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“Dude, what did you do?” Andrew says, almost muttering it under his breath.
“Ugh, that’s none of your business, Andrew.” Dan curses. “Emily, make him turn off the phone.”
“Why don’t you turn off the phone, you coward?” I say, daring him to do it. “Andrew is your friend, your best friend, and if you can’t talk to mom about this, then talk to him!”
Silence falls around us. Alissa takes the hint and scoots away from us and a little bit closer to the television, and then Andrew finally speaks, “Is church that important to her, man?”
“Yeah,” Dan nods sadly, “She’s been talking about having kids soon and how important church is and how we both have to be on the same page about it.”
“What did you do to show to her that you’re not serious about it?” Andrew asks, seriously intrigued.
Dan sighs, "It's been tough lately. About a month ago, I started stepping out of church services to take calls from the store. With Emily gone, we’re short-handed, particularly on Sundays. I've even had to work the last few Sundays and missed church altogether. She's upset because she wants us both there, especially if we're going to have kids
“I see,” Andrew frowns. “Is this just temporary, do you think? Can you start going back with her every week soon?”
Dan nods, “I think so. The new manager is just nowhere as good as Emily was, but she’s getting there. I tried to tell Carla, but she wouldn’t listen. I think deep down she knows I only go to church for her, but I’m willing to do it and should be able to be there consistently in a few more weeks.”
“I’ll talk to her, Dan. Promise,” I say. “This wedding must happen, one way or the other!”
“Um, thank you,” Dan wipes his nose on his sleeve. “Thank you, both of you. And good luck on your next game, Andrew. I hope you guys get the Cup. Also, you really do kinda make a cute couple, you know that? I guess I was the only one who didn’t see it.”
Andrew kisses me in front of him and Dan immediately protests.
“Ew, I don’t have to see this!” and Dan ends the call.
Andrew and I both laugh. Alissa turns her head back and asks, “Will Uncle Dan still marry Aunt Carla?”
“We’ll see, sweet pea,” I say, taking my phone now to text Carla: Hey, Carla, can I call you?
“You should have just called.” Andrew elbows me in the ribs.
“I’m not that close with her to just call unannounced,” I shrug, feeling uneasy. “If she doesn’t reply, it will be on Dan to fix this alone.”
“Oh, he’ll ruin it…” Andrew frowns.
Luckily, a positive text from Carla comes soon after: Sure thing, I’m at my parents’ house. Where are you?
Instead of texting her again, I just video call her. We’ve never done a video call before, so I bet she’s just as uncomfortable as I am.
“Hello? Can you hear me?” she asks, then smiles widely. “Hi Andrew!”
“Hello, Carla,” he smiles.
“We’re in Boston, Carla. He has a big game in a few days.” I try to make small talk before going into the purpose of the call.
I cough then say, “Daniel just called me in distress, Carla. What exactly happened?”
I do my best to be light, but her mood instantly darkens, and it is visible in her face. Judging by the background behind her, she’s in the room of her teenage years, including posters of boy bands and movie hunks from the era.
“How is he?” she asks, somber.
“Crying for you,” Andrew says.
“Yeah, you’re really important to him, Carla,” I say, my eyebrows raised in a plea. “The last thing he wanted to do was offend you.”
She sighs sadly, her eyes welling up, and gazes at the ceiling to prevent tears from falling. “He didn’t offend me, Emily, but it’s clear he only went to church because I wanted it and now he’s not even going anymore. What’s it going to be like when we have a family of our own? I need someone to be on the same page as me. He knows how important church is to me.”
Andrew listens then asks, “Did he ever skip church before on you, or refuse any activity involving it?”
