I let loose a chuckle. As much as the Warriors do to serve the community, I’m not so egotistical as to think athletes and the famous are the only ones doing charity work. “Of course not. It was more of a money-where-your-mouth-is type thing.”
“That makes sense. I remember thinking churches were all talk when I was younger.”
“Is that why we never went? I kind of thought you believed in God, but you never talked about Him. We didn’t pray.” Now that I think about it, her beliefs don’t match the things I’ve seen of Javier and other Christians. Obviously I don’t have the full story.
Mom lets out the longest sigh known to man. “I used to love going to church.” She pauses and clears her throat. “I’m what you call church hurt. I had a bad experience that kept me from steppingfoot there again. I never looked for another church, just ran from the ones who hurt me and all those associated with the faith.”
“And after hearing the sermon, do you still want to maintain a distance?”
“I honestly don’t know.”
I don’t either. I only went because Val asked me to. After listening to the pastor’s message, I’m not sure my stance is any different from before. There’s no deep understanding or lightning-strike moment for me. But seeing the way the people interacted with one another, hearing how they served the community, all told me why Val is ...Val.
As soon as we walk inside my place, Mom excuses herself to take a nap and I head to the balcony. The sky is bright, so I pull out my sunglasses from my pocket and settle them on my face. Immediately, the pulsing in my head settles to a quieter throb.
My phone chimes, then reads the notification out loud at my prompting.
“Audio message from Val Elliott. Shall I play it?”
“Yes.”
“Oh my goodness. I’m so sorry about lunch. I can’t believe my family acted that way.” There’s a pause. “Wait, yes, I can. But that doesn’t make it any better. I’m so embarrassed. Their behavior was atrocious. Please apologize to your mom as well.” Her voice gets quiet. “I’m so sorry, Jabari.”
I sigh. Someone’s giving herself grief she doesn’t deserve. “Dial Val,” I say and wait for her to answer.
“Hey? Did you hear my message?”
“I did. You alone?”
“Mm-hmm. Dad made the rest of us go home while he talks to Fran.”
“I wasn’t expectingthatannouncement.”
“Yeah, it surprised me too when she first told me.”
“Is that why you two sat together? Was she planning on telling them today?”
Val makes a pfft sound with her lips. “I have no clue what goes on in that mind of hers. She’s the reason you were invited to lunch, though. She had the notion I needed a push to tell Jackie about us.” She laughs nervously. “I mean, about our friendship.”
I grin. That girlish sound coming from her gives me a spark of hope that maybe her feelings aren’t as strictly platonic as she portrays. “I know what you mean.”
“Right. Of course you do.”
“Val?”
“Yes?”
“Please don’t be embarrassed. I knew what I was getting into when I agreed to lunch.”
“Why did you?”
I pause, searching for the right words in this situation. Unfortunately, romance doesn’t come with a playbook. What’s good for one woman might not work for the next. Every couple meshes in a different way because every person is different. Still, knowing all of these things doesn’t make my apprehension any easier. Raimo and Javier both gave me varying levels of advice on how I should “get the girl” as they keep saying.
But what doyouthink?
“Can I be honest with you?”
“Yes, please. I don’t want you to lie, not even a white lie.”
