Best Kept Secrets(122)

plants, no pictures--other than one of a bleeding, crucified

Christ--no books or magazines. There was nothing to relieve

the cheerless atmosphere that pervaded the house. Alex had

seen three thin, dejected-looking children leave with their

father. She and Wanda Gail were alone.

They sat side by side on a tacky, threadbare sofa that

reflected the overall penury of the house. Wanda Gail was

wringing the damp towel between her hands. Her face was

working with anxiety. She was obviously scared to death,

either of Alex, or of her husband's reprisal should he find

out she had been in their home.

Alex tried to reassure her by calmly stating, "I just want

to talk to you. I accidentally discovered that your name was

Wanda Gail Burton."

"Not anymore. Not since I found Jesus."

"Tell me about that. When was it?"

"The summer after I graduated. A bunch of us--"

"Your sisters?"

She nodded. "And some friends. We all piled into some





body's car and drove to Midland. We were looking for fun,"

she said, casting her eyes downward. "We saw this big tent

set up in a cow pasture on the outskirts of town. There was

a revival going on. We thought we'd go, see what it was

about. We went on a lark, you know, to poke fun at the

people and to laugh at the gospel."

She made a grimace of remorse. "It all seemed real funny,

'cause we'd been drinking and smoking pot somebody had

brought back from Eagle Pass." She folded her hands together

and offered up a brief prayer of repentance.

' 'What happened? Did you have a religious experience that

night?"

She confirmed Alex's guess by briskly nodding her head.

"There was this young preacher there. After the singing and

praying, he took the microphone." Her eyes assumed a

dreamy aspect as she was transported back. "I don't even

remember what he preached on. His voice alone put me in

a trance. I remember feeling his energy pouring through me.

I couldn't take my eyes off him."

Her vision cleared. "The others had had enough and

wanted to leave. I told them to go on and pick me up later.

I wanted to stay. When he was finished preaching, I went

down to the altar with dozens of others. He laid his hands

on my head and prayed for my deliverance from sin." Misty-eyed,

she announced, "I gave my heart to Jesus and to Fergus

Plummet that same night."

"How soon after that were you married?"

"Two days."

Alex didn't know a delicate way to approach her next

question. Out of deference to the woman's Christian conversion,

she addressed her by her married name. "Mrs. Plummet,

you and your sisters . . ." She paused, wet her lips.

"I've heard ..."

"I know what you've heard. We were harlots."

Alex didn't approve of her harsh, condemning estimation

of herself and tried to soften it. "I know that you dated a lot

of men."

Wanda began to twist the towel again. "I confessed all my



transgressions to Fergus. He forgave me, just like God did.

He embraced me in love, in spite of my wickedness."

Alex had a more jaundiced opinion of the preacher's largess.

He had probably wanted a wife who felt privileged that

he had so unselfishly forgiven her, one who would consider

his grace equal to God's.

God forgot sins; Alex doubted that Fergus Plummet did.

He probably kept scrupulous accounts of transgressions and

used Wanda Gail's past as a tool to keep her under his thumb.

He surely made her life miserable with constant reminders

of how lucky she was to have his forgiveness.

It was apparent, however, that whatever had happened to

Wanda Gail in that revival tent had been profound and irreversible.

Her decision that night to create a different life

for herself had withstood twenty-five years. For that, she had

earned Alex's admiration.

"Two of the boys you dated in high school were Reede

Lambert and Junior Minton."

"Yes," Wanda said with a reflective smile, "they were

the two best-looking, most popular boys in school. All the

girls wanted to date them."

"Including Stacey Wallace?"

"The only boy she could ever see was Junior Minton. It

was kinda pitiful, you know, because Stacey was so crazy

about him and he was stuck on Celina."

"And Celina belonged to Reede."

"Well, sure. Reede was, and still is, basically good. He

didn't treat me and my sisters like trash, even though that's

what we were. He was always nice about . . . well, you

know, whenever he took us out. He always said thank you

afterward."

Alex smiled sickly.

"Liked to have drove him plumb nuts when Celina got