“Put the sausage down,” Rev. Paul Purpose instructed Gloria, after he had dashed the entire way to the V.F.W. Panting, he quickly regained his breath.
Gloria held a link of pork sausage speared by the sharp tines of her silver fork. Slowly lifting her hazel eyes to see Rev. Purpose, she fought to keep her composure. With matted brown hair and tear-stained cheeks, she sniffled.
The holy man had never witnessed Gloria in such an unkempt and despondent state. Pointing to her sausage, Paul Purpose counseled, “You really don’t want to do this.”
Gloria’s hand appeared a heavy burden hoisting the fork with its pierced sausage all the way to her awaiting lips. Though she heard Rev. Purpose’s impassioned prompting, the words failed to register.
“Stop,” Rev. Purpose’s voice thundered, startling onlookers in the periphery. “Put your fork down and come with me.”
The good man pulled Gloria’s elbow, taking her away from the table and the plate of sausage for which temptation had gotten the best of her. Guiding her along, he managed to rescue her from the building, bringing her into the crisp fresh air.
As the cool breeze smack hit Gloria’s face, she began to whimper, “What have I done?”
Abruptly stopping, turning compassionately towards his parishioner, Paul Purpose consoled. “This isn’t the end of the world. One misstep doesn’t make you a lesser person.”
A little cry escaped Gloria’s mouth, her tongue working to give coherent utterance.
Grabbing her shoulders, staring Gloria square in the eye, Rev. Purpose remarked, “It’s not a sin to eat meat.” Although her other behavior of sneaking over to Brightan, of all places, to engage in questionable yoga and belly dancing was another matter altogether. But now was not the time to discuss these indiscretions when her surprising behavior centered upon the ingestion of sausage.
Pulling away, Gloria responded, “I’m not worried about that right now. Instead, I feel like I’m going to be sick.”
“Take a deep breath,” Rev. Purpose said, not once, but twice. “Let’s walk it off.”
Together, they strolled on scenic paths towards the church, past the Grubby Cauldron and Schuyler’s Market, where the V.F.W. had acquired the hundred pounds of sausage in the first place. With each passing step, Gloria felt a gradual welcomed settling in her core.
“Tell me what happened today, Gloria. Why did you go on a binge?” Rev. Purpose finally probed once Gloria had regained her composure, wondering what on earth could have triggered her outlandish deed.
Sounds of birds singing in the background muffled when Gloria began to respond. “I love him,” she blurted, slowing her gait, fighting not to break down in tears.
“Love who?” shocked Rev. Purpose demanded, stopping to look into Gloria’s clouded hazel eyes once more. This bombshell of a revelation took the holy man by surprise. In the years since Gloria had joined the community of Dalton Springs, she seemed content to be single, tending to business at the Grubby Cauldron whenever she wasn’t escaping to Brightan to indulge in her other eccentric activities.
“Luther,” she replied as if the reverend should have known.
“Luther?” he mimicked, the furrow between his dark brows deepening.
“You act surprised,” Gloria remarked, staring right back at the man who considered himself enlightened in all facets of the townsfolk’s lives. This revelation came out of left field, incongruent to Rev. Purpose's perception of reality. Had he missed something along the way, signs?
“Luther?” he repeated, to make certain he didn’t misunderstand.
Shaking her head while huffing a sigh of frustration, Gloria tread once more. Speaking over her shoulder, she proclaimed, “Yes, I-love-Luther.”
© 2006 by author. All rights reserved.
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