“Hey, Lex.” Ike beamed at her.

She gave a weak smile in return. “Hi.” She blamed her testy mood on the slight headache buzzing at her forehead.

“Let’s go inside.”

The large church overwhelmed her a little, but she soon realized she was only another face in the massive crowd. Ike led her to a middle section already half-filled with young adults. They sat down.

“I’ll introduce you after the ser vice when we all go out to lunch.”

She glanced around at the guys. Most okay-looking, although a few were kind of strange, like that pale kid with the shock of red hair, and the bug-eyed goldfish-looking guy.

Then she noticed a few hostile stares from the women. Well, she sat next to a very cute bachelor. Although Ike’s arm across the back of her seat annoyed her. He didn’t touch her – just let his arm hang out there, over the seat edge.

The ser vice started with a Bible reading. At that point, Lex realized they sat right under the speakers, and the buzz and vibration bumped her headache up the Richter scale. The words pounding out over her also made her realize she hadn’t read her Bible in a while.

Well, she’d start up again as soon as she got rid of the pain pulsing behind her eyes. She searched through her purse. No ibuprofen.

The worship music, although loud, drew her in. She knew most of the modern songs. For those few minutes, she checked her baggage at the door and rediscovered the joy of just being with Him. He didn’t speak to her, but she felt happy singing to Him. She almost forgot her headache.

The sermon spoke to her about her tepid prayer life. Yeah, she really should pray more. Listen to God more.

During the announcements, she massaged her temples, and her attention wandered. There were mostly Caucasians in this church.

No – one Asian couple sat near the front.

Since when had she become so ethnocentric that she couldn’t feel comfortable not surrounded by her yella-fellas? It couldn’t be because of the attack, could it?

He was so much larger than her Asian guy friends or her cousins. His pale wrist, smashing her clenched fist against the carpet, lay inches from her face. She couldn’t stop staring at it as he fumbled with his belt…

A touch across her shoulders.

“Aaaah!” Lex jumped in her seat.

Ike jerked away from her, snatching back his arm. The worship leader paused in telling about the church picnic next week.

Everyone stared at her.

Oh, God, just open the ground and swallow me now.

The worship leader smiled kindly at her. Lex gave a weak smile back. He continued reading the announcements.

The speaker boomed, and her head boomed with him in boluses of sizzling pain. When would he just stop talking?

“Thanks for joining us for ser vice today. God bless.”

Finally.

Ike ushered her toward the social hall in the back of the sanctuary, where the Singles Group apparently gathered. Young people started filtering into the small, empty space. And several of them were definitely young. How old were these kids, anyway? Lex suddenly felt every one of her thirty years.

Ike introduced her around. The good thing was that no one knew about her job.

“This is Robert.”

A bored-looking yuppie-type gave her a limp hand to shake. His massive gold pinky ring cut into her finger. “I’m in finance. What do you do?”

“I work for a website company.”

Robert rolled his eyes behind designer-frame glasses. “The dot-coms are bombing.”

“I like my job.”

“Good, because you won’t have it in another year.”

To add to the List: Someone who isn’t snide, nasty, and snobbish at first impression. His peevishness made her head throb.

Clark looked like a goldfish – he had buggy eyes, a pale yellow shirt straining its buttons over his round stomach, and a five-second memory.

“So what do you do, Clark?”

“I sell products door to door. I like it.”

“What do you sell?”

“I sell products door to door. I like it.”

“What kind of products?”

“Door to door. I like it.”

To add to the List: Able to hold a normal conversation.

“Hi, I’m Jaspar.” The tall, thin boy with thick red hair sprouting toward the ceiling had pale, almost translucent skin. He wouldn’t meet her eyes, just stared at the floor.

“What do you do, Jaspar?”

“I sell products door to door.” He aimed his mumble at her shoes.

To add to the List: No door-to-door products salesmen.

“That’s interesting.”

He sighed, as if his soul were falling into abject despair. “I suppose.” He was having a lovely conversation with her sandals.

To add to the List: Someone who will speak to my face and not my footwear.

“So do you have any hobbies?”

“Yeah.” His eyes rose to her shoulders. “I like going to movies.”

“What movies?”

His bright green gaze popped up and locked with hers. In a flash, his demeanor had gone from sad to spiffy. “Star Wars changed my life.”

“Uh… the movies?”

“I used to be really into Star Wars. Their light sabers are really cool.” He erupted into a few wild moves, swinging an imaginary sword – no, light saber. Then abruptly, he deflated back to his original, shoe-speaking self. “Now I’m into Jesus.” He ended with a depressed sigh.

Real Jesus freak, aren’t you? Her headache stomped with a vengeance.

The girls she met all showed their teeth when they smiled. Lex got the impression of bristling dogs guarding a bone – Ike, possibly?

Were there any normal people in the bunch?

Lindsay twined her bangled wrist in Ike’s arm as Lex approached.

That’s real subtle there, sister. “Where are we going for lunch?”

“Let me go ask some people.” Ike left her to the mercy of Lindsay.

The pretty woman stared at her like a piece of gum on her stilettos.

May as well clear the air. “So, are you or any of the other girls dating Ike?”

Lindsay’s eyes reminded Lex of a cobra she’d seen once on TV.

“He just broke up with a girl. He’s still getting over her. He and I are good friends.

”

Translation: Keep your grimy hands off my man, I have first dibs.

This had to be the worst Sunday ser vice she’d ever had.

THIRTY

Aiden couldn’t be more bored. The Scripture reading took forever.

Did they have to read the entire chapter from Psalms?

The worship music wasn’t much better. Repetitive, slow. He should have sat with Spenser in the front row rather than hiding here in the back.

Then he saw Lex. She had a quietness he’d never seen on her face. Peace, relief.

He became uncomfortably aware that while he mocked the music, it seemed to help unburden her. When was the last time he’d unburdened himself? He never unloaded, not to anyone. He never felt any kind of release or relief.

He was thirsty.

Aiden left the sanctuary – most people didn’t even notice him leaving. The water fountain stood next to the men’s restroom.

He took a drink. Took another one. He wasn’t going back in there just yet. He wasn’t. He took another drink. His stomach protested the excess water, but he slurped it up anyway.

The music stopped and the pastor started his sermon. Aiden dragged himself back into the sanctuary.

Boring, boring, boring.

He made a mistake when ser vice got out. He should have left first.

Instead, he ducked down in his seat as Lex and her escort shuffled down the aisle to the back of the sanctuary. When he got up after them, he realized they’d gathered at the entrance to the Social Hall – which looked right out into the lobby. Lex would see him if he tried to waltz out of church.

He hung back, wondering if the sanctuary had another exit.

Suddenly, Lex appeared in the lobby area with another girl. Aiden ducked down to pretend to tie his shoe. Which had no laces.