Autumn Leaves Read Online Free PDF Page A

know they had somewhere to turn. Even outside the family.
    “It’s boring,” Dina moaned. “I’m sorry, but that’s what it is.”
    “Well, it’s just an hour of your time. Maybe someday you can see a reason why you’d spare it.”
    “Today, I don’t.”
    “Come on, that’s—”
    “It’s fine,” David intervened. “Dina, you don’t like coming to church. I get it. Maybe next time? If you’re not going, I guess you could make time to take care of Pebbles?”
    “Fine!” Dina made a face, but she didn’t protest. Pebbles, the guinea pig, belonged to Maggie, but since he was the only pet in the house, the girls kind of shared him.
    Rebecca shook her head at David, stifling a smile. Church or Pebbles. There was some choice.
    “All right. We’re good then. Let’s go.”
    Rebecca hadn’t expected to see Callie in church, but there she was in the second to last row, wearing a white cardigan over a flowery dress. She was smiling in greeting as Rebecca and David walked by with Maggie who immediately sought out the LaRue family. Somehow, knowing she was there made Rebecca nervous. She was aware how completely irrational this was. Callie could take care of herself. She didn’t need some pretend big sister to protect her. If she wanted to tell, or not tell, if she wanted to go to church on Sundays like everybody else did, never mind Dina Lowman...It was none of Rebecca’s business.
    What did you think, that lesbians can’t believe in God? Truth be told, she’d never given that question any thought whatsoever.
    Rebecca assumed she would stumble through a whole lot more awkward moments. There was a curiosity. She just couldn’t leave it be. In the end, everything had to make sense, like the code of a website. Trying to read Callie Bryan was turning out to be much harder, but just as intriguing. Not at all anything she should be thinking about during service.
    “I see you’re surprised.” Callie had waited for them outside, at a distance from the other churchgoers who had gathered in small groups. “I’ve always been fascinated by places of spirituality. You can easily tell who goes there because they believe, or who wants to be seen pretending to believe.”
    “Wow, that’s some quick analysis.”
    “I’m a writer,” Callie reminded her. “Observing people is part of the deal.”
    “So you just came to spy on people, and they’re all going to end up in your next novel?”
    “Not all of them, just...Come on. Rebecca.”
    The knee-jerk reaction would be to just leave and wallow in her again, very much irrational disappointment. It was no way to get answers, so Rebecca stayed.
    “I came here because it’s what you do,” Callie said softly. “I’m trying to blend in. I’ll also have to take a good look at my own spirituality, because I pretty much lost it some time ago. Is that any better?”
    Rebecca felt very self-conscious all of a sudden. “Are you still coming to dinner if I promise to be less of the judgmental bitch from the neighborhood?”
    “Hey.” Callie lightly slapped her arm. “Don’t talk about my friend that way. Of course I’ll come. I can’t wait.”
    “Okay. Good. I’ll see you then.”
    Rebecca watched her walk away until a voice behind her made her jump.
    “David says your new neighbor is coming to dinner,” Betty said. “A writer, huh? Did you check out any of her books yet?”
    “Sorry, Betty, I haven’t had a lot of time to read lately.”
    Which was half the truth, but it had to do for now.
    * * * *
    Much to the surprise of everyone present at their little dinner party, Callie knew some sports statistics David was interested in. She was also the only guest who had dressed up for the occasion, wearing an emerald-green short dress with a rather plunging neckline. Across the table, Betty gave Rebecca a meaningful look that nearly made her laugh. She had to admit, though, knowing for a fact that Callie wasn’t really interested in men did help. Not that