Chapter Seven

Saturday morning, I tumbled out of bed cocooned in the stench of Friday night’s frat parties. My head ached and eyes burned as I reached for a glass of water to soothe the rawness in my throat. Placing two ibuprofens onto my tongue, I nearly choked as the time—9:15—caught my eye. I’d overslept. I said a few curse words then scrambled to my closet in search of an outfit for church.

Once showered and dressed, with makeup slapped on and hair dripping water down my blue angora sweater, I drove away with few minutes to spare. Timed stoplights, not my friend today, guided me into the parking lot five minutes late.

Mad Max was pacing the sidewalk in front of the church’s entrance, his freshly-shaven face pinked from the wait outside. Khakis and a navy button-down replaced the typical lunatic attire he wore on campus. He could almost pass for handsome as he stood with a briefcase in one hand and his emerald robe in the other. Catching a glimpse of me, his relief curled into the brisk air as he exhaled.

“I’d begun to think you weren’t going to show, Lily. Like so many of the others,” he said as he opened the door and guided me inside while he slipped into his robe.

“Please accept my apologies. I overslept and was stopped by every stoplight on the way.”

“That’s very understandable. I’m glad you made it when you did—a few more minutes and you wouldn’t have gotten in,” he said as we walked through a long corridor. “I see you’re majoring in Social Work. How do you like it?

My pulse quickened as the memories of our conversation at Dunn Meadow came back to me. I hadn’t given him any information about me besides my name. “I’ve been working as a caseworker for the past two summers and really liked the work. Social Work seemed like a logical major for me. I won’t ever be wealthy, but I’ll make a difference.” I tried to mask my unease.

“From everything I’ve heard about you, you’ll make a fine social worker someday. They can be very influential,” he said as we walked into the worship hall.

Long, rectangular tables surrounded by folding chairs were situated in a way that better suited bingo games at the American Legion than a church. The only smack of religion in the room was something that I think was meant to be an altar. It was a table with a portable podium in the center. The table was lined with ivy, and potted plants cluttered up the top. People wearing various shades of green littered the walkway, while five plain-clothed people sat at a table to the left of the altar. People at individual tables were color coordinated, with the darker shades being more proximal to the exit. They made great sentries for a captive audience.

We weaved our way to the front as a number of members greeted Max and congratulated him on a new recruit. Strangely, none of them welcomed me as we passed through the crowd. It was as though I was invisible to them, nonexistent.

A woman wearing mint green and two wearing the green of shamrocks came to the tables and sat next to their recruits as Mad Max and I took our seats. A man in a hunter green robe with gold tassels draped around his neck motioned for Max to join him. “This’ll be just a moment,” he whispered as he rose to fulfill the man’s request.

I scanned the room for any familiar faces, but only strangers stared back at me. The room was full of people in their late teens and twenties, with a few thirty-somethings sprinkled in for good measure. A few children were in the mix, but no one that I’d label as elderly.

Ferns and ficus trees grew in pots along the walls as landscape paintings hung above them. I tried to shake the Bingo-game mindset and remember that I was in a church. Or at least something that the people outnumbering me called a church.

A nudge startled me as a soft voice said, “Is this your first time here, too?” It belonged to the pretty blonde beside me. She was quite pretty and was about my age. I nodded, and she said, “I’m Ericka.”

I introduced myself to her, but initiated no further conversation; Mad Max and the priest occasionally glanced in my direction. Whenever I met their stares, they abruptly looked away, and my mind raced with the possibility that I’d been found out. Had they discovered my true purpose? Was I being paranoid?

I exhaled slowly to steady my thoughts. The world didn’t revolve around me. Even if they’d connected me to Professor Weaver’s class, they couldn’t possibly know my intents. Weaver and I were the only ones who knew about the project, and he wasn’t going to spoil it. But if you don’t chill out, Lily, you’ll sabotage everything. Another deep breath, and my pulse raced with each passing second Mad Max was absent. I chuckled at the realization that I’d found comfort in the mad man. Disturbing.

Chairs grated against the floor as three guys filled the remaining seats at the table. My eyebrows furrowed as I wracked my brain in search of a memory to connect with their familiar faces. Last night perhaps? They looked like frat boys in their rugby shirts and khakis, and I easily could have met them in the fog of last night’s parties. The sandy blonde one’s eyes widened with recognition.

“Hey, Lily,” he drawled with an uptilt of his chin. When it was clear I couldn’t place him, he continued, “You don’t remember me, do you? Doesn’t surprise me. I danced with you a couple times last night. The last dance, I practically had to carry you. Name’s Ryan.”

“Sorry about that,” Mad Max said as he slid into his seat. I relaxed, thankful that my face would redden no further in response to Ryan’s conversation. “Father Xavier needed to speak with me about a few matters.”

“Good morning, Members, Visitors, and Everyone in between,” the priest said, his voice and laughter booming throughout the hall.

“It is a good morning,” the congregation replied in unison.

“Visitors, please come to the front of the church with your inviting member so that we may appropriately welcome you into our church.”

My eyes bugged at the prospect of standing in front of the roomful of people, as Max tugged at my wrist. “Come on.”

I already felt out of place being one of a select few without robes, and I had no desire to feel even more like a piece of litter bobbing in a sea of green. Regardless of my sentiment, I stood up, walked a few feet to the altar, and waited for Mad Max to introduce me. Those without inviting members, three of which were returning from previous visits, introduced themselves and explained why they were exploring the Order of the Father. Shivers went down my spine at the cold stares given to the two who’d walked in uninvited. I was thankful that I hadn’t just shown up and that Mad Max was doing the talking for me today. I just smiled, waved, and said thank you to him for inviting me.

Once the introductions were complete and we sat at our table, Father Xavier continued with his sermon, the gist of it being to treat people well, worship the Mother Earth, and recruit other people to do the same and preferably join Order of the Father. After half an hour of it, I was ready to go and after forty minutes, I was relieved when the priest ordered the groups to attend their breakaway sessions.

“Here is where we part, Lily. Thank you for coming. I hope you’ll enjoy the session and that you’ll return in the future. Thanks again,” Mad Max said to me over the cacophony of people sliding their chairs.

“Please follow me,” the priest said when he walked over to us. He led us out of the hall and down a corridor that was to the right, while the official members filed into rooms for their discussions. I had a feeling that those rooms were where the actual wheeling and dealing of the church transpired.

I peeked inside a room; this one was a meeting place for the Emeralds. I craned my neck to obtain a better view. Long table. Bookcase. A dry-erase board full of writings bridged two opposite walls. My eyes squinted to read the words, but I was too far away.

Someone slammed into me. Consumed by my curiosity, I was unaware that my legs had stopped moving. I turned around to apologize. It was Ericka and she wore an annoyed expression. “It’s okay, but would you please move? We’re supposed to be following the preacher, priest, whatever the guy is called.” I smiled and resumed my pace, but wasn’t impressed by Ericka’s curtness.

“At the end of this hall are my quarters, but we conduct the beginners’ break-out sessions here,” Father Xavier said as he unlocked a door just short of where he resided. “Please, do come in.”

He sat at the head of the table and urged each of us to take a seat as quickly as possible. Once we each found our place, he said, “I’d like to welcome you again to our church. I will use the first few minutes of this session to answer any questions that you may have about the church.”

“What are you?” Ericka asked. A few snickers filled the room and I tried to maintain a straight face at the bluntness of the question. “I mean: some churches call their leaders pastors, clerics, rabbis, priests, reverends, et cetera. What do we call you?”

The balding man removed his glasses, wiped them with a handkerchief, and replaced them. “Actually, that’s a very good question. If you’re speaking to me, you address me as Father, but if you’re speaking about me, I’m that weird guy who leads the freaks.” He laughed from deep in the chest and continued, “Actually, I’m a priest. And to tell the truth, anyone in this color of a robe is a priest. The gold tassels designate that I am the high priest and leader of this church.”

“What do the robes mean?” one of the frat boys asked.

“The green of our robes symbolizes Mother Earth. The shade of green designates a person’s status within the church. The darker the green, the deeper his or her commitment. A new member will earn a mint green robe once he or she has gone through rebirth. From there, each member decides how quickly he or she rises within the ranks. We value someone who actually volunteers for the church and spreads our message more than someone who just sits at the table. Our hierarchy is based on action and devotion.”

Most of the questions asked could be answered with a simple Internet query. When everyone else had asked a question, the priest turned to me.

“Yes, Father Xavier, I think I do have a question. You mentioned rebirth. What is it? What does it entail?”

“Rebirth takes about five weeks to complete and basically, it is learning the ways of the church. This is taught in ten different sessions. At the end, you will have to give up three days of your time, but they will be three life-altering days. You will walk into a room with nothing but a robe, two gifts from sponsors, and your Songs from the Mother Earth book. You will meditate during those three days of darkness and when you emerge from the room, you will be reborn. It is a very powerful experience,” he answered as he handed each of us a pamphlet, Meditations from Mother Earth.

Today’s discussion was on the wind, and it was strange as Father Xavier drew comparisons between it and us visitors. He valued the hurricane-force winds as much as the gentle breeze; each had its place within Order of the Father.

When I walked out of the church, I knew that I’d been suckered into more research. I heard a voice yell my name as I reached the car. Ryan. “Do you have plans tonight?” he asked.

“I have to work until ten.”

“You work at Mother Bear’s right?” I nodded my response and opened the door. “Well, what about we meet up after? We could go to the midnight movie at the Union—I think The Princess Bride is playing.”

I didn’t have anything else to do, but going out with Ryan wasn’t high on any list of mine. I wasn’t ready for another relationship. He seemed like a player, and I definitely didn’t want to be his one-night stand. “Let me see how tired I am after work. If I’m not exhausted, it’s a date. Otherwise, it’ll have to be a rain check.” I rummaged through my purse for a pen and a paper, settling on an old receipt, and scribbled his name and number across its back with no intention of calling him.

At work, I had no difficulty in recognizing him as he staggered in with a group of his friends. He handed me a white rose as I took their drink order.

“A flower for a beautiful girl.” He had the start of a slur and his breath reeked of beer and peppermint. His order was non-alcoholic when the rest of the table ordered shots. “So what did you think of church today?”

“It was unlike any other church I’ve ever attended,” I answered as I plunked a coke in front of him. “I’ll probably be back next week. What did you think?”

“They’re weirdos. I won’t walk through those doors again.” I smiled at his words.

By the time he paid the bill, his buzz had worn off and he’d warmed me to the idea of going out with him sometime in the future. My feet ached from delivering pizzas to what I thought could easily be close to Bloomington’s population in one night of work. Friday night would be much better.

*                  *                  *

Ryan was leaning against the door as I headed into Professor Weaver’s class a couple days later.

“Wow, I didn’t realize you were in this class,” I said after he’d asked if he could sit beside me. He followed me to my usual seat in the third row and immediately began asking about my weekend and if we were still on for our date.

Every so often, Weaver would look up from his preparations and stare at Ryan. Or was it me he stared at? During the lecture, his voice was clipped each time I was called on for discussion.

“May I walk you to your next class?” Ryan asked at the tail end of a frosty class.

“Sure,” I replied. I’d planned to stay after class to brief the prof on my findings at the church, but his demeanor in class had me in no mood to spend another second in the room. The professor would wait.

That night, I answered a telephone call from a private number. I thought it would be for Holly, but the deep voice asked for me.

“Why didn’t you stay after class? I wanted to hear about Saturday,” Professor Weaver said.

I wondered how he’d gotten this number, but then remembered the student profile we were asked to complete on the first day of class. I let out a sigh. “It was okay—weird, but okay. I’m going back on Saturday to dig a little deeper, but I’ll probably have to go through Rebirth and that takes five weeks.”

Silence. “Are you sure you want to do that?”

“I’m not sure, but I have a hunch that they’re hiding something, and that’s the only way to get to the bottom of it.”

“Are you dating that Ryan kid?” His question shocked me. I was first amazed he knew Ryan’s name, and then annoyed that he felt he had the right to ask me who I was dating. Especially when he was just telling me to ask my boyfriend about my so-called magnetic personality. I thought it was magnetic, but so far I just kept attracting shit in my life.

“I haven’t gone out with him yet, but I will. You can consider it research since I met him in the temple of the Greenies.”

“And you trust him so willingly?”

“I don’t know enough about him yet for him to have earned my trust. He’s a nice guy who I happened to meet there. He isn’t joining though; he thought they were weirdos.”

“I’d like to start meeting you privately in regards to your research and after class seems to dangerous now. Would you be willing to meet me on Friday night at seven?”

Oh, Jeez.