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The teen looked up from where she was cleaning the counters. “In about fifteen minutes, Mr. K.”
“Guess we’d better go then,” Janessa said as she got to her feet. “But this was fun. We’ll have to do it again.”
Blake agreed, and he hoped that they’d include him and Amelia.
Everyone got up from the table and cleared off their ice cream containers and napkins. It didn’t take long, and soon they were headed for the door. Blake reached it first and held it open for the others.
Charli was the last to walk out, following after Layla and Amelia. When she passed him, she glanced up, smiling briefly as she thanked him once again. It was definitely better than a dagger in his stomach.
Blake fell into step behind her, feeling lighter than he had in a long time. Amelia’s happiness, along with his own feeling of finally being settled, combined to ease the tension he’d been carrying for a very, very long time.
Even considering the things he’d had to give up, the discontent he’d anticipated feeling wasn’t as strong as he’d thought it might be. Returning to Serenity had definitely helped with that, even though it had meant dealing with his past.
“See you at church on Sunday,” Will said as he clapped Blake on his shoulder.
“Yep.”
They’d settled into the church more quickly than he might have thought they would. Amelia loved it, and not once had she balked at going. Yet one more thing to be thankful for.
He also enjoyed attending the services, but his enjoyment was a bit more complicated. Though he might want to deny it, Blake had to admit—at least to himself—that much like it had been when he was younger, seeing Charli was part of the appeal of attending church. Just not as much as it once was.
With the spiritual maturity he’d gained over the past couple of years, he now understood the value of paying attention to the sermons and lessons. He even enjoyed listening to Christian podcasts, usually having been recommended by someone he trusted.
So, they’d go to church come Sunday, and he’d enjoy the sermon and the opportunity to see Charli once again.
When Sunday rolled around, it did indeed give him the opportunity to see Charli again. Not just see her, but to once again sit next to her during Sunday school.
Though he hadn’t maneuvered anything to make that happen, he was starting to get the feeling that someone else was.
Blake hadn’t protested their manipulations, but he doubted Charli felt the same. He was pretty sure she wasn’t the one doing the maneuvering.
It seemed that perhaps her siblings—particularly Jay and Janessa—were the ones creating situations to bring them into closer contact.
Was she aware of what they were doing?
And if she was, why wasn’t she protesting it?
He didn’t think for a minute that, if given a choice, she’d choose to spend time with him. However, he was no longer getting the feeling that she hated his guts.
Progress, he supposed.
Moving from hate to indifference? Some might say that apathy, not hate, was the opposite of love. But in Blake’s estimation, if they were going to co-exist in the same space, hate would have made that impossible.
So, if she felt apathetic about his presence, he’d accept that. If he couldn’t have love, indifference felt better than hate.
Sunday had dawned rainy and chilly. So rather than hanging out at the park with the Halversons like they’d gotten into the habit of doing after church, he and Amelia had gone home to watch some movies and color.
Though Amelia would get to see Charli during the week, Blake was probably going to have to wait until Friday. Thankfully, the garage was busy, so the week wouldn’t drag by.
As he sat eating lunch with another mechanic in the small lunchroom at the garage on Friday, Stan appeared in the doorway.
“Hey, Blake,” Stan said as he approached the table, pulled out a chair and sat down. “Any chance you can stay until closing today?”
“I’m not sure. I’ll have to check if my aunt is available to pick Amelia up.”
“I’d really appreciate it if you could do that. Matt had to leave because he really wasn’t feeling well, and I need to make sure we get the Anderson car finished up before closing.”
Blake nodded and pulled his phone out. When Julia answered, he chatted with her for a minute before explaining what he needed that afternoon.
