Good Heavens (32 page)

“Try me.”

She was furious. “Miss E., I'm gay and proud of it! Portia's my girl. You think it's a sin to be gay, don't you? You probably never heard of gay pride.”

“Oh, I've heard of gay pride and, yes, according to the Bible it's a sin for two women to live together like husband and wife.”

“That's your interpretation. There's plenty of Christians who don't see it that way. In my case, I know it's not a sin because it's the way God made me. Being gay is as natural to me as—”

I shut the door so the others couldn't hear this conversation.

“You were saying?”

“I was born this way—it's the way God made me.”

“Don't blame it on God. Blame it on Adam; he sinned and ever since, people have been born with all kinda handicaps. Maybe you were born that way and maybe you weren't. I'm no doctor. But Linda, how about the man who lusts after little children—he'd say he was born that way, too. And the—”

“How can it be wrong to love somebody?”

“Loving somebody doesn't mean you have to live with them. Linda, nobody
has
to have sex. Look at all the single people in the world who live alone and have a good life without sex. I've lived alone fourteen years, and before that my husband was sick and—”

“But you're old.”

Somebody knocked on the door. Linda opened it, and Portia came in with Emily. “I'll get my things.”

“You'll get what's coming to you,” Linda growled and stormed out of the room to take her shower.

I stayed there while Portia carried all her stuff to the other room. After she was safely moved, I went on downstairs to bed.

Before I went in my room, though, I looked in the parlor—Lenora was still playing. I walked around the piano to see if Dora was still there. She was. I started to say good night, then realized the three of them weren't even aware I was in the room. I went on to bed.

21

Going up on the Grandfather was an all-day trip because there's animals behind fences to see, a museum, gift shops, picnic tables, and a swinging bridge. The girls didn't want to miss their Bible class, so we invited Albert to go along with us and have Bible class on the mountain. The W.W.s. were nervous about hairpin curves so I asked Albert to drive the van.

Albert was wearing one of those soft hats with a narrow brim and a little feather in the hatband. It matched his windbreaker. Even though Lenora was hanging on to him, Ursula was making it a threesome. I got a kick out of that.

When we visited the animal habitats, Albert supplied us with peanuts to throw to the bears and also explained all about the cougars we saw next. Some of the girls took pictures and included me with the W.W.s. Albert had brought a camera and he asked Evelyn to take a picture of me and him. We stood close; he put his arm around
me. Of course, to be polite he turned right around and asked Evelyn to take one of him and Lenora.

I was determined that this picnic would outdo any spread put on by those TV chefs. I found picnic tables where the view was out of this world, and while the girls cooked hot dogs and hamburgers on the grill, Albert helped me unload the drinks and other stuff. Ursula and the W.W.s battled the wind to set out the paper plates and cups, buns, catsup, mustard, and pickles, while Albert and me set out the baked beans, tomatoes, lettuce, onions, slaw, pimento cheese sandwiches, deviled eggs, olives, grapes, and donuts—you name it, we had it!

But after all of that, Albert looked at me very disappointed. “Where's my fried apple pie?”

I laughed. “Albert, you'll get one tomorrow. Getting this picnic together this morning, there was no time to make pies.”

That little exchange did not go unnoticed by the W.W.s, and I only wished Lenora had heard it. While waiting for the girls to finish cooking the meat, we sat down and tried to keep things from blowing off the table. I had brought my Bible along, and Albert asked if he could look at it. Of course, I let him, but he had a hard time keeping the wind from blowing away stuff I had in there. After he had looked as much as he could, he handed it back to me. “Ladies,” he said, “this worn-out Bible explains a lot about our friend, Esmeralda, doesn't it?”

I was surprised when Ursula said, “Yes, it does.” Wilma hollered, “The meat's done!” And soon the girls came bearing trays of hamburgers and hot dogs. Albert
asked the blessing, and we filed in behind the W.W.s to serve ourselves.

Mountain air makes a body hungry. Everybody kept saying how good the food was—that this was the best picnic they had ever went to. I ate so much I thought I would pop.

After we ate, cleaned the tables, and packed stuff back in the van, we gathered in close to hear Albert teach. In those beautiful surroundings, the blue mountains lying in waves as far as the eye could see, he chose Psalm 19, about the heavens declaring the glory of God. As long as I live I will never forget the beautiful message he gave. Even with the wind whipping the pages of my Bible, I managed to write his name and the date beside Psalm 19.

After the lesson we went to the museum, where we moseyed around looking at the exhibits. Then we went in the small theater they have got there and watched a movie about falcons and hang gliding. I got sleepy, and Mabel went sound to sleep. Once it was over and she saw the gift shop, she revived and couldn't get enough of poking around in there.

I thought we'd never get out of the gift shop. Between the girls and the W.W.s it looked like they were going to buy out the place. I bought a postcard to send to Beatrice then went outside and sat on a bench to wait.

It wasn't long before Albert came out—I knew he was looking for me. As soon as he saw me, he made a beeline to join me on the bench. “I bought you something,” he said, reaching in a bag. He handed me a beautiful wood carving of a yellow finch.

“For me? Oh my, it's pretty. But why me?”

“Esmeralda, I see what you are doing for these ladies at Priscilla Home, and this is a little token of my appreciation.”

“Well,
you're
the one! You're giving them the Word, and it's changing their lives.”

“You think so?”

“I know so!”

He took off his hat, and the breeze did a number on his hair. I loved the way he ran those long fingers through it, trying to smooth it down. He put his hat back on.

“Well,” he said, “I know there is one resident who has been brought to know the Lord.” He crossed his legs and folded his arms across his chest. “It is all so providential, Esmeralda. Can you imagine Lenora and me finding each other the way we did? Years ago, after she left the concert stage and I learned about her problems, I never stopped praying for her—but I couldn't find where she was. That day on the rock, to find her like that—Esmeralda, it could only be the Lord's doing.”

I fingered the little bird, turned it this way and that to see all sides, and agreed. “God works in mysterious ways.”

“He certainly does,” he said, turning around to look toward the gift store. Lenora and Ursula were coming. Quickly, he turned back to me. “Esmeralda, do you think we might drive into Rockville one evening, just the two of us?”

“Sure,” I said. I couldn't believe my ears. Albert Ringstaff was asking me to go out with him!

“After your friends leave—say, Saturday evening?”

“That would be fine,” I said as calmly as I could.

“I know a quiet little restaurant where we can have dinner and talk. I'll pick you up, say around 6:00?”

“That would be fine,” I repeated, about as excited as a body can get and still stay in its skin.

Albert drove us up to the swinging bridge, and everyone went out on it except the W.W.s and me. I felt like I had to keep those three company. In the building up there atop the mountain, there was another gift shop, so we went inside out of the wind, and they looked around while we were waiting. I was so excited, I must have showed it because Thelma said, “Well, you look happy. You look like the cat that swallowed the canary.”

I didn't say anything, even though I was dying to tell them Albert had asked me out.

Wind on the bridge can be gale force, so I knew Albert would be cold. When the girls started straggling in off the bridge, I ordered a cup of hot coffee for him. It tickled him pink! Of course, Lenora came in with him and was snuggling up close to keep warm. He ordered a cup for her too.

On the way home in the van, the girls were laughing and talking, eating boiled peanuts and throwing the shells out the window. I couldn't eat a thing I was so excited. Brenda was sitting across the aisle from me. I reached over and asked her when we might color my hair. “I want to get it done before Saturday,” I told her.

“Any time,” she said. “Whenever you get the rinse.”

That night I could hardly sleep. I planned that as soon as the W.W.s left, I'd go into town and get that ash blond color.

The next morning I saw the three of them off after breakfast. They couldn't thank me enough for the wonderful time they'd had.

I thanked them for the peanuts, tomatoes, and peaches—told them we'd have cobblers and make peach pickle.

After hugging me, Clara held on to my hand. I'm not sure but what she had tears in her eyes. “Esmeralda, I just want to apologize for the way Mabel and me tried to keep you from coming up here. I speak for both of us—after we have seen this place and the wonderful work you're doing—we see how wrong we were. And the women you got here, for the most part, they could be our daughters or grandchildren—with few exceptions, they're no different from Live Oaks women, just down on their luck. We've been talking amongst ourselves and we see there's a lot we can do for Priscilla Home. We're going back home to tell everybody what a wonderful place this is and how the Lord is using you up here.”

Oh, I told them there was no need to apologize, and I thanked them in advance for whatever they might do for us; especially asked them to pray for us. As I shut the car door, I motioned to Thelma to roll down the window. “Don't forget to thank Elijah for the corn he sent.”