A Different Divergent Tale (Eric and Tris)

Chapter 58 (Eric's POV)

'Old Church Basement'—Elevation Worship & Maverick City Music (featuring Dante Bowe)

Tris and I remain in the sanctuary afterward talking and socializing with many people. I notice Caleb didn't attend. That thought kind of saddens me but he did say he was never the strongest Christian. He also has Jeanine whispering in his ear.
I meet several people—some Tris knows, others are new for both of us. Many stay for the meal—the fellowship banquet, as they call it—in the church basement.
Tris and I walk the same hallway as we did together with her grandmother earlier and I find myself feeling more sure of the memories here. They are coming back to me—the nostalgia of being here.  I remember meals downstairs and I went to a few classrooms here. I think when I started baseball, perhaps we came less. Then Lizzy was born. I remember my mother not sleeping well for a long time—staying up late with her. She cried a lot. Then, when Lizzy was a little older, my mother was trying for leadership. Norton's health was failing and they were lining up his replacements. My mom was a candidate—working hard, often late. Work and life got in the way. That must've been why we stopped coming...
We descend the stairs and enter the dining hall. Everyone is gathered around talking. Ethan prays over the food and fellowship—asking a blessing over those who've prepared and brought dishes. We join the line and it actually moves quickly. We arrive at the buffet and I'm honestly starving. Everything looks incredible, too. I get some of Dana's pulled pork and some ribs someone barbecued. I see someone made fried chicken and fried fish. I feel like I'm only taking protein and there's tons left. We're in the middle of the line, too. I get some sort of cold salad that looks promising and some mashed potatoes.  I choose a sort of stewed vegetable that looks interesting. Tris actually gets quite a bit of food, too. 
"I want to try your cake," she whispers to me so we go to the dessert table. She gets a slice of the vanilla and so do I but I see her getting two chocolate ones as well—probably for her parents. I grin at her and we each grab a bottle of water. I take hers out of her hand before we search for her family. They're just taking seats with her grandparents and Dana's family.  There's two seats remaining and I notice Dana waving us over to join her.  I lead her over there and we take our seats not without Tris setting the two chocolate slices in front of her parents. Her mother smiles in reply and her father does a double-take.
"Sweetheart? What's this?" he asks.
"I brought a chocolate Dauntless cake," she tells him.
"Thank you," he says and looks back down at it.
I notice he and Natalie selected some of the simplest dishes—roast beef, mashed potatoes, green beans, and bread. The roast beef looks good and I didn't even see that.
We chat with Dana's parents and Tris's grandparents while we eat.  Ethan tells me the next step for me is baptism.  I ask him what that is. 
"It's immersion in water.  It's a symbol—a public gesture.  We believe in public declarations of our faith.  If we proclaim to be followers of Christ, we ought to openly show that.  If we display our beliefs publicly, he will stand up for us on our judgment day.  If we publicly deny him, the opposite may be the case," he explains. 
"Alright," I agree. 
"We were doing some at our pool in a few weeks," Dana's father—Anthony—announces. 
"We could probably do that," I nod.  "Tris has an appointment but let's hope she'll be fine after that."
"What are you talking about?" Tris asks me. 
"Baptisms," her grandfather smiles. 
"Oh," Tris says surprised. 
"Do you want Tris to dunk you?" Ethan asks. 
"Sure," I shrug. 
"Wait..." she says confused.  I see her mother whispering to her.  "Oh," she responds surprised.  She looks at me and smiles almost disbelievingly.  I lean in and kiss her temple before going back to my plate. 
We continue to talk with our table during the meal and even after. Ethan and his wife move around the dining hall conversing with everyone. The place slowly starts to empty and I notice some Abnegation coming to collect the leftovers.
"See?" Natalie smiles. "We were already equipped to handle it."
"I see that," I nod.
"Is there anything you want to take home, Eric?" Tris asks me.
"I wouldn't mind another plate of those ribs... and maybe some of that roast beef. It looked way better than what they serve in the cafeteria," I mention.
Tris tells me she'll make me a plate and disappears off to the buffet.
"It is," Natalie laughs lightly. "That meal was notorious for food fights in my day."
"It still is," I point out.
She chuckles harder at that.
Denise joins us with a folder in her hands. "I just knew I could find something for the both of you," she tells us. She sets the folder down and opens it. She hands me a large photograph of my parents' wedding day. I've never seen this one. I saw some of the two of them together outside and at the reception... but they were married here at this church.
"And this one's for Beatrice," she says placing a photo of what must've been Andrew and Natalie's wedding. He's wearing a similar suit to what he has on but Natalie has a nicer grey dress on. Their wedding bands on their hands are on display together. I grin at these.
"I've got family ones, too," she adds giving me a photograph of myself when I was four or five with my parents. We were standing on the steps outside.
"Aww, look at those curls," Tris coos when she returns with a foil-wrapped plate. "You were adorable."
I raise an eyebrow at her.
She laughs lightly. "Well... you still are," she teases kissing my cheek.
I chuckle in reply at that. I see a closeup of Tris and Caleb. They were probably five to seven there. There's a couple more of her family or mine. Then... she places a few smaller ones with the two of us together.
"I remember this," Tris says nostalgically. She's grinning. "We were in kid's church together."
I grin and glance at her. We were playing a game and I was holding her—carrying her around. It looks like a three-legged race but I picked her up. There's another where we're sitting down coloring, then, another where we're seated together on the floor against the wall with my arm around her. I glance at Tris to see her biting her lip. She's trying to hold back the smile.
"I just thought you'd enjoy these," Denise says giving us the folder.
"Thank you, Grandma," Tris says softly. She hugs her and we get ready to leave. Dana gets her empty crockpot and the Priors wish us goodbye.
"Don't forget about your appointment next weekend," Natalie reminds Tris.
"Of course. I won't forget," she replies.
"What appointment?" Dana inquires.
"I made an appointment at the hospital with Dr Smith," Natalie explains. "They're going to see what else they can do about her condition."
"Oh," Dana nods in understanding.
We say our goodbyes but Andrew holds me back for a moment.
"I just want to make it clear if you didn't understand earlier..." he says.
I nod in reply curious about what he's telling me.
"You have my blessing to marry her," he says shaking my hand.
I laugh disbelievingly.
"Mine, too," her grandfather adds patting me on the back.
"Thank you," I tell them both seriously. "It's an honor."
Andrew smiles at me and tells me to keep in touch.
"Of course," I respond.
I step out the door and open the trunk for Dana.
"Where were you?" Tris inquires.
"Your dad just wanted to tell me something," I shrug it off but I'm ecstatic. This is probably some of the best news of my life.
I drive us home and I just can't get rid of the smile on my face. I feel like it's permanently there. I pull into our garage and we walk Dana out.  Tris hugs her and then Dana oddly hugs me. 
"We'll see you later.  Maybe we can go out Friday night?" Tris suggests. 
"Alright," Dana nods.  "When's your appointment?"
"Saturday afternoon," Tris replies. 
"Okay," Dana grins. 
We drop our plates off at Tris's apartment and change into some more casual attire before I take her to the Pit. 
"Where are we going again?" I ask. 
"Portable music device and some picture frames," she tells me. 
I nod and lead the way.  We stop at the music store first.  I learn that we can add music we've already purchased to her new player.  I buy her the best hardware available and she selects a green one. 
I walk her to the home store next.  We run into Marlene and Lynn shopping on the way.  Tris chats with them a bit and I grin at how well she gets along with them.  She invites them out on Friday night, telling Marlene that she talked Dana into going out. 
"Really?  I've asked and she hasn't been interested.  I thought she didn't want to go out," Marlene mentions surprised. 
"Well, I guess I persuaded her," Tris replies smiling. 
"What do you want to do?" Lynn questions. 
"Dancing?" Tris shrugs. 
"That sounds great.  It was fun last time.  I'll drag Uriah and Lynn could invite Gabe," Marlene grins nudging Lynn.  She actually laughs bashfully.  Maybe Tris is a good matchmaker. 
"Maybe I should invite my sister," Lynn muses. 
"I haven't hung around with Zeke in ages," I mention. 
She grins in reply.  "I'll see what I can do," Lynn nods still smiling. 
We say our goodbyes and tell them we'll see them at dinner.  I take Tris to the home store and observe her selecting picture frames.  I stand back and notice her talking to herself under her breath.  I chuckle lightly and can't help but think everything about her is charming.  I'm fairly certain she's listing off the quantities and approximate sizes she wants.  She piles up a stack of frames in her arms but I take most of them from her. 
"Thanks," she grins up at me.  I smile down at her and wonder how much she'll change after next week.  I'm so grateful that she's capable of growing more even though I'm leery of the location we're going to. 
I pay for her frames at the checkout and grab the bag.  We go to a home improvement store next since she wants to hang them up along with a few others immediately.  She selects a tool box, a level, tape measure, hammer and nails, a few wrenches, and other miscellaneous items.  I carry the heavy bag and she takes the small one with her music player.  As we walk toward our apartments, I observe her looking through the folder of pictures. We continue on by means of the Pit and I glance at her once more as her focus is down and not forward.
"Deciding which frames to use?" I inquire. 
"No," she replies peering up at me.  "I'm figuring out where to put them."
"Oh," I nod.  "Which one's your favorite?" I ask curiously. 
"This one," she says showing me the picture with my arm around her. 
"Mine, too," I grin. 
"Watch where you're going, Four," I hear Zeke say from close proximity. 
I look up to see Four just about to run into Tris—but I don't think this one is malicious.  He's just not paying attention.  In a moment's reaction, I take both bags in one hand and pull Tris closer to me.  She drops her folder, though. 
"Shoot," she mutters. 
"Sorry," Four says helping her pick up the pictures. 
"It's fine.  No damage done," she mumbles. 
I set my bags down and pick up the folder beside my foot. I observe as Four glances at the pictures.
"Is that your parents?" he asks. 
"Yeah," she replies. 
"Dude, you two knew each other as kids?" Zeke asks handing her the ones of us he picked up from the ground. 
"Apparently," I shrug. 
"That's awesome," he replies. 
"No way," Four says disbelievingly. 
"My grandma had these at the church.  Eric's parents were married there and we were in kid's church together," Tris tells Zeke. 
"That's cool," he grins. 
"Is that your parents?" Four questions me. 
I nod. 
"Jeanine Matthews is your mother?" he presses. 
"Janice Matthews," Zeke corrects for me.  "They were twins."
"Jeanine Matthews is your aunt, then?" Four asks me.  He looks kind of angry and glances at Tris. 
"She is.  She's still guardian of my sister," I mention. 
"How can you trust him?" he questions Tris. 
"Hey, Zeke.  I was just talking to Marlene and Lynn.  We're all going dancing on Friday night.  Lynn wants Shauna to come," Tris says ignoring Four's question. 
"Awe, sick!  Yeah, we'll come," he says enthusiastically. 
"Maybe you and your brother can have a dance off.  I've heard you have some moves," Tris teases. 
"Sure.  Then I can see about you and Eric.  Everyone keeps talking about your dancing skills," Zeke comments. 
Tris laughs lightly and glances at me.  "I guess we're practicing swing tonight," she replies. 
"I'm up for it," I nod. 
"What's that?" Zeke asks. 
"Swing dancing is like classical fast dancing.  Probably the only type that would fit into Dauntless," I mention. 
"Man, that's awesome.  I've got to call Shauna," Zeke says excitedly. 
"I thought we went drinking on Fridays," Four mentions. 
"You can still go with Neil and Thomas," he replies shrugging.  "We'll see you later," Zeke says to us. 
"Bye," Tris waves. 
"Tris?" Four whispers.  He looks to her, then me. 
"It's fine," she replies dismissively and turns to leave.  I go with her. 
"Does he think he's sneaky or something?" I say under my breath since he's questioning my intentions and whether she's safe with me right in front of my face. 
"Who knows what he's thinking?" she shrugs halfheartedly.  "When's his medical evaluation anyway?"
"Tomorrow morning," I reply. 
"Is he aware?" she questions. 
"Nope," I tell her.  "Max will be there."
"What's the plan with that?" she inquires. 
"I don't know.  You can ask Max if you want.  He set everything up," I tell her. 
"Maybe I will," she nods. 
I press the button to our elevator and we ride it up.  We step out and stride down our hallway. 
"My place or yours?" I ask. 
"Mine?" she says questioningly. 
That's right.  She wanted to hang her pictures.  I nod in understanding. Seeing Four just now kind of threw me off and irritated me more than I let on.  I really don't want him near her at all.  I thought the counseling thing would help but he's still kind of demented.  Hopefully tomorrow will help shed some light on where to go next with him. 
I let her open her door since my hands are full. The toolbox one is rather heavy.  She steps in and I follow.  She sets her folder and bag on the island.  I do the same and take a seat at a barstool.  She's staring at them. 
"What?" I question laughing lightly. 
"Next project," she murmurs. 
"Oh," I nod. "When are you going to work on that?" I inquire. 
"Don't know.  Whenever I can find the time," she shrugs as she removes things from the home improvement store.  "I need fabric and spray paint... maybe some batting or a cushion depending on how those look when I remove the cover."
"Did you buy a stapler?" I inquire. 
"For the chairs," she replies. 
"What?" I question bewildered. 
"The fabric is stapled onto the bottom," she explains. 
"Oh," I nod in surprise.  That's weird. 
I observe as she sets up her toolbox—taking the tags off and everything out of the packages for the most part.  Once it's full, I help her put the pictures in the frames.  She even chose some for me—for my apartment.  I hadn't realized.  That was sweet of her.  I help her hang hers up and then we lounge around on the sofa.  I notice a flashing light out of the corner of my eye and turn my head slightly to see the bottom portion of the screen behind us on the wall has a light blinking on and off.
"I wonder what that means," I mumble staring at it.
"What's that?" Tris questions.
I motion to the monitor and she turns around beside me. She sits up on her knees and places her hand on the panel. It awakens and I turn more, surrendering my attention to it. I see a new message appearing on the screen. Tris selects it. It's a video recording of Amar. 
"Hey there, Eric and Tris," he waves.  "Just giving you the low down on your appointment.  Anytime Saturday afternoon is fine.  You are technically meeting with a Dr Smith at the hospital here.  There's also a doctor with the same name, same specialization in the hospital in Erudite so it's not a problem for you to be truthful.  We're just sending him a chart like you're a patient of his staff so it's not too far of a stretch for you."
He continues giving us information on where to go and recommends we stay in Amity while she recovers.  That should be fine for me to take a leave of absence for as long as necessary.  It'll also make it easier for us to leave the city.  The recording stops and Tris closes it. 
"How do you know him again?" Tris inquires as she reclaims the seat beside me. 
"He was my transfer initiate trainer.  Tori taught the Dauntless-born," I tell her. 
"He's the one who Four thought you killed, right?" she questions. 
"Yeah," I nod.  "Rumor had it that he committed suicide. There was a body and everything. We still have to keep his whereabouts a secret."
That's so weird that Four'd accuse me of that.  It's even more eerie that he's still alive, though. 
She laughs lightly beside me.  "In the back of my mind, I'm feeling like beyond the fence is a metaphor for death—like heaven or something."
I chuckle softly at that, too, but that's why I'm so anxious.  It feels unreal.  It's kind of shaken me to my core.  Natalie said she relies on God in times like that.  So does Andrew.  Ethan mentioned to cast our burdens on God during the service.  So, I give it up to Him... and I do feel better—less apprehensive. 
"How do you feel about all of that?" she inquires. 
I tell her the epiphany I just had and she smiles—maybe the biggest I've ever seen. 
"So, you prayed the prayer with my father?" she confirms. 
"I did," I nod. 
She looks at me... differently, I think—like in a new light. 
"I'm sorry I missed it," she says gently. 
"But I got to hear you sing," I whisper kissing her temple.  "You're incredible."
"Thank you," she replies softly. 
She leans her head against my shoulder and holds my hand. 
"You believe?" she asks. 
"I do," I reply. 
We talk a bit about everything—today, things about God, the next week, thoughts on what this trip will be like.  I feel like the dynamic between us has shifted—it's more relaxed and comfortable.  It's as if we've grown even closer.  I feel so incredibly at ease with her and everything for that matter.  I look up at the ominous camera and I feel a moment of unease creep in.  I instantly shake it off and not worry about it.