Crystal

“Amen,” you say as you finish praying and get up to see that basically everyone has already left the sanctuary. You smile to yourself. You like being the last one to leave, taking time to pray after the service is finally over, the most peaceful part of every week for you.

You get up and head to the door where the pastor has just released the one other congregant besides you. “That was a wonderful sermon,” you say as you reach him, smiling from ear to ear. It has been a true blessing to you and you genuinely are thankful for it.

“Thank you, Crystal. I always appreciate hearing form the newest members of our church.” He paused briefly before continuing. “We do need to have a little talk, however. We can go to my office if that’d be more comfortable for you.”

Looking around, you see that there is no one really within earshot. The thought of going to the pastor’s office is a little intimidating, so you respond, “right here is fine.”

“Obviously, you are new to all of this, so no one is faulting you, but there have been many comments about the attire that you keep wearing to church.”

You glance down and take a look at yourself. A year ago, you wouldn’t have even batted an eye at what you had on. In many cases you wouldn’t have even thought to wear a bra with it and it would have been exposing even more. You skirt covered your ass, so that wouldn’t have brought another thought to your mind either.

“I will make sure to work on that,” you say, still not spending too much time thinking of anything.

“For some clarity, the problem is cleavage, but mostly the exposed bra. As well, your skirt needs to be much closer to your knees, or even longer if you don’t still down well. I know men ultimately need to be better about things, but it’s very helpful if you do your part.”

You nod, willing to change, but not super fond of what was said. As you walk out, you find a guy you’ve seen around but have never talked to walking into the lobby from the bathroom area. Your eyes meet and he smiles before heading over to you.

“You look hungry and I’ve got no plans. Would you be interested in going to lunch together?”