Chapter Two Hundred and Forty Three
On Sunday morning, after much hesitation, Joey clutched Charlie's hand and allowed herself to be led into the church. She hadn't been in the building for thirteen years, aside from for her parents' funeral when she was still a teenager. She felt nervous to say the least and she and Charlie had been awake for most of the night before as Charlie realised just how important it all was to her. Religion and faith were two of the very few things that the couple had never discussed over the last eleven months and it was another facet to Joey's life and a personality that intrigued her girlfriend. From the pulpit, Elijah spotted them and smiled.
"Mum, I don't want Joey and Charlie to move out," VJ said as he and Leah strolled across the beach together with Miles.
Leah was relieved to be feeling significantly better. She felt able to move on with her life after recent events and was happy to be putting herself back together.
"Nor do I," she admitted.
"Then why can we make them stay?"
"Because they want to set up on their own," Leah explained.
"Will we see them still?" VJ wondered. "I like seeing Charlie and Ruby. And especially Joey."
Leah and Miles couldn't help but smirk at each other. VJ's crush on Joey was both amusing and adorable, not to mention obvious.
"I'm sure we'll still see them all the time," Leah assured him. "Charlie and Joey very happily spend a lot of time with you so even if we're not all living together, that's not likely to change."
"Maybe I could start going to church with them."
Leah looked confused.
"You've never expressed an interest in church before," she pointed out.
"I don't have an interest in church," VJ admitted. "Just..."
"Joey," Leah concluded.
VJ blanched. Leah chuckled and ruffled his hair.
"It's okay, Veej," she said. "But I'm sure Joey will still make time for you when she doesn't live with us anymore. Don't worry about it."
The service had been nice. Charlie had spent much of her time studying Joey with a fair amount of curiosity. It was interesting to see the way she smiled and sung along the hymns, as if she had come home somehow. She wondered if she would ever get bored of learning new things about her girlfriend, although she doubted it.
"Please join us for refreshments in the back room," Elijah said at the end of the service.
The congregation stood and shuffled to the back. It was not lost on either Charlie or Joey that Colleen had been eyeing them with some suspicion for most of the morning.
"Don't get me wrong," she said. "You know I like you and everything, although I don't exactly understand your relationship. But um... do you really think a church is the best place for you?"
"Why wouldn't it be?" Charlie asked, feeling a little defensive of Joey.
If church made her happy and this new vicar accepted them then why shouldn't they come here?
"Well, you know, the Bible says..."
"The Bible says that God's love is for everyone," Elijah interjected from behind her, making her jump.
He turned directly to Charlie and Joey.
"It's lovely to see you both here," he said. "Thank you for coming."
Joey offered him a relieved smile and so did Charlie. She kept her partner close to her, knowing how important it all was and how vulnerable she felt. If Colleen was going to start criticising them, then Charlie was determined to protect the woman she loved.
That evening, when Ruby arrived home from spending the day with Xavier, Romeo and Mink, she was unusually quiet.
"Will you still come round and play cards with me?" VJ asked Joey.
The two of them were engaged in a game at the dining table. Charlie was slouched in front of the television with her feet up.
"When?" Joey asked.
"When you don't live with us anymore."
"Of course I will," Joey said without hesitation. "Just because we won't be living together, it doesn't mean we won't be friends anymore. I'll see you all the time."
Charlie looked up and smirked at her, noting the sheer adoration on VJ's face. She thought his crush was terribly cute.
"What's up with you?" she asked, turning back to Ruby.
"Mink didn't kill her step father," the teenager blurted out.
Charlie switched the television off. Joey continued to play cards but listened into the conversation without comment.
"What are you talking about?" Charlie asked.
"Her mother killed him," Ruby explained. "But she and Romeo were so scared about their Mum getting into trouble that Mink took the rap for her. All this time she's had so much attitude but she did something really brave."
"Not to mention stupid," Charlie said. "Why would she take the blame for something like that? She could have ruined her whole life!"
"She still might have," Ruby commented.
Charlie sighed and nodded. Her compassion for Mink doubled. They had somehow bonded on their journey into town and although Joey was still cranky about her hitting on Charlie that night, Charlie couldn't help liking her.
"Poor thing," Charlie said.
The following evening, Charlie arrived home after a particularly long day. She and Angelo had been dealing with more vandalism, this time at the caravan park and so far, they had found no leads. After work, she'd dropped Joey at college and then gone to pick her up after class. They found Leah nursing a glass of wine on the patio.
"Are you okay?" Joey asked curiously.
Leah shook her head. Pulling up chairs, the couple listened to their rather anxious friend described what she thought could have been a 'moment' with Elijah during their self defence class that evening. He'd given her a promised private lesson and now Leah wasn't sure what to make of it.
"You do like him then?" Charlie asked, trying not to sound too smug at being right.
Leah nodded.
"You don't look very happy about it," Joey pointed out.
"Well, it's completely inappropriate, isn't it?" Leah squeaked. "He's a man of God! A Reverend! How can I have a crush on him? We don't even share the same faith. We..."
She shook her head, trying not to panic. Joey put a gentle hand on her arm, telling her that it wasn't the end of the world.
"Really?" Leah asked. "Because it certainly feels like it."
She sighed again.
"Anyway, how are you guys? Have you made up with Aden yet? He's impossible to work with in the mood he's in. I think he's missing you."
Now it was Joey's turned to sigh. She sank back in her chair and shook her head.
"I miss him too," she admitted. "But I don't know what to do about it. It's in my nature to apologise first but I really don't see that I've done anything wrong."
"You haven't," Charlie assured her. "But if you want to make friends with him, you could maybe approach him. Give him a chance to apologise?"
Joey nodded.
"Maybe," she said. "I'm just scared of him laying into me again. I love him so much and I feel like I've lost him now."
Next time... Joey and Aden make up, Angelo goes snooping into Charlie's life and Mink lays into Xavier and Ruby for spilling her secret...
