Chapter 6

Harry’s day had gone great; he’d taken the permits to Mike, and groundbreaking would start the next day. That would be a hassle in the short run, but he only had a few guests scheduled to come in this weekend. The important one, as far as Hal was concerned, wouldn’t arrive ‘til a week from Monday, and that gave him several days to get Grandma Diane’s old room ready.

The hardest parts of his day had been going over to the Backwoods, thanking Toby, and apologizing to both him and Sheri. They both had accepted his apology but had teased him mercilessly about tying one on.

The topping on the cake of humiliation was that Toby had caught his drunken tirade on his phone. To his utter horror, he’d loudly confessed his long-running feelings for Glenna, calling her the Milk Chocolate Goddess of his dreams. He begged Toby to erase the video before it got spread around town and embarrassed both him and Glenna.

However, Toby informed Harry he wasn’t the only one who’d recorded it. Toby told him to check out the Backwoods Facebook page, it had already received over a hundred views on YouTube. In other words, he was probably going to be an internet viral sensation.

Now he was heading to Uncle Henry’s grocery store to get the things Leanne had asked him to pick up. He needed to get them and put them away, then he’d be ready to start thinking about his date with Glenna. He smiled just thinking about her. The kiss had been everything he’d ever wanted it to be and then some.

He almost had everything, just needed to get the meat for the rest of the week and this week’s Sunday dinner. He was nearly to the butcher’s counter when he saw Uncle Henry talking to his cousin, Sammy’s, co-teacher. What was her name again? Oh yeah, Katlynn something or other. He noticed the Reverend Doctor Begley was listening intently to the conversation. What was that fat hobbit’s interest in this?

“I tell you, Mister Gladstone, I’ve never heard anything so beautiful, but the minute she saw me, she stopped.”

Henry nodded. “Yes, she’s like that at home. We’ll hear her when she’s doing her laundry or showering, but if she knows anyone is listening, she clams up. She has a serious fear of singing in front of people.”

“That’s a shame, Deacon Gladstone.” Reverend Begley interrupted. “You say Samantha is fearful of using her talents as the good Lord intended her to use them? Why haven’t you corrected this situation?”

“I told you Reverend, she’s afraid. Samantha has a lot of anxieties. Has ever since she got lost in the woods at five.”

“Shameful, man, just shameful. She was a child then. She’s a woman now. You’ve done her no favors by allowing this spirit of fear to reside all this time. I expect better from my deacons. We must remedy this issue for her sake, as well as yours. I know--”

The short overweight minister smiled a smile that turned Harry’s stomach. He was up to something.

“She will sing the special this Sunday.”

“Reverend,” Uncle Henry protested. “That isn’t possible. She would never do it.”

“Of course she will, if you, her father, tell her to. She isn’t the rebellious one. She’ll obey you. Besides, what better place for her to be delivered from this unnatural spirit of fear than at church, where she can be wrapped in the loving support of her church family.”

“Reverend, I just don’t know. Let me think about it some.”

“Deacon, you will have her come see my wife and pick out a song to sing this Sunday. If you refuse to help your daughter overcome this fear, I will have to talk to the ordination board about your continued service as a deacon. After all, scripture tells us a deacon must have his family life in order. Between your rebellious older child and now your continued acceptance of the fearful nature of Samantha, I’m not sure you fit the qualifications of a Deacon.”

Harry saw his uncle’s shoulders drop. The slimy old toad knew just where to strike. Uncle Henry was proud of his service to the church. He knew before his uncle said anything the battle was over and his cousin would be singing Sunday.

“I’ll let Samantha know, Reverend. She’ll be by your place tonight to speak to your wife.”

The Reverend swelled up like a puffer fish knowing he’d won. “Good. You’ll see, Deacon, this will help your whole family. Why maybe you’ll even be able to get Nancy to attend and get her soul right with God. I’ll be praying for that to happen.”

Then the minister waddled away. Harry wanted to laugh because, in his ill-fitting black suit, the man looked just like a penguin. Harry could almost hear the sound from the old Batman TV show he and Hal used to watch, WaaWaaWaa!

Well, nothing he could do about it. He had to work this weekend. There were a couple of check-ins this Sunday which meant he’d have to be around to meet his guests. He’d just have to hope Samantha could hold it together. Maybe she’d go see Mysti and get some tea and herbs that would calm her nerves. Heck, he might need to stop and get some himself, so he could act normal during his date tonight.

******

Glenna was just getting dressed for her first real date with Harry when her phone rang. She looked at the caller ID and saw it was Josephine Salazar. She sighed. If Hal wanted them to meet again tonight she was going to flat out refuse. Unless the President himself was in Gladstone there was nothing more important than this date. “Hey Josephine. Please tell me your boss hasn’t demanded my presence tonight. Because if he has, I may just have to castrate him.”

The secretary laughed. “No Glenna, he has no clue I’m calling you. He’d probably fire me if he knew what I was calling you for.”

That sounded intriguing. “Oh yeah? What’s on your mind?”

“Were you serious about running for mayor in the next election or was that just idle water cooler talk?”

“I’m considering it, why?”

“Well, again I shouldn’t tell you this, being Mayor Hal’s secretary and all, but the deadline for declaring your candidacy is a week from Friday. So far, there’s no one running against Hal. Technically, there’s no one running at all. Hal never declared his candidacy last time because, as the current mayor, he’s automatically assumed to run again unless someone else declares they’re running.”

“Thanks for letting me know. I’ll go down tomorrow at lunch and get the forms to fill out. When do you think I should file them?”

“If I were you, I’d wait ‘til sometime in the middle of next week to file. Otherwise, Hal will hear about it. I mean, he’ll hear anyway, but the closer to the deadline, the less time he’ll have to try something crazy to counter you.”

“You think he’d do that?”

The woman laughed. “Are you kidding? This is Hal Gladstone we’re talking about. He’ll do anything to make sure the Gladstones keep control of this town. But enough about that, I want to know if it’s true?”

“If what’s true?”

“Well, the rumor is you kissed Harry Gladstone at the Backwoods last night. Are you two dating?”

“I didn’t kiss Harry last night. He kissed me. But in answer to your question, yes, Harry and I are going on our first real date tonight.”