“And then there are the Unitarian Universalists from that church we went to and Wiccans and Agnostics and Athiests.” She sat back against her chair and blew out a sigh, clearly exhausted. “I am really, really confused.”
“Are you done, mi amor?” Susie said with a laugh and reached for Marlee’s hand.
“For now.” Marlee shook her head slowly. “Teach me, okay?”
“You got it,” Lisa said. “And to answer some of your questions, there are so many different religions because there are so many different beliefs. It was like William said last Sunday. If you have a hundred people in a room, you’ll have a hundred different views about spirituality.”
“Hmm,” was all Marlee said.
“And about the different versions of the Bibles,” Lisa said, “maybe a better word to use is translation, because the Bible is the Bible is the Bible, like you said, but it wasn’t originally written in English. The Old Testament was in Hebrew and the New Testament in Greek.”
“That’s another thing,” Marlee rested her head in her hands, “why are there so many different languages?”
“You’re full of questions, aren’t you?” Lisa asked.
Marlee grimaced in apology.
“That’s okay, though,” Lisa said and meant it. “More people need to question the world around them instead of blindly accepting what they’re told.”
“Well said, amiga.” Susie nodded approvingly. “Well said.”
“Okay, women,” Lisa took a deep breath, “we’ve got a big task ahead of us. We’ve gotta find a way to defend our people using this book.”
Susie opened a notebook. “I wrote down the list of Bible passages that Ronnie said he and Alivia are planning to use against us.”
“Yeah, he texted them to me, too. So since you’re the only one who thought to bring a notebook, can you take notes?”
“Sí, claro.” Susie opened to a fresh page. “I guess we’d better start with Genesis.”
Lisa nodded. “The story of the sinful city of Sodom.”
“Sodom?” Marlee giggled. “Like as in sodomy?” She whispered the last word.
“Yep,” Lisa said.
“Oh, man, I can’t wait to hear about this city.” Marlee was all ears.
Susie consulted her notes. “Ronnie said we should read Genesis 19:4-5.”
“I’ll read it out loud, and then we’ll figure out how to handle it, okay?” Lisa opened her Bible to the passage.
Susie and Marlee nodded.
Lisa cleared her throat. “But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people to the last man, surrounded the house; and they called to Lot, ‘Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, so that we may know them.’” At Marlee’s confused expression, Lisa added, “To ‘know’ someone is to, uh, have physical relations with them.”
“All those men in the city wanted to have sex with the men in the house?”
Lisa nodded.
“Why?”
“That’s the big question,” Lisa said. “The one we have to figure out.”
Susie added, “The men in the town didn’t realize that the men in the house were angels sent by God to destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.”
“Weren’t there any women in the town?” Marlee asked.
“Sí, Sí. Lot had a wife and two daughters. Right, Lisa?”
“Mm hmm.” Lisa nodded.
“The whole things sounds like intended rape to me,” Marlee said matter-of-factly.
Lisa exchanged a glance with Susie and said, “That’s how it reads. You know, I think we should read the chapter leading up to this one and then read all of chapter nineteen. Let’s read silently, to ourselves, okay?”
Susie and Marlee nodded and flipped their Bibles back to Genesis chapter eighteen, and they read silently for a while, although Lisa had a little trouble concentrating because Marlee kept making weird little noises as she read. Reading the Bible was obviously new to her.
“What?” Marlee screeched. “Are you kidding me? First of all, this guy Lot has a really weird name, but he was going to send out his two daughters so the men could gang rape them? His own daughters? What kind of book is this? Why aren’t we protesting this passage?”
“We should be, mi vida, we should be,” Susie said, “but that’s a fight for another day.”
“Maybe not,” Lisa said. “Maybe we can use this. I don’t know how, yet. Susie, can you write down the passage?”
“It’s Genesis 19:8,” Marlee said in disgust. “Let’s keep reading.”
This time Marlee read quietly and Lisa was able to concentrate better. Marlee closed her Bible first, and Susie closed hers a few minutes later. It wasn’t that Lisa was a slow reader; it was that she wanted to glean the essence of each passage.
“Okay,” Marlee said, “you two have a lot of explaining to do.”
“Genesis 19:32-36? Lot’s daughters?” Susie exchanged a glance with Lisa.
“Yep.” Marlee sat back and folded her arms. There was an accusing look on her face.
“It was a different time back then,” Lisa offered lamely.
“Really? That’s all you’ve got? His daughters get their father drunk, trick him into having sex with each of them so they can get pregnant to,” she paused for a second to find the passage, “quote ‘preserve the seed of our father’?”
“To be honest, mi vida, I didn’t know that passage was in the Bible.”
“I’m guilty, too,” Lisa said. “I let other people interpret these chapters for me. My understanding was that God hated the wickedness and evil ways of those towns and sent his angels to check it out. When the angels were almost raped, they decided to go ahead with the original plan and destroy Sodom and everyone in it.”
“But they let Lot and his family go,” Susie said.
“Because he was so righteous,” Marlee said sarcastically. She made air quotes when she said the word righteous. “He wants to send his daughters out to be raped, but then ends up knocking them up instead.” She grunted. “Nice. That’s really nice.”
“Marlee, I know that part doesn’t make sense,” Susie said with a sigh, “but Lot’s daughters thought the world had ended, and they panicked. They thought they were saving the world.”
“And maybe,” Lisa added, “just maybe, it was a way to show that even the righteous aren’t perfect and that Lot was capable of taking on the ways of Sodom, too.”
They sat in silence for a moment until Marlee said, “You know in my Latin class we learned about ancient wars. Sometimes the victors humiliated the leader of the losing side by raping him. After that they probably cut his head off and put it on a stick or something.”
“Yikes,” Lisa said. “That’s crazy.”
“But maybe that’s what those men in the town were up to. They weren’t a bunch of gay guys,” Marlee said the word gay with a high tight voice. “They simply wanted to show these angels that this was their town. Didn’t they call Lot an outsider?”
Lisa nodded.
“See? They didn’t want anybody just coming into their town and hanging with Lot who wasn’t a native of their town, either. They wanted to show their dominance.”
“Dios mio,” Susie said. “I just thought of something. When I was little, we had a dog that—”
“You had a dog?” Marlee sounded amazed that there was something about Susie she didn’t know.
“Sí, mi vida, when I was seven or something. Mami said he ran away, but I think she gave him away.”
“Why?”
“He was a nice dog, but he was always humping your leg, especially if somebody came over to the house. Papi said he wasn’t really having sex on your leg, he was showing his dominance.”
“That’s it.” Lisa snapped her fingers. “Those men of Sodom wanted to show their superiority, their dominance, over the angels. The men of Sodom thought they were better than everyone else. Geez, we may have broken the code on this one.”
They high-fived across the table and sat back satisfied.
Susie leaned forward and flipped her notebook back to the first page. “Okay, one Bible passage down, only...” She used the tip of her pen to count the number of passages left to tackle. “Only eleven more to go.”
Chapter Thirteen
“And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.”— 1 Corinthians 13:1
LISA SAT BACK against her pillows with a sigh. She was finally taking a moment for herself and let the unfolded laundry sit in a heap on her sister’s bed. Lynnie was in her room reading, and Papa had taken Lawrence Jr. and Bridget to the playground. Her mother was in her hair salon giving Mrs. Winfred a perm. Everybody hated the smell, so that’s why her father bailed with the kids. Lisa opened her journal and put pen to paper.
December 31
Sam! Sam! Sam! Samantha Rose Payton gets back from Switzerland tonight, and I am going to see her and kiss her until we both can’t breathe! I almost want to ditch the New Year’s Eve Party at Ronnie's and make Sam drive us somewhere private. I miss her so much. We texted every day and even FaceTimed a couple of times with our phones, but it is NOT THE SAME! I don’t think I can do a long distance relationship. It’s too hard.
Lisa tapped her pen against the paper. When Sam went off to college the next year, they would be in a long distance relationship. But by then Lisa would have her license and could drive wherever Sam was, and hopefully that would be Rockville College. That way the year after that they could go to the same college and play on the same softball team. And be roommates. That would be incredible. Fingers crossed. She amended her last statement.
Forget what I just wrote. I will do a long-distance relationship. My heart has been lonely with Sam gone.
Okay, time for cheerier things. Aunt Margaret had a baby boy on Saturday. I now officially have a first cousin. William was so happy when he called me about it, and I can’t wait to see the baby. Maybe he and Evelyn will have a baby soon and then...oh, wow, and then I’ll have another brother or sister. Oh, geez, I don’t know how to handle that, so I’ll think about it later.
Sunday at church was okay. A few people heard bout me saving Freddie’s life (ha ha ha). People can be so crazy. I didn’t “save his life,” I just helped him out a little. I tried to tell people that, but they believe what they want to believe. It was nice having people at church thinking nice things about me, instead of abomination-type things.
Oh, we did great with the Genesis Bible passagesvabout Sodom. And I’ve been making notes on the other books in the Old Testament: Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Oh, it was really funny when Marlee saw the book called “Numbers.” She thought there was math in the Bible but was disappointed when I told her that Numbers was about Moses counting his people to make sure they had enough for the wars they would have when they tried to move into their Promised Land.
Anyway, Marlee helped us figure out that Deuteronomy means second law, or something like that. It’s Greek, but she knows Latin and was able to figure it out. Marlee doesn’t know the Bible, but sometimes I think she knows everything else. When I read Deuteronomy, I got the sense that it wasn’t a second set of Laws, but a rehashing of the ones from the previous books. Like a summary. Now, I mean, I knew about the Ten Commandments and all, but there are so many more laws that it’s hard to figure out where to start. How can you live your life and obey all those things outlined in the Bible?
Lisa reached for her Bible laying at the foot of her bed. She thumbed through the pages of the Old Testament until she found the passage she wanted. She wondered if it would be sacrilegious to use post-it notes in a Bible. She chanced it and stuck a bright orange one on the page with Deuteronomy 22:11-12. She picked her pen back up.
Here’s a weird one from Deuteronomy. “You shall not wear clothes made of wool and linen woven together. You shall make tassels on the four corners of the cloak with which you cover yourself.” I don’t remember seeing any tassels on Freddie’s cloak. I guess that makes him an abomination, eh? Ha ha ha.
And there are these other crazy laws, like the one in Deuteronomy 22:20-21 that says something about the entire town getting together to stone to death a woman that is not a virgin on her wedding day. Wow. That is a more than a little crazy.
This one from Deuteronomy 23:2 hurts most of all. “No one born of a forbidden union may enter the assembly of the Lord.” That’s me—the bastard kid, born out of wedlock. Now I’ve got two big strikes against me.
All these laws are about purging the evil from Israel. The evil. Is that what I am? Evil? Some people think so. Some think I’m under the influence of the devil.
Lisa drew a frowny face on her paper and was about to draw devil horns on one of the faces, when there was a soft knock on her bedroom door.
Lisa’s mother said, “Can I come in?”
“Sure, Mom.” Lisa tucked her journal under her comforter. She was pretty sure her mother knew she kept a journal, but she really didn’t want to talk about what was in it. “Do you need me?”
“No, Mrs. Winfred’s perm solution is doing its magic for a few minutes, so I thought I’d get some fresh air.” She sat on Bridget’s bed and starting folding clothes. “Are you excited for your big party tonight?”
“Yeah, Sam’s coming home.” Lisa couldn’t help smiling.
“Won’t she be tired from her trip? It’s a long flight from Switzerland.”
“I don’t think she cares, but if she falls asleep Susie can drive her home.”
Her mother set down the socks she had paired and rolled into a ball. There was a wistful look on her face.
“Are you okay, Mom?”
She nodded and took a slow breath as if resigning herself to something. “You’re growing up, aren’t you? Right before my eyes.”
“True. I’m almost six feet tall now,” Lisa said playfully. Her mother was getting all serious, and it was making her nervous.
Her mother smacked her knee playfully. “You know what I mean.”
“It was going to happen eventually, Mom.”
“Yes, indeed.” Lisa’s mother took another slow breath and touched the Bible on Lisa’s bed. “Some people’s minds will never change, you know. No matter what you say or what you do. You know that, don’t you, Lisa?”
Lisa felt her chest tighten. She did know it, and it kind of sucked, too. “Mm hmm.”
Her mother picked up the Bible and thumbed through it until she found what she was looking for. “Here,” she handed the open Bible to Lisa. “Read Psalm 46.”
“Be still and know that I am God,” Lisa read.
“Be still,” her mother echoed. “That one got me through a lot of tough times.”
Lisa pulled a post-it note off the pad and bookmarked the passage. “Thanks, Mom. I’ll try to remember.”
Her mother ran a loving hand down Lisa’s cheek and then headed back to Mrs. Winfred who had probably passed out from the fumes.
“Be still,” Lisa mumbled to herself.
After writing a few more thoughts in her journal, finishing the laundry, and making dinner for the family so her mother could have a few moments to herself after working on Mrs. Winfred all afternoon, Lisa was finally in Marlee’s van on the way to the New Year’s Eve party in East Valley. Julie and Marcus had also been invited and were in the back seat.
“There’s the house,” Lisa said. She couldn’t keep the excitement out of her voice.
“Oh, man,” Marlee said. “Look at all the cars. Ronnie outdid himself.”
Once inside the house, Lisa was disappointed that Sam wasn’t there yet. Hopefully her flight hadn’t been delayed. The party was in full swing. The living room furniture had been moved, the lights were low, and couples were slow-dancing. She waved to Jordan who was hanging by the back door with a bunch of kids from Southbridge. She recognized some of the kids from the youth alliance.
Ronnie showed them whe
re to stash their coats in a bedroom on the first floor and then gave them a quick tour of the amenities available. As soon as Marlee saw Susie she ran across the room and flew into her arms. Their kiss was kind of steamy and attracted a lot of attention. Susie dragged Marlee willingly into the kitchen, so Lisa, Julie, and Marcus headed to the dining room to check out the buffet.
“Where are your folks, Ronnie?” Lisa filled a plate with cut veggies and dip.
“I sent them away.” He shooed away his imaginary parents with both hands which made Lisa chuckle. “Actually, they’re at my aunt’s house in Plattsburgh for a few days. So we are free and clear, dearie. Drinks are in the kitchen. Special drinks are Karl’s domain,” he added with a wink.
Lisa shook her head. She was not interested in drinking alcohol, but they followed him back into the kitchen to get sodas. Marlee and Susie had staked a claim at the kitchen table and were already in a deep conversation with Alivia and Karl about the town of Sodom.
Lisa was surprised when Marlee blurted, “Have you guys ever wondered if God even exists?”
“Sometimes,” Susie said. “But there are so many amazing things in this world, that it can’t be due to random events or chance.” Much to Lisa’s surprise, Susie was drinking a beer.
“I know what you mean,” Alivia said. “It’s like there’s a cosmic force at work.”
Lisa grabbed three root beers from the fridge, handed one to Julie and one to Marcus, and then all three joined their friends at the table.
“Honey,” Alivia said to Karl, “what about you? Have you ever wondered if God exists?”
Lisa hid a smile at the surprised look on his face. Karl was usually reserved and quiet, letting Alivia do all the talking, but he’d actually been asked to speak. He cleared his throat. “Sometimes I think that when I pray it’s just me asking for stupid selfish things. I mean, really? God is going to drop everything just to help me ace a math test or score a touchdown? Doesn’t God have better things to do?”
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