The Pastor's Wife Wears Biker Boots (28 page)

The knot in my stomach wasn’t getting any looser. I knew precisely why I was tethered tighter than a ship’s anchor.

If my husband lost his job, we lost our lifestyle. We would have to relocate, and I really liked life in Eel Falls. Patrick had friends, Daniel had his violin teacher, and Timmy had Reba and the hardware store. To relocate would be traumatic for the boys.

Had we misread God’s will when we came here believing that this was where God would plant us for many years? Had we misunderstood His promise to us that this church would be our home church where we would raise our children and grow old together?

“I’m so glad you’re here,” I whispered to Lily and Opal at my kitchen breakfast bar. I made each of us a glass of iced tea. “I can only imagine what must be going on up there.”

“I know a little bit of it.” Lily stared into her glass.

“How?” My heart felt like it would beat right out of my chest.

“I got invited to the meeting. They were going through Aaron’s resume and calling the churches he’d worked at before trying to dig up some dirt on him.”

“What?” I was stunned. “Why would people want to do that? Aaron has done nothing wrong.”

“They would do that, Kirstie, because certain folks can’t control Aaron, and this is one way of controlling him,” Opal said. “I’ve been down this road before. It happens with every preacher we get. We grow attached to him, we grow to love him, and the Bernice and Norman team do everything they can to run him out of town.”

“But what’s he doing that’s so horrible that he needs controlling?” I didn’t get it.

“The expansion plan for one thing,” Lily said. “Bernice and Norman are dead-set against it.”

“But why? I don’t understand why.” I set my tea down and looked out the window above my sink. It was dark outside, and all I could see was my concerned expression in the reflection of the black glass. I looked old.

“They don’t need a reason, Kirstie. With Norman and Bernice, it’s always about control. They’re scared they’re losing control of the congregation because Aaron won the hearts of a lot of parishioners.” Lily sighed. “It’s always been this way.”

“But it doesn’t have to remain the same.” Opal took a swig of her tea and slammed the glass on the counter. “If Aaron can hang in there and stand up to these people, he’ll be fine. It’s what they need. The stranglehold Norman and Bernice have on this little church needs to be broken. And I believe Aaron is the man for the job, Kirstie. And instead of talking and complaining about it, we need to pray about it.”

I nodded. I didn’t want to pray. I didn’t feel like praying. I didn’t even feel like being nice. I was beyond tired. But I knew nothing would stop the darkness the way prayer would. We knelt in front of the couch and called on God.

“Lord, please provide Aaron with the right words. Grant him wisdom. Don’t let the devil win this round,” I whispered as Lily and Opal prayed for their pastor, too. We prayed for him to be strong, for people to hear from God.

“And let us not have to move.” Patrick’s voice choked with tears.

I opened my eyes and saw Daniel and Patrick kneeling at their father’s chair, their arms around one another, praying. The sight of my boys standing in the gap for their dad in prayer was more than my body could take. I collapsed on the floor in tears.

“It’s OK, Mom.” Daniel pulled my face toward his so I would look at him. “I know God will make a way. It’ll be OK.”

“Yeah, Mom.” Patrick sobbed. “If God could have mercy on me today in court, He can help Dad right now, too.”

I hugged them both. “Thank you, boys, for reminding me where my help comes from.”

We prayed a little longer, and afterwards we got out the ice cream for the boys. There was no way they would go to sleep until their father was safely home with a good report. It was already 1:00 AM. How much longer could a group of people tar and feather a pastor?

We played dominos and watched the television until finally, at 3:14 AM, Aaron walked into the door.

Smiling.

“Dad!” The boys ran into his arms.

Aaron’s face lit up, and he smiled as he took them in his arms. He fluffed their hair.

“What are you fellas doing up? Isn’t it past your bedtime?”

“Do we have to move, Dad?” Daniel asked.

“Why would we have to move?” Aaron looked at me.

“They didn’t kick you out?” Patrick wouldn’t let go.

“No, son, they didn’t kick me out. We aren’t going anywhere. We’re staying put. Our feet are firmly planted, and we will not be moved.”

The boys cheered, and we all clapped. I felt like a wrung out pair of panty hose hanging on a clothesline in the rain.

“What happened, Pastor?” Opal made a pot of coffee.

Lily started making a sandwich.

Aaron removed his shoes. “I found out they called all our former churches trying to find out if there were any rumors or negative secrets about us.”

“Did they find any?” Daniel got out the corn chips and arranged them on a plate next to the sandwich.

“Apparently not. Most of the pastors wouldn’t talk to them, except for one.”

“Who?” I got out the pickles.

“Pastor Lever. He told them they were out of order and that if they had any questions to talk to us. But then, they got hold of Louisa at the church in Arkansas.”

“And?”

“She told them about our overdraft problem.”

I spilled the pickles. “But that wasn’t our fault. Our account was hacked.”

“I know, but according to Bernice we’re guilty of check fraud.”

“That woman.” I clenched my fist.

Opal cleaned up the pickles.

Aaron sat down at the table, and we gathered around to hear what he would say. “I sat and listened to the nonsense for a while. I wanted to figure out what frightened them. But around one o’clock or so, God gave me wisdom and the words to say.”

“What did you say, Pastor?” Lily looked at her watch. We’d finished praying at 1:00 AM.

“People were at each other’s throats, and I could see permanent harm was being done to relationships. Out of nowhere, God gave me the words. I walked to the head of the table, and I said, ‘You think I have skeletons in my closet, because you have skeletons in yours. You think I have buried secrets, because you yourselves have buried shameful secrets. You point the blame at me in order to keep the attention off yourselves.’”

“What happened?” Opal sat riveted, munching on pickles.

“Norman, Bernice, and Elder Cobb, they turned white as sheets. They didn’t say anything. Then God gave me more words. I said, ‘In the same way you’ve tried to expose unfounded secrets about me, God will expose your secrets.’”

“Then what happened?” I ate a chip off of Aaron’s plate.

“This is why I know it was supernatural. When I finished talking, the room got quiet and people got up and left.” Aaron took a bite of his sandwich.

“Everybody?” Opal poured herself another glass of iced tea.

Aaron swallowed. “Almost everybody. They wouldn’t look at me. They just sort of trickled out of the room and went home.”

“Who stayed?” I went to the fridge and pulled out left over potato salad and plopped a big pile on Aaron’s plate.

Lily got him a fork.

“Norman, Bernice and Elder Cobb. Since I was alone with them, I thought it was a good time to bring up the closet incident. There’s something in that storage closet they’re afraid of.” Aaron took another bite of sandwich and washed it down with tea.

“How do you know?” Opal went to the fridge, pulled out leftover fish sticks, and ate them cold.

“Because I told them that I knew they’d been doing something in the storage closet. I told them that even though they thought no one knew about it, they were wrong. They looked extremely uncomfortable. I told them God knew what they were up to, that I knew about the rifle and shovel, and nothing hid in secret would remain in the darkness. It would be brought out into the light. They had no way of knowing you were the one, Kirstie, who revealed it to me. I’m sure they think God did, which in a way, is true.”

“Then what happened?” I ate potato salad straight from the bowl with a spoon.

“I left. I drove up into the cemetery and turned off my headlights so I could see how long they would stay. Within a few minutes after I left, they left, too.”

“What on earth do you think is in that closet?” Lily opened a tub of ranch veggie dip and looked for the carrots in the fridge.

“I don’t know,” Aaron said. “But the Lord told me we’re about to find out.”

39

That Friday, I rode with the Lady Eels to Indianapolis to shake off the drama of the past week. We needed shopping therapy. After a day at the mall, we decided to stop at a Harley Davidson dealership on our way home before they closed.

As we headed out of the mall parking lot Reba hollered, “I have a hankerin’ for a new shirt and maybe even a jacket.”

The showroom overflowed with beautiful motorcycles and gear. It was difficult to know where to look first. I finally decided to start with a shirt rack.

“Oh
no
.” Lily ducked behind me. “Don’t move.”

“Why?” I stood in front of her and didn’t budge.

“It’s my sister-in-law. I haven’t seen her in twenty years. She hates me. I can’t let her see me. Stand still.”

“But, Lily…” I scanned the clothing racks and saw a rough looking woman wearing a motorcycle gang jacket I didn’t recognize. “Don’t you think twenty years is an awfully long time to be estranged from your husband’s brother?”

“We’re not estranged from
him
, just her. I’m serious, Kirstie. If she sees me, she’ll probably hurt me.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” I resumed looking through the racks with Lily hiding right behind me.

Reba stood nearby and heard our conversation. “She’s probably right. Look at the colors she’s wearing. She’s riding with the Malevolents. That’s a pretty tough gang. Steer clear.”

“What are we supposed to do?” I froze when the woman looked my way. I didn’t know whether to smile or look tough.

“Just avoid eye contact,” Reba said.

“Too late for that,” I spoke without moving my lips.

Reba stood beside me and pretended to look at pink halter-tops with Harley Davidson written in sequins across the chest. “Just act normal. We have every right to be here, too. Don’t act scared or strange around them.”

“Tell
her
that.” I jerked my head toward Lily, who still ducked behind me. Opal went to the other side of the store to look at the jackets hung along the back wall.

“Let’s go look at jackets with Opal while they’re over there in the bike parts.” Reba grabbed my arm, and I followed with Lily hanging onto me like a parasite.

I’m not known for my stealth, but it’s doubly hard to slink across a room with someone hanging on to your belt loop, holding a sack over her head. I took a few steps toward the jackets keeping my eyes on the women who were with Lily’s sister-in-law and bumped into a Harley Davidson Instant Coffee kiosk. I knocked the display onto the floor. Dozens of packets of instant coffee slid across the floor.

The entire store turned to look.

Lily scampered off and slid underneath a circular rack of rain jackets.

At least I provided some distraction for her getaway. I righted the kiosk as employees scurried to help me. We got the kiosk all back together when—I did it again.

I decided at this point I would just walk away backward and let the employees handle it.

But I couldn’t find the Lady Eels. The Malevolents were staring at me. I smiled, waved, and backed toward the jacket section where I couldn’t be seen. I stood staring at a pink jacket hanging against the wall amidst other gorgeous ones wishing I could fit into a size six when I heard someone speak to me.

“Pretty, ain’t it?” I heard a low raspy voice whisper.

“Uh, yeah, it is. I love it.” I tried to sound cheerful. I didn’t dare turn around and make eye contact. “Too small for me though, I think I’m in the wrong section.”

“No, you’re in the right section.” Another voice. An arm reached out from behind the pink jacket and pulled me inside the display.

“What on earth…?”

“Shhh, don’t move and don’t say anything.”

Reba.

“Good gravy, Reba, you scared me.”

“Better me than a Malevolent,” Reba whispered.

I looked down the side of the wall to find Lily and Opal sitting on their haunches waving at me.

“Smooth move over there by the coffee,” Reba said. “I think my name for you from now on is gonna be Dancer. You’re incredibly graceful. The whole store was staring at you.”

“I know that. Thanks for sticking around and helping me.”

“Shhh,” Lily said. “Here she comes.”

“This is ridiculous,” I whispered. “Nothing’s going to happen to us. This is a public store, for goodness sakes.”

“Shhhhhhh. Be quiet.” Reba clasped her hand over my mouth.

I wiggled free. “You sound like a stabbed tire.” I wanted the last word.

I was about to say something more, but a group of boots walked toward us, so I thought better of it. The burrito I’d eaten at El Mesquite was taking its toll on my innards. I needed relief in the worst way.

“Pink, huh.” The boots walking toward us had voices. “Next thing you know, they’ll be selling pink boots, too.”

I gave a thumbs up to Reba on that point. Everyone scowled at me. Personally, I wasn’t scared and was feeling pretty silly hiding. The dealership was huge, but we’d managed to be cornered. It was so like us.

We’re not lady eels, we’re lady heels.

My stomach gurgled.

Oh no.

Burrito.

“I need to fluff,” I whispered to Reba. “I’m dying here.”

“Don’t you dare,” Reba spoke through clenched teeth.

Lily and Opal looked at me with lasers.

“What? You know what I ate for lunch. Don’t tell me you never have gas.”

“Shhh.” Reba glared at me.

“What did you say?” A Malevolent’s boots turned toward another set of clompers. “Did you shush me?”

“No,” the clompers said. “It wasn’t me.”

“Wasn’t me either,” another set said. “Hey, look at this jacket here. Pink sequins? Lame, man.”