Mee-Kyong wrapped Benjamin’s sweatshirt around her shoulders, hugged her knees, and prayed to whatever deity might exist the Sterns wouldn’t follow her. Benjamin sat down next to her on the bench, keeping a considerable distance between them. “Want to tell me what happened?”
Mee-Kyong glared at her bare toes, the cold bite of winter stinging her wet skin. “I couldn’t do it,” she whispered.
“The baptism?”
She nodded. “I thought I was ready. But I was there in that huge tub, and he was about to dunk me ...” She glanced around and heard Mrs. Stern calling her name. Please let them just leave me in peace.
Benjamin frowned and adjusted the sweatshirt so it covered a little more of her shoulders. “Nobody made you.”
Mee-Kyong shook her head and rocked slowly back and forth on the bench. “It
