Southern Comfort

by ANDREA SMITH

  “The truth?” he bellowed. “Would you even know the truth? I have my doubts that you would. So, stop your blubbering and tell me now. Who is your bastard daughter’s father?”

  She didn’t comply which Avery found not only unusual, but extremely unwise given the fact that Donna knew his patience was worn beyond existence.

  “Fine,” he snapped. “I believe I too will make an exodus from this house of secrets and lies. I’ve had enough of your deceit and sinfulness. I’ll not allow you to drag my good name through the mud once your daughter spews this information all over the community.”

  “Wait!” Donna yelled, her tears now in check. “It’s not that I wanted to keep it from you, Avery. It’s…it’s because I was so ashamed. And when I say that, it’s because it wasn’t an act of love that produced Sunshine. It was my trust in someone that later proved to be a horrible lack of judgment. It was my weakness and my naiveté, I guess.

  Avery stopped in his tracks and turned to face her. How could he possibly know if this was the truth or yet another lie? “I’m listening,” he said, not moving.

  Donna knew she had to come up with some viable explanation, but the truth was, she had none. What had happened to her was her own fault. It was a result of loose behavior and of making bad choices at the time. But she had to give him something. Anything.

  “Let me get something to show you. It will make it easier.”

  He took a seat while she left the kitchen, returning a couple of minutes later with a Bible in her hand. It was one that he’d never seen before. It wasn’t the King James version that they used at home and at church.

  She handed it over to him, and he opened the front over to see it was the Catholic Study Bible. It wasn’t new, he could tell by the worn leather cover. He turned to the back and saw that there were baptismal records for both Jamie and Sunshine; and only one marriage record for Donna. The one with her first husband, James Wilkins. No marriage was recorded in the Bible for Michael Gardner. What was she trying to tell him?

  “You were never married to Michael Gardner?”

  “No, of course we were married. We weren’t married in the Catholic Church. Since I was divorced, I couldn’t be married in that church. Michael and I were married by a Justice of the Peace. He wasn’t Catholic anyway.”

  “Am I supposed to know how this explains my question?”

  “Look at the baptismal record for Sunshine. Look at the signature of the clergyman who performed it. Think about it. We were no longer Catholic, so why would I have had her baptized there? Behind her father’s back? Why would I not list him on the baptismal record?”

  Avery’s eyes scanned the page for the specifics. Sunshine Catherine Gardner, mother listed as Donna Gardner. Father’s name had been left blank. The clergyman was listed as Monsignor Patrick Donahue, and his signature was penned beneath his printed name. The date was October 1, 1962. Godparents were listed as Gloria Margolis and Patrick Donahue.

  Gloria? They couldn’t stand one another.

  And Father Donahue?

  “Why would the Catholic priest who baptized your daughter also assume the role of being her Godfather?”

  “Why do you think, Avery?”

  And then it became clear to him. Sunshine’s father was the local Catholic priest, and a Monsignor no less. A more powerful position within that church than what Avery currently held with his own congregation.

  And that did not sit well with him.

  Donna expelled a sigh of relief that no further explanation was needed to satisfy Avery’s need to know of her past.

  “How long did this go on?”

  She fidgeted only for a moment. “It—it was just the one time. It was my penance after he heard my confession,” she finished, looking away from her husband.

  Avery slammed his palm against the table, but didn’t ask for any further details.

  Donna finally released the breath she’d been holding. He was not pleased, but at least he had no means of proving or disproving her assertion. He would never be compelled to repeat what his mind had put together about the issue of paternity regarding Sunshine. He would put it to rest, at least she hoped that he would.

  “I kept the truth from Michael for as long as I could, but eventually I had to come clean with him. It was the right thing to do.”

  He continued to gaze at her, assessing the situation.

  “Do you forgive me, Avery?” she asked meekly.

  “It’s not my forgiveness you need, Donna. It’s God’s forgiveness. Come, let us kneel and pray.”

  And for the next hour, Donna knelt beside her husband, praying and reading verses from their King James Bible to one another.

  Chapter 28

  The problem with the plan that Gina, her mother, and I had concocted was that I was the one taking most of the risks. I understood the reasoning behind that, as I still lived under my mother and stepfather’s roof. I had swallowed my pride along with the nausea that threatened to rise up from my gut and apologized to Mama and to Avery for my outburst.

  All Mama had said to me was that some things were better off left unknown, which I took to mean she had no intention of revealing the identity of my father. The fact that Avery seemed to have calmed down since the previous day told me that Mama more than likely had revealed the truth to him. And that fact made me more resolute to pull off our plan without delay.

  As it turned out, the opportunity to complete my first action item practically landed in my lap the following day when I returned from school. Avery had a packed suitcase, and a garment bag placed over the back of the living room chair. My spirits soared at the thought that maybe he had had enough of life with us and was making a fast getaway.

  But no such luck.

  “I’m leaving now for a convention in Memphis,” he explained, pulling a set of keys from the pocket of his trousers and placing them on the coffee table. “See that your mother gets these keys. They’re to my office and she’s to clean the carpets while I’m gone. I’ll be back on Friday. See that you don’t cause problems with her while I’m away, is that understood?”

  His cold gray eyes were locked on my face. He was waiting for my response.

  I nodded.

  “I can’t hear you,” he snapped, still gazing at me.

  “Yes, sir,” I replied. “No problem.”

  I went into the kitchen and when I heard the front door shut, exhaled a sigh of relief. I grabbed the kitchen phone and called Gina.

  “Get over here, quick,” I said when she answered. “Avery just left for some out of town convention. He left the keys to his office for Mama. We have an hour and a half before she gets home from work.”

  “I’m on it,” she replied. “Be there in ten.”

  By the time Mama got home from work, we’d taken Avery’s keys to Ace Hardware and gotten copies of them made. We weren’t sure which key fit which door, so we copied all four of them on the key ring.

  Mama acted put off by the message I gave her from Avery. “Oh, like I don’t have enough to do after my regular job tomorrow. On top of that, I’ve got to clean the damn carpets at the church.”

  I pulled our pizza from the oven. “I could do it, Mama. After school I could get a ride over there and start cleaning the rugs.”

  She eyed me suspiciously. “Now why in the world would you want to do anything to help Avery—or his church for that matter?”

  I gave her a hurt look. “I wasn’t offering my help for Avery, I was offering it to you, Mama.”

  She sighed, opening the refrigerator and grabbing the pitcher of sweet tea. “Well, I don’t know. Avery’s fussy about his office and all. I’m not sure how dirty the carpet is, I just know he’s been fussing over it for a few weeks now.”

  I shrugged. I didn’t want to tip my hand by being overly anxious to shampoo the carpet there. She would certainly be suspicious of that given our recent interactions.

  “Well, I suppose you can do the outer office. By the time I get off of work, I’ll com
e by and do his office myself. He doesn’t like anyone poking around in there. You know how private he is.”

  “Yeah, I get it.”

  “Okay then,” she continued, pulling one of the keys off of the ring he left on the table, “this is the key to the outside entrance door,” she said, handing it to me. “Now I know he told Bonnie not to come in for the rest of the week, so you’ll need that key to get inside. It goes to the door from the parking lot to the new addition. I’ll hold onto the ones to the church, and his office. You’ll find everything you need in the utility room off of the reception area.”

  “I know, Mama. I’ve helped before, remember?”

  “Yes, yes, just please make sure you do a good job, Sunny girl. There should be some plastic runners that you’ll need to put down until the carpet is thoroughly dried. I’ll bring some fans from home when I come to help speed that up.”

  “Sounds good,” I replied. “Well, I’ve got homework to do. Can I take my pizza up to my room?”

  “Sure,” she said, already distracted by whatever, “thanks, Sunny.”

  As soon as I got up to my room I phoned Gina with the news.

  “How convenient is that?” she said. “Operation Bury Avery” has taken off with a vengeance!”

  “Speaking of vengeance,” I replied, biting into a slice of my pizza, “how’s your mom?”

  “She’s calmed down some. I think the fact that we’re working on this plan is keeping her from completely losing it. She was tickled pink when I told her about the keys. Looks like we won’t even need them now.”

  “Yes we will. Mama only gave me the key to the outside door. The office is where he keeps all his shit. I’m surprised he’d trust Mama with his keys.”

  “Yeah,” she agreed, “he must really have her under his thumb.”

  “Well, the fact that he was able to sucker your mom in the way he did tells me that there’s something about Avery that’s a draw. I can’t for the life of me figure out what it is though.”

  “Do you suppose he has a ten inch dick?”

  I nearly gagged on my pizza when she said that. “Oh, that is friggin’ gross, Gina! I don’t even want to picture that in my mind. Ewww!”

  She laughed. “Sorry, I know that was cruel, but speaking of big dicks, did I tell you this coming Saturday is my third date with Craig?”

  “Oh geez, do I need to know what that means?”

  “Shut up,” she laughed. “You already know what it means.”

  “I do. I just figured you’d broken the seal with him already.”

  “Hell no. You know I’m a stickler for tradition. By the way, can I give his brother, Vince, your number? I’ve already told him you’d be perfect for him.”

  “Ohhh, Gina,” I whined. “Now is not a good time for me with all the shit that’s brewing. Besides that, I’m not even sure what my status is on social activities. I’m kind of walking a thin line on the home front.

  “Oh screw that,” she replied. “You already agreed we’d go on a double so just ask your mother if you can spend the night Saturday. It will be fun, I promise.

  I rolled my eyes. “I’ll ask, but don’t be surprised if she says no. And anyways, how are you so sure I’m gonna dig Vince?”

  “Best friends know these things.”

  “Hey, what’s going on with Robin? I saw her sitting with Ray Jackson at lunch all week. What’s up with that?”

  “Well, I think Robin has finally been bitten by the lust bug.”

  “You mean love bug, don’t you?”

  “No. I meant lust. Ever since Rene had sex with Randy, Robin has been getting motivated to join the club. It’s a competitive twin thing, you know?”

  “Yeah. I get it. I think she could do a helluva lot better than Ray Jackson though.”

  “What’s wrong with Ray?”

  “He’s a freak. He’s so five years ago.”

  “Oh, the long hair?”

  “Not just that, but shit, he still wears a fringed jacket for Chrissake.”

  “Well, whatever. Just don’t discourage Robin, okay? She hasn’t had any real attention from a dude since forever.”

  “Yeah. I know the feeling. Roger that.”

  “Don’t worry. I have a good feeling about you and Vince.”

  Gina was relentless when it came to playing matchmaker, but the truth was, I needed someone like her to do my trolling. I was out of my comfort zone when it came to flirting. I always had been.

  “So, you’ll give me a ride to the church after school?”

  “Absolutely. We’re on a mission.”

  Chapter 29

  Reverend Dawson had unpacked his bags, carefully putting his folded clothing in the dresser drawers of his hotel room, and hanging his suit up in the closet. He was now sitting on his bed polishing the pair of black shoes he wore with his dress suit. He was a stickler for perfection when it came to certain things, and his Sunday best was one of those things.

  He thought about the recent bombshell that Donna had dropped on him about Sunshine’s father. While he knew that Catholic priests had faced similar accusations throughout the years, he wondered why Donna had not pursued making a complaint with the Church.

  He had asked her that question. Her response was that she was too embarrassed to let anyone know that she’d been so naive. He hadn’t pressed her further, but the subject was far from closed. Avery would have the entire story and then he would decide the appropriate action to take.

  Avery was passionately opposed to those in power, be it religious, corporate, government, or civic leaders taking advantage of their position to sexually violate someone. In his fifteen years as a minister, he had counseled several women who had suffered at the hands of predators in power.

  That very thing was what had motivated Avery to encourage marital counseling for those in his congregation that had issues with intimacy. He certainly didn’t want the spouses of these women, who mostly showed symptoms of frigidity for various reasons, to take their sexual frustration out on some innocent stranger because their needs weren’t being properly attended to by their wives.

  That was why Avery always made it perfectly clear in his sessions what would be involved if he deemed it necessary to take the counseling to an escalated level. He could never be accused of doing what Father Donahue had done with Donna.

  And his methods of counseling actually saved marriages that were on rocky ground. None of his female clientele had ever admitted to being taken forcefully or having been violated once their counseling had concluded.

  The way that he had done once.

  It had been a very long time ago.

  It was before he had become born again. He had carried on wickedly; drinking, gambling, and carrying on with easy women.

  He thought back to the last party he had ever attended. It had been what precipitated his return to God and his faith. He knew that he needed to be saved from the depravity he was being drawn to back then.

  He was twenty-six at the time, and had been drifting around for the past several years, having been booted out of Louisiana Baptist College, just shy of completing his B.A. in Biblical Study. His father had been livid with him, and rightfully so. He was banished from his home in Mississippi.

  Avery had taken jobs here and there, and used alcohol, gambling, and women to assuage his own self-loathing for not being the man his father had expected him to be. He had been drifting about once he was no longer welcome in his own family. He did odd jobs, trying his best to find his niche somewhere in this cruel world. It was when he’d ended up in Montgomery, he finally made a friend. Gary Barker.

  Gary Barker ran a ‘Speak Easy’ establishment on the outskirts of Montgomery. It was a private club that hosted parties, concerts, and there was always plenty of liquor, ladies, and card games available. He hired Avery to help him maintain the place, and while his pay was next to nothing, he had room and board, and all the alcohol he felt like consuming at his fingertips. It had seemed to be a good life, although A
very was looking at it through red-rimmed eyes most of the time.

  It had been New Year’s Eve, 1961. A huge party had been booked at the club. It was masquerade, and Avery figured the reason for that was because those in attendance held city and state government positions. In mostly dry Alabama back then, it wouldn’t sit well with the community to know who was doing what at a party of this size and magnitude.

  After midnight, things had heated up even more than usual at one of these private parties. Avery had imbibed shots of whiskey to toast to the beginning of 1962 along with the others. As he stumbled up the stairway to the pool hall, he had passed a woman wearing a black plumed masquerade mask, and a velvet hooded cape. There was little he could see in his drunken state, but he could see that she was just as lit as he was as she giggled and brushed against him on the stairwell.

  “Whoops, excuse me, Mr. Phantom,” she said with a slur, referring to the white half mask he wore as the notorious Phantom of the Opera. He tipped his top hat to her, and she fell into him with a giggle. “I was looking for some place to take a nap. The friend I came here with has been momentarily delayed upstairs with her boyfriend. It might be a while,” she slurred, teetering on her feet.

  “Well, let’s see if I can help you find a place,” Avery had offered, taking her by the elbow to steady her. She looked up at him and giggled again.

  “Lead the way, Monsieur.”

  And Avery had. He had led her back up the steps and down the dark hallway where rooms for private parties were located. He imagined her friend was using one of those rooms this very moment, and Avery had no doubt that this woman was looking for some company of her own. Avery Dawson was a willing participant in helping her accomplish just that.

  But something unexpected had happened once they were in that dimly lit room alone. Avery had led her to the bed, and pushed her down onto it. He had unbuckled his belt, and lowered the zipper on his trousers, his erection pushed through the fly on his boxers.

  She had been out of it until she saw Avery standing there, his erection in hand, and then suddenly she scooted to the other side of the bed. “I think you should go,” she murmured, her voice thick with intoxication. “I…I have a boyfriend. I’m engaged, you see—”