Reluctantly Deflowered by Pastor Graham by J.D. Smith

I sat calmly, with my hands folded in my lap,
but my thoughts were anything but calm. Mother sat beside me, her
attention wholly on Pastor Graham as he delivered the day's sermon.
It was a typical Sunday morning for us. His voice was deep and
rich, like fresh coffee made into sound, and I let it wash over me
as he spoke of hell, brimstone, fire and damnation. My thoughts led
me perilously close to that terrible fate.
    I nervously awaited my wedding to Danny,
Pastor Graham's son. He was a lunkhead, sure, but cute, and
earnest. It was a good match, my mother assured me, but I thought
that she had other designs. Designs on the Pastor himself. My
father, along with Pastor Graham's wife, and five other souls were
killed in a coal mining accident some years ago. Mother has been
lonely and bitter ever since.
    “I say to you,” Pastor Graham said, his voice
booming through the small church. “A rich man with nothing in his
heart but greed shall not enter the Gates of Heaven. All of his
money, all of his power, is nothing in the eyes of the Lord our
God. Look to your neighbors and realize that only by your good
works and repentance will you be granted eternal life in paradise.
The wages of sin lead nowhere but down.”
    He paused and looked over the small crowd of
parishioners. His steely gaze found me, and he stopped for a moment
and smiled. I felt hot for a split second, and something primal
rose within me, something sinful. I fought to keep it down, to keep
the evidence of my base nature from my face as he moved on to
another of the flock. The danger past, I allowed myself to relax a
little and looked over at Mother.
    “Thank you folks,” Pastor Graham said. “There
are some snacks, coffee, and juice for the children in the
Fellowship room if you'd like to stick around and socialize. I'd
also like to remind you that next Saturday, you are all cordially
invited to a wedding.”
    There was a roar from the pews and thundering
applause.
    “My son, Danny, and the lovely Mrs. Maggie
Mayes will be tying the knot at this very church, and I must say, I
couldn't be prouder. The ceremony starts at eleven, and the
reception will be at Cora's Kitchen, in town. Cora has been
generous enough to donate her entire restaurant for the
evening.”
    More applause as Pastor Graham motioned for
Cora to stand up and take a bow. Cora, blushing like a school girl,
did as he asked, a rare feat as Cora was in her seventies and
battled daily with arthritis.
    The church folk shuffled out much like they
had shuffled in to the service, with a lot of glad handing and
conversation. It was a tight knit community; it had to be in a coal
mining town. It was dangerous work, and my father was hardly the
first man to have it claim his life. Regina Graham was the first
woman, but she was an administrative assistant in the wrong place
at the wrong time. The church is what kept us strong, kept us
together.
    I trailed my mother, absently acknowledging
the well wishing and heartfelt congratulations of the crowd as we
made our way to the entrance. I was nervous, even excited, but it
had been over a week since I'd gotten to spend any time with Danny.
All of the preparation for the wedding, his job at the mine,
keeping the house tidy while Mother worked, kept us apart. The
wedding should at least afford us some time together, if nothing
else.
    Pastor Graham had taken up station in the
lobby, shaking hands and favoring everyone with his broad smile. He
was truly an inspiration for the town, and still a good looking
man. It made me uncomfortable to be around him, especially when I
was with Danny. I felt unclean when my thoughts turned to the
Pastor. It worried me greatly.
    We cued up like we did every Sunday, one long
line of people waiting to receive Pastor Graham's blessing before
heading home. Mr. Jameson was in front of Mother and me, hobbling
along with his cane. He was one of the success stories. A miner all
his life, he'd actually lived to see retirement, and, while