Sins and Serenades: Preacher's Kid

Chapter 3

Soul

I want to snatch Ebony bald is a need that grows every time I see her with Gabe. Somehow she seems to always get paired with him, and I haven’t been paired with him once this summer. She is constantly touching him, laughing, and throwing her long hair over her shoulder like she’s a hair model and it’s like nails on a chalkboard.

Today, our activities are on and around the lake, but I never do any water activities since I can’t swim all that well. I usually do dodgeball, volleyball, or something along those lines. And today, I will get the chance to be with Gabe while the other counselors are on the water.

“Soul, you’re signed up to take the kids out on the peddle boat,” Glen says.

“Wait, what?” I ask sure I must have heard him wrong.

“Yeah, that’s what’s on the list I just got,” he says, holding the list up so I can see it.

“I don’t go out on the water! I can barely swim,” I tell him and he shrugs in response. “Who did the assignments?” I ask.

“Umm, Melinda, I think,” he responds.

Figures, her and Ebony are best friends I am sure this is a way to keep me away from Gabe all day. “I’m going to talk to her,” I tell him without waiting for a response and march over to where Ebony and Melinda are talking.

“I can’t do water activities, I can barely swim,” I tell them both without preamble.

“That’s not my problem and that is your job today.”

“I’m not doing it!” I say, popping my hands on my hips.

“You’ll do it or I will have you removed as a counselor as soon as Pastor Sullivan gets back. He left me in charge and I am telling you, you are going out on the water today, or don’t. I wouldn’t mind seeing you leave early,” she threatens and I grit my teeth. Ebony is the teacher”s pet, she is the perfect person in front of Pastor Sullivan and his wife and a miserable bitch in real life. She would one hundred percent come up with a big enough lie to not only get me removed as a counselor but also sent home early, and I know Melinda will back up any story she comes up with.

“I thought so,” she says, shooing me away as she and Melinda laugh at me as I walk away. I walk down to the deck to see one of the eleven-year-old girls waiting for me. We both put on our life jackets, get in the peddle boat, and start off to circle the lake. I have to admit, it was a beautiful day and the water was beautiful, calm, and peaceful. Several times I was able to see Ebony and Gabe playing volleyball together. That was supposed to be me over there! I thought several times today. Last night we were sitting next to this very lake talking about our future how we were going to be superstar singers, touring and staying in the best hotels, flying in private jets, all the houses we would buy, and all of the exotic locations we would travel to.

“What’s this?” he asks when I take the notebook out of my backpack.

“Open it,” I say softly without looking at him. I lay back on the soft grass and looked up at the stars to avoid watching him open the notebook I gave him.

“Are these lyrics?” he asks as I listen to him turn the pages of the notebook.

“Soul! How long have you been working on these?”

“For a while,” I say, finally looking at him. “I figured you could help me come up with the melody.

“I would love to,” he says, taking my hand and pulling me up into a seated position. “Let’s try In the Absence of You,”he says and I blush so hard my entire face is hot. The song is about being in love with him and assuming he’s in love with me and how distance doesn’t stop our love. But I swallow down the embarrassment and begin singing the song with him. One Saturday my mom was playing songs as we cleaned up and a singer came on that I remarked liking, and she told me the singer was actually a White man. I think his name is Bobby Caldwell, he reminds me of Gabe’s voice. Only his is a bit more gravelly if that is a thing. We sing the song over and over making changes here and there until we are satisfied with it.

“It’s a beautiful song, Soul,” he says and once again I look away from him this time off in the distance. “Soul,” he calls to me. I swing back around to look at him and our lips meet. Oh gawd, I think as he kisses me, my first kiss, our first kiss. I hold onto his shirt for dear life in a maelstrom of emotions taking place inside of me. He finally releases me, dropping his forehead against mine. “I love you, too, Soul,” he whispers.

“Gabe,” I whisper as a tear slips down my cheek. He catches it on his thumb, and gently wipes the moisture away.

“I am not planning my life and writing you all the time just because we both love music, Soul. I’ve been in love with you I was just waiting for you to catch up,” he says before kissing me again. We stayed by the lake kissing, talking, and singing, until we were forced to go back to our respective cabins. He took my hand as he walked me back to my cabin, kissing me before pushing me into my cabin and heading to his. And now today when I should be able to be with him, I am stuck on this stupid boat. My legs are burning as I take the last kid back up to the dock.

“Wait, Ms. Soul. My ball must’ve fallen out of pocket. I can’t lose it!” Jason says frantically.

“It’s just a ball, Jason,” I tell him.

“It was my brother’s ball, it was the last thing he gave me,” he says tears welling up in his eyes. Jason lost his brother in a car accident just a few years ago. “There it is!” he says pointing out to dang near the middle of the lake floating on the surface. My shoulders slump in defeat as I sit back down in this dreaded boat and prepare to peddle back out to get his ball. “No, Jason, you stay here I will go get it. You took off your lifevest, so stay here, okay.”

“But you took yours off, too, Ms. Soul,” he points out.

“I’m older, just wait here.” By this time most of the activities are over and everyone has left in preparation for lunch. I am tired, my legs feel like lead, my stomach is using my backbone for support I am so hungry but I push myself so I get this kid”s ball. After what seems like an eternity I make it to his ball. I reach over to grab it, and the boat flips over throwing me in the deepest part of the water with no life vest. I try my best not to panic but I am not doing a very good job. I try to grab the boat but in my panic, I inadvertently push it just out of reach. I fight to tread water until I can make another attempt to go after the boat again, but my legs are so fatigued they begin to cramp, making me begin to sink and then I am just in full-fledged panic mode. I can hear Jason screaming from the dock and I try to join him and succeed in swallowing a mouthful of water. God, please don’t let me die today in this lake! I immediately begin praying as I feel myself being dragged under the water. I’m going to die.

Gabriel

I roll my eyes for the millionth time internally at whatever it is Ebony is talking about. She touched my arm and I backed up from her making her hand fall away from me. I have been trying to get away from her all day and she has not taken the hint and somehow seems to pop up wherever I am. She’s not Soul, and I don’t want her touching me. I know she changed the assignments today, but since she is the oldest, Pastor left her in charge and her little entourage is going to back her up so I went along with it, but when Pastor Sullivan gets back I am gonna talk to him.

“Gabriel, why don’t you come to my cabin later tonight?” she asks and this time I fail to hide what I am thinking; my face says it all.

“Um, I don’t think that’s…” I break off because I hear something.

“You don’t think what?” she says, taking advantage of my distraction and pressing herself up against me. I strain to hear what caught my attention, and I am just about to dismiss it when I hear it again, screaming.

“Did you hear that?” I ask, not really expecting an answer.

“No,” she says. I bring my attention back to her, noticing for the first time how close she is to me. I move her away from me as I begin walking back towards the lake with her following me. Where’s Soul? I haven’t seen her, I think as I pick up speed. Just as I round the corner Ebony grabs my hand as I clearly hear the screams, Jason is on the dock screaming for help and pointing out to the lake. I follow his pointing to see Soul surface for a brief second before going back under. Ebony tries to pull me back toward her, and I shake her off so hard she falls on her ass as I take off running, I rip the shirt off over my head. “Get help!” I scream to Jason as I get to the edge of the lake and hurriedly toe my shoes off before I dive in and swim harder and faster than I ever have in my life trying to get to Soul. I searched for her under the water since she never resurfaced, and I have never been so scared in all of my life. I pray harder than I ever have before to find her. God, please direct me to her, please. I swim to the surface, take another breath, and go back down. Finally, I see her. I grab her bringing us both to the surface before I begin the swim to the shore, but I feel a hand and notice Gary and Daniel in a boat pulling me and Soul aboard. I lay her on her back on the bottom of the boat and begin CPR, it isn’t until we reach the shore that she begins coughing up water and I have never been so grateful to be spit on in my life. I pull her up and crush her to me, grateful to have her back and still shaken by how close I came to losing her.

“Thank you,” she says limp in my arms.

“You don’t have to thank me, Soul. I’ll always be there because you mean everything to me. I won’t lose you,” I say to her out loud. Gary, Daniel, and I share a look and I know without a shadow of a doubt what was said on this boat will stay on this boat.

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