Chapter 10

"What the hell do you wear to Church?"

Prepared as much as he can be for the coming experience, he goes over to Nan and Sarah's wearing black slacks with a white button shirt and a red tie. It's been a while since he has worn a tie, but it's not completely unheard of.

"Good morning, pretty girl. I see you are wearing your new outfit. How is Nana this morning?"

"She still feels bad, but she wants to go to church."

Nan comes walking slowly from out of the kitchen looking like death before the apocalypse. "Sarah, why don't you go wait in the car," says Nan.

"Yeah, go ahead, sweetheart. The truck is running with the heater on." As an afterthought, as Sarah is going down the ramp he yells out to her. "But don't get near the gas pedal or column shift lever." He turns back to Nan with a look of concern. "Are you sure you are up to this? Not to make you feel bad or anything, but you look like shit."

Nan laughs. "Thanks for sugar coating it for me. Actually, Christopher, I would not miss this for anything in the world, and I want to thank you."

"For what, Nan?" he asks her as he shuts her door and escorts her down the ramp.

"This is the first time Sarah has wanted to go to church since her parents were killed when she was six."

"Really?" Nan nods up at him. "Wow, I wonder what she is searching for."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, to me it sounds like she is getting ready to face some of her demons, and many people think the best place to start those battles is in church."

"Hmm," she says, as Christopher helps her into the truck. The one thing about being around the elderly is it definitely forces you to overcome any impatience you might have in life, because they move so slowly.

Sarah is in near heaven and she smiles prettily at Christopher as he is getting into the truck. He looks down at her with his own smile and says, "You ready?"

"Yep."

As they are driving along, Nan is doling out the directions in increments. "Take this coming left and then the second right, and that will lead you up to the church that will be on our right."

"Okay," says Christopher with an over-exaggerated nod. Sarah giggles. "What are you giggling about?" he asks, bumping her with his shoulder.

"Nothing." she replies, trying not to giggle again and bumping back.

Then they start bumping with their shoulders back and forth until Nan says, "Alright, children!"

"She started it."

Sarah looks up at him with her mouth hanging open. "I did not!"

"Sure, blame the white man." Sarah gets a crooked smile on her face, not fully understanding the comment as she is looking up at him with smiling eyes with glitters of diamonds shining bright from those same precious blue eyes.

"This is it right here," says Nan, pointing.

They find a parking spot and Christopher gets out first and then lifts Sarah down. "Don't go in the street."

"It's not a street. It's a parking lot."

"Oh you," he says, as he attacks her with tickles as they walk around the back of the truck. Sarah giggles prettily. "Okay than, don't go into the parking lot."

"Yes sir!" she says, saluting him. Now it is Christopher's turn to get a crooked smile on his face.

He goes over and opens the door for Nan. Sarah helpfully takes her purse as Christopher has his arm out for Nan to study herself on. They walk over to a huge crowd of people milling around and talking, waiting for the time to funnel into the church.

From out of the crowd a white lady in her forties with medium brunette hair and brown eyes who is slightly over-weight comes over to them and says, "Well hello, Sarah, it is most wonderful to see you, and you are looking most pretty today." Sarah hugs her genuinely. "Hi, Nan, I'm so glad you have made it. Are you feeling okay?"

"She's been feeling sick for a couple of days now," answers Sarah helpfully.

"I'm fine, but I could not miss this day."

"I bet." she says, looking on knowingly. "Hi, I'm Karen."

"Well hello, Karen. I'm Christopher."

As they are shaking hands, Sarah continues. "Christopher is our new neighbor, and he built Nana a ramp so it would be easier for her to get up and down from the porch, and I got to help him build it and stain it."

"Really?"

"Yes, she did! She helped me a lot and did one hell of a job." When he uses the word hell about a half dozen people turn his way. "Oh sorry!"

"He bought me these pretty clothes for helping him because I got stain on my old ones."

"Did he?" Christopher cocks his head and raises his eyebrows, because he thought he heard something more in her question that is really more a comment. As the doors are being unlocked she looks over her shoulder, and then when she looks back she smiles at Christopher then hugs Nan and Sarah. "Well, maybe I'll see you after church."

"Okay," says Sarah.

"It was nice meeting you, Christopher, and I'm glad Nan has someone to help her out."

Christopher smiles and shakes her hand, but doesn't say anything. As they are walking in, Christopher is on one side of Nan and Sarah is on the other side, holding her hand. Sarah looks across and says, "Karen helped us after my parents died, and sometimes she watches me so Nan can go to church."

Christopher just smiles and nods his head, but as soon as they walk through the arches he stops and looks around as if he is waiting for the world to collapse in around him. "What's wrong?" asks Sarah.

"I was just waiting to see if I was going to burst into flames."

"Why would you do that?"

"I've been in war, sweetheart, and sometimes in war you have to do things that are less than divine."

"Actually, I kind of wanted to see that for myself."

Christopher looks at Nan with a mock shocked face, trying dearly not to laugh out in church. "Ouch!"

Nan actually manages a laugh and says, "Let's sit in the back just in case we don't stay for the whole time."

"Works for me."

"Here are three seats. You go first, Nana."

"Actually, sweetheart, let me go first so Nana doesn't have to fight her way to the third chair."

"Okay, but I want to sit in the middle."

"Yes ma'am." Christopher says, saluting her. Sarah tries to stifle her giggles.

It only takes about an hour of it and Nan is starting to feel worse, so they return home. "I'm not feeling well. I think we should go home. We can come back another time. Okay, Sarah."

"Of course, Nana."

Christopher is starting to get concerned for Nan. She is white as a ghost and very clammy. "Nan, do you have vitamins or anything to take to help out?"