She sagged against Venus, who grabbed Lex’s arm to keep her from falling. “It just isn’t fair! There’s nothing wrong with me! My mother was beautiful and feminine!”

Lex grabbed her head. “I was trying really hard, but they were all dweebs! My List is so long! I’m going to grow old and die without anyone because I can’t kiss a guy! And the one I want to kiss took me to see Ike kiss Lindsay, and he’s such a slime! And if I can’t find someone else in three weeks, Grandma is going to let innocent girls suffer!”

She covered her face with her hands and sobbed. “And my body is falling apart! I’ve probably lost six inches from my vertical jump! Everybody thinks I’m a big, dumb jock, and no one could ever be attracted to me! And they’re right! I’m only good for college sports tickets!”

One of her cousins zipped in front of her, his ears perked up.

“Tickets?”

Lex stared dumbly at him, but Venus lanced him with a look that should have stopped his heart. “Don’t. Even. Think it.” She shoved him away.

Lex erupted in another chorus of caterwauling.

Venus grabbed her chin and rammed her mouth shut, stopping her mid-cry. Lex barely missed biting her tongue.

“Come on, I’m taking you home.” Venus pulled at Lex’s arm to haul her toward the open doorway.

“But you didn’t drive.” Jenn handed her Lex’s purse and her own.

“I’ll drive Lex’s car. Where are her keys?”

They exited the eerily silent living room. Lex didn’t even glance at Grandma. A remote part of her realized she’d be in the doghouse for life, but she really didn’t care.

Venus settled her into her junk-mobile. After a few false starts, the engine caught and they rumbled away from Jennifer’s parents’ house.

Lex stared at her cracking dashboard. The tears still stained her face, although she’d stopped crying. She didn’t feel anything anymore.

Then a bomb exploded under the hood.

Well, maybe not a bomb, but something exploded. The boom!

jolted through the car, but no fireball engulfed them. Smoke poured out from under the hood like gray floodwaters. Venus pulled over.

Lex and Venus escaped from the car – after all, she’d seen enough cars explode in movies not to take any chances. They couldn’t get close enough to the hissing hood to lift it up.

Lex coughed. “Think it’s bad?”

Venus just looked at her.

“You don’t understand. I… can’t afford to pay for it.” She’d lost all shame – why not advertise her penniless state? “God’s got it in for me.”

“God does not have it – ”“Yes, He does. Grandma’s probably going to charge me with assault and send me to prison. Without my club team, my junior high girls will descend into drugs and prostitution. I’ll become fat and get high cholesterol and diabetes, and I’ll have a heart attack and die.”

Venus crossed her arms. “Are you done now?”

“No, I’m not. God’s being mean. Was I so bad a Christian that He had to punish me like this? Why is He punishing my volleyball girls? He’s not the God I thought He was.”

“Why are all Grandma’s actions God’s fault?”

“It’s not just Grandma’s actions. Why can’t I just find a nice guy? How hard is this supposed to be?”

“Lex, singles in the entire Bay Area are asking the same question.”

“But I used to succeed in everything whenever I gave my best. Why not in finding Mr. Right too? Or at the very least, a sponsor?”

“Let me get this straight. You’re complaining because you, like practically every woman in the United States of America, can’t find either Mr. Right or Mr. Rich? What planet are you living on?”

“But I’ve been trying so hard – ”

“I’m not a super spiritual person, but even I know that sometimes you just have to stop trying.”

“That’s stupid. If you stop trying, then nothing happens.”

“No, it’s like…” Venus thought a moment, then snapped her fingers. “It’s like Indiana Jones and that cliff, remember? You tell Him, ‘God, I just trust You to help me do whatever You want me to do. If You want me to fall, then I’ll fall. If You want me to succeed and find the grail and start that massive earthquake, then I’ll succeed.’ ”

“He didn’t start the earthquake, that blonde chick did.”

“Whatever. It’s that whole ‘walking off a cliff ’ thing.”

“So… walk off the cliff, just like that?”

“Sure. If you could see the bridge, it wouldn’t be faith, right?”

Lex didn’t realize she’d been leaning against the car until the heat began toasting her buns. She scooted away. “Venus, I don’t know if I can do that.”

“Well, if it were easy, everybody would be obeying God.”

“But I mean… not moving forward, not giving my all, not doing anything? Just waiting for… whatever?”

“Maybe that’s what God’s asking you to do.”

“That just seems wrong.”

“Did you even pray when Grandma started getting all Big Brother on you?”

“Uh… sort of.” More like no. “I just… acted on it.”

“You didn’t wait for an answer from God about what He wanted you to do?”

“I never wait.”

Venus rolled her eyes. “That’s your problem.” She coughed. “Hey, the smoke’s cleared.” She reached to lift the hood, making sure it wasn’t too hot to the touch.

Wait on God? Lex didn’t want to wait. She didn’t want to ask. She didn’t want to hear God say no when she really wanted something. She’d never be able to accept that.

She needed time to wrestle with it.

Venus didn’t look too hopeful as she stared at the blackened engine. “It had a good life. It went out with a bang.”

“Literally.”

“Look, Lex.” Venus’s cynicism melted away into a serious, loving expression. “I know you hate charity, but I can pay for a used car for you.”

“No.” Lex stuck out her chin.

Venus gave a sigh that sounded more like a frustrated howl. “You just admitted you don’t have the money.”

She did, didn’t she? Tears stung her eyes as she stared at the mess under her car hood. Must be the smoke fumes. What had happened to her? She always could take care of things herself. But now, she was gimpy, weepy, and dirt poor.

Venus coughed. “I’ll even charge you interest.”

Lex perked up. “Really? You’d charge interest just for me?”

Venus closed her eyes a moment. “You’re such a weirdo. Yes, I’ll charge interest since it’s obvious you’re not sane enough to accept the cash.”

“Can you help me find housing too?”

“I’ll ask. Actually, the person you should talk to is Richard. He has more contacts than I do.”

“Rich, it’s Lex.” She adjusted the cell phone as she tried to cram another pair of shorts into the cardboard box.

“Yes, sister dear?”

“My apartment building is being sold. I need housing fast.”

“Oh. Well, there’s George.”

“George, as in, the dweeb you set me up with a few months ago who shafted me with the dinner bill?”

“He’s a good real-estate agent.”

“He’s also a big, fat no.”

“Okay. There’s a guy I know, although not very well. He mentioned his sister needed a roommate for her town house.”

“Who?”

“You’ve met him. Oliver. He was at Hot Pot Town when you…uh…”

“Yes, the night is pretty clear in my memory.”

“He actually called me afterward to see how you were doing, since he was there when you… you know.”

“Can you manage not to bring it up every ten seconds?”

“I’ll have to find Oliver’s number. When do you need it?”

“I’ve got to move out soon, Richard.”

“Well, I do have one other lead.”

“What?”

“You won’t like it.”

“Why?”

“The family from Grandma’s rental house is moving out this month.”

When pigs fly. “Get me Oliver’s number.”