Had he heard right? This little old man standing in front of them was God....er, Supreme? It would explain how he—they—knew Carter’s name the first time they met. His mind was spinning faster than a hamster in its wheel, unable to stop.Seriously, how am I supposed to behave in front of the creator of the universe? Do I bow? Kneel? Run screaming like a baby?
Right then, the latter felt like the best option.
“What should I call you? Is it Your Eminence? My Lord? I don’t know what’s right.” He couldn’t look Supreme in the eye, feeling impossibly small.
Supreme stroked their chin. “Hm, good point.” Then they beamed. “Call me Shai.”
Carter’s tongue felt thick in his mouth. “Shai?”
“Mm-hm. The Egyptian god of Fate or Destiny. That seems fitting, given the circumstances.”
Calling the Supreme being by a first name? His parents would call that blasphemy.
Shai sighed. “Relax, Carter.”
Carter jumped. Of course they could read his mind. “Sorry.”
“And in case you’re wondering, no, I can’t read your mind. I know you’re nervous because you’re sweating and you’re jittery. And don’t think I didn’t see you reach for Alcy and Beez’s hands under the table.”
He glanced down and found they were both gripping his fingers tightly.
“It’s okay, I promise,” Beez murmured.
But howcouldit be? This was the entity who could tear them away from Carter. Who could unmake them, they’d said.
“Please... Shai,” Carter pleaded. “Don’t hurt them.”
Shai blinked several times, then threw back their head and laughed, long and loud. “Hurtthem? Oh, my dear Carter, hurting them is the furthest thing from my mind. Please, drink your tea before it gets cold, and then we can chat.”
Carter was too nervous to drink. His stomach was flipping constantly, and he was afraid he was going to have a full-blown panic attack at any moment.
“The tea will calm you,” Shai said, sipping from their cup. “Alcy? I thought you liked this tea.”
Carter peeked out of the corner of his eyes. Alcy sat rigid, his lips drawn into a harsh line. “This was my fault, Supreme. Don’t blame Beez or Carter. I—”
“Bullshit!” Beez snarled. “I’m the one who couldn’t keep it in his pants. Do whatever you want with me, but don’t do anything against either of these guys.”
Shai closed their eyes for a moment. When they opened them, they shook their head. “C’mon, guys. Despite what’s been written about me, have Ieverstruck you as someone who would hurt people? It’s good to see you stand up for each other, though. That warms my heart.” Their eyes twinkled. “I knew the three of you would hit it off.”
Beez’s eyes bulged. “You...Youset all this up?”
“Every last bit of it,” Shai said, their chest puffed out slightly. “I needed Carter to get worked up enough that he’d push past his own limitations and think of others instead. Fortunately, that fell into place when he ‘lost’ his dorm room, and had to come live with Danny.”
There was something in Shai’s voice that caught Carter’s attention. A hint of… pride.
No—wait. Noway. “You were Danny?”
Shai tilted their head, and in that moment Carter knew where Beez had picked it up from. Shai gave a sheepish smile. “Guilty. I was also the landlord. Honestly, I think I deserve an award for that acting. ‘Carter, what kind of Christian are you?’” It was unmistakably Danny’s voice. Shai smiled. “I’ll tell you. You’re the best kind. You care about people. All you’ve ever wanted to do was make them happy.”
Carter’s mind was a hurricane of thoughts crashing around inside his head. The thought God—Supreme—Shai—was watching him made his stomach quiver. He had so many questions he wanted to know the answer to, but did he have the balls to ask them?
Shai inclined their head toward Carter. “You have something to say? Like I said, now is the time, because you’ll never get this chance again.”
“Therearethings I wanted to know,” Carter whispered, barely able to get the words past his parched throat.
“Go ahead and ask. I don’t normally do this, but you can have one question.”
Justone? How could he choose one out of the thousands in his head? Finally, one popped up that seemed important to so many people. “Can you tell me why... I mean, the bible says you made man in your image, but...”