Something Beautiful (HIATUS)

CHAPTER FOUR

Sherry's face was partially covered by her hair, but then she turned her head and looked dead at us. I'd never seen the expression she was wearing, but when Carene saw it, she gave a little gasp.

"She told."

"What?" I whispered.

"About Aaron," she mouthed.

"She knows?"

"I had to tell her! She asked me this morning point blank!"

Oh, gosh. So my mom knew now, maybe my dad. I wondered if it was the reason why he'd had been calm with me so far. I glanced up at him on the other side of me, but his features were unreadable.

Overcome with a twisting, writhing sense of impending doom, I jerked to a halt. "Daddy, can I ride home with Carene and Ms. Sherry?"

Dad looked at me like I'd just asked to do a strip tease on the pulpit. "Another time, Kris. I don't know why you'd even ask―"

"Because I'm not ready to talk about this," I interrupted.

His eyebrows converged, and his lips tightened. We didn't interrupt adults, Lily and I. Our parents were persistent on manners and etiquette that showed respect. "Ready or not, Kristina, we need to talk about this."

"Daddy, please!"

"I'm sorry you're not ready, but I am." He paused. "We'll talk about it after lunch, just you and me. You have until then to prepare yourself. That's my compromise."

There was a sound nearby, and I craned my neck to see around my dad. Ms. Angelica Roth, the nursery coordinator, was yammering to her assistant, Misty, as they exited the sanctuary building from the nursery wing. Ms. Roth was locking up the doors, her back to us, but Misty noticed our trio and began to wave.

Something ugly and rebellious roused in me as I watched Dad wave back to Misty with that countenance of refined confidence and total serenity, as though nothing was wrong.

"Fine," I said sharply, and far too loud. "You want to talk about it? Then let's talk about it right now!"

Misty's smile faltered, and Dad turned slowly towards me. In a low voice, but still smiling, he said, "Haven't we made enough scenes for one day, Kristina?"

"What, you don't want people to know that we don't always agree? That we have problems in our family? That I'm not a perfect poster child for a pastor's kid?"

His voice rose just a notch when he responded, "That's enough, Kristina."

"Daddy, I'm begging you. If I have to talk about this with you, then let's get it over with!"

"Kristina, I said we will talk about this later. At home."

"What's the difference?!"

"The difference is that this a private matter and you seem to be set on making it into a public spectacle."

Ms. Roth and Misty were both staring at us now, hanging on our every word as if we were acting out an improv show. When I flicked my gaze to them, fuming, they jumped and scampered away.

"That's the real issue, isn't it?" I growled. "Not that I slapped someone, but that everyone knows about it. People saw it with their own eyes ― your people! And now you can't just sweep it under the rug. You actually have to get your hands dirty to clean up the mess I made."

He scoffed, which wasn't the reaction I was expecting. "You make me sound like a crime boss."

"In a manner of speaking, aren't you?"