The noon whistle gave me this punch of shock, it sounded so loud. I was recovering from that jump to my insides when I heard Daddy’s voice, big as all outdoors, and twice as powerful.
“SINNERS? WHERE ARE YOU GOING TONIGHT, AND WHEN YOU GET THERE, WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO, AND WHEN YOU DO IT, WHAT IS IT GOING TO MEAN?
“IF YOU’RE COMING TO THE HELPING HAND TABERNACLE, WHEN YOU GET THERE YOU’RE GOING TO PRAY, YOU’RE GOING TO BE HEALED, YOU’RE GOING TO RECEIVE CHRIST AS YOUR PERSONAL SAVIOR, YOU’RE GOING TO FEEL THE POWER … AND IT’S GOING TO MEAN YOU’RE NEW, YOU’RE SAVED, YOU’RE SAFE, YOU MADE IT, YOU’RE BORN AGAIN!”
Everyone around me just froze, same as I did.
I could see the van parked across the street, speakers up on the roof.
“SINNERS? WHERE ARE YOU GOING TONIGHT, WHO ARE YOU GOING WITH, WHO ARE YOU GOING TO SEE?
“OH, I GOT OTHER PLANS, YOU SAY, I HAVEN’T GOT TIME TO GET SAVED, YOU SAY, I’D GET SAVED, YOU SAY, IF I DIDN’T HAVE TO GO SOMEWHERE FOR A PARTY, YOU SAY, IF I COULD ONLY GET AWAY, YOU SAY, IF I DIDN’T HAVE TO GO TO A DANCE, YOU SAY, IF I COULD ONLY SQUEEZE THE LORD JESUS CHRIST INTO MY SCHEDULE, YOU SAY, AND YOU ARE DAMNED!”
“Royal Ringer,” a woman near me said to another, and she laughed.
“It’s not funny. It’s disgusting,” said the other woman. “It’s disgraceful!”
“YOU NEED TO COME TO THE TWENTY-FOUR-HOUR SOAKING AT THE HELPING HAND TABERNACLE, YOU NEED TO BE SOAKED WITH THE SPIRIT, YOU NEED TO BE SOAKED WITH LOVE, YOU NEED TO BE SOAKED WITH LIGHT, YOU NEED TO BE SOAKED WITH GLORY! YOU NEED, YOU NEED, YOU NEED JESUS! YOU NEED JESUS!”
“I don’t need this,” someone said.
I didn’t either, and I walked away fast, breaking into a run, finally heading down Main with Daddy’s voice chasing me: “YOU NEED, YOU NEED, YOU NEED, YOU NEED JE-SUS! I SAID JE-SUS. I SAID JE-SUS CHRIST YOUR LORD AND SAVIOR!”
By the time I got home, the Seaville Police had made Daddy stop, said Seaville had a noise ordinance. Mum said when it came to Daddy they had a noise ordinance; what about all the noise every Sunday morning, traffic pouring in for It’s Up to You, horns going, what about all that noise?
I was so down in the dumps I was hardly hearing her rave, sitting in my rocker in my room, rocking my body, rocking my head from side to side like I was watching a tennis match and not just feeling the shame of being me, hugging my arms in my undies.
Mum finally took notice of my condition, said, “You been waiting for tonight all your life, now look at you. Face down to the floor like you was going to a funeral.”
“You don’t know anything,” I said. “Daddy downtown calling everyone sinners through loudspeakers, and I got to face the whole bunch of them tonight.”
“Daddy’s got a right.”
“You always take his side,” I said.
“It’s Daddy’s business to call people sinners, honey. That’s the business Daddy’s in.”
“I got to face the whole bunch of them and I’m the only one can’t wear a hat.”
“Confounded be all they that serve graven images, the Bible says.”
“Pisces isn’t a graven image,” I said, “it’s a sign of the zodiac. I’m going to be the only one there without a hat. Why don’t the Bible say something about that?”
“Hush now. Shush! You should be counting your blessings right now, not looking for the hole in the doughnut.”
“I know it,” I said, “but seems like I never will be one of them, not even for one little night.”
“I love the way Jesus’ eyes is always following you in this room,” said Mum, looking at the picture Bobby John gave me. “I’d rather belong to Jesus any day than belong to that crowd.”
“I don’t know as we got a choice,” I said.
“I tell you what, honey!” Mum said. “Play your radio, and bring out everything you’re going to wear, and what we’ll have is a dress rehearsal. Now, what are you going to wear? Let’s get it all out on the bed.”
“My lemon-yellow dress,” I said. “Oh, Mum, I’m real scared.”
“Nothing to be scared about. Get that dress out, honey.” She snapped on the radio. “When he comes, I’ll answer the door and then you’ll come down. That’s how it’s done.”
“When I hear that doorbell,” I said, getting out of my rocker, “I’m going to climb right into my bed and pull the covers over my head!”
There was a sweet song coming through the radio. Mum was laughing. “You’re going to wait right up here until I shout up at you, ‘Your young man’s here, Opal!’”
The color came to my neck and spread up across my face. “You shout he’s my young man up to me and I’ll never come down!” I said. “Now, I swear I won’t, Mum! You got to promise me you won’t shout nothing like that up those stairs!”
She was giggling and getting me to giggling, when the song coming through the radio stopped in the middle, and the announcer said there was a bulletin.
“A bulletin!” Mum said.
“… repeat, a bulletin,” the announcer said. “Dr. Guy Pegler has been abducted by an unknown kidnaper. Dr. Guy Pegler has been—”
“What’s abducted?” I said.
Mum said, “Shhh! Listen!”
“… while he was on his way from a local church service. The Pegler family was informed he’s being held hostage.
