Page 30 of Robbin’ the Rich

By the time I stepped inside, Sunday dinner was already in full motion. The dining room looked like a magazine spread, complete with perfect table settings and candles lit. My mother floated gracefully between the kitchen and table making sure everyone had drinks before sitting down herself.

Then there was Caleb slouched in his chair, scrolling through his phone beneath the table with bloodshot eyes hidden behind an easy smile. He was the youth pastor at twenty-three, and charming enough to get away with almost anything. Including the increasingly obvious drug problem everyone politely ignored, because acknowledging it might crack the perfect family image straight down the middle.

Next to the fireplace stood my father and older brother, Daniel Jr, looking over the days offering, trying to figure out how to get more money from the donors. He didn’t even bother calling them congregants anymore.

And me? I was just... there. Micah Nottingham. Middle child. Science teacher. Bar musician. Resident disappointment hidden beneath enough charm to remain functional at family gatherings.

“Micah!” Mom smiled immediately when she saw me. “Sit down before everything gets cold.”

I slid into my usual chair while Dad clapped one hand against my shoulder. I jumped, hardly noticing he even moved.

“Your mother tells me you’re considering coming back to the worship team.”

Traitor. I shot Mom a betrayed look while she pretended sudden interest in the breadbasket.

“I said I’d think about it.”

Dad smiled approvingly anyway. “People connect with you up there.”

That phrase again, connect. It was like church was branding, like God needed audience engagement metrics. I bit back the response threatening to climb out of my throat and reached for mashed potatoes instead. Smile. Nod. Make it through dinner. The Nottingham survival strategy.

Conversation flowed around me while I stayed mostly quiet. Daniel talked about leadership development programs at Ascension. Dad discussed expansion plans for another campus location two towns over. Mom asked thoughtful questions while subtly refilling drinks and smoothing tensions before they could fully form. Meanwhile, Caleb disappeared twice during dinner and came back increasingly jittery each time. Nobody said anything. The machine stayed polished.

My chest tightened slowly beneath the noise of it all.

Because the thing was—I did love them. Even Dad, underneath all my resentment.

That’s what made it hard. If they were monsters, leaving would’ve been easy. Instead, they were complicated people tangled inside a system that rewarded performance over honesty, until eventually nobody seemed fully real anymore. Except maybe me. And I wasn’t even sure about that some days.

“So,” Caleb said suddenly, grinning across the table at me, “Daniel says you showed up to church dressed like a priest this morning.”

I closed my eyes briefly. My older brother started laughing again.

“Oh, you should’ve seen him.”

Dad frowned slightly. “Why exactly were you dressed like a priest?”

“Halloween party.”

“And why did you still have the costume this morning?”

I took a long sip of water.

Across the table Caleb smirked knowingly. “Oh, somebody got laid.”

“Caleb,” Mom snapped automatically.

“What? I’m just saying he looked spiritually fulfilled.”

I stared at my plate while heat crept up my neck despite myself.

Daniel leaned forward slowly. “Wait.”

I pointed my fork at him. “I need you to stop talking immediately.”

Unfortunately, that only made Caleb burst into delighted laughter.

“Oh my god, you did hook up with someone.”