Josh shook his head at his friend. “It’s still weird hearing people call you Pastor Harrison.”
“I know, right? Every time I hear it, I look around for my dad.”
Caleb’s father, who happened to be named George Harrison, had been the pastor at Hope Falls Community Church for nearly forty years before retiring right around the time Josh had come back home. Caleb stepped into the role as senior pastor at the church. Unlike Josh who had never wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps, that had always been Caleb’s dream, or as he put it his calling.
Caleb and Josh had grown up living next door to each other. They’d bonded at an early age over racing big wheels and skipping rocks down by the river. Their friendship continued all through their school years.
On the outside looking in, the two men had nothing in common. Caleb was likeable, sociable, he loved to read, he’d been a straight A student, his dad was the pastor and his mom was the Sunday school teacher and choir director.
Josh kept people at arm’s length, he was a loner, he rode dirt bikes, he’d almost flunked out of high school, his father had been a raging alcoholic, and his mom was crazy and gone most of the time.
Thanks to his less than desirable home life, Josh ended up at Caleb’s several nights a week for dinner. If he wasn’t with Nonna, he was at the Harrisons. Caleb was more like a brother to Josh than a friend.
“I keep telling people to just call me Caleb, but…I don’t know… it’s not sticking.” His friend shrugged as he sat down and changed his shoes.
Josh didn’t think of Caleb in a pastoral way. While the rest of the town had appeared to seamlessly accept his new role and treat him with the same respect, reverence and regard they’d treated Caleb’s father, Josh had never quite made that leap.
When he saw Caleb, he saw the kid that had talked him into smoking behind the bleachers when they were twelve. He saw the brace-faced teenager that he’d broke into their rival Lakeside High’s football field and spray painted “losers” on the field when they were sixteen. He saw the guy that he’d spent a wild weekend with in Daytona Beach to celebrate their twenty-first birthdays.
He’d never gone to Caleb for any real advice before, but the rest of the town lined up for his wisdom. They also lined up to try and set him up. Caleb might even get setup more than Audrey, but unlike her, he actually went on some of the dates. Usually just one, though. He hadn’t had anything serious for a while now.
Caleb had always been a somewhat nerdy guy growing up. Girls liked him well enough, but he never garnered the attention he did these days. Once he stepped into the role of town spiritual leader, he skyrocketed to what was damn near rock star status. Most of the single women had made it clear they were interested and nearly all of the grandmothers, mothers, aunts, and sisters had tried to set him up with every available woman between the ages of twenty and forty.
He dated somewhat regularly, definitely more than Josh did. So, there was a chance he might have an insight on the situation with Audrey. Obviously, Josh wasn’t going to name names, of course, but his friend might shed some light on things.
“Can I ask you something?” Josh turned to his friend.
Caleb finished tying his shoe and looked up at Josh. “What’s up?”
He could see the concern in his friend’s eyes. Josh’s MO had always been to hold things inside. He never shared what he was feeling with anyone or asked for help. Nonna accused him on more than one occasion of being an island unto himself.
But Caleb could usually tell if there was something off with him. When he returned to Hope Falls Caleb had been a huge reason he’d gone to see someone about his mental health. If it weren’t for his friend, he would probably still be white knuckling his way through it, or he might not even be here.
Josh took a breath and tried to figure out the best, most delicate way to phrase his question. “If someone is a virgin, in their thirties, could that be for a religious reason?”
Josh knew that Audrey attended church any Sunday she wasn’t working at Brewed Awakenings. But so did most people in Hope Falls. It was just sort of what they did.
Caleb nodded. “Sure.”
“Are there other reasons someone might be?” As soon as Josh asked the question, he knew that he was grasping at straws. His friend counseled people as part of his job and went out on a ton of first dates, but that didn’t make him an expert on virginity.
And even if he was, that didn’t mean he had any insight into Audrey’s situation.
Caleb leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. It was the position he got into when he was about to drop knowledge or speak about something that interested him. The few times Josh had gone to church since Caleb had taken the reins from his old man, Caleb had ended up sitting on the steps of the altar with his elbows resting on his knees by the end of the sermon.
“It’s funny you mention that because I was just reading a study that said there is a growing trend of people waiting longer to have sex. One in six millennials and Gen Zers are still virgins at twenty-six as opposed to twenty years ago when that statistic was one in twenty. They think it might have something to do with everyone being so disconnected due to all of the devices. The theory is twofold, first that the availability of porn is causing a decrease and fear of intimacy with an actual person. Second that since everything is at their fingertips, including social approval, shopping, and ordering food, that people’s brains are getting constant dopamine spikes just by being on their phones which decreases their libido.
“There’s another theory that has data showing that all the processed food that people consume is the culprit because it’s lowering sex drives.
“As far as religious reasons, there are definitely still people that want to wait until they’re married to have sex, but it’s not as common as say, thirty years ago.”
“Are the women you date mostly virgins?” It was another stupid question, but apparently Josh was full of them tonight.
Caleb grinned as his brow wrinkled. “I don’t ask, but if I had to guess I would say no. Why?”
Before Josh had to answer, Eric and his brother Jake walked into the gym and interrupted the conversation. The four men played a pick-up game and Josh did his best to put Audrey and her virginity out of his mind. But it was like one of those pictures that once you see it you can’t unsee it. It was all he could think about.