COMING 7/7/2020
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Snippet from Jessica CHrist Book 7
Unedited and subject to change.
April 1st, 22 AGC
Jesus rotated the ladle, allowing the tomato soup to dribble into the homeless man’s bowl. “Peace be with you, brother.”
The man shifted his shoulders absentmindedly and glared from the surface of the soup back up to the face of God’s only begotten son. “This smells like shit.”
“Be nice to him,” Jessica snapped. “It’s his birthday.”
The man turned unfocused eyes on Jessica with a skepticism that made her, for a fleeting instant, doubt her own existence. “I ain’t no April fool.” He glared at Jesus. “But you look like one.”
Jesus threw his head back, his short blond hair reflecting glints of the soup kitchen’s harsh fluorescent light. “It’s true, my brother! I am quite the fool!” As the man moved farther down the line, Jesus turned to his sister. “See? Nothing so humbling as serving others.”
She decided not to debate with him since it was, after all, his birthday. Had it not been, she wouldn’t have even come along with him. Instead, she would have stayed on the couch and continued in vain to brainstorm ways to turn her Father into a woman.
“It’s your birthday?” asked the next person in line as Jessica handed her a small dinner roll across the serving table.
Jesus grinned. “It is.”
“Not an April Fool’s joke?” the woman asked hesitantly. She was frighteningly thin from head to toe with the exception of a soft ring of bulk around her middle. Jessica didn’t get the feeling she was a demon, though. In fact, she felt immensely sorry for the woman and couldn’t put her finger on why.
Well, other than the homelessness.
I should be homeless right now.
“Not a joke!” Jesus declared. “I was born on this day, give or take a few due to the switch from Julian to Gregorian, two thousand and—”
“Twenty-nine years ago,” Jessica cut in.
While the woman appeared quite aware that she’d missed out on something, she nodded, forced a grin, and wished Jesus a proper happy birthday.
“I have to say,” he began once the line moved again, “it’s much better to celebrate in the spring. Nicer weather. And the fact that it’s on the most joyous of modern holidays only makes it even more glorious!”
Jessica hated April Fool’s day almost as much as she hated her own birthday. And that was true even before Jesus came around and claimed it as his birthday.
“When do you think my birthday will be celebrated centuries from now?” she asked.
Jesus whipped his head around, his lips slightly parted, eyes wide. “Are you telling me that you’re finally thinking about your legacy through the ages?”
“I don’t really have a choice, do I?” She grunted. “Don’t get all worked up about it. It was just a simple question.”
Nodding thoughtfully, Jesus said, “I suppose your birthday will be celebrated on a day that’s very important to the religious practices of the people your followers want to overpower.”
She cringed. “Yeah, that’s about what I was thinking too. Anyway, I hope it’s in the fall. I like the fall.”
“Pride before the fall…” Jesus muttered.
Jessica leaned closer. “What?”
“Huh? Oh, nothing. Just something Jeremy and I were discussing. Austin Pride Week. I asked him when it happened, and he said it was sometime at the end of summer. I haven’t been, but is sounds fantastic.”