“Who is Believe?” he asks.
She turns away from the window to look at him, but his eyes are back on the road.
“Huh?”
“Believe. Who’s Believe?’”
“Is this like a knock-knock joke?”
“The sign we just passed. It says Jesus Saved Believe.”
Whenever they go to the supermarket, they pass the sign.
It’s hand-painted. Standing on the side of the road, past the bridge.
The letters are a combination of cursive and block.
Wine red and dark blue.
“I just wanna know who Believe is. Why didn’t Jesus save me? Or you? Why is Believe so special? First, they’re saved and then get a huge sign?”
He sounds like he’s actually grumbling. “What kind of name is Believe anyway? Maybe it’s Biblical?”
Unable to tell if he’s serious, she takes in his curly hair, then his t-shirt. It looks worn but is only a few months old, made by a high-end Japanese designer he’s recently become enchanted with. Too naïve to see when he’s being fleeced. Maybe he really doesn’t get the sign.
She weighs her options. Explain the sign, but sound patronizing. Or — not tell him. And if on the off chance he really doesn’t get it, then he’ll rest in that oblivion till he figures it out.
She wishes she could just go back to gazing out the window. Wishes she’d never agreed to go grocery shopping. Wishes he’d never seen the sign. Because now she can’t stop thinking about it.
She desperately wants to correct him. But she knows his intelligence. And she’ll only end up feeling stupid. Probably what he wants, she thinks cynically.
No! She’ll call his bluff. She won’t say anything. Believe won’t be saved by her, only by Jesus.
They near a McDonald’s. The smell of oil and fried food wafts into the car. A large sign stands proudly in their parking lot. Spelled out with black block letters, it reads, WE THANK ALL WHO SERVED HOT BREAK ASTS.
“Maybe everyone waits for Black Friday sales to stock up on punctuation.” He says this like an afterthought.
“And the letter F.”
350-word Story Challenge – Served and Saved is 349 words
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