May God Bless You With All Your Heart Desires
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“Is everything ready?” Dolly asked.
Mrs. Brown nodded. “Yes, ma’am.” She held up the cake for her to see. “Everything’s made and iced, and the frosting has hardened a bit more.” Mrs. Brown set the cake down on one of the counters. “I’m ready to serve it.”
Dolly looked around at the house again. Everything was just as it had been that night when she’d first arrived. The dining room table was covered in a white tablecloth, and there were candles on top. There was only one chair. “It doesn’t matter,” Dolly said with a shrug. “I’ll take the last one.”
Mrs. Brown gave an encouraging smile. “Thank you for taking this task upon yourself.”
“God knows I don’t mind, Mrs. Brown. It’s important that everyone eats something before church starts.” Dolly picked up a candle from the table and put it on the cake. She took out another candle and set it beside the cake. “You’re going to have to tell me how many we need when the time comes.”
Mrs. Brown went back into the kitchen and returned holding three small plates. “This should be enough.”
Dolly held up the plate in front of her. “Perfect.” She turned toward the dining room and the table. “Just make sure you bring them right back.”
She walked through the door and then paused at the threshold. A shiver ran over her as she thought about what would happen later that night. Dolly lifted her skirts and pulled the door closed, leaving Mrs. Brown inside with the cake and candle in the center of the dining room.
A soft breeze blew down the sidewalk and into the house. “Now where do I sit?” Dolly asked.
Her mind had played all sorts of games since she’d arrived at the house. She hadn’t slept well. So much had happened over the past few days. Her life had been turned upside down. God knew she was grateful for the kindness being shown to her.
But a part of her also wished this had never come upon her. It was too late now. All that mattered was what came next. She stood by the window in the parlor and stared out across the street. The trees were swaying gently in the wind and there was a hint of spring in the air.
“God forgives me,” Dolly whispered to herself. “I hope you’re listening.”
The last of the snow melted off the grass and disappeared under the green blades of new growth. In the distance, Dolly could see the steeple of St. Patrick’s Church. Soon the church would be filled with people coming to hear Father Tim preach on the parable of the rich fool.
There was still time before services started. It was only a few minutes before the sunset. If she hurried, she might catch the end of it.
Dolly crossed the room and opened the front door. The night air felt warm and pleasant on her face. The birds were singing their praises and the trees were decorated with white flowers. Dolly went up the walkway and stepped onto the porch.
“God bless everyone who comes here today,” she prayed silently. She turned toward the house and put her hands together. “And I pray God blesses us all.”
Mrs. Brown met her in the hall outside the dining room. “It’s about to begin.” Mrs. Brown held a small candle in one hand.
Dolly nodded. “Thank you so much for your help.”
Mrs. Brown smiled and then looked at Dolly as if she were waiting for an answer. “I’d like to thank you, too.”
“For taking care of me and being my friend, that’s enough.”
Mrs. Brown nodded. “Of course. I’ll do what I can to repay you when we get back to town.” She put out the candle and set it on the floor. “This is where we part ways,” she said. “I hope you have a good sermon.” She pulled open the door.
Dolly reached into her pocket and pulled out three more candles. “Just in case,” she said with a wink.
***
“Now I lay me down to sleep…”
Dolly sat on the edge of the pew and listened to the opening prayer. In the distance, she heard a choir singing and someone playing the organ. Dolly lifted her eyes and saw the congregation come forward for communion. There was a lightness to the music now. The people had lit candles in front of them and were coming together in prayer.
A shadow moved over the pews and Dolly glanced up at the stained-glass window above the altar. A woman in white appeared on the right side of the window and a man in black on the left. Then both vanished. Dolly knew that each person had gone to heaven. And in some ways, she wanted to go there, too. But God wasn’t ready yet. “I guess I’ve got a little longer,” she whispered to herself.
The music continued in the background and Dolly closed her eyes. Soon she began to drift off. “In the name of the Father—”
Dolly’s eyes opened and she stared straight ahead. The church was filled with people. Some had kneeled in prayer and others were holding hands.
Dolly turned around to find that it was the same church. Only there were no windows in the room. The walls were painted a pale green and there was an ornate cross hanging from the center of the ceiling. A woman dressed in a gray-green gown stood in front of the congregation. It looked like the same woman in the stained-glass window. But this time the woman was holding a book.
Dolly caught sight of herself in the mirror and recognized the face staring back at her. “It can’t be,” she said aloud. She was looking down at the floor and a feeling of dread swept over her. There were two women standing next to each other in the pew.
“Mother?” Dolly whispered. “What’s happened to us?”
Dolly reached out toward the woman in the gray-green gown. But it didn’t feel like the warmth of motherly love. This woman’s skin was cold as ice and she moved closer to the congregation. Dolly could hear the soft rustling of pages. “Who are you?” she cried.
A loud noise snapped Dolly’s eyes open. The sound of clapping echoed from the audience and Dolly saw a line of people standing behind the pews. A man was on stage at the front of the church. He held the Bible high and closed his eyes.
When he opened them again, it was like a flash of light pierced through Dolly’s mind. She had forgotten about the stained-glass window, but now it came flooding back. The man on the stage was dressed in black and held a black Bible in one hand.
The pastor looked down at the congregation. His dark brown hair curled under his hat and his dark brown eyes stared right at her. “You are the light,” he said.
Dolly opened her eyes and screamed. She ran across the stage and threw herself into the arms of the man who called himself Father John. His face was pale and cold to the touch.
“It’s all right,” Father John said with a voice that sounded as if it came from far away. “It’s safe.”
Dolly’s heart pounded in her ears. “I saw us on the stage—the church. And there was another woman.” She lifted his head by his shoulders. “Did you see this?”
Father John nodded. “Yes, I saw it, too. It was a vision.”
“What is it?” Dolly whispered.
He pulled a small book from his pocket. “There’s no need for alarm. You’re safe here, dear.” He glanced up at the audience. “We have many visitors today. Welcome to the church,” he said and then closed the Bible. “For those who are new, may I offer you some coffee? We’ve just put out the first pot of the day.”
***
A woman in the congregation hurried over and offered Dolly a cup of coffee. “Are you sure?” she asked. “It’s very good.”
“That’s why we drink it,” she replied with a smile. “The men bring it back from the mill.”
When Father John finished saying a prayer, he brought the congregation together in the center aisle and offered each person a tract. There was a lightness to his voice now. It sounded like music to Dolly’s ears.
But when he turned to leave the church, a shadow passed over Dolly. She heard Father John say something about his health, but it didn’t register. The shadow moved in the crowd. This time, the sound of clapping was louder than before.
Father John paused. “Who’s here today?” he asked.
A woman near the front of the church answered. “It’s the same people every week. There are four who always come.”
The pastor nodded and continued walking. “And we also have many visitors who come for a brief visit—”
Dolly lifted her head from the table and stared straight ahead. A man was standing behind the pews. His back was toward them and she couldn’t see his face. Dolly looked at Father John. He held the Bible high and smiled as he turned around. “Hello again,” he said.
Dolly stood up to walk over to him. But his eyes turned to the window and she froze. “It’s you!”
“You know me,” he answered with a chuckle.
Father John tried to turn back and faced the congregation again. “We have many new members who are visiting today. May I offer you a pamphlet on the history of the church?”
Dolly shook her head. “No, I need to talk with you,” she said. “There is someone else in the church.”
“What do you mean, someone else? Is everything all right?”
She took a deep breath. “I saw another woman there. You have to see what’s going on here.”
“Please, sit down. We don’t want to keep anyone from worshipping God.”
Dolly stepped away. “No, no, please—” She stumbled toward the pulpit and stopped when she realized that the shadow was gone. “Please, I beg you.”
Father John had taken his seat again at the front of the church. Dolly backed away. “Wait until we’re alone,” she whispered. “We must talk.”
***
When the pastor finished talking to the congregation and walked out to his office, Dolly followed him.
Father John glanced at her with a smile. “Why don’t you take your coffee in there and read the pamphlet on our church history while I talk to a few more people.” He paused and pointed toward the office door. “The first floor is yours.”
As Father John was leaving, a man wearing a straw hat and a brown suit rushed up. “May I have a word with you?” he asked. “I’ll just wait for you in the vestibule.”
Father John shook his head and left. The man looked over at Dolly as the pastor disappeared around a corner. She thought he might be the one who sent the shadow to her, but before she could say anything, Father John returned.
“Are you all right?” he asked. “Did something happen?”
Dolly took a deep breath and then forced a smile. “Everything’s fine. It was just a little dizzy spell. That happens sometimes. Is there anyone else you can talk to?”
Father John stared at her with a troubled expression. “What about my wife?”
“Susan will be happy to hear it.”
Father John glanced back at the office. “I’ll see if she’s available now and then we can go outside. There are some things you should know. Are you sure you don’t need any coffee?”
Dolly shook her head. “But thank you. I’m not thirsty anymore.”
Father John led the way around the building. As they entered the vestibule, Father John went over to a telephone booth. “She’s in there,” he said. “Let me make a call. You wait here.”
A woman came out of the church and saw her. “I thought it was you, Dolly! Come inside. Everyone is waiting for us.” She opened the door and invited Dolly inside.
As soon as Dolly walked through the doorway, she turned around and ran from the church. She made it to the front steps and collapsed. It was all too much. A sick feeling swept over her, but this time she didn’t feel like crying.
She felt numb and could barely think. Her mind raced ahead to a day when she would never see the church again and wondered how many people in this community had died so that this place could be built.
She looked at Father John standing beside his open door and tried to hold her tears back. He gave her one last glance before walking away.
***
On their way home, Susan stopped at the bakery and picked up a loaf of bread. By the time she got back to the ranch house, everyone was ready to leave. The kids were already buckling up in the wagon. Dolly held the loaf of bread under her arm as she stepped out of the barn and into the sunshine. “It’s nice out there,” she said.
“We can talk later about what happened at the church,” Susan answered. “For now, you need some food in your stomach.”
Dolly smiled. “Yes, that would be good.” She took the bread out of her shirt and broke it off the loaf. “Thank you. I’ll take care of it.”
Susan stepped in front of Dolly. “We’re leaving, remember?”
“Of course.”
Father John watched them drive away with a troubled expression on his face. “They have a lot of questions to answer, don’t they?”
As soon as he left the bakery, John drove straight to the nearest telegraph office. He sent a message to every police station in New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and California. If anyone had found Dolly and if she needed help, this would put the word out.
As he waited for an answer, John made a second call to Dolly’s parents in Kansas. No one answered.
***
When Dolly arrived home, she was met by her mother who tried to calm her down. “Don’t worry yourself. It’s only been two weeks since you were last here. You were only gone a couple of days.”
The woman spoke gently and tried to get her daughter to sit at the kitchen table. She handed her some milk to drink, but Dolly refused.
“You’ve never turned your back on me,” Dolly said. “Not once. Why start now?” She grabbed the bottle and poured some into her coffee cup.
Susan frowned. “I’m sorry.” She looked around the room. “This is very nice.”
Dolly nodded and stared at the door, her eyes darting about.
“Are you all right, honey?” Susan asked.
Dolly wiped a tear from her eye. “Yes, I am.”
“Did Father John tell you anything?”
Dolly shook her head. “Just that there was a shadow. Did he say anything else?”
Susan took a deep breath. “He said they had a meeting today in the office.”
“What kind of meeting?”
“Something about some documents.”
Dolly raised an eyebrow. “Documents? What could be so important to keep you inside all afternoon?”
“We’re not sure,” Susan said. “Father John will be calling you tonight to let us know what happened.”
Dolly nodded and then smiled. “But I don’t want to go. How can you think of leaving when I might never see this place again?”
A sad expression crossed Susan’s face. “I’ll miss you, too, my dear, but we have no choice. We need to get out of here. No one is safe with the sheriff in town and that shadow following us. Not even you.”
She waited for her daughter to say something more, but Dolly seemed lost in thought as she watched the door.
“You shouldn’t worry yourself,” the woman said. “It was only a shadow.”
Dolly’s eyes looked away. “Maybe it wasn’t.” She drank another sip of coffee. “I was thinking about the last time I left this house—about how I tried to convince my mother that it was all right to leave me here so you could come to this place.”
“And now we are the ones who are leaving,” Susan said. She paused to look at Dolly. “Are you sure you’re all right?”
Dolly nodded. “I’m fine.” She turned around and walked from the kitchen.
***
As soon as they reached the ranch house, John got on his horse and rode to the barn. He rode in silence for a while and then spoke up, “We have to find them, Dolly, or we may never see them again.”
Dolly felt so sick, she didn’t even feel like talking. “There isn’t anything to do but go home. And that’s what we’re going to do.”
“That’s exactly what I don’t want,” Father John said. “The more distance between us and this place, the better off we’ll be.”
Susan gave him a glance that meant not to push it.
John rode on in silence until he saw the shadow lurking near the house. As they watched, it moved toward the barn and disappeared into the dark night.
“It seems as though this shadow follows us wherever we go,” John said.
“What did the sheriff say?” Dolly asked. “Was there anyone else in the office today?”
Father John shook his head. “Nothing much to report. Nothing to help us, anyway.”
Susan pointed. “Did you see the shadow leave?”
“Yes, and that’s all that matters right now.”
After they fed their horses and saddled their horses, Dolly stared at the barn as her father mounted his horse. He motioned for her to follow him. She started to mount but stopped as the shadow reappeared. It took a few steps toward them and then looked back over its shoulder and vanished.
Dolly’s hair rose as she stared at the spot where it had been. Her eyes darted around the surrounding area as if the shadow might appear out of thin air and attack them.
Father John pulled the reins and kicked the horse into a trot.
“Wait!” Dolly shouted, but the shadow was gone. “That can’t be good news,” she whispered.
She reached for her gun belt, but John put his hand on hers. “You’re not thinking of using your gun are you?”
“Of course I am. We’ve already lost so much time.”
Father John sighed. “I think it would be best if we stayed together and rode toward the mountains. We should make as much distance from this place as possible.”
“And then what? What will happen to me?” Dolly asked.
Father John smiled and patted her cheek. “I’m sure we’ll figure something out.” He nodded his head toward John, who waited patiently in the saddle. “All the men seem to know you, but he doesn’t. That will help keep us all safer.”
Dolly nodded. She stared at the barn as the shadows of the night played across the roof and walls. It looked like an evil black eye staring at her.
***
Susan walked through the dark town of Fairview with the sheriff. The houses were mostly empty, but every now and then she saw a man and woman looking out the front windows. Some stared at her and others watched Father John.
As they walked down a street, a couple of boys chased each other along the side of the house. One boy jumped up into the window and screamed, “Oh, my God! There’s a witch living next door!”
Father John looked up and pointed at the boys. “They’re children. They can be just as wicked as anyone else,” he said. “Let’s hurry. We don’t want them to tell the sheriff about us.”
The sheriff nodded as he reached for Susan’s hand and hurried down the street. She noticed that he didn’t seem to notice the stares of the townsfolk. His eyes were fixed on the ground. He even bumped into people, but he didn’t apologize.
When they reached their destination, Susan pushed open the door. It seemed so strange to be in a building again. The room was small and smoky from the fireplace. There was only one lamp lit, so it was hard to see much of anything in the dark interior.
“Sheriff, this is Mrs. Albright, my sister.”
John looked down at his shoes. “Good evening, ma’am.”
Susan felt embarrassed and surprised by what had happened to Dolly. It must be very confusing for her since she knew nothing about Susan’s family. And Susan could understand why Dolly would feel as if there was no place she belonged.
“I’d like to ask you some questions,” Father John said, stepping up beside Susan. “Have any strange things happened here lately?”
The sheriff’s voice sounded as if it came from far away. “I wouldn’t know how to tell.”
“How long have you lived in Fairview, Sheriff?”
“Well, I’m not a native of Fairview, but I’ve lived here about five years now. What are you investigating?”
Father John frowned as he watched Susan. “We’re looking for a man we think may be involved in an outlaw gang. We were told that your deputy, Martin, is a good man.”
The sheriff shook his head. “Martin? No, he’s a great man. Why don’t you come in and have something to eat with me?”
“Are you sure? I’m sure you need your rest—”
“Please, sit down, Mr. Kelly, I insist. You can tell us all about this outlaw.”
Sheriff Dan Kelly led Father John into his house as Susan waited outside. She hadn’t thought anyone would want to talk to her, especially the sheriff. She was standing in front of the door, staring at the cracked plaster on the wall, when she heard someone behind her.
“Who’s there?”
Susan turned around and stared at the sheriff as he stepped out of the shadows. “I was wondering if I could help you with anything,” she said, trying to hide the lump in her throat.
“You don’t seem like much of a cook, but I do believe you’re right about my deputy being a good man.” The sheriff looked past Susan toward the house. “If you’ll follow me, we can get something to eat, and then you can tell me all about yourself.”
Susan hesitated and then followed him inside. Once they reached the kitchen, she realized he wasn’t just hungry. He must have been hungry for company. She quickly grabbed the largest pot and poured hot water over a pound of salt pork, onions, potatoes, and cabbage.
She added some lard to grease the frying pan and then sliced up a loaf of bread and laid it out to toast. By the time she finished cooking, John had washed his hands and face. He stood next to her and watched everything as he waited for their dinner.
“May I ask how you know so much about Dolly, Sheriff?” John asked as he held his plate of food close to his chest. “And why you are helping her?”
The sheriff didn’t hesitate. “She’s a nice girl. She’s helped me many times since I moved here and even gave me a place to stay while I’m between jobs.” His voice caught in his throat. “I really care about her.”
“Why are you investigating outlaws? Does one of the men in Fairview belong to an outlaw gang?”
“They call themselves the Pony Express Gang,” he said. “Their leader is a man named Dan Brady, and his son is a boy named Tom Brady.”
“Where can I find them?”
He looked at her as if she were crazy. “What do you think? You can’t catch the devil’s own without a horse.”
“So what makes you think you’re going to find these outlaws?” Father John said.
Sheriff Kelly didn’t answer. His eyes were fixed on Susan. He smiled as if he knew how worried she was about the outlaws and that’s why she had come here to help. But it was obvious that he hadn’t been very successful in finding them.
Susan wasn’t sure she should say anything else. The sheriff seemed to sense this. He set down his knife and fork. “Let me tell you something about Dolly,” he said. “I can see that you two have known each other for a while and you might be surprised to know she’s not quite the same person she seems.
But when she started coming around town, people were quick to judge. They thought she was some kind of whore. Now they’ll never forget the first time they saw her. It all happened because the school teacher’s husband took another woman into their bed and she didn’t take that well. Dolly was left with two little boys to raise by herself.”
Susan had never heard any of this before. “How did you find out?”
“Dolly told me,” he said. “But she was too embarrassed to explain. What was she thinking?”
“I don’t know, but I do know what she meant about us being like sisters. We’ve only known each other for a couple of days and we’re already close.”
“Don’t worry,” John said. “We can still catch these men. Just don’t underestimate them or their leader—they are clever.”
“Thanks, Sheriff. That’s why I came to you in the first place.”
After dinner, the sheriff drove them back to the church. The wind had picked up, causing Susan to shiver as she held on to Father John’s arm. “I can’t thank you enough, Sheriff,” Father John said. “And please tell Dolly not to let those men take her away from us.”
“Don’t worry,” he said. “I’ll make sure they get the message.”
The End