Jesus Freaks: Sins of the Father

It’s all mind-numbing, so I quickly accept requests from Bridgette, Eden, Jonah, Silas, Maggie, Matt, and Roland, before making my page as un-public as possible. I also completely delete my Twitter and Instagram accounts for good measure. I haven’t used those sites at all since arriving at CU anyway.

I walk back into the living room to find three men in suits who weren’t there when I retreated to Roland’s office. I recognize them from New Life, but I’m not entirely sure what their roles are or why it’s necessary for them to be here.

“Kennedy,” Roland hurries over to me, gesturing to the starched-looking trio, “these are a few Elders from New Life. Rich, Chris, and Zeke. They’re here to help us figure out the next step.”

Rich is a short, stout white man with thinning hair. He looks to be in his late sixties. Chris is younger, but how much so is hard to tell given what great shape he’s in. He’s tall, like Roland, with hair similar to his as well, and I can’t help but wonder if he’s putting himself on a pastoral track. Zeke, whose name is probably Ezekiel, is the youngest of the bunch. His skin is the color of charcoal, and when he says “hello,” I think I detect a slight French accent.

I offer them a polite wave, but speak only to Roland. “Can we go outside for a second to talk?” My voice sounds startlingly tired.

Amidst various vocal protests from Jahara and the three wise men, Roland takes my hand and leads me to a back porch I didn’t know existed.

“Thank you,” I whisper, sitting on a porch swing. “I need a minute.”

“Of course.” Roland nods and leans against the railing, facing me.

“Mom’s on her way.” I don’t say my mom, and I don’t have the energy to correct myself.

“I know,” he replies. “We’ve been texting.”

“She’s pissed.”

“I know. So am I. Kennedy,” Roland drops his hands to his sides and lowers his head, “I’m so sorry. I never meant for things to spiral out of con—”

I put up my hand, stopping him. “This isn’t your fault, Roland. You didn’t have Joy spy on us or make that vile poster. If anything, I’m sorry. I should have let you tell people about me. About us. Maybe I should have been honest with everyone from the start.”

Roland gestures to the space on the swing next to me and I nod, allowing him to sit. “You were doing what you thought was right, Kennedy. I don’t blame you. You were protecting yourself.”

“I did a bang-up job of that.” I look up to see the stars, but am greeted with a roof and some ceiling fans. Only in the south would there be ceiling fans outside. “So, what now?” I sigh. “What do Jahara and all the suits say?”

“Well,” Roland takes a deep breath, “we need to come off the property at some point. The good news is Thanksgiving break is next week, and then school is only in session for three more weeks after that before winter break. So everyone thinks we should just make a joint statement and try to make it through till the end of the semester with as little commotion as possible.”

I laugh. Hard. It’s completely appropriate but, honestly, it’s the most absurd thing I’ve heard in a while.

“Seriously?” I barely squeak out between the laughter. “That’s the plan?”

Roland chuckles nervously. “Do you have…something better?”

“Anything. Anything is better than that. This story, as big as it already seems to be, won’t die down just by us ignoring it. And we certainly can’t ignore it for the next month. Here. Look.” I open the Facebook app on my phone and hand it to Roland, allowing him to scroll through my page.

“I know,” he mumbles without looking. “I’ve seen it. Jahara told me not to respond to any of the comments.”

“Well, that I agree with.” I stand and walk back inside, Roland trailing me by a few paces.

Before I say anything else, Jahara waves her cell phone in the air. “And that, guys, was The Today Show.”

“Shooooot,” Matt sounds out slowly. I know he was dying to say the other word.

“What’d you tell them?” I ask.

Jahara eyes me curiously. It’s the first thing I’ve said to her since she showed up. “That we’d be in touch.”

I turn to Roland. “Let’s do it.”

His eyes widen. “Kennedy…”

“Go big or go home is what I always say.” I’ve never once in my life said that. “Look what school I’m at, for the love of…” I trail off, sensing the elder church members staring at the back of my head. “My point is, let’s cut out all the middle men and go national from the get go. I can’t believe they’ll do more than send a reporter out here for a filler piece.”

“Actually,” Jahara steps in, “they want you in New York. A headline interview.”

My eyes shoot to Matt, who is engaged in a heavy exhale that puffs out his cheeks. “Fantastic,” I mumble. “Why is this so big? What is the big deal?”

Everyone goes to answer at once, but Matt’s deep voice bellows over them all. “If I may…” he trails off until everyone quiets down. “I think I can best fill Kennedy in on what the big deal is.” He puts air quotes around my phrase. “Roland, can I take her to your office and use your computer?”