“I have the deed. It’s right here. I was going to wait until the house was sold and allow you to be forced to leave, but that was before you had sex in my parents’ bedroom. Now, however, you can get the hell out of here.”
The woman sitting at the top of the stairs hung her head. Such hateful language! Adal and Olivia had moved out of her sight, but she could still hear the unkind words.
Adal was surprised that Olivia had gone as far as she had in securing the deed to the house. She had outsmarted him, but he was not without resources and he offered her a compromise.
“If you could see it in your heart to allow a humble servant of God to remain in this house, I would be honored to pay you.”
“How the mighty have fallen,” Olivia taunted. “You want to rent my house? Perhaps I could allow that.”
Adal swallowed hard when Olivia quoted him an outrageous price. “If that is what you want, then that is what you shall have.”
The woman at the top of the stairs was humbled by Adal and she was more certain that it was fate that had brought her to the god fearing man.
Olivia held out her hand. “Rent’s due… now.”
“If you can give me until tomorrow to secure the funds, I will be most grateful.”
Olivia sighed loudly. She was planning on leaving this place this afternoon after finalizing things with the realtor. “Oh alright, but no later than noon tomorrow.” She stormed out and Adal heard the slamming of the door before he went outside to speak to the women who were toiling in the garden.
The woman at the top of the stairs stuffed the sheets into the washer along with the daily wash. She liked her life here. It was a comfort knowing what she would be doing every day. They weren’t polygamists, as so many thought. Each of the women was given to one man, though they saw each other alone only during the night. It was the belief of Adal that in order for the group to function as it was meant to, the chosen ones must spend the majority of their time as a group. The women were not to question the men’s whereabouts when they were not with them. The women realized that it was the purpose of the men to share the group’s mission with nonbelievers such as Olivia.
Adal was different from the other men. He was a prophet, the highest order of man that existed, according to the group’s teachings. When Adal sought out one of the women, it was her duty, and considered a privilege, to share his bed. Sometimes a woman would be chosen for an hour with Adal, and at other times Adal may spend the entire night with one of the women. No one spoke of her intimate times with Adal, for to do so would incite jealousy among the women members of the group. The women were not to speak of intimacies with Adal with their chosen mates, either. Sharing their women humbled the mates and reminded them that there was a higher power, and that was Adal, the prophet.