Free Ray of Sunlight by Brynn Stein Page A

Russell.” Pastor Roy was talking calmly, trying to get me to come back. “I don’t know where you got that idea. The God I know doesn’t work like that, son.”
    “Not what I’ve heard.” I glared at Allen. Mom was nowhere to be seen. She had giggled nervously when the pastor showed up and then went to the kitchen to “make some snacks.”
    “I don’t know what you’ve heard, or where you’ve heard it. But God is all about love. There are right things and wrong things, and the Bible tells us about what some of those things are, but there are different interpretations of everything, and everyone really has to make up their own mind. It’s between the person and God. I’m told in the Bible not to judge. That’s God’s job.” By then he had come across the room to stand in front of me, since it must have been obvious that I wasn’t going to go back to him. “And it has no bearing on whom I help. Jesus said to love our neighbors. All our neighbors. Not just the ones like us. Not only the ones doing what we think they should do. Not exclusively the ones that agree with us on what is right and wrong. Everyone. ”
    That sure was different than anything I had heard Mom or Allen spout. Allen looked like he was about to spit nails. Pete didn’t seem surprised, though. He had told Allen he was wrong about his view on this. This is where he got that idea apparently. Maybe the church Pete went to wasn’t all that bad.
    Not that I wanted to go talk to them.
    “Son, I’d really love for you to come talk to the congregation on Sunday. But I can see that you’re not comfortable with that. You can tell me the details, and I’ll relay them. I’m sure everyone will want to help.”
    “Come on, Russ,” Pete encouraged. “You got this. No prob, man.”
    I don’t think Pete ever encouraged me to do anything before. Or at least I had never noticed. I don’t know why I decided to try it. But I heard myself saying, “Okay, I’ll come.”

Chapter 8
     
     
    I TOLD CJ about it, and he was all for it. But the little shit laughed at me like crazy when I got all tongue-tied trying to rehearse. He fell back on his bed laughing, and I threatened to smother him with his pillow.
    “Just for that, you have to come with me,” I scowled at him.
    “I’d like to, Russ.” CJ became serious. “I don’t have anything to wear to a church service, though.”
    “Oh shit.” I suddenly realized something. “Neither do I.”
    CJ laughed again. “Maybe Pete has something he’ll loan you. You’re about the same size, right?”
    We were, more or less. I had a bit more muscle than Pete and probably had a good inch on him, which could cause a problem, but I was sure he’d loan me something. So, that problem solved, I got back to CJ.
    “Will you come?”
    “I have my last treatment of this round just the day before, and they’ve kind of been hitting me hard this time for some reason.” He got serious again. “But I’d really like to.”
    “Let’s see how you feel then,” I suggested.
    “Sounds good.” He smiled that beautiful smile of his, and his eyes sparkled. “Though I still don’t have anything to wear.”
    I vowed that I’d find him something, no matter what, so that he could come with me if he felt like it.
     
     
    S UNDAY WAS there way too soon for my liking. Pete did loan me some dressy clothes. They didn’t dress in suits or anything at this church− well, the youth didn’t. But I still didn’t own anything good enough to wear there. Most of my clothes were T-shirts and jeans.
    Pete even had some acceptable clothes that were too small for him that would fit CJ perfectly… or at least well enough.
    I called CJ, and he was still going to try to come, but his nurse got on the phone and said absolutely not. He had been throwing up all morning and his doctor insisted he wanted him to stay in bed for the day.
    So, I was dressed up, hair combed, instead of the bedhead style I usually sported, and was seated