Sister Wife by Shelley Hrdlitschka

to come and talk to you herself this morning,” I told him, “but she wasn’t given any time. She says you know people in Springdale who might be able to help her.”
    Jon nodded. “I know some guys who have left Unity. I don’t know exactly what they could do for her, but...”
    â€œI just keep picturing her sleeping...I don’t know where. Under a tree? In a doorway?”
    â€œNo, we can’t let that happen.” He thought for a moment. “The problem is I don’t know when the guys will be coming by for another visit. It could be tonight or it could be two weeks from now.”
    â€œTwo weeks?”
    Jon frowned. “I do have a telephone number for Jimmy. He gave it to me for the time when...” He didn’t finish the sentence, but I knew what he was going to say. For the time when he left Unity.
    â€œBut what good is a number without a telephone?”
    â€œI could walk to the highway and hitchhike to the nearest house and knock on doors until I find someone who will let me use their phone.”
    â€œWhen would you do this?”
    â€œToday.” He looked surprised that I’d asked. “A little later. Jimmy will be at work right now.”
    â€œBut won’t you get into trouble?”
    He shrugged. “I can live with the consequences.”
    â€œWhat will those consequences be?” I didn’t want him to get punished for helping me.
    â€œDon’t worry about it, Celeste,” he said quietly. “Like I said last night, I’m not happy in Unity anyway. The best thing they could do is kick me out of the house.”
    I looked away so he couldn’t see how I felt about that, but he must have figured it out anyway. “I really think you should consider your options too,” he said.
    â€œI told you last night. I don’t have any options.”
    â€œI think you should think harder about that.”
    I shook my head.
    We stood quietly for a moment. I knew I should go home, but I couldn’t drag myself away. Who knew when I’d see him again.
    Eventually Jon reached out and took my hand. He clasped it in both of his. Then he looked directly into my face.“You look so sad, Celeste. Why don’t we build a couple more statue people, just for fun.”
    â€œSomeone might see us.”
    â€œNo one comes down here.”
    â€œBut what if...”
    He put a finger to my lips. “Shh. This is your life, Celeste. Sometimes you can do things just for you. Just for fun.”
    â€œBut...”
    â€œNo buts. C’mon.” He dragged me toward the statues. I resisted, but he was stronger and I found myself stumbling along behind him. I glanced over my shoulder, back toward the community, but a row of trees hid the beach from the road. By the time we reached the statues I was laughing. He laughed too.
    â€œI’m going to make a lady statue this time,” I told him.
    He nodded. “Good idea. These guys could use a wife or two.”
    â€œAre you kidding? This wife is going to have a whole bunch of husbands.”
    Jon laughed so hard he had to wipe tears from his eyes. “Now you’re thinking outside the box.”
    â€œOutside the box?”
    He smiled. “It’s a saying I heard once. It means thinking creatively.”
    â€œOh.” Outside the box. I liked that. I would use it on Taviana and surprise her. And then I remembered Taviana was gone. There would be no more stories, no more funny expressions.
    â€œSo, how are you going to make this lady, the one who has many husbands?” Jon asked.
    â€œYou just watch.”
    He let go of my hand and I began combing the beach, looking for a large, triangle-shaped rock. I looked back and saw that Jon had already found two blocky stones for legs. I kept searching. Eventually I saw exactly what I needed, but when I tried to pick it up, I realized it was way too heavy for me to carry alone. “Will you give me a