Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 77490 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77490 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
But I can’t turn her away, so I buzz her into the building and let her in when she rings my doorbell. Her face is pale, and she looks like she’s been crying. There’s a lot of that going around.
“Would you like some tea?” I ask. I’m going to assume her intentions are friendly unless she tells me otherwise, but part of me is tense, on guard, waiting for the worst to happen.
“Yes, please.” She tucks herself into the armchair that sits at an angle to the couch, her usual seat when she’s here unless we’re watching something on the tv.
I get the kettle going and put some cookies on a plate. When I set them in front of her, Josephine touches my hand. “Ava—I’m so upset about how the church has treated you.”
“Thank you,” I say cautiously.
“I should have come sooner, but I’ve been struggling with my own conscience. These events have made me question everything about the church’s teachings. What happened to love? To humility, recognizing that we’re all sinners?”
I go back to the kitchen to get our tea steeping, setting a cup in front of each of us on the coffee table. “Have you … reached any conclusions?” I ask. I don’t mean to be mysterious with her; I just don’t want to bombard her with my own doubts and resentments if she’s reconciled herself to what’s happened.
Josephine presses her lips together. “I’m not sure what I’m going to do, not yet. But I can’t just go back there and pretend that everything is fine, like none of this happened.” She shakes her head and looks at me. “No matter what, I wanted you to know that I’m still your friend.”
“Thank you, Josephine. That means a lot.”
We drink our tea and talk about other things for a while, and make arrangements to go see a film—Josephine is my viewing buddy for all things animated, from Pixar to Miyazaki. Before she leaves, she gives me a hug, and I’m relieved that there’s one person, at least, that I’m not losing.
A couple of hours later, the whole apartment is clean, I’ve done more baking, there’s new abstract art in the yarn storage, and it’s almost time to go over to Erik’s for pizza. I’m about to shower and change when my phone rings.
It’s Mrs. Todd.
My heart starts to pound. I was afraid to ask Josephine if she’d heard anything from our bosses about me. I’m also afraid to answer the call, but putting it off won’t help anything; I might as well get it over with. “Good evening, Mrs. Todd.”
“Good evening, Ava. First, I want to say I’m sorry to have kept you waiting this long. It’s been a difficult week; Mr. Todd and I have prayed together for many hours, and been in consultation with other members of the church and with the leadership.”
“I see,” I say quietly. That sounds ominous.
“In the end, Ava, we just couldn’t continue.”
“I understand.” My voice cracks. “I want to thank you for—”
“Oh, no, dear, not you. I mean with the church.”
“You—what?”
She goes on, her tone matter-of-fact. “Doesn’t the good shepherd go out searching for the lost lamb and bring it home? He doesn’t cast it out on its own among the wolves. The pastoral staff seemed very unwilling to consider that their primary responsibility is not judgment, but love. And, well, there were other issues that made us question their leadership.”
I’m gripping my phone so hard I’m afraid it’ll break. “So—you …”
“We’re no longer attending there. And we’d like you to come back to work tomorrow, if you’re willing.”
I can’t help it; I’m crying, big fat tears running down my face. “I would love that. Thank you, Mrs. Todd.”
“Thank you, dear. We’ll see you then.”
“Good night.” I manage to click the end call button on my phone, and then I toss it onto the couch, bury my face in my hands, and sob for a couple of minutes.
When I’m able, I go into the bathroom, splash cold water on my face, and change my top for a fresh one. Leaving my apartment, I go down the hall to Erik’s.
When he opens the door, Gray and Brax are already there. Erik takes one look at my face and says, “Oh, no. What happened?”
I smile. “Happy tears. It’s okay.” And then I tell them.
Erik’s face is split with a huge smile. “That’s wonderful, Ava. I’m so happy for you.” Brax and Gray give me big hugs.
“We were just about to order the pizza,” Erik says when the congratulations die down. “I figured I’d get you your regular?”
“Sounds good. And, uh, maybe after the pizza we could go back to Gray’s place?”
I get three wicked smiles in return. “We can break out some champagne, too,” Gray says, “and toast the good news. Even buy a cake.”