Little Girl Lost 6: The Return of Johnnie Wise (32 page)
Read Little Girl Lost 6: The Return of Johnnie Wise Online
Authors: Keith Lee Johnson
“So, did you get a piece?”
“Nope. She’s not that kind of girl.”
“Maybe you oughta marry her then.”
“Maybe I will.” He walked over to Lieutenant Perry, smiled and said, “Fancy meeting you here. Haven’t we met before?”
“We may have,” she said, smiling. “I oughta remember such a good-looking, tall drink of cold water like you. Refresh my memory.”
“So, you remember the SOS, but you don’t remember me, huh?”
Shaking her head, she said, “Vaguely. I’ve been experiencing memory lapses lately.”
“Maybe you should see a doctor. I’m sure he won’t have any trouble fitting you into his schedule . . . you being a nurse and all.”
“I’ve seen the doctor. Several times.”
“And what were his findings?”
“He couldn’t explain it. He used a big word. He called it infatuation.”
“Infatuation, huh?”
“Yes, do you understand that word, recruit?”
“Nope, but I like the way it rolls off your tongue though. Perhaps you can tell me the definition and how it applies to our situation when we get something the Sergeant calls liberty. I’m thinkin’ the Blue Diamond Restaurant would be a lovely place to get reacquainted . . . you know . . . refresh your memory. They serve all kinds of wonderful dishes there. I’m sure you’ll love it. And I’ve got my own car, a pocket full of money, and I just might spend some of it on you.”
“You’re serious, Lucas?”
“I am.”
She leaned in and whispered, “Even though you know I’m not going to put out?”
“Sure, if you don’t mind me trying to change your mind with a little huggin’ and a kissin’. That won’t turn you into a slave, will it?”
“It hasn’t so far.”
“Then, it won’t in a few weeks when we get liberty either.”
“Great! It’s a date then.”
“Guess who the barracks chief of the platoon is?”
“Who? You?”
“Yes, ma’am. Sergeant Cornsilk picked me out of about forty men or so. I think he chose me because I understood what the purpose of the Army was when no one else did. He’s a mean SOB, but I like him just fine.”
“You do, huh? He’s the sergeant I was telling you about in the Mess Hall yesterday. Did he tell you all that he was a direct descendant of Geronimo?”
“Yeah.”
“Just between you and me, he’s not a descendant of Geronimo. He’s not even an Apache. He’s a Cherokee. He just tells recruits that, so that they’ll fear him even more.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Well, it doesn’t matter. He’s tough enough, and I think we’re lucking to have him. I wanted the toughest guy. Whenever war comes again, and we have to fight, I wanna be ready. That’s the only way to survive. I wanna come back in one piece to a woman I love with all my heart.”
“Hmph! And who is that, Johnnie Wise?”
“You remember her first and last name, huh?”
“How could I not. It’s written on the tablets of your heart. At least for now. But a few dates with me, and she’ll be nothing more than a distant memory.”
“Really now? You sound powerful sure of yourself, Lieutenant.”
“I am sure of myself. You just need to be away from her to break the power of whatever spell she put on you. I heard about them New Orleanian women and the Voodoo they use on the men folk down there. But when you meet a real woman, a woman that’s full of promise, a woman who keeps her word and is committed to you, one who loves the ground you walk on, you’ll forget all about ol’ Johnnie Wise. Mark my words. The woman you’ve met . . . the woman I’m referring to . . . Johnnie Wise won’t be able to hold a candle to her. Trust me.”
“So, you think you’re that woman, Lieutenant?”
“Time will tell. You’ve got sixteen weeks of training. Let’s use that time to find out. Who knows, we might just fall in love.”
“You never know, but I’m willing to see where this thing goes if you are.”
“I am,” she said. “Now, why don’t you and your friend come with me, and I’ll give you your shots personally. That way you won’t have to wait in that crazy long line.”
“I’ll tell you what, I’ll come first, and then I’ll send San Francisco.”
“Why don’t you both come together?”
“We’ve been ordered to stay with him.”
“But there are a number of nurses who can stay with him. It won’t take long.”
“I’m sure it won’t. But orders are orders. And I have to set an example for the rest of the men. I know how these things work. I was the captain of my high school football team. The way I see it, being the barracks chief is the same thing, but different. Being in the Army is only a game when we’re not on the battle field. But when it’s time to fight, I have to have the respect of the men who follow me.”
“But Lucas, it’s just your first day. You’re not even wearing a uniform yet.”
“That’s why it’s so important that I follow orders now. San Francisco is watching me. Whatever I do, he’ll think its okay to do—even now. So, let me tell him what’s going on, and then we can go get those shots.”
“You know what, Lucas?”
“What, Cassandra?”
Positively beaming at that point, she said, “I could really like you, you know that?”
“I feel the same way. Now, wait right here. I’ll be right back.”
Chapter 61
“
There was a woman involved.”
P
aul Masterson grabbed a toothpick after paying for their meals, and they left The Flamingo Den together, like they were a couple. As a boy he had been taught to treat a lady with respect by opening and closing doors for her, by standing when she enters or leaves a room, by refraining from the use of profanity in her presence, and by protecting her from whatever evil they might encounter when they’re together. He opened the door for her and waited until she was comfortable before closing it. Then, he walked around to the other side of the truck and got in, started the engine, and pulled off.
Johnnie had looked at him for a second or two before getting into the truck, searching his eyes for truth, wondering if he would try to have sex with her when they returned to the Clementine even though he had told her he had to prepare his sermon. Her experience with white men had pretty much been the same. They all found her very attractive and wanted to have sex with her as soon as they could. From the look in his eyes, she could tell that Paul Masterson wanted to have sex with her, too, but for whatever reasons, he was able to control his inclination to initiate the romp or simply take what he wanted as Billy Logan had. She admired him for respecting her and treating her the way a lady ought to be treated. What she didn’t get though was that she had ceased to be a lady a long time ago, yet she thought she was.
They rode in silence for a few seconds, and then Masterson said, “Johnnie, I need to be totally and completely honest with you, okay?”
She looked at him, expecting an incredible secret to roll off his tongue, and give her a reason not to respect him as much as she did. At least that’s what she thought he thought, but it wasn’t true, and when he told her whatever it was he had to tell her, she would assure him that she would not hold it against him as she had a past as well. She thought that if he opened up to her, she just might be able to open up to him. She knew that a woman had to be very careful with her secrets, especially when it came to men because men had a much higher standard for the female of the species than they had for themselves. And so, in most situations, telling men things they really didn’t need to know, particularly specific details of a sexual nature, wasn’t an option. But she thought Paul Masterson might be different. “Okay. What is it?”
“Listen”—he paused for a few seconds—“I’m sure I probably made it sound like I was above sexual sin, but I want you to know right now that I’m not.” He paused and looked at her to see her reaction, but she didn’t react at all. She just continued looking through the windshield and listening. He took a deep breath before saying, “I told you that they forced me outta my church, and they did. But I only told you part of the story.”
She looked at him and said, “Go on, Paul, I’m listening.”
He exhaled hard. “Well . . . Johnnie . . . you see . . . there was a woman involved.”
Chapter 62
“
You sure you wanna see a profligate like me?”
W
hen Johnnie didn’t respond to his confession, he looked at her intensely, trying to figure out what was going through her mind. He wondered if she thought he was a terrible person who should have known better and should have set a much better example. That’s what most people would have thought in that situation, he knew. Through experience he had learned that while most people hated to be judged for the sins they committed, those very same people loved to judge others without compassion and many of them didn’t even know that about themselves. He also knew that many people loved it when a man of the cloth fell into some sort of sexual sin. They thought it somehow gave them permission to be sinful, too. What he knew and they didn’t was that they were already sinful and that other people’s sins didn’t give them carte blanche to live without restraint.
“Did you hear me?” he asked. “I said there was a woman involved.”
She looked at him soberly and said, “I heard you.”
Expecting to be condemned for his moral failure, he said, “Well, do you have anything to say?”
“Sexual sin is not without its rewards, Mr. Cowboy Preacher. Only virgins don’t understand the allure of sexual pleasure and its vise-like grip. Yes. I fully understand.”
“No. I really don’t think you do.”
“There’s not much to misunderstand. She’s a woman, and you’re a man. You were drawn to her, and she was drawn to you. I mean, you did have sex with this woman, right?”
“Yes, I did, but it was far more complicated than that. You make it sound like we were just two animals in heat.”
“Were you married to this woman?”
“No, I wasn’t.”
“Then, that’s exactly what you two were. Two animals in heat whether you want to acknowledge that or not. You were a preacher at the time, right?”
“Yes, I was, but—”
“Like I said, I understand.”
“No, I don’t think you do.”
“What don’t I understand, Paul? You met a beautiful woman, and you had sex with her. It’s pretty simple.”
“No, it isn’t. But let me say from the outset that it was my fault. I was twenty-four at the time, and I was speaking the truth in love the way the Bible says. I wasn’t trying to bring anybody down. And I certainly wasn’t trying to bring any particular leader down. I just didn’t want the church to be brought down.” He pulled into the Clementine parking lot and shut off the engine. “That meant I couldn’t look the other way when I saw corruption in the church. Well . . . a number of the leaders were charlatans, Johnnie. They were unrepentant profligates, who had turned the church into a moneymaking enterprise, and I was making too much noise and shining too much light on their dark behavior, and so they got together and decided to shut me up once and for all.”
“The church leaders were going to kill you the way they did Jesus?”
“Yes and no. They weren’t going to kill me . . . they were going to kill my message, which was God’s message by setting me up with a modern day version of Delilah. I was young and full of myself, but I didn’t know it. Pride had me, controlled me, but it was so subtle I didn’t see it. Anyway, I had preached what I thought was a tremendous sermon. I thought the aisle would be flooded with sinners running to the altar who couldn’t wait to be saved, but to my disappointment, only one person came to the altar.”
“The woman the leaders set you up with?”
Nodding, he said, “Yep. Now, let me be clear, Johnnie, they set me up, but I took the bait. You understand what I’m saying?”
