Chapter Two--A House Divided

"I've missed you."

I turned to see Rick standing in the doorway of the kitchen, hands in his pockets.

"Why don't we go to church tomorrow morning?" Rick asked.

I took my coat off and hung it on the rack, throwing my keys on the table. I turned toward him, but not before glancing at the candlelit dinner in the living room.

"For me?" I gave Rick a soft smile before walking toward the table.

"I thought you might want a nice dinner after your day."

"Thank you." I smiled before putting my arms around his waist and kissing him. "How was your day?" I asked, pulling away and taking a seat.

"I flunked a kid today." He made his way around the table, straightening the mahogany table cloth before taking a seat.

"What happened?"

"He hasn't turned in one assignment and it's already the second month of the year. I figured he'd get back on track after I talked to his parents but I guess not."

"Not many people like math."

"So you're defending him by saying he didn't like math?"

"Let's not get into an argument tonight, okay?"

Rick sighed, taking a sip of water and looking up at me. "Sorry."

I said nothing before taking a bite of meatloaf.

"What about church?" He inquired.

I set my fork down. "Church?"

"C'mon, Cari. We haven't gone to church in a couple years. I figured we could start going together, as a married couple."

"I can't, I have to help Liv."

"Can't you help her later?" Rick took a bite of beans before washing it down with ice water.

I dropped my fork and set my elbow on the table. "Look, I know you don't like my sister but you could at least be less hateful about it. And why has this church thing become so important to you?" I demanded.

"A couple guys from Temple Baptist came over earlier and invited us. Said there's a couple's class our age group and said they'd love to have us."

"Can we talk about this later? I'm tired."

"Cari, I--"

"I'm not hungry anymore." I pushed my plate aside before getting up and walking to the bedroom before shutting the door behind me. I didn't need to worry about God, I needed to help my sister get her kid back. And if God did exist, He'd help me do just that.