Re: [Jack & Clem: family reunion]
Clementine had grown up with two pews in her life. One in England, and one in Georgia, and they were both right up near the front, where going to church was more 'bout being seen, and it was a whole lot less 'bout Jesus and believing. Both her families liked charity plenty, like it made them a whole lot more superior than most folks, but Clementine didn't care any for it, and that wasn't likely to change on account of anything. Some folks, they found Jesus when bad things happened. Clementine, she reckoned he wasn't worth finding, and so she didn't go looking.
Jude had worshiped her young. Alexander had hated her. The girls hadn't paid her a lick of mind. Jack, he was different as snowflakes, and that was just fine. Clementine, she liked variation, and life was a whole lot of boring otherwise. "You look like you ain't had a sober day in years," she said pointed. No softening words for Clementine, and wasn't like the man hadn't looked in a mirror any. "And the man's supposed to be married to me. Took off for a month, didn't say where he was going, and didn't call while he was gone. What kind of husband goes and does that? Don't you go siding with him. The man doesn't deserve it worth a lick. Now, he shows up like being gone all them days was just a bit of inconvenient. It ain't done."
She kissed his cheek when he leaned in to kiss hers, and she smelled of roses pressed between the pages of books, things dying and sweet and old, like Miss Havisham in her house, wedding cake and bridal flowers rotting 'round her. "You ought to yell for doing me wrong. That's what male kin's supposed to do during times like these." And she nearly rolled her eyes when he asked why he'd be hiding, but she refrained on account of her mascara. "Honey, you been trying to burn yourself from the inside out since she died. I reckon it's time to be done with that, don't you?"