I set Bart down and stooped, my thoughts back on the troubles that had kept me tossing and turning through the night. “Hurry to Chapel, Bart. It’s about to start.”

He ran up the slope, arms spread like a bird, mind no doubt lost on flying around the moon. I followed him quickly.

The entire flock had already gathered in the small Chapel perched on top of the hill north of town when I entered. Early morning rays cast strips of light across the wood floor and illuminated Harrison Pierce’s strong face where he stood at the pulpit. A required daily activity for every member, seven a.m. Chapel was typically one of my favorite moments of each day, because I often was allowed to take the children outside to play while the rest prayed. It was my special role and I was good at it.

But today I was so torn by my indiscretion that I walked straight for my assigned pew and took my seat between Andrew and Jamie. I was still dirty inside. I had to get clean, and getting clean required confession.

But I was afraid of what might happen to me. Even more, to Jamie.

“Good morning, Grace,” Andrew said.

“Good morning, Andrew.”

My eyes swept across the familiar faces of the flock. Margaret Holden, a middle-aged woman often chided for her inability to keep her mouth shut, sat in the row across from me with her silent but stern husband, Daniel, and their three young boys. Tanner Rifle, a gray-haired guardian with a military past, and his teenage daughter, Megan, sat in the next row. His plump wife, Sandra, whispered to Rebecca Teller, an elderly woman who occupied one of the seven council member seats. Her quiet grace and wisdom were respected by all.

The following row was filled with the Martin family—six children aging from seventeen to one, and their parents, George and Lucy, who were perfectly behaved but rarely seemed to notice each other as far as I could tell. In front of me sat Tyler Smith and his wife, Veronica. They ran the general store with their three children—an irony since the Smith children were allergic to nearly everything they sold.

So many faces, stories, and histories, all of which I knew nearly as well as my own, gathered here. And they knew me just as well. Every time I caught an eye I wondered if they could sense my guilt.

“Good morning, dearly beloved,” Harrison began. “I see we are all here and in good spirits. Let us begin with a prayer.”

I closed my eyes and heard the prayer, but my mind quickly moved to other things. Alice. David. Jamie.

I felt Andrew’s elbow brush mine, so I withdrew. Touching, even for the married, wasn’t permitted in the holy house, and for that I was grateful because I didn’t like being touched by Andrew in any way, at any time.