The woman at the sink had her back to him. Without turning around:
“Did he see you?”
“No, I don’t think so. He was pretty torn up…… It was something to see. I kinda feel for the guy…….. He brought this on himself I guess, but hey, that sermon was ……….”
Buddy stopped talking when the woman spun around to face him. Her eyes were red, her cheeks puffy; it was obvious she was having a tough time.
“That sermon was what?......... Full of his usual fire and brimstone, God will smite you down if you do not heed his Will nonsense?”
“No, it wasn’t like that.”
Buddy stood up and put a massive hand on Sylvie’s shoulder.
“He cried.”
Sylvie’s eyes widened. She stepped back from Buddy.
“He cried? What the Hell was he crying about? That Bully Pulpit was all he ever cared about. He would never disgrace it by crying behind it.”
“Well Sylvie, he didn’t just cry, he sobbed so loud, there were echoes.”
Sylvie shook off Buddy’s hand and walked to the kitchen table to sit down.
Buddy pointed to the chair across from his. Sylvie settled hard on the chair and looked across the table at her cousin.. Out of nervous anxiety maybe, Sylvie began digging in her pockets searching for something. Buddy watched her. What the Hell was she looking for anyway?
Sylvie ran out of pockets to search. On automatic now, she reached up the left sleeve of her sweater. Her shoulders relaxed as she pulled out a pitiful excuse of a well used Kleenex tissue and dabbed at her eyes with it.
Some moments passed while Sylvie silently continued this nervous display. She took a deep breath, gave her eyes a token wipe. She looked at Buddy.
“Okay start at the beginning, not your usual story telling, that by the time you’re done, I never know where it began originally.
Buddy grinned.
“Yeah, I’m not the best story teller, I know. But ……”
Sylvie cut him off with a look.
Buddy frowned.
"I guess I told you all there was. If you had wanted a better report, maybe you should have gone to church yourself. I'm telling you, Jacob was not the same man, preacher, person he has been. Maybe you should go home and work it out with him."
Pounding on the door of the trailer and a loud angry voice stopped their conversation.
"Is my wife in there? ...... Buddy, you shacking up with Sylvie? I'll kill you, you son of a bitch."
Buddy held his finger to his lips. With his other hand he indicated Sylvie should head to the back of the trailer. He stood up, walked to the door and opened it up enough to talk through the crack.
"Yeah Jacob, she's here. But before I let ......."
The good Pastor Jacob threw his shoulder into the door. It trembled some but did not move an inch. Buddy was a big man. It would take more than the wimpy efforts of a pastor half his size to move that door.
"Jacob, listen to me. I am not letting you in unless you can be calm. ...... I am not shacking up with Sylvie. You know that. She's my cousin ferchrisakes. ........ Now back off the porch and I'll open the door."
Jacob backed up a few feet. Buddy began to relax his hold on the door. Jacob timed it perfectly. He threw all his weight into his next hit. Combined with catching Buddy off guard, the door caved and Buddy was knocked on his ass. The trailer floor shook and dishes rattled on the shelves.
The Pastor stood in the kitchen with arms out and his chest heaving. A small bit of spittle had formed at the corners of his mouth. His eyes bore into Buddy.
"Is she here? That's all I want to know. Is she here?
"Yeah, like I said, she's here. She's upset. You're upset. And I'm caught in the middle of this cluster fuck. No one is talking with anyone until we all calm ourselves. Have a seat Jacob. I'll see if Sylvie wants to talk."
Jacob sat in Buddy's chair. Buddy ignored it. He spun around and walked down the narrow hallway toward the bedrooms. Muffled conversations could be heard as Pastor Jacob sat trembling at the kitchen table.
To the pastor, it seemed hours had passed before he heard a door open and footsteps heading back up the hallway. Buddy appeared in the kitchen.
"Sylvie is gone Jacob. She is not ready to face you. And from the looks of you, you aren't ready to face her."
Jacob kicked back the chair as he stood up. He reached behind him and pulled a small pistol from his belt. He pointed it at Buddy:
"You tell me where she is right now."
Buddy looked at this man; this man whose life had been turned upside down in the space of a few hours. He looked at the pistol Jacob held.
"When and where did you locate a gun Jacob?
Jacob looked at his pistol.
"This was my father's. As far as I know it has never been fired. Unless I get some answers tonight, it might just take its first shot."
Buddy Dilkins began to calculate the chances of a peaceful resolution here. Jacob certainly looked desperate. It did not appear talking was going to work in the short term. Buddy decided ...... Before the pastor could blink, Buddy charged him and knocked him unconcsious with one blow of his massive fist. Later, they would find out Buddy had broken the good pastor's jaw and that the gun had never been loaded ..... ever.
Buddy dialed 911and tended Jacob's injury the best he could and waited for the emergency response to find them. The standard response time in this part of Maine gave Buddy enough time to down a couple of beers while he waited. Living in the pucker brush of southern Maine did have some advantages.
started 9/22/2025 - Finished 10/25/2025 - @ 1100 words
If interested - Links to the first 5 Parts
- The Pastor - Part 1 - "Buddy and the Pastor"
- The Pastor - Part 2 - "The Boys in the Door"
- The Pastor - Part 3 - "Gilding the Lily"
- The Pastor - Part 4 - "Crisis in Faith"
- The Pastor - Part 5 - "The Sermon"
I am not sure why, but picking the song to add to the post is often a tougher chore than writing the post in the first place. Thankfully, I stumbled upon this old Teen Club favorite from 60 years ago. Here are the Zombies with their hit, "She's not there". Excellent song then and I think it is even better now.
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