Read Online Can I Get An Amen? by Sarah Healy - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Sarah Healy
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decades-long grudges had vaporized. Kat, on the other hand, was under no such obligation. The Arnolds were exactly the type of people whose hypocrisy Kat loved to flout.
“Katherine, sweetie,” called my mother, trying to disguise her unease, “we are in the dining room.” She glanced nervously at Lynn and Ed as she fiddled with a strand of her silver hair and forced her face into a look of pleasure. “We have company. Come and say hello.”
Kat walked tentatively into the dining room and, upon seeing Lynn and Ed, broke into a beaming smile. “Oh, it’s the Arnolds! How wonderful!” I was sure that everyone could identify hersarcasm. Kat, like me, knew the Arnolds only nominally, so her overexuberant greeting was deliberately out of place. I shot her a pleading look, begging her to fall in line, but I could tell that she was feeling sadistic.
“Why don’t you join us for dinner, dear?” asked my mother, hoping to defuse the situation with camaraderie. “We’re just digesting a bit before the main course.”
Kat cocked her head and stared at my mother with that same obnoxious, plastic smile. “Oh, the main course! Why, thank you, Mother. I would love to.” Kat seemed to have zeroed right in on the sad, desperate way in which my parents were courting the Arnolds. But in Kat, rather than uneasiness, it spurred only rage.
“Oh good, honey,” replied Mom, trying to figure out Kat’s angle. “Why don’t you go get yourself a plate?”
Kat ignored my mother’s suggestion and walked purposefully over to the bar and poured herself a hearty glass of red wine, while my mother tried to get the conversation back on track, immediately taking refuge in the safe and familiar.
“So, Ed, Roger tells me that you’ve arranged for Eugene White to come and speak at church.” Eugene White was a rock-star preacher who presided over the enormous New Light Church in California. He had a bestselling book, a television show, and household-name status throughout much of the country. His coming to Christ Church was a very big deal and would have been unthinkable were it not for Mr. Arnold’s connections and, I suspected, deep pockets.
“Yes, sometime in December. We’ve had some difficulty finalizing the date,” replied Edward.
“Well, I can imagine, as busy as he is. But won’t that be wonderful?”
Kat returned to the table and dramatically sat, leaning back and taking a long sip of her wine, while Lynn picked up the thread of conversation. “Well, after I read
Journey Eternity
, I told Ed that we just had to get him to come.”
“You know, Roger hasn’t read that book yet,” said my mother.
“Oh, Roger, it’s fabulous,” chimed Lynn. “It really provides a road map for putting Jesus’s teachings into practice in your life.”
Lynn would have probably launched into a book report had Kat not abruptly and impatiently interrupted. “So,” she began, “did you all hear the latest about Richard Farrington?” Here it came. I shot Kat another desperate look. Richard Farrington was a right-wing member of the Senate who had built his career on his socially conservative agenda, preaching family values and calling for an end to the “homosexual hold” on our country. A few days ago, he had been caught in a car with a male prostitute, and yesterday he had announced that he would be stepping down from his seat.
Though Lynn thought she was being gracious and diplomatic, she took the bait. “Unfortunately,” she said, keeping her gaze on the rim of her plate, “there are terrible people on both sides of the political spectrum.”
“Tell me, Lynn,” said Kat, leaning in for the kill. “What makes him terrible—the fact that he got his dick sucked by a prostitute or the fact that it was a man?” Lynn winced at the vulgarity and averted her eyes. Ed looked down at the table and shook his head.
“Katherine,” my father said, indignant and stern, “that is terrible language.” My mother knew that any
“Katherine, sweetie,” called my mother, trying to disguise her unease, “we are in the dining room.” She glanced nervously at Lynn and Ed as she fiddled with a strand of her silver hair and forced her face into a look of pleasure. “We have company. Come and say hello.”
Kat walked tentatively into the dining room and, upon seeing Lynn and Ed, broke into a beaming smile. “Oh, it’s the Arnolds! How wonderful!” I was sure that everyone could identify hersarcasm. Kat, like me, knew the Arnolds only nominally, so her overexuberant greeting was deliberately out of place. I shot her a pleading look, begging her to fall in line, but I could tell that she was feeling sadistic.
“Why don’t you join us for dinner, dear?” asked my mother, hoping to defuse the situation with camaraderie. “We’re just digesting a bit before the main course.”
Kat cocked her head and stared at my mother with that same obnoxious, plastic smile. “Oh, the main course! Why, thank you, Mother. I would love to.” Kat seemed to have zeroed right in on the sad, desperate way in which my parents were courting the Arnolds. But in Kat, rather than uneasiness, it spurred only rage.
“Oh good, honey,” replied Mom, trying to figure out Kat’s angle. “Why don’t you go get yourself a plate?”
Kat ignored my mother’s suggestion and walked purposefully over to the bar and poured herself a hearty glass of red wine, while my mother tried to get the conversation back on track, immediately taking refuge in the safe and familiar.
“So, Ed, Roger tells me that you’ve arranged for Eugene White to come and speak at church.” Eugene White was a rock-star preacher who presided over the enormous New Light Church in California. He had a bestselling book, a television show, and household-name status throughout much of the country. His coming to Christ Church was a very big deal and would have been unthinkable were it not for Mr. Arnold’s connections and, I suspected, deep pockets.
“Yes, sometime in December. We’ve had some difficulty finalizing the date,” replied Edward.
“Well, I can imagine, as busy as he is. But won’t that be wonderful?”
Kat returned to the table and dramatically sat, leaning back and taking a long sip of her wine, while Lynn picked up the thread of conversation. “Well, after I read
Journey Eternity
, I told Ed that we just had to get him to come.”
“You know, Roger hasn’t read that book yet,” said my mother.
“Oh, Roger, it’s fabulous,” chimed Lynn. “It really provides a road map for putting Jesus’s teachings into practice in your life.”
Lynn would have probably launched into a book report had Kat not abruptly and impatiently interrupted. “So,” she began, “did you all hear the latest about Richard Farrington?” Here it came. I shot Kat another desperate look. Richard Farrington was a right-wing member of the Senate who had built his career on his socially conservative agenda, preaching family values and calling for an end to the “homosexual hold” on our country. A few days ago, he had been caught in a car with a male prostitute, and yesterday he had announced that he would be stepping down from his seat.
Though Lynn thought she was being gracious and diplomatic, she took the bait. “Unfortunately,” she said, keeping her gaze on the rim of her plate, “there are terrible people on both sides of the political spectrum.”
“Tell me, Lynn,” said Kat, leaning in for the kill. “What makes him terrible—the fact that he got his dick sucked by a prostitute or the fact that it was a man?” Lynn winced at the vulgarity and averted her eyes. Ed looked down at the table and shook his head.
“Katherine,” my father said, indignant and stern, “that is terrible language.” My mother knew that any
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