it on the counter, an exorbitant tip for Dale, who customarily left a Bible tract. Vinny rang him up at the cash register, Dale shuffled out the door into the rain, and all over the Coffee Cup people relaxed. Penny cleared away his dishes, swiped a wet rag across the counter, and then picked up the five-dollar bill and studied it.
“That tightwad,” she said rather heatedly. “He’s got a lot of nerve.”
“What’d he do now?” Asa asked.
She handed him the five-dollar bill, which wasn’t a five-dollar bill at all. Though it appeared genuine on one side, on the other it read: Disappointed? You won’t be if you accept Jesus as your Savior.
“Well, that’s Dale for you,” Asa said, handing it back.
“That right there is why I don’t go to church,” Penny said. “Here Heather is working hard, trying to make it on her own, and Dale pulls that kind of nonsense. The cheapskate.” She called him a few more names that, though justified, were unsuitable for public places. Then she wadded up Dale’s “tip” and flung it in the wastebasket.
She appeared to be launching into another tirade when the bell over the door tinkled and Ralph Hodge walked in. Ralph Hodge, who, while he’d lived in this town, was a pastor’s dream, the man they had warned about from their pulpits, the “before” picture, a walking abomination. That God hadn’t struck him dead was a puzzle to many. And yet in his depravity he served a purpose. No matter how bad things got, people could take comfort they hadn’t fallen as far as he had. But now Ralph was sober and holding down a job, and the town was sorely in need of a new bad example.
Ralph sat on the stool Dale had vacated. Asa reached over and shook his hand. “Ralph, good to see you. How ya doin’? I heard you were back in town. How’s the missus?”
“She’s fine. Thanks for asking. How’s Jessie?”
“Off to the city to visit her sister.”
Asa was not much of a conversationalist. He tended to run out of gas after a few questions. “Some weather we’re having, isn’t it?”
Ralph nodded his head in agreement. “Sure is.”
Asa stirred another teaspoon of sugar into his tea. “Yes, sure is some weather we’re having.”
Ralph leaned closer. “Say, Asa. You’re pretty good friends with Ellis, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, I’d say so. Why do you ask?”
“Oh, I was just wondering if he said anything to you about me.”
“Nope,” Asa said.
“I can’t figure him out. About three weeks ago he and Amanda stopped by the tourist cabins where we’re stayin’ and invited us to dinner, so we went, and he stayed out in the barn the whole time. Came in for ten minutes to eat, then went right back out. Then I saw him the other day at the Five and Dime and he barely spoke to me. I just want a chance to make things right with him.”
The last thing Asa Peacock wanted was to wade into the Hodge family fracas. “Maybe he was feeling puny. Lot of sickness going around, what with all this rain we’ve been having. It sure is some weather we’re having, isn’t it?” He drank the last bit of his iced tea, made one final pass at his bowl of ham and beans, wiped his mouth, then rose to leave. “Sure has been good seein’ you, Ralph. Be sure to tell the little lady I said hey.”
Ralph sat alone at the counter another hour, watching Vinny at the grill. It was his day off from the glove factory and Sandy was working at the Wal-Mart. The last thing he wanted was to sit in the tourist cabin, alone, smelling the mold and mildew, watching a soap opera.
After a while, the din faded as the lunch hour ended and people returned to their jobs. Vinny and Penny were in the back room washing dishes, while Heather wiped down the counters with bleach water and refilled the salt and pepper shakers. Ralph sipped his coffee and watched the rain slide down the front window like tears.
Maybe he should never have come back, he thought. Maybe he and Sandy should have stayed out in
“That tightwad,” she said rather heatedly. “He’s got a lot of nerve.”
“What’d he do now?” Asa asked.
She handed him the five-dollar bill, which wasn’t a five-dollar bill at all. Though it appeared genuine on one side, on the other it read: Disappointed? You won’t be if you accept Jesus as your Savior.
“Well, that’s Dale for you,” Asa said, handing it back.
“That right there is why I don’t go to church,” Penny said. “Here Heather is working hard, trying to make it on her own, and Dale pulls that kind of nonsense. The cheapskate.” She called him a few more names that, though justified, were unsuitable for public places. Then she wadded up Dale’s “tip” and flung it in the wastebasket.
She appeared to be launching into another tirade when the bell over the door tinkled and Ralph Hodge walked in. Ralph Hodge, who, while he’d lived in this town, was a pastor’s dream, the man they had warned about from their pulpits, the “before” picture, a walking abomination. That God hadn’t struck him dead was a puzzle to many. And yet in his depravity he served a purpose. No matter how bad things got, people could take comfort they hadn’t fallen as far as he had. But now Ralph was sober and holding down a job, and the town was sorely in need of a new bad example.
Ralph sat on the stool Dale had vacated. Asa reached over and shook his hand. “Ralph, good to see you. How ya doin’? I heard you were back in town. How’s the missus?”
“She’s fine. Thanks for asking. How’s Jessie?”
“Off to the city to visit her sister.”
Asa was not much of a conversationalist. He tended to run out of gas after a few questions. “Some weather we’re having, isn’t it?”
Ralph nodded his head in agreement. “Sure is.”
Asa stirred another teaspoon of sugar into his tea. “Yes, sure is some weather we’re having.”
Ralph leaned closer. “Say, Asa. You’re pretty good friends with Ellis, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, I’d say so. Why do you ask?”
“Oh, I was just wondering if he said anything to you about me.”
“Nope,” Asa said.
“I can’t figure him out. About three weeks ago he and Amanda stopped by the tourist cabins where we’re stayin’ and invited us to dinner, so we went, and he stayed out in the barn the whole time. Came in for ten minutes to eat, then went right back out. Then I saw him the other day at the Five and Dime and he barely spoke to me. I just want a chance to make things right with him.”
The last thing Asa Peacock wanted was to wade into the Hodge family fracas. “Maybe he was feeling puny. Lot of sickness going around, what with all this rain we’ve been having. It sure is some weather we’re having, isn’t it?” He drank the last bit of his iced tea, made one final pass at his bowl of ham and beans, wiped his mouth, then rose to leave. “Sure has been good seein’ you, Ralph. Be sure to tell the little lady I said hey.”
Ralph sat alone at the counter another hour, watching Vinny at the grill. It was his day off from the glove factory and Sandy was working at the Wal-Mart. The last thing he wanted was to sit in the tourist cabin, alone, smelling the mold and mildew, watching a soap opera.
After a while, the din faded as the lunch hour ended and people returned to their jobs. Vinny and Penny were in the back room washing dishes, while Heather wiped down the counters with bleach water and refilled the salt and pepper shakers. Ralph sipped his coffee and watched the rain slide down the front window like tears.
Maybe he should never have come back, he thought. Maybe he and Sandy should have stayed out in
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