’t remember him much except that he was a hero and he loved her. A lot.
The Prophet guy walked around his big desk and reached her, crouching down so they were at eye level. He smelled funny. Like he had rubbed fruity lotion on his arms. “Your father was a great man in history, and he was a friend of mine. You can be grateful you came from him. We are grateful for every blessing in our lives.”
“You knew my daddy?” she blurted out.
His smile showed very white teeth. “Yes. We graduated high school together, along with your mother. All of us.”
“We were close friends.” Her mother made a small sound of approval. A twittering of sorts. “But we lost touch somehow.”
Now her mama sounded sad again.
The guy looked up at her mama and smiled. “Often things come full circle, Angel.”
Angel? Her mama’s new name was Angel? Was this really happening? “Why can’t I keep my old name?” Her voice trembled a little this time.
The man ran a hand down her hair, and she barely kept from stepping back. But Mama wouldn’t like that. Somehow, she knew it. “Because you’re special. When your mother contacted me, and I saw pictures of you, I knew. I just knew you were the special one. Those blue eyes and brown hair were made for a godly woman. I’ve been looking for you for a long time. Mary is a special name,” he said.
So was Jennifer. She liked being called Jennifer. Of course, her dad had called her Pipsqueak. She remembered his voice, and she had a video of him talking to her at the beach. But she wasn’t going to tell the Prophet guy that. “Why is Mary special?” she asked, when he kept looking at her. Was she supposed to say something?
He leaned in. “Because it can be a pure name or a whore’s name. A saint or a sinner. Which do you want to be?”
She blinked. “What’s a whore?”
“Ah. I can see we need to study our Bible.” His smile got wider, and he looked at her in a way that made her stomach feel funny. “For now, we have to make sure others know you’re the special one. You may call me Isaac.”
Her mother gasped. “Oh, Mary. What an honor.”
She slowly nodded. All right. To make her mama happy, she’d let them call her Mary. But in her head, in her heart, she’d be Pipsqueak. That would make it okay. Maybe they wouldn’t stay at this place very long.
Isaac stood up and moved to the side, in front of Mama. “It is a great honor to have you here among An Teaghlaigh, my sweet Angel.” He cupped her face and leaned in until their foreheads touched.
This was weird. Super weird.
Her mother let go of her hand. “I’m so glad I found you again.” Her eyes closed, and she swayed. “It is my honor to serve you. To serve the family. Always.”
Isaac reached behind himself and took a bell off the desk. He rang it, and the sound was tinkly.
A woman instantly opened the door. She was older, maybe about eighteen, with curly brown hair and even darker eyes. “How may I serve?” she asked, her eyes remaining down.
“Juliet. Wonderful. Please take little Mary to the other children. I think they’re studying the Bible,” Isaac said. “Angel and I require a cleansing.”
Juliet nodded and reached out a hand. “Mary. Come with me.”
Jennifer, or Mary, looked up at her mama. But Mama was looking at Isaac with her eyes shining and her mouth partly open. “Mama?”
“Go, sweetheart,” Mama said. “My duty is here.”
Another weird feeling lumped in Mary’s tummy, and her ears burned. She took the Juliet lady’s hand and followed her out of the room. At the last second, she looked back to see Isaac kissing Mama, his hand on her bum.
His eyes opened, and he looked right at her. Then he squeezed Mama closer to him.
Mary turned around and tried not to run. Where would she go?
* * *
Years later, she awoke in the big bed, letting Malcolm’s scent soothe her. Through the years, as she grew up, she’d slowly begun to know her destiny. Or rather, what Isaac believed to be her destiny. She was supposed to have been his special bride when she turned eighteen, but in one night, one moment really, she’d tossed that fate away. What she’d done to survive, she could never take back.
To answer Isaac’s first question of her, she’d definitely chosen the path of a sinner and not a saint.
