Wow. Time sure flew when her mind wandered and she didn’t pay attention to the sermon. She felt sort of bad about that. Hopefully, it hadn’t been one of those life-altering sermons that changed a person’s entire thinking on life. She’d totally missed out on it.
The congregation sang hymn number one sixty-two. One she had never heard before about power being in the blood. The blood, of course, was Jesus. The image of another blood source flooded her mind: Boyd’s blood running from his nose and mouth when he fell against the door at that horrible angle. Thinking about it, the gnawing pain in her ribs and leg got worse, and she wanted a pain pill so bad. Nothing horrible. Nothing even prescription. An over-the-counter one would do just fine. Generic even. Anything to take the throbbing away.
Lost in her own thoughts, she sang the song the best she could, occasionally flicking her eyes at the altar to see if anyone had gone yet. She hadn’t gotten saved at the old wooden piece of furniture, but a lot of people had.
It really was a beautiful church. Old. The kind of old that made the hardwood floor creak when you stepped down. It had about ten rows of pews on either side of the center aisle. The front had the altar, rail, pulpit, and piano. A large wooden cross hung on the wall behind the pulpit; to the right of the cross hung the prayer request board and attendance board. Also, a door led to the one and only classroom. It was small, but it was homey. Sloan loved how cozy it was. It made her feel safe, especially now that Donna was back in her seat in the front row. Right where she belonged.
The second verse of the song started, and movement next to her caught her attention. It was Ray. He gently nudged her back and moved past. He slapped his brother’s arm and motioned for him to move out of the way. Frowning, Aaron stepped to the side. With a grin on his face, Ray headed toward the front. While Sloan watched in awe, Ray kneeled down and started praying.
Ray had told her once he’d gone to church a few times and believed in God, but he wasn’t saved. Pastor Dan crouched beside him and, after a few words of prayer, Ray stood like the weight of the world was off his shoulders. He hugged the preacher who hugged him back. Donna shouted happy exclamations, and the congregation clapped.
Even Aaron, who Sloan could have sworn had wet eyes. She wondered if Aaron would ever go up there, then thought better of it. She knew he wouldn’t. It wasn’t his style. If Aaron ever got saved, it would be on his own terms, somewhere private where no one would know. For all she knew, he wouldn’t even tell anyone after the fact. It was such a personal experience after all. Some people shouted about it. Some never told a soul.
Ray wasn’t being private. He stood proudly next to Pastor Dan, smiling from ear to ear at Sloan. She couldn’t help but smile back. When the pastor asked for everyone to come up and hug him, she was the first in line. She rose on her tiptoes to grab him around the neck easier and kissed his cheek. “I’m happy for you,” she said into his ear.
He pulled her closer to him. “I am too. Thank you.”
After much happiness and celebration, it was decided that next Sunday would be the baptism. Ray didn’t see any reason to wait, and neither did anyone else. They would walk down to the creek close to the Falls and dunk him under. Then they would go to the picnic area and have a covered-dish lunch. It would be a big party. Sloan couldn’t wait. It was nice to have something to look forward to.
Like always, the Hunters walked her to her car. She actually had gotten a new car for her birthday after all the dust had settled. It was a bright red — some said candy apple — Dodge Charger. Brand new and beautiful. The seats were light tan leather. The gearshift sat between the front seats, and the ignition was push-button. The car had two doors, but it had a pretty big back seat for when Ray, Aaron, and Mackenzie all went somewhere.
“Lunch?” Aaron asked when they got to her vehicle.
“Starving,” she answered, looking in her bag for her keys. “Any ideas?”
“Well, since my brother decided to convert to the good side and took so much time doing it.” He smirked lovingly at his brother. “The hotel restaurant will be too full. Fast food maybe? The diner?”
“The diner will be full too.” She was sort of sad about it. She loved the diner on Sundays. They had the best meatloaf around.
“I would say I’m sorry, but I’m not.” Ray laughed, leaning on the hood of her car. “I feel pretty good right about now.”
“You look it.” Sloan grinned. And he did. He looked happier, brighter… different.