Sweet Revenge

by Maisy Morgan

  “Yeah, I spotted him over by the dunk tank earlier,” Cindy said.

  “Is he still giving you a bit of trouble, Cindy?” Pastor Josiah asked.

  “No, he doesn’t speak to us. I was just surprised to see him out this way,” Cindy said. “I took your advice, Pastor Josiah. I’ve let myself forgive him, and it does make things a lot easier, but with that being said, I still feel like I have to protect Hannah from him. He really hurt us both after leaving the way he did.”

  “I know, dear,” Pastor Josiah said. “You know we’re always praying for you and that little girl of yours. If there is anything you ever need, just let us know.”

  “Believe me, I know,” Cindy assured him. “You and your family and the church have done so much for us already, and I truly appreciate it.”

  Pastor Josiah and Jenna wound up buying a box of chocolate chip cookies before leaving. Cindy sighed. “And, of course he would wait to come marching up to me until after the pastor walked off…” she grumbled and nodded.

  Mary looked up and spotted a younger man near Cindy’s age heading straight towards them. “He’s got some nerve, I’ll give him that,” Officer Preston said from where he stood next to Mary inside the booth.

  “Hey, Cindy,” the man said as he came close, and he looked at Preston like he thought the man was going to jump out from under the tent and sock him.

  “Lenny,” Cindy responded coldly. “What are you doing here? Don’t you usually work on Saturdays?”

  “Yeah, I’m off today,” he said, “so I decided to come here to the Brooks Day event.”

  Cindy shrugged, not offering any sympathy. “Don’t let Hannah see you,” she said after a moment’s silence.

  “Oh, come on, Cindy,” Lenny said. “What is that going to hurt?”

  “I’m sorry, Lenny, but you don’t get to disappear for a couple of years and expect your daughter to just bounce back,” Cindy hissed. “Especially when she knows you left because of her. Do you not realize what you did to her?”

  “That’s what I’m trying to talk to you about now, Cindy,” Lenny said. “I know it’s been two years…”

  “Save it,” Cindy said.

  “Cindy, look—”

  Preston took a step out of the tent and merely gave Lenny a serious, threatening glare. Lenny took a step back immediately and held up his hands defensively. “You’re acting like I’m going to hit her or something,” Lenny snarled. “I’ve never done nothing like that.”

  “Might as well have,” Preston said. “Why don’t you go home, Mr. Sharp?”

  This Lenny fellow looked like he had something he really wanted to say, and he was struggling a bit to decide whether or not he should. A few more moments went by before he finally just threw his arms down to his side. “Fine,” he said. “I’m out of here. I don’t stay where I’m not welcome.” He trudged off and out of sight.

  Mary looked to Cindy as Preston put a hand on the woman’s shoulder. “You okay, Cindy?” Preston asked.

  “I’m fine,” she said.

  “What was all that about anyways?” Mary questioned.

  “Lenny Sharp, my ex-husband,” Cindy said with a grunt. “After Hannah’s accident, he got very distant—especially towards Hannah. She was twelve years old. He had been the one driving, not that it was his fault, and we were in a hit-and-run. However, he couldn’t handle it, and he didn’t know how to support her. And he definitely couldn’t handle the medical side of things either. It got to be too much for him, so he just left—walked out on us. We didn’t hear hardly a peep out of him for two years, and then he just shows up here? I don’t think so. I don’t get it, really. I don’t get what type of father does that.”

  “I know,” Mary said. “My husband, well, he left me not too long after my daughter became pregnant with Tripp. She got into drugs, and when she started spiraling, he just opted out.”

  “That’s exactly what Lenny did,” Cindy said.

  “I’m so sorry you had to go through that,” Mary said.

  “It’s over with now,” Cindy said with a hand wave. “It feels like a lifetime ago really. And, Hannah and I are doing good now. Thanks for chasing him off, Preston.”

  “Anytime, Cindy,” he said.

  Cindy spun around and handed Mary a wad of ones. “So, can I get a whole rainbow cake?”

  Chapter Six

  “Hey, Grandma!” Tripp called, darting towards Mary’s booth. Mary smiled; she felt like she was winning a small victory each time Tripp called her anything other than Mary. Officer Preston was still standing by the booth when he came hurrying up. “Grandma, Cindy saved you a seat by the patio benches. They’re about to show a short film that someone local filmed.”

  “Well, that’s really neat,” Mary said, smiling. “Tripp, this is Officer Preston by the way.”

  Tripp smiled, and Preston put his hand out to shake. “Nice to meet you young man.”

  Tripp shook the officer’s hand politely before turning back to Mary excitedly. “Hannah said Ms. Kristin, the woman who made the video, did a short film last year that was really good and that I should come get you to watch it.”

  “Oh, that sounds fun and all, but I really should watch my booth,” Mary said.

  “Why don’t you go ahead with your grandson?” Officer Preston said, smiling at her. “I’d be happy to watch the booth for you.”

  “Would you really?” Mary asked feeling unsure of his kindness.

  “Of course!” Preston replied.

  “Yeah, come on!” Tripp said.

  This was the first time Tripp had looked even remotely excited about something since first hearing that they would be moving across country to Georgia, so Mary struggled a bit deciding whether or not to take Preston up on his offer. “I insist,” he said. “They have a limit for five minutes on the short films they do during the Brooks Day events anyways. You’ll only be gone for a minute with your grandson.”

  Mary, upon hearing the brisk time allotment decided to follow Tripp. “Thanks, Preston. I’ll be back as soon as it’s over.” They were very close to the awning where the dance performers had been just moments ago and where the crew was getting to work on setting up the short film. They worked on setting up a large screen where the film was going to be projected in just a few moments. The film director, a woman named Kristin, was standing and talking with some of the event coordinators.

  Mary sat down next to Cindy. “You should have seen her film last year,” Cindy told Mary. “It was a post-apocalyptic short filmed right here at the ballpark. Kristin does a great job. She came in second place during a state competition last year.”

  “That’s really incredible,” Mary said, looking towards the woman, Kristin, who looked a bit nervous but also excited about the film they were about to show. She was an older lady with long, flowing gray hair. She was pacing slightly with this almost devilish grin about her.

  People were gathered all around, and Mary was thankful that they had saved her a seat as more and more people flocked towards the picnic awning. The film started, and Kristin herself appeared on the screen. “We all wear masks,” her voice began the narration as people fidgeted excitedly in their seats. “It’s true. We never are our true selves to the public. Everyone around you—people you think you know, are only presenting a facade of sorts. I hope you all enjoy my little surprise.” The video faded, and suddenly they were confronted by a picture of a younger Kristin and a man who looked suspiciously like a younger Pastor Josiah – she was kissing his cheek.

  Mary instinctually looked over to where Pastor Josiah and his wife Jenna were standing. Josiah had straightened himself up a bit, and he looked alarmed. Mary, distracted by the former pastor and his wife, had nearly missed the picture that caused the whole crowd to gasp. She whipped her head around in time to see a picture of a significantly younger-looking Kristin half dressed in a bedroom. “Oh my goodness, that’s Pastor Josiah’s house,” Cindy said, putting her hands over her mouth.

  A picture of wh
at was clearly Pastor Josiah and Kristin on a trip together – a romantic dinner, perhaps? In a hotel room. On a beach. Images of emails between the two of them that had to date back at least a decade. Mary heard a scream, and she spun her head around again to see that Josiah’s wife, Jenna, had fainted. Pastor Michael was now darting across the lawn, and he unplugged the projector that had been playing the slideshow detailing an old affair from the former pastor’s youth. Kristin was laughing. People were shouting and arguing with one another in shock of what they had just saw. Pastor Michael was a bit flabbergasted as he spoke to Kristin. “Now, see here, Kristin…” he was saying frantically.

  “What’s wrong, Pastor Michael? Upset to find out that your mentor was a cheater?” she taunted as she began loading up her laptop.

  “You – you should have gone to Pastor Josiah and Jenna, not – not showcased this to the entire town!” Pastor Michael exclaimed.

  Kristin laughed. “And, why not?” she asked, already walking off. “Enjoy the rest of the celebration, Pastor Michael!” she sang as she trotted off.

  “Holy crap,” Hannah said.

  “Hannah, hush,” Cindy said frantically.

  “Um… I should probably get back to my booth so that Officer Preston can check in on Jenna,” Mary said, jumping up. Tripp followed her, and once she arrived back at her booth, she had to explain to Officer Preston what had caused all the surprised shouting a moment ago.

  “I thought it had just been a horror film or something,” he said, darting off towards the crowd towards the elderly couple, Josiah and Jenna, who had just been humiliated rather publicly.

  “Small town drama, I guess,” Tripp said, as he stood by Mary, snickering a bit.

  “It’s really not funny, Tripp,” she said. “That was an extremely wrong way to handle that. It looked like poor Jenna didn’t even have a clue.”

  “Those were some old pictures,” Tripp said. “They had to be at least twenty years younger.”

  “If she wanted to come clean to Jenna about the affair, she should have done it privately,” Mary insisted. “That was just wrong.”

  “You don’t think it was even a little bit funny?” Tripp asked.

  “No, Tripp, I really don’t,” Mary insisted.

  Jenna was taken away in an ambulance. She apparently hit her head during her tumble, and the former pastor, Josiah, left with his wife. Mary got to witness small town gossip up close. It seemed like everyone who came over to her booth was whispering about what they had just seen. “Can you believe Pastor Josiah? He was supposed to be a moral teacher!”

  “Honestly, I feel terrible for Jenna.”

  “How could Jenna not have known?”

  “When do you think the affair ended? Do you think it was still going on?”

  “What made Kristin come out and show that all of a sudden?”

  “Honestly, she should have said something when he was still the pastor instead of waiting until now!”

  And, it went on and on and on. Tripp eventually got tired of listening to it and rejoined Hannah, trying to salvage the afternoon. Eventually, things started to calm down. There was only so much the town could talk about regarding Josiah and Kristin’s former affair with what little information they had gotten from the pictures before Pastor Michael had put a stop to the show. Once things had settled, Officer Preston made his way back over to Mary’s booth.

  “Well, that caused quite a commotion,” Preston said.

  “You’re telling me,” Mary said, shaking her head. “It was a little crazy. Good way to get introduced to the town.”

  “Yeah, not a good first impression of us, now was it?” Preston asked laughing slightly. “Maybe I should try to salvage our reputation. Don’t want you getting the wrong idea about us after all. What do you say we go to dinner?”

  Mary laughed. “That was a nice segue there, Officer Preston.”

  “I thought it was pretty good,” he said, laughing. “It was kind of lame though, wasn’t it,” he said.

  “Just a little, but it was sweet,” she said. “Honestly, I’m not so sure. Tripp and I just got here, and I don’t know about leaving Tripp at home alone right now. It’s just—”

  “I’ll watch him!” a voice from behind her tent said, and Mary spun around to see Cindy scurrying around the tent. She had on this big, excited grin as she gave Officer Preston a friendly shove. “I mean, why not? The kids get along. I could take the kiddos to the movies, so you can have a night out Mary.”

  Mary’s face turned bright red. “Oh,” she said.

  Officer Preston grinned. “Thanks for that, wingman, or should I say wingwoman,” he said as he winked at Cindy. He looked back at Mary with very hopeful eyes. “What do you think? Can I trouble you for a dinner out?”

  Mary looked into his pleasant eyes. “I suppose it would be nice to go out and see the town a little.”

  “Officer Preston, I do believe you got a yes from Mary,” Cindy said with a slight giggle. “Tonight, right? Pick her up around seven?”

  “Cindy!” Mary explained.

  “Oh, hush, you need me, clearly,” Cindy said, waving her off.

  Officer Preston smirked. “I can do seven.”

  Mary shook her head, surrendering. “Seven it is. I’ll see you tonight.”

  “And I promise to have her looking the part Preston,” Cindy said with a wink.

  He laughed, and, after exchanging information, he promised to pick Mary up later that evening. He left shortly afterwards, having some sort of duties he needed to fulfill elsewhere.

  As soon as he was gone, Mary turned on Cindy. “Are you serious?” she questioned. “I just moved here. I’m not really looking for a dating life at this time.”

  “That’s what everyone always says, but when someone as sweet and cute as Officer Preston is interested, you jump on it,” Cindy said.

  “I haven’t been on a date…” Mary frowned. “I haven’t been on a date since my husband left.”

  “And that was how long ago?” Cindy asked cautiously.

  “How old is Tripp?”

  “Oh, geez,” Cindy said, covering her mouth. “I didn’t realize that. I might have set you up for failure.”

  “Wow, thanks for the pep talk, Cindy,” Mary said, rolling her eyes. “What am I going to do? I don’t even remember what dating was like let alone what being single on a date was like. The last date night my ex-husband and I went on was over fourteen years ago.”

  “Well, step one is deciding what you’re going to wear,” Cindy said. “Then hopefully the rest will come naturally.”

  “What to wear… right.” Mary said, and then she felt a slight twinge of panic. “Oh no, my dress clothes are still in boxes, Cindy!”

  “Okay, don’t panic yet. You have plenty of time,” Cindy said. “You think about what you want to wear, and when you get home, make it your mission to find that outfit. You don’t worry about Tripp or anything. I’ll be by around six thirty this evening to pick him up so that he’s out of the house long before Officer Preston gets there.”

  Mary shook her head. “I’m going to get you for this one Cindy.” She crossed her arms giving Cindy the stink eye.

  “You’re going to love me for this one,” Cindy assured her. “Nice single men around here are slim pickings. And Officer Preston is a genuinely, nice man. I think that’s just what you need.”

  “You just met me. How do you know what I need?” Mary asked with a laugh.

  “Because dear, he’s a Southern gentleman. Believe me, that’s what every girl needs,” Cindy said, joining Mary in her laughter. “Trust me, nothing’s better than a country boy. You’ll see.”

  Mary wasn’t so sure, but she decided for the time being that she would just have to take Cindy’s word for it. She had to admit the whole thing had her rather intrigued. What would a date be like with a charming, Southern gentleman?

  Chapter Seven

  Mary finished putting on eyeliner, grumbling to herself as she looked in the mirror. She
hadn’t done eyeliner in so long that she had almost forgotten how to do it. She stood upright, examining herself in the mirror. She had elected to wear a nice white blouse and a long black skirt that was rather slimming on her. She was debating whether or not to put on jewelry when Tripp knocked on her door. “Come in!” she called, and Tripp entered, nearly tripping over a moving box set near the doorway.

  “Eventually, we are going to have to finish unpacking,” he said with a smirk. He smiled at her slightly. “Wow! You look nice, Grandma.”

  “Thanks.” Mary said with a little flattery inside. But she suddenly had a distaste for “grandma” again. She was still getting used to being called that. Since she hadn’t known Tripp particularly well until recently, she had started to fool herself into thinking she was much younger than she really was. “This is very strange for me, I have to admit. I haven’t been on a date in… well, over two decades.”

  “Dang, you’re old,” Tripp teased, and she threw her eyeliner at him. He ducked and laughed. “Do you even know what to do on a date anymore?” he asked.

  “No, not whatsoever,” Mary said. “I’m going to kill Cindy for talking me into this one.”

  “Officer Preston seemed like a cool guy though,” Tripp said.

  “I thought so,” Mary said. “And look at you… looks like you’ve got a hot date tonight too.”

  “Ha-ha, very funny,” Tripp said with an eyeroll. “Hannah and I are not going on a date.”

  “Her mother is going to see a different movie from the two of you,” Mary said, “so she’s dropping you guys off and then going to see her own movie. That definitely sounds like a date to me. I’ll give you some money so that you can buy her some popcorn and candy since Cindy offered to pay for the tickets.”

  “It’s NOT a date,” Tripp said firmly and started to walk out, “Oh, Cindy and Hannah are here.”

  “Coming down, and it IS a date,” Mary taunted, following Tripp.

  “NO, it’s not,” he argued as the two of them made their way back downstairs.

  Cindy was the only one in the house, evidently leaving Hannah to wait in the car. “Go on out to the car, Tripp,” Cindy said. “I’ll be right out.”