It was about the 3-month mark, that I realised I was pregnant, and I was excited. I felt as if finally, I had something to live for! A child born between Shechem and me, to me, it meant that God was not angry with Shechem as he was allowing him to continue his line.  

It was around this time Tamar was found to be pregnant, and Judah demanded, "Bring her out, and let her be burned!"  

 But, as the men were taking her out to kill her, she brought out his identification seal and cord, and the men recognised them. 

"Why do you have these things?" they asked her. 

She answered them,  sending this message to her father-in-law: "The man who owns these things made me pregnant. Look closely. Whose seal and cord and walking stick are these?"  

Judah and I were sitting down having tea when the men returned with his seal and cord. 

"Why do you have these things? He asked them, as he recognized them immediately. 

"Tamar said to say, "The man who owns these things made me pregnant. Look closely. Whose seal and cord and walking stick are these? As we recognise them as yours, we thought that we should return and what would you like us to do?"  

Judah went white, as it indeed was his cord and seal, and in response said, "She is more righteous than I am, because I didn't arrange for her to marry my son Shelah. Bring her here and she will live with us."  

Tamar was brought to our home then, and we suffered through our pregnancies together. It was in this time she told me of what happened for her to have these children to Judah.  

"Tamah? How was it that you came to be pregnant with Judah's children? Were you not meant to marry Shelah?"  

"Yes, I was, but Judah would not let me marry him," Tamar explained, "I wanted desperately to fulfil my role as wife to my husband, even though he was a prick and always withdrew at the crucial moment, stopping me from fulfilling my duties. He took great delight in that too, His brother was the same, except this time it was because he did not want to father a child that was not his own. So, when I heard Judah's wife died, I decided he was the only one who could fulfil what I was meant to do.  

So, when I heard he was coming up to Timnah to supervise the shearing of his sheep I changed out of my widow's clothing and covered myself with a veil to disguise me. Then I sat beside the road at the entrance to the village of Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah. Judah noticed me and thought I was a prostitute, since I had covered my face. I was blessed in that he was feeling horny as he stopped and propositioned me. "Let me have sex with you,"  

So, I asked him, "How much will you pay to have sex with me?"  

"I'll send you a young goat from my flock," Judah promised me, but I was not after that but his seal and cord, so I asked. "But what will you give me to guarantee that you will send the goat?"  

He then asked me, "What kind of guarantee do you want?"  

So, I replied, "Leave me your identification seal and its cord and the walking stick you are carrying."  

I was relieved that he handed them over to me, and as soon as he was out of sight, I ran away putting the things of the harlot into a bag, so I was not propositioned by anyone else. I prayed ever so much that next month that I had fallen pregnant to him as I did not want to do such a risky venture again. I mean, what if it was not Judah but his offsider that approached me? I really would be in trouble then, don't you think?"  

I laughed nervously, "You're right about that! I do not think I could have done something so daring!"  

"At least you were married, and got a child out of it," Tamar said comfortingly, "Trust me, there is nothing worse than your husband not wanting to have his child with you."

I nodded, and we continued knitting and sewing clothes in preparation for our babies.

A/N This chapter written with using the information from Genesis. Please vote if you enjoyed reading this chapter.