Julia 03 - Miss Julia Throws a Wedding (13 page)

I held one up and read
PRAY WITH US
, which put me in need of prayer myself, to keep from going upstairs and smacking Emma Sue Ledbetter to kingdom come.

“My Lord,” I said. “What has got into that woman? Little Lloyd, there’s no way in the world that you’re going door-to-door to pass these things out. What does she think you are, a Jehovah’s Witness or a Bob Jones student? I’m going up there right now and give her a piece of my mind.”

“She’s already gone,” Little Lloyd said. “I saw her go down the hall toward the front stairs by the chapel.”

“Well, of course she would! She knew I was waiting for you down here, and she didn’t want to face me. I tell you, Little Lloyd, I know why she gave this job to you; she’s getting back at me. I don’t have a doubt in this world but that she’s got that prayer chain humming again. She’ll have everybody on it praying for my soul!”

Little Lloyd’s glasses slid down his nose as he frowned. Then he said, “Why’s she worried about your soul, Miss Julia?”

“Because she has to have something to worry about,” I said, then seeing the worried look on the boy’s face, I went on. “It’s only because I don’t agree with her on every little thing, and because I took my name off the prayer chain. I’ll tell you one thing, Little Lloyd, spreading rumors about somebody under the guise of praying for her is not my idea of a Christian
activity. And I’ll tell you something else, being a Democrat does not put anybody’s soul in danger, either, and don’t you listen to anything anybody says to the contrary.”

“No’m, I won’t.”

“Now, bring that box and come on,” I said, heading for the door. “We’re going to see Sam.”

Chapter 12

We picked our way through the obstacle course by the construction site and, for the first time since they’d dug the foundation, I didn’t pay it any mind. I was too intent on doing something about the preacher’s wife who was intent on using a child to put me in my place.

Pointing Little Lloyd toward the car, I stuck my head in the kitchen door to tell Lillian where we were going. She called after me as I headed to the car, “You better watch out for that Dixon Hightower.”

“I’m not worried about Dixon Hightower,” I called back. “I’ll deal with him if I have to. Right now I have other things on my mind.”

In ordinary circumstances, we’d’ve walked the four blocks to Sam’s house, but I was in too much of a hurry to get there and get something done about that meddlesome woman. Besides, that box of one-sided political tracts and religious bumper stickers was heavy. So I drove.

I pulled into Sam’s driveway and turned off the motor. “Come on, Little Lloyd. Grab a few of those things to show Sam, but just leave the box on the backseat.”

Sam came to the door as we walked up on his wide veranda that was lined with white rocking chairs and ferns hanging from hooks between the porch columns.

“Well, Julia,” he said, smiling at us as he held the screen door open. “This is an unexpected pleasure. It’s been a while
since you honored me with a visit. Hello, Little Lloyd, I’ve been missing you around here, too. What’ve you got there?”

“Just wait till you see, Sam,” I said, following him into his comfortable living room. The room was a testament to Sam’s long widowerhood, filled as it was with heavy leather furniture grouped around the fireplace. A dark Oriental rug covered the floor, and overstuffed bookcases lined the walls. If it hadn’t been for the French doors, open now to the veranda, you’d’ve felt smothered in books and magazines and papers of all stripes and kinds.

“Look at this, Sam,” I said, taking the pamphlets from Little Lloyd and poking them at Sam. “I want you to just look at this.”

“Have a seat, Julia. Make yourself comfortable and let me see what James can offer us from the kitchen.”

“Nothing for us, thank you all the same,” I said, holding up my hand. “That reminds me, though, I need to ask James if he would help us at the reception.”

But I had other things on my mind at the moment. “Sam,” I said, “that woman’s got her sights set on me, and I’m not going to stand for it.”

“What woman?”

“Why, Emma Sue Ledbetter. Who else would do something as sneaky as this? She’s gone all the way around Robin Hood’s barn to get back at me. Just look at this stuff.” And I thrust the pamphlets in his hand.

As he skimmed one of them, his eyebrows went up. “Interesting. What do you want me to do about it, Julia? If this reflects her views, there’s nothing we can do to change them.”

I almost stomped my foot. “That’s not the point! I don’t care what her views are, as long as she doesn’t push them on me! But worse than that, she’s told this child to distribute them. And to top it off, she expects
me
to help him do it!”

I took a breath and ranted on. “And as far as what you can
do about it, you can go to the session and show them what she’s doing and have them put a stop to it.”

“I’m not on the session anymore. . . .”

“I know that, but they’ll listen to you, Sam. And if that’s not enough to shake you up, look at this thing.” I took a bumper sticker from the boy and waved it around. “She wants this child to glue these things on every car he can, and she wants me to help him. Can’t you just see us, sneaking up on parked cars and slapping on bumper stickers? Furthermore, she didn’t even tell him to ask permission first, did she, Little Lloyd? That’s called
vandalism
in my book, and this child is not going to be a party to it. If she wants to cover every car in town, let her do it. But she’d better not come within ten feet of
mine
!”

“Now, Julia,” Sam said, beginning as he usually did to dampen my fire. “Sit down and cool off. Of course, Little Lloyd’s not going to do that, and, of course, I’ll make sure that somebody on the session knows what she’s doing. But let me remind you, a good eighty percent of the elders will agree with her and the other twenty percent won’t want to make waves with the preacher’s wife.”

“That just makes me so mad I can’t see straight,” I said, finally sinking onto the leather sofa, which creaked under me. “Especially since you’re probably right. But, Sam, she’s deliberately aiming this at me. Hold that thing up, Little Lloyd, so Sam can see it.”

The boy stretched out the bumper sticker, and Sam read aloud, “ ‘
PRAY WITH US
.’ Well, Julia, if people want to encourage prayer, that’s their privilege. I don’t see any reason to get upset about it, but I agree that you and Little Lloyd ought not to be pasting them on parked cars.” He smiled at the thought, but I was not amused.

“I should say not. Now, I’m a firm believer in prayer, Sam, as you well know. So if anybody wants to stand on a street
corner and make a public fool of himself, why, I say that’s his right, but that doesn’t mean I have to do it. And, furthermore, I don’t think it’s necessary to announce to the whole world that you’re praying, or advertise that fact with a bumper sticker, either.”

“They don’t see it that way, Julia,” Sam said with that easy smile of his. “I expect they see it as a witness to others and as a testimony to their faith. I can’t imagine that this is aimed directly at you.”

“Sam, I declare,” I said, jumping to my feet again to pace between stacks of books on the floor. “You are so blessed tolerant that you’re going to wake up one morning and find that you don’t stand for anything. My problem is not with people who want to paste these things on their bumpers or with people who want to pass out tracts from door to door. It’s still a free country after all, as long as they don’t expect
me
to join in. And that’s exactly what Emma Sue Ledbetter’s doing with this.” I stopped in front of him and put my hands on my hips. “And I’ll tell you why. It’s because she’s been exercised for months that my prayer life’s not up to par, and it didn’t help when I resigned from the prayer chain.”

“Slow down, Julia.” Sam put his hands on my shoulders, and for the first time, began to take me seriously. “You don’t need to let this upset you so.”

So I reminded him of why I’d opted out of the prayer chain, which I was sure Emma Sue had then started buzzing on my account, as well as Norma Cantrell’s.

“She as good as told me,” I went on, “that my soul’s in danger because I refused to be a party to it. She’ll have the prayer chain praying for me, and you know what that means. By the time her request for prayer is passed along to every nosy woman on the chain, no telling what the end result will be.”

By that time I noticed the pale face of Little Lloyd as he listened and took in all I was saying. “Little Lloyd,” I said,
turning to him, “I’m sorry you had to hear all of that. But don’t you worry about it. Some people just get carried away, and Mrs. Ledbetter is one of them, even if she is the preacher’s wife. Just because somebody enjoys a certain position doesn’t mean they’re always right, or that they’re above criticism.” Wesley Lloyd Springer sprang to mind, but I refrained from mentioning him. Then, having reassured the child, I turned back to Sam. “I’m going to set that woman straight, Sam, if it’s the last thing I do.”

“Now, Julia,” Sam said. “All you have to do is tell Emma Sue that Little Lloyd can’t do it. Both of you have too much to do with this wedding coming up and, besides, isn’t Lloyd going with his mother when she moves?”

“Oh, Lord, don’t bring that up! I can hardly bear to think of it, much less tell Emma Sue. Why, Sam, imagine what she’d send out along the prayer chain then. Little Lloyd, why don’t you run to the kitchen and speak to James; you don’t need to hear this. Ask him about coming to our house on Saturday, and tell him that I’ll confirm it with him as soon as I get my ducks in a row. Hurry, though, because we need to go and let your mother know what’s going on. Just leave that stuff here with Sam. In fact, why don’t you bring that box in and leave it here. I don’t want to be carting it around. Sam, you can throw it out or burn it or do whatever with it. Well, wait. Leave me one of each to show Hazel Marie. And leave two more for Coleman, so he’ll know to go after Emma Sue if there’s a sudden spate of bumper stickers around town.”

Little Lloyd started toward the door to get the box from the car. “Wait,” I said, stopping the boy as he left the room. “Leave another set for Binkie; she needs to know what’s going on. Sam, thank you for your help, although I expected a little more concern from you. You just never take anything seriously enough.”

“Oh, I do. You just don’t notice what I’m serious about.
Now, Julia, don’t let Emma Sue get you down; you have enough on your plate right now. The pastor’ll be back before long, and he’ll calm her down.”

“I know.” I sighed. “I just hate the thought of what the prayer chain’s passing along about me.”

Before I could continue bemoaning my fate, I was distracted by Little Lloyd, who was running up the steps and across the porch. He snatched open the screen door and let it slam behind him. Before I could reprimand him, he ran up to me, breathing hard. “It’s gone! Miss Julia, that box is gone!”

“What do you mean, it’s gone?”

“I mean it’s not there!” His eyes were almost as big as his glasses. “I left it on the backseat like you told me to, and it’s not there! It’s not anywhere in the car or around it! I looked all over and it’s not there!”

“Well, this is a pretty come off,” I said, holding Little Lloyd’s hand so he’d stop waving it in my face. “It’s of a size you could hardly miss. Sam, who in the world’d come along and take a box the likes of that one out of my car? In broad daylight, too?”

“I bet I know who, Miss Julia,” Little Lloyd said, still hardly able to get his breath. “I bet it was that ole Dixon Hightower, don’t you?”

Chapter 13