Chapter Ten:
The knock on the bedroom door woke me up. It swung a few inches open, just enough for Caleb to poke his head through.
“Hey, Nat.” He greeted me with a lazy smile. “Get up. We’re going to church.”
I sat up slowly, still groggy from sleep. “Church?”
“Yeah. And you better hurry up. Nana says we leave in forty minutes.”
And the door was closed again.
Church?
The last time our family ever went to church was when Mom was still alive. After she passed away, we all felt that going to church wouldn’t be the same without her, so we stopped going.
I took a quick shower, and in twenty minutes, I was in the kitchen having my breakfast. Caleb and Iggy came in at the same time wearing neckties around the collars of their polo shirts, which were tucked into their pants. Their shoes were shined and their hair was combed back in a dorky manner.
I nearly choked on my cereals and burst out laughing.
“What?” They said at the same time, their frowns mirroring each others’.
“Oh, man!” I managed in between my laughs. “You guys…look like…total…dorks!”
“Hey, it’s not our fault.” Caleb grumbled as he took out two bowls and spoons from the rack and handed one of each to Iggy.
“Yeah, it’s not like we wanted this.” Iggy mumbled as he took the box of cereals from in front of me and poured a generous mountain into his bowl. “At least this is a whole lot more bearable than a tux, which, by the way, Nana used to force me to wear to church every Sunday.”
Caleb scanned my outfit—which consisted of a pair of faded jeans, a yellow hoodie-shirt and sneakers—and grinned. “Nana’s gonna bare her fangs when she sees what you’re wearing.”
As if on cue, Nana stepped into the kitchen wearing an old-fashioned navy blue dress.
“Okay, is everyone ready to…” She stopped when she saw looked at me. Then her droopy eyes went wide with utter shock.
“Natalie!” She gasped. “You’re wearing that to God’s temple?”
I looked down at my clothes. “Um, yeah, I guess. I didn’t bring along a dress with me when I ran away.”
“You are not setting foot in God’s temple wearing those street clothes.” She scolded. “Come upstairs to my bedroom. I’ll find something suitable for you to wear.”
“It’s okay, Nana, I…”
“Now, Natalie.” Nana’s voice rang with finality.
Defeated, I followed Nana outside the kitchen and up the stairs, and as soon as I was in Nana’s bedroom, I heard twin howls of laughter from downstairs.
Nana was rummaging through her tiny closet.
“It’s really no big deal, Nana...” I said, but she didn’t listen to me.
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Beautiful Disaster (Ongoing & on Hiatus)
RomantikEver since her mother died, Natalie has been the glue that desperately tries to keep the remains of her broken family intact. And when Caleb, her older melancholic brother, runs away from home, she comes to a moot point in her life---go after him...
