Ch 5 Monday Christmas Eve I go to church because it’s Christmas Eve and I go alone because Primo does not want to incur The Wrath of the Drunken Atheist Sly, who is not a Live and Let Live Atheist like all of my atheist friends, including my friend Jessica, the atheist UU pastor, but is a, “Anyone who doesn’t agree with me is stupid” atheist (and everything else)

Me: It’s Christmas Eve. We need to go to Midnight Mass.

Primo: You want to go at midnight? You hate staying up late.

Me: Let me see what’s here. Oh. No, the church near here only has an evening service. No Midnight Mass. They are not doing it right.

Primo: So are you going to skip it?

Me: No! I guess we can just go to the evening service. It’s at 6:00, so we have an hour.

Primo: I don’t think it’s a good idea if I go with you. Right now, I just need to keep my dad from blowing up at my mom. He doesn’t need any ammunition.

Me: Oh right. They’ve been drinking for an hour.

Primo: Yeah, and my dad is in a bad mood and he lashes out at my mom when he is in a bad mood. I don’t want to leave her alone with him and I sure don’t want to give him a trigger.

Me: Going to church with me would be a trigger?

Primo: You know what my dad thinks about people who believe in God. He thinks they are stupid and deluded.

Me: I haven’t heard him call anyone “stupid.”

Primo: He doesn’t use that word, but he manages to get his point across.

Me: He’s just so – tolerant.

Primo: I know. Would you mind going without me? It’s just not worth the risk.

Me: He won’t get mad that even I am going?

Primo: I think I can distract him. Just take the car – just sneak out and don’t say anything.