'Expect anything your mind could conjure in its darkest moments,' Nydia replied. She then spoke quietly, telling the woman of her experiences in Falcon House; of her being raped by her stepfather in the casket, while Sam, believing her dead, was being seduced by Roma, Nydia's mother. She left nothing out.
Viv shuddered, as if experiencing the chilly touch of death and throwing it away from her. '1 used to enjoy reading horror stories. The scarier the better; especially on a stormy night. I never dreamt I would be actually living through the real thing.' She toyed with her coffee mug. 'That is,
Nydia rose and refilled their cups. 'It isn't too late for you and Monty and most of the others to leave,' she reminded the older woman. 'It's Father Le Moyne, Noah, Sam, Little Sam, and me they want. We could hot leave.'
'Don't think I haven't thought of it,' Viv admitted. 'A lot. But something within me said No! And I've had time to think about that. It's a test of faith, isn't it, Nydia?'
'Yes. It all comes down to that. But it's so much more, too.'
Viv thought about that for a moment. 'Yes. It is. I can see that, now. But is one little town in Upstate New York so important?'
'Not really. As Sam tried to explain, this is a game. A game that has been going on for—well, forever, I suppose. I don't think being a Christian is nearly as easily accomplished as a great many people believe. I don't believe—and neither does Sam—that a person can sin all their life, then at the moment of death, be relieved of all those sins. I think a person must work terribly hard, all their life, to be a true Christian. And I think—I know—there will be a great many people very disappointed on Judgment Day.'
Viv smiled. 'I'm sure that would provoke a very spirited debate between you and Father Le Moyne.'
Nydia returned the smile. 'I'm sure of that. I wonder how Joe is doing?'
'Sounds like quite a party going on in there, Joe,' Mille said, after listening for a moment.
The music from the house was very loud, booming out into the gathering night. The rock and roll music was rattling the windows as it blasted out of the speakers, pushing to the limits and beyond the capabilities of the woofers and tweeters.
'Nellie never liked rock and roll music,' Joe said. 'As a matter of fact, she hated it. And I guess that tells everybody something. Make whatever you like about it.'
'I heard that, Joe,' Mille said. 'Couple of years ago, I wouldn't have agreed with it. Now I do. And not just because of what is happening to us now. Joe? You got your pistol with you?'
'1 got my pants on, ain't I?' he responded. 'You?'
'Yes, Joe,' Mille said with a smile. 'I have my pants on.
'Cute, Mille,' Joe said, as Father Le Moyne struggled to hide his smile. 'That's real cute.'
'I also have my pistol, too,' Mille needled him. She looked at Father Le Moyne. 'You going to wait here or come with us, Father?'
'I wouldn't miss it for anything in this world,' the priest replied.
'Or the next?' Mille teased him gently. Father Le Moyne was her very favorite person in the whole world. Joe, although he didn't know it—yet—was number two on her list of special people. Father Le Moyne had known Mille since the day she entered the world.
'I won't commit myself to that,' Le Moyne responded with a gentle smile.
'I wish ya'll'd quit talkin' 'bout stuff like that,' Joe said. 'I think it's spooky enough without all that stuff.'
Halfway up the sidewalk, the front door opened and Nellie stood framed in the rectangular light. She wore only a thin nightgown. The light from behind her gave glaring evidence that she wore nothing under the gown.
'Hello, Joe-baby,' she said, her voice just audible over the blaring noise.
'Nellie,' Joe said.
The woman took a long swig from the half pint of whiskey in her hand. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and looked contemptuously at the priest. 'You come here to save my lost soul, Zorro?'
Father Le Moyne surprised them all with his lack-of-patience reply. 'I don't know whether your soul is even worth saving, Nellie.'
She laughed at the priest. 'Fuck you.'
'Nellie—' Joe stepped forward.
'Butt out, horse-face,' his wife told him. 'This is between Captain Midnight and me.' She swung her eyes to the priest. She lifted her gown and exposed herself to the trio. 'How about some pussy, Padre?'
'Thank you, but no,' the priest muttered.
'Oh, that's right,' Nellie said, dropping her gown. 'You people are married to that wimp, Jesus. Ain't that the way it is?'
'Something like that,' Father Le Moyne said acidly. 'What did the Dark One promise you, Nellie?'
'He didn't just promise, he delivered. And that is one hell of a lot more than your God can do, Le Moyne. All you people have is vague promises and nothing material. So why don't you people just carry your asses on away from here and leave me alone?'
'He arrested your cancer,' the priest pegged it accurately.
'You got that right, buddy. And for the first time in longer than I can remember, Nellie-gal is having herself a natural good time.'
