Going to Meet the Man (3 page)

“Got a good mind to stay home,” he said. “Probably have more fun.” He made a furious gesture toward the kitchen. “Why doesn’t
he
stay home?”

Johnnie, who was looking forward to the day with David and who had not the remotest desire to stay home for any reason and who knew, moreover, that Gabriel was not going to leave Roy alone in the city, not even if the heavens fell, said lightly, squirming into clean underwear: “Oh, he’ll probably be busy with the old folks. We can stay out of his way.”

Roy sighed and began to dress. “Be glad when I’m a man,” he said.

Lorraine and David and Mrs. Jackson were already on the boat when they arrived. They were among the last; most of the church, Father James, Brother Elisha, Sister McCandless, Sister Daniels and Sylvia were seated near the rail of the boat in a little semi-circle, conversing in strident tones. Father James and Sister McCandless were remarking the increase of laxity among God’s people and debating whether or not the church should run a series of revival meetings. Sylvia sat there, saying nothing, smiling painfully now and then at young Brother Elisha, who spoke loudly of the need for a revival and who continually attempted to include Sylvia in the conversation. Elsewhere on the boat similar conversations were going on. The saints of God were together and very conscious this morning of their being together and of their sainthood; and were determined that the less enlightened world should know who they were and remark upon it. To this end there were a great many cries of “Praise the Lord!” in greeting and the formal holy kiss. The children, bored with the familiar spectacle, had
already drawn apart and amused themselves by loud cries and games that were no less exhibitionistic than that being played by their parents. Johnnie’s nine year old sister, Lois, since she professed salvation, could not very well behave as the other children did; yet no degree of salvation could have equipped her to enter into the conversation of the grown-ups; and she was very violently disliked among the adolescents and could not join them either. She wandered about, therefore, unwillingly forlorn, contenting herself to some extent by a great display of virtue in her encounters with the unsaved children and smiling brightly at the grown-ups. She came to Brother Elisha’s side. “Praise the Lord,” he cried, stroking her head and continuing his conversation.

Lorraine and Mrs. Jackson met Johnnie’s mother for the first time as she breathlessly came on board, dressed in the airy and unreal blue which Johnnie would forever associate with his furthest memories of her. Johnnie’s baby brother, her youngest, happiest child, clung round her neck; she made him stand, staring in wonder at the strange, endless deck, while she was introduced. His mother, on all social occasions, seemed fearfully distracted, as though she awaited, at any moment, some crushing and irrevocable disaster. This disaster might be the sudden awareness of a run in her stocking or private knowledge that the trump of judgment was due, within five minutes, to sound: but, whatever it was, it lent her a certain agitated charm and people, struggling to guess what it might be that so claimed her inward attention, never failed, in the process, to be won over. She talked with Lorraine and Mrs. Jackson for a few moments, the child tugging at her skirts, Johnnie watching her with a smile; and at last, the child becoming always more restive, said that she must go—into what merciless arena one dared not imagine—but hoped, with a despairing smile which clearly indicated the improbability of such happiness, that she would be able to see them later. They
watched her as she walked slowly to the other end of the boat, sometimes pausing in conversation, always (as though it were a duty) smiling a little and now and then considering Lois where she stood at Brother Elishas’ knee.

“She’s very friendly,” Mrs. Jackson said. “She looks like you, Johnnie.”

David laughed. “Now why you want to say a thing like that, Ma? That woman ain’t never done nothing to you.”

Johnnie grinned, embarrassed, and pretended to menace David with his fists.

“Don’t you listen to that old, ugly boy,” Lorraine said. “He just trying to make you feel bad. Your mother’s real good-looking. Tell her I said so.”

This embarrassed him even more, but he made a mock bow and said, “Thank you, Sister.” And to David: “Maybe now you’ll learn to keep your mouth shut.”

“Who’ll learn to keep whose mouth shut? What kind of talk is that?”

He turned and faced his father, who stood smiling on them as from a height.

“Mrs. Jackson, this is my father,” said Roy quickly. “And this is Miss Jackson. You know David.”

Lorraine and Mrs. Jackson looked up at the deacon with polite and identical smiles.

“How do you do?” Lorraine said. And from Mrs. Jackson: “I’m very pleased to meet you.”

“Praise the Lord,” their father said. He smiled. “Don’t you let Johnnie talk fresh to you.”

“Oh, no, we were just kidding around,” David said. There was a short, ugly silence. The deacon said: “It looks like a good day for the outing, praise the Lord. You kids have a good time. Is this your first time with us, Mrs. Jackson?”

“Yes,” said Mrs. Jackson. “David came home and told me about it and it’s been so long since I’ve been in the country I
just decided I’d take me a day off. And Lorraine’s not been feeling too strong, I thought the fresh air would do her some good.” She smiled a little painfully as she spoke. Lorraine looked amused.

“Yes, it will, nothing like God’s fresh air to help the feeble.” At this description of herself as feeble Lorraine looked ready to fall into the Hudson and coughed nastily into her handkerchief. David, impelled by his own perverse demon, looked at Johnnie quickly and murmured, “That’s the truth, deacon.” The deacon looked at him and smiled and turned to Mrs. Jackson. “We been hoping that your son might join our church someday. Roy brings him out to service every Sunday. Do you like the services, son?” This last was addressed in a hearty voice to David; who, recovering from his amazement at hearing Roy mentioned as his especial pal (for he was Johnnie’s friend, it was to be with Johnnie that he came to church!) smiled and said, “Yes sir, I like them alright,” and looked at Roy, who considered his father with an expression at once contemptuous, ironic and resigned and at Johnnie, whose face was a mask of rage. He looked sharply at the deacon again; but he, with his arm around Roy, was still talking.

“This boy came to the Lord just about a month ago,” he said proudly. “The Lord saved him just like that. Believe me, Sister Jackson, ain’t no better fortress for nobody, young or old, than the arms of Jesus. My son’ll tell you so, ain’t it, Roy?”

They considered Roy with a stiff, cordial curiosity. He muttered murderously, “Yes sir.”

“Johnnie tells me you’re a preacher,” Mrs. Jackson said at last. “I’ll come out and hear you sometime with David.”

“Don’t come out to hear me,” he said. “You come out and listen to the Word of God. We’re all just vessels in His hand. Do you know the Lord, sister?”

“I try to do His will,” Mrs. Jackson said.

He smiled kindly. “We must all grow in grace.” He looked at Lorraine. “I’ll be expecting to see you too, young lady.”

“Yes, we’ll be out,” Lorraine said. They shook hands. “It’s very nice to have met you,” she said.

“Goodbye.” He looked at David. “Now you be good. I want to see you saved soon.” He released Roy and started to walk away. “You kids enjoy yourselves. Johnnie, don’t you get into no mischief, you hear me?”

He affected not to have heard; he put his hands in his pants’ pockets and pulled out some change and pretended to count it. His hand was clammy and it shook. When his father repeated his admonition, part of the change spilled to the deck and he bent to pick it up. He wanted at once to shout to his father the most dreadful curses that he knew and he wanted to weep. He was aware that they were all intrigued by the tableau presented by his father and himself, that they were all vaguely cognizant of an unnamed and deadly tension. From his knees on the deck he called back (putting into his voice as much asperity, as much fury and hatred as he dared):

“Don’t worry about me, Daddy. Roy’ll see to it that I behave.”

There was a silence after he said this; and he rose to his feet and saw that they were all watching him. David looked pitying and shocked, Roy’s head was bowed and he looked apologetic. His father called:

“Excuse yourself, Johnnie, and come here.”

“Excuse me,” he said, and walked over to his father. He looked up into his father’s face with an anger which surprised and even frightened him. But he did not drop his eyes, knowing that his father saw there (and he wanted him to see it) how much he hated him.

“What did you say?” his father asked.

“I said you don’t have to worry about me. I don’t think I’ll get into any mischief.” And his voice surprised him, it was more deliberately cold and angry than he had intended and there was a sardonic stress on the word ‘mischief.’ He knew
that his father would then and there have knocked him down if they had not been in the presence of saints and strangers.

“You be careful how you speak to me. Don’t you get grown too fast. We get home, I’ll pull down those long pants and we’ll see who’s the man, you hear me?”

Yes we will
, he thought and said nothing. He looked with a deliberate casualness about the deck. Then they felt the lurch of the boat as it began to move from the pier. There was an excited raising of voices and “I’ll see you later,” his father said and turned away.

He stood still, trying to compose himself to return to Mrs. Jackson and Lorraine. But as he turned with his hands in his pants’ pockets he saw that David and Roy were coming toward him and he stopped and waited for them.

“It’s a bitch.” Roy said.

David looked at him, shocked. “That’s no language for a saved boy.” He put his arm around Johnnie’s shoulder. “We’re off to Bear Mountain,” he cried, “
up
the glorious Hudson”—and he made a brutal gesture with his thumb.

“Now suppose Sylvia saw you do that,” said Roy, “what would you say, huh?”

“We needn’t worry about her,” Johnnie said. “She’ll be sitting with the old folks all day long.”

“Oh, we’ll figure out a way to take care of
them
,” said David. He turned to Roy. “Now you the saved one, why don’t you talk to Sister Daniels and distract her attention while we talk to the girl? You the baby, anyhow, girl don’t want to talk to you.”

“I ain’t got enough salvation to talk to that hag,” Roy said. “I got a Daddy-made salvation. I’m saved when I’m with Daddy.” They laughed and Roy added, “And I ain’t no baby, either, I got everything my Daddy got.”

“And a lot your Daddy don’t dream of,” David said.

Oh
, thought Johnnie, with a sudden, vicious, chilling anger,
he doesn’t have to dream about it!

“Now let’s act like we Christians,” David said. “If we was real smart now, we’d go over to where she’s sitting with all those people and act like we wanted to hear about God. Get on the good side of her mother.”

“And suppose
he
comes back?” asked Johnnie.

Gabriel was sitting at the other end of the boat, talking with his wife. “Maybe he’ll stay there,” David said; there was a note of apology in his voice.

They approached the saints.

“Praise the Lord,” they said sedately.

“Well, praise Him,” Father James said. “How are you young men today?” He grabbed Roy by the shoulder. “Are you coming along in the Lord?”

“Yes, sir,” Roy muttered, “I’m trying.” He smiled into Father James’s face.

“It’s a wonderful thing,” Brother Elisha said, “to give up to the Lord in your youth.” He looked up at Johnnie and David. “Why don’t you boys surrender? Ain’t nothing in the world for you, I’ll tell you that. He says, ‘Remember thy Creator in the days of thy youth when the evil days come not.’ ”

“Amen,” said Sister Daniels. “We’re living in the last days, children. Don’t think because you’re young you got plenty of time. God takes the young as well as the old. You got to hold yourself in readiness all the time lest when He comes He catch you unprepared. Yes sir. Now’s the time.”

“You boys going to come to service today, ain’t you?” asked Sister McCandless. “We’re going to have service on the ship, you know.” She looked at Father James. “Reckon we’ll start as soon as we get a little further up the river, won’t we, Father?”

“Yes,” Father James said, “we’re going to praise God right in the middle of the majestic Hudson.” He leaned back and released Roy as he spoke. “Want to see you children there. I want to hear you make a
noise
for the Lord.”

“I ain’t never seen none of these young men Shout,” said
Sister Daniels, regarding them with distrust. She looked at David and Johnnie. “Don’t believe I’ve ever even heard you testify.”

“We’re not saved yet, sister,” David told her gently.

“That’s alright,” Sister Daniels said. “You
could
get up and praise the Lord for your life, health and strength. Praise Him for what you got, He’ll give you something more.”

“That’s the truth,” said Brother Elisha. He smiled at Sylvia. “I’m a witness, bless the Lord.”

“They going to make a noise yet,” said Sister McCandless. “Lord’s going to touch everyone of these young men one day and bring them on their knees to the altar. You mark my words, you’ll see.” And she smiled at them.

“You just stay around the house of God long enough,” Father James said. “One of these days the Spirit’ll jump on you. I won’t never forget the day It jumped on me.”

“That
is
the truth,” Sister McCandless cried, “so glad It jumped on me one day, hallelujah!”

“Amen,” Sister Daniels cried, “amen.”

“Looks like we’re having a little service right now,” Brother Elisha said smiling. Father James laughed heartily and cried, “Well, praise Him anyhow.”

“I believe next week the church is going to start a series of revival meetings,” Brother Elisha said. “I want to see you boys at every one of them, you hear?” He laughed as he spoke and added as David seemed about to protest, “No, no, brother, don’t want no excuses. You
be
there. Get you boys to the altar, then maybe you’ll pay more attention in Sunday School.”