Kaleidoscopic

Chapter 54

"Sorry. Sorry. Sorry," Danny rushed into the church, tucking his shirt into the back of his pants. "Colleen promised she'd pay me to fix her squeaky brakes. Turns out she needs a whole new fluid reservoir. I had to negotiate—"

"Don't care," Heather said, licking her thumb before she started wiping the grease from Danny's cheek. "Everyone is already inside."

The chapel was musty from the summer heat. There was never any airflow underneath the spire, clogging the whole seating area with a damp-like scent. It stemmed from the mired wood pews, which were beginning to rot due to the lack of ventilation. Strangely, Danny still associated the smell with comfort. He had spent too much time under the crested roof.

"Did it start yet?" Danny asked, slicking his hair with some spit.

"Not yet," Heather said. "You have a few minutes before they start. I should go find my seat."

Heather took a step toward the arched doorway and Danny sputtered, "Whoa, whoa. Wait. Aren't we supposed to walk in together?"

Heather's face furrowed. "No...Why would we do that?"

"Because the godfather and godmother usually walk together."

Heather's eyes softened, endeared. She was wearing a rose-colored dress that had more lace on the bodice than an antique doily. Indeed she was dressed for the occasion, but she had no part in the ceremony.

"Danny," she began, looking sentimental. "Clem doesn't have a godmother."

Danny surveyed his surroundings, eyeing the stained-glass art and lit candles with a worried expression. The lambency of the sunlit windows resembled a canopy of color as it strewn across the high ceilings. Danny had forgotten the many hidden beauties of his church.

"What the hell are you talking about? Why didn't Nadine—?"

"Nadine didn't assign Clem a godmother," Heather explained. "She gave her two godfathers."

"What?" Danny's concern morphed into perplexed expression. "Can she do that?"

Heather shrugged. "It's her kid. She can do whatever she wants."

"But who—?"

"Let's go baptize a baby," Evan blurted, coming from the opposite side of the church. He clamped his hand on Danny's shoulder in elation—a picture-perfect, carefree uncle. And soon, he'd be a godfather too.

Nadine choosing her brother wasn't a surprised, but Danny didn't know why Nadine didn't just pick Heather as a godmother.

"But...?" Danny mumbled, turning to Heather. "You're her best friend...?"

Heather gave him a one-sided smile. "But I'm not the one who almost got arrested for stealing a pregnancy test," she said. "Or defended her when the whole cheerleading squad called her a skank—Chris told me. And don't think I forgot about my New Year's Eve party. You didn't fight Kenneth and his friends like the rest of the guys, you helped get Nadine out of the crowd. You're a good guy, Danny. Nadine doesn't want anyone else looking out for Clem. She knows you'll take it seriously. You've already proved it."

Heather made Danny sound like a saint. It was true—he had done all those things, but he had chosen to do those things for different reasons. Most of those reasons revolved around Evan.

Did those things really make him a good guy? Or did loving Evan make him better person? And could he truly ever be deemed a good person after what he had done with Jackson? Danny didn't know what he could be, but he wanted to try to be whatever he needed to be for Clem—and for God, because he still sought approval from the deity that guarded his heart for so long. He supposed he would never fully rid himself of the church-incited morals that had been branded into his being.

He could love both, he decided—God and Evan. No one had to agree with him or even understand it, but he was done splitting himself in half.

Evan slapped his hands together. "Let's go piss off my Auntie Bev."