Body of Ash (5 page)

The man was no Apostle Paul.

For years she stood by
him. With a stoic presence, Angela
turned her head at his transgressions. His gossip, although amusing at first, led to lying. His fibbing was followed by stealing from the church’s collection plate. While she was willing to look past his little white lies, his lust gave
way to fornication. After eigh
teen years of marriage, she could no longer meet the eyes of other women. She knew their smiles were either based on pity or guilt.

When Brian mentioned sending Rachel
to Miss Hall’s
, Angela was confused. She questioned why
he would consider enrolling their only child in a finishing
school. 

It isn’t even a Baptist s
chool for God’s sake.

He had always loved showing off his family in the front pew with their hair done and dresses pristine. Having Rachel attend services showed his place as head of the household and he loved appearances. When she questioned him, he claimed his decision was because their daughter was losing her faith in God, giving her attention to Jason instead of her studies, but Angela didn’t buy his quick explanation.

With a sneak peak at his weekly schedule, she began to look closer at his intentions.
Marge
Finch had begun attending services. Decked out in waxy pink lipstick and polyester skirts, her friendliness was as false as her breasts. Angela knew the peroxide blonde wasn’t interested in salvation, at least not the type found on a cross. The woman’s eyes were locked on Brian in a way only another could recognize.

When Brian claimed he missed dinner in order to give
Marge an at home Bible study
, Angela knew the whore was his latest conquest. But when he suddenly insisted on sending their daughter away, Angela realized the relationship may be much more dangerous than she first realized.
Br
ian’s thinking of leaving me
.

Angela ran her fingers through her hair, pulling free the French twist she was sick of wearing.  S
he recalled how it was to be Br
i
a
n’s trophy. She had several interested suitors and forced the young
preacher
to work for her attention. He did everything in his power to seduce her and make her believe that next to God, she would be the most important person in his life. Even after Rachel’s birth, Angela insisted
Brian always put their family first
. He failed
to keep his promises and she resent
ed him for it.

Angela watched as Rachel
rocked back and forth, clearly
defeated. Maybe she was failing the girl by agreeing to Br
ia
n’s plan. After all, it wasn’t the teen’s fault her father had become a fool.

She
didn’t want Rachel to leave and knew she
would let her come bac
k in time. First, she would write her daughter,
insist
ing it was all Brian’s idea
.
Angela would explain to Rachel that the town would crucify them all for his actions, especially an affair.  Maybe even write that her daughter would be safer where she was, at least for the time being.
Through her words, Angela
would instill so much hate in Rachel’s heart for her fathe
r that the girl
would never speak to him again.

That was only one part of her plan.

Did Brian really think he was the
only one aware of his little deeds? Did he believe
his thinning hair and flabby stomach were enough to keep
the women he messed with quiet after he moved on to the next piece of trash? And what about all of his trips to the shore – charged on the church’s credit cards. Angela kept the bank statements; she knew exactly where he had been. She doubted his trips to Foxwoods were to spread the “good news.” Lots of people would come forward and share their tales of the pastor’s exploits once given the invitation.

While he was busy chasing skirt
s, Angela did her own preparing. She had put aside a sizable amount of cash in a safety deposit box – what was left of her father’s inheritance. After years of being a house wife and donating her time to the church, she didn’t have a great deal of marketable skills, but she had earned transferable college credits. From what she had estimated, a semester or two of fulltime study at the community college could earn her an Associate in Business. With her savings, she could buy a two bedroom condo while procuring a job in sales.

I’ve been selling the image of our
perfect family for years. How hard can it be?
 

Before any of that could happen, Angela had to deal with her husband. If he was hell bent on
burning to ash a
ny remaining image of propriety their family worked so hard to achieve, she would
do her best to help him along.

She would confess everything to the elders – his affairs, his theft, his greed. Brian’s actions would
des
troy his career, but he would fail to take her down with him. With Rachel tucked away in Massachusetts, Angela would ensure everyone knew that she was an innocent bystander to her husband’s greed. Once Brian was driven out of Canaan and the fallout from the scandal had cleared, she would bring Rachel home.

I’ll look like the perfect mother by doing so.

Glancing at the table, the dishes from dinner were still sitting there. The cheap lasagna would be a bitch to wash off the plates. For onc
e, she would let them sit
all nig
ht. Licking her lips,
she was
surprised at just how much she liked a good red wine.

8

BRIAN

Thursday 8:50 PM

Brian loved wine.  For years he resisted indulging in its bountiful bouquet, but when home, drank without reserve. As he swished the pinot noir around his mouth, the liquid had a pleasurable body. Yesterday he drank white, the evening
before – he enjoyed a single malt scotch
.  After a long day of work
, he wanted to
savor every mouthful
.

Angela stood near the front door.  Her thin neck craned to see their daughter. It was impossible for his wife to grant anyone privacy. She was always intruding into rooms and thoughts, her fingers and eyes ready to accuse. Rachel needed space, but explaining that would be pointless.

The woman didn’
t know the meaning of the word.

He wanted to put his feet up, flick through the TV stations and wait for her to fall asleep. The good shows were on late. He enjoyed stripping down to nothing while he watched them. Free of an audience, free of her disapproval – he enjoyed stretching out in the recliner and escaping into late night porn.

From the bend in Angela’s neck and the straightness of her spine, he knew she would stalk around the house a while longer. Without words she could slam the cupboards and straighten the throw pillows and still say plenty.

When they met, he knew his wife
would be the perfect woman to help him acquire a cozy flock to shepherd.  An attractive woman, she was well spoken and came from a good family. He wanted a church in a town that was large enough to pay him a comfortable salary, but not so big he would have
to compete for attendees. The wife was judged as much as the applicant. 

It was a well-known secret that the women behind the elders made the decisions in a congregation. Angela was gifted at transfixing a room full of nosy church wives. He would need her steadfast presence if his
evening exploits were revealed.

Brian
was thrilled she didn’t insist on keeping Rachel home. It came as a surprise really. When Rachel turned to her mother for support, he was ready for his wife to coddle her. He expected her to raise hell, or worse, cry.

He’d seen everything as a pastor. Death, humiliation, misery, he counseled it all. But, Angela was better kept at a distance. It was easy betraying her when she remained aloof.

Rachel was a good girl.  His daughter wasn’t demanding and didn’t require a great deal of his attention. She went from a toddler with a thick little body to an attractive young woman. It was no wonder her boyfriend was smitten. It was a s
hame he had to send her away. 

Sinking into his chair, he recalled the feel of
Marge
Finch’s body under his. She was glorious and he wanted to thank God for creating her. She wasn’t as beautiful as Angela, but she had a sexual appetite that matched his and her lack of
inhibitions made things interesting.
Katie’s look of disgust earlier wasn’t a surprise.
Neither of them had
expected her
to open the bedroom door
while they were going at it
. His pants were down and her legs were in the air. It didn’t
make sense to try and deny it.

Katie was the same age as Rachel. He remembered her from when the two were in Brownies, back when
Marge
was still married to Williston
.
Even then he wanted to bed
Marge.
With her small waist and long legs, he knew she would be a firecracker in the sac. She didn’t disappoint. 
If Marge had been home earlier, he would have left her spent and wet as a rag by the time he had finished with her. Instead, he got a cold reception from Katie.

The little bitch shut the door in my face.

Marge
promised to talk to
the teen
. She said her daughter had been going through a hard time since the
divorce
. Brian worried
Katie might
tell
Marge
’s ex abou
t him
. Williston Finch wasn’t a prude, but he had a lot of friends in town that were. Brian didn’t need Katie running her mouth, especially to Rachel.
No, having his daughter
settled in a boarding school away from the house would be a good thing.

Brian liked his profession. He was easy going and made a perfect salvation sales man. Although not overly religious, he
was willing to act the part on Sundays and head a few committees. Even disbelievers called him R
everend and insisted he cut
them in line.

The title gave him status
and he loved it.