The parking lot was full when they arrived at Marge's church for the ten o'clock service. Mimi smiled when she saw the rainbow flag flying at the edge of the parking lot and her body relaxed. She had been holding her shoulders up by her ears as if they were earrings since they'd left her house. Adam squeezed her hand and said, "Their church is progressive." In a sleeveless ruffled peach dress and a lightweight jacket, she looked like she could be the one teaching Sunday school.
Walking close to his side, the scattered stones on the path threatened to turn her ankle. So Adam took her hand and looped it into his arm. "Easy now. I don't want to take you home to your family wounded."
"It was a rock."
"Uh, huh?"
She poked him in the ribs. "Why this church?"
"I've heard good things. Marge and her wife go here."
"Wife?"
"Yeah, they have been married a million years." Pausing at the edge of the stairs, he said, "Step."
"Thank you." Turning away from him to look where she was going, Mimi neatly went up the stairs. "It feels weird to be visiting another church, but the choir inside sounds familiar."
With her hand snuggly tucked into his arm, he led her to an empty section on the right, mid pew. As she settled next to him, he lifted a song book from the back of the pew. The numbers for the songs were posted on the wall behind the altar.
She sat up tall, as if she were looking for someone.
"Shopping for another fiance?"
She bumped him with her thigh. "No. I was looking for Marge and her wife. Where do they normally sit?"
"She isn't a morning person. On the weekends, they come in the afternoon. At work, no one bothers Marge until she has had at least two cups of coffee or it's after ten." He winked at her and lips curled into a smile. "Sometimes a newbie will try it, but if they have any sense of self preservation, they don't do it more than once."
Enfolding her hand in his big mitt, he admitted, "I thought you might like it here."
"This isn't your first time?"
"Marge's grandbaby got baptised here, and I came to join in supporting the family."
She leaned over and whispered. "Where are the scorch marks from the visit?"
He kissed her forehead. "They cleaned off of the marble pretty easily. Why do you think they always use stone tiles in progressive churches?"
In flowing robes, a female officiant entered, and the choir rose. Adam tugged her gently up to standing and flipped their song book open to the first hymn.
***
On her parent's porch, Mimi stepped out of her pink pumps with her little brother Noah's arms already wrapped around her. Adam helped her slide free of the warmth of her jacket. She playfully dropped its weight on top of her brother's head. Giggling, the boy cradled the fabric against his chest and waited for Adam's jacket.
Standing in his stockinged feet, Adam obliged. With his arms full, Noah elbowed through the front door and headed down the hall at a trot, announcing, "Mimi's here." The interior of the house was filled with light and the aroma of roasted chicken. Two teenage boys looked over from where they sat on a worn floral couch. They raised their hands in greeting at the same time. They were close enough in age that they might be twins.
"Ready?" Mimi touched her fingertips to his arm. "My family is loud and sometimes a lot."
"Ready as I will ever be." He engulfed her hand in his own and squeezed her fingers as they stepped into the farmhouse.
A plump redhead with silver streaks running through her braided hair came out of the kitchen into the living room. Wiping her hands on her apron, she beamed a grin at her daughter. "Mimi!" When she opened her arms, the cupcake embraced her. With one arm tucked around her daughter like a protective wing, the woman looked at Adam appraisingly. Straightening his back, he stood tall and let her look.
"So, this is the fellow you have been talking about. The one in the pictures."
"Yes, mam. This is Adam."
He wished he had a hat to take off, because that seemed like the right thing to do. Instead, he offered his hand, and she didn't take it. Ignoring his gesture, she focused on his face, eyes shining as bright as a robin's. "Welcome to my home, Adam. I hope you are hungry."
"Always, mam. It sure smells good."
Appraising him, she said, "You are sturdy enough to do a full day's work. That's something." She turned Mimi toward the kitchen. "I have an apron waiting for you, young lady." She waved a hand vaguely in Adam's direction. "The men are in the barn. We have a sheep dropping early."
Noah, in constant motion, came to stand next to him. "I can take you. Can I go, ma? I wanna see."
"Yes, but stay out of the way."
***
Space heaters purred in the barn as the smell of blood and something mineral coated the air.
