Page 45 of Possibly Texas

Auggie was also so bright and cheerful that I couldn’t imagine anyone giving him much grief over anything.

He also likes mystics.

The kid was so weird.

It made me smile.

Yeah. I had typed out. I’d love to go to church.

I did it without even thinking too hard about it. A few minutes later, Auggie responded.

Awesome! Meet in front of The Pueblo at 11?

I tapped out an affirmative, waited until Auggie said: “OK,” and then I laid my phone back on the bedside table.

That night, I dreamt of caterpillars. But no butterflies.

“Come on, Jack.” I rolled my eyes as he laid his pile of boards on the tarp in the yard. “Auggie invited me to church. You should come with us.”

The table Jack had been working on had disappeared and he was setting out new lumber to start a new project. After falling asleep the night before, my caterpillar dreams lulled me into a deep sleep for the next ten and a half hours. By the time I woke up, I could already hear Jack outside, banging around, and I had wandered down in my pajamas to see what was up. I wouldn’t say Jack looked entirely pleased to see me so early in the morning, and when he was trying to start a new project, but he hid his disappointment fairly well. Mentioning church, however, made it harder for him to keep a straight face.

“So?” I asked. “What do you say?”

Jack waved an arm at me without looking up.

“Jack. Man,” I said, “come on. Church can be fun. Probably. Or, should I say, possibly?”

Buh-dum-tiss.

Jack did look up at me then. I could tell he was trying to keep the grin off of his face. It took a moment longer for him to wave me off.

“Fine.” I sighed. “Don’t come to church. I will apologize to God for you and everything.”

Am I above basically calling someone a heathen? Not really. Of course, since I couldn’t remember ever actually going to church, it was a bit hypocritical. I’d have to apologize to God for both of us, I supposed.

Jack waved me off again, but he looked amused, though he tried to hide it by lowering his head.

“Okay,” I said. “Well, I guess I’ll shower and stuff. Meet Auggie at The Pueblo.”

Jack nodded, indicating that he was listening, then began searching his pockets.

“Um, I don’t really do church,” I admitted. “Do I need to, uh, wear nicer clothes or something? I think I have some khakis or something?”

Jack shook his head as he extracted his phone from his back pocket. I watched as he typed out a message and held the phone out to me.

It read: Auggie’s a good kid.

I stared at the message for a moment, unsure of why Jack had fished his phone out simply to type out such an odd thought.

“Yeah.” I looked up at him. “He’s cool and all.”

Jack nodded. Then he locked his phone and slid it into his back pocket once more.

“So,” I said, clearing my throat, “I can go in regular clothes?”

Jack nodded once more.

“Okay,” I said. “If you’re wrong, and I get embarrassed, it’s gonna be you and me, man.”