The Bishop's Daughter

Tabbie would never be able to erase the memory of opening her father's study that evening. Every time she passed his study door in the hallway, she would look at the knob, feeling sick to her stomach. Tabbie had taken grasp of the knob, expecting to open the door to her father reading, perhaps working on his next talk. Instead, she walked in on her personal horror show. On Bishop Kimball's desk was a slim, yet curvy woman nude on all fours, leaning down onto her elbows. Her long chocolate hair hung loose down her shoulder, just shy of brushing against the desk. There was a man on the sofa, sitting on the edge of his seat to watch as Bishop Kimball's fingers pressed deep into the woman's private area, his arm pounding a steady rhythm into her. The woman's back is in a deep arch, a look of pleasure written across her face. The three of them were entranced by the visual; none of them noticed the door.

A few moments go by in shock, and Tabbie suddenly realizes she knows not just the woman on the desk, but also her husband seated on the couch as well; the Talbut's had just gotten married three weeks ago. Tabbie stands frozen in the doorway, looking between her father and the couple. Her horror gets caught in her throat, feeling like she has a golf ball lodged in her airway. She gasps, finally catching her breath.

"What… What is going on here?" Tabbie chokes out, staring at the trio. Sister Talbut turns her head to look behind her. Her smile vanishes immediately, her jaw dropping to let out a shrill shriek, scuffling off the desk to the sofa, where her husband covers her with a blanket. Bishop Kimball turns, looking at his daughter's mortified face in the doorway. He picks up a towel, quickly wiping his fingers as he approaches his daughter. Tabbie spins around, rushing down the hallway to her bedroom.

"Tabitha, wait!" her father shouts after her. Tabbie runs into her room, slamming the door shut behind her, tossing herself to the bed. Moments later, the door opens, and Bishop Kimball stands in the doorway, holding the towel in hand, a harsh reminder of the scene. He takes a step into the room, and Tabbie sits up, anger burning in her eyes.

"No! Get out! Get! Out!" she screams at her father. Angry tears are streaming down her face as she shrieks, her eyes seething with anger and disgust as she looks at her father. He takes a step back, holding his hands in the air.

"Tabbie, you don't understand-" he starts, having to duck when Tabbie throws one of her pillows at him.

"Don't understand?! You're right, Dad. I don't understand how a married man and Bishop of the church can find himself knuckle deep inside a young woman in front of her husband!" she screams at him. Her father drops his hands to his sides in frustration, then gives Tabbie a stern look.

"Listen!" he shouts. Tabbie glares daggers into her father, furious tremors running through her body. Her father takes a deep breath.

"A Bishop is meant to lead. Not only that, a Bishop is meant to counsel. Your mother and I offer counsel to those who need-" Bishop Kimball is interrupted by a furious shout.

"You and Mom?! Are you serious?" Tabbie stares at her father in disbelief.

"Yes, of course. Sometimes her presence and knowledge are more valuable than my own." He tries to take another step forward, but Tabbie starts shaking her head, pointing her finger back to the hallway.

"No. I need you to go. I need time alone. Just go." Tabbie growls at her father through clenched teeth. His face flushes, and he closes his eyes, staying still for a moment. Bishop Kimball takes another deep breath, letting his body relax before slowly turning on his heel to walk to the doorway. He pauses as he pulls the door behind him.

"We'll be talking about this later." He tells Tabbie before quietly shutting the door.

Tabby stares at the doorway in disbelief. She drops backward onto her mattress, the image of the room burned into her eyes. Each time she closes her eyes, she can see her father's arm pumping like a piston, the way Sister Talbut's eyes rolled back into her head in ecstasy. Tabbie grabs her pillow, shoving her face deep into the plush material, and screams at the top of her lungs. She slams the pillow down on the bed beside her. Her chest shudders as a giggle starts to erupt from deep within Tabbie's chest. She claps her hands over her mouth, stifling the hysterical building laugh. Tears spring to her eyes, and Tabbie sits up, sobbing and laughing at the absurdity of the situation. She can't believe her parents were providing hands-on sex lessons to members.

Several minutes later, Tabbie sits at her makeup table, gently cleansing her face with a wipe. She stares at her reflection; it doesn't feel like she's looking at herself at all. Tabbie leans her elbows on the desk, her palm holding her chin as she attempts to settle herself enough to process the situation. She leaves her bedroom, opting to take a bath to calm her nerves. She turns the faucet on, testing the temperature on the back of her hand. Tabbie cocks her head to the side; a strange sound is building in pitch. She stands up straight, listening harder, putting her head by the faucet to check for air in the pipes. Finally, Tabbie turns off the taps, freezing in place to listen for the sound. The muffled sound happens again, and Tabbie follows it. It leads her first to the bathroom door. She pauses, and for a moment, all is quiet. She hears the muffled crescendo again, opening the door.

The sound grows louder and clearer as Tabbie pads up the hallway, following the sound. Suddenly, it erupts into an outright scream, and Tabbie jolts. She turns, charging back to her bedroom, disregarding her bath completely. The echoes of Sister Talbut's pleasureful moans follow her down the hall until Tabbie reaches her bedroom. She slams the door behind her, then drops herself onto her bed. There's a soft knock at the door as it opens, her mother popping her head into Tabbie's room.

"Tabbie Cat, you okay?" Sister Kimball asks, stepping into Tabbie's room. She quietly shuts the door behind her. "What's going on?" She gives her daughter a look of concern, sitting down next to Tabbie on the bed. Tabbie keeps her eyes glued to the floor, chewing on her lip.

"How long has it been happening?" Tabbie asks quietly, still clenching her jaw shut.

"How long has what been happening, Tabbie?" her mother asks. Tabbie stares down into her carpet.

"You and Dad's sex stuff with other members." The silence in the room is loaded with tension as Sister Kimball's mouth gapes open. She freezes, staring in shock at her daughter. Tabbie turns her head towards her mother, finally looking her in the eye.

"How long has this been going on, Mom?" Sister Kimball drops her eyes to her lap, fidgeting with her cuticles.

"I'm not quite sure what you're referring to, dear. Wouldn't this conversation be better to include your Dad in?" she asks, looking back up to her daughter. Tabbie gives her a pleading expression.

"Please, just answer me. I've already seen it for myself, so please, answer me truthfully." She whispers. Her mother's cheeks redden, her eyes darting back down to her hands. She pauses, pressing her lips together.

"It's been a few years. You're too young to remember it, but your father and I didn't always belong to this specific LDS church. We adapted what we knew from a fundamentalist branch. Now, we offer marriage and sex counseling to couples who need it. We're helping people, Tabbie." Sister Kimball insists. She reaches out for Tabbie's hand, but Tabbie recoils from her mother.

"Helping people? Really? I just listened to Sister Talbut climax through the walls. In Dad's study. After seeing him with his fingers buried inside her. What's so helpful and sacred about a Bishop fingering a married woman? You two spent so much time teaching us about only letting a man that we are sealed to touch us in those sacred, special ways. This is what you've been doing behind closed doors? In our house?!" shouts Tabbie. The silence hangs between the women. After what felt like an eternity, Tabbie chuckles in disbelief. She stands, pacing the floor for a moment until she raises her hand to point to the door.

"Please, leave. This is too much. Go, please." Her mother stands, slowly walking to the door.

"I understand. Take your time. I'll be here when you're ready." Sister Kimball says as she shuts the door behind her. "And please… please don't tell your sister."

For hours, Tabbie laid on her bed, staring at the ceiling. She had listened as the Talbut's left the house, disgust boiling in her belly as she heard them praise and thank her father for the counsel he had offered them. Anger brought stinging tears to her eyes as she attempted to make sense of her parent's secret double life. A few times, her mother came to softly knock on the door, trying to have a conversation with her daughter. Tabbie stayed on her bed, refusing to respond. Each time, her mother would wait, pleading with her daughter to come downstairs and talk. After the third attempt, her father told his wife to stop and give Tabbie time. She would speak when she was ready.

The growling in Tabbie's stomach finally coaxed her downstairs to eat. She walked past the living room, seeing her parents huddled together on the couch. Her mother spots her, but her father shakes his head, gently tugging on her shoulder to get her to ease back.

"She's not ready." Tabbie hears her father mumble. Her mother lets out an exasperated sigh.

"This needs to be a discussion. Who knows what's going through her mind right now?" Tabbie's mother hisses back. Tabbie shakes her head, digging through the freezer for a tv dinner, just barely catching her father's response.

"When Tabitha wants to talk, she'll talk. Before then, she won't be receptive to a single thing we say." Tabbie rolls her eyes, angrily stabbing holes in the plastic of the microwave dinner before tossing it into the microwave. The frozen dish clatters loudly, followed by Tabbie slamming the microwave door. She presses the numbers on the keypad, then the start button. Dropping to her elbows, she watches the meal turn round. Her father appears behind her, leaning on the doorway.

"I understand that you're upset, but that's no reason to take it out on the appliances." He tells her. Tabbie refuses to acknowledge him and instead focuses on watching the time go down on the microwave. She hears a soft sigh behind her as the microwave beeps, removing the dish, then the film over the top.

"Tabbie, please. Just talk to us." Her mother pleads. Tabbie continues preparing her food, focusing her attention on stirring everything before popping it back into the microwave. She keeps her back turned to her parents, stubbornly watching the time count down on the clock. The cycle finishes, and Tabbie pulls her food out, setting it on a plate. She turns to see both of her parents standing in the doorway. Her mother steps forward, placing her hands on Tabbie's arms.

"Tabbie Cat, come sit down. It'll make it better." Sister Kimball says with a reassuring smile. Tabbie shrugs out of her grip, giving her a derisive snort.

"No, you mean it'll make you feel better! It's not going to fix anything for me. I'll just have more information to feed my nightmares." Tabbie says, rolling her eyes as she pushes past her parents. Sister Kimball tosses her hands into the air.

"Teenagers are so dramatic!" She shouts in exasperation. Tabby drops her food to the table, rounding on her mother.

"Really? Your nineteen year old daughter is dramatic after walking in on her father, the Ward Bishop, knuckle deep in a married woman as her husband looks on? I'm dramatic finding out that, after all these years of telling Demi and me about the law of chastity, and choosing the right, and how only our husbands, who we seal ourselves to, are permitted to touch us sexually. Am I the dramatic one after learning that apparently, fidelity in romantic relationships is a "Do as I say, not as I do" scenario in this house?" she shouts back at her mother. Sister Kimball gapes at her daughter, her face turning an angry shade of red. Bishop Kimball steps between the two women, hushing his wife. He gestures for his wife to sit across from Tabbie, then sits at the head of the table. Tabbie stands next to the table, looking between her parents. She scoffs.

"Oh, is this our big come to Jesus talk? You're just going to Bishop your way out of all of this?" she sneers at her father. He sighs, gesturing with his hand to sit.

"Just sit and eat, Tabbie Cat." He tells her. Tabbie glares.

"Stop calling me that. Both of you. It feels really gross." Tabbie says, taking a bite of her meal. In all the tension, it was flavorless, but Tabbie shoveled it down to sate her hungry stomach. Her parents watch her, searching for the words to say. After a long, silent pause, Bishop Kimball clears his throat.

"Tabitha… I know this is a lot to take in. I want you to ask your questions, so you can ask what you're comfortable asking." He calmly says. Tabbie looks between her parents, her thoughts racing. She swallows her mouthful, then puts down her fork. After a long pause, she opens her mouth.

"Did you do this sort of thing before you were Bishop?" she asks. Her father nods his head.

"Off and on. We started by giving simple, verbal advice. But you have to know, your mother and I weren't always members of this particular chapter of Latter-Day Saints. We grew up with multiple women within the home in marriage and service to their husband and children," he tells her. Tabbie recoils, and Father Bishop gives her a dry look before continuing. "It moved from verbal guidance to demonstration with each other, to what you witnessed today. We teach people. We help inexperienced partners learn to communicate sexually." Bishop Kimball explains. Tabbie looks between the two of them, taking a contemplative moment to consider her next question.

"So, you only counsel couples?" she asks. A guilty look washes over her mother's face, and Tabbie sighs, pressing her lips into a thin line. She looks to her father.

"Who else?" she studies his face as he leans his elbows on the table.

"When missionaries have to deal with members or converts struggling with their sexuality, or if they have questions, we've been known to offer guidance and assistance. We offer the same guidance to young adults who are curious or getting ready for marriage." Bishop Kimball tells her. Tabbie scoffs, looking between her parents before letting out a mocking laugh. She slams her hands down on the table, her chair clattering to the floor as she stands.

"Is there anyone in the church you don't have a reason to have sex with?!" she shouts, incredulous. Bishop Kimball massages his temples as he looks at the table.

"It's never once been coerced or non-consensual!" exclaims Tabbie's mother. Tabbie cackles as she walks away, leaving her mostly empty tray on the table. She stomps up the stairs.

"Yea, that makes it way better, Mom. You're not raping people, you're just having sex with literally everyone who will let you. Great! I've got Mormon dream parents! Great work on all that marital fidelity!" Tabbie screams out into the hall as she reaches her bedroom, slamming the door behind her.