The Guthrie’s Chapter 13: Butterflies -

Esther had finally finished cleaning out the kennels. Haven got her a job at a local animal shelter, and although she’d been enjoying the work more than she assumed she would, Esther was ready for Mary to take over. Esther wanted to see if she could go to school so she could become a paralegal or something like that. She knew she still needed to learn a lot about the law if she were going to get legal documents for her and Mary. Esther didn’t want to spend the rest of her life worried about stolen birth certificates and driver’s licenses. It would be like a shameful tattoo to be hidden from everyone. She was born here, so she was going to prove it.
She bent down to pet one of the dogs.

Esther stood up and pulled her phone from her pocket. She sighed when she realized Mary was trying to video call her. Mary had taken a real shine to cell phones. She loved emoji’s and filters so much that she kept begging Esther to join a social network with her, which Esther refused to do. Esther was happy that Mary had adjusted so well to the outside world, but it had only been a week for Esther, and she was still a little unnerved at it all. She finally found the button to accept the call.

Mary hung up the phone. Esther smiled at it for a few seconds longer. Her smile faded when she saw Mary’s text message come through with the address in it. Esther really hated having to deal with apps. When she finally found the right one for the driving service, she put the address inside and walked into the hallway to wait for her ride.

What could the surprise possibly be? When the car pulled up, she jumped in quickly. She hated talking to the people who picked them up. It wasn’t that she was unfriendly, but she knew so little about the outside world that she didn’t want to sound stupid or strange to them. Mary, on the other hand, always left the car with a new best friend. She bombarded them with questions, and they were all too happy to tell her everything they knew. Esther had to stop Mary from giving out her number on numerous occasions. When they got to the address, Esther got out of the car, and she saw Mary sitting outside of the building.

She might be living in the city, but she still considered herself to be a woman of God. Women who had tattoos weren’t allowed to be married. They were forced off of the compound and no one would ever dare to bring a woman with a tattoo home.

As Mary pulled Esther by the hand and dragged her into the tattoo parlor, a woman covered in tattoos came from around the counter to welcome them.

Mary and Esther sat down in the waiting room. Ember began preparing the ink gun. Mary looked at Esther with a wide grin on her face.

Esther felt her face get warm. She smiled. This girl could talk her into anything.

Mary stood up.

Mary and Esther followed Ember to the chair. Esther stood nervously next to them as they began to work. She jumped slightly at the sound of the motor. Mary moaned a little when the tattoo gun hit her skin.

Esther felt herself grow anxious. Mary looked at her.

Was Esther really ready to do this? She looked at Mary’s pain-laced face and forced a smile in Esther’s direction. She laughed. If it was going to make Mary happy, she would do it. She’d broken enough rules to send her to purgatory anyway, what was one more?

Esther took a deep breath and sat down in the chair. She closed her eyes and waited for the tattoo gun to pierce her skin. When it finally made contact, she initially winced in pain, but the pain became dull and repetitive.

Esther looked to the woman tattooing her arm. She smiled at her.

Esther thought about where she was three years ago. She’d just married John. She tried to keep herself from shivering at the thought of how upset he probably was when he woke up on the kitchen floor. She knew he would never stop looking for them.

Esther felt her stomach churn and she pitched forward. Ember sat back a little bit.

Esther jumped up from the chair and ran to the bathroom. She threw herself over the toilet and felt the bile burn her throat as she vomited uncontrollably.

She knew she didn’t need a test. It had been about a month since the Sitting, and John had been very diligent in the days after. Esther was definitely pregnant.

Originally published at https://notsuitableforsims.com on December 6, 2020.