Allegheny hadn't waited up for him to return. The next time Jackson saw her, she was shoving a lumpy bowl of grits at him. He uselessly stirred in a pat of butter. The breakfast food was already too cold to melt it.
He didn't want to keep what happened to him a secret. Couldn't anyway because he planned to become a regular church-goer. "I went up front."
She had just sat down. Hadn't even picked up her spoon yet. "You what?"
"I answered the call."
She still looked confused but then realization dawned. "Are you trying to tell me you went and got religion?"
He nodded and forced himself to look at her.
She let out a loud and derisive laugh. "You? I guess that gives me one more reason not to like Christians."
He stayed quiet. He'd expected it to go something like that. Didn't make it any easier to bear and didn't keep him from getting just a little angry.
"The grits to your liking? The water pump was froze this morning. I'd like to never got any water out." The look she gave said she blamed him for it. Like he'd gone and froze it just to give her trouble.
"Well, I was saving up for a better plumbing system, but I was robbed. Can you imagine that?" It wasn't a charitable comment and he regretted saying it as soon as it was out of his mouth. All it was going to do was stir things up more.
"You couldn't afford what it would take to fix this dump up."
He softened his tone. "Well, it looks a lot better since I married you. I don't think I've told you this, but I appreciate everything you do around here."
Her eyes widened with surprise. Had he really never given her a compliment before? Then they narrowed again. "I would say go to hell, but I guess you done got a ticket out of that, huh? Or think you do anyway. Why don't you go jump off a bridge and put you and me both out of our misery." She left him alone at the table.
He ground his teeth. If this wasn't a testing of his newfound faith, he didn't know what was. He wanted to yell back. To break something. Instead, he tried something radical. Something he'd never tried before. He prayed for patience and for God to show him how he could save his marriage.
sss
She sat alone on the porch while Jackson was away at church. She had her doubts about that being his real location though she'd seen him ride away in the truck. He was more likely making moonshine somewhere way up in the woods, which was good. They were getting low, she thought, as she took a swig.
He thought he was so smart, saying nice things and trying not to argue with her, but she wasn't fooled by any of it for a minute. He'd been a Christian for what, 3 days now? She doubted he'd be able to keep up the act even for a week. It was all an elaborate scheme to make her think he was different from the finding Jesus to the moving out of the bedroom, but a leopard couldn't change its spots. And even if he could change, she still wouldn't love him.
She drew up her knees and sank her head against them, shivering in the chilly December air. She felt terrible, physically and emotionally. And she was lonely. So lonely. Even making friends with a dreaded churchwoman sounded good right about now. She would almost be willing to go to church for that if she didn't have to sit through a sermon.
One of the dogs nudged its nose under her hand. She raised her head up. It was the first time one of the animals had sought to be pet by her. He looked like a cross between a German shepherd and some kind of sheepdog, a German shepherd's features but a white coat with brown splotches and big blue eyes. It was a little on the small side too about 30 pounds or so. A pretty dog really as far as mutts went.
She awkwardly patted its head. Not the human contact she craved but comforting in its own way. She jerked her hand back when he licked it with his warm, wet tongue, but then she smiled. Smiled because it was kind of nice and smiled because her plan to make friends with the dogs was working. The next time she ran, Jackson wouldn't be able to sic his dogs on her.
And she would have to run soon. Most of the symptoms she was having could be explained away by her drinking: the nausea, the headaches, the fatigue, the frequent trips to the outhouse. But some part of her knew there was a darker reason for them than just her dependency on alcohol.
She was going to have a baby.