Aiden couldn’t be more bored. The Scripture reading took forever.
Did they have to read the entire chapter from Psalms?
The worship music wasn’t much better. Repetitive, slow. He should have sat with Spenser in the front row rather than hiding here in the back.
Then he saw Lex. She had a quietness he’d never seen on her face. Peace, relief.
He became uncomfortably aware that while he mocked the music, it seemed to help unburden her. When was the last time he’d unburdened himself? He never unloaded, not to anyone. He never felt any kind of release or relief.
He was thirsty.
Aiden left the sanctuary – most people didn’t even notice him leaving. The water fountain stood next to the men’s restroom.
He took a drink. Took another one. He wasn’t going back in there just yet. He wasn’t. He took another drink. His stomach protested the excess water, but he slurped it up anyway.
The music stopped and the pastor started his sermon. Aiden dragged himself back into the sanctuary.
Boring, boring, boring.
He made a mistake when ser vice got out. He should have left first.
Instead, he ducked down in his seat as Lex and her escort shuffled down the aisle to the back of the sanctuary. When he got up after them, he realized they’d gathered at the entrance to the Social Hall – which looked right out into the lobby. Lex would see him if he tried to waltz out of church.
He hung back, wondering if the sanctuary had another exit.
Suddenly, Lex appeared in the lobby area with another girl. Aiden ducked down to pretend to tie his shoe. Which had no laces.
“Hi, Ike – oh!” A sultry voice sounded above his head. “I’m so sorry. I mistook you for Ike.”
Aiden straightened, and a twenty-first-century Lolita invaded his personal space with a flirty tilt to her blonde head. Lex had disappeared. “I’m Salome.”
“Aiden.”
“Nice to meet you.” Flutter, flutter went her eyelashes.
“Er… nice to meet you too.”
“So… are you here alone?”
“Uh… yeah.” Why did he feel like a gazelle stalked by a hungry lioness?
“Why, how nice. Let me introduce you to our Singles Group.”
“No! Uh… thanks.”
“Oh, we’re a nice bunch. There’s a new girl today too.” Her slightly brittle smile indicated she wasn’t as thrilled about that as her words implied.
“Sorry, I’m committed to lunch with someone.”
“Oh, who?” She glanced around.
Oh, great. “Um…” He pointed toward the right. “There.”
She looked.
He ducked left.
He darted down the first hallway he found, dotted with closed doors. He opened one and slipped inside.
Darkness surrounded him. He listened at the closed door. He heard light footsteps that approached, then receded.
“Let me guess. Salome?” The gentle male voice shot a bolt of adrenaline into Aiden’s heart. He spun around.
The pastor sat at his desk in the darkened office, surrounded by books.
“I’m sorry, the door was open, and it was dark – ”
He smiled and waved a careless hand. “I was just sitting here. You have the look of the hunted, and only Salome causes that in young men.” He gestured toward the wall. “Turn on the light.”
Aiden did. The office brightened. Books surrounded him, some old, some new, all crammed onto the shelves. But on the wall across from the desk, where the pastor would look up and immediately see it, was a painting.
It stretched from ceiling to floor. A crucified Christ – bloody, gruesome, painful. His agony etched on his face, evident in the curl of his body. He lay pinned to the Roman cross, naked, legs pulled up sharply. It was worse than the Passion movie.
“That’s a true crucifixion.” The pastor shifted in his chair, causing the leather to creak. “Not the sanitized version from movies.”
Aiden couldn’t look away. A trembling took over his hands, his legs, his chest. The picture made him ache. It made him want to crash to his knees, howling and weeping. It shocked and stripped him, all at once.
Aiden didn’t know how long he stood there staring.
The pastor never spoke. Finally he got up from behind his desk and moved around the cramped space to reach the door. “Feel free to stay.” He exited his office, closing the door behind him.
Aiden couldn’t have moved if he’d wanted to.