Shari leaned against the building, her crutches upright before her and her head tilted back to catch the rays of the morning sun. Her golden hair pooled around her neck and over her shoulders to rest on and around her breasts. Her clothing had not changed from this morning, but even the wrinkles in the shirt and pants didn’t faze Lyn. She slid to a stop a few feet from her friend with a sharp intake of breath. Shari’s beauty dazzled her, and the desire to reach out and touch the soft skin of her friend nearly overwhelmed all of Lyn’s senses.
“Hey.” Shari opened her eyes and smiled. “It’s so beautiful today. I couldn’t resist catching some sun.”
Lyn nodded. “Em.” She had no idea what to say, especially after this morning’s discovery.
Thrusting her crutches forward, Shari straightened and jerked her head toward the auditorium doors. “Ready to head in?”
“Em. Yeah.” Lyn colored and looked down at her feet. The image of Shari lying beside her in bed kept entering her thoughts, and Lyn struggled to avoid thoughts of her friend naked. She felt disgusting for even the mere hint of such a thought, and even after all that vigorous scrubbing in the shower, she still felt unclean and ruined. For wasn’t she both due to her unnatural attraction to Shari? That’s what the program had drilled into her, yet hadn’t both Shari and her cat both shown disproval of the program? The idea that maybe the program was hurtful seemed outlandish, yet at the same time, the idea captivated her. As she paused by the fourth row, she glanced at Shari and realized that even now, after such a rude awakening this morning, she was happy to be next to her.
“I’m excited for today’s lecture,” Shari admitted as they sat down at the edge of the row, “as dorky as that sounds. I mean, gosh, who wouldn’t want to learn about the Celtics? Especially their myths. I love the ideas of fairies. Don’t you?”
“Sure.” Lyn wasn’t sure what she thought of fairies. Though she was certain the program didn’t like them. No doubt thought they were a bad influence. Lyn shifted in her seat and tapped her pencil against her leg. In fact, wasn’t everything a bad influence? Was the program right and this university was a poor choice? Yet it was the only place she had felt at home in the past five years. Or was she just deluding herself? Hadn’t it taken her an entire semester to finally make a friend? “Shari.” Lyn turned in her seat and faced her friend earnestly. “We’re friends, right?”
Shari nodded, startled. “Of course! Why do you keep asking?”
Lyn sat forward again and shook her head. She didn’t know. Confusion swirled within her and mixed with the growing attraction to her friend. The desire to kiss Shari, to touch her, to let down her barriers and love her. Yet she was afraid. Afraid of what it meant. Of the program, of the wrath of God. She felt cursed and alone, and she was tired of it.
The professor turned on the projector and an image of a Celtic emblem appeared. As he spoke of druids and myths before the coming of the Christians, Lyn found herself drawn to Shari’s excitement next to her. Her friend sat on the edge of her seat, writing down all she could, and Lyn couldn’t take her eyes away from the joy that radiated from her friend. As the lecture entered the Christian era of Ireland, Shari smiled and winked at Lyn. Startled, Lyn turned back to the projector, embarrassed at being caught staring.
Near the end of the lecture, Lyn felt Shari’s hand on her leg. She didn’t dare look at her friend, but the touch warmed her. Tentatively, she laid her hand atop Shari’s and interlaced her fingers through her own.
They walked out of the auditorium side by side. Lyn couldn’t stop herself from brushing her fingers against Shari’s hand that rested on the crutch. Holding hands had felt wonderful and although she knew this was against the rules, Lyn didn’t want to let go of that warmth. Voices drifted around them as other students wandered by them, but the pair stopped right outside the doors to the building.
“Hey.” Shari turned to face Lyn. “Your next class at two?” When Lyn nodded, Shari grinned. “Great. I want to show you something. Come on, it’s not far.” She gestured to the right with one of her crutches and tugged lightly on Lyn’s sleeve with her hand.
“Okay.” Lyn fell into step beside her, still amazed at how swiftly Shari could move even in crutches. “Where?” She shifted her backpack on her back and blushed unable to finish her question.
Shari laughed. “Oh, it’s a surprise, but I’ve a hunch you’ll love it.” She flipped her head to one side, and a lock of her blond hair flew over her shoulder. “You know, it’s been almost three years since I came here, and of all the people I’ve met, you’re the one that’s intrigued me the most. Seriously. I’m a bit of a wanderer, you know? I like to investigate stuff. The unknown. So first month here, I join one of my suitemates and hit the bars. Like I said last night, it stunk, but there was interesting characters. No decent friends though. You know what I did after I stopped hanging with them?”
Lyn shook her head.
“Decided you can have fun without alcohol,” Shari continued, “So back to church I went. They have some good ones here. You try the local Catholic Student Center? They have the best activities thus far. I love their ping-pong tournaments. It’s a blast.”
“Catholic?” Lyn repeated in surprise.
“Yeah.” Shari swung her injured leg forward and clomped forward, her crutches hitting the ground harder than usual. “My Dad’s Catholic. Mom was Evangelical. Got some of both worlds, but I think I like the Catholics better. At least my church back home and the ones here are cool. How about you? I know you’re some sort of Christian. I’m guessing some fundamental evangelical.”
“Mission of Christ.” She wasn’t sure what to say to Shari’s sudden confession. The program didn’t think highly of Catholics or anyone that wasn’t Mission of Christ. Hadn’t Bart said that the devil can disguise itself as an angel of good? Yet how could Shari ever be in league with the devil if she prayed to God? “Em, Shari, you follow Christ?” Lyn clenched her backpack straps, hoping her friend would say yes.
“Yeah.” Shari laughed again. “Catholics, Evangelicals – they’re all Christian, silly. So don’t worry, okay? Besides, it’s not about rules and regulations and whatnot. It’s about love. That’s all we need. Love.”
Lyn slid to a stop and stared at Shari in surprise.
“Hey, something wrong?” Shari raised her eyebrows and stopped.
“That’s it? Just love?”
Shari nodded. “Says it right there in that Bible. ‘Love is the fulfillment of the law.’ Romans I think. But don’t quote me. I suck at memorizing anything. So there you go. Jesus says it all the time – ‘love others.’ So all you need is love. Hey, that’s a song! Beatles, or maybe it’s the Rolling Stones.” She smiled and hummed a melody that was faintly recognizable to Lyn.
“That’s all?” Lyn felt amazed. The program may have said over and over again that Christ loved them, but they had so many rules and warnings. Over and over again they had told her what would lead her to hell and thus must be avoided. Shari made it sound so simple. For the first time since she had been forced into the program, Lyn began to wonder if perhaps they were wrong. If they had been misleading her. It was a shocking revelation, one that shook her to her core, but at the same time filled her with an intense hope.
“Yup,” Shari’s voice rumbled with a hint of a chuckle that broke through Lyn’s reverie. “You gonna stand there all day? Not that I mind, but still.”
“Em. Sorry.” Lyn blushed and began to walk again, but this time instead of looking at her feet, she met Shari’s gaze and smiled.