Page 93 of Loving the Sinner
Wes
When we walk downstairs after Izzy and Elli’s heart-to-heart, it looks like the entirety of the congregation is packed into the living room. Izzy’s down the stairs first, followed by Elli, and then me, and Elli freezes at the bottom so I end up bumping into her back.
She turns to me with her eyes as wide as saucers. “Oh my god,” she whispers. “Packer and his wife are here. She’s the blonde in the blue dress who isobviouslypregnant.”
I glance around and spot a guy around our age with brown hair expertly gelled in the front, a clean shaven face, and a snazzy gray suit with his arm around a younger blonde in a blue maxi dress with a baby bump.
Damn, she looks like she’s Izzy’s age. But from what Elli told me, Packer’s bride is only a year older than Izzy so that makes sense.
“Why would he be here?” I ask.
“My mother.” Elli seethes. “She must get a kick out of making me miserable.” Elli takes a deep breath, then when she releases it, she plasters on a fake smile. “Let’s get this over with.”
She grabs my hand and we slowly make our way to the edge of the room and grab empty chairs by the back door. The girl Elli pointed out at the church- Hannah, I think- sits down next to Elli and they hug.
“Hannah, this is my boyfriend Wes. Wes, this is my cousin Hannah.” Elli says, now with a genuine smile.
I stick my hand out to Hannah, who’s looking a little confused, but she grabs it anyway and says, “Nice to meet you. So, um, how did you guys meet?”
I smile, “Izzy’s boyfriend is like a little brother to me, and he asked me to go on a blind date with Elli so he and Izzy could go on a date. I knew after that date I wanted her. It took us a minute to get the timing right, but now we’re here.”
“That’s beautiful.” Hannah says, looking a little melancholy about it.
“Izzy told me you were living with your parents again…” Elli says carefully. “If you don’t want to talk about what happened with Liam, totally understandable. Just know I’m here, and I won’t judge you.”
Hannah gives Elli an appreciative smile, then looks around to see if anyone is listening to our conversation. “We’re in the process of a divorce. I had a few miscarriages and he said he realized he didn’t want kids. Which is fine, but I thought we were on the same page, you know? He also told me he… wasn’t attracted to me anymore. He said he misses the way my body looked when we first got married.”
What a fucking asshat!
I am totally devoted to Elli, but I can appreciate that Hannah is beautiful. She’s curvy, like her cousin, has stunning hazel eyes and naturally pouty lips. Her hair is long and golden blonde, and she seems extremely sweet.
“Well, Hannah, I don’t know your ex but I’d guess he was an absolute idiot. You are beautiful, and anyone who can’t see that is probably looking through distorted glasses.” I say quietly so only she and Elli can hear.
Hannah blushes, “Thanks, Wes. That’s nice of you to say.”
Elli places a hand on Hannah’s knee, “Wes doesn’t say things just to say things. He truly means what he says, and he’s right. Liam is an idiot. Of course your body doesn’t look the same as it did when you were eighteen! It’s been eight years. Your body is going to change and that’s okay. I’m sorry about the miscarriages. That must have been awful.”
Eighteen?! That’s so young!
“Thanks Elli. I’m glad you’ve found someone like Wes.” Hannah looks at me, “You seem like a really great guy. Treat my cousin right, okay?”
I squeeze Elli’s shoulder, “I plan on it.”
Elli looks at me with a beaming smile, and looks like she’s about to say something when a loud whistle comes from the center of the room.
“Alright,” Elli’s dad starts, “thank you all for coming to see Spencer off. We’re so proud of him and his decision to serve the Lord. The food is ready to be eaten, so we’re going to have a blessing before we line up and dig in.” Then he bows his head, as does everyone else, and saysanotherprayer.
Once the “amen” is mumbled by everyone else in the room, all the moms line up with their kids and get them settled with food, and then everyone else joins in.
Once Elli and I have gotten our food, Elli leads me out the back door and to the backyard patio where there are a few tables and chairs set up. Hannah follows us out and joins us at a table and we chat about our lives while we eat.
“Have you heard anything from Emma lately?” Elli asks Hannah during a lull in the conversation.
Hannah nods, “Yeah, we text every so often. She called me when she saw me change my name back on Facebook and we talked for a while. She’s thriving in California. She’s got a bunch of tattoos, even pierced her nose. I’m happy for her. I know her mom ispissedthat she hasn’t made an effort to come home, but who can blame her? With the way her family treated her? I wouldn’t want to come home either.”
Elli turns to me, “Emma’s older brother died by suicide seven years ago, and after that, a lot of her siblings started treating her like she was a nuisance instead of part of the family. She ended up moving out to California with her best friend Jordan and their family.”
I nod, almost positive there’s more to that story, but I won’t be asking about it right now.
