Paige Rewritten by Erynn Mangum

times when I call her completely homesick for her cooking, and each time it turns out terrible. I’ve kind of decided that she spits in it, since my mother’s saliva is the only thing missing from mine.
    Natalie, though, also makes an incredible pot roast. Very similar to my mom’s. Which is probably why we became such good friends so quickly.
    â€œI will be there.”
    â€œGood. See you, love,” she says, balancing the baby, the diaper bag, and her Bible as she leaves the sanctuary.
    Layla and Peter come skirting in right as the band starts playing. Layla smiles at me, brown eyes sparkling, hair bouncy, and hugs me as she slides by. “Hi, Paige!” Peter smiles slightly at me as he slides past, wearing jeans and a button-up shirt, his short dark hair obviously freshly cut.
    Layla is the happiest person I know. I am fairly convinced it could be raining teacup saucers outside, shattering everyone’s windows and eardrums, and Layla would still be declaring that it was the most beautiful day and her best day ever.
    It can be an annoying trait, especially when I am PMSing. Which I’m not today. That I know of anyway.
    Halfway through the second song, Tyler shows up and smiles at me as he sets his Bible on the aisle seat I’d saved for him. “Right on time,” he whispers and I shake my head.
    Tyler is late 90 percent of the time. The other 10 percent he shaves so close to the time that he doesn’t need to use a razor the rest of the week.
    I am on the other extreme. I really like being early. I don’t like the getting up and leaving my apartment early, but I do like being on time. My father taught me well. My mother made us both crazy my entire living-at-home life. “I’ll be right there, go get in the car” was the code phrase for “I’ve still got probably twenty minutes in the house.”
    To this day, I have no idea what would take her so long to get ready to go.
    We finish singing, Pastor Louis preaches on 1 John chapter one and says we are going to be starting a new series. “I haven’t ever preached through this book and I’m very excited to do so. If you are struggling with how to love your family or your friends, if you are curious how to live in this world without becoming tainted by it, if you are wanting to know how much God loves you, then keep coming back. It will be a great sermon series.”
    I bite the inside of my cheek and further damage those nerves when Pastor Louis mentions “love your family.”
    Great.
    Never once have I been able to go to church and sit here and just half listen to the sermon since it doesn’t apply to me. Just once I’d like to go to church and hear a message on not kicking puppies or something like that.
    Then I could just mindlessly listen, agree that is a bad thing, and never do it.
    Not that I would anyway.
    The band plays another two songs and then dismisses us. Tyler turns to look at me, stretching. “Good morning.”
    â€œHi.”
    â€œHello, Late One,” Layla says around me to Tyler. “Your alarm clock break again?”
    â€œI was early!” Tyler protests. “I didn’t even know they did music before the sermon.”
    I laugh. He’s kidding. He’s usually here right around when the band moves onto the stage.
    â€œSo where are we going today?” Layla asks.
    She means for lunch, because the four of us have gone out for the last four weeks in a row. It works as long as I budget the money for lunch into my groceries for the week.
    Although Tyler has paid for me the last two times.
    I’ve felt horribly guilty both times, seeing as how we aren’t official and we certainly weren’t on a date then.
    Tyler shrugs. “There’s that new place just up the street. The Store?”
    â€œThe Market.” Layla nods. “I was going to suggest that. One of my boss’s clients said that it’s the