Mileven in Heaven

Holy Love

It was Saturday, April 6, 1985, what some would call Easter's Eve. Mrs. Wheeler had just come back inside, after having had a chat with Ms. Pachkowski next door. She stormed into Mike's room, furiously.

"Michael Theodore Wheeler!"

Uh oh! She used my full name! I'm screwed... he thought.

"I just had a conversation with Ms. Pachkowski next door..."

Oh shit...Fuck! he thought.

"You wanna explain to me why she thinks that we have a cat named Dart?"

"Uh...Well, you see..."

"Spit it out, Michael!"

"Okay, fine...Well, the other night at the party, we started a game of Truth or Dare, and I dared Max to eat cat food, so I had to go get some from Ms. Pachkowski."

"Michael! That is not the way you interact with your guests!"

"But Mom, she's my friend! Friends pull that stuff with each other all the time."

"But it doesn't look good for the host to do such things."

"Well, it was the hit of the party!"

"That doesn't make it right and what have we talked about with the lying?"

"I know...I just wanted to keep my friends entertained."

"Not only did you lie, but you played a poor old woman who didn't know any better!"

"I know. I feel awful, Mom, I really do. I'm sorry."

"That's okay, Michael, but just do better next time, okay?"

"I will, I swear."

"No need to swear. I believe you. *strokes cheek, puts hair behind ear* You're a good kid, Michael, you know that? *sighs* Just don't pull this crap again, okay?"

"I won't, don't worry. *pauses* You know, I wanna make this right. I think I'm going to help Ms. Pachkowski clean out her house."

"I think that's a fabulous idea! *sighs* Look, I know that you're really dreading going to church tomorrow, so why don't you give El a call and see if she wants to meet us at the service tomorrow."

When she mentioned El's name, his eyes immediately lit up and he was a whole new person. He listened intently as she went on.

"Really? You mean it?"

"Of course I do. Oh, and don't forget to invite her to brunch with us too!"

"Okay, I'll do that right now."

Mike rushed downstairs and picked up the phone to call El.

*dials*

*rings*

"Hello?"

"Hey, El."

"Hi, Mike!"

"How are you?"

"Great, now that you called."

"*smiles* I'm glad. Well, I was calling because I was wondering if you wanted to go to church with me tomorrow for Easter. My mom's kind of forcing my whole family to go, but it would be much more fun if you were there with us...with me."

"Yeah, I'd like that. I just have to ask my dad first, but I'm sure he'll be fine with it. I don't really see how I could be in any danger at church. *chuckles*"

"Sounds good. *chuckles* Yeah, the church is a pretty safe place. I think you would be fine."

"So, what is it like? My dad's not really the church-going type."