She stepped in between them. “Revered Mack, this is my brother, Dennis.” I will never get used to saying that, she thought. My brother.
Reverend Mack gave a friendly grin and stuck his hand out. “Hello, brother, thank you for coming to our little Sunday service. I was just kidding by the way. I’m glad anyone comes, even if they leave in the middle.” Apparently, Reverend Mack had no problem saying brother.
Dennis looked slightly amused. Elly concealed a tiny smile behind her hand. It was impossible not to like Reverend Mack. He would win Dennis over if given five minutes.
The reverend glanced at his watch. “I got some premarital counseling coming up here, but I hope that sometime we can talk again. I’d love to get to know Elly’s brother. Where are you from, again?”
Dennis looked at Elly with alarm. She ignored him. “Uh …,” Dennis mumbled something.
“Sorry, son, couldn’t hear you. What did you say?”
“Sewell. Sewell, Ohio.”
“And how did you like Sewell, Ohio?”
“It’s a hellhole.”
Elly’s breath disappeared. Dennis had said “hell” to her pastor. Elly felt like laughing uncontrollably, like a crazy woman.
“Well, then, I’m glad you don’t live there anymore. See you next Sunday?”
Dennis looked at the floor, his face hidden by stringy hair. “Maybe.”
“Glad to hear it! Elly, Keith.” Reverend Mack walked inside, whistling.
The three of them climbed into Elly’s tiny Tercel. They were heading down Big Bend Boulevard with Everest Oppressed playing on the stereo, when Dennis suddenly spoke. “Are you going to tell her now?”
Keith nodded. “I was going to wait until we were alone, but….”
Elly looked in the rearview mirror. Dennis was smiling, he was smiling. Elly felt a surge of hope rise in her chest. Maybe things will be okay after all. I’ll be a model older sister, and Dennis will be a functioning adult who will watch our kids on the weekend.
“You promised, dude,” said Dennis, his smile disappearing.
Keith gave a loud groan and rapped his knuckles nervously on the dash. “So, when you were in church, I promised Dennis that we would go with him to something he cared about since he came with us to church.”
Elly bit her lip. “It’s not like we forced you to go.”
“Yes, you did. You guilted me into going. I’m not even religious.”
“Well, what were your parents?”
“Assholes,” mumbled Dennis. The world’s most-awkward silence filled the car. They pulled up in front of Posies. “See ya,” said Dennis obnoxiously as he leapt from the car. He leaned over Keith’s window. “A promise is a promise.”
Elly watched as he headed up the apartment stairs. She turned to Keith in the car. “What did you do?”
Keith sighed and leaned his head against the window, one hand trailing down the back of her neck with a softness that made her skin tingle. “I told him we would go to a con—”
“What?” said Elly. She grabbed his arm.
His eyes met hers, pleading for mercy. “Don’t be mad at me. He was so angry, but I told him that him going to church meant a lot to you, and then he was talking about this … this thing, and I sort of told him he would go.”
Elly raised one eyebrow. “What sort of thing?”
“I told him that we would go to the comic convention that’s at the Hilton this weekend.”
Elly paused a second. “A what convention?”
“A comic convention. It’s full of all the stuff he loves. You know, it’s like comic books and movies and fans, and I guess World of MageCraft will be there….”
“Like the person?”
“World of MageCraft is not a person.” Keith brushed her curls back. “Maybe it will be fun. We can laugh at the nerds together.”
“I’ve got news for you, buddy. We are nerds.”
“Speak for yourself.” Keith wrapped his arm around Elly’s neck, pulling her in for a warm, lingering kiss. “Want to go to a park or something?”
Elly unbuckled her seatbelt and faced him. “Actually, I have a great idea. Let’s go to your place.” Elly watched the panic flash in his deep-blue eyes, and a crinkle form in his forehead. It disappeared within seconds as his eyes went to the ceiling. Lying. She knew it so well now.
“Elly. I, uh, promise, you’ll see it soon.”
Elly bit her lip angrily. “But I’d like to see Cadbury today. I don’t care about how messy it is if that’s what you are worried about.”
“Well, how about I go grab him and bring him here, and we’ll go for a picnic. I’ll run into the deli and grab sandwiches.”
Sandwiches sounded good. Keith’s sandwiches sounded amazing. Elly was torn between her desire to argue and her desire for deli meat. “Okay,” she said, unsure.