“Because it’s different water. The old water is washed away. Rivers are changing all the time.”
“Have you heard of the River Jordan? Did you know that’s where Jesus was baptized?”
“Yes, I’ve heard that.”
“What church do you go to?”
“We don’t really go that much. Which church do you go to?” I asked boldly, trying to keep my cool. Everyone in Bellin was tied to one church or another—it would be unthinkable not to have a connection to one. Knowing which church a person went to was like knowing their whole family and all their friends. It was both a reasonable, general question, and the keys to the castle at once. It revealed everything.
“Well, I’m Baptist, of course.” There were four Baptist churches in Bellin, all of which were defined by another qualifying name, which she neglected
