Joseph was a good man. A fine man.

That’s about as much as you knew of him, besides the fact that he was a carpenter, working with the other men to build and repair homes that needed it.

You knew he was fond of you, from the way he looked at you, the way his smile softened whenever you were around.

He was handsome.

You were pulled away from your work one day, told that you’re to be married to Joseph, to be his wife; it had already been done, and there was no changing such an agreement

At the time, you were stunned; this was a man you barely knew—how could you love him?

Once you settled with the news, things actually started to seem okay. You had to wait a year—a requirement by law and by God—before you lived with him.

In that time, the two of you are forbidden from being alone together.

Joseph spent his days working on the house he’s building for the two of you, and when he wasn’t working, he was trying his hardest not to glance over at you as you sat with the other women, doing the weaving and the washing.