“I won’t blame you if you don’t come in, Mace.’’ Mama turned her back to the window, just in case the minister and his wife could read lips. “You do not need to subject yourself to that man-wolf for another minute.’’
She clearly thought I was unpracticed at fending off unwanted advances from men.
“Don’t worry about it, Mama. I’m an adult. Besides, I don’t think he’s going to attack with his wife sitting right there. She looks big enough to take him if he got her mad.’’
Mama’s gaze returned with mine to the scene on the other side of the window. Pastor Bob smiled into the mirror at Delilah, the morning sun glinting off his teeth. It lit a silver cross on the lapel of his brown-checkered sport coat. His small hands looked as fragile as baby birds against his wife’s sturdy shoulders. Seeing the two of them together, I realized Delilah wasn’t just bigger; she was a good fifteen years older than her husband.
“He is a puny one,’’ Mama finally agreed. “Even so, I can give D’Vora your money.’’
With everything I’d had on my mind, I left the shop without tipping D’Vora for cutting my hair. I’d wanted to get back to apologize ever since.
“I’m used to tusslin’ with gators and snakes, Mama. How bad could one pint-sized pastor be?’’ I pushed open the door to a jingle of bells. “Hang onto my arm … a little looser, please. We’ll present a united front,’’ I whispered as we stepped inside.
“Good morning, Rosalee.’’ The minister and Delilah spoke in unison.
“Y’all remember my middle girl, Mace.’’ Mama’s tone was cool. Not as icy as Maddie’s, but heading for winter. The two of them nodded politely. I gave them a tight smile back.
Betty, the shop’s owner, bustled out of the back, greeting us as she wiped her hands on a lilac-colored towel. I’d never realized purple came in so many shades.
I smelled the usual mix of shampoos, conditioners and permanent solution. Another scent fought for dominance—fruity, like overripe watermelon and bananas that have started to blacken. As we got closer, I realized it was Delilah’s perfume. I backed away, putting my hand over my face as if I was scratching my nose.
Betty stopped at the counter in front of Delilah’s chair and rustled through the drawer for a comb and a handful of hair rollers. She looked up at me in the mirror. “Mace, you’re not blowing out that haircut like D’Vora told you to, are you? She’s going to get on you when she gets back from the bank, which should be any minute now.’’
My hand went to my hair, made wild by the humidity and Pam’s convertible. “No, Ma’am, I guess I’m not. I usually just open the windows in my Jeep and hang my head out to let it dry. It saves a lot of time.’’
Betty looked horrified.
“Well, guess I’d better let you ladies get to your womanly ways.’’ Pastor Bob patted his wife’s shoulders as he spoke.
He seemed oddly comfortable in the salon. I couldn’t imagine Carlos Martinez or Jeb Ennis hanging around a beauty parlor. But Pastor Bob, with his bleached teeth and buffed fingernails, seemed to feel right at home.
“Every time I bring Delilah in, I think she can’t get any more beautiful than she already is.’’ He beamed a whitening-strip smile to the mirror. “But then I come back to pick her up, and darned if I’m not wrong.’’
He leaned toward Delilah, who offered up her plump cheek for a kiss. “I’ll be back for you in a couple of hours, Mother.’’
“I’ll be right here, Father. Betty’s going to make me into a new woman, so I do hope you recognize me.’’
He put his hand on her face and gazed into her eyes. “Mother, I’d know you in a crowd of thousands. That’s how it is with soul mates, isn’t that right, ladies?’’
He glanced at us for approval. Mama smiled reflexively, but I was busy choking back vomit. I hate when married couples call each other “Mother’’ and “Father.’’ It’s creepy.
Through the front window, I saw D’Vora hurrying along the sidewalk, breasts jiggling in her tight smock. Pastor Bob saw her, too. He dropped his hand from his wife’s cheek like it was a burning coal, and rushed to open the shop’s door. He stepped aside just enough so D’Vora would have to rub up against him as she brushed past. His eyes got a familiar gleam.
“It’s D’Vora, isn’t it?’’
She raised the bank deposit bag in her hand to cover her chest, and gave him a “My, what big teeth you have’’ look.
“I don’t believe you’ve taken us up on our invitation to come worship at Abundant Hope and Charity Chapel. Mother, have you seen this pretty young lady at church?” His eyes never left D’Vora’s cleavage.
I glanced at Delilah. Her own eyes were full of hurt and resignation.
“No, Father, I haven’t.’’ Her lips barely moved as she studied her hands, folded on top of the drape. If she hadn’t been so mean to Mama at church, I might have felt sorry for her.
“Thank you anyway, sir. Ma’am.’’ D’vora nodded at Delilah as she sidestepped around the minister. “But I’m happy at my own church. I’ve been going ever since I was baptized. Thanks for thinking of me, though.’’
Everyone in the shop knew exactly what the minister had been thinking about D’Vora.
“Well, maybe you’d like one of my DVDs, then. Half-price, for you.’’
Delilah didn’t give her time to answer. “Hadn’t you better get to your errands, Father?’’
Pastor Bob put a hand to his chin, thoughtful like. He was probably just wiping off drool. “You betcha,’’ he finally said, as D’Vora disappeared into the back room. “I’ve got a long list to tackle. See you soon, Mother.’’
Delilah followed her husband with her eyes until he was out the door, down the sidewalk, and out of sight of the window. She continued staring until, finally, she let out a little sigh and a tiny shake of her head. What would run through your mind if you had a husband who would come on to another woman like that, right in front of you? Delilah looked like she was trying to convince herself of something. I wondered what it was.
“Okay, let the girl talk begin.’’ Betty shook her magenta comb like a conductor’s baton. It broke the shameful feeling we’d shared at seeing Delilah humiliated. “Who’s got news about Emma Jean Valentine?’’
We spent the next fifteen minutes dissecting Emma Jean’s disappearance. I filled them in on finding the abandoned car and visiting her house. Mama revealed the fact that she might have been cheating on Jim Albert. Delilah perked up at that gossipy morsel.