I know it's late. Blame people who are funny. I spent six hours reading jokes online! It started out as research! I wanted Cam to tell very bad Irish jokes in the third story. So I tried to find some. I only found TWO good ones. That's IT. sigh Also, been reading up on guns for the action-y bits…Mmm, SIGs. Wait, is this why I never get papers done before 2 am? BTW: Warning! Religious material ahead! If you're gonna flame me, get out now! I warned you! I promise I'm not trying to convert anybody with this story (heck, I don't even call myself a Christian anymore!) but these developments are necessary for the characters. You have been warned! No flames. Thank you.
Chapter 4: Thou and Thou Only
The rest of the semester passed in a blur of papers, lab reports, and even a few parties. Abigail was a wreck during finals, buzzing between the library and their room, and Elise felt like her head was going to explode every time Abby opened her mouth. It took every ounce of patience she had and all that the Lord could give her to keep from smacking her on the back of the head. Cameron came into Pop's every night after his shift, but never got as drunk as he had the first night. Behind the bar, Elise realized that it was easy to shed her habitual shyness. But it was the day when Cameron discovered that she loved to sing that was her downfall.
It had been a cold night, just after Thanksgiving break and she was alternating between filling orders and reading her Ecology notes. She hadn't even realized she was doing it, but when 'Rodeo' by Garth Brooks came on the jukebox, it was instinct to sing along. It was when Cameron joined in on the chorus that she looked up from her notes and realized that the five men of varying ages seated at the bar were watching her with smiles.
From that night on, Cameron made it his mission to get her to sing as often as possible. He learned the songs she couldn't resist (most Garth Brooks, the new Dixie Chicks, Chris Ledoux, Dumas Walker by Kentucky Headhunters) and dropped every last quarter he could get his hands on into the jukebox playing them. Even Pop got in on it, using the CD player that played when no one used the jukebox to play the same things. The regulars would start singing first and jolly her into it.
As she left to go home for Christmas, she found that she was actually going to miss it. The hectic feeling in the room as Abby crammed for finals, the camaraderie in the bar, even long, boring nights sitting at the Media Counter in the library.
…………..
"Hey!" Abigail rushed toward her, blonde hair flying, and Elise laughed as she folded her roommate into a hug.
"Hey, Abby. How was your Christmas?" She let her sea bag drop to the floor, a sudden sense of déjà vu flooding her. The canvas bag was fuller than when she'd left, her sisters and even her brother having made it home for the holiday, loaded down with gifts. The feeling that she'd done all this before intensified when she saw Cameron lounging on her bed, eyes sparkling with laughter.
"Cammie!" she burst out, hopping up by his feet and holding out her arms for a hug. As he embraced her, he chuckled,
"There's the smile made of sunlight. How was your Christmas, angel?" Elise rolled her eyes at his extravagant compliment and ran a hand through her now-auburn hair as she answered.
"Good! Claire and Marie came home, and even Josh made it! And Momma sent a bunch of food with me, so you have to help me eat it."
"You dyed your hair again! And cut it!" Abby clambered up onto Elise's bed as well, smacking her brother's legs to get him to move. She sat cross-legged behind her friend and began running her fingers through the silky hair that was so different from the flat mouse-brown her friend had had at first. She chattered away about her Christmas, her parents and the new semester as Cameron and Elise held each other's gaze and tried to hold back their laughter.
………
The white gauze covering her back, between her shoulder blades, pulled a little as Cam helped her into her coat. She smiled at the artist as he counted the twenties she had given him.
"Ya want the change?" he called after them as they started out of his 'office' and towards the front door of the tattoo parlor.
"Keep it!" Elise called back, "It's gorgeous, and you deserve it."
As they made their way outside, a blast of cold air hitting them as soon as Elise opened the door, Cam finally burst out with the laughter he'd been holding back all afternoon.
"What?" his friend demanded as she fought with the Caddy's lock. It finally popped and she slid into the cold interior, reaching over to unlock the passenger side door.
"Honey," he started as she stuck the key into the ignition, "you are the only girl I know who will go to church on Sunday morning, get a tattoo on Sunday afternoon and go back to church on Sunday night." She shrugged as the engine finally turned over, wincing at the pull of skin over her shoulders.
"It's prayer service tonight. I never miss one."
"Well, you're going to be late." Cam indicated the clock on the dashboard and grinned again as Elise swore soundly. "You talk to God with that mouth?"
"Look who's talkin'" she shot back as she pulled a u-turn out of the parlor's tiny parking lot. "Besides, God forgives all. Even my nasty sailor-mouth."
As they got back on Peter's Creek Road, Cam looked behind them, confused. They'd missed the turn.
"Hey, angel, I live that way."
"And church is this way."
"Oh," Cam grinned and teased, "I see. This whole thing was a big ruse to get me to go to church with you, wasn't it?"
They pulled into the parking lot of Bethlehem Baptist Church and Elise waved as she slowly passed an elderly couple making their way to the door. She pulled into a parking space, turned off the car and turned to him.
"Not really, but do you mind?"
Cam sighed and considered, leaning his head back against the cold glass of the window, staring at Elise. She could feel his eyes on her, but her head was bent over a pack of cigarettes, which she was flipping over and over nervously, her shining auburn hair hanging in a long curtain over the shoulders of her black wool coat.
"Well, what's going to happen?" She looked up at him, confusion written all over her face. "I mean, what does a prayer service entail?"
"Oh." She looked back down at her hands and slid the cigarettes into the console between the seats. As she looked back up through the windshield, the welcome sight of the lights inside the church shining through the stained glass windows caught her eye. The small brick building seemed to her like a lighthouse, the multi-colored lights of the windows washing her in purples and greens, and the steeple rising for all to see. "Well, we'll sing a few hymns, the preacher will say a little something, probably no more than ten minutes, then we'll be left to our own devices, to pray. I promise, no altar call, no "gays are evil' stuff-"
"No, I know," Cam interrupted. "You wouldn't come here if they were like that." She nodded, picking at her black nail polish. "Ok, come on." Cam popped the car door open after a short battle with the handle. "We're going to be late."
She took his hand as they crossed the parking lot, cold under January's grey early-evening sky. His hand was cold and shaking slightly, though from the cold or nerves, Elise wasn't quite sure. They climbed the concrete steps, her free hand reaching unconsciously to trail over the cold metal banister. They both reached for the brass handle on the heavy oak door, but Cam reached it first and ushered her into the warmth of the vestibule.
She sighed deeply as the warm, wax-scented air washed over her, and she shone a brief smile at Cam, before she realized that they really were late. They quietly entered the sanctuary and slid into a pew near the back, removing their coats as the small congregation sang "How Great Thou Art". Elise joined in, pulling a hymnal from the rack in the back of the pew in front of her and flipping to the correct page, holding it out to share with Cam. He gave her a reassuring smile and joined his warm tenor voice with hers as they sang the hymn.
The congregation sang two more hymns, during which Elise hardly glanced at the hymnal, other than to turn the pages. She watched Cam's eyes flicking over the page, quickly picking up the tune for each and listened to the way his voice blended with the others around her. As the congregation sat (all thirty of them), the pastor stood before them and began to speak.
"Oh, folks," the older gentleman began with a sigh, "I want to talk to you tonight about peace. It's something that is in short supply in this world of ours…"
Despite herself, Elise found her mind wandering as Pastor Greene spoke, the flickering candles on the alter arresting her attention and the soft cadence of his accent (South Carolinian) becoming a soft background noise for her own thoughts. Variations of the same theme kept running through her head: whether Cam was offended or not.
I hope Cam's ok with this. I mean, I didn't mean to rope him into coming with me. I don't even know if he's ever been to church before!
She was a bit startled when she heard the pastor began to lead them in prayer, but she bowed her head and waited for him to finish and leave them to their own private prayers.
"Oh, our Father. There are so few of us who are truly at peace. Tonight, I pray that those of us here who have forgotten or have never had the serenity of hearing the still, small voice of your Holy Spirit will remember and receive it gladly. This is all I ask tonight, in the name of your son, Jesus Christ."
As the pastor trailed off, Elise shifted out of her cross-legged position and leaned her elbows upon her knees.
'Father,' she prayed simply and silently, 'I ask that you help get me through this coming semester, as you did the last. I need patience beyond all measure, Lord, and discipline to continue studying and working. And Lord, please, if there is something Cam needs to hear tonight, please speak to him. I know that he's troubled and sad, Lord, and I just want him to be at peace, like Pastor Greene said. Please, Lord, be with Laura, and Abby and Sarah this semester too. And as always, Lord, bless the Saints and keep them safe. Christ of my own heart, whatever befall, still be my vision, though ruler of all. Amen"
She looked up to see most of the congregation with their heads still lowered, glancing occasionally at the prayer list. She turned her head to look at Cam and was surprised to see his head likewise bowed, but his eyes were closed and his hands folded, like a small child saying his prayers at bedtime. She smiled and crept out of the pew, headed for the door.
Elise wrapped her coat around her as she slid out the door. She'd wait for him outside and maybe have a smoke with Pastor Greene. She'd been surprised, after her second prayer service, when she'd been half-hiding in the lee of the building with her cigarette cupped in her hand and the pastor had walked up and calmly asked her if she had a light.
"Everyone's got vices, angel," he'd said. "But this doesn't hurt anyone but myself. And God forgives all."
She remembered the conversation on that hot September night as she retrieved her cigarettes from the car and sat down on the steps, letting the heat of the lighter warm her hands for a moment as she inhaled the first breath of smoke.
The door opened with a creak of brass hinges behind her and she glanced back to see the short, thin frame of the pastor, swaddled in an old-fashioned overcoat and scarf, coming down the steps. He lowered his nearly-sixty-year-old body slowly to the step next to her and lit his own cigarette with relish.
"So what did you think, angel?" he asked, grinning, as he always did.
"To be honest, Reverend, I didn't hear much of it. I was busy worryin' about Cameron," she admitted sheepishly. "But I think I heard something about my favorite verse in there somewhere."
"Ah, yeah." He shifted his weight a bit and leaned forward, his elbows on his knees, much as she had while praying. "Romans 8:38 and 39. I thought you'd catch that one. Cameron's the blond boy?"
"Yessir."
"Ah. Yeah, he's in there, prayin' away." Elise shifted uncomfortably next to the elderly pastor and took a long drag from her cigarette as the couple she had waved to left the church with a few words to the preacher and herself.
"Bye, Mr. Yoon. Mrs. Yoon." She sighed, and continued, quietly, "I don't even know if he's ever been to church before, pastor. I was late and he was with me, and he just kind of tagged along."
"Well, whether he has or not, he's talkin' to God now." Elise nodded and fiddled with her cigarette, bringing it to her lips. "He your boyfriend?" the pastor inquired shrewdly as he flicked away the drained butt of his cigarette.
"No, sir." She sighed and stubbed out the butt of her own cigarette. "He's gay." Pastor Greene nodded slowly and offered her another smoke from his pack. "Thanks."
They lit up simultaneously, each a bit lost in their thoughts as they took deep pulls from the cigarettes.
"Well, honey," Pastor Greene said. "You know where I stand on that." Elise smiled and nodded.
"God forgives all."
"And love is a gift."
They sat in silence, for the most part, shaking hands and waving as the parishioners slowly trickled out. Pastor Greene broke the silence and asked,
"Where were you, that you were late?"
Elise ducked her head, hair covering her face as she answered.
"Skin Thrills." The pastor merely nodded.
"Another cross?"
"No sir."
"Louisiana flag?"
"No sir. I already have one of those. Wings. Between my shoulderblades." Soft chuckles greeted her answer and she glanced over to see him shaking his head and laughing.
"Well, I do maintain that you are an angel on this earth, honey." It was Elise's turn to laugh as she answered.
"I'm just a college student, Reverend."
"Well," the pastor countered, "I believe that young man on his knees in that sanctuary might agree with me." He stood, slowly, allowing his bones to creak and pop as they wished. "I'm gonna go check on him. Everyone else is gone, and I have to lock up soon. Come on in the entrance hall and get warm."
Elise followed her pastor inside and sat gingerly on the steps that ran up from the side of the vestibule to the steeple as he opened the new glass doors to the sanctuary. She could just make out the back of Cameron's head, shining like wheat in the soft lighting as Pastor Greene sat down next to him. She sat, watching as he raised his gaze to meet the creased, smiling eyes of the old preacher. She saw him shake his head and murmur something as the pastor nodded kindly and placed his gnarled hand gently on the younger man's back. She tore her eyes away in deference to privacy as they bowed their heads together, the graying black head in close confidence with the thick gold.
She wasn't sure how long she sat there, but her left leg was falling asleep when the two men left the sanctuary, Pastor Greene shutting off the lights as they left. The soft light of the candelabras in the vestibule shone weakly on Cam's skin as he smiled at her. Pastor Greene walked to the left side of the small entrance hall to begin blowing out the candles as Cam came towards her, his eyes more amber than green in the candlelight. His face was somber as he wordlessly pulled her into a hug.
Elise slid her arms around her friend's ribs as she felt the salty warmth of his tears drop onto her neck.
"What's wrong?" she asked quietly, her voice shaking and her cheek pressed against his.
"Nothing," he whispered back. "Not a thing. I love you, angel."
Elise pulled away slightly, her eyes downcast and rested her forehead against his.
"I'm not an angel, Cam."
Cam gently rubbed his nose against hers, enticing her to look at him. When she did, warm brown eyes meeting hazel, he grinned, eyes sparkling with tears and good humor.
"Yes you are." He pressed a firm kiss to her forehead and backed away, slipping his hands into hers. "You're the best friend I ever had, and you're an angel."
After the last candle was extinguished, Cameron, Elise and Pastor Greene left the church, the reverend locking it behind them and saying a gentle good night.
AN 2: OK, I know I promised action, but then I realized that I still hadn't done what I like to call 'Cam's Conversion'. (I like alliteration!) And it's necessary for the stories (especially the as-yet-untitled "Cam-and-Elise-Meet-the-MacManuses") to see how much Cam and Elise change each other. I'm very sorry if you don't like the religious stuff, but it was necessary. (And I did warn you!) I'm kind of glossing over the sermon stuff here, but it'll be back in Day of Wrath. Big thanks to my Christian friends and my own former pastors and youth pastors for the background. I did some major research for this one! Also, I promise, no big 'I'm Suddenly Not Gay Anymore!" thing for Cam. I truly believe that you can be gay and Christian at the same time. No flames, please. If you disagree, go ahead, but is not the place for it. Honestly, I'm more worried about the religious content offending somebody than the violence that's coming up! Action next time! Also, some disturbing images. I'm trying to decide if the next chapter should be rated 'M'. Probably, but I'll warm you when I finish it.