“You missed it, Corinne—Jonah had a big part in our services today, about young Timothy.”
“It wasn’t that big, Grandma.”
“Well, I thought it was impressive.”
“Tell me about it,” Corinne said. She was peeling potatoes. Her hands were covered in slime. No one was acting like anything was amiss. Her mom was talking about church. Her stepdad was watching sports. Her sister was ignoring her. Noah and Mercy and Shawn and Alicia weren’t here yet.
“Timothy is proof,” Jonah said, “that God trusts young people to lead.”
“From the mouths of babes,” Corinne’s mother agreed.
Corinne peeled potatoes and listened for the door.
The potatoes were cooked and mashed, and Corinne was stirring gravy when she finally heard the front door open. Then Shawn’s voice. A few seconds later, Alicia came into the kitchen. Her eyes lit up when she saw Corinne. She made a beeline for her. “Corinne!” she said, giving Corinne an extra tight one-armed hug. (Alicia was holding a covered cake plate in the other arm.) “I was hoping you’d be here!”
“Hi,” Corinne said stupidly.
Shawn came in from the living room. He just stared at Corinne for a second. Then: “Hey, Corinne.”
“Hi, Shawn.”
He hugged their mom. “Do you need any help?”
“Not from you,” she said. “You’re too late. We’re ready to eat.”
Alicia still had an arm around Corinne. Corinne turned to her. She didn’t know what to say.
“I made Kahlúa chocolate cake,” Alicia said, “but don’t worry, the Kahlúa bakes right out. I use coffee in the frosting.”
“That sounds delicious,” Corinne said.
“You could make it,” Alicia said. “It’s just a devil’s food cake mix with extra egg yolks.”
Corinne nodded. Her eyes were stinging. Alicia squeezed her extra hard.
“Corinne!” her mom snapped, grabbing the fork out of Corinne’s hand. “What do you have against my gravy!”
Corinne stepped away from the stove. “Sorry!”
Alicia set the cake plate on the counter and went into the other room.
They had roast beef and mashed potatoes and creamed corn and popovers for dinner. The gravy was ruined, and everyone blamed Corinne.