Riverbend Reunion(47)

“Got awful quiet,” Oscar whispered. “Think they all might be considerin’ leavin’ the building in case lightnin’ comes shootin’ down past the ceiling fans?”

“Maybe so, or just leaving it in protest to us being here since we are all so evil.” Mary Nell slid into the second pew on the right beside Jessica.

“I’d like to welcome everyone this morning,” Jasper said. “Let’s start off with a congregational hymn. We will begin our service with number thirteen this morning, and I’m asking everyone to open up your hearts and sing loud enough that the angels in heaven can hear us.”

She settled for the second pew, leaving the first one empty. Jessica grabbed the last hymnal from the back of the pew in front of her and turned to the right page and shared it with Wade, but instead of singing, she leaned over and whispered, “Stella is right across the aisle from us.”

“I can feel the heat coming off her glares,” Mary Nell said just above a whisper. “Surely she won’t say anything to Risa in a church house.”

“We’ll hope not,” Jessica said out the corner of her mouth.



“Shhh,” Wade said ever so softly. “We’re tempting God as it is. We don’t need to talk.”

“Might was well get struck dead for a sheep as a lamb,” Jessica told him. “And besides, I can’t sing anyway.”

Wade tried to sing, but his thoughts drifted, and he kept losing his place, so he finally quit. The last time he was in this very church, he had sat alone on the front pew. He hadn’t heard a word the preacher said that day. Danny’s closed casket was in front of him, and he felt as if he couldn’t breathe. Maybe ten or twenty people sat behind him—a few of Danny’s classmates, and some members of the church who never missed a funeral or a wedding.

He didn’t feel like an elephant was sitting on his chest this morning like he had at the funeral, but sitting so close to Jessica sure put an extra beat in his heart. He liked having her in his life and was grateful to have someone to share the joy of a new venture with, who also understood his past.

After the singing, the preacher took his place behind the lectern. His sermon that morning was all about forgiving and forgetting. Wade wasn’t ready for that, so he blocked the preacher out and thought about redesigning the bar. When the preacher asked an elderly gentleman to give the benediction, Wade bowed his head like everyone else and gave thanks that the service was finally over so he and Oscar could grab a burger at the local diner and go play dominoes with a bunch of older guys at Oscar’s house.

He stood up with the rest of the folks and turned to walk out into the aisle. Oscar and Mary Nell had already stepped out in front of Stella, who had stopped at the end of her pew and glared at each person as they made their way from between pews. Wade could have sworn that the whole church was suddenly hotter’n a barbed-wire fence in hell just from the expression on Stella’s face.

Haley, the last one to face Stella, nodded and whispered out the corner of her mouth like a gangster, “This is not the time or the place to create a scene. Not even God will forgive you for being ugly to your kinfolks in a church house.”

Stella crossed her arms over her chest. “Don’t you give me advice,” she said aloud.

“Mother”—Risa took a step back and looked Stella right in the eye—“Haley is right. Don’t test me in God’s house or you might be embarrassed.”

“You are a disgrace to me,” Stella spat. “I don’t want you in my church. Go find another one, or else just stay in that bar you’re helping build on Sunday morning. I’ll tell you one thing.” Her finger shot up just an inch from Risa’s nose. “There are some of us that won’t take this layin’ down. We are planning a demonstration at your bar on Tuesday evening, and we’re asking the whole congregation to come out and sign our petition to the city council to revoke your right to build anything in that church. We would rather see it burned to the ground than have a house of God turned into a honky-tonk.”

“Bring it on,” Oscar said. “We will be waiting. Do you plan to just sing hymns as you protest, or will there be preaching?”

“We will sing God’s hymns until He hears us and sends lightning to strike that place,” Stella said. “I’ve been praying every night that God will set it on fire, and I believe He hears the prayers of his faithful Christians.”

“That sounds like ‘Lizzie and the Rainman.’” Lily giggled.

“In that song, Lizzie dances around a fire to make it rain. Are you going to dance around the parking lot to bring down fire, Granny Stella?” Daisy asked.

“Are you going to wear clothes or dance naked?” Lily asked. “Either way, I’m going to stand out by the road and turn this into a TikTok. It should be a great show.”

“You!” Stella’s finger waved over to include the twins. “You both should be put in foster care. Your mother isn’t fit to raise you, and I don’t even know what a TikTok is.”

“Whoa, now!” Daisy took a step forward. “You are not going to talk about Mama like that.”

Stella gave her a push, snarled her nose like a skunk had just sprayed her, and marched up the aisle with half a dozen women behind her. Lily caught her sister to keep her from falling, and said in a loud voice, “Did you just push a child? That was a mistake, Granny Stella. God doesn’t hear the prayers of mean people. And as a fine Christian woman, you should know that Jesus loves little children.”