"With all your talent," Rae was continuing, "I'm surprised you didn't ever go into show business. You sing just as good as some of the girls you hear in Nashville."
"Why, thank you, that's sweet," said Aural. "I did think of a career like that one time-when I was younger.
My daddy was particularly excited about it… 'Course my daddy tended to get excited. He was a man who enjoyed enthusiasms. He was fixin' to bring some agents and record people and such to come take a look at me."
"My goodness. How exciting."
"Well, I guess so. I was only sixteen at the time so I just sort of took it for granted-you know, the way kids do. " "Darling, you can't be but two years past sixteen now, Rae said with less than perfect honesty.
"Bless you," said Aural with equal candor. "But I'm way past those teenage years, and thank goodness, too. It seemed to me I was so horny I just itched. Didn't you feel like that, just itching all over and dying to find some young buck to scratch you?"
"I never thought of it quite that way," said Rae demurely. She placed her hand at her throat as if to ward off such thoughts.
"Oh, I did. 'Course the thing about that is it's never very hard to find a man who's willing to help you out.
Fact, it's nearly impossible to find one who ain't."
Rae remained silent. Her experience had not been the same at all.
Platonic friendships seemed to be what men offered her most. Aural continued volubly and Rae realized the young woman had reached a topic that interested her.
"I realize now that at that age a lot of that was just plain old curiosity, you know. I mean, I just flat wanted to know what this sex business was all about. People make a mistake keeping it a secret from little kids, don't you think? That just makes it a mystery, and everybody loves a mystery. Once you've seen a few men with their pants down you realize there ain't going to be no real surprises, they're all pretty much alike except for those who are worse, but by then I guess it's too late to worry about the mystery anymore. You've already got the habit."
"I'm sure you're right," Rae said, secretly lamenting the fact that she didn't have enough experience to be certain if Aural's assessment of men was right or not. But it did have an intuitive correctness to it.
"The thing is, I wish I had some other bad habit instead of men. I'd rather chew tobacco if it was up to me, but I guess we don't get to pick our bad habits, do we?"
Rae wondered how Aural managed to keep a complexion as smooth and pink with all of this worldly experience going on. She herself had a tendency to spot up whenever she needed to look nice, and stress of even the mildest sort caused cold sores on her lip.
"What happened with the record people and all?" Rae asked.
"Oh, yeah. Well, Daddy had them all set to come to one of his shows, and I guess they did, but the night before that I ran off with Earl Hockfuss who was this boy with the cutest strand of hair that fell across his forehead in a certain way that made you just want to cry or scream or grab hold of something soft and squeeze real tight.
When Earl would reach up and push that hair away, I used to tighten up my butt and press my thighs together, you know what I mean, Rae? 'Course, I was only sixteen, remember. I must have thought hair made the man in those days. Probably from hearing Daddy preach about Samson and Delilah or something." Aural laughed. "I was given to easy impressions back then."
"You ran off and got married?"
"No, honey, I just ran off. Earl and me went to a motel in Black Ridge and stayed there for three days until Earl decided he was too sore to continue."
"My goodness."
"I know. But it was educational. At least it was for me.
If old Earl learned anything in them three days, he never let on, except maybe who was the stronger sex when it came to sex. But I learned a lot, most of it disappointing."
Aural grinned in a way that made Rae feel that she ought to blush. "But not all of it, honey. Not all of it."
"What did your daddy do when you ran off?"
"I don't know. I ain't seen him since. He prayed, I imagine, then looked around for someone to beat up on.
That's how I know he missed me. I wasn't there for him to beat up on."
"But he was a minister," Rae said.
"Hon," Aural said, touching Rae's arm. "Hon."
The Reverend Tommy R. Walker found himself alone in his trailer with Aural, a blessing to be savored and consumed. The Apostolics were striking the tent and Rae had taken herself off to town to buy groceries, which usually took quite a while because Rae was an ardent coupon clipper and comparison shopper. Rae could turn a half hour in the supermarket into a half-day excursion, and for once, Tommy R. was grateful for it.
Aural was looking exceptionally good. She had dropped the beatific pose that worked so well onstage, and was showing excitement and agitation.
Tommy assumed it was about him until he realized she was asking for more money.
"You know I'm worth it," she said. "You've doubled your receipts since I been in the show."
"Now… doubled…" Tommy hated money discussions-with employees. It was enough to dampen a man's ardor.
"Easy. I can judge a collection plate good as you, and they just keep getting fuller, don't they? You don't suppose it's because your miracles are getting better, do you?"
"That's why they come, missy. To see the power of the Lord revealed through my hands."
"Them people had glue in their pockets before I showed up. I seen you work alone, remember?"
"That was a bad night. That happens."
"It ain't happened lately, though, has it?"
"Lookit here," said Tommy. "It's not like you wasn't appreciated. Didn't I put your picture on the poster right next to mine?"
"Right under yours."
"Under, over, alongside, what difference does it make?
I'm making you a star, honey, you ought to be grateful.
You got your beautiful face on every telephone pole and shop window in Pikeville."
"I didn't ask to have my picture on no poster. What I'm asking for is a cut of the cash."
"The Apostolics don't get a cut, and they been with me five years, give or take a member. Rae's been with me seven, she don't get a cut."
"I'm not studying Rae. I assume you got your own deal with her."
Tommy rose and crossed the trailer in three steps to stand beside her.
"I got one deal with Rae that could easy be yours," he said, looking down at her. She was such a little thing, once you stood next to her. It was just her pep that made her seem bigger. Tommy greatly admired pep.
As long as it was properly channeled.
"Let's stick to business," she said.
The Reverend Tommy put his arms around her. He was no giant, but she barely came up to his chest. It made a man want to protect her.
"This could be business, if you want to look at it that way," Tommy said. She turned so that her back was to him, but she didn't push him away.
"What kind of business you call this?"
Tommy pressed his groin against her back. His arms slid round her waist.
"The best kind," he said, his voice growing husky.
"I'm talking about money, Reverend. I didn't come in here for no salami."
"That's all part of the service," Tommy said. He thought he felt her push back against him, thought she wiggled her ass just a little bit for him. "I offer salvation and salami at no extra charge."
Aural slipped her hand behind her and touched his fly.
Tommy leaned his face onto the top of her head.
"Shit, Rev, that ain't no salami."
"You guessed."
"That's more like one of them cocktail sausages you eat with a toothpick."
Aural tapped him once sharply with her knuckles and Tommy released her, jumping back.
"You forget who you're talking to," he said, drawing himself up and trying to reclaim his dignity.