Charlotte and her parents, as well as Brenda, were surprised to discover the soup kitchen was operated by a blue ribbon chef, who made restaurant quality meals for nearly 200 people every day. After having full stomachs, and drinking large cups of coffee, the family was put in touch with the insurance adjuster, and the fire marshal, who was going through the wreckage of their home to determine what components or accelerants were used to bomb their house, in an attempt to narrow down who might have wanted to kill Charlotte.
Around seven in the evening, after the Bakersons retired to their suites, the pastoral families headed back to their respective houses. Rita was pushing Elizabeth in her walker, while Hope was guiding Douglas. Jimmy was silent the whole time, until the group made it back to their house. Finally, he spoke.
"Charlotte is as salt of the earth as I know of nearly everyone in the congregation," he said. "There's got to be more to the attack than the fact she's trans."
"No kidding," said Ruthie. "And why now? I don't mean just before Christmas. I mean, why now in general? She came out thirteen years ago, and it certainly wasn't easy for her to tell her parents that she was their daughter, not their son. She's gotten bullied here and there, which is to be expected, but blowing up a house? Whoever did this is either pure evil, or has major anger management problems."
"We're going to be carrying them for at least six months, until their new house is built," said Hope. "I don't mind, of course, but what if one of the safe houses isn't safe? Don't you think we should find a rented furnished house in a safe neighborhood so they are truly safe?"
"We'll need to talk to Shelby tomorrow," said Rita. "I have the same concerns. Charlotte is my best friend, and I'm going to miss her when she goes to college next year. I just want that parting to be on her terms."
"You two can still video-conference," said Jimmy. "I know how much she means to you, and you to her. You'll always be friends. And the fact she asked you to be her flower girl should say that."
"Okay, so who's looking after Liz and Doug tonight?" asked Rita.
"I have a two hour shift," said Jimmy. "Then it will be your turn."
"I have to gather my notes for the next business meeting," said Hope. "I'll be a while. Ruthie, can you keep an eye on Rita?"
"Sure," said Ruthie. She kissed Hope.
After Hope had gone to her office, and Jimmy to the nursery, Ruthie and Rita headed to the kitchen. Although they had full stomachs, they decided to have some orange juice. Rita found the tallest glasses in the cupboard, and served her mother and herself. After serving Ruthie, Rita asked, "Anything else on your mind?"
"It's just the shock of it all," said Ruthie. "We've had families who've lost their homes to fires or floods in the past, which we helped out, but terrorism is totally new to me in my experience as a minister."
"I know about the espionage you and Peter did," said Rita. "Were you ever scared you might not have covered your tracks enough and someone would get you?"
"No," said Ruthie. "All Peter and I did on our trips, the same trips when we committed adultery, was exchanging data disks. You're thinking about Shelby and Rod. They're the ones who were in danger. In fact, they were on non-official covers. Meaning no diplomatic passport in case something went wrong. If they got caught and killed, the DIA would have disavowed any knowledge of their military service."
"Maybe that's why I've ruled out being a spy as a career choice," said Rita. "I wouldn't want Rhiannon to lose her partner because something went wrong."
"You're talking as if you're sure Rhiannon is the one,' said Ruthie.
"Pretty sure," said Rita.
"Are you two still appropriate?" asked her mother.
"Of course. Not that we're still not tempted."
"You have a long way to go before you're truly ready," said Ruthie. "I know I said two years, and we're coming up on year two, but Hope and I are hoping you'll wait a lot longer than that."
"I'm not even going to think about that until I'm sixteen," said Rita. "And even then I'm going to wait a while. I want to make sure she's ready too. But I'm also mindful her mother is your boss, and I don't want her to get angry with you ... yet again."
"You know about the other times?" asked Ruthie.
"When you committed adultery, and when you fucked Hope long before you two were engaged. Yeah, I know," said Rita. "I don't understand why she would be, however. You were following your heart both times. And the heart wants what it wants."
"Well, my heart belongs with my wife, and then with my kids, including you," said Ruthie.
Ruthie paused.
Then she said, "I know that you are wondering if Jim and Heather are mad at you for ratting them out. Quite the contrary. They recognize they were headed towards disaster, and are grateful you pulled them back. When Felicity disciplined them, they understood, without your saying it, that you wanted them to have a time out so they could assess where they stood with their boyfriend and girlfriend. And they took that time to do just that. Chester and Maighread, too. All four have better and more appropriate relationships, and they have you to thank for that. No, they're not mad. They're grateful."
"I'm their big sister," said Rita, smiling. "That's what we do."
Rita was slowly slipping on her juice.
"Something on your mind, honey?" asked her mother.
"Well, I may as well say this," said Rita. "A couple weeks ago, I was having a hard time sleeping. So on my way to the kitchen, I saw your and Hope's door ajar. Out of curiosity, I opened it. And ... well, I saw you girls having sex."
"It was bound to happen," said Ruthie, chuckling. "What did you think?"
"I thought it was beautiful," her daughter said. "That you two make love beautifully. I won't tell you what I liked best, just that if I had any doubts my mothers love each other, that dissipated when I saw that."
"Well, first of all, don't do it again," said Ruthie. "Two, know that there is a difference between having sex and making love. It's only when you truly understand the difference, that you'll be ready to be intimate with Rhiannon."
With that, Ruthie and Rita spent the next two hours talking about school life, and plans for Christmas at church. Rita made a suggestion as to who should deliver the Christmas Eve sermon. It was one of several the ministers were considering, but Ruthie thought Rita's pick, and the reason for it, was a very thoughtful one.
At about nine o'clock, Jimmy headed back upstairs. "Your turn," he said to Rita. "Oh, OJ. Room for one more?"
Rita promptly served a glass to Jimmy, gave him a high five, then headed downstairs.
Jimmy sat down across from Ruthie.
"It's been a few weeks since we've had our dinner talk," he said. "How have I been doing?"
"Great," said Ruthie. "I think the rules we agreed to were pretty much what we had been doing in the first place. But I think you've become a good mentor for Rita. So, I guess you can call her your protégée. Still, if it's you and her alone, and she acts up, wait until Hope or I come home, so we can deal with it. You may be a guide, but you're not a guardian. I hope you understand the difference."
"I do," said Jimmy. "Speaking of which, when do you think Liz will wean off of you?"
"Another month or two."
"And how long will she be on the bottle, that is, with your milk, before we have to go to formula?"
"Depends. I was able to go six months, maybe a little more, with Jim and Heather, a bit longer with Jane and Randal. But I am going to have to teach you how to make formula. It is a very exact science, and you want to make sure both Liz and Doug get the proper nutrition."
"Well," said Jimmy, "thanks to you, I know how to hold a bottle. And how to change diapers. And how to calibrate a breast pump. You have no idea what that means to me."
"Oh, I do," said Ruthie. "I thought Peter would have showed you beforehand."
"I was a bit nervous asking about that, with Felicity around," said Jimmy.
"Why?' asked Ruthie.
"I may be gay," said Jimmy, "but I think Felicity is still an attractive woman, for a mother in her forties. Maybe it's me, but I did feel intimidated asking her or Peter for help."
"Felicity and Peter are friends," said Ruthie. "If you have any questions about parenthood, they are more than happy to bring up pointers."
"All right," said Jimmy. He raised his glass. "To our daughter?"
"To our daughter," said Ruthie.
They clinked their glasses.