"I was tarred and feathered once. It was not a nice experience let me tell you and it's definitely one that I never want to repeat again!"
Zora's eyes widened a little bigger at the release of that knowledge and she turned away towards the church but then stopped after a few steps. I knew what her problem was.
I came up behind her and grasped her shoulders lightly, "I know it's embarrassing for you to go into a church dressed as you are. If I had time I'd get you nicer and more appropriate clothes, but I don't."
Softly she said, "I look like a biker chick for Jesus!"
I busted out laughing, "There you go honey! You'll scare the hell out of them!"
She gave me a dirty look over her shoulder and I smacked one side of her bottom resoundingly as I sent her forward on her way. She rubbed where I'd smacked, but continued on toward the church. I'd found her birthmark all right.
She looked accusingly back at me still rubbing and I kissed the air. Her face warmed up in a blush and she hurried on. Tonight seemed like such a long way off, but it would come eventually.
I pulled my eyes away from my wife's shifting hips and got busy with what I needed to get done before the service began.
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Zora made her way into the church past the doormen standing at attention in their immaculate usher coats. To their credit they gave her a hearty welcome. She mumbled something in reply and continued on past them.
She felt their gazes linger on her in a familiar way as she moved deeper into the foyer. That wasn't supposed to happen at church was it?
Women in pretty dresses and pantsuits gave her eye arching looks of disapproval, as they tried to pull their interested husband's gazes away from her, even as they tried to shield their daughters dressed up in frilly princess outfits of lace from what they considered an objectionable sight.
The boys just stared, until they were smacked into movement by their mothers. Yeah she wouldn't have any friends in this place.
Conversation hushed for a moment as she passed by in the hall, but then resumed as people went on reconnecting with each other. Church was a good place to reconnect with others, but seemingly it appeared that the connection with God had been divorced from the conversation that was going on all around her.
The service didn't start for another fifteen minutes so it wasn't time yet to connect with God came to be her consensus of the actions of those around her. There was something terribly wrong with that mindset Zora couldn't help but think to herself.