Chapter 10
Throw the Book at Him!
“What a story,” Chucky said between mouthfuls of a Butterfinger candy bar. We were on a break at the drug store, he was listening to me spout out our beach adventure. I was watching him devour his candy bar like a pirahana, taking miniscule bites with his front teeth at a rapid pace consuming a quarter of the bar at one munching before rinsing it down with a swig of black coffee.
“And what a strange girl! She’s just like a little kid.”
“Yeah, she is a bit childlike,” I agreed. “And she actually thinks she’s acting normal.”
“I suppose it is normal for a little kid,” Chucky said laughing, spraying flakes of Butterfinger out in front of him. He took a swig of coffee. “Hey, you going to Sherry McDoogy’s party?”
“I don’t know,” I said, buttoning up my vest for it was nearly the end of my break. “I hear she has pretty wild parties.”
“Not as wild as that church you’ve been going to,” he replied, having finished the Butterfinger. “One of my neighbors visited there one Sunday and was shocked at the craziness going on!”
“They just don’t understand,” I said, feeling like I had to defend ‘The Church’. “If they were a member it’d all make sense.”
“You a member now?”
“No, not yet.”
“Don’t understand it huh?” He said with a laugh. “But I bet if you got the girl you’d understand, wouldn’t you.”
“Come on! Do you think I’d go that far to get some girl?”
“Well, maybe not just any girl, but if she were the special one…Who knows!”
“You got me all wrong,” I protested. “I won’t join unless I’m sure it is the right church.”
“For what?”
“What do you mean, for what?” I asked, dryly.
“What makes it the right church?” Chucky said, explaining.
“Well…Well,” I started, feeling flustered. “Whatever you’re suppose to go to church for!”
“I think you’re supposed to do it for God,” Chucky said as he stood up. “Well back to work.”
“Yeah,” I said, walking towards the bathroom.
“You coming?”
“In a minute. You go ahead.” I watched him as he headed out to the sales floor, then headed to the bathroom. I looked in the mirror over the sink and stared at myself adjusting my tie and reflecting on what Chucky had just said. “You’re supposed to do it for God.”
Well apparently I wasn’t doing it for Him, so who was I doing it for? For me? For Yvonne? Hating to admit it, I realized that I was doing it for a girl and it made me feel pretty silly.
It was with a strange sense of dread that I drove the Cortina over to Yvonne’s for our date. On one hand, I wanted to go out with her just so people would see us together. On the other hand, just thinking about her made me dwell upon ‘The Church’ and the foreboding feelings of being a fraud. Is this what church has become for me, a place to meet women? Shouldn’t it be a spiritual experience that draws you closer to God? Did I really want to form a relationship with God or just with Yvonne? To be honest, I knew that I was doing it for her.
YOU ARE READING
Childlike
SpiritualJoshua Nun starts his first year in college with hopes of adventure, education and finding a girlfriend. Much to his surprise he meets not one but three ladies, all who want to help him find God. Joshua, with help from his friends, manages to travel...
