[CW: homophobia]

Alice was absolutely confused. She hadn't known that Simon had not been interested at all, only that he had not been interested in settling down and getting married. With him drinking and stealing and living an otherwise unevangelical life, she wouldn't have been surprised if he had spent time with prostitutes. Sometimes he would come home in the dead of night.

But what Elijah said next confused her even more, and she could only process it slowly. Preferred the company of... men? What did Elijah mean? Like a man would enjoy the company of a woman? Her eyes grew wide. Was Elijah saying that? She was not sure and hardly dared to ask, for fear of being wrong and embarrassing herself. She had heard of that once or twice, but it had always been in the context of ridicule. She had only learned about it because a friend had made a joke about it after church, when they had read a Scripture passage she had not understood. She had thought men who did such things were far away and surely not respectable or less respectable people around her. And Elijah... was Elijah like that?

It was too much and too confusing to process at once. Alice walked back to the sitting room and sank down on the sofa."I don't understand... you mean...?"