“There’s at least one of them there. Tell them Joe sent you.” Joe smiled. Then to his surprise, Joe kissed him in the middle of the church like it was no big deal. When he pulled back Jacob had to steel himself a bit just to keep himself upright.
“Wow, is that even allowed in here?” He asked as he suddenly realized that there were likely many people watching them.
“They can’t stop me.” Joe responded. “Nor should I want them to.”
“So brave.” Jacob said with a smile.
“Ahem-” a voice came from behind them and Jacob was surprised to see Jeff standing there.
“Oh, hello Jacob.” Jeff said awkwardly. “I didn’t realize you were-” He looked from Joe to Jacob and back again. “Here.”
“Good to see you too.” Jacob responded. There was awkward, and then there was your trivia friend catching you making out with his preacher awkward.
“Thanks.” Jeff responded. Apparently equally awkward-ed out. “Will I see you at trivia tomorrow?”
“Of course. Go team!” Jacob replied- instantly feeling foolish. Jeff smiled and continued into the room giving Joe a nod on the way by. When he had gone in, Jacob leaned over to Joe and whispered- “I didn’t know he went here. He never talks about hisfaith.”
“Yeah- I’m not entirely sure he has any. Nice enough guy though.” Joe chuckled to himself. “He loves his stamps.”
“I mean, I guess that describes him.” Jacob responded.
“Well, let me poke around the church and I’ll be back with you soon enough!” Jacob sighed. Joe nodded and made his way into the room giving him a slight wave as he closed the door.
When Joe was gone Jacob looked at his phone. He’d been hoping for a message or something from Tic, but the radio silence continued. He was beginning to get anxious. He dialed him again and the phone went straight to voicemail. This time however, he left a message.
“Hey buddy. Can you let me know when you get this? I just haven’t heard from you and I…I just have some weird thoughts right now. Call me. Don’t text, just call. Please.” Jacob hung up and looked around the church. He wished he could talk to Teddy right now, but he knew that wasn’t going to happen. A part of him debated calling Thomas, but he knew that would be a bad idea for many reasons. Instead he put the phone away and began to explore the church hallways again.
For a moment he found himself in the main atrium and looked to the pulpit. He debated for a moment on praying- but wasn’t sure what he’d ask for. Or do. Or say. Instead he just looked up to see an image of Jesus on the cross and sighed. This guy would know what to do.
Now that he was here, he made efforts to see all the things that Joe was talking about. He went downstairs and checked out the recycling center. He went down the hall to see a small classroom of young climate activists gathering to save the planet. He walked by the area where the homeless man was dropped off and wondered how he was doing today- hopefully better.
Going back up to the main floors, a smell of delicious treats wafted through the air, drawing him back to the kitchen wherethe same women were gathered.
The rich aroma of stew filled his nostrils and for a moment he lost his train of thought. Before he could tell what was happening they recruited him again and had him chop up carrots and potatoes. He wasn’t very good at it, but he did enjoy listening to their gossip. Soon he was chopping a couple celery stalks with Rhonda. Of the three she was certainly the most demanding, but at least she knew what she wanted. Her red hair was spiked up today giving her an even more fiery appearance.
“And then I said to Harold that if-” In the short time together he had discovered that Rhonda saw herself as the queen bee of the group- a delusion that Edna and Darlene seemed fine to let her have.
As they worked, Jacob found himself sinking into the rhythm. As they all yammered on and chatted about their days, he found himself laughing along.
“So how are things with your special friend?” Of course it was Rhonda who would ask him. She seemed more interested in his love life than in cooking. To be fair, he couldn’t blame her. It felt good to have a love life worth discussing.
“I-” Jacob began. “I think things have been going well. There’s just a few…It’s complicated.”
All four women huffed at the same time.
“Well, do you like him or not?” Rhonda asked, chopping a carrot as if to emphasize.
“I do…I really do I just-”
“You don’t know how he feels.” Edna replied looking up at him with a knowing smile. Her small frame was wrapped in the largest and thickest sweater he had ever seen. She gave him a pat on the arm and smiled at him- which looked strange when her lopsided brown wig was partially obscuring her face. “That can always be difficult.”
“No. I do. I just- I’m just afraid that he doesn’t actually knowhow he feels.” Jacob sighed as he put down the knife. Sharp objects were best avoided at the moment. “I’m worried that he might be just caught up in it all or something. Like it’s not real.”
“Well you can’t control how someone else feels. But you should still be open and honest with them about how you feel.” Edna responded, sounding more like a grandmother with each word. He half expected her to pull out a butterscotch from her purse.
“I just need to know what I should be doing. I want to make sure he’s okay.”
“You’re protective of him. That’s sweet.” Edna said. She was rapidly becoming the favorite. “Would you like a butterscotch?” Oh yeah -Edna was the favorite for sure.
