Hope's Corner

by Chris Keniston

  “Why?” Jeff tied his shoes, then looked at his watch again. He really wanted to get to the church. He didn’t want Pam alone to deal with gossiping parishioners.

  “Remember that second honeymoon I promised Kathy in Europe?”

  “You mean a few years ago when you forgot your anniversary?”

  “That would be the one.”

  “What about it?”

  “We leave tomorrow morning. You know, like that movie, If It’s Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium. I think we’re doing twelve countries in fourteen days.”

  Jeff chuckled. “Better not lose Kathy on a bus of Japanese tourists.”

  “Funny. But seriously, I can recommend someone else to see your friend if she doesn’t want to wait.”

  “No. I’d feel better if you handled it. I suppose if she hasn’t dealt with any of this in over two years, she can certainly wait a few more weeks.”

  “Yes, Mrs. Cahill. I’ll be sure to tell Pastor Jeff you called. … No, ma’am, I won’t forget. … Yes, ma’am.” Pam stared at the phone for a split second before putting it back on the cradle.

  “Sounds like you’re having a busy day.” Sandra Quinn had come into the office somewhere between Mrs. Tidwell’s and Mrs. Hawkins' phone calls, and sat patiently as Pam explained to Mr. Haskell and now Mrs. Cahill that Jeff hadn’t come into work yet.

  “This place is always busy, but it doesn’t usually start so early.” Pam shrugged, not sure if she should make something out of the parade of calls or not. “Yesterday the phone rang off the hook with inquiries on Pastor Harlon, but today, they seem to have forgotten all about him.”

  “I wouldn’t go that far. But I don’t think folks are as concerned with the senior pastor as much as they are with you and Jeff.”

  “Me? Why are they worried about me?”

  Sandra glanced around as though making sure no one overheard. “Word seems to have gotten around town about, you know, last night.”

  “Last night?” What could folks around town possibly know about last night? Talking about the attack had been difficult, but in town thought Travis had died in a car accident. It was a story his mother had started, and one Pam never saw reason to correct. The poor woman had lost so much. All she wanted was for her son to be remembered for the life he had lived, not the way he had died. Pam didn’t see any point in upsetting her more by telling the truth. After all, what would it change?

  “You know.” Sandra glanced away, and if Pam wasn’t mistaken, the woman blushed. “Jeff staying over and…all.”

  Good grief. Did the whole town think she and Jeff had spent the night together? “You mean all these people think Jeff and I are…” Pam couldn’t say the words.

  Sandra nodded.

  Hand on her cheek, Pam realized her mouth was hanging open. It took a few more seconds for her to close her mouth and swallow. Wasn’t this a pickle?

  “I know Pastor Jeff is fond of you.”

  Pam’s jaw fell open again.

  “And he is a man after all. I’m sure it’s not easy to ignore his needs.”

  Pam closed her mouth and tried not to gape like a frightened owl. “Oh, boy, are you barking up the wrong tree.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Jeff and I aren’t involved. Not the way the town thinks. And as for his needs, well that’s certainly none of my business.”

  Her expression blank, unreadable, Sandra watched Pam for several long seconds. “Don’t worry. I happen to think Jeff’s one of the good guys. He cares about the people of this town. If the two of you want to keep things secret, I’ll go along. You can trust me.”

  “There’s nothing to keep secret. I was simply upset, and Jeff was kind enough to keep me company. If we’d been fooling around, don’t you think we would have been more discreet?”

  “Your neighbor Mrs. Harper did mention her surprise at seeing Jeff so brazen, waving at Mrs. McCarthy, not trying at all to protect your reputation.”

  “My reputation doesn’t need protecting.”

  “That’s not what people are saying.”

  How the heck was she going to explain Jeff leaving her house at the crack of dawn to the entire town? “I promise you, the only relationship between Jeff and me is that of pastor and secretary with a little bit of good neighbor thrown in.”

  For now it was probably best to ignore the morning’s somnambular activities. Heaven knows neither she nor Jeff had wanted to mention it.

  Sandra shrugged one shoulder. “Whatever the case, you can count on my discretion.”

  “What I really need is to stop the flow of erroneous information before Jeff hears.”

  “I’m not sure that’s humanly possible.” Sandra’s mouth twisted into a partial smile. “You grew up here. Do you really think we can stop the grapevine once it takes off?”

  “Ugh.” Pam groaned.

  “Exactly. Look honey, I believe you. Really I do. I’ll admit you look pretty upset, but you don’t look guilty, and you certainly don’t look like a woman who had her bells rung last night.”

  Bells rung? This couldn’t be real. She was in bed, having a crazy dream, and if she opened her eyes, she’d find herself in her own room, laughing at all the absurdity. All she had to do was close her eyes real tight, and tell herself time to wake up.

  “Are you okay?” Sandra asked softly.

  Pam opened her eyes to find Sandra still sitting in front of her, her expression transformed from curiosity to concern.

  “Yeah, sorry.”

  “Pam.” Jeff’s voice echoed down the hall. “Are you o—” He skidded to a halt when he spotted Sandra.

  “Morning, Pastor.” Sandra smiled up at him.

  “Oh, good morning, Sandra. How’s Mrs. Perkins doing?”

  “Great. She’s put on almost three pounds.”

  “That’s wonderful news.” His eyes darted across the desk to Pam. An easy stance and an attempt at casual conversation did nothing to hide the worry in his eyes. “Were you waiting for me?”

  “No. I came in to visit with Pam, but I’d better let you two get back to work.” She turned to Pam. “Call me if you need a little moral support.”

  Pam nodded. “Will do. And thanks for the heads-up.”

  “Anytime.” Tossing another smile in Jeff’s direction, Sandra headed out the door.

  “What was that all about?” Jeff asked.

  “It seems we are the brunt of local gossip this morning.”

  “Yeah.” He sank into the nearest chair. “Euphemia McCarthy called my mother as soon as I left your house.”

  “Oh, no.” Pam dropped her face into her hands, and felt the warmth of Jeff’s hand on her shoulder.

  “It’s not that bad. I told her nothing happened. I sort of told her that you were having a little trouble with nightmares.”

  Pam’s head shot up and her gaze flew to his. “You didn’t?”

  “I told her just enough so she’d believe me when I explained we’re not steaming up the bedroom.”

  “Oh.” With a groan she let her head fall back onto her hands. Her face still buried, she mumbled through her fingers. “The whole town thinks we’re sleeping together.”

  “Maybe not the whole town.”

  That wasn’t what she wanted to hear. Turning her head, she glared at him with one eye. “All right then, the whole town except your mother.”

  “By now Dad probably knows the truth too.”

  Before Pam could respond, her brother Jake’s voice carried loudly down the hall. “Pamela Sue!”

  Pam rolled her eyes and moaned like a wounded moose. “This can’t be happening.”

  Jeff pushed to his feet. “I’ll talk to him.”

  “Pammy?” Her sister Valerie called out, the clicking of her heels tapped out a sharp tattoo alongside the thump of heavy male footsteps.

  Pam didn’t need to look up; she already knew those footsteps belonged to not one but both her brothers. Sure enough, when she found the nerve to raise her head, both her brothers and her sist
er stood in the doorway. Jake toe-to-toe with Jeff.

  Legs spread wide, arms folded, Jake glared at Jeff. “When you agreed to help, this wasn’t the sort of help I had in mind.”

  “Now, don’t you listen to them. I think it’s wonderful about you and Jeff.” Valerie shuffled around her brother’s blocklike stance and scurried to her sister’s side. “Absolutely wonderful.”

  The way her sister beamed, Pam didn’t know if she wanted to laugh or cry. “There is no me and Jeff,” she managed to croak out.

  Bo, the leaner of her two brothers, stood silently holding up the wall, hands in his pockets, carefully watching each person as though following a key moment in a dramatic play. Pam knew she could reason with Bo, but Jake she wasn’t so sure about. He was known to swing first and ask questions later. A rather awkward habit for a well-respected banker.

  Jake’s eyes narrowed, and he glowered over Jeff’s shoulder at her. She resisted the urge to squirm in her seat. “This is all a waste of time. My virtue is intact.”

  Jake shifted his attention back to Jeff. “That’s not the way I heard it.”

  “What exactly did you hear?” Jeff asked.

  “Redding and Mabel were arguing in the kitchen this morning over at the café. Redding insists you’re not trifling with my sister. He bet Mabel a Sunday dinner for any takers that my Pamela Sue will be wearing a wedding ring before Dad can clean his shotgun.”

  Pam closed her eyes and dropped her head on her desk. Dear God, please let me be dreaming.

  Jake continued, “Mabel insists Pamela Sue is a grown woman and has the right to dally with anyone she wants without being shackled to one man.”

  “Mabel’s right.” Valerie settled a hand on Pam’s shoulder. “Maybe all Pammy wants is to start having a little fun.”

  Pam looked up at her sister. “You’re not helping.” Splaying her palms flat on her desk, she pushed upright then waved her arm from one side of the tiny office to the other. “Everyone out.”

  Jeff turned to her, surprise on his face.

  She stepped around the desk. “I am not chattel, and I am not out to have some fun. I told Jeff about that night. To say it was upsetting might be a tad of an understatement. Jeff was nice enough to keep me company so I could get some sleep. Though none of you need to be telling that to anyone.” She paused and nudged her sister toward the door. “I want all of you to go back to work and stop giving the gossipmongers more to feed on.”

  She stopped in front of Bo. “And you, go tell Dad to put away the shotgun.”

  Bo’s eyes twinkled with amusement. Without a word, he smiled at his sister and pivoted on his booted heel.

  “And you, Jake Wharton, owe Jeff an apology. How dare you come marching in here and accuse one of your oldest friends, an honorable man, of something so dishonorable?”

  “I haven’t accused anyone.”

  “The hell you didn’t. You may not have said it in so many words, but any moron can tell what you’re thinking. Now wipe that scowl off your face, apologize, and let us get back to work.”

  Jake stared at Jeff for so long, Pam thought she was going to have a real fight on her hands.

  “Did she really tell you what happened?”

  Jeff gave a short nod.

  “All of it?”

  He dipped his chin again in affirmation.

  “And?”

  “It’s complicated. She’s agreed to see a friend of mine in Poplar Springs.”

  Jake nodded, and like his brother, turned on his heel, this time walking softly out the door.

  Valerie hesitated in the doorway. “You two really didn’t…?”

  Pam and Jeff both shook their heads.

  “What a waste.” Valerie followed her brothers.

  Still staring at the glass doors leading to the parking lot, Pam mumbled, “John Haskell called earlier, twice.”

  Jeff nodded, his gaze somewhere off in the distance.

  “We’re in trouble up to our eyebrows, aren’t we?”

  “Not you.”

  Pam cringed at the sight of John Haskell pulling into the parking lot. “How are we going to fix this?”

  Jeff spotted the white SUV. “How did they put Humpty Dumpty back together again?”

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  From where Jeff stood, John Haskell practically slithered out of the front seat of his car. Quite a feat for a man only five-foot-eight or so and pushing 250 pounds.

  “John, what a nice surprise.” Jeff held the door for the president of the church’s board of directors.

  Red faced and huffing, Haskell’s blistering disposition cooled to almost gracious when he spotted Pam on the other side of the doorway. “Morning, Pamela Sue.”

  “Good morning, Mr. Haskell. Lovely day isn’t it? Any day now we’ll be buried in scorching summer heat.”

  “Yes, my Wilma is enjoying her garden while the cool weather lasts.”

  “Shall we go to my office?” Jeff gestured down the hall.

  John Haskell nodded.

  “I’ll bring some coffee.” Pam’s eyes settled on Jeff’s for just a second before she turned into the small kitchen. Maybe if she spiked the coffee, this conversation would go better than he expected, but there probably wasn’t enough whiskey in Scotland to make this an easy visit.

  He closed the door behind him. “What can I do for you, John?”

  “I think you know what this is about, Jeff.” Haskell didn’t bother to sit. That couldn’t be good.

  “We’ve had an emergency board meeting this morning.”

  Fast work, Jeff thought, even for John Haskell.

  “As the leader of our congregation, you’re expected to maintain a certain level of respectability, morality.”

  “Of course.” Jeff stood behind his desk, and gestured for Haskell to take a seat, but wasn’t surprised when he shook his head.

  “We simply can’t have our pastor seducing female parishioners.”

  “I couldn’t agree with you more.”

  “Then you understand why this can’t go on? The church simply can’t stand by and let this situation go uncorrected.” Haskell dropped his hands flat on the desk, staring up at Jeff. “For heaven’s sake, you’re a man of God. What will our young people think when they learn their pastor is bedding a woman who is not his wife?”

  “And who is going to tell our youth of my alleged indiscretions?”

  The question seemed to catch Haskell off guard. From his expression, Jeff was sure the man expected a different response.

  “Well, uh,” Haskell stammered. “I’m sure it’s no one’s intention to malign you or Mrs. Dawson’s reputations, but this is not the sort of news that is easily kept under wraps.”

  “Apparently not.” Jeff wasn’t in any mood to play the game. He’d had enough with Haskell’s highbrowed meddling.

  “Then you understand why the board feels, until this matter is settled, it is in everyone’s best interest for you to step aside?”

  “So we’ve been judged and condemned immoral without facing a single accuser? I must have missed when we removed Mathew chapter eighteen from our Bible.”

  Haskell’s face flushed a ruddy color reminiscent of a garden gnome. “Yes, well, I’m here in private now, am I not?”

  “But first you gathered with more than two or three, not to encourage our repentance as scripture dictates, but to plan the best way for the church to save face.”

  Jeff glanced at the Bible on his desk. The one his father had given him the day he graduated seminary. His father would have had the wisdom and patience to play the game, to open the book and sway the board with scripture and godly logic. Jeff almost laughed. He wasn’t his father, but he knew exactly which scriptures were appropriate. Taking the matter before the congregation, and putting Haskell and the entire board in its place for bypassing church court procedures and jumping on the gossip bandwagon, would be an easy task even for him.

  But he didn’t want any part of it. Enough was enough. He wasn’t the
man for this job. Since the day he'd chosen to confront Jenny Buckner’s abusive husband, only to have her die at his hands the next day, there’d been no hiding from that simple truth. Now, there was no point in defending a position he no longer deserved. Even if the reason had nothing to do with Pamela Sue. “For the record, I am not in a sexual relationship with Mrs. Dawson, but does anyone on the board want to know what really happened yesterday? Is anyone concerned with the truth? I don’t think so.”

  Haskell’s entire face pinched at Jeff’s bitter words. “See here, Jeff. If you have some defense that would explain your behavior, which I have previously pointed out, and in private, then of course the board would be more than willing to reconsider our position.”

  “That won’t be necessary. I’m sure the elders will be able to step in until an appropriate replacement can be found.” Jeff moved around Haskell and opened his office door in a silent dismissal. There was no point in continuing.

  “Yes, well…” Haskell straightened his spine and sputtered like a used car as he walked through the doorway, passed Pam in the hall holding a tray, and practically raced to the front door.

  Pam stepped into Jeff’s office carrying the coffee. “That didn’t go well, did it?”

  “It depends on whether you consider requesting my resignation going well.”

  The coffee cups rattled when Pam set the tray on his desk with a thunk and collapsed into the worn visitor’s chair. “This is all my fault.”

  Jeff shook his head and sank into what was, until recently, his father’s chair. “I should have given at least some thought to what neighbors might think if they saw me leaving your house so early in the morning.”

  “Only guilty people worry about appearances.”

  “And pastors. My whole life my parents have drummed into all of us the need to be careful. A pastor’s family lives their life under a microscope, and it doesn’t take much for something innocent to be misconstrued as inappropriate. I should have known better. I should have protected you.”

  “Protected me?”

  He opened a drawer and removed a bottle of aspirin, then returned it to its corner. Whoever replaced him would definitely need the aspirin. “Most people in town don’t care what you and I do or don’t do in the privacy of our homes. But there are lots of older, conservative folks in this town. Someone is bound to brand you Hester Prynne.”