Southern Comfort

by ANDREA SMITH

  Her past wasn’t pretty, there was no denying that. The men that had come and gone; the failed marriages that had led to her raising her children alone. She never wanted Avery to leave her. He was the best thing that could possibly have happened to her. She even wanted to give him a child of his own. They hadn’t discussed it, but she wasn’t too old to fill that dream for him if he wanted. And if he did, well she was determined she would. Right now Avery was focused on getting his congregation established, but Donna knew that a child on the way would be a welcome distraction for both of them. She was sure of it.

  Avery walked over to the front window and peered out again. She could tell there was still no sign of Sunny. “I think grounding her is in order when she decides to grace us with her presence tonight. You go on to bed now. I’ll wait up for her.”

  “Are you sure?” Donna asked tentatively, chewing on her bottom lip in apprehension.

  “I am. Go on up to bed. I’ll wake you once she’s home.” She turned and started up the staircase, turning back to face him once more. “Goodnight then, Avery.”

  Chapter 3

  I spotted Rene waiting for me in the parking lot of the Tastee-Freez after I had clocked out.

  Shit. She was gonna be pissed.

  “Come on,” she coaxed, “big sale at Penney’s. There was a flyer in this morning’s paper.”

  “I can’t go,” I replied, going over to the car.

  “Why? We planned this, remember?”

  I nodded. “I’m grounded for coming in twenty minutes past curfew Saturday night. For two weeks.”

  “Screw that, your mom always lets you off grounding early. She’s probably forgotten. Besides, she’s still at work. She won’t even find out.”

  I shake my head. “No, it wasn’t Mama. It was Avery who grounded me, but Mama supports it.”

  Rene’s face turned a pissed off shade of pink. “Are you fucking kidding me? What right does Avery have in grounding you?”

  I shrugged, the very thought had passed through my mind when he’d told me that on Saturday night at approximately 11:52 p.m. In fact, I had said just that to him for which I’d received a hard slap across my face. That part I wasn’t telling anyone. I should’ve raised holy hell. I should’ve screamed and threatened to call the cops on him for laying a hand on me in anger. But Mama had come downstairs. She had seen the whole thing and had not said a word.

  Not one damn word!

  That had hurt me way more than the slap across the cheek had. The following morning after services, Mama had pulled me aside as we left the church and told me that whatever Avery had done, had been done in my best interest. She apologized to me for being so lax all the years I was growing up. She said she had taken the path of least resistance and, in the end, all that had done was to make me irresponsible and undisciplined. She wanted me to understand that she and Avery stood together on this, and that he was the father figure I had lacked for so many of my adolescent years. She cautioned me to do my best to learn my lessons and not to repeat the disobedient and disrespectful behavior.

  I had told Mama that I hated him. I told her I wanted to go live with my father in Chicago. She told me to hush and not say such hateful things. Going to stay with my father wasn’t an option. He didn’t want me. She finished by telling me to grow up and to smell the coffee. And then she walked away to greet the members of Avery’s congregation that loved him so much and appreciated all of the goodness he’d brought to our small community.

  I had watched as Avery came out of the church, taking his place next to my mother. Despite the fact that I hated him, I had to be honest in my assessment of him. Avery was a bit older than Mama. I think he was forty-four or forty-five, but there was something about him that drew Mama to him like I had never seen with the other men in her life. He was sort of handsome I guess, but it was more than that. She’d dated a lot after her divorce from my father, but the most those relationships lasted was a month or two. It was different with Avery. I had known after her first date. She hadn’t stopped talking about him.

  My brother had rolled his eyes and tuned her out. But I had listened to her go on and on about how smart he was, how beautiful he looked whenever he spoke about the Lord, and how much he was determined to do for the community. It was obvious that he had some element of power about him that she found seductive and alluring.

  She had stopped smoking when Avery had asked her to; she made sure she had me in church with her every Sunday from there on out, though she couldn’t persuade my brother to come with us. It was clear to me that she was drawn to Avery in a way that she had been with no other. She became attached and devoted to him quickly.

  The problem was, I didn’t know just how deep that attachment or devotion ran, but I had a feeling I was going to find out sooner rather than later.

  “Sunny? Earth to Sunny!”

  Rene’s loud voice brought me back to the here and now.

  “Did you hear me?”

  “Sorry, what?”

  “Well shit…why didn’t you at least call me? I could’ve snagged Gina to go shopping with me today since you can’t.” She was pouting now.

  “Look,” I snapped, aggravated that this seemed to be all about her, although I didn’t know why that surprised me at all, “I’m not allowed to use the phone while I’m grounded. That’s all part of it. So I’m sorry for the inconvenience, Rene. I’ve got to get going. Avery is at home and he’ll know if I’m delayed in getting there.” I turned and started walking when I heard the shrill boy whistle coming from her car.

  “Get in. The least I can do is to drive you the five blocks to your house.”

  I turned and started towards her car. “Can you make it four blocks?” I asked. “I’m not supposed to have any interaction with my friends while I’m on punishment.”

  She rolled her eyes, “Come on. I’ll drop you off a block from home. I can’t believe that fucking asshole.”

  I couldn’t disagree or voice my opinion because, knowing Avery, he would find out somehow. The man seemed to have the power to read minds!

  I thanked Rene and asked her to let the others know that I’d be out of the loop for a couple of weeks. The only time I was allowed to leave home was for work and for church services on Sunday. She again told me what an asshole my stepfather was, and that she would call me the day I was ungrounded. She promised if anything important came up, she’d come by the Tastee-Freez.

  I walked the last block home and saw Avery’s car in the driveway. Mama wouldn’t be home from her job at the Piggly Wiggly for another hour and a half. I hated being stuck in the house with Avery. I mostly stayed in my room when it was just the two of us.

  My life sucked.

  Chapter 4

  Avery watched as his stepdaughter made her way up the front porch steps and lingered there for several moments, going through the stack of mail she pulled from the box.

  She was a strikingly attractive girl at sixteen. Long blonde hair, ice blue eyes, and a tanned, lean body in transition to full womanhood. Avery had come to realize that beauty was simply there to tempt God-fearing men. It was the Lord’s way to test humans and confirm them as the sinners they were.

  Sunshine Gardner. What a name, but then Donna was pretty footloose and fancy-free back in the day. From what Donna had said, Sunny’s father was a long distance truck driver that she’d met while working at the restaurant up near the interstate. He’d been a regular that she’d fallen in love with apparently.

  Fast to love, fast to marry, fast to procreate, fast to divorce. That had been Donna’s way, but not anymore. Avery had saved her from herself, and he gave himself a mental pat on the back. He had been surprised at the mere fact that he could be drawn to a woman like Donna. Although younger, she had lived a life on the fast track.

  Oh, that’s not to say she wasn’t fetching, because clearly she was, and still two years later, very easy on the eyes. At thirty-eight, she continued to be quite appealing and sexy, although in a toned-down way.
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  Yes, Avery had had the talk with her once he’d proposed marriage. There were certain expectations as to the appearance and behavior of a minister’s wife. He had patiently detailed those expectations to her and, of course, he had done so in a very diplomatic way. Donna was no dummy. She fully understood the appropriate comportment that was expected in her role as a minister’s wife. He had been so pleased with the ease with which it had taken for her to acquiesce.

  Avery understood that by marrying Donna Gardner, the lifelong reputation she’d acquired wouldn’t magically be erased and immediately morph into white-starched perfection. But it wouldn’t take all that long being that he was well lauded as the town’s most revered minister, putting Reverends Clancy and Duvall and Monsignor Donahue in second, third, and Honorable Mention slots respectively for the community as a whole.

  The front door opened and Sunny stepped inside, avoiding his gaze. She was less than happy with his involvement in her upbringing. Truth be told, he doubted very much if she regarded it as involvement—more like interference from her young perspective. But, as promised, Donna had supported his decision, more proof that he would prevail in this family and there would be one less person to groom for self-salvation.

  “I see you’re home on time,” Avery commented. “I wanted to make sure you were home safely before I left. Will you please start supper in about an hour? Let your mother know I’m at the counseling center for a late afternoon appointment. No need to hold supper for me. I’m not sure when I’ll finish up.”

  “Sure,” she replied, “no problem.”

  “Thank you, Sunny. Oh, and by the way? I want to comment on how well you’ve been performing to the parameters of your restriction. I’m pleased. I’m sure your mother will be as well when I share this with her.”

  “Thanks,” she mumbled. “I’m going upstairs to shower and change. I’ll let Mama know.”

  “Sunny,” Avery called out as she was heading upstairs, “I know this is difficult, but I’m here now and I only want what’s best for you. You’re on the precipice of adulthood. I only want to help you make that transition one that will serve you well for the rest of your life—with family, and with God.”

  “Thanks, Avery. I appreciate that.”

  Briar Ridge Southern Baptist Church was on the outskirts of town. It had been the first established church in the community, dating back to 1923. The Ku Klux Klan had burned down the original building in the sixties for allowing black members of the community to worship there right along with the whites.

  The farmers and their families in the area had banded together and rebuilt the wooden structure within six weeks, leaving the charred bell out front as a symbol of solidarity and a reminder that God-fearing people will always overcome adversity.

  An addition to the church had been built in the early 1970’s. There was an office for the church minister where business issues were handled, church records were kept and, off of that, a larger room that was used for counseling. Members of the congregation would meet with Reverend Dawson by appointment to discuss any problems or issues that might have arisen in their lives. He was there to listen, to offer support, and to pray with them as well lessen the burden during difficult times. They reached out to him for guidance, and this was a part of the ministry that was the most rewarding to him.

  Mrs. Margolis-Sanders was his late appointment this afternoon. Avery had already met with her once, but she was having a very difficult time with her new husband. He knew that regular sessions would be necessary in order to help her come to terms with her marital issues, and keep in sync with her spirituality. She’d been absent from services until fairly recently.

  She had been reluctant to delve into specifics at their last session, so Avery had simply prayed with her, asking the Lord to provide her with the strength and courage she needed in order to seek help from the church. He had instructed her to continue with the prayers, and to make another appointment when she felt she was ready to divulge the marital problems that had brought her to him initially. Apparently she was now ready.

  Bonnie, an elderly woman in his congregation, volunteered a couple of days a week to do the clerical work associated with running the church. Bills had to be paid, records filed, the phone answered, messages left on the answering machine handled and appointments made.

  “Reverend Dawson, Mrs. Margolis-Sanders is in the counseling room for her appointment.”

  “Thank you, Bonnie. Why don’t you call it a day? Thank you for helping out. The Lord favors those in his flock that tend to the others. You are one of those favored, Bonnie.”

  She gushed, and pulled her purse from the desk drawer. “Why it’s no trouble at all, Reverend. I’m here to do the Lord’s work, and anything I can do to help is just as much a gift to me as it is to the rest. I’ll see you day after tomorrow.”

  “Bless you,” Avery called after her. Grabbing a steno pad and pen from the top of the desk, he made his way to the counseling room, closing the heavy oak door behind him.

  Chapter 5

  I had no sooner gotten out of the shower when I heard someone ringing the doorbell repeatedly. I tied my robe tightly, my hair still wrapped in a towel.

  Shit. It was Gina.

  I opened the door quickly, making sure no one on the street was out. Call it paranoia, but I was sick of this being grounded shit and if I got caught having a friend over, there would be hell to pay.

  “Aren’t you gonna invite me in, Sunny? It’s hotter than the hinges on the gates of hell out here.”

  “Gina!” I hissed. “Didn’t Rene fill you in on me being grounded? You’re lucky Avery isn’t here or he’d probably tack on another month.”

  “Cool out. I knew he wasn’t here. For one, his car isn’t out front and, secondly, I know he’s over at the church.”

  “And you know this how?” I stood back and opened the screen door allowing her inside.

  “Because I checked my mother’s date book. She’s over there getting counseled.”

  “What?”

  “Got anything to drink?” she asked, heading towards the kitchen at the back of the house.

  I’m still thrown for a loop by her earlier comment. Counseled? Gloria was Avery’s late afternoon appointment? “Yeah, but you can’t stay long. If Mama gets home and catches you here, she’ll tell Avery for sure.”

  Gina plopped down on one of the kitchen chairs. “And why the fuck doesn’t that surprise me?”

  I was fairly certain that was a rhetorical question, so I didn’t respond. “I’ve got sweet tea, is that okay?”

  “Fine. Anything.”

  I poured each of us a glass, placing hers on the table in front of her. “So what’s going on besides that?”

  She took a long draw of her tea and then placed the glass on the table. She took a deep breath. “Something’s going on with my mom and stepfather. There’s tension. All kinds of tension and I’m not sure why.”

  Unlike me, Gina adored her stepfather, Eddie. Of course, he was cut from completely different cloth than mine. He spoiled Gina as much as her real father did if that were even possible. He was her ally when she and her mother got into it. I wondered if that was the issue. “When did the tension start?” I asked.

  “It’s been going on for a while now. It gets worse every time I get back from a visit with Dad. I mean, shit! She wants every freaking detail of my visit, and wants to see the pictures I take and then gets into a rotten funk afterwards. Why does she do this to herself?”

  I had no answer for her. I was clueless. Nothing in my life resembled that even though we both came from divorced families. My mother’s words rang in my ears again. Going to live with my father would never be an option because, you see, he didn’t want me.

  Why?

  What had I done to make him never want to see me again? I thought back to when he lived with us. He always seemed to like me, but then again, he wasn’t around all that much. He was on the road a lot, but he always brought me something back wh
en he returned. A coveted doll, or a coloring book and crayons, or a plush stuffed animal. I was nine when he left. I’m not sure what happened. He went out on the road and never came back.

  I remember late nights with Mama on the phone, crying and arguing with him. The next morning her eyes would be red and puffy, but none of us asked about him. My brother didn’t really care because he wasn’t his dad, but I cared. I was afraid to ask Mama why he left, but one day, I couldn’t stand it any longer so I did. All she said was that people were good at stabbing each other in the back, and that I should never trust anyone, least of all, someone who used to be a friend.

  A couple of weeks later she piled all of his clothes in our burn barrel out back and lit a match to them. She sat on the swing set, drinking a cold beer and chain-smoking cigarettes until the fire dissolved into a pile of charred ashes.

  “Did you hear what I said?” Gina asked, and I quickly pushed those memories aside so that I could try and understand what she was going through.

  “I’m sorry,” I replied, “I guess I was thinking back to when my mama and daddy split. What did you say?”

  She pulled a cigarette out but knew not to light it in the house. “I said I think my mother is still in love with my dad. She married Eddie on the rebound and I think he’s figured that out. She moved to another bedroom in the house. You know what that means.”

  “Oh Gina, are they talking divorce? Maybe it’s a good thing your mama is getting counseling, you know? Maybe she’s trying to fix it.”

  Gina shrugged, puffing on an unlit cigarette. “Well, the thing is, why didn’t she take his last name? I mean, what the hell is with keeping Margolis and adding a hyphen to tack Sanders onto the ass end of it? Who does that?”