Bab 31: Chapter 31

“Alan, dear,” his mother said, rising from her seat, “you remember Reverend Blakely?”

The reverend also rose, came around the table and extended a hand to Alan.

Alan took the proffered hand without saying a word. There was an awkward silence.

“Um…” Alan’s mother stammered. “I thought you might like to talk with the reverend about your little problem.”

Alan stared at her. Then he looked at the reverend, who was regarding him with a sympathetic expression, the kind portrayed in movies when a man of the cloth is visiting the bereaved or the terminally ill.

“I don’t have a problem,” Alan said, feeling he had been ambushed.

“Now, son,” Reverend Blakely intoned solemnly. “Denial…well, denial only makes it harder to expel the demons. Gives them reason to believe they are welcome.”

“What?”