Catherine stands at the back door,
watching me untangle a burr
from my hair.
“I know you were not
tending the sheep
or threshing the field
or weeding the garden
or doing household chores.”
“I was praying,
at church.”
I tell a partial fib.
She brushes dirt off my shoulder.
“When I met Marc,
I prayed a lot too.”
I shake my head.
“It’s not what you think.”
Catherine smiles.
“I wish you would know
that you can trust me.”
She looks at me
as if we share something
that I know we don’t.
She kisses my forehead.
Perhaps my sister would understand?
But what if she didn’t?
“I promise you,
I am doing nothing sinful.”
She chuckles as she spins me around
to retie my apron.
“I know that, Jehanne.”
“So, you will keep my secret?”
“Of course I will.”