Calla was distracted during our afternoon tea on the wraparound porch of The House.

“What is it?” I asked. My tone and voice were almost identical to hers. When had I become so soft-spoken? “Aren’t you excited to see Haden tonight?”

“Well, sure I am,” she said. “And for after the ball. When we…” She trailed off as her face reddened.

When we what? I screamed inside.

Seeing the alarmed expression on my face, Calla continued in a rush of words. “No. No. No, Penny. Not that. I mean The Joining ceremony. Tonight. When we all get married.”

Her words didn’t help stifle my terror. The Joining is tonight? It made sense then. That was why we getting so thoroughly made up. It wasn’t just a ball. It was some sick mass-wedding ceremony.

And then…

Calla finished my thought. “But after The Joining,” she said, grinning, “I won’t be the only one who’s ever seen you in a slip.” She laughed, wiggling her eyebrows up and down.

“I guess not,” I said, laughing at her expression despite myself. “So what’s bothering you?”

“I’m just feeling a little sad that we won’t see each other for a whole year.”

“Why not? Judaculla’s not that big of a place. We’ll probably run into each other all the time.”

“It won’t be like that, Penny. We’re not allowed to see each other, or anyone else, until our babies are dedicated,” Calla said. “We spend our first year alone with our One.” A faint blush spread across her cheeks. “So we can get to know each other better.”

More like so there aren’t any witnesses, I thought.

“I know we’re not supposed to complain, but it doesn’t seem fair that everyone else got to spend so much time with their sister, and I only got a few days with mine.”

“I feel the same way,” I said.

And it was entirely true. I had become attached to Calla, so much that I worried about what her future held. What both our futures held. How far could I go with this charade? Would I be able to go through with marrying some random boy?

Tonight?

“Tell me about The Promise Ball,” I said, trying to distract myself from questions for which I had no answers.

Calla’s silence made me feel I’d once again tipped my hand by showing too much ignorance. “I think Cole wants to be there with me whenever I experience new stuff, so he hasn’t told me anything about the ball.”

“Aww,” Calla said, quickly switching from anger to puppy-dog love. “It’s so sweet that he wants to share everything with you.”

“Sweet, yes. But, I’d feel less nervous if I knew what to expect,” I said. “So, tell me?”