Here's this long delayed update!
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Chapter One: Sundays
The buzzing of my alarm clock jolted me from my sleep. I blinked once or twice to adjust my vision, then settled into awareness.
Ah, awareness… so damn cruel.
It was Sunday morning at eight thirty in the morning… on a weekend! I'd always think of why the heck Sunday is church day. Yeah, I know about all that 'God rested on the seventh day' stuff, but why on a weekend?
Those days, I'd much rather be spending that time hanging out with my friends. It wasn't until later that I discovered what it was that I truly loved doing on Sunday morning, but that's later.
I growled and stalked over to my closet, dressing in my usual attire; a pair of faded jeans, a t-shirt and a short sleeved shirt I left unbuttoned.
This was how I dressed… well, for everything. Yeah, yeah, I know that people say that you should dress nicely when you go to church, but those days, I was… broken. I don't know how to describe it… or maybe it just isn't that relevant to the story just yet.
No matter the reason, I'll elaborate later.
Anyway, my parents were… special. While my mom was what you would typically think of a housewife of the new millennium my dad was… something else.
Problem was he was never around.
I won't lie; he was a handsome CEO of a successful company, meaning he brought in a lot of money into the house. He traveled a lot, and by that I mean that he was always having some sort of an affair with another woman.
Those days, there were a lot of scandals about how he had 'bastard children' out there when some woman popped out of the woodwork claiming her six year old girl was his. Since then, a whole bunch of freaks have been popping up, hoping to get a piece of his money.
Well, enough of my back-story, let's get on with the day. I promise I'll write a little more about my parents and their whole problems some time…
My parents are Protestant and proud of it; meaning we go to church every Sunday. Thing is, I never really cared about church. I wouldn't go as far to say that I didn't believe in God, just that I didn't really think that he cared.
It's complicated…
But I'll elaborate on this one.
The reverend gave sermons about how when someone was in peril, God would help him or her; that God especially loved the sick, and that he would never abandon anyone in need as long as they were open to them.
I've never been helped once in my life. Sure, you might think I lived the charming life of a rich kid living in a small town, but… you'd be wrong. For the first years of my life, I always felt… empty. I don't know how to explain it except to say that it felt like there was a hole in my heart that just wouldn't go away.
Over time, I learned to ignore it; drown its cry out with fun and games. Yeah, I had a lot of friends back then. You might say I was one on the 'in' crowd. I was invited to the most exclusive parties, had dated the hottest girls, was friends with almost everyone on the football team… Yep, a charmed life.
Anyway, back to the reverend.
His sermons were usually the type that 'instilled the fear and respect towards our Lord and Savior'. He usually threatened us about the dangers of sinning, of the perils of Hell and all that junk.
His name was Joshua Carter; a man in his late fifties that had devoted his heart and soul to the church. They'd said that Reverend Carter had built the church himself almost a hundred years ago; but of course, that was what we kids would laugh about while we talked outside the church while our parents talked amongst themselves.
Reverend Carter was a tall, frail looking man with feathery gray hair and piercing dark eyes. We used to say that they could look right into your soul and look at everything you did wrong. That particular rumor came about because the reverend was always the one to tell our parents what we did wrong. That, above everything else, earned our hatred.
In hindsight, as I look back at my childhood, I see that the Reverend just didn't understand us. He held us; the children, to his highest expectations, probably expecting us to be inducted into sainthood or something…
I think it's because he didn't have any kids… except one; but she was hardly what could be considered 'normal'.
More on her later, though…
My mom just tsked when she saw my choice of clothing but said nothing; already too tired to battle with me about the little things anymore. She herself was an attractive brunet of thirty-nine years; I got my eyes and nose from her, the rest I got from my father.
That week my dad was away on a trip again, so it was just the two of us. Without much conversation we went into the car and drove a couple of blocks to the church, which was already bustling with people.
We were late, but we still managed to get pretty good seats. We called them the 'heathens' row' because Reverend Carter always looked straight at those people when he delivered his sermon… meaning he had written it just for you.
Today's sermon was about infidelity and how it was not only a sin to do it, but a sin to allow someone you love to do it. All the while he was staring straight at my mother, who'd just nod and pretend that it wasn't meant for her.
"And let us all remember," Reverend Carter was saying in a stern voice, "That God loves us all. No things are beyond forgiveness; but one must tread carefully when walking the path of life. Sin will always come at you at tough times in the path; Satan's way of trying to seduce you to damnation," he cleared his throat, I rolled my eyes, "And now our choir will perform a small number…"
He returned to his seat as the choir stood up, all dressed in those robes that choir people usually dress in.
No one except old people went to the choir; those people that loved church and loved to sing. There was about twelve, eleven of them over fifty. There was Mrs. Parker, an old widow, Mr. Johansen, a choir teacher at the high school and last, but not least, Maggie Carter.
Notice something there?
That's right, Maggie is the reverend's daughter; his only daughter.
Maggie was my age; had long brown hair, hazel eyes and a bright, totally annoying smile. She carried her bible everywhere, smiling at everyone and always helping people. She usually passed her time by volunteering at an orphanage or building houses, volunteering at soup kitchens or helping raise funds for the school.
It wasn't that Maggie wasn't a good person; she was probably a better person than all of us combined, it was just that she was so… damn cheerful all the time. Always thanking you and smiling for no apparent reason, straight A student and a community activist too. If anyone could get into heaven, it was Maggie Carter; most of the time we thought she had a straight ticket there.
The choir began to sing; a hymn I'd heard since I was in diapers. They sang in unison for a while, but then Maggie; the lead singer in everything, got her solo.
It was a hymn written about how God loves everyone despite how much they sin. The whole time she was singing, her eyes swept the crowd and rested on me. Her face, lit up in joy, was turned towards me. I cocked my head slightly to one side, scowling at her.
When the hymn ended, she was still staring at me. She just smiled at me brightly despite my scowl and sat back down.
Weird…
The reverend preached for the next half hour; after that it was finally time to go home; thank God…
I dashed out of there faster than anyone you've seen dash before.
Once out there, I was met by my friends; a group of four…
The hulking, muscular and attractive guy's name was Tom. Star quarterback of the football team, really loved to party.. you get the picture. Clinging to him like glue was Beth; his girlfriend. She had short black hair and always seemed to be chewing gum; really, really loud… like some demented cow chewing on some grass.
The clown of the group; Luke, was already in action. He was bouncing around, spewing jokes like there was no tomorrow. Remarking on everything from the reverend's sermon to Michael Jackson. Then there was Meredith; pretty, orange hair, green eyes… she was stuck to me like flypaper… except we weren't really together. It was complicated; we'd had an off-on thing going for a while. We were currently 'off'; so I was a little annoyed at having her hanging off my arm.
We talked for a while, then kinda stopped abruptly when the reverend and Maggie passed by. "Children," the reverend said curtly in passing, bowing his head in greeting.
"Reverend…" we all said, feigning respect.
To our surprise, Maggie stopped in front of us and gave us one of her smiles.
She was out of her robes now and was dressed in her usual attire that my grandmother wouldn't be caught dead in; a green skirt that extended all the way down to her ankles, socks that covered the little skin her ankles showed, a floral blouse buttoned all the way up to her neck and a green sweater she'd worn everyday for as long as we could remember. Besides were clothes, she was holding her bible, her hair tied back in its usual ponytail, and giving us that smile.
"Good morning Lucas, Thomas, Beth, Meredith, Gray…" she turned her smile to each of us, "I hope you had a wonderful weekend."
We all got uncomfortable around 'Virgin Maggie'; as everyone called her. Tom, usually a troublemaker, was always reduced to an anxious puppy when he was around Maggie; it was like she was a freaking lie detector or something…
"Yeah," Beth said uncomfortably, "Did you go see the orphans?"
Maggie shook her head, still smiling warmly. "No, this weekend I visited the retirement home. It was a lot of fun."
"I'm sure…" Luke said.
Maggie smiled and nodded. "Yes, you couldn't imagine-,"
"Maggie," the reverend called, already far away.
Maggie smiled and nodded, turning her smile on us again. "I have to go now! I'll see you in school tomorrow!"
"Yeah…" I said, looking at the pebbles under my feet uncomfortably, hoping she'd just up and leave.
"It was a pleasure speaking with you; Thomas, Lucas, Meredith, Beth, Gray!" she called, hurrying after her father, waving to us.
When she was out of earshot, we all started laughing hysterically. "Damn, she sure has style," Luke said in between laughs, holding his sides.
We all laughed at people like Maggie Carter back then. In truth, I guess we were always jealous of her perfection. It wasn't until much later that I'd learn just how good a person Maggie Carter actually was.
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So, there you go. For those of you who asked me if this would be a tearjerker; it is. VERY SAD. Sorry, had to do it...
R&R!
