Jesus Freaks: The Prodigal (Jesus Freaks #2)(74)

“I …” I trail off. “I don’t know.”

“Roland lives at New Life, why are you packing so much?” Eden gestures to my suitcase.

“Because for the next two weeks we’re going to go to his parents house, then to some family issues conference in freakin’ Georgia. Only then will we finally return back here.”

Eden furrows her brow. “I thought you said you guys were going to see your mom.”

I sigh. “She’s going to come here when we get back. When she saw all the traveling I’d be doing, she kind of martyred and offered to come to Roland’s in mid-January.”

I originally protested not seeing my mom—my family—on Christmas. But, the more I thought about it, the more I realized this will be good for me. I’ve claimed all year that I want to know my roots, and I can’t get to them without a shovel and a little dirt on my hands.

“Where do Roland’s parents live?” I love that Eden’s comfortable calling him by his first name when we’re talking together. It’s far preferable to Pastor Roland or your dad.

Laying a CU Sweatshirt on top of my suitcase, I stop mid-bubble-blow and look up. “I … I have no clue. I assume Ohio? Or Minnesota, maybe? I know he grew up in Ohio … right?” I sit on my bed, exhausted and chuckling at my lack of knowledge. “Give me a sec.” I pick up the phone and dial Roland’s number.

“Hey you,” he answers cheerfully. “All packed up? I see you got a B on your OT exam. Good work!”

I hold the phone out in front of me, staring at it puzzled. “I did?” I finally reply. “How do you … never mind. I forget you’re faculty. Anyway, where is it, exactly, that your parents live?”

“Villa Hills.”

“You say that like I have a clue.”

“Oh, right,” he chuckles, “sorry. It’s in Northern Kentucky.”

“What?” I whine. “Seriously? I thought you were from the Mid-West.”

Eden’s eyes widen in curiosity. It’s only then I remember she’s from Kentucky, so I should refrain from more verbal judgment.

Roland laughs into the phone. “It’s twenty minutes from the Mid-West, and they moved there when I was in my twenties. Don’t worry, no one will bite. You’ll be here by dinner?”

“Yes,” I mumble, unenthusiastically, in to the phone. “How long of a drive is it?”

“Five-and-a-half hours, or so. Which is why we’ll leave in the morning.”

“All right, see you in a little while.” I end the call and stare blankly at Eden.

“Where do they live?” she asks again.

“A place called Villa Hills?” I shrug.

Eden leaps from her bed with the highest pitch squeal I’ve heard from her yet, and tackle hugs me onto my bed.

“What?” I yelp back, shaking my face free from her bouncy curls.

Sitting up, Eden grabs my shoulders. “That’s only a half hour from me!”

“Seriously?” I shriek back, actually enthusiastic.

She nods and bounces while I sigh the longest breath of relief I’ve sighed in weeks. Sure, I’m grateful to hear I got a B on my OT exam, meaning I ended the semester with a B in the hardest class I’ve ever taken. But, this news of Eden’s proximity to Roland’s parents means that for the two weeks I’m shacked up with them, I have an escape.

“And,” she adds, holding up a finger, “it’s only twenty minutes from Jonah. He lives in Delhi, Ohio.”

I hold out my hands and tilt my chin to the sky. “Thank you, Jesus.”

Eden mimics my pose and giggles some more.

“So we can hang out, right?” I ask, just to be sure.

She slaps my knee. “Heck yes!” It’s the closest I’ve heard her come to a swear. “And we can take a road trip to visit Jonah. Or he can pick you up on his way to see me, or whatever. Either way, we’re good. Where is that Georgia conference you’re going to?”

I shrug. “I don’t even know what it’s called.”

Eden reaches for her phone, thumbing through it with a curious look on her face.

“What?” I prompt, nudging her arm.

“Does this look familiar?” She turns her screen toward me.

Family Values Conference Tour. The picture beneath it holds a shiny, smiling family, with even shinier teeth. They’re of completely mixed races in a clear over-attempt to look diversified.

“That looks like the brochure I saw at Roland’s last Sunday.” Roland and I have resumed post-church lunch dates. I find it a surprisingly relaxing way to end my week; just him and me kicking back in his kitchen eating roast beef sandwiches with our phones off. He says he welcomes the break from the bustling that can come after a Sunday service. He’ll have to accept invitations from others to lunch at some point, he says, but for now, we like our routine.

“Well, duh!” Eden exclaims. “Look where it is!”

Moving my eyes back down to the screen. “Rome. Seriously? That’s where Matt lives!”

“I know! You’ve lucked right out, Missy. You’ll get to see, like, all your CU friends during break.”

I huff, trying to stay amused. The fact is, I haven’t talked to Matt much since I chased him down on the quad a few days before our OT final. He’s been aloof, and I’ve been busy trying not to fail out and being okay with B’s. He knows about what went down with Roland and Dean Baker, but I haven’t given lots of details. I send a quick text to Matt.