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The building may have stood for a very long time, but its congregation and the people who ran it had all come and gone several times in just her lifetime.
    The current pastor, a man in his mid-thirties, was new to her. She listened to him talk about her parents and preach his side-sermon and could see why the building was packed. He was a very good speaker. He kept the crowd entertained and added some emotion into what he said about her parents, and before she knew it, it was her turn to climb the stairs and stand in front of the microphone.
    She’d toiled over her speech since being asked to speak a few days ago. What should she say? That she was grateful she’d escaped her parents’ clutches years ago? That she believed her mother and father had been some of the worst parents known to man? Should she talk about the hours she’d hidden from them in fear? Or all the things she had to keep from them because of the punishment they would inflict or the methods they used in the name of God to cleanse her from the evil that had gripped her?
    Taking a deep breath, she focused on the back of the room and started her planned speech about how they had impacted the lives of the people in town. How they had both been raised in Hidden Creek, met in grade school, fallen in love in middle school, gone on to marry shortly after high school, and settled down into their lives until the night they were tragically ripped from this earth.
    When she sat back down, she noticed that a few more eyes in the audience were wet and realized that she’d done her duty as a daughter. She felt a jolt travel up her back and turned slightly as the pastor was finishing up his speech. When she noticed Jessie step in the back door, still in her uniform from the Coffee Corner, she felt a wave of relief flood over her. One person she could trust was now in her corner.
    Jessie made her way towards Xtina after everyone stood up and started talking quietly.
    “You okay, hun?” Jess started to touch her arm, but then held back.
    “Yes, much better now that it’s over.”
    “Sorry I couldn’t make it to hear you talk.”
    Xtina almost laughed, but then glanced around the room and the somber people surrounding them. “I took it almost word for word from my mother’s journal I found last night.”
    “Oh?” Jess sidestepped to allow an older couple to walk by.
    “Later.” Xtina tucked her arms into her jacket and hugged it tight. She hated this part. The part where she was supposed to stand by the door and shake hands with everyone while they sniffled and told her how great her parents were. “Stay with me?” Her eyes must have looked panicked because Jessie reached over and touched her arm.
    “Sure.” She dropped her arm quickly enough that Xtina felt nothing but love from her friend.
    A little over an hour later, Xtina’s head felt like it was going to explode. Her body needed a recharge and her mind needed a break. But there was a string of cars following her down the bumpy lane to her home and she knew no such break would happen for a few more hours.
    The fact that Jessie’s little blue car was right behind hers did cheer her up some. Then, when she pulled into the driveway, she noticed Mike standing on the front porch with a large brown paper bag in his hands. She couldn’t stop the smile or the feeling that with him and Jess by her side, the next few hours would fly by.
    “Hey,” he said as she climbed the stairs towards him.
    “Hi.” She stopped right in front of him. He looked even better than last night and this morning at the coffee shop. He’d changed into dark slacks and a dark blue button-up shirt and had a black tie on. His dark hair was combed back and he’d shaved. She could smell the fresh scent of his aftershave, which almost caused her knees to buckle when he leaned closer to her.
    “You look tired.” His free hand reached out and took her elbow. “Are you sure you’re up for this?”
    It still jolted her to feel his