Not-So-Lovey Dovey
It had been a beautiful service, of course. It was every week, even though Ruth had always had trouble getting used to going alone. Team Morgenstern did every service together. Here... she couldn't even bring Jay.

She'd turned down joining a covenant group at the church -- again -- because "Oh, you know, between school and work and all, there just isn't enough time." Plus the covenant group met during the time she'd allotted for helping Jay study. Which sometimes seemed to be more than Jay had alotted for studying.

But it had been a beautiful service, of course. A classic sermon, too, the prodigal son story. Her dad had done that one, too. Including reminding the congregation of the fact that the prodigal son's mistakes aren't the point of the story at all. ...It's the older brother who can't get over them. It's the older brother who has to learn that it isn't about keeping score and who screwed up and who didn't and who got the fatted calf party and who never even got that goat he wanted. It's about how families should come together. Including the family of all life in its great interconnected web.

Which is a very important and beautiful message, that she's always tried to make a point of studying carefully. Because she knows herself, and knows its one of the hard ones for her. And so she's trying hard today ... because sometimes people fall. And when they fall, the job is to get them back up on their feet and throw a figurative fatted-calf party because it's so good to have them back up on their feet. Until they fall again. ...and why didn't the older brother ever get his own goat? He followed all the rules.

It had been a beautiful service, but Ruth finds herself scowling coldly as she gets back.