Gunny and Melody frequently joined them, and with those five, Vivie felt loved and complete.As had happened with Jennifer’s mother and others, her n...west concubine, June, soon gravitated to a male sponsor who could better satisfy her needs, and vice versa. A truly nice benefit of being a member of Helva’s complement; no one cared a whit about numbers of authorized concubines. Mission, teamwork, and synergy were more important.During one of Vivie’s orientation sessions, Helva told her, During. Sam had told her once that he thought their mother had just let chance take its course. Sammi wasn't so sure, but she could see her brother's point. Neither of them looked like their Dad, nor did they look like any of the neighbors. Their biological father might be an actor, or just someone their mother had met at a party.None of that really mattered, not in Three Valleys. From what she'd read she knew it mattered everywhere else. In Center, for example, women would marry a guy, and have all of. This custom has continued for two centuries, and not a single father of the bride has, to my knowledge, felt ill-used by it. He has been revered, admired, and mourned when death has come for him.“Naturally, this has had to be a very closely guarded secret for many generations, but we hope that, someday soon, it can be done in the open, when society has progressed enough to embrace our very different way of life. A few sons, you know, brothers of the brides, have resisted it, but soon enough,. I’ve never smoked, I don’t drink or use drugs, no boyfriend and no pets.”“The address is 810 Prospect Street. I’ll have to interview you in person, but so far we might have an agreement here,” the potential landlady said.“I can make it out there before lunch time, if that’s convenient?”“Yes, that will work fine. I’ll even feed you lunch if you don’t mind soup and a grilled cheese sandwich.”“I’ll be there.”After hanging up the phone, Linda smiled. Things were definitely looking up. The furnished.