The Preacher's Son Ch.09

"Are you getting a divorce?" Ruth asked. That question cut deeper than June would have liked. What was she supposed to say? There was a definite answer to that, as she had made her mind up. But how harsh would that be to Ruth?

"Yes honey." She finally answered. June then braced herself for the incoming tears. Instead, she was treated to a good few moments of silence. Ruth was probably still taking it all in.

"Oh." Was all she said. It was now June's turn to be confused. She had naturally expected a more upset reaction, yet despite such devastating news, her daughter was taking it well.

"I'm sorry Ruth." June said as soothingly as she possibly could. "I know this has gotta be hard on you..." She never thought that she would have to give this speech, Jesus himself had denounced the idea of divorce in the very book they named their firstborn after. "But it's not your fault. Not your fault at all. You've been nothing but a wonderful daughter all your life."

"No... no I know." Ruth said softly as they broke from the embrace.

"Aren't you sad?" asked June.

"A little..." she responded with a nod. "But...I dunno mommy." She struggled hard to put her emotions into words. "I...don't feel like I wanna cry." That was an odd way to put it. Maybe she still needed time to process the new information? Perhaps she had picked up on the underlying issues between the two of them and knew it was coming. She could simply be stronger emotionally than her mother had given her credit for. Still, June was glad to see she wasn't in tears.

"Okay Ruth..." she said, gathering up the suitcase. "Let's go, Leah's waiting for us downstairs. You can sleep in the car and I'll talk to the school to give you some time off when we get there. Okay?"

"Okay mommy." With that, June took Ruth's hand in her own and led her towards the staircase. As quietly as they could, they strode down the stairs towards the front door, the only real sound was the creaking of the wood. Sure enough, Leah was waiting for them by the door. She was the older of her two girls, and the second child overall. At the age of 14, she had only just entered High School alongside her elder brother. Unlike Ruth, she took a little bit more after her mother in terms of appearance; Long blonde hair neatly tied up in a ponytail, deep blue eyes, and a fair complexion. Naturally, her body had already started to develop. At the moment, she could still pass for a normal, if a tad overdeveloped, human girl. But it wouldn't be that long before she would bear the unmistakable figure of a Breeder.

A sickening thought suddenly occurred to June now that the blinders were off and she could see her husband for what he truly is. Would he have made their daughters undergo the same...modification that he thrust upon her? Was it not enough that he demanded his wife look the part of a "good Christian woman", but that their children too? Matthew was likely only spared because of how risky such a reduction surgery would be, or perhaps just because it was easier to hide. But even still... would they too have been sent through the program when they came of age? How could he possibly justify his teachings then? June shook her head to clear the thoughts from it. No, there was no need for her to ponder such a hypothetical. For as long as she still drew breath, it would never come to pass.

"Alright, let's go." She said simply. Leah nodded wordlessly. She too seemed to be taking this news rather well. Why this was, June couldn't say right now. But the time to find this out was later, right now she had a long drive ahead of her. As the three of them exited the house, they noticed the Pastor standing in the driveway. His face was a mask of scorn and restrained fury. June flashed him a harsh glare as she read his body language. Though his rage could not be denied, she felt no active aggression within him. He would not try to stop them physically, only guilt trip them into staying. It would not work on her, and June just had to keep faith that it would not sway her children. As they maneuvered around him to get to her car, June heard the pastor begin to speak.

"And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery." Matthew 19:9. As always, he defaulted back to the good book whenever he had nothing insightful to say. Although in a strange hilarious way, he had justified their separation without even knowing it. For one could say that their marriage that was "put away for fornication"

"And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?" Romans 2:3, Paul's challenge to the hypocrites who claimed to be Holy. It seemed pretty apt. Greg recoiled a little at the statement, as to why she couldn't say. Maybe she had hit the nail on the head a little too hard, implying she knew of some dark secret he kept hidden from her. Perhaps he was just shocked that she could remember a phrase like that from memory. Without another word, she lead the kids into the car. It only took a moment for her to pull out of the driveway and go off into the night.

*

As the couple entered the dining room, they noticed a pair of bowls resting on the table, with a box of corn flakes and a carton of milk in the center of it. Though the plates and cooking gear had all been put away, the distinct smell of pancakes still lingered in the air. Akari was still lingering around, enjoying an oddly small cup of coffee. "You finished them all?" Himawari said with a soft whine.

"You know the rules sis!" Akari said with an exaggerated wave of her finger. "Breakfast at 8. If you miss it you gotta make your own!" Himawari sighed, but she was right. At least they gave them something to eat.

"Alright well..." She said, sitting down in her chair to pour herself a bowl. "We'll try not to be so late next time. Hope Haha's planning her usual for tomorrow." Tomorrow was Sunday, when Yukiko would usually wheel out her traditional Japanese style breakfast. Grilled fish, miso soup, rice and pickles. A particular favorite of hers.

"Don't see why she wouldn't." Akari said with a shrug as she walked past Himawari. All of a sudden, she stopped in her tracks and sniffed the air a little. "Um... Himawari?"

"Yeah?"

"Did you... brush your teeth this morning?" Akari asked. It was quite difficult to say this to her sister without embarrassing her, and unfortunately she hadn't picked up on the implication just yet.

"Yeah just after I woke up. Why?" she asked as she reached for the milk.

"Ah... you might wanna start doing it just before coming downstairs..." Akari struggled to put it delicately. Holding her hand up to her face, she breathed audibly into it. It took Himawari a second to figure out what she meant, once she did she mimicked the action. Right away the overpowering scent of cum flooded her nostrils. If it wasn't for her cocoa colored skin, she would have turned deep red.

"T-thanks..." she muttered as she poured the milk over her cereal. "So ah... did we miss anything?"

"As a matter of fact..." Akari said rather slyly, reaching into her pants pocket and producing a pink device, shaped similarly to an electronic thermometer. But after a lifetime of living in a Breeder household Himawari already knew what it was. She didn't even need to look at it to find out what it meant.

"Oooh! Congrats!" she squealed excitedly, clapping her hands together in joy. One would think that she'd be used to this by now, especially after 4 pregnancies on her sister's part. But no, she still couldn't be happier to be an aunt all over again. "Any idea on the father?"

"Could be one of those two studs from UCI, but I'm kind of hoping it's the other guest we've taken in." Akari replied with a sly smile. "He really packs me full and never leaves me wanting. I started taking those new pills because of him."

"New pills?" Matthew queried, reminding the girls that he was still in the room. "Are you feeling sick?" Akari had to suppress a laugh, his naiveté was pretty cute. No wonder Himawari was so drawn to him.

"Oh no don't worry!" she replied in a tone of amusement. "These are a new type of fertility pill!"

"Fertility pills?" Matthew wasn't all that much less confused than he was when he started. "But we're all Breeders. Do we really need help like that?"

"Well it never hurts to be sure." She said with a slight giggle. "Also, it gives us a higher chance of multiples."

"I thought those were still in testing." Himawari said quizzically.

"They've just hit the market. I mean you gotta get them from a special pharmacy but they're here."

"Maybe after this I shou-" Himawari stopped herself mid-sentence. As much as she wanted a big family like her mother, she couldn't overwhelm Matthew like that.

"Maybe you should what?" He asked.

"N-Nothing!" she replied frantically, hoping that he'd ignore it and move on.

"That didn't sound like nothing." Matthew said, "Sounded like you were going to suggest taking those pills. Were you thinking of trying for more kids?" Himawari averted his gaze. He was getting a lot better at picking this stuff up.

"Well... I mean maybe. That is... if you wanted to. But I mean..." She stammered, trying hard to avoid any confrontation. Her worry suddenly changed to confusion as Matthew burst into laughter.

"Himawari!" he exclaimed in amusement. "You know I want to make a family with you... Why would you hide that from me?"

"Well, you got really upset when I told you I was pregnant with our son. So I figured you might not like the idea of a bigger family."

"...son?" Matthew queried. Himawari paused. Matthew had earlier said he wanted to wait until the baby was delivered to find that out. A bit of an old fashioned mindset, Breeder women were after all naturally blessed with the ability to know intuitively what they were gestating. Just another one of the Goddess' gifts. She hadn't meant to let it slip like that, but it just kind of happened. But the cat was out of the bag now.

"...Yes Matthew." She said with a nervously happy smile. "We're having a boy." Matthew's heart jumped with delight at the news.

"A boy..." he might have thought he would be upset. Instead, he was nothing short of overjoyed. "We're having a boy!" in his current state, he could do very little more than repeat the phrase. He lept from the table to draw Himawari into his arms once more.

"Yeah..." Himawari cooed softly, one arm returned Matthew's embrace while the other rested on her belly. "I'm sorry, I know you wanted to wait to find out..."

"Oh, that doesn't matter now!" Matthew responded. "I...I guess we can start talking names now?" he asked in his usual inexperienced awkwardness. Himawari found herself unable to suppress a laugh.

"Names?" She asked "We haven't had breakfast yet and you wanna talk names?" She didn't want to laugh, but she really couldn't help herself. Matthew started turning a bit red and looked away in embarrassment.

"R-right..." he muttered sheepishly as he returned to his seat. He then poured himself a bowl. Himawari felt a little bad all of a sudden, she didn't mean to embarrass him like that.

"I mean... we can still talk about it if you want. I'm just kinda hungry so I might not be thinking as clear as I could be." That lifted his spirits a great deal. "So... boy's names..." she continued. A brief silence fell over the two of them. Akari could sense she was about to become a third wheel, and quietly exited from the kitchen.

"There's um..." Matthew finally said, breaking the silence. "There's one name I was thinking about."

"Oh?" Himawari queried through a mouthful of corn flakes.

"Yeah... It's the name of a man who really means a lot to me. Someone who... who really deserves to be honored like that. "

"And who's that?" Himawari asked. Her empathy had already picked up on what he was alluding to. But it would be best if he were to say it out loud; It would help Matthew decide if that really was the name he wanted.

"Marcus."

*

"So what do you want to do?" came the question. Greg said nothing, just taking it all in. As if his week hadn't been bad enough, he had just now learned about Matthew's release. How could this have happened? Matthew may have fell down by the wayside, but to willingly try and break out? The thought just seemed so unbelievable to him, as if this were some cruel joke or bad dream. Yet there was no denying that this was happening. "Hello?" Cal asked again.

"Yes, sorry." He replied as he snapped out of his trance, rubbing his eyes carefully as he tried to process his problem-solving skills. "You said that they escaped, didn't you? That seems like something we can use to draw them back in if they signed the waver."

"Yeah but..." Cal paused for a long moment. Though Greg couldn't see his face over the phone, he could tell that there was something sheepish in his tone of voice.

"But?" Greg asked coldly.

"We kind of... hit them. And the witnesses saw it." Cal admitted with a defeated sigh.

"You did what?!!" Greg shouted, his voice completely consumed with rage. "How could you do such a thing?! That was my son! And in front of that... witch Himawari?" conditioned through and through, he slightly tweaked the actual word he wanted to use.

"We didn't know she was there!" Countered Cal. "Besides, you were the one who always told us to use whatever we had to do to save their souls!"

"I never told you to beat the patients!" with no one around the house to hear him, his anger was allowed to be expressed completely without restrain.

"No but you never had a problem with it before." Greg recoiled a little. Intentionally or otherwise, Cal's remark had cut right to the bone. "Come on, you knew how many resisted the treatment, and what we had to do to get them back in line. You said you wanted your son to be cured didn't you?" Greg would be lying if he said he had never suspected that they were using physical force. But like had always said, the greatest of goals was to save as many souls as possible before the Lord called them home, and as the saying went "Spare the rod, spoil the child". But now that it had happened to his own son, Greg found himself face to face with the reality of it, and found himself second-guessing the practice.

"So they saw it... what does that mean?" he finally asked.

"Something about how by laying a hand on them we violated our own contract since we're not keeping them safe or something like that." Cal replied. "Now they have no proof we've done it with everyone else, so we'll probably be able to keep the remaining clients in but-"

"I don't care about the other clients!" exclaimed Greg, his fingers clenching into a tight fist. "What about my son?!" Cal said nothing for a moment.

"Well, their claim's pretty solid." Cal admitted. "We really can't keep him here anymore. The kid's 18, so unless he's ordered by the court we can't bring him back."

"Of course." Sighed Greg.

"There's...something else." Continued Cal.

"What?" the pastor snapped.

"...We just got served a summons from the IBE." Greg froze up at that. "They're suing us for reckless endangerment and abuse."

"They're what?!" he exclaimed.

"Yeah. Turns out your boy's little tramp brought a lawyer with her. They're demanding a shutdown and compensation for all the patients." Cal continued. "Doesn't look good for us I'm afraid. So again... what do you want to do?" Greg pondered long and hard for a while.

"We're going to fight this." He said solemnly.

"Sir?"

"We're going to hire the best lawyers we can find." Greg continued, the fires of determination raging through his voice. "We're not only going to get these charges dropped, but we will countersue them for everything they've got... And God willing, we will bring my son back onto the path of righteousness. " It was quite a while before Cal was able to respond.

"...Understood sir. But how are we going to afford that?" Cal queried. "The IBE's pretty damn powerful, they've got loads of money and influence all over the world."

"And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth." Greg responded adamantly. "1 Samuel 17:49. We shall be like David slaying the giant. I shall petition my flock for the money we need."

"If you're sure..." Cal didn't sound that convinced.

"I am. You know as well as I do that we have the lord on our side. Though we may be tested as Job was, we shall come through the other side on top. If he wills it, we will have saved additional souls." He spoke with utter confidence and assurance. "I'll start making the arrangements in the morning, but for now I'm going to need you to pray for our success."

"Of course, pastor." Cal replied. "God Bless."