Epilogue
Lindsay Ellis sat downacross from her parents and pulled her sweater a little tighter around her. She was starving and wished they could have gone to a restaurant that would have put food in front of her a little faster, but this was the best restaurant in the city, so this is where her visiting parents wanted to eat.
Her father, a Maine State Senator, liked to be seen in places like this, though people rarely recognized him out in public. His efforts would be even more fruitless today as they weren’t even in Maine.
“I liked your church,” her mother said.
That was good. Lindsay liked her church too, but her mother was harder to please.
“Your worship team is fantastic.”
“Yeah, well, it’s a college town, so lots of musicians.”
Her mother squinted at her, which meant she was disagreeing or dismissing what Lindsay had just said. “Maybe we could get them to come give our team some pointers.”
“You don’t have a good worship team back home?” Landon, Lindsay’s fiancé asked.
Lindsay braced herself for the critique. She’d heard it all before, and it annoyed her because she really liked the music leader at her home church. Missed him even. She was less excited about their guitar player, but she could usually position herself so she couldn’t see him.
Her mother sat up straighter. “Well, they’re not professionals. That’s for sure. They’re led by an older gentleman who has his musical tastes rooted firmly in the sixties. And now we’ve got a bit of a scandal with the flute player.”
“What?” Lindsay asked. “What happened?”
Her mother dramatically smoothed out the smooth tablecloth with both hands. “Apparently, she’s an alcoholic.”
Oh, was that all? Not exactly scandalous.
She gave her husband some side eye. “I’ve been telling ourchurch elderhere that she needs to step down from her leadership position, but my wisdom is falling on deaf ears.” Her mother said this conspiratorially, as if Lindsay were on her side.
Lindsay usually was, but this time? “Doesn’t she just play the flute? How is she in leadership?”
“If she’s up there on stage, she is a minister.”
Lindsay thought that was crazy, but she didn’t argue.
“She’s fine right where she is,” her father said. “She’s getting sober, and she’s even reconciling with her ex-husband.”
Her mother gasped. “She’s divorced too? You didn’t tell me that!”
Lindsay hadn’t known that either, but she wasn’t nearly as mortified as her mother.
“What did you get on your calculus test, sweetie?” her father asked, obviously trying to change the subject.
“I don’t know yet.”
“Well, what do you think? Was there anything you didn’t know?”
She shook her head weakly. She was proud of her grades, but she hated bragging.
Landon put his arm around her shoulders and squeezed her. “Lindsay here always gets an A. That’s why I love her so much.”