19
Donatella
Halfway through a tasteless meal packet of ready-to-eat survival food, Clara approached with a smile.
“Kateri, dear, the prophet would like to see you in the rectory.”
Donna trusted Clara even less than she did the so-called prophet. She was always fucking smiling. How could someone like that possibly be trusted? Her sickeningly sweet disposition was nauseating. Yet, Donna played along and sprouted a smile in return.
“Thank you, Clara.”
When she walked away, Donna turned to Kelly and rolled her eyes. “She creeps me the fuck out,” she whispered before getting up from the cafeteria table.
Being summoned to Bobby Lee’s personal living quarters was not unusual. He often sent for his future wives to hold private sermons, preaching about being a good and dutiful wife. But what really surprised her was that in all the times he’d sent for them, he never once tried to get physical. Even though he’d said, several times, that he would wait until after the mass wedding to consummate his marriages, she didn’t believe him. She didn’t believe a word that came out of the charlatan’s mouth.
When she got to the rectory, she greeted the overly happy women who acted as if they were winning some sort of prize by becoming one of his many wives. Again, Donna played along. She smiled and took a seat on the living room floor next to Vera.
All conversations ceased when Bobby Lee entered the room. His golden hair bounced with each step. He was wearing a long, white garb as if he were some sort of medieval friar. She could hear soft gasping coming from the swooning women. By his side was Clara. She was his bottom bitch as far as Donna was concerned.
“Ephesians!”he called out dramatically.
He didn’t have to do much to have the other women mesmerized. They waited with bated breath for the next round of bullshit to plop out his mouth. It was like they were all puffing on the same batch of Purple Haze.
Donna was tempted to roll her eyes, but she resisted. Instead, she sat with her legs crossed and her chin resting on her fists. She imitated the other ladies and stared up at him with googly eyes.
Bobby Lee smiled, exposing perfect, white teeth and raised the Bible over his head. He was definitely a good-looking man, and he certainly didn’t lack charisma.
“The Bible says, ‘There is one body, and one Spirit. Even as ye called in one hope of your calling. One lord, one faith, one baptism.’”
He walked over to the fireplace and placed the Bible on the mantel. After scanning the room, he held his hand out to Sonia, a young Hispanic woman who’d arrived around the same time Donna had.
“Join me, please.”
Without hesitation, Sonia hopped off the floor and hurried over to Bobby Lee. The excitement in her eyes from being so close to him was… sad. Donna, for the life of her, couldn’t understand how he managed to control the minds of people who otherwise seemed perfectly normal.
“Who can find a virtuous woman? Her price is above rubies. That’s Proverbs 31:10.”
Sonia was smiling as if she’d just won the Publisher’s Clearing House sweepstakes.
“A virtuous woman,” he repeated. “Virtuous.”
Get on with it!
Donna totally could’ve been in the cafeteria finishing her powdered food.
“Beloveds, Sonia is not a virtuous woman. Since she was a child, her body has been bought and used time and time again.”
Sonia’s smile faded. Her face turned beet red with embarrassment. She folded her arms as if she was trying to put up a protective forcefield.
“Yet, we are not here to judge. Let He who is without sin among you cast the first stone at our beloved Sonia.”
Donna was horrified for the young woman. She could not believe the audacity that it took to throw her under a very judgmental and unflattering spotlight.
Clara walked up to Sonia wearing her trademarked creepy smile and placed her hands on her shoulders.
“You will be cleansed, washed, and made clean again, and worthy of our prophet.”
When Bobby Lee left the room, Donna looked around to see if any of the other women were as appalled as she was. Nope. The loopy ass women were all smiles.
