Is angry.
“Back up a second.” Eden blinks rapidly as if that will help things make sense.
“To where?” I chuckle.
“Dean Baker threatened you?” She talks in the whisper of someone involved in a murder-mystery.
I nod. “I mean, worse things have happened in the world, but, yeah.”
I’ve had weeks to realize how preposterous that whole meeting was. Yes, Dean Baker showed his true colors as a villain to be reckoned with. But, the good news for me is that he doesn’t have anything but his two swollen legs to stand on. He’s teetering on a precarious ledge.
“And you haven’t told anyone? Besides Roland?”
“And Matt,” I add. I leave out the bit about the underground campus warriors suiting up for battle against the administration. I still don’t know how I feel about all of that, and what’s more is I don’t know if Jonah has told Eden anything about it.
Eden leans against her wall. “It’s like a movie, or something. How did Dean Baker find out about the party you went to?”
I shrug. “I doubt he did, honestly. And, even if someone from here knew, which is unlikely, or someone from home sent something in, it doesn’t matter. There aren’t any pictures, which leads me to believe he was taking a shot in the dark.”
“He’s got amazing aim,” she murmurs.
Her humor catches me off guard and I burst out into near-hysterical laughter.
“What?” Eden asks, falling into a fit of her own giggles.
“That was funny,” I assure her. “Refreshingly funny.”
Wiping laugh-tears away from her eyes, Eden regains her composure. “How can I help?”
“I …” I trail off. “I don’t know.”
“Roland lives at New Life, why are you packing so much?” Eden gestures to my suitcase.
“Because for the next two weeks we’re going to go to his parents house, then to some family issues conference in freakin’ Georgia. Only then will we finally return back here.”
Eden furrows her brow. “I thought you said you guys were going to see your mom.”
I sigh. “She’s going to come here when we get back. When she saw all the traveling I’d be doing, she kind of martyred and offered to come to Roland’s in mid-January.”
I originally protested not seeing my mom—my family—on Christmas. But, the more I thought about it, the more I realized this will be good for me. I’ve claimed all year that I want to know my roots, and I can’t get to them without a shovel and a little dirt on my hands.
“Where do Roland’s parents live?” I love that Eden’s comfortable calling him by his first name when we’re talking together. It’s far preferable to Pastor Roland or your dad.
Laying a CU Sweatshirt on top of my suitcase, I stop mid-bubble-blow and look up. “I … I have no clue. I assume Ohio? Or Minnesota, maybe? I know he grew up in Ohio … right?” I sit on my bed, exhausted and chuckling at my lack of knowledge. “Give me a sec.” I pick up the phone and dial Roland’s number.
“Hey you,” he answers cheerfully. “All packed up? I see you got a B on your OT exam. Good work!”
I hold the phone out in front of me, staring at it puzzled. “I did?” I finally reply. “How do you … never mind. I forget you’re faculty. Anyway, where is it, exactly, that your parents live?”
“Villa Hills.”
“You say that like I have a clue.”
“Oh, right,” he chuckles, “sorry. It’s in Northern Kentucky.”
“What?” I whine. “Seriously? I thought you were from the Mid-West.”
Eden’s eyes widen in curiosity. It’s only then I remember she’s from Kentucky, so I should refrain from more verbal judgment.
Roland laughs into the phone. “It’s twenty minutes from the Mid-West, and they moved there when I was in my twenties. Don’t worry, no one will bite. You’ll be here by dinner?”
“Yes,” I mumble, unenthusiastically, in to the phone. “How long of a drive is it?”
“Five-and-a-half hours, or so. Which is why we’ll leave in the morning.”
“All right, see you in a little while.” I end the call and stare blankly at Eden.
“Where do they live?” she asks again.
“A place called Villa Hills?” I shrug.
Eden leaps from her bed with the highest pitch squeal I’ve heard from her yet, and tackle hugs me onto my bed.
“What?” I yelp back, shaking my face free from her bouncy curls.
Sitting up, Eden grabs my shoulders. “That’s only a half hour from me!”
“Seriously?” I shriek back, actually enthusiastic.
She nods and bounces while I sigh the longest breath of relief I’ve sighed in weeks. Sure, I’m grateful to hear I got a B on my OT exam, meaning I ended the semester with a B in the hardest class I’ve ever taken. But, this news of Eden’s proximity to Roland’s parents means that for the two weeks I’m shacked up with them, I have an escape.
“And,” she adds, holding up a finger, “it’s only twenty minutes from Jonah. He lives in Delhi, Ohio.”
I hold out my hands and tilt my chin to the sky. “Thank you, Jesus.”
Eden mimics my pose and giggles some more.