Salvation (Joseph Seed)

14. The Baptism

Finally the day of Evelyn's baptism arrived. In the morning Evelyn showered and got dressed into the white summer and the necklace that Joseph brought her, she then slipped on some simple white pumps, not having anything else that was suitable for the occasion. She let her dark hair fall naturally over her shoulders. The woman then waited outside her house, Joseph was suppose to be picking her up since her parents wouldn't be attending the service.

Once the black car rolled up in front of the house, Evelyn smiled and climbed into the passenger seat. Joseph smiled at her as she shut the door and buckled her seat belt. "Hello, Evelyn" he greeted her, feeling like he was more excited than anyone else about this baptism.

"Hey, Joseph" she smiled back as they drove away from the house.

"Are you nervous? It's completely normal if you are" Jospeh asked, glancing sideways at her as he drove along the road.

"A little but I'm more excited than nervous, I just don't know what to expect" Evelyn shrugged. She knew that a baptism was harmless but she also knew that this one was going to be different, she just didn't know why. Plus, she was more nervous about the confession than the baptism.

"Well, we don't perform baptisms in the church, we perform them in a lake. Don't worry, the water is clean. We have performed baptisms many times and nothing bad has come of it" the Father assured her, not wanting her to worry about anything.

"I know, I trust you" the young woman smiled at him, which in turn made him smile.

"Now, the other thing I should tell you. Since you wanted me to carry out your confession, I will also be doing your baptism. I hope you don't mind, but I have arranged a private baptism" he told her, missing out the part about how he arranged the unconventional private baptism to get some more time alone with her.

"What does that mean?" she asked, turning her head to look at him.

"It will just be me and you. My siblings won't be there and my children won't be there either" Joseph explained, sparing a glance in her direction even though he knew that he would be focusing on the road.

"Oh that's fine. That's better actually, I don't really like being the centre of attention" Evelyn admitted with a soft laugh. Joseph just nodded, a small smiling gracing his lips. Of course she didn't like being the centre of attention...his sweet angel, no he shouldn't be thinking about Evelyn like that!

The rest of the drive to the lake was silent, Evelyn just watching out of the window. She hadn't been to this part of Hope Count yet, at least she didn't recognise it. Perhaps so much had been going go recently but Evelyn hadn't taken the time to notice that Hope Count was actually rather beautiful. The car pulled up to a lake and parked. With that, the Father silently climbed out of the car and Evelyn followed suit. She glanced around as she closed the car door, the lake was absolutely beautiful. The way that the sun reflected off of the water's surface was like something out of a dream, and the surrounding trees made the area feel very private and peaceful. She could see why they chose this place to hold baptisms.

"You can leave your shoes by the car" Joseph told her as he knelt down to remove his shoes and socks. Evelyn just nodded before kneeling down to do the same, she felt a little stupid for only just realising that she would be walking into the lake fully dressed. She wondered how deep they would travel before Joseph found it suitable.

Evelyn placed her shoes to the side before standing up straight and turning to Joseph. Her eyes widened slightly and she had to fight off the blush creeping its way up to her cheeks when she saw Joseph removing his shirt, folding it neatly and placing it down on the front of the car. Evelyn hoped that he would stop there but another part of her, the part that scared her, didn't.