“Oh, and you’ll never guess who popped by as we were having breakfast.”
His gut churned. “Who?”
“Neville John Ferris—you know, the leader of the opposition party?—and his son, Rob.”
Wow. And alsophew.
“They’re friends of Gwen, so that was fun.”
As she kept chattering on about these and other people she’d met, he wondered about how to encourage her to stay safe, to have appropriate boundaries. He didn’t want to act like a jealous boyfriend—or worse, a brother—but she’d proved herself to be a little more naive than he’d realised. And if innocent her was choosing to dance with the big bad wolves of this world, as she seemed insistent on doing thanks to her app, then it was only wise to warn her to be careful.
“Look, you know I care, so just be on guard. Not everyone is nice.”
“Thanks, Dad. I appreciate it.”
“Hey, would you prefer me to say, ‘Hey, go have fun and get lit’?”
“I don’t think that expression means what you think it does,Dad.”
“Whatever.”
“Hey, don’t be mad.”
“I’m not mad. It’s fine. You do you.”
“Thanks. I will.”
Sometimes the words were there, just begging for release. “Just remember to keep asking what Jesus would do.”
“Seriously?”
“Well, are you a Christian or not?” he challenged.
“I don’t know what you’ve been eating lately, but you sure sound a little prickly.”
“And I’ve been hearing a lot about what you’ve been doing, and you sure sound defensive,” he shot back.
“Wow.”
He grimaced. Clearly this wasn’t going well. But he was tired of tiptoeing around her, and concern made him as subtle as a Doc Martens boot. “Stop deflecting. Answer the question.”
“Are you really asking me if I’m a Christian?”
“Look, I’m your friend, and you seem to have been blowing off a lot of activities like church lately because you’re so caught up in making money and looking good.”
“Excuse me?”
“That’s the thing, EJ. I can’t keep making excuses for you. And as your best friend, I’m supposed to tell you the truth, and if I’m honest, I’m concerned about where all this is taking you.”
“Where it’s taking—? Do you even hear yourself? I don’t know why you’re so upset when my own family doesn’t mind.”
“That’s probably because they don’t know what you’re up to. Or not up to.”
“Jordan, I’m sorry, but I have to go. I’ve got another call.”
“Fine. Bye.”
He gritted his teeth as she ended the call, not even bothering to say goodbye, just like those people on dumb sitcoms, as if the TV writers couldn’t be bothered with minor details like manners. But didn’t people realise it was those minor details that made all the difference? Friends, people, society needed those little courtesies, those little moments of politeness. They helped to smooth over the harsh edges of the day, helped people find an ease in an otherwise oftentimes hard world. He and EJ had always sneered at those who seemed to think themselves too important to extend common courtesy. And now she’d gone and done the same.
