The next week we started to put together what was left of what you would call a marriage. We started sitting down to plan our grocery list, what chores or responsibilities each of us would hold, when we would begin starting a family, you know all that stuff. It seemed like we were finally starting to see the light of day, that is, until that next Sunday rolled around.  We had decided that since our honeymoon started off on the wrong foot, that we would take the weekend to make up for it. We had a nice dinner on Saturday and decided that we would enjoy time with a couple of our friends on Sunday.  So basically the translation was this…..we were not going to Church on Sunday.  Our friends Alec and Margarite took Greg and I to a nice festival on the north side of Chicago early Sunday morning.  We then went to a see a movie, and then decided to head back to our place before going out to dinner. While we were there entertaining our friends we heard a loud bang at the back door. I assumed that it was maybe one of the neighbor’s doors because the way the homes were so close together you could hear everything going on outside. Then came two more loud thrusts at the door.  Who could that be? I wondered. We weren’t expecting anyone. Greg went to see who was at the back door. At that moment all I could hear was yelling and screaming. It was Greg’s aunt Rose and she was yelling at him because he missed Church service.  Now here is where I need to give you a little background.  Greg’s Church has about all of 20 (maybe 30 if you include the kids) members and the majority of those are family.  Greg and his brother play the drums for the Church. They have a musical section that comprises an organ and a drum set. Greg’s other aunt, Betty, is the Pastor. Greg’s mother Regina and his aunt Rose, are the finance and administrative staff. Greg’s cousins are the ushers, the choir director, the choir, the missionaries, the Sunday school teachers….well, you get the point. So anyway, here Aunt Rose is yelling at Greg and calling him a heathen and a whore monger for missing God. The last time I checked God was omnipresent but I guess he had an important appointment on this particular Sunday where he rsvp’d to be only at their Church.  She told him that he also had a part of the drum set and the reason that she stopped by was to get it since he was now a married man going to hell in a hand basket.  He held his head down and went to retrieve the part that she had come for. I made eye contact with Margarite and Alec and they had looks of embarrassment and pity on their faces. I apologized and tried to explain how their family works but I think it was all in vain. Once aunt Rose left, Margarite said that she wouldn’t have taken that and she would have told her that the only way she was going to hell is if she went there first. Alec patted Greg on the back and told him that it was okay. He said he understood that family can be like that sometimes. I started thinking to myself, then sometimes must come every day.

I looked at Greg and I could tell that this incident had taken a toll on what little was left of his manhood.  He smiled at me and said, Rebecca, things will get better, I promise.