Page 94 of Loving the Sinner
Hannah perks up and leans over the table conspiratorially, “Did you hear that Uncle John and Aunt Pam sold their house and moved to a farm outside of Independence?”
“Missouri?” Elli clarifies.
Hannah nods. “Yeah. According to my mom, they’ve joined a different sect of Mormonism and John’s likesuperimportant in the organization.”
Elli gapes at Hannah’s gossip, “No shit.” She winces, “Sorry.”
Hannah waves her off, “No worries. It’s not like I haven’t heard worse.”
“Why did they move all the way to Missouri?” I interject.
“Oh, that’s where Mormons believe the Garden of Eden is.” Elli explains.
“Are you serious? They think that it was inIndependence, Missouri? Why would it be there?
Elli and Hannah shrug in unison.
“All I know is that a lot of people are moving there because they think the Second Coming is happening soon and that’s apparently the place to be when it happens.” Hannah explains.
“Someone should warn the residents of the city.” Elli says, making Hannah and I laugh.
“What’s so funny over here?” Someone asks, and I look up to see a middle aged couple. The woman looks similar to Elli’s dad, Kent. They have similar nose shapes and similar eyes. This must be one of his many sisters- her family tree is bigger than a live oak. Next to her is a tall gangly man with only a thin ring of gray hair around his otherwise bald head.
“Hey Aunt Shelly, Uncle Mitch.” Elli says. “This is my boyfriend, Wes. Wes, these are Hannah’s parents, Shelly and Mitch.”
“Nice to meet you, sir, ma’am.” I say politely with a head nod, since I’m too far away to shake hands.
“What on earth would make you want to pierce your nose?” Mitch asks me, glaring at the offending piercing.
“Dad!” Hannah chastises, looking embarrassed.
“No, it’s okay Hannah. It was an impulsive decision I made as an eighteen year old, and I’ve just never taken it out.”
Mitch grunts in response, then sits down on one side of Hannah and Shelly sits on the other side.
“Did your tattoos hurt?” Shelly asks, delicately slicing a piece of strawberry with her fork.
“The ones on my ribs hurt much worse than the ones on my arms.” I say honestly.
Shelly’s eyes widen, then she just nods and continues to pick at her food.
“What do you do for a living? I can’t imagine many jobs would want to hire someone who looks like you.” Mitch says bluntly.
“Dad! Please! That was so rude!” Hannah whisper-yells.
I grin, liking that Hannah feels the need to stick up for me. “I’m actually a music teacher at a private school. They don’t care about the tattoos as long as there’s no gang, drug, or alcohol paraphernalia, or any naked bodies visible.”
“Wes is also a talented musician. He actually just got offered a spot on tour with a popular band.” Elli chimes in, and my heart grows three sizes at the pride in her voice.
“Well, isn’t that lovely.” Shelly says.
“That’s super cool, Wes. Which band?” Hannah asks.
“Keely and the Kissers.”
“Oh! I love them! I saw they were going on tour, and I was thinking about buying tickets since they’ll be stopping in Salt Lake. Now I’ll for sure have to come!” Hannah says excitedly.
“I’ll see what I can do about getting you free tickets. You’re family, after all.”
