by Carol Costa
“Maybe if we"re lucky, she"ll leave the colony to be with him,” Mary said not trying to keep the bitter edge from her voice.
“I know you blame her for what happened to Coy, but she was just a young girl then.”
Mary"s eyes suddenly blazed. “Don"t defend her to me, Cora.”
Cora bowed her head and when she looked up, quickly changed the subject. Although Mary was still quite fond of Cora, she knew that Cora was a simple-minded soul and never discussed anything of real importance with her. Of course no one in the colony ever discussed the miracle that Benjamin had declared on that day ten years ago that resulted in the birth of Naomi, the sunshine child.
Mary couldn"t believe that the colonists really believed that Naomi was conceived through the Spirit of the Lord, the way the Christian sects believed that Jesus Christ was conceived.
Like any community, gossip often traveled through it, but the gossip was always about inconsequential things. Evelyn"s relationship with Nathan Sullivan was only the second rumor of substance Mary had heard this year.
At the beginning of the summer, everyone was talking about the manager of the House of David baseball team and saying that he had been offered a job as a coach for the Chicago Cubs. No one knew who started that rumor or how it had spread so quickly, but Thorpe was still with the team.
The baseball team continued to be a big attraction at home and on the road, but since Coy"s death, Mary could not bring herself to go to any of the games. Benjamin and Jacob attended every home game and sometimes talked about baseball all through the evening meal, but Mary never joined in the conversation.
This week, the team was on another road trip so Benjamin and Jacob were out on the boat with the latest group of girls in the Inner Circle. Benjamin had aged noticeably in the last few years. His hair and beard were streaked with gray, his movements once quick and deliberate were slower and thoughtful now. Mary"s hair was also streaked with gray and she often had to rise from a chair and stand for a few minutes before trying to walk in order to shake the stiffness from her limbs. However, Mary accepted her advancing years with patience, while Benjamin was not resigned to the changes resulting from the passage of time.
Benjamin wanted to prove to himself that he was still strong and virile. More and more young girls were being initiated into the Inner Circle. Mary no longer tried to talk to Benjamin about his reckless choices and the effect his actions might have on the colony. Trying to tell Benjamin anything was like trying to light a candle in the middle of a windstorm. It was a futile effort.
If members of the House of David talked about Benjamin and his activities, the hearsay never reached Mary"s ears. Like the miracle birth of Naomi, the members accepted everything that Benjamin said and did and continued to believe that he would bring them safely into the next world of peace and prosperity he had promised them.
Mary and Cora spent the rest of their lunchtime talking about other things. Recently, new cabins had been constructed around the perimeter of the House of David Park and in other locations on the colony"s property. The area was becoming a favorite place for people from Chicago and the larger cities in Michigan to vacation. In addition to the amusement park and baseball field, people came to fish and sail on Lake Michigan. The cabins had been completed in the spring and were completely filled by the middle of June. Now reservations were already being taken for the following year.
“Silas says the income from the cabins is excellent,” Cora said. “But I told him the cleaning and upkeep is a lot of work, and I"m glad I"m not responsible for them.”
“You have enough to do with the community houses,” Mary agreed. “And with new people joining the colony all the time, it"s good that we have work for them to do.”
“You can thank Evelyn for that,” Cora said without thinking. “She is very good at bringing in converts.”
Mary decided to ignore the remark. Cora looked properly contrite and left a short time later.
*** When Cora returned to Bethlehem, she went in the front door and stopped in the parlor to see if everything there was in order. The children were not allowed to play in the parlors at Bethlehem or Jerusalem, but they often crept in there anyway and disrupted the cushions or tracked dirt on the carpeting. Cora was fastidious about the appearance of the house and gardens.
Not expecting anyone to be in the parlor this time of the afternoon, Cora jumped a foot when she saw Nathan Sullivan sitting off to the side on a plain wooden chair.
“Sorry,” Nathan muttered. “I didn"t mean to startle you.” Cora"s face turned red, not from the fright he had given her, but from the fact that she had just been gossiping about the man. “It"s all right,” she said quickly. “Sometimes the children come in here and mess things up. I just wanted to make sure everything was in order.”
“Yes, ma"am,” Nathan replied. “I"m just sitting here waiting for my girls to finish up their chores. I didn"t touch anything.”
Cora"s face continued to burn. “No. Of course you didn"t. I"ll go see how Lenore and Alice are coming along.”
Cora rushed from the parlor and hurried to the back of the building where the communal dining hall could be accessed. In the summer months, when the girls weren"t in school, they helped with the dishes after the mid-day meal.
Most of the residents worked in the park this time of year. The park opened at nine o"clock and they had been out of the house and at their various jobs since before then. The park personnel packed a lunch or got food from the House of David restaurant or one of the concession stands. That meant, the dining hall was never full except for breakfast so the girls didn"t have a lot of dishes to wash.
As Cora expected, Lenore and Alice were stacking the last of the lunch dishes on the shelves when she entered the kitchen.
“Lenore, Alice, your daddy is in the front parlor waiting for you,” Cora said.
“He"s early,” Lenore said.
“He always comes early,” Alice added.
Lenore had just turned fifteen the month before and Alice would be fourteen in two weeks time. Alice had always been painfully thin and still had the body of a child. Lenore, who was a bit taller, had already developed well-rounded breasts and hips. The sisters had retained the blond curls and pale unblemished complexions they had as little girls. Martha had told Cora that she was keeping a close eye on Lenore as the young boys who worked in the kitchen were finding excuses to work beside her.
“You girls can go with your daddy now,” Cora said kindly. “I"ll finish stacking the dishes for you.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Mooney,” Lenore said politely. “We"re going to take the boat to Chicago today.”
“We get to stay overnight there in a hotel,” Alice added.
“That sounds very nice,” Cora told them. “Run along now and have a nice time with your daddy.”
The girls didn"t have to be told twice. They took off the aprons they had been wearing and threw them on the nearest chair.
“We have to stop and get our suitcase,” Alice reminded her sister as they hurried out of the kitchen.
Cora quickly stacked the rest of the dishes and then walked into the area where the actual cooking was done. A few people were in there peeling potatoes and carrots for the evening meal.
“Don"t peel too many,” Cora told them. “We won"t have many for the evening meal tonight. The park is very crowded today.”
Cora left the dining room area and walked down the long hallway that ended at the business office. The door was open and Evelyn was sitting behind her desk writing something on a long sheet of paper.
She looked up. “What is it, Cora?”
“Nothing, dear,” Cora said with a smile. “I just wondered if you were still in the building.”
“Where else would I be?” Evelyn asked. Evelyn was never actually rude to Cora, but she was never too friendly either.
Cora assumed it was because Evelyn knew that Cora and Mary were close friends.
“Will you and Naomi be here for the evening
meal?” Cora asked, keeping her tone casual.
“Yes. We will.”
“That"s all I wanted to know,” Cora said.
Cora left and Evelyn got up and closed the door to her office. Sometimes, Evelyn and Naomi had supper at the Melicher house. Celia was a much better cook than the people who took turns making the meals for the communal dining room. However, tonight of all nights Evelyn and Naomi would be very visible in the communal dining room. Lenore and Alice had been telling everyone that they were going to Chicago with their daddy and spending the night in a hotel. Evelyn wanted to make sure that the gossips knew that she had not gone to Chicago with Nathan and his daughters.
Actually, Evelyn never went any where with Nathan and his girls and he never spent any time with her and Naomi. They didn"t have the kind of relationship that encompassed activities with their children.
Frank Melicher had been after Evelyn since the day he joined the colony, but she wasn"t interested in him. She had only cultivated a platonic relationship because Frank"s daughter was the same age as Naomi and they had become the best of friends. Naomi was often invited to stay there for extended visits because Anna was lonely and that was very convenient for Evelyn. Naomi was also very attached to Celia and didn"t mind being away from her mother or Bethlehem.
The other reason Evelyn stayed on friendly terms with Frank was because she wanted his house. It was a lovely house, the kind Evelyn had always dreamed of living in.
Like most people in the colony, Evelyn didn"t think that Frank would stay in the colony permanently. She felt if she stayed close to him, she would know in advance when he was planning to go back to live in the real world and might be able to arrange for herself and Naomi to move into his house.
Not long ago, Frank had met a girl in St. Joseph and began an affair with her. Unfortunately, Frank told Evelyn his girlfriend was married and that he liked that fact as he didn"t have to worry about her getting too clingy and jeopardizing the nice life he had forged for himself at the House of David.
Evelyn was not like the majority of the mature women in the colony who kept themselves pure by abstaining from sexual intercourse. She had needs. In his old age, Benjamin was more sexually active than ever, bedding every virgin he could find, with the blessings of their parents, who believed it was an honor for their daughters to become a part of the King"s Inner Circle. He had taken Evelyn"s virginity and then cast her aside. Thanks to Mary Purnell, Evelyn was not allowed beyond the downstairs offices at Diamond House so she only saw Benjamin at business meetings when she delivered her reports on potential new members or when he came to her office at Bethlehem. However, Mary had not been able to keep Benjamin from recognizing Evelyn"s drive and intelligence. He had built a multi-million dollar kingdom because he never failed to see the potential in the people around him. Despite the animosity that bubbled under the surface between Evelyn and Benjamin since the night she forced him to keep her in the colony, he had used her talents and ambition to the fullest.
Since Benjamin had proclaimed her to be a virgin mother, Evelyn was treated with kindness by the other colonists. It also forced Evelyn to maintain a certain image that included an aura of innocence and purity. When she was sent to live at Bethlehem again, Nathan Sullivan was there once or twice every week picking up his daughters. After awhile, he was invited to have meals in the communal dining hall with Lenore and Alice.
At first, Nathan just stared at Evelyn who was of course the only pregnant woman in the colony. The look on his face told Evelyn that he knew she was playing a role, boldly conning everyone, daring them to defy Benjamin and denounce her. One night, when Naomi was a few months old, she was sitting outside by herself when he left the building and approached her.
“Hi Evelyn,” he said casually. “How come you"re out here all by yourself?”
“I"m always by myself,” she said shortly.
“That"s not true. You got a baby.”
“She"s sleeping.”
“So, shouldn"t you still be keeping an eye on her?”
“There"s plenty of people around to watch her. They"ll call me if she starts fussing.”
“Okay.”
Evelyn thought he was going to leave her, but instead he sat down on the bench next to her.
“What do you want?” she asked in an unfriendly tone.
“I don"t want anything from you,” he replied. “I just thought maybe you needed someone to talk to.”
“About what?”
“I don"t know. I"ve been watching you the last few months. Lots of people around this place, but you don"t seem to have any friends here.”
Evelyn laughed. “You"re right about that.”
“So why are you hanging around here?”
“I have my reasons, and they are none of your business.”
“Must have something to do with you being a virgin mother. So, I"m guessing that pretty little baby of yours belongs to King Benjamin.” Evelyn turned sharply and looked at him. “Hey, don"t get mad. Martha told me the story. She believes everything the King says.”
“Most people here do.”
“Why is that?”
“They think he"s the Seventh Messenger.”
“Who"s that?”
Evelyn explained about the angels from the Book of Revelations in the Bible. “That"s how I ended up here. My folks were seeking the true faith.”
“They still here?”
Evelyn laughed again. “Yes. They live on one of the farms in an awful house without indoor plumbing. That"s why I live here. It"s a palace compared to their place.”
“You know, Evelyn, you and I have a lot in common.”
“I don"t think so.”
“We were both brought to this colony by people who believe it is the doorway to salvation. We are still here because of our children.”
Evelyn considered that for a moment and then nodded her head. “I have thought about leaving,” she admitted. “But I have no place to go.”
“Maybe when your girl gets older.”
“What about your girls?” Evelyn asked. “Are they happy here?”
“They love their mother and are still at an age when they need her. Otherwise, I would take them away from here.”
Marcella Owens, who had the room across the hall from Evelyn"s, came to the doorway. “Evelyn, the baby is awake and crying.”
“I"ll be right there,” Evelyn said, rising to her feet.
Nathan stood up too. Without saying good-bye he went down the walkway towards the road that led to Benton Harbor. Evelyn watched him for a moment and then went inside to nurse Naomi.
That first encounter was the last time Evelyn and Nathan talked one on one for several months. While they saw each other frequently, they only spoke in passing when Nathan came to the house to pick up his daughters or had an occasional meal in the communal dining room.
As Naomi grew older, and no longer needed to be nursed, Evelyn"s freedom to come and go improved. She often went into Benton Harbor or St. Joseph on errands.
The city of Benton Harbor was growing and residential areas were moving closer to the boundaries of the House of David. Evelyn liked to walk to the business district of the town passing by the neat rows of houses that lined each side of the road. Most of the colonists did not like to venture into town, but Evelyn enjoyed shopping for various supplies wanted by the women at Bethlehem and Jerusalem. Most of them were eager to mind Naomi while Evelyn spent a leisurely day in town.
It was on one of these shopping excursions that Evelyn and Nathan crossed paths outside of the watchful confines of the colony.
Evelyn liked to time her shopping trips around the noon hour so she could take a meal in a small café she liked in Benton Harbor. It gave her a welcome respite from the vegetarian diet that the colonists followed so strictly.
Evelyn entered the café and went directly to a table in a secluded corner away from the windows. Although there was little chance that anyone from the colony would see her, she liked the privacy
it afforded. Living in a communal setting often made Evelyn yearn for solitude.
Evelyn ordered fried chicken with potatoes and buttermilk biscuits. While she waited for her food to arrive, she studied the list of items she was supposed to pick up for the ladies.
Cora always gave Evelyn cash from the community funds to pay for the supplies with extra money for her lunch and any incidentals she might want to purchase for herself or Naomi.
The door to the café opened and a group of men entered. They were workers from the Whirlpool plant who sometimes opted to eat in the café rather than the company cafeteria. One of the men in the group was Nathan Sullivan. He spotted Evelyn sitting alone in the corner and went over to talk to her.
“Well, this is a nice surprise.”
Evelyn looked up, rather annoyed at his intrusion. “Nathan. What are you doing here?”
“I work down the road. What are you doing here?”
“I have some errands to run and stopped for lunch.”
“Mind if I sit down?” he asked.
“Please go back to your friends,” Evelyn told him. “I like being alone.”
“Yeah. I"ll bet it"s a nice change from all that togetherness at the colony.”
“It is.”
Nathan sat down anyway. “I think you"re really an attractive woman. What would you think about you and me getting together sometime?”
“For what reason?” Evelyn pretended that she didn"t know what he meant, although his words had caused a definite stir of passion in her. Nathan"s features were not unattractive, but it was the element of danger that a meeting outside the security of the colony represented that held the most appeal for Evelyn.
Nathan laughed. “How long has it been since a man took care of you properly?”
“No man has ever taken proper care of me,” Evelyn said looking directly into his gray eyes.
Nathan picked up the list from Evelyn"s table and turned it over. He took a pencil out of his shirt pocket and wrote something down on the paper
“I"m here most nights when I"m not with my girls. Come and see me sometime.” He stood up again, and placed a gentle hand on Evelyn"s cheek. “I"ll take real good care of you.”