Discombobulate

Chapter Forty-Nine

Denise was relieved when the service ended. She was the first person out the door. She made her way back to her cabin, changed her clothes, and went back to Tara's place. She knocked at her door at 11:57.

Tara opened the door with a smile. Sammy whimpered behind her. She opened the door wider. "Be aware, he might try to jump on you. How was the service?"

Denise braced herself as she stepped through the open door. "It was okay, but it felt weird being back there. I haven't been there in so long. Pastor Baker gave me a Bible."

Sammy launched himself at her. His claws dug into her skin. She yelped and slammed into the floor. Tara grabbed Sammy's collar to pull him away. Denise pushed herself off the floor. A clump of golden hair stuck to her. She brushed it off her jeans. Tara let go and he came back over. This time, Denise bent down to pet him.

"Sorry about him, he's excited to see you. Pastor Baker and his damn pity Bibles. I attended there once last year and I was given one too."

"I wasn't expecting to be given anything. I expected to sit there silently throughout the whole service. He called me out when he began his service."

Tara raised an eyebrow. Denise continued to speak. "We did praise and worship and he mentioned he was glad old members showed up. He pointed back to me. Everyone turned around to face me."

"That sounds awful," Tara made a face.

"I know people in this town don't like me, but geez. If looks could kill, I'd be dead. He wanted me to come back for the second service, but I'm not sure if I should."

Tara shrugged, "I think the second service goes with the first one. What was the first one about?"

"Sinning and hell."

"And that means the second one will be about heaven. It's up to you. It's not my place to say. I haven't been back there since last year. The church isn't my thing. I stopped going after my aunt died."

Tara paused for a second. "Oh shit, I forgot about the sandwich." She ran off into another room. Sammy took off after her.

Denise made her way after them. She'd been in Tara's house a few times. When she was younger, Tara's aunt would pay her to babysit. She knew where the kitchen was.

The overpowering smell of something burning hit her nose. The kitchen was a little warmer than the rest of the house. Steam rose over a pan on the stove. Tara cursed under her breath and picked up a frying pan.

She chucked something out of it and into a trash can. Sammy took a few steps toward the trash. "Leave it!" Tara's voice raised an octave. "I burnt it to a crisp, it won't taste good." Sammy whimpered and backed away.

"Can you grab him a bone?" Tara asked. "They're up in that cupboard over there." She tilted her head towards a cupboard. She took a towel and waved it over the pan.

"What made you decide to make grilled cheese?" Denise asked.

"One of the last conversations I had with Jennifer was about you. She was mad because she wanted toast one morning. You used the last of the bread the night before. She mentioned you were going through a grilled cheese phase."

Denise let out a laugh. "Yeah, it was a week-long phase. I didn't mean to make her mad." She opened the cupboard and grabbed a small bone out of a box.

Sammy sat beside her waiting for the bone. Denise gave it to him and scratched behind his ears. The sound of crunching filled the air.

Tara buttered another piece of bread. It sizzled on the frying pan. She leaned over to sprinkle something into the tomato soup. As she stirred it in, the smell of spices filled the air.