Behind the Altar: Behind the Love Trilogy (3 page)

Leah proceeded to the
dry cleaners after Dean and Sally Jean turned the corner. Her shame at kissing
him made her face flush when remembered. She put her fingers to her lips. It
was even worse knowing she’d kissed him back and didn’t try to stop him. Now
seeing him with another woman a short time later only increased her humiliation.

“The heat must be
getting to you,” Susie Williams said from behind the counter at the dry
cleaners when Leah pushed open the door. “Your face is beet red. It’s bad in
the back today, so I know it’s a scorcher out there.”

Leah felt her cheeks.
They were still warm from her attack of shame out on the street. Luckily, it
was a hot day. Many things could be explained away by Florida’s stifling
humidity.

“It feels like August,
and the air conditioner in the van is broken,” Leah said. “I sure hope we can
get it fixed before summer’s on us full force.”

“How much longer is
the kitchen open?” Susie asked.

“Geraldine told me to
shut it down today. I couldn’t even serve lunch,” Leah said. “They cut the
funding, but when I asked Jacob if I could continue if I found a way to fund
it, he said no.”

“I’m sorry, Leah.
You’ve worked so hard to make sure the river folks are fed every day.”

“I don’t know what
I’m going to do,” Leah said. “But I need to figure something out because they
depend on me.”

“They’ll go somewhere
else,” Susie said. “They’re used to being kicked out of places where they’re
not wanted. A few of them came from St. Augustine when the officials there
banned them from the Plaza downtown.”

“I know,” Leah said.
“And some of them followed me here from Tampa. I urged them to come. This is
better because it’s on the river. I can bring food to them for the time being,
but where will I get the money for that? Maybe I need to get a job now that I’m
not running Soup’s On.”

“I can’t believe
Jacob couldn’t do anything,” Susie said. “He’s the minister. I know Big Jim
wouldn’t have allowed this to happen.”

“You’re right. Big
Jim supported Soup’s On from the beginning,” she said. “He understood. Now I
feel as if I’m living with two strangers.”

She was disappointed
in Jacob and his refusal to do anything. Geraldine was even worse—she almost
seemed spiteful about Leah’s interest in the homeless.

“I know you don’t
like me to say anything bad about your fiancé and his mother,” Susie said. “But
I can’t help it. They could do something, and I think you know it.”

Susie went to the
back to retrieve the week’s dry cleaning for the church, and Leah watched her
retreating figure knowing her friend was right. But for now, she had plenty to
do to keep her busy for the rest of the afternoon. As soon as she left the dry
cleaners, she’d go back to the church and begin organizing everything for
Sunday’s service by placing the altar scarves in place and putting Jacob’s robe
in his office. This week’s load was particularly large because they’d done half
of the choir’s robes. She did them in rotation each month. The choir members
always protested during the summer that they needed them done once a week, but
so far, she’d managed to keep it to every other week during the summer. The air
conditioning in the sanctuary was old and couldn’t keep up with August.

She and Susie became
friends almost immediately after Leah moved in with Geraldine and Jacob. They
were the same age and gravitated to one another during Sunday school one day
when the topic turned to forgiveness. Susie’s family had lived on a farm
outside of town where they grew watermelons, but her dad left when she was a
teenager, and her mom died of cancer the year Susie graduated from high school.
It’s something she and Leah had in common; both of them had lost their mothers
at a young age. Susie fell in love with Reggie when she was seventeen and he
was twenty-two, and they’d been a couple ever since. Leah sometimes wondered
why they didn’t get married, but she was too shy to ask Susie such a personal
question, even though they’d been friends for a few years.

“Did you know Dean
Davis?” Leah asked as Susie came back with the first load of robes. She hung
them on the rack next to the counter.

“Sure, he left town right
after he graduated,” Susie said. “He and Reggie were best friends. They still
keep in contact, but Dean never comes back to Victory. Geraldine accused him of
some stuff, but Reggie said none of it was true. Geraldine always favored Jacob.”

“You didn’t think he
was dead?” Leah asked. “Jacob and Geraldine told me he died in a motorcycle
accident when he was seventeen. Geraldine said never to mention his name to Big
Jim because Dean’s death broke his heart.”

“It wasn’t an
accident. He rode out of town on his cycle and never came back. I didn’t know
him very well.”

“He showed up at the
church today,” Leah said.

“Dean’s back in
Victory?” Susie smiled. “Now that’s some news. Surprised I didn’t hear the
fireworks. Does Geraldine know?”

“He came by the
church. Geraldine told him to leave or she’d call the police.”

“I bet she did. To the
family, he was dead. That’s probably why they told you that.”

“That’s what
Geraldine said. What did he do that was so awful?” Leah asked.

“You need to ask your
future husband and mother-in-law,” Susie said. “All I know are the rumors,
which Reggie swears aren’t true.”

After Susie helped
Leah put the clothes rack with all the robes in the back of the van, Leah
decided to ask one more question.

“Did Dean ever date
Sally Jean?”

“Are you kidding?
Dean was the love of Sally’s life, according to her. She’s always harbored a
hope he’d come back and claim her,” Susie said as she shook her head. “I never
understood it either. Sally Jean could have left here or had any other man
around town. But she stayed and waited. Dean’s a good looking dude, or he was,
but why would anyone wait ten years?”

“Why didn’t she follow
him to Miami and find him herself?”

“I think she always
had some romantic notion of him riding up on his motorcycle and whisking her
off. You know, like that scene in
An Officer and a Gentleman
where
Richard Gere walks into the factory and picks up Debra Winger, and they ride
into the sunset on his bike? That’s Sally Jean’s greatest hope.”

“Looks like her dream
came true,” Leah said. “I just saw her and Dean head out of town on his bike.”

“Is he still a hunk?”

“I guess, if you like
that type.”

Leah drove back to
the church deep in thought about why Dean left ten years ago. What made him
return now? He acted surprised when she told him Big Jim died; yet he told his
mother that’s the reason he returned. Why had he come back?

She parked the van
and went inside to find Carl, the church custodian, to help her get the rack
out of the van and into the church offices. She felt light headed with the
day’s activities, but she was determined to find out why Geraldine and Jacob
had lied to her. Even if Dean was dead to them emotionally, she had a right to
know her future brother-in-law was still alive.

Dean turned into the
long sandy driveway that led to a dilapidated two-story farmhouse. Its sagging
front porch and peeling white paint told him that Sally Jean probably didn’t
pay much rent for the dump.

When he stopped,
Sally Jean jumped off the bike, and stood before him.

“I hope you don’t
mind the mess,” she said. “I wasn’t expecting company, but I was going to clean
later.”

They walked into the
kitchen where the sink overflowed with dirty dishes. Newspapers and gossip
magazines covered the kitchen table. The smell of rotting food and sour milk
assaulted Dean as soon as he entered the house. Sally would need more than an
afternoon to clean up this mess. He felt his desire slipping.

“I don’t get much
company,” she said.

She led him through
the kitchen and into the dining room—or what had once been the dining room. Now
it looked like a closet with more stacks of newspapers and magazines. An old
bike leaned against one wall. Dean ignored the mess and followed Sally Jean’s
red jeans into the bedroom, which at least didn’t contain piles of junk. But
the bed was unmade and the sheets looked as if they needed a change.

Sally Jean
immediately pulled up her gauzy flowered top to reveal the breasts Dean
remembered from high school. He spent many a late night in the back seat of a
car fondling those babies. They nearly fell out of her too small red bra, and
he tried to pull them out without unfastening the snaps at the back. She gave him
a hand by reaching behind her and unclasping the hooks. The bra fell to the
ground and the mounds of flesh were set free with nipples already standing at
erection. He wished he could love this woman standing before him ready to give
him anything he wanted. But as usual, he felt nothing except a need to take her
quickly and then leave as soon as possible.

“You haven’t changed
one bit, Sal,” Dean said as he came closer.

“And you’ve only
gotten handsomer and stronger.” She ran her hands down his arms.

He fondled her as she
kicked off her red high-heeled sandals and undid the button on her jeans. She
pulled them down to her ankles. Red lace panties minimally covered her.

“Here, let me help
you,” she said as she lifted his t-shirt over his head. She stood on her
tiptoes to reach his lips.

He leaned down to
meet her lips and immediately sought her tongue with his, but Sally Jean’s
mouth wasn’t soft or perfectly matched to his own. Damn it, why was he even
thinking right now? He shut his eyes, and all he could see was Leah. He pushed
Sally Jean away from him, and reached for his shirt on the floor.

“I can’t do this,
Sal,” he said. “I’m sorry. Here put this on.” He handed her a robe thrown on
the bed.

“What do you mean you
can’t do this? You’re here; I’m here, and this is what we always did from the
very beginning.”

“I can’t do it;
that’s all.” He pulled the shirt over his head.

Sally struggled back
into her jeans and put her bra back on. She paused before pulling the blouse
over her head. “I don’t know what’s wrong with you, Dean. But maybe all those
rumors about you are true. I never believed it myself, but lots of folks did.”

“You don’t know what
you’re talking about, Sally Jean.” Dean headed for the door.

“Wasn’t I rough
enough for you? Or was I too easy?” Sally Jean talked to his back, as he walked
to the kitchen. “Maybe raping a girl is the only way you can get it up.”

Dean turned around
and looked at her. What had happened to Sally Jean in the past decade, he
wondered. Her hair was wild about her face after the motorcycle ride and smeared
mascara under her eyes made her look like a raccoon. He looked around at the
kitchen with its stack of dishes in the sink and a pizza box sitting next to
the stove. A glass that once might have held milk sat next to it. Dean felt
nothing but pity for the woman who used to be his sweetheart.

“It might be best if
you took a good long look at your own life before you start tearing apart
mine,” he said.

Sally Jean started
crying. She took big gulps of air between the sobs.

“Sal, don’t cry,”
Dean said as he turned back around to her. “It’s all right. You have a good
life here in Victory; you just need to take care of things more.”

“I’m a mess, Dean.
I’ve been waiting for you all these years. I hate this house and living here,
but I can’t afford a better place. I lost my job at the Winn Dixie last month,
and now I don’t have anything at all, except selling Avon to a few ladies in
town. When I saw you today, I thought it meant my life might be changing and
getting back on course.”

Dean held her as she
continued to tell her story and cry against his chest. He was at a loss as to
how he could help her, except to just stand there and let her talk. All he
wanted to do was escape as soon as possible. Sally Jean’s emotions were too
much for him to handle.

“Your mom came to
visit me right after you left town,” she said. “I was still living on Main
Street with my folks, and Geraldine came prancing up the steps of our front
porch like she was a horse just let out of the starting gate.”

“Why was she there?”

“She wanted to tell
me and my folks that you were a good-for-nothing evil soul who she’d sent away
for good. As far as she was concerned, you were dead, and she wanted to make
sure that if you’d told me anything at all that it was a lie.”

“Why’d she say I’d
left?” he asked.

“She said it was
private, but it involved an underage girl, drinking, and violence. I told her
she was lying. She said it happened the night you left town, and I told her you
and me were together that night. No one believed me. They thought I was just
covering for you.”

Sally Jean pulled
away from him and found a box of tissues on the counter between a box of cereal
and a can of coffee. She blew her nose hard into the tissue and looked up at
Dean with the mascara running down the side of her face.

“My parents got mad
at me,” Sally Jean said. “They took Geraldine’s side, and I was told to never
mention your name again in their home.”

“They were probably
right, Sal. I’m no good for you. I got damaged a long time ago, and I’m not
sure I could ever love anyone, even you.” Dean walked toward the door. “Do you
need a ride back to your car?”

“No, I’m fine. I’ll call
someone when I’m feeling and looking better. I can get a lift to the bar,”
Sally Jean said.

“I’m sorry about
everything, Sally Jean,” Dean said as he came back to give her a quick kiss on
the cheek. “Thanks for not believing Geraldine. And thanks for understanding
about today.”

He walked out the
door and got on his bike. He wasn’t leaving town until he settled a few things.
He headed west toward the highway and the Sandy Shores Motel hoping the wind
might knock the face of a certain beautiful gal right out of his mind.

He wasn’t sure why,
but for the first time in many years, he felt the rumblings of something sweet
when he thought of a woman.