Hello, Goodbye

Chapter Ten

Emersyn woke up early on Sunday morning to get ready for church. She dug around her now slightly organized closet and found a blue and orange floral print backless dress. Pairing it with a nice jean jacket, she felt it was the perfect outfit for church. As her grandpa had always told her, Sundays were for God, so you have to look your best. And after doing her hair and makeup, she felt like she couldn't look much better. So she slipped on a pair of nice sandals and began walking to the old church. It was less than a mile from her house, so it didn't take her long to get there. And when she arrived, she was pleased to see Doris sitting next to Kiel and Zeke with a spot saved just for her. She smiled when she approached them, allowing Doris to wrap her up in a full embrace.

"It's great to have you back, honey," Doris said, releasing her and grinning from ear to ear. "Please take a seat. Zeke, baby, scooch over some. That's it. There you go. Have a seat, Emersyn. Go on."

Emersyn smiled sheepishly at Zeke as she sat beside him. There was room for all four of them in the pew, but barely, and she kept finding herself rubbing elbows with Zeke. "Sorry for the tight squeeze," she whispered to him, and he shook his head, smiling.

"Don't worry about it," he said back, and then he rubbed his elbow against hers playfully. She giggled softly, and his eyes lit up. "I hope you don't take offense to what I'm about to tell you, but I really like your dress."

Heat started crawling up her cheeks as she slid her hands gently over her dress, flattening the soft ruffles. "Thank you. Why would you think that would offend me?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. Some people take compliments in weird ways. And I still don't know you all that well, so I wasn't sure. But yeah, you look nice."

"You look nice too," she replied, grinning. "I like your button up. And no khakis today?" That was one thing she had definitely learned about Zeke in the week they'd worked together. He wore a lot of t-shirts with khaki shorts and sneakers or sandals. It was his look, and she couldn't deny that he looked good in it. But today he was sporting a nice blue button up shirt that brought out the different shades of blue in his eyes and a pair black slacks. He looked especially handsome. Which was saying something, because Emersyn thought he looked quite good on any given day.

Zeke looked down at his pants. "Yeah, I had to borrow these from Kiel. Like I said, not used to going to church. So I don't really know what one wears to such an event. Kiel helped me out though. Even if I had to tighten my belt to keep the pants from sliding off."

Kiel looked over Doris to glare at him, and Emersyn had to fight to hold in her laughter as the service began. She wanted to listen to the service. She really did. But every time Zeke touched her, she felt like she was getting shocked. But not in that painful, surprising way that happens at the grocery store when you shuffle your feet too much and then touch one of the metal handles to the freezer doors. No, it was a pleasing sort of shock, filling her with a warmth so strong she considered removing her jean jacket.

After her grandpa died when she was eleven, she found it strange to hear another man's voice speaking from the head of the church. Her grandpa had been the pastor of the church for 50 years, and her father was supposed to follow in his footsteps. But his death shook everything up, so that when her grandpa died, they were forced to hire someone outside the Collins family for the first time in half a century. They'd had a few pastors come and go, as none of them really felt like they truly belonged. But Gabe, having grown up on the island himself, seemed to fit right in. His voice was warm and booming, and yet somehow comforting at the same time. Commanding attention but earning it as well. She was happy to be back. It felt like she'd finally come home again.