The Whippoorwill Trilogy - Sharon Sala Page 0,104

down the front of her rotting, store-bought dress began to pop. And as they did, several pounds of blossoming bosom began to escape from the cloth. In places she seemed to explode from the bodice. In others, her breasts simply rolled, rippling out from behind the blue-white fabric in soft abandon. It was hard to say who was more stunned, Eulis or his congregation.

But before anyone could react to the sight, Letty bolted to her feet, holding up her arms to the rafters, and shouting the same thing over and over.

“I repent! I repent!”

As if that wasn’t enough to stun the congregation, she began running up and down the aisle, her bare bosoms bouncing with every leap.

“I am saved! I am saved. Praise the Lord, I am saved!”

Women wept. Men turned away from her nudity. If she was turning over a new leaf, it was no longer seemly to be staring at her womanly charms.

Eulis was in shock as Letty paused at the front of the arbor and lifted her skirts, baring even more of herself to the stunned observers.

“See here! The marks of the Devil are upon my flesh. He was about to take me under and the Good Lord has driven him away. Tonight I am a new woman.”

Those nearest her spoke out in shock. “Yes, yes,” they shouted, passing the news down the line. “The scratches are there like she said. The blood is fresh and running. Praise God!”

Along with joy, several groans of regret could be heard. Her change of heart now left the single men of Lizard Flats with no whore to ease their manly pains. With Truly Fine gone more than a year now, and Letty changing before their very eyes, the last loose lady of Lizard Flats had turned herself into a sanctimonious saint.

“Preacher!”

Letty’s shout reverberated upon the hill, echoing beyond the lantern light and into the night. Eulis broke out in sweat anew. What if she was about to confess all of her sins? Some of them included him.

“Preacher, I want to be cleansed.”

Wild-eyed and on the verge of real panic, he couldn’t envision what it was she asking? Surely she wasn’t wanting that bath she was so fond of? Not now. Not when their lives were in jeopardy.

“She wants to be baptized!” someone shouted.

Another cried with joy. “Baptize the whore! Baptize the whore!”

The chant echoed beneath the roof until Eulis’s ears were ringing with the noise. In the midst of the fervor, he caught himself repeating it, too, then made himself stop. This was getting out of hand.

“Then so be it,” he shouted. “We’ll wash her in the blood of Christ and take away her sins.”

Anxious to get her energy channeled before she got them both arrested, he led the way down the aisle. On the way out of the arbor, he grabbed a lantern from a nearby pole and headed toward town with his head held high.

They wanted to baptize the whore, so by God, he’d baptize the whore.

While it was a shame there was no river in which to perform the deed, Eulis had fond memories of Pete Samuel’s watering trough. It had rid him of ants. It should do just fine on Letty Murphy’s sins.

We Shall Gather At The River Or A Reasonable Facsimile Thereof

Eulis led the way down the hill with Letty right beside him. From the waist up, she was nearly naked, yet she didn’t seem to notice or care that with every bounce of her step, her right breast bobbed up while her left sort of tilted toward the center. Eulis thought it had something to do with the sway of her walk and tried not to stare.

Will the Bartender was well into the third chorus of Onward Christian Soldiers as the congregation turned the corner. Eulis felt like a general leading his army into battle. Out of the darkness, the stable suddenly came into view. He lifted his lantern higher, heading toward the watering trough with single-minded intent.

When they were there, Letty fell to her knees, trying to cover her bare breasts with her hands. She moaned. The Devil’s scratches on her legs were stinging something fierce. She looked up at Eulis with wild-glazed eyes.

“Bless me preacher for I have sinned.”

Eulis groaned. She’s gonna say it! By God, she’s gonna confess what we’ve done and they’ll hang us both.

Panic struck him weak. He hung the lantern on the fence and turned toward the congregation. They were waiting for the miracle to be finished; watching