“Sara, this is Anne Landes. She and her father, Vince, have just arrived. Anne, this is Sara Bishop, she’s been here since she was eight. You girls are the same age.” Pastor smiled at me. He smiled at Anne, who was still crying, eyeing me warily.
This tiny girl was thirteen? She seemed so much younger than me. Maybe it was the way snot dripped from her nose that made her look like she was ten.
“Sara, say hello,” my mom prompted, as if I needed the reminder of how to act. I tried not to bristle indignantly. My manners were impeccable.
But I did as I was told. I would never defy my mom. Certainly not in front of our family. I bowed my head slightly, a sign of respect that the girl had in no way earned yet. I watched Anne, trying to make eye contact, but she ignored me, turning her face into her father’s arm.
“I’m sorry about Anne. She’s a bit overwhelmed,” her father explained and I could hear his embarrassment at her behavior, which irritated me. Her father shouldn’t be embarrassed. He should be comforting his daughter. That’s what a parent should do.
I looked at my own parent and felt…nothing. She stood so close to Pastor Carter that she was practically pressed against him. Her hand on his arm as if she belonged there. She smiled at me as well. The kind of smile she only gave me in front of Pastor. The insincere kind.
“Hi Anne,” I said softly.
Anne sniffled, wiping her nose with the back of her hand and finally looking my way. “Hi,” she muttered. She lifted her chin slightly. A small measure of defiance that I liked. But I also knew she’d learn there was no place for that here.
“Daddy, I want to leave,” Anne said again, louder this time. Shrill—close to hysteria.
Pastor Carter reached out, wrapping his large hand around Anne’s much smaller one. He forcibly wrenched her away from her father. Pulling her with a viciousness that surprised me and startled Anne enough that she stopped crying.
With heavy hands on her shoulders, Pastor all but pushed her towards me. Anne stumbled, her scuffed sneaker catching on a floor board. I caught her before she fell.
“It’s okay,” I whispered before letting go. “I promise, it’s okay.”
Anne’s eyes met mine then and she clung to me in the way she had clung to her father only minutes before. In that moment, her allegiance shifted. She no longer looked to her father to keep her safe. I knew that job was mine alone.
Anne looped her arm with mine in an unspoken act of true friendship. “We need to make sure Minnie doesn’t scare them off.” She giggled and pulled me towards the newest arrivals.
I shook off my mood and plastered the best of smiles on my face. “You’re right. Come on.”
“You should be wearing white. Didn’t anyone tell you that?” I heard Minnie say as we walked closer. She plucked at David’s sleeve and he immediately recoiled.
“No, we weren’t informed there was a dress code,” Bastian deadpanned, angling his body so that he stood between his brother and the too touchy Minnie.
“Good morning, David,” I said, addressing the older man first. I walked around Bastian so that I could see his brother better. David looked at me and gave me what seemed to be a genuine smile. I tried not to flinch as I truly looked at him for the first time.
It was hard to look at a face that had obviously seen too much.
His blue eyes, the same color as Bastian’s, were heavy lidded and sunken into his face. Dark circles seemed to be tattooed on his skin.
“Good morning, Sara,” he replied, his voice raspy as if he were a former a smoker.
Bastian turned towards us, clearly ready to jump in if necessary, but Minnie said something that pulled his attention away from us. I felt a little better away from the laser focus of his hawkish gaze.
I sat down on the ground and patted the grass beside me, indicating David should sit too. He slowly lowered himself, his knees almost buckling as he sank downward. Anne joined us, quiet and comforting.
“How are you settling in?” I asked, chancing a look at Bastian again. Minnie was talking his ear off and he seemed to be having a hard time breaking away. His tension was obvious. Stafford, Caitlyn, and Bobbie had already walked off—their attention fickle. I turned to David, finding his demeanor easier than his brother’s barely restrained antagonism.
I noted the way David pressed his hands together. His knuckles white. He looked at me. Briefly. As if it pained him to do so. “Fine, thank you,” he answered shortly.
“Have you met many of the others?” Anne asked, her voice benign. Naturally soothing. David looked up at her, as if compelled by the sound of her voice.
“Not really. Pastor thought it would be better to give us time before we were…introduced.” His fingers squeezed together so tightly I was sure the circulation must be cut off.
Anne nodded. “Pastor is a smart man. He recognizes what each of us needs and helps us get it. He’s such a spiritual person and I hope one day to reach that sort of awareness.”
David watched Anne as she spoke. Closely. His haunted eyes never leaving her face. “I first heard him speak in a video on YouTube. Someone had recorded a prayer session from a few years ago and hearing him talk I knew that he was someone who couldhelp.”
Anne picked a small, yellow flower and twirled it between her fingers. “We’re all here to help, David. We’re one big family. You just have to open your heart. You have to let people in. We can help you on your path.Ican help you.” She bowed her head as if embarrassed for some reason. She dropped the flower and let out a nervous chuckle and then turned to me. “Right, Sara?”
