Chapter 7: The Williams House

Julie called on Wednesday.

“Two couples couldn’t make it Saturday,” she said. “Kate and Donnie Williams, and Jacob and Jeri Christ. They want to meet you. Cookout at the Williams’ place this weekend. They’ve got a pool and a hot tub. You in?”

Marti didn’t need to check with Jeff. “We’ll be there.”

They arrived a little after four. The Williams house sat on a quiet street lined with mature trees. A tall privacy fence enclosed the backyard just like the Hendersons’. Kate met them at the gate in a simple sundress, smiling. Donnie was already at the grill.

Introductions moved easily around the picnic table. Jeff said he was a plumber. Marti said she worked as a nurse at the hospital in the next town over. Julie and Bill mentioned the bookstore they owned downtown. Kate laughed and said she stayed home with their kids, now grown. Donnie, solid and graying at the temples, added that he was superintendent of the local school district. Jacob and Jeri Christ arrived a few minutes later. Both worked as chaplains for different hospice organizations. Jeri’s handshake was warm. Jacob’s was firm. They looked exactly like the kind of couple who sat near the front at community events.

Hamburgers and hot dogs came off the grill. There were baked beans, potato salad, and a big pitcher of sweet tea sweating on the table. Conversation stayed light—work, the heat, how long everyone had lived in the area. No one mentioned church. No one needed to.

As the sun dropped, people drifted toward the pool and the hot tub. Suits came off without ceremony once the fence gate was latched. Kate slipped out of her dress and into the water naked. Jeri followed. Marti untied her bikini and let it drop on a chair. Jeff’s trunks joined the pile. Within minutes everyone was bare.