Just Keep Sweet (The Compound Series) by Melissa Brown Page A

didn’t tell Mama what really happened, then she’d be in trouble for getting her dress dirty and there was no way she was going to get in trouble because of stupid, awkward Wayne Steed.
    As Ruthie stood on that platform, she was proud of herself for avoiding Wayne’s silly little kiss. She wanted to be pure, perfect for the prophet. And that’s exactly how she would be.
    “Turn towards the mirror, dear,” Janine said, and Ruthie did as she was told, turning to face the mirror and gasping at the beauty of her dress. Janine smiled. “You like it?”
    “Oh yes, very much.”
    Ruthie’s fingers grazed the delicate scalloped collar that rested just below her neck. The embroidered flowers were her favorite part, centered on each side of the collar. The sleeves were a little poofier than the standard dresses Mama made, but Ruthie liked that. She liked that it was extra fancy, extra special. She would treasure this dress forever.
    “Well, good, it’s a tradition. Every wife of Clarence has worn this dress.”
    “The same one?” she asked, horrified. She didn’t want to wear someone else’s dress on her wedding day!
    Gross!
    Ruthie realized just how many women had worn the dress before her. Thirty-seven other women had that dress hanging from their shoulders. Thirty-seven of them stood hand in hand with the prophet as they took their vows. Her mouth felt dry as she held back tears.
    But I’m the youngest . . . by far the youngest, so that makes me special. I am special, I am special, I am special.
    “No, not the exact same. Don’t be silly. The same pattern, the same detail; it’s what Clarence prefers.”
    “Oh,” Ruthie said, releasing the breath she didn’t even know she was holding. She swallowed hard and wiped the moisture from her right eye, hoping Janine wouldn’t notice. Luckily, Janine was focused on the hem of the dress again and didn’t see. But Loretta did.
    “Are you okay?” Loretta asked with a strange giggle.
    “Uh-huh.” Ruthie nodded with a large fake smile, using the mirror to make eye contact with Loretta. “Just thinking about my wedding day. It’ll be the best day ever.”
    Both girls looked at each other and then back at the mirror, back at Ruthie. They nodded, but their smiles weren’t as broad as Ruthie’s. Were they jealous? Sad? She couldn’t tell. She wasn’t about to waste any time worrying about them . She was the one getting married. It would be her day . . . and Loretta and Charlene and even Mama would have to deal with it.
    “All right, dear,” Janie said, rising to her feet and unzipping the back of the dress. “It’s time for you to take this off and head home. You can stop in the kitchen for a treat if you’re hungry.”
    At least Janine is happy for me. I always did like the prophet’s first wife.
    Once Ruthie returned to her pale green dress and visited the kitchen for a super-large chocolate chip cookie, she reluctantly made her way back home, hoping that Mama was busy with the little ones so she wouldn’t notice Ruthie had been gone for almost two hours.
    No such luck.
    When Ruthie closed the gate behind her, the first words she heard were, “Your mother’s looking for you.”
    Mother Pennie was knitting on the front steps of the house, staring at Ruthie as if she already knew where she’d been, which was impossible. Mother Pennie was clueless.
    Of all of the other mothers in the house, Mother Pennie was the one Ruthie respected the least. She was too soft, too kind, too sweet. If Mama taught Ruthie anything, it was that wives like that were kicked around, used, taken advantage of. Mama was tough; she stuck up for herself and she didn’t allow other wives to affect her. Mother Pennie was the total opposite of Ruthie’s mother. She was weak . . . even though Ruthie was only eleven, there was no way she’d be like that when she married the prophet. She’d be the thirty-eighth wife, and she’d be proud of it. Ruthie would show respect to the older