Chapter 7: Chapter Seven

Raine came downstairs, talking on the phone, just in time to see Meira and the twins heading out, all dressed in their Sunday best. He frowned, not recalling Meira mentioning anything the night before about plans for today.

"Meira?" he called out, ending his phone conversation. "Where are you going?"

"Good morning," Meira greeted him. "We're going to church. It's Sunday."

"Church," he repeated, surprised.

"Yes... church." Meira gave him a knowing smile. "You say it like it's a foreign word."

She had a point. He couldn't remember the last time he’d stepped foot in a church—maybe his own baptism as a baby?

"Are you okay, Uncle Raine?" Gabe asked, concerned.

"I'm fine. I'll go with you to church," Raine said.

"You want to come with us? You don’t have to if you don’t want to..."

"I want to," he insisted. "Wait for me." He rushed back upstairs, feeling an urgency he couldn’t quite explain.

He couldn’t bear the thought of them being out of his sight, not even for an hour. Perhaps it was fear that Richard would come back and take them away, though they'd only been in his home for a little over a day, it already felt like they'd been with him forever.

Eight minutes later, Raine reappeared, dressed in a sky-blue suit, white shirt, and red tie, which hung loose, still needing to be knotted. He'd never dressed so quickly in his life.

"Let’s go," he announced.

Meira chuckled, shaking her head as she gestured toward his tie. "Let me help you with this."

"Thanks," he muttered.

"You smell nice, Mr. Cruz," Meira whispered as she straightened his tie.

"Are you flirting with me, Miss Daniels?" Raine teased, smirking.

“There’s no harm in flirting with a gorgeous man,” Meira shot back.

“Not unless the man wants to sleep with you so badly,” he replied huskily, “and he has to endure a bad case of blue balls.”

Meira blushed. “All done.” She stepped back, clearing her throat, realizing how breathless she sounded. “We’ll be late.”

"Do you have a Bible, Uncle Raine?" Gabi asked.

"Uh... no. I’ll share your mom’s," Raine said.

"Okay," the twins chorused, walking ahead.

"You look stunning, by the way," Raine complimented Meira.

"You don’t look bad yourself, Raine." She smiled. "Maybe you should find a woman to help with your blue balls."

“The only woman who can help me isn’t available right now,” he quipped with a grin.

“Are you really that uncomfortable?” Meira looked at him with concern.

“If I say yes, will you help me?” He looked at her hopefully.

“No,” she replied, deadpan.

"That's cold," he said, feigning a wounded expression.

Meira laughed, taking his hand and pulling him along. "We’ll be late."

"Fine," he grumbled, frowning.

When they stepped outside, they found the children waiting impatiently.

"Are you going out, sir?" Raine’s driver hurried over.

"Yes, we're all going to church. Bring the car around," Raine instructed.

"Right away, sir." The driver hurried off to carry out the order.

A minute later, the car pulled up in front of the twins, and the driver stepped out to open the back door for them. They climbed in without hesitation.

"I'll drive, Rogers," Raine said, holding out his hand for the keys. "Take the day off."

"Are you sure, sir?" Rogers asked, hesitantly placing the keys in his palm.

"This isn't the first time I've gone out alone. I'll be fine," Raine assured him.

"Alright, sir," Rogers replied.

Meira slid into the car as Raine walked around the front, got in, started the engine, waved to Rogers, and drove off.

"Just so you're not caught off guard when we get to church, Uncle Raine," Gabe spoke up from the backseat, "our church is predominantly African, so people might be shocked to see you. They’ll want to touch you and stuff, but don't get irritated."

"Okay, thanks for the warning," Raine said with a smile, catching Gabe’s eyes in the rearview mirror.

Gabe had been spot on about the church members. They were indeed surprised to see Raine, and most of them, especially the women, took their time shaking his hand and chatting with him after the service.

"It’s been a while since I last saw Richard, Meira," the pastor’s wife remarked. "Did he travel?"

"Yes, ma'am," Meira nodded. "He won’t be back for a while. He’s on a business trip."

"I see," the woman responded. "And what about Angela?"

"Angela?" Meira cleared her throat. "She’s fine. She went to visit her mother."

"Did she now? I spoke with her mother yesterday, and she mentioned Angela had traveled out of the country with her children."

"Oh," Meira squeaked, forcing a smile. "Well, Angela only told me she was visiting her mom."

"You should bring that handsome young man next Sunday," the woman suggested, glancing toward Raine, who was chatting with Stella in the distance.

"I will," Meira quickly agreed. "Um, excuse me." She hurried away, her mind spinning, and soon found Raine talking to Stella. Inwardly, she groaned.

"Raine, are you ready to leave? Hi, Stella," she greeted.

"Yeah. Where are the kids?" Raine asked, glancing around. "It was nice talking to you, Stella."

"Likewise, Mr. Cruz," Stella smiled at him, then at Meira with a look she couldn’t quite place, and walked away.

"I don’t like her," Raine muttered once she was out of earshot.

"Me neither."

"You look upset. Are you okay?" Raine asked, his voice filled with concern. "Did someone say something?"

"No, I’m fine," Meira said quickly. "Let’s find the kids and get out of here." She hurried off, clearly rattled.

Raine wondered what had caused her distress, but chose not to push her on it. Together, they searched for the twins and eventually found them playing with other kids. Meira called them over, but they were reluctant to leave, making her sigh.

"If we leave now, we can go watch a movie at the cinema," Raine suggested.

"Will there be popcorn?" Gabi asked, perking up.

"Lots of it."

"Okay, let’s go!" Gabi exclaimed, grabbing her brother's hand and dragging him along.

"We’re not really going to the cinema, are we?" Meira asked Raine, raising an eyebrow.

"We are," Raine replied, frowning slightly. "You don’t want to? We can just—"

"It’s fine," Meira cut in. "It’s been ages since I went to the cinema. I’ll check what movies are showing today."

"Okay. Here, use my phone." He handed it to her.

"Thanks," she said, but when she turned it on, she was startled to see her picture as his screensaver. Her eyes snapped up to him.

"Emeliano Giovanni Brillantes, why is my picture on your phone as your screensaver?" she demanded, her voice a mix of surprise and amusement. "I haven’t worn this dress in years!"

"Uh... I've been meaning to change that," Raine mumbled, his tone casual.

"This was the dress I wore to your company’s Christmas party nine years ago," Meira said, her expression a mix of surprise and confusion. "Is there something I should know?"

"Like what?" Raine asked, feigning ignorance.

"Why my picture is on your phone, for starters," she snapped.

"And that’s a big deal?"

"Of course, it is!" she exclaimed.

"Can we go already?!" Gabi shouted from a distance, interrupting them.

"This conversation isn't over," Meira muttered, slapping his phone against his chest before walking away.

"Don’t be mad," Raine groaned as he followed her.

Meira didn’t speak to him again until they got home, and after putting the twins to bed—both of whom had fallen asleep in the car.

"I love you, Uncle Raine," Gabi whispered sleepily as he tucked her in and covered her with a blanket.

"I love you too, princess," he replied softly, kissing her forehead. He turned off the lights and left the room, finding Meira waiting for him in the hallway.

"Can we talk now?" she asked.

"If you're going to get mad at me, I'd rather not," Raine replied.

"I'm not mad at you," Meira sighed. "I was just... The pastor's wife asked me about Richard and Angela. She caught me off guard, and I don’t think she believed me when I said I didn’t know Angela had left the country."

"I don't like your church," Raine said bluntly.

"Do you like anything?" she chuckled.

"I like you," Raine smirked and started to walk away.

Meira’s heart skipped a beat as she watched him leave, then she huffed and followed him.

"As a friend, right?" she called after him, barging into his bedroom.

"You like barging into rooms with me, don’t you, Meira?" Raine asked with a teasing grin. "If I don’t answer you now, will you follow me into the bathroom?"

"Don’t push your luck," she scowled. "Just tell me what I want to know."

"There’s nothing to tell," he said nonchalantly, shrugging out of his shirt. He smirked when he heard her sharp intake of breath. "It shouldn’t be a big deal that I have your picture as my screensaver."

"You only do that for someone you love, like a wife or a girlfriend, and I’m neither," she objected. "Please, take it down."

"Okay, I have a better one anyway."

"Raine!" she whined.

"Unless you want to see me naked, Meira, I suggest you leave," he said as he began unbuckling his belt.

"You’re so...!" she sputtered, making a mock-strangling motion with her hands before turning and storming out of the room.

"I love you too, Meira," he muttered with a smile before heading to the bathroom.