There was no point in staying any longer at that table with Brandon.
He was so quick to judge, but she did try to remember that he wanted to be called Phoenix, even though it was embarrassing. Because that’s what he wanted, because Phoenix was the name that best reflected his nature, she was trying. Did she love it? Not one bit. Not one bit, but she was trying.
Father Joe counselled her that each and every person is a sinner in need of God’s grace, so who was she to presume that one cross was greater than another? She was to pull him closer and she was to pray for him and she was to sacrifice for him. Which is exactly why she’d left the table without really giving Brandon a piece of her mind. And it’s why she called him by his stupid name, too.
Because she was doing her best. And she h
