The ballad insinuated itself in the recesses of Lovey’s brain. Now I feel the sacred flame. Any mention of flame just rocketed her mind back to the heat she’d felt with Royal. Standing as she was, she had to grab hold of the back of the pew in front of her to stabilize herself. How could one encounter have such a lingering, powerful effect on her?
She opened her eyes. Those gathered at the front seemed to be in a thrall under her father’s spell. Lovey marveled at how her father’s sermons could move people. Did he really believe his own words? His conviction seemed sincere. Had nothing ever shaken his faith? Even when he sat at the bedside of her mother in her last hours? Lovey wondered why she had never asked him. Maybe she didn’t really want to know the answer. Maybe she’d needed to cling to his belief at the time. But after what she’d gone through losing George and now, confronted with feelings for Royal, that some would label unnatural, doubts were rising for her again.
Chapter Fourteen
After the service, Lovey stood at the fringe of the small crowd as the congregation exited the narrow wooden church. Her father stood at the exit, greeting each parishioner as they left. Lovey smiled politely and shared a word or two with some of the families as they departed. As the crowd thinned, anxious to leave and find some time alone with her thoughts, she was just about to walk to her father’s dusty black Model A Ford when she heard his voice behind her.
“Lovey, we’ve been invited to Sunday dinner.” She turned as he stepped near her. The last thing she felt like doing was having lunch with some family she barely knew.
“You know the Dawsons? Joe here has extended the invitation and I’ve accepted.” Her father motioned Joe Dawson over so there was nothing she could do but smile and graciously accept. Joe was near her age, maybe a year or two older. He was handsome in that outdoorsy, farm boy sort of way, tall and fit, with neatly cropped dark hair and brown eyes. Joe had an easy self-confidence about him as he shifted his stance and fingered the felt hat he was holding.
“Hello, Miss Lovey,” Joe said. “You look fine today.”
“Thank you, Joe.” She shielded her eyes from the midday sun as she looked up to meet his gaze.
“Well, then, Joe, we’ll be along shortly, I just need to close up the sanctuary.”
Joe nodded, replaced his hat, and left them to their tasks.
Lovey was tired and wanted to go home, but there would be no quietude now. They’d be lunching with the Dawson family, and she felt sure that would be an all-afternoon affair.
❖
Lunch with the Dawsons hadn’t been as painful as Lovey had feared. The conversation was cordial and easy. The food was very good—fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and fresh green beans, followed by apple cobbler. Joe’s mother was obviously a talented cook. Even still, Lovey struggled to remain in the present. Her thoughts were continually drifting to Royal. What was Royal thinking about their time together? Did she also attend church today? Where was Royal having lunch? When would they be able to see each other again? It was during this last rumination that she heard her name, which pulled her back to the moment at hand.
“I’m sorry, what?” She refocused her gaze in Joe’s direction.
“I was just asking, if you’ve finished, would you like to take a walk?”
For a moment she didn’t know what to say. She wanted to say no, but that didn’t seem like an option, given everyone at the table was waiting for her response. “Oh, thank you, but I should help clear the table since your mother prepared such a fine meal.”
“Oh, don’t you worry about that, Lovey. Elaine can help me with the dishes. You go on with Joe and have a nice walk.” Joe’s mother stood and nodded for Joe’s younger sister, Elaine, to help her as she reached for an empty dish. Well, that was it. There would be no getting out of it now. How many times in her life had she been called upon to do the right thing, the thing expected of her? And she was required to do it politely, without complaint for her own needs or wishes. Lovey stood, smiled, and thanked Mrs. Dawson for feeding them and then followed Joe outside. Her father and Mr. Dawson moved to the front porch with tall glasses of iced tea. She gave her father one last look over her shoulder as she and Joe struck out across the broad, flat front lawn.
Chapter Fifteen
Each crisp snap echoed in Royal’s ears as she sat with the large pan of beans in her lap. She sat cross-legged on the porch breaking the beans into small pieces so that her mother could can them. She’d gotten up early with the notion that she’d get all her chores done and head into town in the hopes of seeing Lovey. And if she didn’t happen to bump into her there, she’d already decided to drive out to her house. She ached to see Lovey today.
All day Sunday she’d done nothing but think about their night together, and she was as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs, pensive about how Lovey might be feeling. Was she regretting that they’d slept together? Royal sure hoped not, because she certainly wasn’t. But she knew all of this was new to Lovey, and as far as she knew it might just be experimentation on Lovey’s part. It didn’t feel that way when they
