Desperate Times (33 page)

“For a long time, I didn’t either. But I
guess as time passed I began to see their point. What did I have to
offer their daughter, a double wide? Then the economy started to go
south and everyone’s hours at the plant were cut. Things were
really tough toward the end. I couldn’t pay the bills and they were
threatening to shut off our electric. I was two months behind on
the lot rent. Paula even asked her parents for a loan, which was
something she’d never done. They turned her down. They told her to
come home. She chose to stay with me.”

“Until she left you, let’s not forget
that.”

“I know. Trust me, I haven’t forgotten that.
I just don’t know what to do. Everything is so different now. It
seems like years have passed since we got up here. Do you know what
I mean?”

“I do,” Julie said. “Now I want you to stop.
I think I’ve heard enough.”

“No, you haven’t. Not yet. I’ve got to say
this to you, Julie…”

There was a short knock on the French doors
and Patty walked inside, followed by Doc. He looked exhausted; his
eyes were red and his face was drawn and pale. There were blood
spatters on the sleeves of his lab coat and he rubbed his eyes.

“I’m sorry. We seem to be running out of room
here,” said Patty. I hope you don’t mind, dear. Ted is dead on his
feet. I told him he could catch some sleep on the other couch in
here. Would you be okay with that, honey?”

“Sure,” said Julie. “No problem.”

“I promise not to bite,” said Doc with a
tired smile. “I’m just wiped out. I hope we’re not interrupting
anything? I could come back later…”

“No,” said Julie, “Jimmy was just leaving.
I’m pretty tired myself. I might nod off for a while.”

“How are you feeling, dear? Would you like
something to eat?” asked Patty.

“Better. I might try to eat something later,
thank you,” replied Julie.

“You just let me know. I’ll fix you anything
you want, providing we have it. I’m sure I can come up with
something good. You really should eat, though. You’re so thin.”

“Right,” said Julie. “It seems like I’ve
gained ten pounds since I got here.”

Patty chuckled. “You young girls, you’re all
alike. Wait until you get to be my age. You quit worrying about
things like that.”

“We’re not
all
alike,” Julie said, her
eyes looking directly into Jimmy’s. “Anyhow, I think I’m going to
go to sleep, now. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, honey. You just let me know
when you’re hungry. I’ll make sure that no one comes in and bothers
you.”

“Wake me up if anything changes, all right?
If you feel dizzy or sick to your stomach, I’ll be right here,” Doc
said. He sat down on the other couch and slipped off his shoes.
“Oh, that feels good.”

“Follow me, Jimmy,” said Patty. “You’ve got
to be hungry. I’ve got your lunch waiting for you at the table.
Jon’s already eaten. Ken wants to see the both of you when you’ve
finished.”

“Thanks Patty. That sounds good,” said Jimmy.
He then turned to Julie and winked. “I’ll talk to you later.”

“Whatever; you know where to find me.”

Patty stood waiting at the door. Jimmy walked
out through the living room, around the corner and into the
kitchen. He wished he’d had just another minute to tell Julie how
he really felt. He had been ready to do just that when they’d been
interrupted. Why did things like that always happen to him? He
didn’t know, but it just didn’t seem fair. He entered the kitchen
and paused. On the table was a plate stacked high with pancakes.
Crisp bacon and sausage links were heaped into a glass bowl. A tall
glass of orange juice sat next to the plate.

“Enjoy it while you can,” said Patty, pouring
coffee into his special cup. She carefully set it down on the table
next to the chipped sugar bowl. “That’s about it from what we had
left in the freezer.”

“Thanks,” said Jimmy, “this looks great.”

“No Jimmy, thank you for bringing Ted back.
Ken is so happy to have him here. They go back a long way. We all
do.”

Jimmy nodded. Doc had told him as much. The
breakfast tasted wonderful and he ate it with relish. Patty went
about cleaning the kitchen, which seemed odd, because it looked
spotlessly clean to Jimmy. He finished his pancakes and a great
deal of the bacon and sausage. Satisfied, he sat back from the
table and began to sip his coffee.

“Thanks Patty. That was delicious.”

“I’m glad you enjoyed it,” she said, smiling.
She quickly cleared the table and deposited Jimmy’s dishes into the
sink. She washed and towel dried them before putting them away.
When she finished, she poured herself a cup of coffee. She then
refilled Jimmy’s and sat down across from him. “I need to talk to
you,” adopting a serious tone.

Once again, Jimmy felt his heart fall. He
felt sure of what she was going to say. He sipped his coffee.
“What’s on your mind?” he asked, certain that he already knew. He
soon found that he couldn’t be further from the truth.

“Sister Margaret,” she said flatly.

Jimmy set his cup down. He hadn’t expected
this. “What do you mean? Is there some sort of problem?”

“She’s trouble. I don’t like the woman.
Haven’t you wondered where everyone is? They’re all gathered out on
Sally’s ball field where she’s conducting some sort of church
service. She ordered everyone to go over there after breakfast. I
heard it was for a quick prayer and to thank God for delivering
them all here. That was three hours ago.”

“She’s a minister or a pastor, or something,
isn’t she?” asked Jimmy. Maybe she’s just a little long winded.
Could be that she’s trying to make up for lost time.”

“She’s doing more than that. She runs around
here like she owns the place. She took over the back bedroom,
upstairs. She’s only been here a few hours, Jimmy. That takes some
brass.”

“Wow, it sounds like she thinks that she’s
above everyone else. We’ll have to put a stop to that.”

“That’s the least of it,” said Patty. “She’s
trying to drive a wedge between all of us. She wants to take
control. I can feel it. Trust me, I’m a woman and I know these
things.”

Jimmy nodded. “She sounds crazy.”

“Crazy like a fox. She’s making her rounds
and people are listening to her. She’s telling everyone that this
is the end of days and says the rapture will soon be upon us. She’s
reading scripture from the Book of Revelation to anyone who will
listen. She’s a sly one, all right. Some of our closest friends
have already sided with her. They won’t even look at us.”

“What? She just got here. How could she get
them to choose sides, already?”

“She’s very good at what she does. She knows
how to put the fear of God into people. I’ve heard of her church.
The Little Chapel in the Woods is run by a pretty radical bunch of
Christian fundamentalists. They’re different than we are, a lot
different.”

“Great,” said Jimmy. “And Jon and I sent them
here. I’m sorry, Patty.”

“How could you have known? Don’t worry about
that. Just watch yourself. I was listening earlier at the wall.
She’s calling us murderers
.
Can you believe it?”

“You can’t be serious?” asked Jimmy,
angrily.

“I’m afraid I am,” said Patty, her hands
shaking around her cup. “She’s telling people that if we had
offered to share what we had, that no one would’ve been killed.
She’s blaming us, all of us—you, Jon, Julie, Ken and I, even Rita
and little Cindy Huggins. She’s telling people that their blood is
on our hands. It’s like a nightmare, Jimmy. She wants to run us out
of here. She wants to take over and turn this into her new
church.”

“That’s the craziest thing I’ve ever heard,”
said Jimmy, scratching his head. He then laughed a mirthless laugh
that echoed inside the kitchen. “Maybe it’s time to ask her to
leave? I’ll gladly go over there and tell her to load up her
congregation on her broomstick.”

“I only wish that were possible. She already
has too big a following. I’m afraid that we’d be the ones hitting
the road.”

“But this is your place. You invited these
people to come inside. How could they possibly ask you to
leave?”

Patty sipped her coffee. “This is a different
world, Jimmy. Who owns anything, anymore? Look next door. We didn’t
buy Sally’s property; we simply took it over. That’s what she wants
to do here. She has nearly everyone believing that we’re the
problem here, that we’re going against the Lord’s will and that
we’ll be punished for it.”

“Punished for what?”

“I don’t know. I suppose I should’ve walked
over there to listen. I could’ve heard more of the nonsense that
she’s trying to spread about us. But I just couldn’t do it. I can’t
stand the sight of her.”

Jimmy ground his teeth. How could their
people have been sucked into her congregation so quickly? Many of
them had known Ken and Patty for most of their lives. How could
they simply abandon them and follow her? This boggled his mind.
Then he realized how she’d done it. People were scared. They were
looking for something bigger than all of them to hang on to. Sister
Margaret was pulling those strings of fear and manipulating them to
further her own cause. This was nothing new. The current situation
had merely made it simple for her to draw them into her web. Still,
she’d done it all while he’d slept. Patty was right: she was a sly
one.

“I’m sorry to ruin your day. I just thought
you should know.”

“What do you want me to do? Just name it,
Patty. Jon and I will show them the door.”

“That’s exactly what she wants us to do,” she
said, standing up and walking slowly to the sink. She dropped her
empty cup into the soapy water. “She’s going to try and provoke us
and we can’t let that happen. We’ve got to find another way. Maybe
people will grow tired of her stories of fire and brimstone, and
they’ll come around on their own.”

“Maybe,” said Jimmy, not believing that for a
second. “I’m going outside for a cigarette. I’ll try to think of
something. She’s not going to make us leave—over my dead body.”

“That’s exactly what Ken said,” Patty said
with a sad smile. “One more thing, Jimmy, it’s about Paula and
Julie.”

Jimmy turned.
Here it comes,
he
thought.

“I can read you like a book, young man. And I
know what you’re doing. I just wanted you to know that I approve.
Don’t rush into a decision that you could regret for the rest of
your life. There’s no hurry. They’re both such nice girls and they
both love you. I was proud of you this morning. If you would’ve
stayed with Paula, Julie would’ve been crushed. You didn’t. You
need some time to think things through. That’s smart of you. Ken
told me what he said to you this morning. I nearly clocked him with
my frying pan. Do you want my advice?”

“Sure,” said Jimmy.

“Tell each of them that you need some time.
They’ll both pout, but you’ve got to stand up for yourself. Tell
Paula that if she’d come along in the first place, this never
would’ve happened. Deep down, I’m sure she knows that. And, as far
as Julie goes…”

“What?”

“No more smooches in the garage. That was
wrong. No smooching until you’ve made your choice. Do you
understand me?”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Good. Now go out and have your cigarette. I
really do wish you’d give them up. It’s such a nasty habit. You’ll
probably be running out soon, anyhow. Right?”

Jimmy shrugged his shoulders. Patty didn’t
know that he had bought two cases of Camels with the money that Ken
had given him. He couldn’t tell her about that. “Thanks Patty,” he
said. “At least somebody can see what I’m going through.”

“Just don’t take too long, dear. You’re not
the only one with eyes for those two.”

Jimmy stood and smiled. “I won’t, I promise,”
he said. He then walked out the back door, out into the hot
sunshine. A warm breeze rustled the leaves and a couple of white
clouds hung lazily in the sky. He shook out a Camel and lit it up.
Not knowing where he was heading, he walked down to the gate. He
found that it was still open and that there was only one man
standing guard. He was a big, beefy black man who looked to be just
this side of sixty. He wore a button-up shirt that stretched
tightly across his barrel chest. He nodded to Jimmy. His broad face
was clean shaven and his short hair was just starting to gray at
the temples. He carried a hunting rifle and a holstered sidearm. He
watched the road with a hawk’s eye, turning his head every few
seconds. Jimmy had never seen the man before and he walked over to
introduce himself.

“Jimmy Logan,” he said, offering his hand to
the burly man.

“Burt Sharpen,” replied the man, taking
Jimmy’s hand and giving it a firm shake.

“Are you out here alone?” asked Jimmy,
wondering how that could be.

“I was, until just a little while ago,”
replied Sharpen. “That fella you showed up with is down at the
corner. Nice kid. I was at the gate this morning. You probably
didn’t see me.”

“We were pretty tired,” said Jimmy, wondering
how he could’ve missed the only African-American in the compound.
I must’ve been really tired,
he thought to himself.