The Devil To Pay (Hennessey.) (41 page)

Sheriff Taylor called out the first five numbers which to Adela’s relief were not hers. The winning ticket holders went up to get their prizes all seemingly very pleased with their winnings, especially the lady who had won the teddy bear. The lady who had won the whisky promptly put it down in front of her husband as soon as she got back to her table and everyone said what a lucky guy her husband was. But they all laughed uproariously when she said she would get it back in kind; her husband looked delighted then crestfallen as she added that those shelves still wanted putting up in the kitchen. All that was left was the free dinner for two at Dolby’s restaurant; the sheriff opened the sixth and final ticket and called out ‘number twenty seven.’

No one whooped with delight but everyone looked around, some shaking their head and others screwing up their tickets in disappointment. Bob said, ‘come on now, who’s the lucky person going to Dolby’s for a slap up dinner?’

No one answered. Hennessey leaned over the table tapped Adela’s raffle tickets and said, ‘it’s you.’

Adela looked at him then down at the tickets then back up again. He was smiling but she wasn’t, she looked embarrassed and nervous. Hennessey squeezed her hand reassuringly and nodded towards the stage saying softly, ‘it’s okay, go on, claim your prize.’

She looked as if she might get up and run for the door, but then very reluctantly rose to her feet. Everyone cheered, they seemed very pleased that she who had paid so much for her tickets should win a prize, but she felt like a fraud. Of everyone here tonight she above all could easily have afforded to pay for a meal at Dolby’s, her own and everyone else’s in the room. She pondered giving back the prize and telling the sheriff to pick another ticket but would that appear ungrateful?

Feeling awful she got up on the stage just as an idea came to her. The sheriff handed her the coupons for the meal but she said, ‘thank you so much, sheriff, and you too, Bob, and also the proprietor of Dolby’s in Gulfport, I’m very grateful. But I’m only here for four more days, (she had in fact five more but who was counting,) ‘and I’m not sure I will have time to take advantage of this wonderful offer. So Sheriff Taylor, would you please choose another ticket so that someone else can enjoy an evening out?’

The sheriff just stared at her and there was a profound silence in the room. She had done a bad thing she could tell, she
had
appeared ungrateful, and maybe even supercilious as though she was looking down on their prize. Never had Adela felt so exposed, so nervous.

Then suddenly someone shouted, ‘well ain’t that real nice of the lady now, to give someone else a chance?’

Someone else said, ‘pretty decent thing to do.’

And, ‘someone else might have just took 'em and thrown ‘em away.’

Then someone started to applaud, she did not see who it was but everyone followed Hennessey’s lead.

She blushed again which caused everyone to smile at her modesty. She shook hands with Bob and the Sheriff then left the stage, several people patted her back and said what a nice thing she’d done. By the time she’d reached her table she was as red as the tablecloth. She sat down in her seat and everyone got back to drinking or chatting although several people continued to look her way smiling, all except Dean Maxwell who was looking but not smiling.

She put both hands to her cheeks and said, ‘for the second time tonight I’d thought I’d done the wrong thing.’

‘Well you didn’t, it was a nice thing to do.’ He looked at her his head on one side, ‘but it wasn’t because you’re not staying long was it?’

She looked at him sharply for a second then shook her head, ‘these people have to hold raffle’s to pay for computers in their school, something I thought every school should be given free by the government. To take one of the prizes when I could so easily afford a dinner for two at Dolby’s, just seemed, well, mean.’ He nodded and she added, ‘and also,' then stopped.

‘Also what?’

‘Nothing.’

‘Oh come on, please.’

‘Well, and this isn’t anywhere near as philanthropic, but I have no one to go with anyway.’

He stared at her but said nothing and she looked away. There was a whoop of delight from a table nearest the door and a grinning man walked past them and onto the stage, obviously he had just won the meal for two. As he passed their table he patted Adela on the arm and said, ‘thanks, lady.’

She said, ‘you’re very welcome, I hope you enjoy the meal.’ He said they definitely would and after smiling at Hennessey he returned to his table.

Just then Annie Bloom came over all enthusiastic and gushing. ‘Adela, honey, I never saw you over here, or I would have come over to chat. That was a nice thing you did. Jed and Sarah have a newborn and don’t get chance to go out much, can’t really afford to ya know, so they're as pleased as punch that they won the dinner.’ Before Adela could reply Annie looked down at Hennessey and said, ‘and is this your young man.?’

Adela reddened, ‘oh no, this is Sterling Hennessey, he’s staying here in town, at the Horse and Hind.’

Annie looked him up and down and seemed to like what she saw, ‘well, it ain’t too often we see a good looking guy like you round these parts, sugar.'

Hennessey smiled, ‘that’s good to know; otherwise all you fine ladies would be taken already.’

Adela expected Annie to catch onto Hennessey’s sarcasm but she didn’t, instead she giggled like a schoolgirl which sounded incongruous to Adela. She said, ‘and charming too, you’s a lucky lady, Adela to have a man with such fine manners.’

‘Yes, I was just thinking that myself,’ said Adela dryly.

Hennessey’s lips twitched as he looked at her. Someone shouted over to Annie and she shouted back, ‘oh be patient would ya.’ She turned back to Adela, ‘men and their beer they can’t be parted for long. You ain’t a drinker are ya young man?’ This question was addressed to Hennessey.

‘No, only in moderation, ma’am.’

‘Everything in moderation so says the Lord.’ Said Annie. She then smiled down on them both and said, ‘well, I’ll be seeing y’all later I s'pect.’

‘Yes you will,’ said Adela. I mean to call into your shop tomorrow anyway, to have another better look around…and to chat of course.’

Annie’s smile was wide, ‘you do that, Adela girl, you do that. Be seeing ya then,’ she patted Hennessey’s cheek, ‘you to handsome.’ The she turned and went to the bar shoving her way through the crowds of men standing there who parted as if she was Moses and they the red sea.

Adela said, ‘well looks like y’all got yourself an admirer there sugar.'

His eyes opened very wide at her imitation of Annie’s southern accent. He said, ‘nice impression, but horrible thought. She’d be the death of me.’

Adela burst out laughing, ‘you’d deserve it for being sarcastic. I’m beginning to think this southern charm is just another word for flim- flam.’

He shrugged, ‘sometimes it is. We all lie don’t we, when it’s expedient to do so. I mean a man lies to his missus when he says, no honey of course your ass doesn’t look big in that just in case she throws a frying pan at him, or he’s refused his conjugal rights for a month. Or we suck up to the boss for a raise or for time off.'

‘Do you?’

‘I don’t have a boss.’

‘I mean lie to get something you want but can’t have?’

‘Of course, don’t you?’

She hesitated a second or two before saying, ‘I can’t recall ever having done so.’

He laughed out loud and she asked sharply ‘what, don’t you believe me?’

‘I’m not laughing at that, it’s the way you said it, so formal, anyone else would have said, “I don’t remember,” or “maybe” or something similar, but you say, “I can’t recall ever having done so.” So formal… and so safe.’

‘Safe?’

‘Yes, you don’t actually say you’ve never lied to get your way or for expediency, just that you don’t recall. Safe.’

She laughed, ‘all right, but it’s all the admission you’ll get from me right now, officer.’

‘Did I sound like a cop?’

‘A little, yes.’

‘I’m sure you’d do very well under interrogation.’

‘Well I do read a lot of crime novels, and I’ve always wanted to know if I would give as good as I got from the cops. I know all the tricks, how not to look scared or impatient, because they’ll use that against you by trying to manipulate you. How not to drink the water they offer to prevent them refusing you the bathroom. How not to be intimidated when they lean forward across the table and crowd your space. That kind of thing.’

‘Looks like you’re all set for a life of crime.’

‘Oh I don’t want to be a criminal, I just imagined myself as a witness or something. I don’t want no trouble with the law, man.’

He laughed again at her imitation of a southern accent, ‘all right, I believe you’ve never lied for gain, but what about for something else?’

‘Such as?’

‘I don’t know, such as to get out of trouble, or to help someone else out of trouble.’

When her face paled beneath her tan he wondered if he had gone too far too soon.

But he didn’t have a lot of time and it was an innocent enough question following on from what they had been talking about. But she surprised him by saying softly, ‘yes, I would. I would lie for someone else.’

‘Not for yourself?’

She shrugged, ‘it would depend on how much trouble I was in.’

He admired her honesty and smiled, ‘well, I can’t imagine a nice honest lady like you getting into any kind of trouble.’

She continued to stare at him for a moment longer then she too smiled, ‘you make me sound so boring.’

‘Oh I would never call a lady boring, ma’am, and certainly not you.’

‘Southern rhetoric?’

‘Hennessey honesty.’

To his surprise she laughed out loud, but what surprised him more was that he felt inexorably pleased he had made her laugh like that. He looked over at Maxwell and got a certain satisfaction from seeing that man’s grim expression.

Just then the same whining sound every time Bob was at the microphone could be heard and they both grimaced. Bob said, ‘right ladies and gents you know the rule, everyone who wins a prize must sing a song as thanks to the donor.’

Adela looked at Hennessey and said, ‘oh gosh, am I glad that I gave my prize away.’

‘You don’t want to sing?’

‘Good Lord no, that’s the last thing I want. I thank God for my generous nature.’

He smiled, ‘surely you can’t be that bad, not as bad as that first guy anyway, he sounded like a pig being slaughtered.’

She didn’t return his smile but looked away and sadness flickered across her face for a moment. He said, ‘what, what’s wrong?’

She shook her head, ‘oh, it’s nothing.’

‘Come on, you looked sad there for a moment, what were you thinking about?’

She hesitated then sighed and said, ‘I like singing, I sing all the time, or I used to, but my mother hated it, she would always tell me to “Shut up that awful din,” and “What did I have to sing about anyway. Someone as…”’ She broke off.

‘Someone as what?’

‘Nothing, it doesn’t matter.’

He was about to press her but then someone started to sing a Tammy Wynette song and talking was impossible.

When all six winners of the raffle had sung Bob came back onto the stage and said, ‘there’s seems to be one singer missing, folks.’

Adela was smiling up at the stage and Bob was looking at her and nodding. The smile slid from her face as she looked around at the crowd and saw who it was they were all staring at. Bob said, ‘come on, Adela, it’s the rule, all winners must sing their thanks.’

She stared at him open mouthed then swallowed very hard, ‘but I gave up my prize.’ Her voice sounded high pitched and almost pleading.

Bob laughed, ‘oh no, you can’t get away with that one, you might have given the prize  away, but your number was called so you have to sing. Town rules, if you don’t Sheriff Taylor will have to arrest you.’ He looked at the sheriff, ‘won’t you, Eugene?’

‘'Fraid so, Miss. Faraday, more than my jobs worth not to.’

Everyone was laughing heartily now and Adela looked at Hennessey for help but he was smiling too. He shrugged as if to say, what can I do? Rules are rules.

The crowd suddenly started chanting, ‘sing, sing,’ until it felt like Adela’s head would explode. Never in all her life had she felt more like running and hiding. She cursed herself for coming here tonight, for meeting Dean Maxwell, even for winning that damn lottery.

In a kind of haze she stood up to cheers and calls of, ‘good girl,’ and there ya go.’

Before she knew she had even stood up she was on the stage. The man who was running the karaoke asked what she would like to sing but her mind was blank. He asked if she would like to look at the song sheet but just then a song she liked and had always sung around the house or in the car came to her. She told him what she wanted to sing and he smiled and told her it was a good choice.

Adela faced the microphone and looked out at the now silent room, at the sea of faces all looking at her and she knew she couldn’t do it. But then she recalled when she had been in the choir the choirmaster had told everyone that when they were nervous singing a solo to look at just one person in the church, so as the music started she looked down at Hennessey and began to sing.