Lucas gazed out of the window as his mother, Rosalyn, drove him to church. He was thinking of his peers at high school, in ninth grade, who never held back when they thought that he had stepped out of line or pushed his take on life and religion too far.
Unlike them, he was not the precocious or adventurous sort and held onto the teachings of the Bible and what he heard from the preacher in the church that he attended regularly on a Sunday. Living in Raleigh, he had his pick of churches and faiths, but he had fallen in with a catholic congregation that attended the magnificent cathedral that was built in a Romanesque style and that left him thinking it could have been lifted out of a European city, say in Italy or Spain.
To his college classmates, he was way too studious and given to holding forth on what was right and wrong, on those hiding the lies some told, and on cheating on those you called friends. But he told himself, as he often prayed in church or at home, that he had a forgiving spirit even for those who sometimes took him aside and
'taught him a lesson'
that left him bleeding and bruised.
"Get a life!" they would always say and that also went for taking up with girls and, in biblical parlance, the 'sins of the flesh'.
He was dismayed by the stories some told of their escapades, but he was friendly enough with girls but did not have the experiences with them that some of the guys in class bragged about, even at their young ages. 'Look and learn' some boasted, and he at least understood what they meant, but he'd always thought it a sin to go and look at porn sites that they seemed to log onto with their PCs or laptops that they also used to do their homework.
"Well, here we are, darling," his mom said as she pulled in at the kerbside and leaned over to kiss his cheek. "I'm sorry I can't be with you, but I said I would go to a meeting of parents...of students in your class."
"I understand, mom...you've told me a dozen times that Aunt Evelyn's going to collect me. But why, on a Sunday, when she has things to do, I'm sure."
"The divorce has hit Evie hard, and she's fond of you, so it's okay to ask her to help me out."
"We lost Dad, that hurts more than anything I've been through." He saw his mother nod and how her eyes fluttered. "Sorry, I shouldn't have said that...not now and here. Get your peace in whatever way that you can, mom. You still pray for him, I hope? I do..."
He stifled a groan. He'd gone and spoken out at the wrong time, just as the students in his class hated him for doing whenever it happened.
"Yes, I do pray, and for both of us. Now, darling, I must go. Remember, wait by the main door so that Evie can see you at the end of the service."
He groaned yet smiled her way. "I'll be fine... and I'm hardly going to miss seeing her."
Rosalyn smiled and knew what he meant. A wilder spirit burned in her sister, but Evelyn did not deserve to be betrayed as she had been. "I'll call to let you both know when I'm on my way home!"
"Bye and take care."
He said it as the passenger door clunked shut behind him and before he joined the throng of churchgoers as they entered the cathedral. His mind slowly drifted away from what his Mom had said and to the prospect of seeing Evie again.
"Clear your mind," he muttered before he met the gaze of a known churchwarden who was handing out hymn and prayer books to all who needed them.
If any woman occupied his thoughts, where it concerned sex, it was his aunt with her curvy figure, the gaze of challenging eyes, a straggly riot of straw blonde hair, and her direct ways of speaking. But he only thought of her as a young guy struggling with puberty and where his faith vied with urges that went unrequited.
♥
Luke saw Evelyn as she stood waiting for him as he exited the cathedral, a sky-blue scoop-necked jersey dress cinched at the waist with a matching fabric belt flattering her curvy figure. He tried to dismiss the feelings that the sight of her aroused in him once more and strode jauntily down the few steps and onto the sidewalk. She greeted him with a perfunctory kiss on his cheeks.
"Are you ready to go, Luke?" she asked. "Your Mom asked me to collect you and I'm glad that you're right on time. It's thanks to God and his ordered ways, I suppose."
"Sure, I'm ready, but go easy on mocking something that matters to me," he replied as politely as he could. "Mom said that you'd be collecting me even though I reckon there's no need for you to do that. I'm old enough to take care of things..."
"Ease up, it was just a gentle tease, Luke."
"About something that matters to me, Evie, unfashionable as that is becoming."
He wasn't bothered by her taking his arm as they walked along the pavement to her car. He was glad that he had put on a jacket, worn with a long-sleeved white T-shirt and black slacks, white wedge trainers his preferred footwear at home and college.
"Seeing as I knew that you'd be so smartly dressed, I thought I'd do the same," she confided and squeezed his arm.
"I've noticed," he answered, keeping his voice flat, and trying not to stare at her for too long. Evie might interpret his look in a way that he'd never admit to feeling.
Evelyn seemed to have a sparkle in her eyes although he could be imagining it. What did he know about women at his age? But his mother's younger sister at thirty-five, or so, still took the eye and they got along. He had also heard his Mom saying that divorce had affected her and that Evie's moods had become unpredictable, even a little crazy. He had kept quiet about what his beliefs informed him about people getting divorced.
They soon got to her car and set off for a drive along the quiet city streets.
"So, how was church?" she asked, and on a moment's glance his way. Traffic on a Sunday was light, and they would be at his home in less than ten minutes. He sighed om glancing her way and how her dress was lifted, only slightly, to reveal her slender thighs.
He looked away and mumbled an answer. "The sermon was about divine faith without proof..."
"Were many there to hear it?" Evelyn asked, having listened to him patiently as he held forth. On turning to look her way he noticed that she had a somewhat impatient expression on her face.
"I guess you don't want to hear about that?"
"No, Luke, not really," she sighed in some exasperation. "Don't you ever get tired of telling people what's good for them? You're still so young to be doing that instead of learning what life is all about and can bring to you."
Luke sighed and she saw him nod.
"No, I'm not tired of it but careful now. Mom probably told you that I got beaten up after a visit with my class to the Natural History Museum. I'm learning my lesson...slowly."
She reached out to awkwardly squeeze his arm. "I'm sorry that it must be that way, Luke. Some things, or what you believe in, must be kept to yourself or you need to learn how to say them."
