Page 83 of Ceremony of Lust

My head lowers, and my eyes hit the perfectly polished leather of my black shoe as I take my first step onto the dais. The moment the crowd sees me, a hush falls over them, and everything becomes eerily quiet.

Hadassah follows me and approaches the lectern, adjusting the microphone before she begins to speak.

“Welcome, dear brothers and sisters. Tonight, we must deviate from the normal schedule of praise and worship to deal with a serious matter.”

The room erupts once more with sound as the congregants begin to whisper.

“I have prayed to our ancient ones for guidance over some serious matters involving our Chief Elder and the Council of Elders. And the path forward is clear. Expel them.”

There is a collective gasp, and then someone stands up and shouts, “What have they done? We have a right to know!”

This was an expected reaction.

“They are guilty of committing the deadliest of sins. Greed and lust have ruled their lives. They’ve coveted what does not belong to them. And they’ve committed unspeakable crimes against the citizens of this town. The ancient ones could stand their corruption no longer and demanded they be replaced.”

As if on cue, I take one step forward into the spotlight.

“This is your new Chief Elder,” Hadassah announces firmly.

The light shining down on me is blinding, and I cannot see their faces, but I can feel the gaze of every citizen in attendance tonight on me. My feet shift, and my nerves intensify as I wait for their reaction.

The shuffling of their feet and the rustling of their clothes fills the room with an unmistakable sound. They’re turning their backs. This is something we do when the community shuns another member.

I stagger back because this is not the reaction I expected. Pushback? Yes, absolutely. But I didn’t think they would force me out of the community.

“They don’t want this,” I whisper to Hadassah.

Out of the spotlight, I can see not everyone has turned their back. My parents are sitting in the front row, and for the first time in my life, my father actually looks proud.

But there’s an empty spot beside them, the spot where my wife should be, and my heart clenches. Leaving behind those divorce papers might be the biggest mistake of this entire plan.

“We need to admit defeat,” I whisper again to Hadassah. “They won’t accept me as their leader.”

She turns her head sharply and looks at me with determined brown eyes. “Yes, they will.”

She grips the side of the lectern, straightens her shoulders, and narrows her attention on the crowd of congregants. “Brothers and sisters, do not shun this man.”

“He’s a criminal!” someone yells.

“There are many criminals in this crowd,” she fires back. “And Zev has kept your secrets. He has cleaned up your crimes, yet he does not stand here today, judging you, shunning you. Instead, he’s ready to lead you.”

Bodies start to shuffle as Hadassah’s words reach them. I can easily identify the men in the crowd who received the assistance of the former Chief Elder. They refuse to meet my eye.

Hadassah steps back, retrieves a large leather-bound volume from beneath the lectern, and places it on a stand. It’s the Book of Elders. The male member of each family must come forward and approve of my appointment as Chief Elder with their thumbprint. Hadassah places a black inkpad beside the book and then makes the announcement for members of the congregation to come forward.

Slowly, the men come up, place their thumb in the ink and then roll it across their spot on the page. At first, it’s one by one, but it doesn’t take long for the pace to increase and for a line to form down the center aisle until nearly all the men in the community have voted. Some abstained out of allegiance and some out of defiance.

Hadassah seals my confirmation as the next Chief Elder with her own thumbprint and then closes the book.

“It is done,” she announces, her voice carrying loudly across the space. “Zev Landau is the new Chief Elder of Ripley.”

There is applause, and I bow my head in deference. When I lift it, my eyes land on a figure in the back. She’s wearing a black dress with a sweet little white scalloped collar that ties in the front, creating a peek-a-boo effect. Her hair is the color of dark honey and is wild and wavy. But it’s her eyes that draw me to her, that carry my feet down the steps of the dais, down the center aisle, and stop me right in front of her.

“Yael,” I whisper.

“Zev,” she chokes out, “what have you done?”

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