Over Him ✔

|Chapter Thirty-Six|

THERE was just something about Sundays that was warm and inviting. Pastor Williams had just rounded up with the church service that early morning and dismissed the church.

Greeting a few of the church members, I slip out of the church, suddenly in the mood to have some diced fruits from the buffet table. Hopefully they would still be there by the time I got there.

Warm rays of sunlight pierced through the thin chiffon material of my flower patterned blouse, heating up my skin. It felt  nice. The large air conditioning inside had been turned on and I was pretty sure I wasn't the only person who wanted to turn it off.

The lush green field extending around the church premises holds a lot of people, all of different ages, talking amongst themselves. Some were heading towards the buffet tent like I was, in need of something to eat whilst some seemed to be taking their time.

I'd ditched Colt and my family back inside the church, telling Colt I'd be in the tent. I knew Evelyn would spend her time chatting with whoever said 'hello' to her and that was what I was trying to avoid. Whoever it was would shift their attention to us, her children and press on about how big we'd all gotten.

Like I didn't already know that.

Strolling into the tent, I move towards a table containing stacks of disposable paper plates and move to fill it with some diced fruits. Satisfied with what I had on my plate, I move to a corner of the tent to enjoy my food.

Across the field, I watch as Evelyn kisses the Pastor's wife goodbye on her cheek before heading in my direction, her eyes twinkling with so much joy.

She looked younger. I guess that was what happened when life played out pleasantly in your favour and we could only give thanks to God for that.

Today she was dressed in a white dress which hugged her frame rather nicely, her feet adorned with a pair of matching white heels and her hair held back into a low bun.

She looked cute. White was definitely her colour.

She sees me standing at a corner of the tent, flashes me a smile and grabs something for herself before moving to where I was standing.

"Don't you look pretty today," she says, beaming at me and I chuckle. This wasn't the first time she'd said this but I figured she was only saying this for the sake of it.

"How's dad coping with the questions. I'm sure some people wanna hear stories." She chuckles and swallows her mouthful of food before staring at my father who's chatting and laughing with a bunch of men and women.

"He's handling it pretty well. I think he's enjoying it. No one's being rude, so that's a good thing." It was important that no one said anything mean regarding what our family had been through and thankfully nothing had been said about that.

"You know, your father and I were thinking of sponsoring a vacation for the family. We all deserve it." The thought brings a smile to my face. We really have been through a lot, emotionally and physically. Working all day inside a small lab, sniffing in the smell of antiseptic and chemicals really could really do something to the body.

"Will Christine and her family be coming too?" I ask and I see something twinkle in her eyes. It takes me a while to realise why she's looking at me like that.