"Fine, but if you grow up to be a conservative, so help me god I will never forgive myself!" That was mom's final argument against me going to church with Tank on Sunday. She was dead set against it and worried they'd "mormon" me, but she knew I was going to go anyways.
Sunday morning, Tank shows up in his Camry with his older brother Gideon in the passenger seat. They are both wearing matching white dress shirts and simple blue ties with the letter K embroidered in cursive script near the bottom tip. He explains that his mom made one for each of the boys and since it's Father's day weekend they were all wearing them.
"I think we have an extra if you want one," Gideon jokes. "Or you can wear mine! Really! Helping a guest fit in would be a great excuse!"
"I think your mom might object to that," I laugh.
"So this is your first time going to a mormon church?" Gideon asks as Tank pulls away from the curb. I look at Tank who is sitting directly in front of me. His eyes catch mine in the rearview mirror and he smiles to reassure me that this is all going to go well.
"First time in any church. Full on pagan here!" I joke but neither of them laugh.
"Seriously? You've never been to church? Like Ever?" Gideon looks back at me with shock.
"Well we have been inside some before. My parents took me to an art lecture at Lady of the Angels cathedral once in LA... Oh and my dad took me to a Masjid in Irvine, but that's muslim so I guess it doesn't count?" I don't know the rules here. My dad is muslim but a very lazy one. My mom... well I don't know. She says she grew up Christian, but never really brings it up.
"A Mass-JEED?" Gideon looks at me like I'm speaking Russian.
"It's like muslim church. It was in Arabic and I don't speak much of it, just a few words." I probably should have just kept my mouth shut. Muslim and Arizona are not two things that normally bring good thoughts.
"There's a big mosque in Tempe!" Tank volunteers an effort to save me.
"There's a lot of crazy things in Tempe," Gideon says. "Oh I mean, not crazy. Just... sorry. That was rude. Anyways, this is pretty normal as churches go. Oh and it's only two hours now. It used to be over three but they just redid it this year."
"Do I have to talk? Are they going to ask me questions or make me go up front and say something about myself?" I literally have no idea what to expect. I've seen church on tv. They usually sing, then the preacher does his thing and they get a snack at the end.
"No. It's pretty passive. Plus you'll be in the middle of the Kempton brood. There's 8 of us so you'll never be alone! We'll fend off the hungry brethren." Gideon laughs. He laughs a lot.
We pull up to a nearly empty parking lot. It's 8:30 on a Sunday morning and the sun is already blazing overhead. We get out and I remember how tall Gideon is. He has these broad shoulders and gentle features and an easy laugh like he's never faced a single adversity in his life.
I wonder if Tank will grow to be as tall as his brother. My dad is just two inches above me and I'm quickly narrowing that distance, but Gideon seems about eight inches over Tank and they're only a few years apart.
I get out of the car and Tank reaches for me like he's going to take my hand. I reach back but then realize where we are. Tank clears his throat awkwardly and dives around me. He leans into the backseat I've just vacated to grab some kind of bookcase off the seat.
"Just... um... needed my bible stuff," he says as he comes back out. He puts his hand on my arm and stops me for a second as Gideon walks towards the church. He puts his hand on my lower back and rubs it cautiously.
YOU ARE READING
Hayden's Shelter
Teen Fiction[BoyXBoy] - Not-Quite-16 year old Hayden Davis finds himself seeking shelter in the Arizona desert with his mom after his dad's deportation and the fall of the Orange County business Empire his parents had built. He's working with his mom to get th...
