It was kind of nice, actually, though the whole time she was aware of Pastor Jeff talking to the other kids and moving between the groups.
It might have been her imagination, but a few times she thought she caught him giving her a weird look, as if he knew her but couldn’t figure out how.
“Okay, everybody. It looks like all the groups are done. Now it’s time to visit our old friends at Sunshine House and deliver them.”
Everybody seemed actually excited about the errand as they moved outside and started walking as a group up the hill, away from the coast.
“You guys do this kind of thing often?” she asked Andrew Allen, one of the football players who was in her Spanish class.
“Not super often but we stop by maybe every three months or so. We did some yard work there in the fall, and then at Christmas we hosted all the residents at the church for a little party to bake cookies and gave them gifts. They’re all cool.”
She wasn’t sure what to expect as they arrived at the building she had noticed before, a few blocks away from the church. It was larger than a regular house with a ramp out front and a couple of big wheelchair vans in the driveway.
The residents of the house were gathered in a large room just inside the facility, some watching television and others doing what looked like a puzzle in the corner. They all got really excited when the youth group showed up.
“Hey, everyone,” said a woman who appeared to be a worker there to the residents. “Pause the show and come over. Our friends have come for a visit again.”
It really did feel like that, just a group of friends hanging out with other friends. The residents were delighted at the blankets and Caitlin even got a hug from a man who looked like he had Down syndrome.
They didn’t just drop off the blankets and leave, as she had expected might happen. The other youth seemed familiar enough with the residents of the group home that soon they were laughing and talking together. Caitlin made friends with a woman in a wheelchair, whose speech she didn’t quite understand but who beamed and cuddled the flower blanket. Jake, she noticed, was soon deep in conversation with the man who had Down syndrome.
All in all, Caitlin enjoyed herself far more than she had expected. Mimi was always doing nice things for other people and enlisting Caitlin’s help, and this gave her the same kind of warm glow.
If all their activities were like this one, she might even consider coming again, even if the DNA test wasn’t a match to Pastor Jeff.
After about forty-five minutes, Pastor Jeff started gesturing to the door to let the youth group know it was time to go. After goodbyes and more hugs, they all started walking back toward the church.
“So. What did you think of your first meeting?” Pastor Jeff joined up to walk beside her.
She couldn’t pass up the opportunity to talk to him, though she wished Jake were closer to be her backup. He had struck up a conversation with another guy who had band with them and they had fallen slightly behind.
“It was fun. Thanks for letting us come along.”
“You’re welcome anytime. We meet twice a month, the first and third Thursday nights.”
“Thanks.” She paused, then knew she had to take a chance. She might not get a better opportunity. “So, Pastor Jeff. I think you knew my mom when you were younger.”
In the fading light, she thought she saw a wary expression in his eyes. He looked a little trapped, kind of like Jake did whenever she asked him who his latest crush was.
“I might have. I knew a lot of people back then. It’s no secret among the youth I work with that I was in and out of trouble a lot when I was your age and into my early twenties. I guess you could say I had kind of a misspent youth. But we’re all works in progress, right? God loves us, no matter what we’ve done.”
She agreed about the works in progress, at least.
“I guess.”
“Who is your mom?”
“Was. Natalie Harper.”
They passed under a bright streetlight and she thought she saw sadness and something else, something like guilt, in his expression. “I thought so, when I saw you walk in. You are the spitting image.”