Chapter Text
Orel is playing on the front yard, which is why he notices immediately when a moving truck parks near their house. In front of a house that's right next to theirs, close enough that there isn't even a fence separating them. His curiosity is piqued since the house next to his has been for sale for as long as he can remember.
He had been in the process of getting his toy Noah's ark and some toy animals to play a game he likes to call God's choice, in which he decides which animals are worth getting to stay in the ark and which should be wiped out as per their Lord's wishes. It's one of the only games he can play with Shapey, since it involves enough destruction to keep him focused and entertained.
Bartholomew is sitting on the grass when his ears suddenly perk up, his tail wagging as he runs to someone's feet. Orel is sitting down when that happens and he gets up in time to see a girl with short brown hair bend down to pet Bartholomew, giggling when he licks her hand. For a moment, he's taken aback by this.
The girl lifts her gaze to look at him curiously and, once she sees him, they stare at each other for what should be an uncomfortable amount of time and the girl seemingly gets shy. It's adorable, Orel thinks, the way her hands clasp together behind her back and she smiles, looking up at him shyly. It makes him forget what he's doing for a minute.
"Golly," Orel says as he looks at her.
Reverend Putty's latest sermon about pleasure had him worried but not as much as what his dad said after. It was his warning about how growing up leads to naturally losing interest in anything fun that made Orel so eager to make the most of his childhood. Which is why he went out of his way to find a game he and Shapey could play together.
But all of this slips his mind the moment he sees the girl, the "for sale" sign being removed signing that Orel was right, her family just moved in. He can see a man, presumably her dad, drag the girl inside the house by the hand as she keeps her eyes on Orel. Their eye contact only breaks for a second as she spins around to be able to keep looking at him.
But soon enough she's gone, the door closing behind her as Orel is left staring and trying to remember every detail he can recall about the girl. Brown hair, a round face, a pink headband on her head with a lace on it, she really is the cutest girl Orel has ever seen in his twelve years of life. He eagerly runs inside to tell his family about this.
"New neighbors?" his mom asks, only mildly interested as she stirs a pot. "There's something I didn't expect. Someone moving in that house after so long."
They never had next door neighbors so it really is an exciting prospect. Orel is intrigued by this, spending his afternoon trying to discreetly watch as the family settles in. He doesn't see a lot other than some guys helping the dad move things inside, the dad arguing with said guys about something and the guys ultimately leaving after getting paid, something the dad didn't seem very happy about.
"Are you still watching the neighbors?" Orel's mom asks him when she sees him staring out the window.
"I can't help it, mom. I've just never had next door neighbors before. I feel like we should be doing something!"
Luckily for him, his mom seems to think the same thing because she gets back inside only to come out with a casserole of something and Shapey in tow.
"Say, Orel," she calls. "You want to come with me and Shapey to welcome them into our neighborhood?"
He's hopping over to their front yard before his mom can even say anything else, feeling slightly embarrassed for not having something to offer to the girl he saw earlier. She seemed nice and he'd like to see her face if he got her a gift, would she laugh in that same cute way she did before? Would her eyes be on him once again? That felt nice.
There's a wooden plate on their door that says "The Posabules", so Orel assumes that's the family's last name.
Orel's mom knocks and a woman opens the door, with short wavy hair and a floral red dress. For a moment, Orel is slightly surprised at how much she resembles someone he knows. He just can't figure out who. The woman, who he assumes is that girl's mom, only opens the door a bit, like she's afraid they're about to barge in uninvited.
"Hi. I see you just moved here. I'm Bloberta. Bloberta Pu- Hymentact. We live next door," Orel's mom smiles politely. "My family and I, I mean."
The woman opens the door wider, stepping closer to Orel's mom and shaking her hand. Behind her, Orel can see the girl he saw earlier watching their interaction closely. Their eyes meet once again and she looks away from him sheepishly for a second, waving at him when she looks back up. Orel waves back, smiling.
"Oh, it's a pleasure. My name's Poppit Posabule. Good to know we live so close. We should have dinner sometime."
Orel's mom laughs, "I'll have to ask my ex-husband about it."
The woman, Poppit, frowns and takes a step back.
"Your... ex-husband?"
And just like that, all the pleasantness is gone from her voice. The woman stares at Orel's mom with a blank face, the door is once again only slightly open and Orel watches as the girl's smile turns into a frown and then he can't see her at all anymore. Even Shapey seems to recognize the tension, he crosses his arms and pouts.
"Yes," Orel's mom confirms, cautiously. "We've only recently got divorced."
"And you have children? Yet you still went through with it? What kind of mother are you?"
That makes both Orel and his mom gape at the woman, his mom offended and Orel offended on her behalf. They gasp in unison as Poppit steps away and shuts the door on their face. When they make their way back home, they're defeated and tired from that interaction. Orel is upset that he didn't get to see the girl more or maybe even ask her name.
He bets her name is just as cute as her.
In the next few days, Orel tries to catch a glimpse of the girl but she seems to be far too busy helping her family move. He sees her walk past a window every now and then but she always seems to be in the middle of something. He tries to tell his dad about the neighbors but he does that thing where he doesn't listen to a word Orel says and just nods along and says "sure" a lot.
When his dad finally catches onto the fact that they do indeed have neighbors living right next to them now, it happens when Orel finally gets to see the girl again. He's outside teaching Bartholomew to play dead and his dad is having a drink, sitting on a sun lounger on their front yard when they see the dad of the new family come out of the house.
Much like Orel's dad, he has a pipe in his mouth and he carries a sun chair outside and sits on it like he's been waiting ages to get to relax. He has a glass in his hand like he's trying to emulate Orel's dad, the biggest difference between them being he doesn't seem drunk yet and Orel's dad is already in his third drink.
Now that he's looking at him closely, the man does look very similar to his father. Their faces are nearly identical and what marks their difference is that the man is wearing a red cardigan rather than a green one and his hair is different than Orel's dad's hair, appears to be slicked back. Both Orel and his dad stop what they're doing to look at him.
"Who's the guy with the pansy face?"
Orel is about to ask his dad what's a pansy and also point out the fact that the dad of the family that just moved in actually looks just like him. Before he can make any of those mistakes, the girl he saw earlier comes out of the house holding a red ball and skips over to her dad. She bounces the ball against the grass eagerly.
"You wanna play catch with me, daddy?"
"I don't know, Christina," the man says in a pleasant tone. "Has gravity gone away?"
The girl, Christina, that's her name, seems to know where this is headed because she visibly deflates like a balloon and shakes her head.
"No, sir."
"Then don't ask me to take the place of something the lord was kind enough to provide for you," he pauses to puff on his pipe. "Now go. Shoo. Daddy has important things to do."
He doesn't really do anything but lie on his chair as Christina plays near him, smoking his pipe and occasionally taking a sip of his drink. Eventually he takes a picture out of his cardigan. Orel can't see what the picture is of but he smiles as he looks at it for a moment, which gives Orel the opening he needs to get closer.
"Oh, I get what this is," Orel's dad says when he notices him looking at Christina. "You wanna go talk to the neighbor's daughter, huh? Well, look at you, son, all grown up. I didn't expect you to notice girls yet."
"I just can't help but want to get to know her. She seems so... cute."
Orel's dad is drunk enough to be fully supportive of him for once.
"Go get her, champ."
With the man of the household distracted by the picture he's looking at, Orel slowly makes his way to their front yard. Christina is playing catch with God, like Orel does so often when his parents are too busy to play with him. Playing with Shapey is impossible as he never lets go of the ball once he has it, clutches it while screaming "mine".
"Hi, I'm Orel," he introduces himself, offering the girl his hand. "Nice to meet you!"
She smiles when she sees him, getting shy again and proving Orel's theory that she really is adorable doing anything.
"Oh, hi. I'm Christina."
Christina shakes his hand and Orel doesn't let go of it, they keep shaking hands slowly as they look at each other.
"I wanted to talk to you earlier but..."
"Yeah, I know," Christina frowns, eyes distant like he reminded her of something. "My parents say we shouldn't mix with your family. Because divorce is a sin."
Orel thinks about that for a moment, wondering if Reverend Putty ever said anything about divorce being a sin.
"I don't think that's fair. I didn't really decide I wanted my parents to get divorced, so why shouldn't we get to see each other if-"
"Christina!"
They both jump at her father's voice, the man not even bothering to get up or even look at them as he screams.
Christina winces like she's been struck, "Yes, daddy?"
"Get in the house, now," her dad commands. "Your mom and I already told you we don't want you fraternizing with those... people."
Once again, they're separated. Orel watches helplessly as Christina steps away from him and gives him one last longing look before getting back inside.
"Okay, daddy," she says as she opens the door. "Goodbye, Orel. Sorry but I can't be friends with someone whose parents are going to hell."
Orel wants to protest, to tell her his parents aren't going to hell and that it's not fair for her to say something like that. But he knows she's probably just saying what her dad wants to hear. He knows that enough that it's no surprise that Christina's dad seems to be proud of her for essentially telling Orel his family will go to hell because of the divorce.
"Good girl, Christina," he says and goes back to his drink.
With one last look in his direction, she goes back inside and Orel is left with a bad feeling in his chest. Does she really believe his parents are going to hell for getting a divorce? Part of him wants to ask his dad about it but as much as he loves his dad, Orel knows it's probably in his best interest to be dishonest with him about this.
He needs to talk to someone that isn't so involved with the situation. Not his mom and definitely not his dad. His first thought is to go talk to Reverend Putty and he vows to do so next sunday. He wonders if Christina's family will be going to church. At night, he stares out the windows in his house hoping to get a glimpse of Christina again.
At one point he sees Christina playing outside but when he thinks about joining her, he remembers the way she winced when she heard her dad yell at her. He doesn't want to get her in trouble. So he watches as she plays the exact game he had wanted to play with Shapey when her family moved in. A little redhead boy carries a watering can and pours water on a toy boat.
Seeing him makes Orel smile. Christina is so similar to him in some ways. They both seem to play similar games, their dads sort of sound similar and they both have younger siblings. In that moment, Orel thinks there's nothing more unfair than the fact that they can't see each other. He wants to talk to Christina and get to know her.
Wants to ask her how she feels about God, what's her favorite bible verse, if it's hard to look after her little brother. He wants to see what they have in common and befriend her, make her laugh and smile again. When Sunday comes along, Orel is surprised to see Christina's family outside as they leave for church.
"Lovely dress," Orel's mom says to Christina's mom but it's hard to tell if she's being sincere. "Would be great to wear to your funeral, that way you've already got the flowers and everything."
Christina's mom, Poppit, smiles like she's entirely unbothered by the hardly conceived passive aggressiveness in Orel's mom's voice.
"Thanks. I like your makeup," she points out. "Very subtle. You can hardly tell how much of a loose woman you are."
"Mine!" Shapey screams when Christina's brother tries yanking his toy car from his hand.
Both Orel and Christina move to stand between their brothers, hoping to avoid a disaster. Which means they get fairly close to each other. Even as Orel holds Shapey back and Christina struggles to take the toy off of her little brother's hands to give it back to Shapey, they stare at each other the whole time. Christina approaches Orel timidly once she gets the toy.
"Here you go. I'm sorry about Block."
"It's okay," Orel smiles at her, hoping she'll do the same. "I know what it's like. Shapey always-"
"Enough chit-chat, Christina," the girl's dad says as he pulls her away from Orel. "We're gonna be late for church."
In the car, Orel's mom complains to his dad about Poppit but Orel can tell he's hardly paying attention. Even so, he makes sure to tell Orel to stay away from that family and his mom reinforces the idea by saying they're lousy christians and that they ought to know the bible says judge not lest you be judged. Orel thinks about pointing out how his family constantly judges people but he decides against it.
They make it to church at the same time, which makes things a bit awkward but Orel obediently keeps to himself and doesn't engage in any conversation with Christina. Even though she's right there and he really wants to. He also wants to ask Reverend Putty about today's sermon but Christina and her family are introducing themselves to him.
The last thing he wants is to interfere with her first sunday service at what he considers the best church ever. Of course he's never been to other churches but that's because he's loyal to Reverend Putty, trusts him to always give the best sermons. And he doesn't want to do anything that would make Christina's parents not want to come back.
So he stands awkwardly in front of the church before they start, as Christina's mom introduces herself and her family and her husband stands next to her. He doesn't seem very interested in being here and it makes Orel fear he'll decide his family won't be attending this church, he really wants Christina to get to listen to a Reverend Putty sermon.
"I'm telling you this reverend isn't very good if he's allowed one of the most important members of his community to do something as outrageous as getting a divorce," Christina's dad grumbles to his wife, loud enough that Orel can hear him. "And you said he's the mayor? What kind of woman would divorce a mayor? What, did she get tired of getting new jewelry or something?"
Christina's mom mutters something Orel can't quite catch and he desperately hopes that whatever Reverend Putty has for today is good enough to convince the Posabules to give it a chance.
"We don't fit in this place, Poppit. Mark my words, this church is not for people like us."
Orel is caught off guard by his parents simultaneously exclaiming, "Danielle?"
He turns his head so fast he almost loses balance. Coach Stopframe is standing in front of them wearing a light yellow suit, with a cross necklace around his neck. To say Orel is shocked is an understatement. He's seen Coach Stopframe near church before but he never thought he'd ever get in. This week is just full of surprises.
"They never make these loose enough down south."
"Oh," Orel's mom says, eyes wide.
He supposes it makes sense for her to be so shocked, he also hadn't expected seeing Coach Stopframe here. But it's exciting!
"Bought these in Argentina," Coach Stopframe says as he gestures to his suit. "Heh heh heh."
For a moment, everyone seems caught up on his sudden appearance. Coach Stopframe struts after winking and blowing someone a kiss, Orel's not sure who that was directed to but it was most likely a joke. He knows Coach Stopframe enough to know he can make jokes that don't make a lot of sense sometimes. He doesn't think too hard about it.
"Oh, what do we have here?" Coach Stopframe asks as he stops in front of Christina's family. "Am I seeing double?"
Orel laughs at that, as Coach Stopframe looks at Christina's dad and then at his dad, suggesting they look the same.
"They're the Posabules, Coach Stopframe!" Orel cheerfully informs him. "They just moved here."
"Art Posabule," Christina's dad interjects, seemingly annoyed that Orel got to introduce his family before him. "And this is my wife, Poppit."
Coach Stopframe grins, offering his hand for Christina's mom to shake but instead of shaking it once she gives him her hand, he kisses it.
"Well, it's a pleasure."
Orel can't help but wince a bit. He thought having Coach Stopframe at church could be a good thing, a sign that even the least interested in God would be happy to attend a Sunday service but if he keeps doing things like that, it'll drive Christina's family away. What if her dad gets too bothered by another man kissing his wife's hand and decides to never come here again?
Christina's mom doesn't seem to mind the attention, she giggles and uses her free hand to cover her mouth.
"The pleasure's all mine," she says.
Orel gets ready for the disaster that's about to happen, seeing even Christina flinch when her dad opens his mouth to say something. But wisely enough, in a way he didn't seem to be when he decided to kiss the back of Poppit's hand, Coach Stopframe quickly takes Art's own hand in his own and kisses it the same way he did with his wife.
"Art, huh? Interesting name."
This seems to break Christina's dad as he stares with his mouth half open, unable to come up with a response.
"Nice to meet you, pal."
And just like that, Coach Stopframe turns to get inside and they stand there awkwardly once he's gone. Reverend Putty seems bothered by his appearance, though Orel can't understand why he wouldn't want more people listening to his sermons. Christina seems confused and she's even cuter when she's confused, Orel notes.
"What was that about?" Orel hears his dad ask no one in particular.
"Y-You know, this church might be a good fit for us after all," Art Posabule says, red in the face.
His wife laughs at that, a hollow sound. They finally get inside after a long moment of uncomfortable silence and Orel tries not to make it obvious that he's staring at Christina the whole time but she catches his eye a couple times, always smiling when she notices him. To the point that her mom notices and pinches her to get her to pay attention.
Orel tries to make his way to Christina once the sermon's done but her mother is on high alert, immediately noticing him and nudging Christina's dad to get him to do something. Art takes Christina by the arm and they leave as soon as they can, Shapey sticking his tongue out to Christina's little brother as they go. It makes Orel frustrated, how this is going.
He knocks on Reverend Putty's door for advice as his mom is chatting with some friends. Well, he doesn't know if they're her friends but they're other women at church. Married women. Orel gulps as Reverend Putty tells him to come in. He seems tired and Orel feels bad for interrupting his busy schedule with his silly questioning.
"Hey, Orel," Reverend Putty says, voice monotone. "What a surprise."
"Reverend Putty, I agree with what you said-"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," the reverend rolls his eyes. "I know you do. Get to the point."
Reverend Putty seemed unusually annoyed today, even as he gave his sermon about how sometimes God's word can include some contradictory statements. Orel is ashamed to admit he wasn't actually paying that much attention. He heard something about male nipples but he was too busy staring at Christina.
Maybe that's why it's for the best that they don't see each other, because it could take his attention away from God. Golly, the last thing Orel wants is for God to feel betrayed by him. But he really likes Christina. He wonders if Reverend Putty's sour mood comes from his lack of attention but surely the reverend wasn't concerned about him in particular.
In fact, what seemed to really bother him the whole time was Coach Stopframe being there. Orel can't quite understand why. He figured Reverend Putty of all people should be happy he got to spread the lord's message to one more soul in this town. But he seems upset now, his brow furrowed as he stares at his coffee mug.
"Reverend Putty," Orel starts, feeling slightly embarrassed to be talking about this. "What do you do when you really like someone but... you can't be seen with them?"
This catches the reverend by surprise and Orel as well. He got there thinking about asking Reverend Putty if the divorce means his parents are going to hell but this just came out. He just couldn't stop thinking about Christina. Reverend Putty stands up for a moment and looks around frantically, like he's scared someone will overhear their conversation.
"What did Stopframe tell you? Because I told him I didn't know what he meant when he said 'special massage', how was I supposed to know-"
"Gosh, Coach Stopframe didn't tell me anything. I didn't even know he was planning on going to church. But I'm glad he did!"
Reverend Putty narrows his gaze, "Right."
"It's just," Orel starts, avoiding the reverend's gaze as he speaks. "The new family that just moved in. They have a daughter who seems to be my age. Her name is Christina."
"Ah, I see. Someone's got a little crush, is that it?"
Orel blushes.
"I just think she's really cute and I'd like to get to know her better but," he hesitates, taking a deep breath. "Her family doesn't want her hanging around me. They think my parents are going to hell because of their divorce. I was just wondering... do you think they're right?"
Reverend Putty seems to think about it for a moment, ultimately sighing heavily like he's about to explain something important. Orel wishes he could take some notes but he was so distracted today, thinking about Christina and how cute she sounds when she laughs that he didn't remember to get his notepad for church notes.
"Well, that's a complicated question. Some christians believe divorce is a sin and that God would never allow a union made in his name to be broken off for any reason. But others say that it's not that big of a deal. Sure, you shouldn't marry someone if you're not willing to spend your entire life with them but... people change. Priorities change and sometimes you don't know what you're agreeing to when you choose to get married. It's okay to make a mistake, God forgives those. But to stay together forever even after realizing it's not working out for anyone? That's just dumb."
Orel blinks in surprise. He hadn't thought of it that way but now that he has that perspective, it's easy to see it makes sense. His parents weren't happy together. Sure, they may not seem happy even apart but at least they don't fight as much anymore. Orel can't imagine what it'd be like to marry someone, realize you don't love them as much as you thought you did and still have to stay.
"That's really wise, Reverend Putty," he says, feeling like a weight has been lifted off his back. "But... what do I do to convince Christina's family to let us see each other?"
"Like I said, some christians have their own beliefs. They have their own way to honor God's wishes. But you have to remember that at the end of the day, the differences don't matter. All that matters is we're all..."
"Children of God?" Orel suggests.
Reverend Putty gives him a blank stare, "Not catholic, Orel. All that matters is we're not catholic."
When Orel gets back home, he has a whole new perspective on things. Part of him feared Reverend Putty would tell him his parents will go to hell for the divorce so it's a great relief to know that's not necessarily the case. He tells himself all he needs to do is convince his parents to work things out with Art and Poppit Posabule.
That way he has a chance of getting to know Christina.