Brother Willy's Traveling Salvation Show

by Mitchell, W. Scott

  Jenifer was staring at Scott as he finished his story. “Which girls got the drugs and who was giving them to us?”

  Scott put his hands up in the air. “I don’t know who got them or who was giving them out. I wasn’t there.”

  Beth continued to question him. “If you weren’t there then how did you know about it? How do you know what really happened?”

  Scott thought for a moment about what he should tell her and then opted for the truth. “My friend who was there heard that someone put something in the beer. He had no reason to lie to me about it. However, if you don’t believe what my friend said, then ask yourself this question. How often do you get with your sorority sisters and have sex with their boyfriends?”

  They could all see a tear in the corner of Beth’s eye before she looked down at the beach. “I don’t remember but a few things that happened that night. I was upset when I asked Carlie about it the next day. She said you really enjoyed being with me. She laughed it off and said we gave you a birthday present you would never forget. That’s the reason I thought it was you.”

  Michelle sat up before she spoke. “I think Carlie and you need to have a meeting of the minds. She apparently has some issues to deal with and has very little respect for you. Scott’s birthday is in November. It wasn’t a present for him. It was a game for Carlie.”

  Beth and Jenifer looked at each other as though they were reading each other’s minds. From what Scott could tell, they were not happy thinking about Michelle’s point. Jenifer was still curious wondering what else he might know. “Did your friend also tell you about the line dance?”

  Scott shook his head. “No. It’s just like I told you before. I have been on the river clean up for three years with the college environmental group and they use the same campsite you use. I don’t know why the line dance happens, but different girls take their shirts off every year with different people cheering them on. Don’t get me wrong, because I enjoy the show, but that doesn’t make this year new or unusual.”

  Beth was much calmer when she spoke. “I can tell you why it happens. It is part of our sorority initiation and maybe it’s time to rethink it. I can tell just by looking at Michelle that she doesn’t think very much of what we were doing.”

  Michelle was adamant in her reaction. “Beth, I could care less if you and Jenifer take it all off right now and spend the afternoon with us. Scott and I may go to the river clean up next year and I’ll get in the line dance with you. Having Scott see your boobs doesn’t bother me.”

  Jenifer looked with a degree of suspicion at Michelle. “Then what does bother you?”

  Michelle glanced at Jenifer and with her question, Scott knew she was about to give them an ear full. “Do you really want to know?”

  Once they had both nodded, Michelle let go with her thoughts. “I don’t know Beth and maybe she doesn’t mind double teaming some guy she doesn’t know. Given the fact that she was almost crying a few minutes ago, I doubt that’s the case. Even if it was not Beth, some girl got put in a situation she didn’t want to be in that night when some jerk gave her date rape drugs.”

  Michelle paused to take a drink of her Coke before she continued. “You call yourselves sisters, have a secret handshake, and pledge to support each other. That night, you let your sisters down and you let all women down. That is the very definition of hypocrisy. Carlie was supposed to protect Beth, not exploit her. We have enough men exploiting women that we shouldn’t be doing it to each other. The other thing I object to is the fact that both of you came over here to make Scott look bad in front of another girl. I guess you were getting revenge for his breakup with Carlie.”

  After a few minutes of silence, Scott looked directly at Jenifer. “There was a price to be paid for that Friday night. I believe Beth was exploited and it ended my relationship with Carlie. Was it worth it? You decide”

  Scott could see far more tears running down Beth’s face as she apparently accepted the fact that Carlie had exploited her. He put his arms around her and held her for several minutes as Michelle gave him a slight grin. “Beth, I’m going to tell you something and I don’t want you to think of it as anything but a compliment. This is just a compliment. I think you would make one hell of a nice birthday present.”

  Beth placed her arms around Scott as she kissed his cheek. “Thank you for telling me the truth. I will sleep better.”

  Chapter IX

  They spent the next hour getting to know each other while talking about their college experience. Shortly after two o’clock, Scott excused himself assuming they would move on to other subjects. He sat on a bar stool in the kitchen eating potato chips and drinking a Coke while waiting to cool off. When he started to the door, Scott saw Michelle and Beth coming up the boardwalk together as he stepped out on the deck. He was surprised Michelle would have invited her. “What’s the plan?”

  Beth was the first to speak. “There were three things we wanted to do this afternoon. After you left the beach, we apologized to each other for the way we acted this morning. We were all behaving like high school girls instead of adult women. We also wanted to apologize to you for putting on a pathetic demonstration. To be honest, while we were talking we realized we had a lot in common.”

  “I was hard on both of you and I’m sorry too.” Scott replied.

  After Scott turned to look at Michelle, he made a casual observation. “You’re starting to burn.”

  She took her fingers and pulled on her top to show him where she was turning pink from the sun. “Oh, I am starting to burn. Beth, do you have on sunscreen?”

  Beth pulled her strap down and replied after looking for just a moment. “I had on sunscreen, but I’m looking a little pink too. The Jacuzzi is a good idea. I’m hot, but I don’t want to get in the ocean or the pool right now. I need to stay out of the sun for a while.”

  The hot tub was in the center of the deck and surrounded by privacy screens on three sides. With one side open to the ocean, they could see the distant waves breaking.

  Beth approached the Jacuzzi before she stopped to read a homemade sign Scott had posted. “The sign says clothing is optional.”

  Without thinking, Scott replied to her observation, “Well it was optional last night anyway”.

  He immediately felt Michelle’s hand hit him lightly on the shoulder. “Scott.”

  After they were all seated, Beth looked at Scott. “We were not very nice to you when we first met. Why did you bother to tell me the truth when you could have just let me walk away?”

  His answer was longer and probably more than they were expecting. “When you were yelling and accusing me of having sex with you while claiming I didn’t know you, you weren’t just angry, you were hurt. You thought I was rejecting you while making you insignificant and treating you like trash. You kept tapping your fingers together, which made me to think you were nervous. When you were on the phone with Carlie, your lower lip was quivering as if you were desperate to get the answer you were looking for. I assumed you needed to know who you were with that night and what happened. Having a face to put on the memory might make it easier for you. When you blurted out that comment about you and Carlie both having sex with me, your face turned red from embarrassment and anger and not because of too much sun. I had a professor who said never miss an opportunity to turn an event into a teachable moment. I think you were a victim of poor judgment, drugs and exploitation and you didn’t need to go through life never knowing the truth. I felt sorry for you.”

  Beth’s next question was one in which he thought she had the greatest interest and was the question that led him to believe she was not at peace with herself. “Will you tell me everything you know about what happened to me at the camp?”

  He looked at Beth while trying to decide what he should say. “Can you accept the fact that you had a bad night and then move on without knowing all the details?”

  Michelle understood his idea. “Beth, we have all done some things we wish we could do differen
tly and sometimes it’s best to move on.”

  Beth was apparently neither able nor willing to move on and tried to explain her feelings to them. “I’m not cheap, but I’m not an angel either. I can live with the reality of my actions, if I know what that reality is. I’ve started having dreams about what might have been going on and I need to know the truth. A few weeks ago, I dreamed five men were doing me one right after the other and it wasn’t a pleasant experience. I woke up shaking and in a cold sweat. I need to know the truth so I can get this behind me.”

  Scott tried to point out something she needed to consider. “What happens if you don’t like the answers I give you? What are you going to do if the truth is more than you are prepared to accept?”

  Beth looked directly at him. “I’m not sure the reality can be any worse than my imagination.”

  He took a deep breath suspecting there might be more going on in her head than he should be dealing with. “Let’s do this. I will make some calls and find out everything I can. Meanwhile, you need to think about calling a professional and let them help you work through this.”

  She looked up at him as she spoke. Her expression had a look of determination. “I’ve already talked to a professional and I would rather talk to you. The shrink is playing mind games and you’re telling me the truth. Right now, the truth is what I need.”

  Without really thinking, Scott put his hand on her back for a moment, hoping to lend her some support. “I’ll make the calls and see what I can find out. We are going to get you through this.”

  No one spoke leaving each of them hearing nothing but the gurgling of the water from the whirlpool jets. He realized Beth’s issues and her attempts to put a brave face on her situation might not reflect the depth of her concerns. She was staring at the bottom of the hot tub as if to avoid looking at them.

  Scott glanced at Michelle to see her reaction to Beth, but mostly to see if they should do something. Michelle made a hugging motion with her arms and pointed to Beth.

  As Beth was already sitting to his right, all Scott needed to do was slide closer to her and put his arms around her. She immediately wrapped her arms around his waist as though she was holding on for dear life. Scott stroked her back and spoke softly as the side of her head was on his chest and her ear near his mouth. “You are going to be alright.”

  After a few minutes and quite a few tears, she spoke in a soft voice. “I’m not quite the birthday present you thought I was, am I?”

  Scott held her a little tighter as I whispered to her. “It doesn’t matter what happened, you and I are going to get through this, and we won’t let you down.”

  They did not know if it was what Scott said or if her time had come to let it all out, but the tears began to pour.

  When Michelle saw her reaction, she moved closer to Beth and ended up in what he would best describe as a group hug. With Michelle offering her words of encouragement and the comfort of their hugs, Beth’s grip on his shoulders began to lessen. After several minutes, she sat up looking at each of them. “I’m sorry. I think I’ve needed to get that out of my system for a while. I feel like I’ve been raped by that guy and there is nothing I can do about it, but I’m okay for now.”

  With everyone once again seated in a circle, Scott put his hand on Beth’s shoulder and made a suggestion. His intent was to get her something that might help settle her nerves and offer her some encouragement. “I think I should get three glasses and a bottle of champagne and let’s all celebrate the fact that Beth is going to be okay. What do the rest of you think?”

  With unanimous agreement for the plan, Michelle went with him to the kitchen. Once we were alone, Michelle put her arms around his neck as they shared a long embrace. She spoke after taking a step back from him. “You are being very nice to Beth.”

  Scott was unsure what she was implying with her comment. “I wouldn’t make too much out of that.”

  She instantly knew he might have misunderstood her compliment. “I have one hundred per cent confidence and trust in you and I always have. My comment wasn’t some little cat comment born of jealousy. This morning when I said you were observant, I was referring to you looking at Frisbee girl’s boobs. When we were on the beach, you saw things in Beth that I completely missed. You saw her lips quiver, her face turn red from embarrassment, you recognized her anger as being a feeling of rejection and hurt, and you reached out to her when she needed it. I have never been in her situation, but I know other girls who have. It’s not easy.”

  Scott knew Michelle was sincere. “You would have seen the same things I did had they not been on the attack. I only did what I would want someone to do if you or my little sister was in the same situation. I don’t have a clue who this girl is, but she’s hurting inside. She covers it up fairly well, but then the hurt comes bursting out again. I think there is a lot more going on in her head than just something that happened one Friday night.”

  “So why are we having champagne?” Michelle asked.

  He replied with his fake English accent. “It’s elementary my dear Watson. If she believes that we think she is going to be okay, then she might start to believe it herself. The power of suggestion should never be underestimated.”

  She once again put her arms around his neck, as she was determined to get his undivided attention. “Watson is an old, fat, balding man who most likely hasn’t been with a woman in fifty years. The next time you call me ‘Watson’, there won’t be any reason for you to be with a woman during the next fifty years. Do you get my point?”

  “You’re the most persuasive woman I know and you have such a delicate feminine way of explaining castration to me.” Scott replied as he put his arms around her waist and pulled her close.

  They stood in silence before her mind had moved on to other matters. “I’m glad we have reached and agreement on that topic. Still, we need to talk about some things. This has been a strange day for me.”

  “Yes it has been a strange day, but don’t forget that I’m taking you out for a luxurious ten dollar sea food dinner tonight. We can eat and then afterwards we can go out to the beach and watch the sunset. We can take all the time we need.” Scott replied.

  Michelle picked up the glasses as she looked over her shoulder at him. “It’s going to take some time for me to sort some things out.”

  His question reflected his concern. “There’s nothing wrong between us, is there?”

  She shook her head. “You and I are fine. It’s something with me.”

  Scott offered to talk before they went outside, but she thought it best to wait until after dinner.

  Having returned, Michelle made a special toast to Beth whose mood was somewhat improved.

  To his surprise, Beth invited Michelle to their girl’s night out beach cookout. After Michelle explained our dinner plans, Beth insisted she come over during the evening for a drink even if she could not come to dinner. Michelle appeared to appreciate the invitation saying she would see what Scott had planned. As they continued to talk about books they read, the movies they had seen and their time in college, his mind drifted away from the conversation.

  Beth was a young woman who Scott would describe as being both attractive and adorable. Beyond her physical appearance, she had an undefined quality that drew him to her, only Scott had no idea what that quality might have been. Whatever that quality was, Scott could almost sense her emotional state even when it was not obvious. Beth had managed in a short time to arouse his curiosity about her. She possessed both vulnerability and determination at the same time, which he found to be an interesting combination of traits.

  As the conversation went along, Beth appeared to be far more reserved.

  Scott took some time to watch Beth for a few minutes wondering about the roads she had taken, or perhaps not taken.

  As he watched her, participating in the conversation, Scott felt a haunting quality about her and her personality. The feeling he had was almost a psychic experience, even as he had no details a
bout her life or any aspect of it. It was as if she possessed something in her character or perhaps she owned a secret that Scott wanted to know. Whatever caused the feeling, he suspected she felt very lost and alone, but he had nothing on which to base his suspicion.

  Scott felt Michelle’s foot touching his leg as he heard her saying “Earth to Scott, Earth to Scott”.

  He turned to Michelle. “I’m sorry. I was thinking about something else.”

  Beth glanced at him. “You must feel very special being here with two women.”

  Scott knew Michelle well enough to know her words might indicate more than just the fact that she was teasing him. “If I were in a Jacuzzi with two men, I would be feeling very vulnerable. You must be feeling the same way right now.”

  It did not take but a moment for him to respond to her less than sincere observation. “I don’t think vulnerable is the word I would use to describe how I am feeling.” He replied.

  Michelle rubbed his leg with her foot. “How would you describe the way you are feeling right now?”

  If Scott were going to be honest with Michelle, he would have told her that he felt a growing sense of familiarity with Beth. For reasons he could not explain, he felt as if he was sensing something about her without her using words or actions. He chose to answer Michelle’s question without total honesty. “I feel relaxed and laid back.”

  After several minutes, Beth once again turned to Michelle. “One of the reasons I wanted to come here was to apologize to both of you again for the way I acted this morning. I wouldn’t have even come over if Jenifer hadn’t insisted, although I am not blaming her for what I did.”

  “I said some very unkind things to you too, and I am really sorry. I don’t know what got into me, but there was no excuse for my behavior. I’m also very sorry for what you went through and I know you are not having an easy time. Scott and I will both do anything we can to help you.” Michelle replied.

  Michelle looked at Beth before making a suggestion. “You might want to let Scott put some lotion on your back and shoulders. You look like you may have gotten sunburned while we were out.”